Pan and Slam

by Jason F. Koenigsberg

Last year I stated that 2022 felt like a return to normalcy in many ways with that state of motion pictures. It was a big step up in terms of quality and the theater going experience was more potent than the mostly forgettable and sometimes abysmal 2020 and 2021 movie offerings. But I take that back. Just one year later a lot more progress was made and 2023 felt like an incredible time for cinema with a lot of great titles worth seeing in the theater. ‘Barbenheimer’ became a focal point making motion pictures and going to cinemas relevant again for the first time in the post-pandemic world. Was it a one off or will there be more pop culture moments that compel the masses to purchase tickets and see a movie outside the comfort of their homes? Only time will tell but more people went to see Barbie and Oppenheimer than any other movies in the past three years. The best news about that was both films turned out to be terrific works of art. The audiences were the winners this year. But beyond the two biggest blockbusters that partially saved brick and mortar theaters there were many other unique and exquisite offerings this year. Most of them went above and beyond and surpassed my expectations to the point where there was nothing I would have done as a critic to change or improve them. A friend of mine even commented that I was giving four stars out a lot more than I ever had before. Well the past few months were a special time for cinema lovers and I was fortunate to experience some outstanding pictures in the theater and wish others would partake in the excitement as well. Without any further ado, here are the best movies of 2023…

The Top 10 Movies of 2023

1. Oppenheimer
2. Poor Things
3. The Zone of Interest
4. The Holdovers
5. The Iron Claw
6. American Fiction
7. May December
8. Barbie
9. The Killer
10. Ferrari

I also greatly valued Napoleon, Creed III, M3GAN, Air, Scream IV, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Nyad, and Thanksgiving. In the past three years people also commented that certain movies probably would not have been on my top 10 list had they not come out during the pandemic or in the post-pandemic world of cinema. They were probably right for some of those titles. However this year if some of these movies came out in 2019 or prior exactly as they are I would have seriously considered these titles to be on my end of the year lists. 2023 was the most exhilarating year at the movies since COVID decimated the industry, which let’s face it, was already suffering to begin with.

The Best: Oppenheimer

This seems to be the cliche answer for best movie of 2023 but there is a reason for it. Oppenheimer is really that good, a monumental picture. A smart, sophisticated blockbuster that lived up to the hype. Everything about this movie is amazing from the acting, the direction, the editing, the music score, the use of sound effects, the visuals. This is three hour picture moves at a brisk pace and is riveting the entire time. A complex movie about a difficult man’s life that deserves to be in the discussion for not only the best movie of the esteemed Christopher Nolan’s career, but also one of the best movies of the relatively new century.

Just Missed the Top 10: Napoleon

Biopics have been a very popular and overused genre in the movies even before the pandemic. The best movie this year was a biography about the man who invented the atomic bomb. Three of the other titles on my top ten could be considered a biopic. The most obvious one being Michael Mann’s Ferrari which subverts the biopic genre the same way his Ali (2001) biopic did for the boxing legend by both telling stories of specific turbulent moments in their extraordinary lives. Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a sprawling picture spanning decades in the French leaders life, however it is far from what audience might expect from the director and actor who made Gladiator. In fact, someone I know said their son’s favorite movie is Gladiator and asked if they would like Napoleon. That turned out to be a loaded question since this movie is almost like the anti-Gladiator. It subverts expectations for a historical epic and lampoons the cliches that most biopics are loaded with adding sarcastic humor throughout. I am sure many moviegoers walked out of Napoleon unsatisfied because of how it inserts humor in the least likely places a movie like this would usually have. There is no denying Ridley Scott made exactly the Napoleon movie he wanted to make and knew that people who were expecting Gladiator would walk out disappointed. I however applaud Ridley Scott for his bravery and commend the outstanding performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, it was a close call but Napoleon just missed my top ten.

The Best Performance of the Year: Emma Stone in Poor Things

Male or female, hands down Emma Stone delivered the best performance of the year and of her career in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things. Despite that, she has practically no chance of winning the Best Actress Academy Award this year for two reasons: one she already has a Best Actress Oscar on her shelf for La La Land (2016), and two, the controversial subject matter and frank sexuality she boldly displays in this film probably turn off as many Oscar voters as they impress. The fact she was nominated and that Poor Things received recognition in multiple Oscar categories is a victory in itself. This is brave performance with zero inhibitions. She evolves on the screen making a ridiculous concept seem believable and the audience is truly invested in her character. In the year that the Barbie movie took over the world and became a box office and cultural phenomenon, Poor Things emerged as the artsy independent answer to Barbie with similar themes and messages done in an avant-garde style. Poor Things felt like if Barbie was written and directed by David Lynch. The movie had a lot of impressive elements but the lead performance from Emma Stone anchored it and made it one of the very best movies of 2023.

The Most Overrated and The Biggest Disappointment: Killers of the Flower Moon

Hard to believe that Killers of the Flower Moon, a Martin Scorsese directed film starring Leonardo DiCaprio AND Robert DeNiro would be the biggest disappointment for me in 2023. Apparently I am in the minority since that movie has earned accolades as well as cascades of critical praise across the board so it also qualifies for me as the most overrated film of 2023. Believe me, I wanted to like it, I expected to love it as I do most Scorsese pictures but the three and a half hour runtime wore me down. Having read the book, a gripping true crime mystery novel the way the narrative unfolded, Scorsese’s take on the material was as unconventional as it could be. Leaving no mystery at all, telling us character motivations right away where the book kept certain aspects secret. I was left with nothing to do but shrug my shoulders at this overlong beautifully shot and well acted film. Like Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, I have no doubt that Martin Scorsese directed Killers of the Flower Moon exactly how he wanted, it was just not the movie I expected nor the movie I wanted, nor did I feel any emotional gravitas during the film or after the end credits finally arrived.

The Most Underrated: The Iron Claw

One of the best movies about professional wrestling based on the tragic true story of the Von Erich family. Words cannot explain how The Iron Claw went this entire awards season without any fanfare or nominations in some major categories especially the acting for the performances by Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Maura Tierney. But it is also very well directed, written, and edited without ever feeling manipulative when it easily could have. The reviews were mostly positive but audiences and award shows ignored this film. The Iron Claw has become a buried treasure of the cinematic offerings for 2023 and hopefully it will be discovered and find a wider audience when it comes to streaming. Until then I feel like I am one of the only ones championing this sports and family based drama.

The Most Pleasant Surprise: Barbie

As a critic I know that I am supposed to enter every movie with an open mind. But critics are human and bias is a natural demon in journalism. The idea of a movie based on Barbie dolls was unappealing to say the least no matter what names were attached to what I assumed would be an expensive commercial for a children’s toy and campaign for woke-ness. To my surprise I sat through most of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie with a smile on my face and laughed more during Barbie than almost any other movie this year, (Barbie’s bizarro sister movie Poor Things has the distinction of being the movie I laughed loudest and the most in 2023). This movie hits all the right notes whether it is tackling feminism, the patriarchy, male inadequacies, female roles in society, or motherhood. Barbie has a thoughtful clever response to all of those topics in a timely manner and never feels patronizing.