Top 10 movies of 2023

            Welcome to the official wrap-up of 2023. I started this little website in early October of last year to share my thoughts and lists about movies. I have enjoyed this venture more than I thought I would, and I would like to keep it rolling as long as people are coming here and reading what I put. So, to kick off 2024, I want to share a list of my top movies from last year. Then I would love to hear what your favorite movies of the year were as well. So, without further delay, here are my top ten movies of the year 2023:

10.  John Wick: Chapter 4  – I can’t imagine a movie list of the year that doesn’t include Keau Reeve’s John Wick on it. But this isn’t on here just because the fourth installment in the John Wick series earned its place. Along with Reeves, we see the return of Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King, Lance Reddick (RIP) as Charon, and Ian McShane as Winston. Things are kicked up a notch with the inclusion of Donnie Yen as Caine and Bill Skarsgard as Marquis. Lots of great action sequences with the same less-than-stellar dialogue that I’ve learned to love from these films. The biggest question now is will there be a fifth movie? If so, where would the story go? On a side note, if you have the chance to watch The Continental on Peacock, it’s a great companion story about Winston as a young man.

9. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves  – Surprising. That’s the best way I can think of to describe how I felt about this movie. Based on the other big-screen adaptations of the DND world, I didn’t expect a whole lot from this. In fact, I didn’t even watch it until it came to streaming later on Paramount+. Not only was I wrong (which happens a lot), but I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. The ensemble cast led by Chris Pine were phenomenal together and they genuinely looked like they all got along. Not only was the story easy to follow by someone who has never played a DND game but it was packed full of humor and action. I could seriously watch that graveyard scene on a loop. If you haven’t watched it yet, I would seek it out and enjoy the following two hours of your viewing.

8. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny  – If you read my list of the best Indiana Jones movies earlier this year, you already know my feelings on this. If you haven’t yet, check it out here. Otherwise, you know how much I enjoyed this movie. I love where they took the characters, I love the cameos from some of the characters from the previous films, and they did a fantastic job shooting the action scenes with Ford. Along with Harrison Ford’s usual great portrayal of Dr. Jones, Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Voller, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw, and Toby Jones as Basil Shaw, all did an amazing job to help tell the story in both the past and present. Plus, the de-aging they were able to pull off gives me hope that maybe they could do one more!

7.  Elemental  – Here is another one that I went into not expecting too much. Don’t get me wrong, my household loves Pixar movies and there have been many that were absolutely amazing. But due to the recent streak, I was going to watch it, but I wasn’t standing in line. Hopefully, Pixar is back to churning out gold again after this gem. The way they designed the worlds that these characters lived in and how they were able to mix everything together looked beautiful. The cast behind the voices was a nice mix of seasoned vets and up-and-comers that I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of. My only question is “Where is John Ratzenberger in this”?

6.  Quiz Lady  – This is the one movie on this list that I was lucky enough to review back when it came out in late November. If you haven’t read it, you can do that here. “Quiz Lady” is a fun and funny film directed by Jessica Yu. The main stars are Awkwafina and Sandra Oh who play sisters Anne and Jenny Yum respectively. Anne is addicted to a gameshow and Jenny wants to get her on it to win some money. This was one of those films where the trailer didn’t do it justice and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Will Ferrell plays a great game show host as well and shines as not being the leading man. No quiz this time, just a good light-hearted movie and a good time.

5. Renfield  – There is a good chance that this is going to be the one movie on this list that everyone thinks shouldn’t be in any top ten list of any kind… and to that I say “I don’t care”. Personally, I thought this was hilarious and a great way to showcase Renfield instead of Dracula for a change. Nicholas Hoult (who seems to be fantastic in everything he does) plays Renfield in a way we’ve never seen him before, and Nicolas Cage does his second-best acting of the year (right behind Dream Scenario). Also, Awkwafina makes her second appearance on this list. Overall, this is exactly what you think it would be based on the trailers, only better.

4. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One  – I’ve been watching the Mission: Impossible movies since 1996 and somehow they keep out-doing themselves. Not only do the stories stay compelling and mostly believable, but the stunts…what more is there to say? Cruise’s Ethan Hunt driving that motorbike off a cliff to land on a train with a parachute was out of this world cool, then to keep it rolling, that train de-railing scene was right up there with the trailer falling off the cliff on Lost World: Jurassic Park. The M:I franchise has also always been great about bringing back cast for repeat films and this one is no different as Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames both return as longtime characters Benji and Luther respectfully. I was also glad to see Rebecca Ferguson back as Ilsa. Moving forward for Dead Reckoning (and beyond perhaps?) the series has Hayley Atwell to look forward to as well now. I love M:I Fallout, but somehow this one came out on top and makes me super excited to see what they do with part 8/part 2.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3  – Coming in at number 3 is Vol. 3. Thankfully James Gunn came back to close out the Guardians of the Galaxy series for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first two entries are two of my favorite films in the MCU and this one is right on par with those. Not only does the entire cast return, but so does the humor, action, and character development. This one brings a lot of heartbreak to the series as well, which was touched on a little bit in the previous installments, that Rocket backstory… geez are you trying to make me cry in my oversized fountain drink? Vol. 3 comes in with the monumental task of putting this storyline to bed while also moving some of the characters forward in different directions. I think we will definitely see Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock again. In the end, Gunn accomplishes his task he sat out to do as his part in the MCU comes to a close, but the Guardians of the Galaxy will live on… even if it’s not in the exact format that we came to love.

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse  – I’m not sure what it is about this and Into the Spider-Verse that makes them so tremendous to watch, but the entire cast and crew did it again. Shameik Moore, who once again brings the voice to Mile Morales, does a great job along with the countless other voices that are lent to make this what it is… a masterpiece. Not only does the plot of the story keep you tied to it till the end, but the blending of the animation styles is done in a way that blows my mind. It is a very beautiful thing to see. The way part one ended, I wasn’t sure what they could do to make this one as good, but they surpassed it, in my opinion. Top grades for everyone involved in this and I now can’t wait to see what they pull out of their hats for the third one.

1. Oppenheimer  – Was there any doubt about what was going to be sitting in this top spot? To say that this is the best work Christopher Nolan has ever done is a big statement considering what he has been able to accomplish so far. However, this may be it. I honestly can’t sit here and name off all the cast who acted their asses off for this masterpiece, but I can say that Cillian Murphy was the anchor for this whole thing. After watching him portray J. Robert Oppenheimer on the big screen, it made me want to read up on the real man behind the movie. Then I was even more impressed by what I had just witnessed. Even though this was right around the three-hour mark for run time, I felt like I was only in my seat for half the time. I was so entranced in the story, that the minutes just slipped by. My wife and daughter went to see Barbie at the exact same time my son and I saw Oppenheimer, so I haven’t been able to check out Barbie yet unfortunately. But even though I didn’t get the full Barbenheimer experience, I did get to sit through the best film of the year and possibly of the last two years.

Before I leave you, I would like to throw out some honorable mentions of other movies that I enjoyed watching last year but didn’t quite make the cut for the top ten. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Wonka, Scream VI, Haunted Mansion, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania were all fun films to watch and I recommend to check out at some point.

Now on to you. What were your favorite films of 2023? Do you have a top ten… or five that you want to share? Please do so in the comments section below and I will be back next week for a whole new movie review.