The Top 10 Movies of 2023

Summary

This video script offers a deep dive into the cinematic landscape of 2023, highlighting the year's most impactful and thought-provoking films. It features a personal top-ten list, reflecting both critical acclaim and the creator's passion for cinema. The script delves into the themes of humanity, evil, and storytelling, with standout mentions for 'Killers of the Flower Moon' and 'Asteroid City.' It also emphasizes the importance of exploring diverse films beyond the mainstream, cherishing the unique experiences each movie offers.

Takeaways

• 🎬 The speaker admires Martin Scorsese's continued ability to create thoughtful and provocative films at 81, with 'Killers of the Flower Moon' being a contemplative and deliberate work that confronts audiences with themes of evil and complicity.
• 👀 The film 'Killers of the Flower Moon' is noted for its focus on intimate humanity and the subtle yet powerful performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone, despite not being a traditional crime thriller.
• 🌕 The movie is described as having an overarching tone of anguish, effectively using its runtime to draw viewers into a deeply emotional story, and is considered the best movie of 2023 by the speaker.
• 📝 The speaker discusses the challenge of determining the best movies of the year, acknowledging the subjectivity involved and the difficulty of creating a definitive list.
• 🤔 The script touches on the impact of social media and celebrity culture, as explored in a comedy featuring Nicolas Cage, which provides insight into the evolving concepts of influence and public accountability.
• 🎨 'Anatomy of a Fall' is praised as a naturalistic courtroom drama that embraces ambiguity and the pain of unanswerable questions, with impeccable craft and performance.
• 🍂 'Fallen Leaves' is highlighted for its small dramatic gestures that feel profound within its restrained and melancholic narrative, featuring beautiful music and a restrained lead performance.
• 🌹 'Past Lives' is a film that captures the evolving relationship with one's past and childhood through a lost romance, offering a nostalgic exploration of life choices and their consequences.
• 🐦 'The Boy and the Heron' is a new Hayao Miyazaki film that brings joy and wonder, exploring life and childhood trauma with sincerity and imaginative elements.
• 🌟 'Asteroid City' by Wes Anderson is seen as an evolution in personal and thematic storytelling, capturing the feeling of navigating the current world's chaos from an interior perspective.
• 🏆 The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of personal connection with films, suggesting that while lists can be helpful, taking a chance on less popular movies can lead to unexpected discoveries and joys.

Q & A

What is the significance of the $25,000 mentioned in the script?

The $25,000 mentioned in the script refers to an insurance policy that the speaker has on their neighbor and best friend, which is against what the neighbor owes them.

How does the speaker describe Martin Scorsese's current work compared to his earlier films?

The speaker describes Martin Scorsese's current work as more deliberate and contemplative compared to his earlier films, which were more known for their 'whiz, bang pop'.

What theme has been prevalent in many of Scorsese's films from the beginning, according to the speaker?

The theme of confronting the heart of evil and our own complicity with that evil has been prevalent in many of Scorsese's films from the beginning.

How does the speaker describe the movie 'Killers of the Flower Moon' in terms of its genre and tone?

The speaker describes 'Killers of the Flower Moon' as not being a crime thriller or very suspenseful, but rather having an overarching tone of anguish and focusing on the intimate humanity of the characters.

What is the speaker's opinion on Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone's performances in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'?

The speaker praises Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone's performances as some of the best and most subtle they have ever seen, with Gladstone having an incredible presence on screen.

What is the speaker's view on the role of social media in our lives and its impact on movies?

The speaker believes that social media has started to take over our lives and create a very weird world, and they feel that movies are beginning to grapple with this new landscape in an interesting and insightful way.

What is the speaker's opinion on the movie 'Dream Scenario' and its portrayal of celebrity culture?

The speaker finds 'Dream Scenario' to be a hilarious and genuinely insightful comedy about celebrity culture in the 21st century, with a good representation of an Internet marketing company.

What is the central theme of the movie 'Anatomy of a Fall' according to the speaker?

The central theme of 'Anatomy of a Fall' is the pain of ambiguity, focusing on the difficulty of stitching together an objective sense of what happened in the past from limited clues and witness accounts.

What makes the movie 'Fallen Leaves' stand out for the speaker?

The movie 'Fallen Leaves' stands out for the speaker due to its smaller dramatic landscape and stakes, beautiful lead performance, restrained style, and effective use of music.

How does the speaker describe the movie 'Past Lives' in terms of its narrative and themes?

The speaker describes 'Past Lives' as a beautiful portrait of evolving relationships with our childhood and past, represented through a lost romance and a sense of nostalgic wonder.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of watching movies that are not necessarily popular or critically acclaimed?

The speaker believes that it's important to take a chance on movies that may not be popular or critically acclaimed because they might offer a unique and personal connection that could be surprising and rewarding.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Scorsese's Enduring Mastery: 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Review

This paragraph delves into the appreciation of Martin Scorsese's continued contribution to cinema with 'Killers of the Flower Moon'. Despite being 81 years old, Scorsese's films remain as provocative and thoughtful as ever. The script discusses the film's deliberate pace, contemplative nature, and its exploration of evil and human complicity. It highlights the intimate humanity portrayed in the film, comparing it to 'Phantom Thread' rather than a traditional Western. The performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone are praised, and the film is noted for its lack of typical crime thriller elements, focusing instead on a profound sense of anguish and storytelling that doesn't distort the truth.

05:01

🤔 The Impact of Social Media and Celebrity Culture in 'Dream Scenario'

The second paragraph explores the influence of social media on our lives, as reflected in the film 'Dream Scenario' starring Nicolas Cage. The movie humorously and insightfully examines the concepts of celebrity influence, public accountability, and the transformation of these ideas in the digital age. The script mentions the protagonist's journey from sudden fame to a nightmare, discussing the satirical representation of an Internet marketing company and the broader themes of reality distortion and the complexity of life narratives.

10:01

🎭 Exploring Moral Ambiguity and the Power of Storytelling

This paragraph discusses the complexity and moral gray areas in storytelling, using 'May December' and 'Godland' as examples. It touches on how harm can disguise itself as love and how films can sensationalize reality, often at the expense of victims. The paragraph also examines the craft of acting, critiquing and deconstructing its potential for exploitation. The performances of the lead actors, including Natalie Portman, are commended, and the films are described as tonally diverse, balancing humor with disturbing elements.

15:05

📸 'Godland': A Visual and Thematic Exploration of Perspective and Blindness

The focus of this paragraph is on the film 'Godland', which is described as a beautiful period portrait of Iceland with a central theme revolving around a priest blinded by his own perspective. The film is praised for its cinematography, internal tension, and the way it uses a lingering gaze to bring attention to what the priest fails to see. The discussion also touches on the act of photography as a means of imposing one's vision on reality.

20:06

🎄 'The Holdovers': A Heartwarming Christmas Classic in the Making

This paragraph celebrates 'The Holdovers' as a potential new classic in the Christmas movie canon. The film is appreciated for its period aesthetics, sincere storytelling, and avoidance of clichés. It is described as a movie that feels like a throwback to older films, with a heartwarming narrative that resonates without being overly sentimental. The script also notes the film's suitability for repeated viewings in the future.

🎨 'Poor Things' and 'The Boy and the Heron': A Study in Contrasts

The paragraph contrasts 'Poor Things', a wildly inventive and absurd film by Yorgos Lanthimos, with the lighthearted and imaginative 'The Boy and the Heron' from Studio Ghibli. 'Poor Things' is noted for its unique style, dark humor, and the impressive performance of Emma Stone, while 'The Boy and the Heron' is praised for its profound wonder, exploration of life and childhood trauma, and the joy it brings through its imaginative elements.

🌌 'Asteroid City': Wes Anderson's Chaotic and Personal Storytelling

This paragraph discusses Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City' as a film that captures the chaotic nature of the current world through its personal and thematically rich storytelling. The movie is described as having a large cast, dealing with numerous themes, and weaving through various narrative layers. The script highlights the film's depth and the way it resonates with viewers, inviting multiple viewings to uncover its many layers.

🏆 The Subjectivity of 'Best Movies' and the Joy of Cinematic Discovery

The final paragraph reflects on the subjectivity of determining the best movies of the year and the process of compiling a list based on various critics' opinions and data from platforms like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. It acknowledges the limitations of such lists, which may overlook unique films that connect deeply with individual viewers. The paragraph concludes with a personal note of gratitude for the opportunity to engage with cinema in various capacities and an invitation for viewers to share their own favorite films from the year.

Keywords

💡Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is a renowned American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, often celebrated for his thought-provoking and stylistically impactful films. In the context of the video, Scorsese is praised for his continued ability to create compelling cinema at the age of 81. His work is described as 'deliberate and contemplative,' reflecting his maturity as an artist, and his film 'Killers of the Flower Moon' is mentioned as a prime example of his thematic exploration of evil and human complicity.

💡Humanity

The term 'humanity' in the video refers to the focus on the intimate and personal aspects of the characters in Scorsese's films, particularly 'Killers of the Flower Moon.' It underscores the director's shift towards examining the human condition and its relation to broader themes of evil. The script mentions that the film finds Scorsese 'focusing more on the intimate humanity of the people impacted by the evil he often examines,' indicating a deeper exploration of character depth and emotional resonance.

💡Performance

The concept of 'performance' in the video highlights the acting skills and the portrayal of characters in films. It is specifically mentioned in relation to Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone's roles in 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' where their 'subtle performances' are lauded as some of the best and most impactful. The term underscores the importance of acting in conveying the depth and nuance of a film's narrative.

💡Ambiguity

'Ambiguity' in the video script is used to describe the complexity and openness of certain narrative elements in films, particularly in 'Anatomy of a Fall.' It is associated with the uncertainty and the lack of clear answers that can create suspense or provoke thought. The script notes that this film 'finds its dramatic core in that ambiguity,' suggesting that the film thrives on the tension of unresolved questions and the exploration of moral gray areas.

💡Dread

Dread in the video refers to a profound sense of fear or apprehension that permeates the film 'Killers of the Flower Moon.' It is used to describe the emotional atmosphere and the psychological impact of the movie, which maintains a consistent tone of horror and unease from beginning to end. The script mentions 'a deep sense of horror and dread,' indicating the film's ability to evoke a lasting sense of unease in its audience.

💡Pacing and Flow

In the context of the video, 'pacing and flow' pertain to the way a film's narrative unfolds over time, the rhythm of its scenes, and the progression of its story. It is mentioned in relation to Scorsese's editing with Thelma Shoemaker in 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' where the script states that they 'have a great grasp on pacing and flow,' suggesting that the film is well-crafted in terms of its timing and narrative structure, effectively drawing viewers into the story.

💡Cultural Commentary

The term 'cultural commentary' in the video refers to films that provide insight or critique on contemporary social issues or cultural phenomena. The script mentions 'Dream Scenario' as an example of a film that engages with the concept of celebrity and the influence of social media in the 21st century, offering a satirical and comedic take on these evolving concepts.

💡Sensibility

In the video, 'sensibility' is used to describe the particular aesthetic or emotional quality of a film. It is mentioned in relation to 'Fallen Leaves,' which has a 'similar sensibility for the quiet drama that pervades everyday life.' This indicates the film's focus on subtle, everyday moments and the understated emotional depth it brings to its storytelling.

💡Nostalgia

Nostalgia in the video is associated with the sentimental longing for the past and the exploration of how our relationships with past experiences evolve over time. It is particularly relevant to 'Past Lives,' where the film examines the evolving relationship with one's childhood and past through the lens of a lost romance, evoking a sense of 'nostalgic wonder' about alternative life paths.

💡Moral Gray Areas

The concept of 'moral gray areas' in the video refers to the complexity of characters and narratives that do not adhere to clear-cut notions of right and wrong. It is mentioned in the context of discussing why actors might be drawn to playing characters who are not straightforwardly good or evil. The script implies that such complexity is 'interesting' and part of what makes a role compelling, as seen in films like 'May December' and 'Killers of the Flower Moon.'

💡Chaos

In the video, 'chaos' is used to describe the sense of disorder and unpredictability in both the world at large and in the narratives of certain films. It is particularly relevant to 'Asteroid City,' which is described as capturing the feeling of the 'current world' and the characters' interior navigation of that chaos. The term suggests a thematic exploration of the unpredictable and complex nature of life.

Highlights

At 81, Martin Scorsese continues to make thought-provoking films that confront audiences with themes of evil and complicity.

Scorsese's recent work is more deliberate and contemplative compared to his earlier films.

Killers of the Flower Moon is a deeply unsettling film with a sense of horror and dread throughout.

Scorsese focuses on the intimate humanity in his films, examining the impact of evil on individuals.

Killers of the Flower Moon is compared to Phantom Thread rather than a traditional Western, highlighting character humanity.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone deliver standout performances in their roles.

The film is not a crime thriller or suspenseful, but rather carries an overarching tone of anguish.

Scorsese's pacing and flow in Killers of the Flower Moon effectively draw viewers into a gut-wrenching story.

Killers of the Flower Moon is considered the best movie of 2023 by the speaker.

The speaker discusses the difficulty of determining the best movies of the year due to subjectivity.

Dream Scenario is a comedy that insightfully explores celebrity culture and the 21st-century dream.

Nicolas Cage's performance in Dream Scenario is praised as one of his best.

Anatomy of a Fall is a naturalistic courtroom drama that embraces ambiguity and complexity.

Fallen Leaves is a dark romantic comedy with a restrained lead performance and excellent music use.

Past Lives explores the evolving relationship with childhood and past through a lost romance.

May December examines harm masquerading as love and the sensationalization of reality in stories and film.

Todd Haynes' latest work is a metamoden piece that critiques the craft of acting and its exploitative use.

Godland is a period portrait of Iceland that captures the internal tension of a priest blinded by his own perspective.

The Holdovers is a heartwarming and sincere Christmas movie that could rank among the best.

Poor Things is a wildly inventive and absurd film with a standout performance from Emma Stone.

The Boy and the Heron is a new Hayao Miyazaki film that brings joy and imagination to the screen.

Asteroid City represents an evolution in Wes Anderson's storytelling, being personal and thematically rich.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of watching movies that personally resonate, even if not popular or critically acclaimed.

Transcripts

I'll take care of that man because he's my

neighbor and he's my best friend. That's

$25,000 laying there.

I got an insurance policy on him. It's

against what he owes me. I love the fact

that at 81 in 2023, martin Scorsese

is still making movies that aren't just

good, but in some ways are just as

thoughtful and provocative as the movies

that put him on the map in the first place.

His work now is a little more deliberate and

contemplative. Was he murdered?

Don't know. And maybe doesn't have the whiz

bang pop of some of his earlier work, but I

think he's still actively luring audiences

into a confrontation with the heart of evil

and kind of our own complicity with that

evil, which has been a big theme in a lot of

his films from the beginning. Can you find

the wolves in this picture?

There's a deep sense of horror and dread

lurking throughout Killers of the Flower

Moon from its opening moments until the very

end. I think this movie finds Scorsese

focusing more on the intimate humanity of

the people impacted by the evil he often

examines. Scorsese is transporting his

gangster milieu into the kind of Western

true crime context, but I think critic

Richard Brody was correct when he said this

movie is really more like Phantom Thread

than it actually is like a Western. It's

most concerned with the humanity of the two

characters at the heart of the story.

One of the best, most subtle performances

I've ever seen from Leonardo DiCaprio and

Lily Gladstone has incredible presence in

this role and does so much so subtly with

every moment she has on screen. Perhaps most

profoundly, though, despite its roots as a

true crime story, it's not a crime thriller

and it isn't even very suspenseful. I've

never written before that the overarching

tone in a movie was one of anguish,

but I think it applies here, and there are

some true stories where this is what is

required to tell them in a way that doesn't

distort things for the audience into

something that is unrecognizable from the

truth of the situation. Yes, it's a long and

difficult watch, but Scorsese and his

editor, Thelma Shoemaker, both have a great

grasp on pacing and flow, and I think it

uses its running time effectively. It draws

you deeply into one of the most gut

wrenching stories you'll see all year.

Killers of the Flower Moon is the best movie

of 2023, I think, at least.

I'm going to say that's my number one. It's

that time of year again where the critics

collectively decide that it's reasonable to

declare the best movies of the year before

the year is even over. We're going to start

with a list of my ten favorite films from

the year, which is not exactly what I

promised in the title. I promised you the

best movies of 2023, which is kind of

different from my favorite. Which movies are

the best in any given year is kind of an

impossible thing to figure out. But I do

want to try to answer that question for my

own curiosity and yours. So if you stick

around to the very end, I have a separate

list of the best movies of 2023, and I'll

explain how I came up with that list once we

get there.

So just so we can understand you better,

what exactly are you opposed to? I don't

want to be some culture war person. I don't

want to be controversial. Okay, well,

yeah, this is going to go right against what

you're saying right now, but there is a

chance, we think, to get you on Tucker

Carlson this. So how much social media has

started to take over our lives, has created

this very weird world that we live in now.

And I feel like we're just starting to get

movies that grapple with this world in an

interesting and insightful way. Celebrity

influence and public accountability are all

concepts that are kind of evolving and

transforming in this new landscape. And so I

was very excited this year to see a very

funny movie with Nicolas Cage at the helm.

This is just one example, but they mentioned

Sprite. Sprite that plays with a lot

of these concepts in what I thought was a

pretty insightful and comedic way. There's

like a hundred messages on here. Probably

Claire's article. She must have linked it to

my profile or something. Somebody wants to

interview me. Why are you so excited? Why?

What's wrong? Dream Scenario is a hilarious

and genuinely insightful comedy about

celebrity in the 21st century. So many of us

kind of long to exist in the collective

dream, and for Paul Matthews, the sudden

burst into fame he receives when he starts

appearing in a lot of people's dreams is a

dream come true for him until it starts to

turn into a nightmare. This is one of those

patented good Nicolas Cage performances that

I love. He's genuinely great in this role.

There are so many little jokes here that

really struck a chord with me. I love all

the weird dream sequences, and the movie

probably has the most on point satirical

representation of an Internet marketing

company that I've ever seen. That recording

is not reality. It is a

part of it. Maybe if you have an extreme

moment in life, an emotional peak, and you

focus on it, of course it crushes

everything. It may seem like irrefutable

proof, but actually warps everything. So

much of life is deeply complicated and

ambiguous, and often our stories offer a

kind of escape hatch for that ambiguity,

offering us a greater sense of objectivity

than what we get in real life. A lot of

times, Anatomy of a Fall is a pitch perfect,

naturalistic courtroom drama that really

finds its dramatic core in that ambiguity.

And when you see this, what do you think?

I don't know. I'm not a spatter analyst,

where most stories, especially courtroom

dramas, kind of dangle ambiguity to create

suspense and then entice us with narratively

constructed relief from that ambiguity,

this movie really finds its place in the

pain of that very ambiguity itself. There's

a certain horror in knowing that some

questions in life are kind of technically

unanswerable, and yet we strive to answer

those questions because not two would be

unbearable. Such is the work of trying to

stitch together an objective sense of what

happened in the past from little clues,

forensics and limited witness accounts.

Anatomy of a Fall is impeccably crafted and

well performed. It really never dragged or

missed a beat. For me,

one of the biggest reactions I felt from a

crowd in a theater all year was during a

very small moment in Fallen Leaves, and it

was a reminder that when a movie has a

smaller dramatic landscape and smaller

stakes, if it's made well, the dramatic

gestures in the movie don't actually feel

smaller or less significant. Instead, they

kind of expand to feel more profound. In

Fallen Leaves, the dramatic thrust of the

film rests on forgotten names,

quiet encounters, and lost jobs. It's a

deadpan, dark romantic comedy from Finland

that's a bit evocative of like a Jim Jarmish

movie, especially his older stuff. The lead

performance from Alma Poisti is beautifully

restrained, and this movie had probably my

favorite use of music in any movie this

year. One of the things I was really drawn

to this year were movies that just had a

great vibe, that felt good to spend the

running time within, and this is one of

those. It's beautifully shot, there's great

music, and it's not hitting you over the

head with its existential profundity. It's

also something incredibly rare these days,

which is a movie that clocks in under 90

minutes. So if you need a quick, engaging

watch that's as melancholic as it is funny

and delightful, check out Fallen Leaves.

Y'all what?

Perhaps the single shot that I've thought

about the most from any movie this year is

this very simple yet quietly powerful one

from past lives.

This is another movie that, like Fallen

Leaves, I think was beautiful to just spend

time within. It's less comedic and not as

dark as Fallen Leaves, but it has a similar

sensibility for the quiet drama that kind of

pervades everyday life. Are you attracted to

it?

I don't think so. I don't know. I don't

think so. The film follows two characters

over the span of decades, and it's a

beautiful portrait of how we have an

evolving relationship with our childhood and

our past. Here that relationship is

represented through a lost romance. But even

if you don't have a childhood romance that

you've left behind, the sense of nostalgic

wonder about how things would have been if

you had taken a different path is something

that I think we all face as we grow older

and inevitably make choices that alter our

lives in significant ways. It's an

impressive directorial debut from Celine

Song that like, after some last year,

cements this director as a name I will be

looking out for in the future. Why would you

want to play someone who you think is a bad

person? Are you kidding? I mean, pick any

great role. Medea or hetta.

Gobbler. Tony Soprano.

Precisely. Cameron it's

the complexity, it's the moral gray areas

that are interesting, right? In a strange

way, May December is kind of the little

bastard cousin of Killers of a Flower Moon.

The material is a bit lighter here and

definitely presented very differently.

I don't think we have enough hot dogs,

but both movies are about how harm can

masquerade as love and use a very interior

perspective to examine that dynamic.

They're also both kind of ultimately about

how stories and film can sensationalize

reality in a way that discards the victims.

Todd Haynes'latest work is a strange little

metamoden piece, one that both luxuriates

in kind of the craft of acting even while

it's critiquing, and kind of deconstructing

how that craft can be used in a very

exploitative way, the movie is kind of a

tonal chameleon. It sparked this huge debate

on Twitter about what melodrama and camp

are, which I'm not really going to get into

here, but I will say whatever it is doing,

it seems to pull off its balancing act

seemingly effortlessly, teetering between

its funniest and most disturbing moments

without flinching. The performances from the

three leads here were some of my favorites

of the year and this might be a career best

for Natalie Portman it

proceeds there tinged magla

for the habit what

does it mean to see without seeing? When we

talk about taking a photo, there's this very

possessive element to the language we even

use to describe that act capturing an image

can kind of impose the perspective of the

person taking that image on reality,

sometimes so strongly that the capture is

blind to what is literally in front of them.

Godland is a beautiful period portrait of

Iceland and the people there and within that

it also captures the image of a priest who

is blinded by his own perspective. The

priest is not really interested in seeing or

hearing, only imposing his vision on the

people he encounters and imposing his vision

on himself. What he fails to see the movie

brings to our attention with its beautiful

stoic, kind of lingering gaze. It's a film

with a fascinating kind of boiling internal

tension and it's beautiful to look at with

some of my favorite cinematography of the

year in

college I started a monograph on Carthage.

I'd like to finish that someday.

Monograph is like a book, only shorter. I

know what a monograph is. Why not just read

a book? I'm not sure I

have an entire book in me. Girls talented

your husband complete you can't even dream a

whole dream, can you? The holdovers

is the kind of movie this year that I didn't

realize I wanted until I saw it. I love a

great snow movie, and they are few and far

between. It's been a while since the

Christmas movie canon has been updated. The

Holdovers instantly felt like it could rank

among some of the best. The Holdovers

doesn't just look like it's from another

time because of the beautiful period

cinematography and set design and

production. It also feels like the type of

throwback story that we would have had

a lot of in the but which are kind of few

and far between today. It's heartwarming and

sincere, but without ever becoming corny or

overwrought. And it's not the deepest, most

profound or most impressive filmmaking I've

seen this year, but it's perfect at what

it's trying to do, and it's the kind of

movie I can see myself watching again and

again in years to come. Understand me never

lived outside God's house what so bella's so

much to discover. And your sad

face makes me discover angry feelings

for you. By far, the most wild and inventive

thing I watched in 2023 was Poor Things. I

love a movie that has no clear touchstone,

a movie that you can't describe by comparing

it to other movies. Yorgos Lanthamos's films

in general are kind of like this. I mean,

try describing the lobster to someone, but

what's crazy about Poor Things is you can't

even describe it by comparing it to

other Yorgos Lanthamos films. What the

range from a movie like The Killing of the

Sacred Deer to Poor Things stylistically,

is just kind of absurd. Poor Things is

probably the biggest swing I've seen in

terms of just doubling down on absurdity

since everything everywhere all at once.

And at least for me here, it's kind of

working. The movie is grounded by this

weird, technically very impressive

performance from Emma Stone, where she kind

of evolves developmentally from infancy

to adulthood throughout the course of the

film. Mark Ruffalo is hilarious in this

movie. The set design, costume design and

cinematography are all out of another world.

But I will say this one definitely isn't for

everyone. It's one of the grossest and

darkest movies I've watched this year.

Don't be fooled by sort of the candy colored

production design. If you don't have a

stomach for other Yorgos Lanthimos films,

this one will not be any different. It's

ultimately a strange ode to the kind of

chaos of the world and all the different

ways we try to navigate that as we mature

and grow as humans. No movie

had me smiling and giggling maniacally in

the theater the way The Boy and the Heron

did the new Hayo Miyazaki movie from Studio

Ghibli. Getting to witness the magic of a

new Miyazaki film in theaters was not

something that I was expecting for 2023,

but I was delighted to experience it. The

movie as a whole originally titled How Do

You Live in japan has that sense of profound

wonder that kind of sneaks up on you partway

through the film in the way a lot of

miyazaki films do. It doesn't oversimplify

its examination of life, childhood trauma,

and how we process those things, but it does

explore them with a kind of childhood wonder

that is as lighthearted as it is sincere.

What I loved most, though, was just the

absurd joy I got from just some of the

beautifully silly ideas that are in this

movie. I've never seen parakeets this scary,

fascist and goofy, and it's a great reminder

that sometimes just imagination and beauty

can be one of the most powerful elements of

a film. You feel different?

Hey. You feel different?

I don't feel anything at all. Me neither.

If you've been following this channel for a

while, you know I'm a big fan of Wes

Anderson's work. I've made many videos

covering his style and different films at

length. And while I think his last few films

have definitely driven his visual aesthetic

to greater and greater heights, this year's

movie, Asteroid City, for me, felt like an

evolution in terms of how personal

and thematically rich his storytelling can

be. In some sense, it's a pretty chaotic

film. It has this huge cast. So much is

going on. It touches on a lot of things

thematically, and it weaves in and out

through all of these things as well as

layers of narrative. But this chaos for me,

like everything everywhere, all at once,

last year captured something about the way

the current world feels, and the movie is

ultimately about the characters in the story

navigating that chaos from the interior.

It's a movie that keeps unfolding with more

depth every time I watch it. I watched it a

bunch of times and made a video earlier this

year breaking down my interpretation of it.

And even after doing all that and spending

hours with the film, examining it, there

were still a lot of layers and elements to

it that I didn't recognize until I saw other

people talking about how they interpreted

it. Wes Anderson's work continues to be

polarizing, but I personally love it, and

I'm glad he's doing his thing as boldly and

unapologetically as he does. This is the

movie that struck the deepest emotional

chord for me personally this year, and it's

the one I watched the most. And so you know

what? This is my number one. I'm changing my

mind. This is my number one movie. This

year's list was more difficult for me to

compile than last year's. There are so many

movies that could have nudged their way onto

this list on a different day if I was in a

different mood while I was recording this.

Barbie was way more profound and

inventive than I was expecting from what is

basically a toy commercial, and I was very

impressed with what Greta Gerwig did within

that framework. Oppenheimer, I think, saw

Nolan kind of reaching new heights,

technically as a filmmaker. Spider Man

Across the Spider Verse is one of the most

beautiful animated films I've ever seen,

and I love that they're continuing to evolve

this style. Even from the first film, david

Fincher's The Killer had the most

viscerally, hard hitting fight scene that

I've seen in any movie in a while. And I

loved Kelly Reichart's quietly dramatic

showing up, although that one was basically

on my list last year. But these are just my

opinions about what I liked. These are just

my favorite films. What about the best

movies of 2023? Is there

a way we could figure out what the best

movies of the year are? I don't think really

truly, because it's all kind of subjective

ultimately, but we could compile a bunch of

different critics lists, as well as Rotten

Tomatoes Letterboxd Box Office IMDb to

see where movies rank across all the best

of the year lists. If you want the complete

list of all the sources I pulled from and

how I used them to rank the films, I've made

a post in my newsletter that I'll link to

down below. But here, according to as much

data as I could collect in a reasonable

amount of time, are the top ten best movies

of 2023.

I think everything on this list is good.

The only thing I haven't seen is Zone of

Interest, but I've heard a lot of good

things about that because I drew from a lot

of critics lists. This is probably weighted

a little more heavily towards the critical

opinion rather than the popular box office

opinion, but I think this would be a pretty

good list to go off of if you wanted to make

sure you saw the Greatest Hits of 2023.

But I think there's a problem with lists

like this that kind of try to average

everything out. They can be useful. But

something I realized looking at a bunch of

individual critics lists, is that most

people on their list have at least one or

two movies that are kind of a wild card.

Movies that aren't showing up on anybody

else's lists. These are the movies that

maybe didn't hit big with a general audience

or even with critics as a whole, but which

for some reason connected very directly and

deeply with the person making the list. All

the movies on this list are movies that

showed up a bunch of times on all the lists.

So if you watch these, there's a good chance

you'll think they're good movies. But if you

only watch these movies, you'll miss out on

those little movies that come out that it

feels like maybe nobody else gets, but which

you just personally love. Seeing what other

people like can be helpful and fun and

help you determine what you want to watch

and don't want to watch from the year. But I

think it's a good reminder that especially

if something looks interesting to you. It's

good to take a chance sometimes on movies,

even if they're not the most popular or most

critically acclaimed, because you might be

surprised by what you find overall. I felt

like 2023 was a solid year for cinema. But

more than anything, in 2023, I felt grateful

that I live a life where caring about movies

is something that I get to do in so many

ways. Watching, creating, and caring about

these stories is such a luxury and a

privilege, and I'm really grateful that this

is what I get to do for a living and that

you've taken the time to join me here. And

if there's a movie that's not in this video

that you loved, I haven't had time to watch

everything. So tell me and the other people

in the comments why you loved it so much and

why we should watch it.