An annual accomplishment I enjoy sharing is the volume of motion pictures released in Australia I have seen. As of now, that number for 2023 stands at 168 films with around 30 movies still to be seen on my watch list! But that will begin to change in 2024!
Perhaps this can be considered a New Year’s resolution of sorts, but I am opting for quality over quantity in 2024 and also more carefully selecting the movies I watch according to both personal taste and reliable word of mouth rather than seeing endless spin-offs and sequels out of self-directed obligation. The motivation for this change is to enable myself to see a number of older and classic films I ashamedly have never viewed and to experience films at film festivals, which never manage to be a priority due to my current new release watch list at the time.
Nevertheless, I guarantee you spoiler-free reviews of various movies throughout 2024 and promise there will always be something for all tastes at Moviedoc HQ 🙂
Now, to what you’re all really here for. Here are the best & worst in movies from 2023. For the best, I’ve decided to include all films I awarded four stars or more to this year. Also, a gentle reminder that I do things a little differently to most other critics and collate my movies according to their official release date in Australia.
30
The 15th time director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty team up may very well be their last in the wonderfully empathetic drama, The Old Oak.
29
Joyland is an incredibly brave film from Pakistan about a married man who becomes infatuated with a transgender woman, who I mention further below as a stand-out performer.
28
A tie between two extraordinarily different Amazon release documentary features, the comprehensive and utterly informative 3-hour Getting Away With Murder(s) and the very touching and compact 82-minute The Defenders.
27
A gut-wrenching depiction of depression in The Son, starring Hugh Jackman, Zen McGrath, Laura Dern, and Vanessa Kirby.
26
The moment Willy introduces the hair repair eclair in Wonka, I just knew this creatively concocted sweet treat for the family needed to be in my top films of 2023 list!
25
The touching true story of “The British Schindler” as depicted in One Life.
24
Since its July release in Australia, Aussie horror gem Talk to Me has gone on to become a huge box office success abroad, becoming American distributor A24’s highest-grossing horror film and second-highest grossing film overall. It is my runner-up for both best Australian film of 2023 and best horror film of 2023. It’s a beauty mate, check it out if you haven’t already!
23
As its title suggests, Sharper is a sharp, thoughtfully conceived, and well-structured crime drama/thriller. One of my few underrated movies of the year. Stars Julianne Moore and Sebastian Stan.
22
An inspirational and touching true story is elevated by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s (Directors of the duo of excellent documentaries Free Solo and The Rescue) smart direction to tell Nyad’s story and by the acting performances of Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, which is truly something special to behold.
21
At first, Maestro can appear to solely be Bradley Cooper’s entry strategy to the Academy Awards ®, if you get my drift. But in no time at all, this superbly constructed and written true story unveils its depth, becomes immersive and is impeccably acted by both Bradley Cooper and the always magnificent Carey Mulligan. After Maestro and A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper is absolutely one of Hollywood’s leading directors right now.
20
Undoubtedly in many critics’ top movies list for the year and probably a favourite for many of you, Oppenheimer’s outstanding production, competent storytelling and fine acting performances will earn it several Oscar ® nominations (and wins, surely) and make it mandatory to be in my top films list.
19
News of the ‘Brennaisance’ has sunk, but The Whale remains afloat as one of this year’s greatest releases.
18
Saltburn is Emerald Fennell’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning writing and directing debut feature, Promising Young Woman, is another gutsy and tremendous film experience that takes viewers on an all-new mesmerising and unforgettable journey.
17
Thanks largely to its characters, characterisation and writing, American remake A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks surprisingly surpasses the very good Swedish original.
16
The Origin of Evil (L’origine du Mal) is one of my personal favourites of the year. A well-crafted French dramatic thriller starring a superb Laure Calamy (who is everywhere in French cinema right now!) that features a number of devilish twists I certainly didn’t see coming!
15
An underrated and genuine surprise of the year was Joy Ride, a raunchy comedy with real heart that brought me to tears in more ways than one.
14
Ari Aster is a genius who plunges his protagonist, Beau, barely living an idyllic life to begin with, into a surreal nightmare that gets more outrageous and disconcerting with every minute of its 2 hours and 59 minutes run time. Beau is Afraid is disturbingly brilliant.
These 4-star movies thoroughly deserve their places in my top movies list and are must-watch releases.
13
Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated ® The Fabelmans from early in the year provided wonderful escapism and captivating storytelling that still resonates today.
12
Like its predecessor, Missing is entirely fun and thrilling to watch. It is a cleverly and thoroughly conceived and entirely plausible screenlife thriller filled with tantalising and intriguing twists and turns that constantly kept me guessing from beginning to end.
11
Air shares a wonderful story with unrivalled universal appeal, boasts a terrifically engaging script, a top-notch cast, and excellent all-round performances that culminate in the ultimate feel-good biopic.
10
I cried absolute buckets in Spoiler Alert, which brings to life so eloquently, realistically and beautifully the ups and downs of a long-term relationship, specifically a gay one, and how a significant health threat puts everything into perspective and can absolutely change your entire world.
9
They just don’t make movies like A Good Person these days. But they ought to because this involving human drama is as excellent as the pairing of Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman.
8
It rarely occurs that I really yearn to see a movie twice, yet Babylon’s dare, flare and energy has rendered me powerless to soon succumb a second time to its grandiosity.
7
An Oscar-worthy writing and directing feature film debut in what’s a highly personal story from Iranian-Australian Noora Niasari. Shayda was Australia’s entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards ® but was disappointingly not shortlisted 😦
The following movies earned 4 ½ stars from me and are clearly among the absolute best of 2023.
6
I am yet to meet anyone who loved this live-action remake as much as I do. Following in the footsteps of The Lion King, The Little Mermaid seamlessly and magically adapts everything I loved about the 1989 animation to live-action realness and had me both reminiscing and falling in love all over again with its beautiful story, iconic characters, and unforgettable songs. I absolutely loved it. Also, Melissa McCarthy was born to play Ursula!
5
Of An Age is an Aussie gem for the ages. No film has grounded me in its present with its central characters more than this romantic drama set and shot in Melbourne.
4
Keeping it short and sweet, yet keeping it real, Past Lives is a present masterpiece and a future romance classic that should not be missed.
3
It’s rare that a film can articulate its meaning with such clarity and precision in the manner Close does. The end result is beautiful, powerful, and utterly heartbreaking.
2
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 is a near-perfect spy action film and a masterclass in the genre whose action & set-piece sequences completely blew me away. I saw this several months ago and still get goosebumps when thinking back to some of its spectacular sequences. Easily the most exciting movie I’ve watched in 2023!
The Best Motion Picture Released in 2023
In March, I wrote this in my review of Till:
“This near faultless and absolute powerhouse of a movie could very well end up being the best film of 2023”
This statement proves to be true by year’s end.
None of the 166 other movies I watched in 2023 managed to topple Till from top spot. This insightful, harrowing and impossibly involving true story is a must-see no matter what your tastes are, but if the likes of Changeling, Just Mercy and The Hate U Give are films that impacted you, then you know precisely what to expect in Till.
But wait… where is Barbie!?
The moment I firmly decided that three and a half stars was just right for Barbie, I knew it wouldn’t be making any top 20 (or so) for the year. It is undoubtedly a creatively concocted story, offers loads of fun and has genuine depth in its themes. There was just a little too much about Barbie that didn’t quite work for me and prevents it from making my best-of list.
A few other notable and potentially surprise omissions from my best-of list that also scored three and a half out of five stars include Tár, Theatre Camp, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Netflix’s The Killer. More than 60 movies I saw this year received three and a half stars, so there were many very good ones edging close to the best-of list. Reach out if one of your favourites isn’t mentioned in this post 🙂
As mentioned earlier in this post, there are around 30 movies on my watch list I am yet to see. These are the ones I believe could shake-up law and order in my current best-of list.
Napoleon
Beyond Utopia
Coup de Chance
Next are some, actually a lot, of commentary on various acting performances, filmmaking, and memorable moments in motion pictures over the year. Grab a cold drink, tea or coffee and enjoy the read 🙂
Michelle Williams is uniformly excellent in The Fabelmans, though I was deeply impressed by the lesser-known Gabriel LaBelle’s work. On that note, some of Steven Spielberg’s directing work (especially the sequence before, during and following the revelation of a big family secret) is among his very best.
♥
Cate Blanchett rising to the absolute peak of her powers (that we know of) in what must surely have been her most challenging role yet as Lydia Tár in the transfixing and ultra-intelligent yet ultra-pretentious and very complex feature, Tár.
♥
The remarkable debut performance from Aftersun’s younger star, Frankie Corio.
♥
It ain’t called the Brenaissance for nothing! Brendan Fraser’s towering, triumphant and Oscar-nominated performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. Also, Hong Chau is splendid as his co-star.
♥
The trio of performances I rated most strongly in the epic Babylon belongs to Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, and Jean Smart. It is a painful oversight Jean Smart in particular was overlooked for a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 2023 Academy Awards ®. The Oscar nominations Babylon did receive though – Production Design, Music, and Costume Design, are seriously impressive.
♥
The collective performances of the big and not as big names among the ensemble acting up a storm in Women Talking.
♥
The quite extraordinary performance of Andrea Riseborough in the rags to riches to rags true story, To Leslie.
♥
The first-ever Oscar nomination for 73-year-old Bill Nighy for his well-measured, restrained and possibly career-best performance as Mr Williams in Living, the English-language adaptation of the 1952 Japanese Film, Ikiru directed by Akira Kurosawa.
♥
The truly special and inexplicably Oscars-shunned performance from Danielle Deadwyler in powerhouse true story, Till.
♥
The astounding acting performances from Thom Green and Elias Anton in an Aussie gem for the ages, Of An Age.
♥
The astonishingly adult-like debut performances from duo child actors Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele in Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s second feature film, Close.
♥
The outstanding performance from the outstanding Florence Pugh in A Good Person. Also, the coming together of two of the greatest actors of our generation, Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman, born generations apart themselves, doesn’t let down for even a second and is among some of the best casting in film for the year.
♥
It must have been a stressful job being the lead actor Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid. It was certainly stressful watching everything Joaquin Phoenix’s character endured, yet this unbelievably gifted actor fully immersed himself into Beau and was mind-blowing as a result. Not to mention, the animation sequence featuring a live-action Joaquin Phoenix is one of the most awe-inspiring and extraordinary sequences I can recall seeing in any film, ever. Period.
♥
The entire sequence that takes place at the Arc de Triomphe intersection perfectly demonstrating why it’s an insurance company’s worst nightmare in John Wick: Chapter 4.
♥
Priya Kansara’s comically excellent breakout performance in the charming crowd-pleaser and laugh-out-loud action-comedy Polite Society.
♥
Emma Mackey’s strong performance as Emily Bronte in Frances O’Connor’s very impressive feature film directing debut, Emily.
♥
Madison Tevlin bringing much-needed spark to the admirable and sweet sport comedy-drama Champions.
♥
The 21 minutes long one-take action sequence during the first act of Netflix’s Extraction 2.
♥
Transgender actress Alina Khan’s incredibly brave and assertive performance in the equally brave Pakistani drama, Joyland.
♥
Michael’s apartment and bedroom surprise (more G-rated than I make it sound) in Spoiler Alert, plus the very real and very sexy surprising chemistry between The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons and Ben Aldridge.
♥
Mia Goth’s mighty monologue in prequel horror film Pearl.
♥
Wi Ha-joon’s menacing and deranged performance in the impressive debut feature from promising newcomer Oh-Seung Kwon, Midnight.
♥
The mounting tension on the face of Sydney Sweeney in Reality, in what is a riveting re-enactment of the real-life figure.
♥
The Italy car chase sequence and the Austrian Alps train scene finale in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1. The latter is arguably the best set-piece sequence staged and shot in any film released this year.
♥
The hilariously scene-stealing performance from Kate McKinnon in hot-pink form as weird Barbie in Barbie.
♥
Many components that comprise the ultra-impressive Oppenheimer could be called out, but the stand-out for me is Robert Downey Jr.’s excellent performance, which I say might earn him an Oscar ® nomination.
♥
The perfect precision of Past Lives‘ writing. An outstanding film debut from writer and director Celine Song.
♥
The pairing of James Morosini and Patton Oswalt in the surprising and admirable comedy, I Love My Dad.
♥
The writing and directing feature film debut of Noora Niasari and the Oscar-worthy ® outstanding lead performance from Zar Amir Ebrahimi in Australian drama Sundance winner Shayda.
♥
Lola Campbell’s impressive first film appearance in delightful dramedy Scrapper.
♥
The Burial’s fabulously flamboyant Foxx performance.
♥
The razor-sharp, raunchy yet mature performance of Jennifer Lawrence in the razor-sharp, raunchy yet mature comedy No Hard Feelings.
♥
Laure Calamy’s layered and superb work in the twisty-turny and underrated French dramatic thriller, The Origin of Evil and her equally superb performance in Annie’s Fire. Actress of the year for me goes to none other than Laure Calamy.
♥
The brave and brilliant Barry Keoghan and the equally hideous and hilarious characterisation & dialogue of Rosamund Pike’s Elspeth in Saltburn.
♥
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’s star performer, Ella Graham in the supporting role of Nancy. The young lady playing Margaret, Abby Ryder Forston is also very competent. In fact, due to this movie’s straight to home viewing release in Australia, I envisage it flying under the radar. Make no mistake, this follow-up to writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig’s excellent writing & directing debut, The Edge of Seventeen, is very, very good.
♥
The very impressive Netflix animation Nimona barely made a dent in the top 10 most watched films during its release. Such a disappointment and deserved so much more. I hope I’m wrong, I can’t help but feel a gay lead character in a family animation is the reason why families avoided this.
♥
Don’t be dismissive due to the lack of big names in the equally entertaining and humorous true story, BlackBerry.
♥
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster’s performances in Nyad are truly something special to behold.
♥
On paper, it might be a hard sell, but the unapologetically bloody and B-grade comedy-horror Renfield more than works! Deliciously wicked performances and genuinely comical writing that lends itself to this genre very well deserve for it to be seen.
♥
The impeccable acting of Maestro director Bradley Cooper and the always magnificent Carey Mulligan in Cooper’s equally excellent follow-up to A Star is Born.
♥
The “That’s Life” TV program studio sequences in the touching true story One Life.
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If you’re still reading this post, well done and thank you! It’s mammoth, even by my lengthy standards. To finish, here are the film titles along with an accompanying sentence of films I didn’t like this year.
I’ll start with the underwhelming and disappointing Maggie Moore(s). The appealing synopsis, genre and lead cast were enough to convince me to give this a shot, despite its poorer ratings. Trust those poor ratings in this instance.
EO is an Oscar-nominated ® arthouse film that was clearly well beyond my realm of appreciation. I was utterly tedious watching what was ultimately a pointless, albeit short film.
Why? Just why did they need to create a follow-up to what is and remains one of the greatest and most frightening horror films ever made? The Exorcist: Believer (review by Zak) is a completely unnecessary sequel that would have William Friedkin rolling in his grave.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 hands us a Greek platter consisting of exaggerated acting and mundane developments that result in the film being as stagnant as it is stale. Most of this comedy works as well as dancing the Zorba to a death metal tune.
After reading the IMDB premise and seeing the film poster, I had hoped and expected Runner to be a Lithuanian version of German classic Run Lola Run, albeit with an extra twist or two. In the end, Runner slows to an unmemorable crawl I wish I’d never taken a chance on.
How the heck can you possibly screw-up a movie where your leads are none other than Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal? Foe is how.
I’ll be having none more of The Nun II, thank you very much.
Mafia Mamma fell well short of my already lower expectations. Terrible dialogue, cringeworthy over-acting and absent directing plague this way off comedy from start to end and don’t make a single element of its improbable plot likeable or work.
Don’t be sucked in like I was by the mostly false claim God is a Bullet is a true story. Films that depict cults ordinarily strongly arouse my interest. This near 3-hour timewaster never did. Just awful.
If it weren’t for the casting of Channing Tatum reprising his role of Mike in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, this absolute borefest third instalment would feel like a completely separate movie.
It’s not uncommon for me to be less amused by an American comedy. What came as a surprise in Strays though was just how sad it both is and made me feel!
Compiled by Leigh for Moviedoc
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