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:
182) Meg 2: The Trench
181) Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell
180) Peter Pan & Wendy
179) Orlando, A Political Biography
178) Ghosted
177) Sweet Dreams
176) Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre
175) I Used To Be Funny
174) Next Goal Wins
173) The Nun II
172) Samsara
171) Raging Grace
170) The Pope's Exorcist
169) Eileen
168) Foe
167) Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom
166) Cinema Laika
165) Wish
164) The Little Mermaid
163) Haunted Mansion
162) The Delinquents
161) Here
160) You Hurt My Feelings
159) Renfield
158) No Hard Feelings
157) 65
156) Shazam! Fury Of The Gods
155) Restore Point
154) Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child Of Fire
153) Evil Does Not Exist
152) The Marvels
151) La Chimera
150) Fantastic Machine
149) The Dead Don't Hurt
148) Pictures Of Ghosts
147) The Bikeriders
146) The Settlers
145) Birth/Rebirth
144) Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
143) Gran Turismo
142) Kiddo
141) Four Daughters
140) Kill
139) Bye Bye Tiberias
138) The Taste Of Things
137) The Three Musketeers: Milady
136) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
135) Kidnapped
134) The Super Mario Bros. Movie
133) Infinity Pool
132) You People
131) Champions
130) Scream VI
129) Big George Foreman
128) Blue Beetle
127) Elemental
126) Afire
125) Priscilla
124) The Peasants
123) The Beast
122) Wicked Little Letters
121) The Book Of Clarence
120) Asteroid City
119) The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan
118) The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed
117) Rustin
116) Nyad
115) A Million Miles Away
114) Reality
113) The Hypnosis
112) Knock At The Cabin
111) Creed III
110) The Equalizer 3
109) May December
108) The Old Oak
107) The Boys In The Boat
106) The Breaking Ice
105) Totem
104) The Queen Of My Dreams
103) Another Body
102) Saw X
101) Beau Is Afraid
100) A Haunting In Venice
99) Society Of The Snow
98) They Cloned Tyrone
97) The Great Escaper
96) Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget
95) Wonka
94) Chang Can Dunk
93) Evil Dead Rise
92) Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
91) Polite Society
90) The Flash
89) Dance First
88) Boy Kills World
87) Scala!!!
86) Strange Darling
85) Late Night With The Devil
84) Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
83) The Zone Of Interest
82) Dream Scenario
81) The Covenant
80) Wham!
79) The Burial
78) Hoard
77) Tetris
76) The Killer
75) Passages
74) Memory
73) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
72) A Good Person
71) A Thousand And One
70) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
69) Flora And Son
68) Anatomy Of A Fall
67) The Creator
66) Sound Of Freedom
65) How To Have Sex
64) Goodbye Julia
63) Mutiny In Heaven: The Birthday Party
62) The Monk And The Gun
61) The Hunger Games: A Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes
60) Saltburn
59) Napoleon
58) The Boy And The Heron
57) The Promised Land
56) The Goldman Case
55) Ferrari
54) Copa '71
53) Lee
52) The Teacher's Lounge
51) When Evil Lurks
50) Dumb Money
49) Bottoms
48) Rye Lane
47) Sharper
46) Celluloid Underground
45) Slow
44) Monster
43) John Wick: Chapter 4
42) Take Care Of Maya
41) Hit Man
40) Sing Sing
39) Godzilla Minus One
38) One Life
37) Perfect Days
36) BlackBerry
35) Fallen Leaves
34) Daaaaaali!
33) Robot Dreams
32) Blue Giant
31) Angel Applicant
30) Tish
29) Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint
28) The Color Purple
27) Maestro
26) Scrapper
25) Theater Camp
24) Joy Ride
23) Little Richard: I Am Everything
22) Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
21) Nimona
20) The Iron Claw
19) Spy x Family Code: White
18) Origin
17) There's Still Tomorrow
16) Io Capitano
15) The Deepest Breath
14) All Of Us Strangers
13) Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
12) Past Lives
11) Killers Of The Flower Moon
10) 20 Days In Mariupol - A nothing but harrowing documentary on the Russian invasion on Ukraine. It gives a first hand account of the destruction of the city of Mariupol.
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.
9) His Three Daughters - A wonderfully moving stage-like drama featuring three sisters reuniting and settling their difference whilst caring for their father who is on his death bed.
It contains three incredible performances, strong direction and a story that builds perfectly to an emotional yet satisfying finale.
8) American Fiction - A consistently funny and delightful comedy drama that sees a novelist purposefully downgrade his style of writing in order to gain success whilst showing madness of supposed 'black entertainment'.
The performances lead by Jeffrey Wright are terrific, it's incredibly funny and it pokes witty jabs at white wokeness.
7) Oppenheimer - Another highly memorable feature event by director Christopher Nolan that this time covers scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his contribution in the development of the atomic bomb.
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.
6) Barbie - For a film about an iconic doll, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have given us the Barbie film we never knew we needed.
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.
5) Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse - While its predecessor broke new ground in the animation genre, the sequel managed to go further.
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.
4) Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. - Based on a highly successful novel, this coming-of-age comedy drama sees an 11-year-old girl come to grips with a new life in the suburbs as well as adolescence.
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.
3) Air - The surge in product biopics continue as director Ben Affleck gives us the birth of Nike's Air Jordan brand.
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.
2) Poor Things - The mind of Yorgos Lanthimos continues to unsettle our senses and this could very well be his masterpiece.
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.
1) The Holdovers - A film so absorbing and satisfying that I completely forgot I was in a cinema experiencing 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.