Welcome, everyone, to my annual year-end movie ranking. I'm about to take a look back at 2023 and list my ten favorite movies I watched this year. These movies don't necessarily have to have been released in 2023. I just have to have watched them this year.
I watched 78 movies in the year 2023, so 68 of them will not make the list. Only the best of the best can be found here! I'll start at the bottom and work my way up:
#10:
Also, you can't talk about Beverly Hills Cop without acknowledging its killer theme song.
#9:
It's the scene on the subway car with all the random knife violence that really put me on edge. I started thinking about what I would do if this was happening around me. And how I would protect my family. And just how hopeless and lost of a cause that would be! In addition to being gory, the way the infected become evil with their words is just as bad. They really go all out in this film to disturb you. This is a movie that stuck with me for a while. Definitely worth the hassle of signing up for a one week Shudder free trial.
There is a whole world of movies out there I have never heard of before. I had certainly never heard of Brigsby Bear until I listened to an episode of Staff Picks about this film. The host and co-host of the podcast kept saying over and over again before diving into their recap that this movie was so unique, you really had to watch it first before listening to the podcast. You know what? I actually listened to their advice. I stopped the podcast and went out and got this movie.
#8:
The basic premise is that there is a young boy who is taken from his real parents as a toddler and raised by kidnappers on an isolated and remote property. He is told that these people are his parents. They lead him to believe that the outside world has been destroyed and they live in a safe zone of some kind. They raise him from childhood to adult age. The main way they keep him entertained is by showing him episodes of a puppet based kids show named Brigsby Bear. These episodes teach lessons like how to read and write. This kid's whole entire life revolves around Brigsby and when the new episode will come out.
He is raised well into his 20s when the FBI raids the compound and arrests his "parents." The rest of the movie revolves around him meeting his new family and coping with the fact that his entire life has been a lie. He finds out that his fake parents worked in a TV studio and would secretly record episodes of Brigsby after-hours when all the staff was gone, so it was not even a real show.
The boy decides as a way of coping that he'll make a Brigsby movie to share with the world. He collects a ragtag group of followers that help him make his dream become a reality, and make the Brigsby movie happen.
It really is a unique story that is funny, interesting, and touching in many different ways. I really enjoyed it. Definitely check it out if you have never seen it. I think recency bias plays a role here. I watched it way early in the year so that may be keeping it from ranking higher than it could or should have.
#7:
I watched this movie back in 2022, but I wasn't really paying attention to it, as I was dicking around on my phone while this movie was playing on the TV. I decided to give the movie another chance, because from what I saw of it - I liked. I'm glad I decided to watch it again because I really loved it this time around.
I understand some of you may be wondering how this movie could have made it all the way to #7 on my list. I'll admit this movie isn't any kind of cinematic masterpiece. But it's fun, darn it. It is just as good, if not better, than the 90s Mortal Kombat movie. The cinematography is great, and I found the storyline to be quite interesting as well. The fighters having "marks" that identify them, and the marks passing to the victor if the fighter is defeated was a neat twist. I like how it explains the characters' magical fight powers, too. I'm sure the logic of the movie does not hold up under much scrutiny, but I still had a great time with it. It's one of the best video game movies I have ever seen.
#6
The fact that I liked this movie so much kind of came out of left field. I wasn't a huge fan of the original movie, although I wouldn't say I disliked it. It was okay. I was in no rush to watch the sequel. I decided to throw it on one night, on a random whim. Immediately the movie hooked me. It is so fast paced and tense and full of thrills that I could not take my eyes off of it. It is almost like a video game how it moves so quickly from one tense moment to the next.
I absolutely loved this movie. It's just perfect from start to finish. It has made me want to go back and rewatch the original, which I probably will at some point in 2024.
#5
If you've seen American History X, you probably have strong feelings about it one way or the other. I personally think it is a great movie. I've seen it probably five times throughout the course of my life, and each time it gets better and better. The key is that I haven't watched it too many times. Each time watching it, it is almost like seeing it for the first time. I notice something different or pick up on something new. This 2023 viewing was probably my favorite one.
It's a complex movie because its main characters aren't exactly heroes or upstanding citizens. But it also shows how people can change and turn their lives around, so you find yourself rooting for them. And then it ends in needless tragedy. This is definitely a movie that is designed to make you uncomfortable. A lot of the racist talking points of Edward Norton's character you see still reflected on social media in 2023. Almost verbatim, word for word. It's like they haven't gotten any new material in the last 25 plus years. And people are so open about it now.
A few of my favorite scenes are: the big fight at dinner (yikes) and the curb stomping scene (double yikes). I don't know what it says about me that I like things that are supposed to disturb you or make you uncomfortable. I'm just a morbid person, I guess.
#4:
Speaking of movies designed to make you uncomfortable, here is probably one of the most famous examples. A lot of people say they can't watch this movie more than once, but man do I love it. I watch it nearly every year or so. And it never gets old.
The cinematography, music, the in-your-face delusions of the characters. All of it is so intense and so unique. You can't help but just get sucked right into this movie and its messed up, drug fueled world. This is a top ten movie of all-time for me. The fact that I've seen it probably at least 15 to 20 times in my life and it doesn't get boring should tell you something right there.
#3
I absolutely love Braveheart. It is another top ten all time movie in my books. It might even be top 2 or 3. I love it. I have to have seen it at least ten to fifteen times in my life now.
My 2023 viewing may be the best of all of those viewings. I don't know if it is because I am older or wiser or what, but I picked up on a lot of stuff I missed out on in the past. That whole intro scene with the people hanging in the empty barn - I never knew what was going on or why those people were there. Not once in my previous 15 or so viewings did I ever pick up on that. I did this time. I picked up on a bunch of other things, too.
This is truly a remarkable movie. It hits all the right cords. Romantic, tragic, action packed. The acting is fantastic and it has a wonderful soundtrack too. Epic movie.
#2:
I've seen this movie so many freaking times in my life. I always hear the hype about how it is so good, and it is the best Batman movie ever, blah blah blah. I've always thought it was overrated. Always. But every few years I find myself coming back to it to give it another shot.
It only took me 15 years since the movie came out to finally appreciate it. I really, really enjoyed it this time around. Maybe it is the fact that I am a more mature father now. Maybe I was just finally in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. I don't know what it is, but I thought it was just superb. I watched this with the lights off and my earbuds in. I was on the edge of my chair, really absorbed in the movie the whole way through it. It is so intense, and the stakes just feel so high. The whole movie gave me anxiety in the pit of my stomach, but in a good way. What a roller coaster ride.
I don't understand how I thought the movie was only mediocre on my previous viewings. But I loved it in 2023. I finally see what everyone else sees in this movie. It's damn good.
#1:
I first watched Prisoners back in 2014, which was nine years ago if you are keeping track. It ranked 92nd on my movie ranking list back then. 92nd. Here is what I had to say about it:
"I like the basic premise of the movie, but things moved a little too slowly for me. I was often bored while watching this, and eventually started to lose interest. I remember there being some kind of twist at the end but by then I was too out of it to really care or remember what happened. Maybe I will give it another chance some day."
What the heck, Dan? Seriously, what the heck??? This movie is absolutely fantastic. How did you not like it??? I guess I sort of get it. The movie is a slow burn. If you don't have a few hours to set aside to immerse yourself in it, or if you have something else on your mind, it might be hard to get into. But I was able to carve out a little bit of time when the kiddo was in bed to devote to this movie, and it was well worth it.
It tells the story of a father whose daughter has gone missing. A mysterious van was seen in the vicinity when she went missing. The father tracks down the owner of the van, who turns out to be mentally handicapped. All evidence seems to point to him, but the police's hands are tied. The father takes matters into his own hands, capturing the man and trying to torture information out of him. While this is going on, the investigation into the disappearance takes some dark and unexpected twists and turns.
The whole movie has a very gritty and unsettling feeling to it, similar to The Silence of the Lambs or the first season of True Detective. I found it to be very gripping. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. The ending is great, too. Open ended, but moreso to the positive side of things.
Prisoners left a giant impression on me. It's just such a great movie. There's a reason it is ranks #1 on my list. If you haven't seen it, go out and do it now! You won't regret it.
That's the end of my list! Here are some honorable mentions for movies that didn't quite make my top 10:
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Ghostbusters Afterlife
Home Alone
The Terrifier 2
The Bad News Bears
Midsommar
My Bodyguard
T2: Judgement Day
The Sixth Sense
Unfriended
Fall
The Quick and the Dead
A Knight's Tale
Jojo Rabbit
Avatar: The Way of Water
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