I see a lot of movies in theaters. Much like Christopher Nolan, I believe that movies are better on the big screen, and thanks to my local cinema offering unlimited tickets for a monthly fee of $20, I can usually be found at the movies at least once a week.
Throughout 2023, I’ve seen 75 movies in theaters, with that number set to rise even higher before the year is over. That total includes pretty much all of the biggest movies of the year from Barbie to Oppenheimer (yes, I watched them back-to-back), as well as smaller indie releases and a couple of high-profile foreign flicks for good measure.
Like many film enthusiasts, I diligently keep a ranked list of everything I see in theaters each year. And below you’ll find the 5 very best movies that I saw on the silver screen over the last 12 months, as well as 5 that had me eyeing an early exit.
My 5 favorite movies of 2023
5. Anatomy of a Fall
All I knew going into Anatomy of a Fall was that it’d won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and 152 minutes later I understood exactly why it was already an award-winner before the general public had even had the chance to see it.
A courtroom drama with a fascinating mother/son relationship at its core, Anatomy of a Fall hooked me more than most action-thrillers. The French film follows a successful novelist (Sandra Hüller) who is accused of murdering her husband (Samuel Theis) by pushing him out of a third-story window. While she protests her innocence, her blind son (Milo Machado-Graner) is caught in the middle, and the case could rest on his recollection of events as the sole witness. Anatomy of a Fall is an acting tour de force, and it’s one that I cannot wait to rewatch over the holidays.
4. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
It’s been a hell of a year for Spider-Man fans with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse both landing to deserved acclaim. This sequel to 2018’s utterly fantastic Into the Spider-Verse, sees Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) take a further step into the multiverse of Spider-People and face a new threat, the Spot (Jason Schwartzman).
What I love most about Across the Spider-Verse is how it successfully blends so many different elements into a satisfying whole. For example, there’s a large focus on Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), but it never comes at the expense of Miles’ story. Plus, new characters like Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) are added to the already large cast with great results. And we can’t overlook that the animation quality is somehow even better than its predecessor. It’s just a shame that the wait for the follow-up looks set to be a long one.
Watch on Netflix
3. The Killer
I suspect this might be my most controversial pick as The Killer has proved to be a surprisingly divisive movie. However, in a year that saw the release of another excellent John Wick sequel, the fact that director David Fincher masterminded the most exhilarating action sequence of 2023 is reason alone for The Killer to earn a spot on my favorites list.
The Killer is a well-oiled vehicle for Fincher’s impeccably clean filmmaking, with its opening moments especially a marvel of laser-sharp editing. This action-thriller was criticized by some for its lack of warmth and an ending that fizzles out. However, I found its singular execution almost flawless, and the central performance from Michael Fassbender is captivating. The Killer shines brightest on the big screen, so it’s a shame most people likely saw it on Netflix.
Stream on Netflix
2. Past Lives
Past Lives is a movie that I’ve thought about pretty much every single day since I first saw it in August. This heart-achingly romantic drama follows two childhood friends, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae (Teo Yoo), over more than two decades, as they grow apart, come back together and reflect on the choices they’ve made (and didn’t make) over the course of a fateful week.
Writer/director Celine Song has described the plot as “semi-autobiographical” and it shows on screen. Watching Past Lives feels like reading the pages of somebody’s diary, and learning their innermost thoughts and feelings. The film is a masterclass in nearly all areas with the two central performances and extremely strong writing standing out most prominently. The whole movie is utterly enchanting, but it’s the melancholic ending that has stayed with me the most all these months later.
Rent on Apple TV+, Prime Video
1. Oppenheimer
When I say that Oppenheimer is perhaps my favorite Christopher Nolan movie that is high praise indeed considering the caliber of his past work, but this stunning biopic impressed me on every level. The cast list is too stacked to recount here, but Cillian Murphy anchors the entire behemoth of a movie in a way that I genuinely believe that few actors could replicate. I need to also give credit to Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Florence Pugh who all managed to match him throughout.
Nolan’s direction has rarely been this inventive, and sequences like Oppenheimer’s post-bomb-dropping speech crackling with pure cinematic energy. Spinning a gripping but equally horrifying recount of the Manhattan Project that created the world’s first nuclear weapon, Oppenheimer isn’t going to be ranked as Nolan’s most purely entertaining movie anytime soon, but it represents a visionary director at the top of his game. It's a true masterpiece and the best movie I saw in theaters in 2023.
Rent on Apple TV+, Prime Video, YouTube TV
My 5 worst movies of 2023
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
I was suffering from Marvel fatigue as early as 2021, but Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was the movie that turned my exhaustion with the increasingly unwieldy MCU into downright apathy. This painfully messy blockbuster is a horrible mix of unenjoyable action, bizarre plotting and thinly sketched characters.
Even the first proper appearance of Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, who is supposed to be the next Thanos-level threat for the Avengers to face, couldn’t make this truly awful comic book movie even a little bit enjoyable. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was supposed to kick off a new phase for the Marvel universe, but instead, it left me asking if they shouldn’t have packed in it after the triumph of Avengers: Endgame.
Stream on Disney+
4. Fast X
The Fast and Furious franchise has been spinning its wheels for a while now, and Fast X is yet more evidence that this series needs to be taken to the scrapyard. The nonsensical plot sees Jason Momoa join the cast as a charismatic villain out for revenge on Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew for the events that transpired in 2011’s Fast Five.
Of course, directly linking this latest entry to the much-loved fifth Fast movie only serves to remind us of a time when this franchise felt fresh and exciting. Not to mention, F&F’s obsession with fan-service cameos and returning characters feels like a cheap trick that no longer washes. Momoa injects some energy, and some of the action sequences are well crafted, but Fast X’s cliffhanger ending had me rolling my eyes rather than getting hyped for what comes next.
Stream on Peacock
3. 65
65 sees Adam Driver play a space pilot who crash lands on prehistoric Earth and must contend with Jurassic creatures and the planet’s hostile terrain while escorting a young survivor along the way. On paper, that’s a seriously cool idea for a movie, so it’s extremely frustrating that 65 never manages to capture the excitement its premise promises.
Driver appears bored for most of the merciful short runtime, which is a feeling I could relate to as I was trying to keep myself awake in my seat. Even in the third act when the duo square off against all manner of dinos including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, 65 does little to raise the pulse. It’s a movie that never comes close to living up to its potential and amounts to nothing more than a waste of a cool idea. I’d recommend watching the short-lived TV show Terra Nova instead.
Stream on Netflix
2. Insidious: The Red Door
It’s been a mixed bag of a year for the horror genre, there have been some standouts like Talk to Me and Beau is Afraid, but also a lot of spooky films that have missed the mark. No prizes for guessing which camp Insidious: The Red Door falls into.
I will give this fifth entry in the long-running franchise some credit for being a sequel to Insidious 2. After back-to-back prequels, moving the overall story forward helps The Red Door stand out. But apart from that very minor bit of praise there’s very little positive I can say about this one. Previous Insidious movies have been criticized for an overreliance on jump scares and cheap horror cliches, and The Red Door is no different. But its biggest crime is its bloated runtime. By the time the credits finally rolled the only truly scary thing was how much time I’d wasted watching this one.
Stream on Netflix
1. The Exorcist: Believer
The Exorcist: Believer is the first legacy sequel in a planned new trilogy of movies, but based on this first chapter, I can’t imagine there will be many people eager to see this ride through to the end. In short, The Exorcist: Believer is a truly wrenched way to kick off a new era for this iconic horror titan.
There are problems across the board, but among the most unforgivable are the flimsy plot, the abundance of cheap callbacks to the vastly superior original and the unadventurous filmmaking from director David Gordon Green. However, if there’s one fatal flaw that truly sinks this ship, it’s that The Exorcist: Believer lacks any genuine scares. The Exorcist is upheld as one of the most terrifying films ever made, but I can confidently say that Believer won’t be ranking alongside it anytime soon.
Stream on Peacock
