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:
181) Meg 2: The Trench
180) Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell
179) Peter Pan & Wendy
178) Orlando, A Political Biography
177) Ghosted
176) Sweet Dreams
175) Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre
174) I Used To Be Funny
173) Next Goal Wins
172) The Nun II
171) Samsara
170) Raging Grace
169) The Pope's Exorcist
168) Eileen
167) Foe
166) Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom
165) Cinema Laika
164) Wish
163) The Little Mermaid
162) Haunted Mansion
161) The Delinquents
160) Here
159) You Hurt My Feelings
158) Renfield
157) No Hard Feelings
156) 65
155) Shazam! Fury Of The Gods
154) Restore Point
153) Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child Of Fire
152) Evil Does Not Exist
151) The Marvels
150) La Chimera
149) Fantastic Machine
148) The Dead Don't Hurt
147) Pictures Of Ghosts
146) The Bikeriders
145) The Settlers
144) Birth/Rebirth
143) Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
142) Gran Turismo
141) Kiddo
140) Four Daughters
139) Kill
138) Bye Bye Tiberias
137) The Taste Of Things
136) The Three Musketeers: Milady
135) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
134) Kidnapped
133) The Super Mario Bros. Movie
132) Infinity Pool
131) You People
130) Champions
129) Scream VI
128) Big George Foreman
127) Blue Beetle
126) Elemental
125) Afire
124) Priscilla
123) The Peasants
122) The Beast
121) Wicked Little Letters
120) The Book Of Clarence
119) Asteroid City
118) The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan
117) The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed
116) Rustin
115) Nyad
114) A Million Miles Away
113) Reality
112) The Hypnosis
111) Knock At The Cabin
110) Creed III
109) The Equalizer 3
108) May December
107) The Old Oak
106) The Boys In The Boat
105) The Breaking Ice
104) Totem
103) The Queen Of My Dreams
102) Another Body
101) Saw X
100) Beau Is Afraid
99) A Haunting In Venice
98) Society Of The Snow
97) They Cloned Tyrone
96) The Great Escaper
95) Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget
94) Wonka
93) Chang Can Dunk
92) Evil Dead Rise
91) Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
90) Polite Society
89) The Flash
88) Dance First
87) Boy Kills World
86) Scala!!!
85) Strange Darling
84) Late Night With The Devil
83) Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
82) The Zone Of Interest
81) Dream Scenario
80) The Covenant
79) Wham!
78) The Burial
77) Hoard
76) Tetris
75) The Killer
74) Passages
73) Memory
72) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
71) A Good Person
70) A Thousand And One
69) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
68) Flora And Son
67) Anatomy Of A Fall
66) The Creator
65) Sound Of Freedom
64) How To Have Sex
63) Goodbye Julia
62) Mutiny In Heaven: The Birthday Party
61) The Monk And The Gun
60) The Hunger Games: A Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes
59) Saltburn
58) Napoleon
57) The Boy And The Heron
56) The Promised Land
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.