Welcome to Scribeing Cinema with Shane! What do cinephiles love to do most? Rank all things movies and that is what we will do in this series. Favorite actors… filmmakers… genres… narratives… you got it here!
Top 25 Films of 2023:
1. The Iron Claw
Director Sean Durkin brings great craft to this tragic and haunting drama about the Von Erich wrestling family that boasts career best performances for many involved including Zac Efron.
2. Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan offers up his magnum opus in the form of an R-rated, three-hour, biopic that features Cillian Murphy as the man who charged the trajectory of humanity, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and some of the most incredible technical aspects of any film this year.
3. Poor Things
Yorgos Lanthimos combines Frankenstein and Pinocchio in his latest science fiction film…that is hornier than you can imagine while offering Emma Stone in one of the best performances around and a surreal steampunk world worth getting lost in.
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Scorsese shows the dark side of humanities history once again but his most important film with a sprawling and thrilling western crime epic featuring one of the best trios performances in film this year.
5. The Boy and the Heron
Hayao Miyazaki returns with a new animated fantasy more beautiful than ever and still poignant from its shocking and brutal opening to its journey of a young man into a fantastical world of bird creatures (some more dangerous than others).
6. John Wick: Chapter 4
Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves may have created the greatest action film of all time with this three-hour epic of filmmaking, stunt work, and action that spans the world and brings Wick’s journey a whole depth through the introduction of a whole slew of amazing support characters to expand this assassin world.
7. The Teachers’ Lounge
One of the rawest and most authentic films to be released this year, this film captures the rough world of school politics and our changing perspectives on education through the story of a young and ambitious teacher who tears open a can of trouble she just cannot put back together.
8. American Fiction
This new drama boasts some of the best biting commentaries on society’s handling of race, but it is so much deeper than that as we traverse the personal struggles of a talented yet stubborn literary genius at a moving and funny fork in the road of his life.
9. Four Daughters
This Tunisian documentary pushes the limits of what you can expect from a documentary as it tells the harrowing tale of a mother and her four daughters who struggle in a world pushed to extremism through honest commentary, dramatization, and raw and unaltered human interactions.
10. The Holdovers
A new holiday classic is born in the hands of Alexander Payne as he brings this 1970-time capsule to life in beautiful visuals, authenticity, and pitch perfect music as we experience the lives of three wandering individuals stuck in the same holiday situation led by one of the year’s best performances from Paul Giamatti.
11. The Disappearance of Shere Hite
This new documentary answers the questions of who Shere Hite is and shines a light on the societal shift that buried her contributions to bettering the understanding of the sex and love lives of men and women through its expert craftsmanship, dramatization (from Dakota Johnson), and prophetic ideas.
12. All of Us Strangers
One of the most gorgeous and haunting films of 2023 that balances a steamy gay romance born in isolation and a ghost story that breathes even more depth into one of the most emotionally resonant and moving films of the year and it is in no small part to its four main cast led by Andrew Scott.
13. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I
Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie continue to defy the odds by upping the ante and delivering greater quality with each passing entry in this legendary action franchise that brings us into the world of AI and leaves the door open for a grand conclusion to this epic and impossible mission.
14. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
James Gunn and company stand tall in the new age of the MCU as they deliver an emotionally devastating final entry into the trilogy about the galaxies most rag tag crew of thought to be losers as they must save one of their own, including the haunting backstory of Rocket (Bradley Cooper delivering his best turn yet).
15. Lakota Nation Vs. The United States
The issue is still raging after centuries in the United States as this new documentary captures the beauty of the Black Hills and the horrors of its people in their on-going fight with the US government to gain their promised land back after it was stolen.
16. The Beasts
A French couple comes into a hornet’s nest of tension and danger in their new Spanish countryside home in one of the most unexpected and shocking thrillers of the year with its edge of your seat suspense and powerful performances that bring the needed impact of this deeply disturbing drama.
17. BlackBerry
Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton change their narratives as they anchor this sharp commentary on another big business tale with impressive and refreshing performances, a darkly funny script, and poignant tale of greed and ambition.
18. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Wes Anderson fully takes the reins on the Roald Dahl train as he offers up the crown jewel of his four new short film adaptations on Netflix with a stacked cast (anchored by a layered Benedict Cumberbatch performance), bold and artful storytelling, and the perfect blend of Anderson/Dahl atmosphere.
19. Other People’s Children
Viriginie Efira begins to solidify herself as one of the world’s premiere actors with her latest film anchoring turn in this new drama about a childless woman who builds a moving and affecting relationship with her lover’s daughter (but in a complex and dynamic way…because it is French).
20. A Thousand and One
The cinematic world was put on notice with the release of this shocking and impactful indie drama due to its dynamic director/actor duo of A.V. Rockwell and Teyana Taylor as they tell the story of a troubled woman and her reckless actions to spend her life with her son.
21. Great Photo, Lovely Life
HBO will grab your attention with this haunting and raw documentary that follows a filmmaker and her journey to confront a monster in her own family with a story that navigates sexual assault, the systematic failures when it comes to predators, the complacency of people, and generation trauma that can each shake the foundations of a family.
22. Close
This Belgian drama boasts a star making performance for its young lead, Eden Dambrine, who anchors this film of friendship, young sexual exploration, and a shattering tale of grief with its complex dynamics that few films are bold and brave enough to tackle (unlike Lukas Dhont with his poignant coming-of-age story).
23. Of An Age
Budding star writer/director Goran Stolevski delivers one of the most passionate and daring love stories of the year with this 24-hour gay love affair brought to life by bold and beautiful direction and two affecting leading performances that will keep your eyes glued to the screen.
24. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Sony Animation continues the boldest and most beautifully inventive animated sagas on film with this multiverse exodus that finds our beloved Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy in more danger than ever as one of the most daring cinematic worlds is brought to life in part one of this epic comic book adaptation.
25. Monster
A tale in three perspectives captures the complexities of humanity through the story of a young boy growing up with a world around him that does not understand him featuring gorgeous filmmaking, strong tension, and a whole cast of authentic and impactful performances that makes this film a must-see for all those around the world.
