In no particular order, the top movies of 2023 were:
1. Marty Supreme. The year's best lead performance in a film that used all cinematic techniques to bring what would have been a ho-hum story to life. It was all in the filmmaking, the storytelling, and the performances.
2. One Battle After Another. The year's most provocative film with the best ensemble cast and a director in control with his unique command and abilities.
3. Bugonia. Like the one listed immediately above, this film tapped into the subconscious and zeitgeist of so many people. It also worked as a suspense-thriller start to finish.
4. The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto). This film firmly reminds us that slow-developing stories with careful regard to time, place, and characters can carry stories above many, many others.
5. Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi). Some movies can be fluid in structure and have us spend time with and get to know characters and places. There's not a wasted shot or line in this drama, and we leave feeling that we've been transported to one scene after another. Comedies might be the hardest to make, but domestic dramas like this are a close second.
Oscar note: Sinners is the most over-rated film of the year, with good performances amidst uneven filmmaking. It is easily the most curious Oscar contender in years, though. For the awards themselves, it should be Chalamet's big win, the role he's remembered for, along with the film taking Best Picture. For Best Director, no one could have handled Paul Thomas Anderson's film but him. It's one of the capstones of his career and, with Denis Villeneuve, makes him the most interesting mainstream director working today.
1. Marty Supreme. The year's best lead performance in a film that used all cinematic techniques to bring what would have been a ho-hum story to life. It was all in the filmmaking, the storytelling, and the performances.
2. One Battle After Another. The year's most provocative film with the best ensemble cast and a director in control with his unique command and abilities.
3. Bugonia. Like the one listed immediately above, this film tapped into the subconscious and zeitgeist of so many people. It also worked as a suspense-thriller start to finish.
4. The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto). This film firmly reminds us that slow-developing stories with careful regard to time, place, and characters can carry stories above many, many others.
5. Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi). Some movies can be fluid in structure and have us spend time with and get to know characters and places. There's not a wasted shot or line in this drama, and we leave feeling that we've been transported to one scene after another. Comedies might be the hardest to make, but domestic dramas like this are a close second.
Oscar note: Sinners is the most over-rated film of the year, with good performances amidst uneven filmmaking. It is easily the most curious Oscar contender in years, though. For the awards themselves, it should be Chalamet's big win, the role he's remembered for, along with the film taking Best Picture. For Best Director, no one could have handled Paul Thomas Anderson's film but him. It's one of the capstones of his career and, with Denis Villeneuve, makes him the most interesting mainstream director working today.
