Favorite Films of 2023, Part 1
From enjoyable gems to the most-loved, my best picks of the year.
Howdy folks — it’s that time again, as film-going friends and fans in far fathoms of filmland fling their filaments into something-else-starting-with-F, here are my celebratory blurbs for the enlightenment of my dear readers & comrades here at in and out of weeks — glowing recommendations of the cinematic stories that stirred my soul the most on this last trip around the sun.
As I’m sure there are still gems I’ve missed or have yet to make time for, this is simply a snapshot in time of which 2023 releases, at this moment, from ones I’ve seen, have given me the most enjoyment and which I can mostly-and-safely suggest (depending on your threshold in some cases) you check them out. I would also gladly watch these films again — some more times than others — but I think you get the idea. Here we go…
PART 1: HONOURABLE MENTIONS
SUZUME - Directed by Makoto Shinkai
As with previous films YOUR NAME and WEATHERING WITH YOU, Shinkai baffles me a bit as a director and storyteller, but this time around he starts flirting with Miyazaki-esque weirdness ala talking cats and a human who turns into a three-legged chair. It’s in this quirkiness that the first half is so hilarious and riveting — the story starts to unravel and drag in its latter hour, until its visually stunning conclusion wraps it up pretty nicely. All things considered, I feel like I’m missing many of the metaphors and meaning behind Shinkai’s work. He’s less universal and otherworldly than Miyazaki, so his films probably make better sense within his own culture and speak more to a Japanese audience thematically. Gorgeous to look at though — it’s definitely his most visually breathtaking film.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES - Directed by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
This was silly but great fun and highly enjoyable — a bit overdone on the CG-end of things and felt too much like a derivative Marvel movie in some of the battle scenes, but the scenes that work are great: the hilarious cemetery sequence, any fight that relies more on choreography & practical effects, and a chubby dragon. The dark and scary death cloud was wicked awesome too.
The Bradley Cooper cameo went over my head and I was like ‘meh’ — the best cameo for my money was the characters from the ‘80s D&D cartoon in the Games Maze. If they made a straight live-action version of those guys simply going into the amusement park ride and trying to get home, I’d be all there for that.
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER - Directed by André Øvredal
Slasher movie, but it’s one chapter from Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, the one on the boat.
Not ground-breaking in the sense that Ovredal’s TROLL HUNTER is — but not bad. Many good things going for it actually: a good cast, effective editing, scary suspenseful moments, and a truly frightening Nosferatu. Very unfortunate that I had to squint my way through a terrible muddy DVD transfer on the first watch, though. Deserves a re-watch in 4K, 1080p or Blu-Ray to fully soak in the dark scenes that work. Found myself too often saying “C’mon, C’mon!” (See what I did there?)
A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE: HOW THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL HAPPENED — Directed by Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak
Overall pretty riveting to watch and listen to all the anecdotes and historical lore behind how and why the infamous 7th-Layer-of-Hell that is the Star Wars Holiday Special got made — and much of the conceptual origin stuff was fascinating. Who knew that the legendary Ralph McQuarrie actually designed Itchy’s “special chair?” (Yes Virginia, that actually happened. On television. And someone let it happen. I know, I’m sorry.)
Between one-time-airings like this and KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, prime time television in late 1978 stands as a historical document to what mountains of cocaine, a dash of stupidity, and a lack of filmmaking talent created when they joined forces. (I had to laugh out loud when Jefferson Starship’s bass player casually remarked that Grace Slick couldn’t sing in the show because she was in rehab.) Most interesting were hearing from the people who are still alive who merely had bit parts in the special (like the Cirque du Soleil drug trip dancers) — and what they remember about actually making it. I would have liked to hear more from them and less from Kevin Smith and other celebrities who had nothing to do with it. (Although I’d gladly watch an hour of Gilbert Gottfried - rest his soul - describe the special in detail.)
Further scratching the surface of places they could have gone, they neglected to mention the FILM TRICKS book that has behind-the-scenes photos of the Wookiee masks (of which I have a copy), and I would have liked to hear more about how the special transitioned from VHS bootlegs and first found its way to YouTube — with much less of the pompous George Lucas roasting at the end. But don’t turn off the credits or you’ll miss the best outtake to fight its frizzy way into this thing.
MR. DRESSUP: THE MAGIC OF MAKE-BELIEVE - Directed by Robert McCallum
From the ridiculous to the truly sublime, an even better documentary for general audiences was this wonderful look at the life of Ernie Coombs, known to the world as Mr. Dressup, who I grew up watching occasionally on TV even though I didn’t grow up in Canada. His was a life well lived, and I learned so many surprises about him and his television crew I never realized.
FALLEN LEAVES — Directed by Aki Kaurismäki
Love is going to see The Dead Don’t Die at a cinema in Finland. This film won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival this year and was recommended by friends so I checked out it knowing nothing about the director. It’s a simple, delightful romance with gorgeous cinematography and captivating actors.
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER - Directed by Walt Dohrn
I’m a fan of the Trolls films, as they are great clean fun and they don’t get enough credit. Granted they’re full of things I normally can’t stand in animated features: fast frenetic action, pop culture references, corporate flashiness and generic story beats — but the characters are endearing, the animation posing is inspired, and the non-sequitur surrealism of it all makes for a good time and a laugh. Plus they are totally bonkers acid trips. And they have Mr. Dinkles, a big spirit animal in our household.
This one has pop stars with 1930s-rubber-hose vibes, a family of weird Seuss-Muppet hybrid things, a psychedelic dog bus, and Mr. Dinkles plays a therapist. It’s joyful.
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers
Lacks the restraint and slick humor from the original, and it’s a little harder to follow the story, but damn does it look gorgeous, and the soundtrack is wicked awesome. The scenes of Gwen and Miles walking upside-down around the city, and of Gwen and her dad in her own exquisitely-rendered universe are holy moments of amazement. Here’s hoping the climactic conclusion is even more profound and slows down enough to give us true moments of heart and adventure like the first one does.
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET — Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig
Excellent, funny and poignant, with fantastic production design and performances from its cast. Very early-1970s but still timeless — it’s just a really great movie.
BOTTOMS - Directed by Emma Seligman
On the flipside of the afore-mentioned modest look at the onset of female puberty is this R-rated and crass look at what it leads to — in the modern age of high school with lots more violence thrown in. It’s hilarious, unhinged, and original — so I’m here for it. A vicious & naughty good time.
COCAINE BEAR — Directed by Elizabeth Banks
This was actually my favorite film of 2023 for awhile, because it was the first and only new film I saw until others more worthy came along. I hadn’t laughed that hard at a movie since What We Do in the Shadows. It’s loosely based on a true story about a bear that does cocaine, but it’s also strangely a celebration of nature lashing back at human nature. Sweet justice. Drags in a few places but it’s hilarious stupid fun, especially one rip-roaring ambulance chase in the middle that is side-splittingly brilliant.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM — Directed by Jeff Rowe
Into the Turtle-Verse. This movie is great and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would — unquestionably the best adaptation of the original material ever made. It’s visually stunning and I’m here for the fresh approach and ultimate message it reaches by the end. I love how the turtles talk like real teenagers rather than California surfer dudes, and that Donatello has glasses and a higher voice than the others. For the first time I felt like these turtles were well-rounded characters with stronger personalities. This is game-changing gold for the animated realms and I look forward to the next one.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON — Directed by Martin Scorsese
At three Scorcese-hours long, this film is a commitment, but one well worth taking. The soundtrack and performances are great, especially the historic and stoic presence of Lily Gladstone stealing the show with a fierce grace.
“Insulin.”
…and Mollie walks silently out of the room. DAMN.
THE INVENTOR — Directed by Jim Capobianco, Pierre-Luc Granjon
Hidden in the shadows of animated realms is this rare gem which deserves and needs to be seen. Ingenious puppet posing, timing & animated gestures combined with fantastic designs — it harkens back to the classic simplicity of Rankin/Bass mixed with gorgeous & appealing hand-drawn dream sequences. Clever, heartfelt and very funny, it’s one of the best animated films of the year.
…and that’s all the time we have today.
To be continued in Part 2, with my Top Favorites of the Year.