All the Movies I Watched in 2023
Hello hello! It’s exorcism time yet again, as I divide all 363 movies I watched this year, a marked decrease from the past few years, but not by that much. I feel like I’ve crossed some sort of rubicon with my film watching, having completed several long term projects (Spike Lee, Tom Cruise, etc.) and not pressuring myself to come up with new ones. Maybe I’ll watch all the Rocky sequels, maybe I won’t. We can’t know these things! The Mario movie did come out, and while it did not ruin my life in the way I feared, I got a good review out of it. Maybe my biggest accomplishment was starting City on a Hill Cinema, which is just rep screening lists for now but I’m hoping to do more with it when I finally have time. Maybe a screening series? Only time can tell.
Last year’s list is here! Forgot I used that Fabelmans image as the header lol
2023 Top Ten
My expanded top ten is on Hassle, naturally. But let’s list them here for completion’s sake.
10. Afire dir. Christian Petzold
9. The Holdovers dir. Alexander Payne
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem dir. Jeff Rowe
7. Passages dir. Ira Sachs
6. La Chimera dir. Alice Rorhwacher
5. Showing Up dir. Kelly Reichardt
4. Asteroid City dir. Wes Anderson
3. Killers of the Flower Moon dir. Martin Scorsese
2. The Boy and the Heron dir. Hayao Miyazaki
1. May December dir. Todd Haynes
Runners Up
20. Ferrari
19. A Thousand and One
18. Knock at the Cabin
17. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
16. Anatomy of a Fall
15. Monster
14. All of Us Strangers
13. Eileen
12. Oppenheimer
11. Master Gardener
2023 BOTTOM Ten
I often forget to highlight the worst of the year, mostly because I am able to avoid the real dregs and the rest is just forgettable. But wow… I sat through some real disasters this year. Text me about Origin.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Meg 2: The Trench
Origin
Wish
Cat Person
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The Exorcist: Believer
Foe
Once Within a Time
Other 2023
Such a strong movie year! Too bad next year is dust. Let’s all get new hobbies for a few months huh?
M3GAN
Skinamarink
Shin Ultraman
Infinity Pool
80 for Brady
Of An Age
Cocaine Bear
Scream VI
65
Sick of Myself
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Air
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Mafia Mamma
John Wick: Chapter 4
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Playland
Renfield
Beau is Afraid
Past Lives
Hypnotic
Joy Ride
Fast X
Shin Kamen Rider
No Hard Feelings
Bottoms
Reality
Polite Society
Theater Camp
Red, White & Royal Blue
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Rotting in the Sun
A Haunting in Venice
Divinity
Dream Scenario
Perfect Days
The Taste of Things
The Killer
Five Nights at Freddy’s
BlackBerry
NYAD
Poor Things
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Napoleon
Maestro
Saltburn
The Iron Claw
Dicks: The Musical
Priscilla
Tótem
Godzilla Minus One
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Earth Mama
The Color Purple (2023)
Wonka
American Fiction
Fallen Leaves
Anyone But You
2022 Leftovers
Montana Story
RRR
Return to Seoul
Best Movies Ever
Just a handful of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life this year. Here’s to new discoveries!
A Matter of Life and Death
The Rules of the Game
Tokyo Story
Go Team Venture!
After nearly two decades, the tale of the Venture family finally has a conclusion. This is really a series finale, not a movie, but it still deserves a shoutout. I can’t think about Dr. Mrs. the Monarch without starting to cry.
The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart
Superheroes
Last year’s comment: Holy shit! They HAVE to stop doing this!!!! The only one that’s actually a movie is The Batman, and who cares! I thought we hit the bottom of the barrel last year, but nope! There is always further to fall. All I want is for these things to stop making money. Is an Ant-Man movie going to make money in February? Where does this end? Thank god Dwayne beefed it so hard that the DCEU has totally collapsed, beyond a couple lame duck movies next year. And they still haven’t canceled The Flash???
This year’s comment: AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Marvels
Blue Beetle
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Barbenheimer
It’s Barbenheimer. Inescapable. Thank you for saving cinema with no repercussions.
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Documentaries
The Last Waltz
Stray Dog
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold
Tarnation
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki
Sundance 2023
Unfortunately I did NOT get into Sundance 2024, so I will not be spending a week watching twenty 6/10 films. This year’s selection lessens my FOMO. Except Eileen and Passages of course.
Kim’s Video
The Girl Who Was Cursed
Birth/Rebirth
Run Rabbit Run
Fair Play
MAMACRUZ
AUM: The Cult at the End of the World
Cassandro
Cat Person
Fancy Dance
Eileen
Bad Behaviour
You Hurt My Feelings
Fairyland
Scrapper
A Little Prayer
Passages
TIFF 2023
My first TIFF experience was a blast. Loved getting to experience the city of Toronto while running from theater to theater. Ethan’s movie was so bad… I can’t believe I have to see it again.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
The Royal Hotel
The Zone of Interest
La Chimera
Evil Does Not Exist
North Star
Woman of the Hour
The Boy and the Heron
The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Boy Kills World
Memory
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Monster
Quiz Lady
Origin
Wildcat
Wicked Little Letters
Hit Man
Cruisin’ 2k23
Finally finished Cruise’s filmography this year. Had some skims, I’m only human. But now we are in the year without a Cruise release, and I’m scared. We need him!
Cocktail
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
All the Right Moves
Born on the Fourth of July
Rock of Ages
Valkyrie
Lions for Lambs
American Made
Jack Reacher: Never Back Down
The Last Samurai
Far and Away
Losin’ It
Vanilla Sky
The Firm
A Few Good Men
Franchises
Really hitting the dregs here… should I watch all the Rocky sequels?
Boston Stranglers
The Boston Strangler (1968)
Boston Strangler (2023)
Magic Mikes
Magic Mike
Magic Mike XXL
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Maze Runners
The Maze Runner
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
My Big Fat Greek Weddings
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
Three Colors
Saw these all in a row on January 2nd at the Brattle, totally worth it.
Three Colors: Blue
Three Colors: White
Three Colors: Red
Horror
The Bye Bye Man
Ginger Snaps
Penda’s Fen
Saw
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
Saw II
Frankenhooker
Cure
Orphan
Orphan: First Kill
Prom Night
Hour of the Wolf
The Stepfather
Species
Creepy
Black Christmas (1974)
Night of the Comet
Isabelle Huppert
I’ll note that I got to see White Material on 35mm this year too!
La Syndicaliste
Hawke Cast
What will this man bring us in 2024? Anything could happen.
The Velocity of Gary
Wildcat
Leave the World Behind
LGBTQ+
Gohatto
Caravaggio
Kamikaze Hearts
I Killed My Mother
Longtime Companion
The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
Chrissy Judy
Parting Glances
Single White Female
Crimes of Passion
Rope
Totally F***ed Up
Mysterious Skin
Greek Pete
Funeral Parade of Roses
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
All Man: The International Male Story
Teorema
The Doom Generation
To Die Like a Man
Saturday Night at the Baths
Jubilee
Girlfriends and Girlfriends
Nasty Baby
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Farewell My Concubine
Buddies
Jeffrey
Dashing in December
Nowhere
Animated
Eyeballs in the Darkness
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
Elemental
Nimona
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Wish
Trolls Band Together
Leo
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Craig Before the Creek
Migration
Anime
Suzume
Metropolis (2001)
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
Tekkonkinkreet
The Cat Returns
Tales from Earthsea
Finishing Filmographies
Always nice to cross some more people off my list! I still haven’t finished Claire Denis but I got a lot of others done.
Andrew Ahn
Spa Night
Wes Craven
Deadly Blessing
Music of the Heart
Deadly Friend
Joe Dante
Innerspace
Warren Beatty
Rules Don’t Apply
Buster Keaton
Three Ages
Our Hospitality
Sherlock Jr.
The Navigator
Seven Chances
Go West
Battling Butler
The General
College
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The Cameraman
Spite Marriage
Danny Boyle
Shallow Grave
Trainspotting
The Beach
A Life Less Ordinary
Millions
Trance
T2 Trainspotting
Yesterday
Rian Johnson
Brick
The Brothers Bloom
Todd Solondz
Dark Horse
Wiener-Dog
Spike Lee
25th Hour
Get on the Bus
Inside Man
Chi-Raq
Miracle at St. Anna
Summer of Sam
Karyn Kusama
The Invitation
Girlfight
Dents in Filmographies
Claire Denis
No Fear No Die
35 Shots of Rum
Bastards
Akira Kurosawa
High and Low
Throne of Blood
The Hidden Fortress
I Live in Fear
Kagemusha
Paul Schrader
Killer Joe
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
The Hunted
Steven Soderbergh
Magic Mike
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Agnes Varda
The Gleaners and I
The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later
One Hundred and One Nights
Vagabond
Faces Places
Park Chan-wook
Thirst
I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK
Oldboy
The Rest
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
What’s Up Connection
Little Odessa
Powaqqatsi
Naqoyqatsi
Yi Yi
The Notorious Bettie Page
Head
Two Lovers
The Trial
America’s Sweethearts
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Duel
Love Under the Crucifix
Spielberg
Simone Barbès or Virtue
The Seventh Continent
Bringing Up Baby
The Stunt Woman
The Happiness of the Katakuris
Norma Rae
Paris, Texas
Little Men
Phone Booth
La Haine
Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
A Fish in the Bathtub
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Golden Eighties
Driveways
Down By Law
For the Plasma
Give Me Pity!
Persona
Touki Bouki
Burning
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
The Train
Contempt
Rudo y Cursi
Kill!
Center Stage
Little Woods
Medicine for Melancholy
The End of Summer
Knightriders
Rear Window
North by Northwest
Next Stop Wonderland
Real Women Have Curves
Insomnia
Ichi the Killer
Tokyo Pop
Werckmeister Harmonies
Drylongso
PlayTime
The Milagro Beanfield War
Dead Again
Heaven’s Gate
Witness
Household Saints
Splendor in the Grass
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
The Caine Mutiny
The Searchers
Home for the Holidays
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Joe’s Apartment
I Love You to Death
Christmas, Again
Night Moves
Bad Santa
Shattered Glass
Private Benjamin
Richard Jewell
Nomads
JFK
Full Stats
363 films
1920s — 12
1930s — 2
1940s — 2
1950s — 8
1960s — 16
1970s — 13
1980s — 33
1990s — 39
2000s — 51
2010s — 37
2020s — 135
Directed by women — 73 (66 individual directors)
Ethan Hawke — 3
In theaters — 128
