The Best Movies of 2023

From overseas blockbusters to awards season gems, the entire year was packed with a slew of terrific movies of all shapes and sizes

Look, regardless of what makes money and what attracts attention, almost every year is a wonderful year for films. And as has happened every time, there was a slew of “How did this miss the cut?” winners (Are You There God, It’s Me Margeret?, The Holdovers, Godzilla Minus One, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Talk to Me, One Thousand and One, The Boy and the Heron, etc.). They sit alongside “Dammit, I wish I had made time or forced my loved ones to watch that screener” failures like Ferrari or Maestro. However, I might just wait and see Ava DuVernay’s Origin in a theater, so if I end up loving it it’ll get its own post later this month as penence.

What feels different for 2023 is how A) the year started off with a bang almost from the get-go (thanks to a little help from Bollywood’s biggest movie star) and B) how my favorite films were conveniently spread out over the last 12 months. Oh, and skewed irony: in a year partially defined by the pop culture decline of superhero movies, one of them made the cut, and another is in my metaphorical top 20.

Just in case, I’ll again remind folks that just because a film (like, say, a three-hour drama about a mad scientist or that refreshingly thoughtful toy commercial) isn’t on the list doesn’t mean they didn’t at least reach the level of “good, actually.” As always, this is my list, not yours, and if we all matched this wouldn’t be very much fun.  

So, without further ado, I present to you, using my patented formula of math, science and dark magic, the nine best movies (mostly presented in cowardly alphabetical order) plus the absolute best film (as defined by divine declaration) of 2023.  

This is the first paywalled post, as it’s the first post of 2024. Not everything will be paywalled, but if you pay now you never have to worry about it ever again. So, if you haven’t done so already, and you want to see what my ten favorite movies for 2023 were (or at least the other nine), give generously to the Zevia/Celsius/Bai Bubbles fund!