Top Movies of 2023 (Part 1)
It’s January here at Do You Know What I Love The Most?, and that means it’s time to sum up the last 12 months with Year End Lists! I’ll be devoting the rest of this month to rounding up and discussing the various media released in 2023 that meant the most to me — just like every other website on the internet! Isn’t that special?
Today we’re going to talk about the best movies of 2023. As always, this is in no way a definitive list, because I cannot and have not watched every film out there to watch. These are simply my favorite movies I saw this year — all released in 2023 (except one, and we’ll get into that), all (again, except one) that I saw in the theater, and all that I loved — in no particular order. Enjoy!
Due to size restrictions for these emails, we’ll be discussing the first half of this list today, and the remaining entries in Part 2 on Friday.
Poor Things
Poor Things is, well, a lot of things. It’s a black comedy with a gothic twist, a take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein channeling Tim Burton. It’s an exploration of feminist themes, showing through example the ways men have, throughout history, viewed women as property and valued them only for their youth, beauty, and naivety, turning on them when they developed agency (or god forbid a sexuality) of their own. Most importantly, though — what really stuck with me — Poor Things is a Coming of Age film. This tale of a freakish experiment named Bella Baxter, brought to life through forbidden science and setting out into the world, is the kind of offbeat and unsettling story that could only come from the mind of Director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster), but for all its morbid moments and taboo sexual debauchery, at its heart this is just the story of a young woman going on a journey of self-discovery. A never-better Emma Stone grants us a truly singular performance as Bella, literally building her character from the ground up and transforming her from a Tabula Rasa into an eager and mercurial child and then an adult with her own convictions based off her hard-earned understanding of the world; I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. Stone is backed up by a bevy of terrific performances, be it William Dafoe’s grotesque, surprisingly heartfelt Godwin Baxter, Ramy Youssef’s earnest and tender Max McCandles, or Mark Ruffalo’s bombastic, delightfully hammy Duncan Wedderburn. Poor Things isn’t going to be a film for everyone, but if it strikes a chord with you, I guarantee you’ll never forget it.1
The Super Mario Bros Movie
So yeah, The Super Mario Bros Movie isn’t the kind of prestige film that’s going to win awards. I’m fine with that. In fact, I have plenty of my own quibbles with it (primarily the story structure and ideas and themes that are picked up and abandoned, etc.), but that doesn’t erase the fact that this is easily one of the most fun times I had at the cinema all year. Mario is just the kind of film that put a big smile on my face and kept it there for its entire runtime, delighting me with vivid, bright animation, mile-a-minute banter and jokes, nostalgic callbacks galore, a surprisingly good story with legitimate emotional payoff at the end, and some really fun voice work2; especially Jack Black, who was born to play Bowser and who blessed the world with “Peaches,” a song that absolutely should win some prestigious awards TBH (move over, Ken). Mario ended up being the first movie my boyfriend and I saw together in the theater, and I’ll never forget the giant grin on his face and the way he cheered for Yoshi, and those are memories that will always warm my heart. IP being cheaply mined for nostalgia and sold to bitter nerds on the internet has been a plague on filmmaking, criticism, and online discourse the past decade or so, but The Super Mario Bros Movie is proof that nostalgic IP has a place at the movies, that it can be pulled off with real heart, and that it can please even the most petulant of fanboys. And, again, I’ve been singing “Peaches” all year. That alone makes it a top movie of 2023.
M3GAN
M3GAN was all gays on the internet could talk about for months before its release; we were gagged by the wildly campy, over-the-top sequence in the trailer of the murderous dollbot M3GAN doing a dance number in a hallway before impaling a man with a paper cutter. We flocked to this movie in droves, but let it be known that just about all of us were expecting a “so bad it’s good” experience; we were shocked — pleasantly shocked, but shocked nonetheless — when M3GAN actually ended up being a legitimately good movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still plenty campy (there’s some triumphantly silly needle drops in this one), but as much as M3GAN is the story of a robot that begins killing people, it’s also the story of a young girl who lost her family and the awkward, well-intentioned aunt who tries to give her one in the form of a lifelike robotic best friend. There’s real heart and even topicality to M3GAN as it tackles ideas of grief, friendship, and family, and the ways technology can supplement human connection, but just as easily push it out of the picture entirely. It’s a clever film, and not just in a wink wink, nudge nudge way. By combining the campy thrills we all showed up for with some actual substantial storytelling, M3GAN is a real hit, and thank God it’s only another year until until the sequel’s out. M4GAN, anyone?
Godzilla Minus One
The last couple of Japanese Godzilla films have been fascinating; with the studios knowing they can’t keep up with the billions and billions of dollars American studios have been throwing into their Godzilla franchise over the last decade, Japanese filmmakers have instead been pursuing more offbeat takes on the concept, with tremendous results. Godzilla Minus One, from writer and director Takashi Yamazaki, is essentially an A24-type drama about a disgraced soldier looking for meaning in the ruins of war-torn, Post-WWII Japan. It’s a slow, soft, tender, and intimate story about learning to move on and overcoming survivor’s guilt, the kind of story that would be right at home in any arthouse film or Oscar contender — but then also sometimes Godzilla shows up. Godzilla, as a character, emerged from Japan’s post-nuclear trauma in the aftermath of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and here once again he serves as the perfect post-war metaphor, all the fear and anguish these people are living through given corporeal form. This is also the scariest Godzilla has ever been. Even in movies where Godzilla is an antagonist, there’s still usually awe to be found watching him rampage through cities, but not in Godzilla Minus One. The direction places viewers in the shoes of the average citizen as Godzilla attacks Ginza, and for the first time I could understand the terror and helplessness one would feel in the middle of a monster attack. When Godzilla unleashes its nuclear breath it leaves a mushroom cloud, and viewers are caught up along in the ensuing explosion along with the main characters; I swear I could feel the debris hit me in the chest. It was a tense and claustrophobic sequence that left me breathless, and I experienced nothing else like it at the theater this year. Godzilla Minus One isn’t your typical monster movie; it’s so much more.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Spider-Verse films are clearly passion projects for everyone involved in their creation, and the sheer unbridled enthusiasm and creativity of their staff undeniably bleeds through into the final product. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the bigger — if not necessarily better3 — sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, packed to the gills with fascinating new characters, wild new jokes and references, and colorful new worlds. The film is an animation tour de force, depicting each alternate universe (and its denizens) with a different, distinct animation style or color palette that push the bounds of the medium. There’s a steampunk world, animated to look like the sketchings of Leonardo Da Vinci come alive; Spider-Punk is animated to look like print from punk zines, and his design changes from frame-to-frame; Don’t forget about Spider-Gwen’s home universe, whose backgrounds are abstract, impressionistic blobs of color that shift and change to match the feelings of Gwen and her father. It verges on sensory overload at times, but it creates a film that’s a veritable journey for the senses, that looks and feels like nothing else on the screen. More importantly, though — just like Into the Spider-Verse — Across has a palpable beating heart and a rich, thoughtful story. This time around Gwen shifts into more of a central role, and her storyline with her father will feel relatable and cathartic to anyone who has ever felt unaccepted by their family. That said, Miles Morales is obviously still the star of this film, and he’s as refreshing and compelling as ever as he learns to stand up for himself and spit in the face of those who foolishly tell him what he is and isn’t capable of. If anything, Across’ greatest flaw is that it ends on a cliffhanger that won’t be resolved for years — I don’t know when we’ll see the conclusion to this story, but if it’s as lovingly crafted as the first two Spider-Verse films, I’ll wait as long as it takes.
Barbie
What’s impressive about Barbie isn’t that it’s the biggest movie of the year, the grand blockbuster event of 2023 — it’s that the biggest movie of the year ended up being something so offbeat, so personal, and so damn good. IP films don’t generally do things like this! Director Greta Gerwig and Executive Producer/Lead Actress Margot Robbie get the credit here, taking Mattel’s perfect plastic doll and spinning it into a quirky, colorful, campy comedy that also serves as a sharp satire on the roles society thrusts upon women and men alike. Ryan Gosling is perhaps given the most to do as Ken, and he puts in an uproarious performance filled with swagger and longing, plus, the second best theatrical musical number of the year (again: nothing beats “Peaches”), but Robbie as Barbie herself is ultimately the shining star of this film. Margot Robbie is just a fucking movie star, and the screen positively lights up whenever she’s in frame; I think my favorite moment of the entire movie is when Barbie tells an elderly woman in the park how beautiful she is, nearly in tears and overwhelmed by the beauty of this woman after having never seen an elderly person in her life before, and it’s a moment that works almost solely because of Robbie just selling the Hell out of Barbie’s genuine emotional reaction. The journey she takes Barbie on, from a naive doll to a real woman thanks to her experiences in the real world4, is a compelling central story that grounds the rest of the movie’s whimsy in real emotions and growth, and that’s a winning combination.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish wasn't a film that was initially on my radar, but relentless positive word of mouth surrounding the movie practically bullied me into seeing it, and thank god it did; Last Wish is an absolute delight. Even in a year stacked with great animation5, this was one of the best looking animated films released, featuring a crisp, almost cel-shaded CG style and colors that continually pop right off the screen. It’s filled to the brim with terrific comedic and action set pieces, from the opening song and dance number (okay, it was just a great year for musical numbers in general; my boyfriend and I walked around the apartment singing “Who is your favorite fearless hero?” for weeks) to poor Puss’ time living with a crazy cat lady to the anarchic final battle Royale for the Wishing Star. The voice talent talent is top notch: Antonio Banderas! Salma Hayek! Harvey Guillén as the gullible scene-stealing puppy Perrito! Florence Pugh, revealing to me her true cockney accent! A gleefully twisted John Mulaney as the disgustingly absurd Big Jack Horner! And the story here is surprisingly adult. This isn’t just a tale about trust and found family, it’s also a story about mortality, where a down-to-his-ninth-life Puss in Boots has to confront the possibility of death for the first time, personified in the form of a legitimately terrifying, brutal Wolf Grim Reaper and leading to Puss dealing with panic attacks and multiple near-death experiences. As sweet, fun, and silly as Last Wish is, it takes its characters and their emotions entirely seriously and always treats them with respect, and that’s a winning formula for a film that everyone, kids and adults alike, will love.
Do You Know What I Love the Most’s “Best Of 2023” series:
2023: A Year In Review
Top Albums of 2023
Top Comics of 2023 (Part 1)
Top Comics of 2023 (Part 2)
Top Television of 2023 (Part 1)
Top Television of 2023 (Part 2)
Top Movies of 2023 (Part 1)
Top Movies of 2023 (Part 2)
2023: A Playlist
To read previous “Best Of” entries for 2020-2022, click this link to browse the directory!
ABOUT
“Do You Know What I Love the Most?” is a newsletter from Spencer Irwin about his relationship with the stories he loves. Spencer is an enthusiast and writer from Newark, Delaware, who likes punk rock, comic books, working out, breakfast, and most of all, stories. His previous work appeared on Retcon Punch, One Week One Band, and Crisis on Infinite Chords, and he can be found on Twitter at @ThatSpenceGuy. If you like this newsletter, please subscribe and share with your friends!
Poor Things is actually the first movie I saw in the theaters in 2024, and in fact, I saw it after I had already finalized my Top 12 movies for this list. Still, it is officially a 2023 release, and I hadn’t actually started writing this list yet at that point, so my compromise was to include it on this 2023 list, but to add it as a 13th entry rather than remove one of my finalized choices. Regardless, it more than earned its spot on this list.
Chris Pratt’s Mario was serviceable.
I don’t mean that as an insult. Into the Spider-Verse is one of my all-time favorite superhero movies, if not one of my all-time favorite movies period, and that’s an almost impossible standard to live up to.
Hey, as different as they are, this is a theme Barbie and Poor Things both explore in earnest. They’d make a good double feature.
So, yes, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was technically released in December 2022, but it was December 21st! That barely counts! I didn’t see it in theaters until well into January 2023 (and thus it missed out on my Top Movies of 2022 list), and I’m sure I’m far from alone there. Last Wish had a long theatrical window, and spent far more time in theaters in 2023 than 2022. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a 2023 release.