My Top 5 Films of 2023

I have seen many films in 2023. I have not reviewed many of them including stunning films like Oppenheimer and terrible films like Blue Beetle. I have therefore compiled a list of the best films I have seen in 2023 and some reason as to why. This should clear up the sporadic film reviews that I do as well as provide some insight into how I felt about film this year. I have to admit, sometimes I am biased to enjoy a horror film more than anything else but I have tried to be as fair and as pragmatic as possible and I do not think anyone is going to be surprised by number one on the list at all. I hope you enjoy the reading.

My Top 5 Films of 2023

5. Napoleon

I know that I only rated this one as 3/5 but honestly I really did love those battle scenes. The Ridley Scott factor of this film was off the scale even if it did have a bit of a wobbly love story and the fact that Joaquin Phoenix spoke like a stock photo for almost an hour and a half of the movie. The battles were great, the scale was epic and the film was still pretty good for a movie about such a horrid human being as Napoleon Bonaparte.

4. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

If there is a Tom Cruise movie out then you have to bet that I am going to see it. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 was one of the few action films this year that really brought something a little bit new to its franchise and that wasn't just a cliffhanger (because Fast X had a crappy cliffhanger too). This movie brought out a whole new thing for all of the memorable characters. The new stunts were great and the storyline is ever-expanding. Honestly, I don't care if anyone else thinks it is a franchise that has gone on too long, if they keep making them I'll keep watching them. I am really looking forward to how Ethan Hunt tries to defeat this A.I that involves a submarine, two keys and Agent Peggy Carter.

3. Killers of the Flower Moon

As I have written a review about this one, I do not think there is much more to say other than the fact that Scorsese has yet again, done a brilliant job of telling a complex story in a style that is both dramatic and engaging. From start to finish, just like in other works like Goodfellas and Gangs of New York (of which the latter is probably my favourite by him), he manages to bring the audience into a story with incredible characters, conflict and themes of power, ownership and belonging. Yet again, the finished product is a finely tuned film that may be long in run time but is watchable and rewatchable countless times over.

2. Barbie

I saw Barbie a couple of times in the cinema and the amount of fun this movie is, I cannot describe. As with many women, I watched Barbie as a way to reach back to my childhood of playing with the dolls and dressing them up as various careerwomen such as: doctor, pilot, chef etc. and the mjor ones such as pilot came with their own accessories such as a plane. In this movie, I think the one thing that stood out is that it was not trying to turn Barbie into a person but rather it was trying to bring the doll to life on the screen - which are two different things. Barbie is still a doll, but she is alive and there are many different Barbies. It struck a lovely chord with my childhood and I think that is true for many, many women.

***

1. Oppenheimer

Admittedly, I saw Oppenheimer in the cinema more than once and that was mainly because of the performance by Robert Downey Jr. That has got to be one of the best pieces of acting I have seen in a long, long time. I understand that Cillian Murphy may be my favourite actor and my childhood hero, but Robert Downey Jr outdid himself, going back to the acting days where he would play complex roles in films like Chaplin - he shows off that he is a definite contender for one of the greatest actors of the last 50 years. Not only this, but Nolan creates something visually stunning, audibly incredible, and as for the story - it is a wonder to see the finished film of what has been going on in his mind all this time. Just writing about this film makes me want to see it again.

Conclusion

I hope you like my choices here and before you ask, no The Killer did not make the list and neither did any other piece of Oscar bait that hasn't appeared in this top 5. Did I see The Killer? Yes. Did I enjoy The Killer? Not enough to put it on the list. Napoleon just about made it here, what chance did The Killer have? Well, if you didn't enjoy the list then I apologise. This was a year of really bad movies followed up with one or two really good movies. It only just started to get its groove back in the summer, other than that this year has been pretty awful for film. The only redeeming factor really being the Barbenheimer craze.