The Best of Cinema 2023

These are my ten favorite films of 2023:

10. Tori and Lokita

The Dardennes brothers’ investigation into the underground economy of human trafficking through the eyes of two young people is at once deeply compassionate yet unsparing in its gaze, bearing all their no frills hallmarks of cinematic storytelling.

9. El Conde

In a year packed with biopics of varying approaches, nothing comes close in originality to Pablo Larrain’s depiction of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a centuries old vampire, rife with ink black humor and striking visuals befitting of the genre.

8. The Killer

It’s a bit surprising that David Fincher’s hit man follows a relatively straight path, but the focus on process and granular craftsmanship matched with his morbid sense of humor makes for a succinct distillation of his interests as a filmmaker, and he may have found his most ideal male lead in Michael Fassbender.

7. Killers of the Flower Moon

Martin Scorsese might have entered the sixth decade of his career, but he continues to push himself in compelling directions, and while this dive into America’s sins against its indigenous peoples proves to be one of his most challenging films, the strength of its ensemble makes it a necessary watch.

6. They Cloned Tyrone

This sci-fi conspiracy thriller is the most assured directorial debut of the year, ably anchored by its charismatic core trio, and director Juel Taylor effortlessly juggles tones and genre references while carving out an identity of his own.

5. Anatomy of a Fall

What appears to be a relatively clear case of suicide grows increasingly murky and thorny, and thus a solid courtroom drama gives way to previously submerged family tensions, as Sandra Hüller turns in the most multifaceted character of the year and is nearly matched by Milo Machado Graner’s conflicted son.

4. Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl shorts – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – The Swan – The Rat Catcher – Poison

The short form approach continues to be the best fit for Wes Anderson, as this quartet of films finds him adapting Roald Dahl with his characteristic whimsy and barely concealed melancholy, and his smaller troupe of actors makes for a more intimate and ultimately reflective experience.

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

While its predecessor introduced a bold new visual grammar, this sequel swings well ahead as the best superhero film in over a decade, pushing that vibrant style further, but more crucially, pushing into a meta context that feels refreshingly unpredictable yet emotionally propulsive and thematically resonant.

2. Oppenheimer

Multiple timelines and heavy exposition might have reached their densest form for Christopher Nolan here, but there’s no denying that they’re all in service of arguably his most important film, in which the contradictions of its protagonist are precisely needed for making him the prophetic destroyer of worlds.

1. May December

Todd Haynes’ reverence for melodrama uncovers new dimensions between performance and reality with the most layered performances of the year, from Julianne Moore and Charles Melton’s scandalous union in denial of decades of unspoken trauma, to Natalie Portman’s outside observer who gradually struggles to retain her objectivity, all interwoven with an acidic bite.

The Best of Cinema 2022

These are my ten favorite films of 2022:

10. Babylon

Damien Chazelle’s mammoth and excessive party of a movie may falter in momentum and focus, but a handful of resonant moments and its superb opening sequences make it impossible to deny its intoxicating allure.

9. Apollo 10 1/2

There’s been a rising tide of directors helming autobiographical films over the last few years, but Richard Linklater’s personal journey really stands out, not only for his favored use of rotoscope animation, but most vividly for his effortless merging of memory and imagination.

8. Athena

With one foot dug into realism and another perched upon opera, this war between minorities and authorities is one of the most visually staggering films in years, essentially one massive third act, yet always keeps its focus on a trio of brothers at odds amidst the tempest.

7. Glass Onion

Rian Johnson can make these kinds of films in his sleep, yet their intricacies only continue to grow more impressive, and though one specific narrative choice may feel a bit protracted, the ensemble is dynamite, the dialogue even sharper, and the finale, simply smashing.

6. Kimi

Zoë Kravitz’s persistent, prickly protagonist is instantly one of the great characters in Steven Soderbergh’s filmography, and the assuredly crafted film finds an ideal intersection between the paranoia of the digital era and the anxieties of the pandemic.

5. The Northman

There have been so many takes on Hamlet over the course of modern storytelling, but in returning to the story’s Nordic roots, Robert Eggers invokes a more primal narrative, robust in cinematic language and mythic in its obsessive search for vengeance.

4. Blonde

There’s frankly no other way to look at Andrew Dominik’s ambitious and controversial film than as an autopsy on celebrity, and while that may prove to be a difficult watch, Ana de Armas is so fearless and the cinematic ideas so compelling that it’s hard to look away.

3. Avatar: The Way of Water

It took more than a decade to gestate, but James Cameron’s return to Pandora proves to be even more thrilling than the introductory voyage, not simply for the expansive, gobsmacking visuals, but most vitally for the multifaceted family dynamic at its core.

2. Turning Red

The specificity of growing up as a girl of Chinese heritage in 2002 Toronto would sound like a niche independent film, but Domee Shi turns it into one of the most universal and funniest films from PIXAR, while also remaining thoughtful and sensitive to all of the uncertainties of puberty and ultimately, familial legacy.

1. TÁR

Cate Blanchett at the peak of her powers is enough of a factor to vault any film into the discussion as one of the best of the year, but Todd Field’s dissection of divisive artists’ place in modern culture is filled with inherently unresolvable ambiguities, while remaining utterly clear eyed in its depiction of its volatile central character.

The Best of Cinema 2021

These are my ten favorite films of 2021:

10. Petite Maman

Celine Sciamma’s film may appear minimal and simple, but this low key fantasy harbors gently moving revelations in its exploration of an imagined friendship.

9. Licorice Pizza

The loose, episodic structure and breezy tone of Paul Thomas Anderson’s return to the 1970s San Fernando Valley complements the sweet and sour central romance, and has more than a few delights among its populous supporting players.

8. The Last Duel

Thanks to its core collection of performances and a thoughtfully textured script, this is Ridley Scott’s best film in decades, and the prolific director no doubt makes the titular faceoff one of the most memorably gnarly combat scenes in recent memory.

7. The Rescue

A story to which you already likely know the ending is no less gripping in the telling, seamless in its blend of archival and restaged footage, and further astonishing in the minutiae of how the mission was accomplished.

6. The Tragedy of Macbeth

Balancing both a theatrical and expressionistic execution, the performances are thrust front and center, as the formidable veterans Washington and McDormand dive headfirst into a tempest of their own making, while Kathryn Hunter gleefully contorts at every opportunity.

5. Mogul Mowgli

While this is ostensibly a repeat of Riz Ahmed playing a music artist faced with a life altering crisis of personal health, this film feels even more intimate and investigative, a strange and even acerbic search for identity, freely shifting between reality, memories, dreams and nightmares.

4. No Sudden Move

A down and dirty heist seems like small potatoes at first, but of course, escalating circumstances point to higher stakes as more nefarious players circle in, as Steven Soderbergh’s best lensed film in years effortlessly juggles a deep ensemble.

3. The French Dispatch

A triptych of narratives proves to be an ideal method of Wes Anderson’s storytelling, which finds itself more visually adventurous, as comical as ever, but also equally resonant, especially when the words are spoken with Jeffrey Wright’s naturally poetic gravitas.

2. The Green Knight

The slow burn pacing and bewildering imagery are just the tip of the iceberg in this mythological narrative, for once the intoxicating personal journey of Sir Gawain reaches its most insular stage, a stunner of a third act brings the entire proceeding to circular fruition, capped by a brilliant final line.

1. Spencer

Quite simply, no other filmmaker working today creates a cinema of immersion like Pablo Larrain, and here, every facet of filmmaking is in service of psychologically enveloping us into Kristen Stewart’s performance as Diana, whose sense of self is nearing suffocation, until the love for her sons points to an escape both hugely cathartic and forebodingly melancholic.