While I didn't see many blockbuster films shine, it saw a number of alternatives take the limelight. That being said, we did see a cultural phenomenon take place which ended up involving two of the most financially successful films of the year.
Variety in films are still looking strong and it seems general audiences are starting to actively look for these gems, accept them and give them the box office they deserve.
I saw quite a lot of films this year and have encountered some all-time classics including one of the best films I have seen for a few years.
Below is my ranking of all 2023 films that I have seen along with a short review of each of my top 10:
169) Meg 2: The Trench
168) Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell
167) Peter Pan & Wendy
166) Orlando, A Political Biography
165) Ghosted
164) Sweet Dreams
163) Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre
162) I Used To Be Funny
161) Next Goal Wins
160) The Nun II
159) Samsara
158) Raging Grace
157) The Pope's Exorcist
156) Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom
155) Eileen
154) Foe
153) Cinema Laika
152) Wish
151) The Little Mermaid
150) Haunted Mansion
149) The Delinquents
148) Here
147) You Hurt My Feelings
146) Renfield
145) No Hard Feelings
144) 65
143) Shazam! Fury Of The Gods
142) Restore Point
141) Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child Of Fire
140) Evil Does Not Exist
139) The Marvels
138) Pictures Of Ghosts
137) The Bikeriders
136) The Settlers
135) Birth/Rebirth
134) Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
133) Gran Turismo
132) Kiddo
131) Four Daughters
130) The Taste Of Things
129) The Three Musketeers: Milady
128) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
127) Kidnapped
126) The Super Mario Bros. Movie
125) Infinity Pool
124) You People
123) Champions
122) Scream VI
121) Big George Foreman
120) Blue Beetle
119) Elemental
118) Afire
117) Priscilla
116) The Peasants
115) Wicked Little Letters
114) The Book Of Clarence
113) Asteroid City
112) The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan
111) The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed
110) Rustin
109) Nyad
108) A Million Miles Away
107) Reality
106) The Hypnosis
105) Knock At The Cabin
104) Creed III
103) The Equalizer 3
102) May December
101) The Old Oak
100) The Boys In The Boat
99) The Breaking Ice
98) Totem
97) The Queen Of My Dreams
96) Another Body
95) Saw X
94) Beau Is Afraid
93) A Haunting In Venice
92) Society Of The Snow
91) They Cloned Tyrone
90) The Great Escaper
89) Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget
88) Wonka
87) Chang Can Dunk
86) Evil Dead Rise
85) Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
84) Polite Society
83) The Flash
82) Dance First
81) Scala!!!
80) Late Night With The Devil
79) Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
78) The Zone Of Interest
77) Dream Scenario
76) The Covenant
75) Wham!
74) The Burial
73) Hoard
72) Tetris
71) The Killer
70) Passages
69) Memory
68) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
67) A Good Person
66) A Thousand And One
65) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
64) Flora And Son
63) Anatomy Of A Fall
62) The Creator
61) Sound Of Freedom
60) How To Have Sex
59) Goodbye Julia
58) Mutiny In Heaven: The Birthday Party
57) The Monk And The Gun
56) The Hunger Games: A Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes
55) Saltburn
54) Napoleon
53) The Boy And The Heron
52) The Promised Land
51) Ferrari
50) Copa '71
49) The Teacher's Lounge
48) When Evil Lurks
47) Dumb Money
46) Bottoms
45) Rye Lane
44) Sharper
43) Celluloid Underground
42) Slow
41) Monster
40) John Wick: Chapter 4
39) Take Care Of Maya
38) Godzilla Minus One
37) One Life
36) Perfect Days
35) BlackBerry
34) Fallen Leaves
33) Daaaaaali!
32) Robot Dreams
31) Blue Giant
30) Angel Applicant
29) Tish
28) Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint
27) The Color Purple
26) Maestro
25) Scrapper
24) Theater Camp
23) Joy Ride
22) Little Richard: I Am Everything
21) Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
20) Nimona
19) The Iron Claw
18) Spy x Family Code: White
17) Origin
16) There's Still Tomorrow
15) Io Capitano
14) The Deepest Breath
13) All Of Us Strangers
12) Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
11) Past Lives
The cast is incredible, the scale is grand and the development builds up nicely and makes the almost 3hrs 30mins duration fly by.
The imagery of civilians and hospitals being destroyed is more than enough content to make this such a visceral viewing experience.
It gives a strange mixed vibe of it being a must-watch for its importance and yet you would not recommend this as the images are uncomfortable to watch.
The performances lead by Jeffrey Wright are terrific, it's incredibly funny and it pokes witty jabs at white wokeness.
Along with some career best performances, Nolan's scale and style of storytelling continues to be the gold standard in current cinema. Like all of his films, this needs to be on the biggest screen with the best sound system.
It has that perfect balance of making fun of itself whilst also celebrating its legacy.
It goes places you never would expect and it is thanks to the commitment of the plots ideas and the top performances by this strong cast.
With some of the most gorgeous animation you will ever see, the follow to the first Spider-Verse is non-stop in terms of both action and its witty gags.
This has the makings of an animation and superhero genre for the ages.
The drama is very effective, the comedy is solid and the performances are very strong. All of those ingredients gives us a highly memorable watch that reminds of some of the successful drama of the 80's and 90's.
For something that doesn't sound like would work, the sharp writing, uplifting performances and fluid pacing gives us something extremely satisfying and surprisingly educational.
Surprisingly feel-good in its tone as well.
In what is a quirky version of the Frankenstein story in the style of Terry Gilliam, this is a bonkers story that manages to portrays its universal themes with amazingly effective results.
There are also career best performances by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo. It's weird, it's wacky and if you embrace its ideas, you will love this.
When a history teacher at a boarding school is forced to remain on campus with kids that are unable to go home for Christmas, this begins a journey of discovery for everyone involved.
This is the type of film that I miss seeing on the big screen and it has ended up being the best film I've seen for some time.
