Top 10 Films | 2023

Once again, we have assembled some friends and colleagues to contribute lists of their favorite feature films of the year. Films from prior to this year were eligible for inclusion if they were released formally in the United States in 2023. 2023’s festival and international films were likewise eligible, even if US distribution is still pending.

See our favorite Dark Side of the Screen picks here.

Amara Alvarado — Improv Comedy Club

Honorable Mentions: BARBIE / ELEMENTAL / MAY DECEMBER / THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR

#10. GRAN TURISMO

#9. EXTRACTION II

#8. SALTBURN

#7. MAESTRO

#6. P AST LIVES

#5. BOTTOMS

#4. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

#3. STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE

#2. POOR THINGS

#1. THE COVENANT

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
BARBIE: “I’m Just Ken”
BOTTOMS: The epic final fight
THE COVENANT: John waits for Ahmed to notice he came back for him
EXTRACTION II: The 21-minute action sequence
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4: Baba Yaga’s never-ending fall
MAESTRO: The conducting scene
PAST LIVES: Nora and Hae Sung stare at each other before saying goodbye
POOR THINGS: Bella’s first outing by herself
SALTBURN: “Murder on the Dancefloor”
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE: Gwen’s intro with the drums

*****

Wesley Caldwell — Producer

Honorable Mentions: None

#10. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

#9. BARBIE

#8. THE KILLER

#7. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

#6. GODZILLA MINUS ONE

#5. THE IRON CLAW

#4. OPPENHEIMER

#3. CREED III

#2. MAY DECEMBER

#1. THE HOLDOVERS

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
CREED III: The dream-like fight at Dodger Stadium
GODZILLA MINUS ONE: Godzilla attacks Ginza
THE IRON CLAW: The potential glimpse at an afterlife
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4: The Osaka battle
THE KILLER: The sloppy Florida fight scene
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART ONE: The Rome car chase
OPPENHEIMER: Oppenheimer gives his “victory” speech at Los Alamos after the Hiroshima bombing
TALK TO ME: The party sequence / everyone tries the hand
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM: The turtles sneak out to watch FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF
THE ZONE OF INTEREST: The ending sequence

*****

Dave Cowden — Marvel Studios

Honorable Mentions: None

#10. SHOWING UP

#9. HANNAH HA HA

#8. HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE

#7. ANATOMY OF A FALL

#6. THE INTEGRITY OF JOSEPH CHAMBERS

#5. MEMORY

#4. FULL TIME

#3. BAIT

#2. THE HOLDOVERS

#1. PAST LIVES

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
BEAU IS AFRAID: The streets outside Beau’s apartment unhinge
FERRARI: Enzo prepares his teams for Mille Miglia
THE HOLDOVERS: Mary delivers baby clothes to her pregnant sister
THE INTEGRITY OF JOSEPH CHAMBERS: The crowd-cheering effects when Joseph climbs the hunting tree successfully
JOYLAND: Haider sits progressively closer to Biba on her moped
MAY DECEMBER: Elizabeth’s mirror monologue
MEMORY: Saul watches a movie with Sylvia despite being unable to follow the plot
OPPENHEIMER: The wide portrait shot (in 70mm IMAX) of Oppenheimer at Los Alamos in the third act
PAST LIVES: The sun sets and rises on each end of a FaceTime call
TALK TO ME: Riley stays under just a bit too long

*****

Mike Dillon — CTVA 102

Honorable Mentions: GOODBYE JULIA / MEMORY / PASSAGES / PAST LIVES / PERFECT DAYS / REVOIR PARIS / SEVEN BLESSINGS / THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE / UPON ENTRY

#10. THE WORST ONES

#9. BROTHER

#8. R.M.N.

#7. IO CAPITANO

#6. ANATOMY OF A FALL

#5. THE ZONE OF INTEREST

#4. ALL OF US STRANGERS

#3. FULL TIME

#2. RIVER

#1. MAY DECEMBER

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
THE ADULTS: The LION KING recap
THE BLACKENING: Shanika hands Clifton a drink
FLORA AND SON: Flora and Jeff sing “Meet in the Middle”
THE HOLDOVERS: “Listen, you hormonal vulgarian…”
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4: Wick obtains Dragon’s Breath
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART ONE: The train crash
RYE LANE: Love Guac’tually
SAW X: “We have a rope.”
SHAYDA: Shayda cuts her hair
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW: The avalanche and its aftermath

*****

Julie Garcés — Editor

Honorable Mentions: CHAMPIONS / OPPENHEIMER / POOR THINGS

#10. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

#9. SALTBURN

#8. A THOUSAND AND ONE

#7. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS

#6. FALLEN LEAVES

#5. ANATOMY OF A FALL

#4. PAST LIVES

#3. MAY DECEMBER

#2. THE ZONE OF INTEREST

#1. THE HOLDOVERS

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
BOTTOMS: The quarterback hurts his knee
CHAMPIONS: Cosentino gives Johnny a pep talk
EILEEN: The basement scene
MAY DECEMBER: The butterfly release vs. the fox hunt
NAPOLEON: Napoleon talks the army into joining him
OPPENHEIMER: Oppenheimer meets with Albert Einstein
POOR THINGS: Duncan takes Bella to Portugal
SALTBURN: The final dance through the castle
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS: Peter is given a roadside sobriety check
THE ZONE OF INTEREST: The X-ray interludes

*****

Teddi Gaydos — Research Results

Honorable Mentions: 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL / ALL OF US STRANGERS / ALONERS / THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE / MISTER ORGAN / OMEN / PASSAGES / SICK OF MYSELF

#10. FAIR PLAY

#9. POOR THINGS

#8. THE HOLDOVERS

#7. LITTLE JAR

#6. THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE

#5. CLEAN

#4. SANCTUARY

#3. MEMORY

#2. BEYOND UTOPIA

#1. SALTBURN

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
FREMONT: The fortune cookie writer faceplants onto her keyboard; “She’s dead.”
GODZILLA MINUS ONE: Godzilla’s atomic breath destroys Ginza
LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: The Noise
LITTLE JAR: The “Little Jar” speech
MAY DECEMBER: **Dramatic Music**… “I don’t think we have enough hot dogs.”
OPPENHEIMER: “It’s possible they spoke about something, uh, more important.”
PAST LIVES: Nora walks back to her husband after saying goodbye to Hae Sung
SALTBURN: Oliver dances to “Murder on the Dancefloor”

*****

Daniel Love — Sony Pictures

Honorable Mentions: BOTTOMS / DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES / EVIL DEAD RISE / GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 / HAUNTED MANSION / A LITTLE PRAYER / THE PERSIAN VERSION / RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ

#10. EL CONDE

#9. SALTBURN

#8. JOY RIDE

#7. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

#6. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

#5. THE BOY AND THE HERON

#4. BARBIE

#3. OPPENHEIMER

#2. BEAU IS AFRAID

#1. AMERICAN FICTION

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
AMERICAN FICTION: “My Pafology” comes to life before Monk’s eyes
BARBIE: Dua Lipa as an omnipotent mermaid deity Barbie
BEAU IS AFRAID: Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” plays
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4: John Wick: Stairmaster
THE KILLER: The Expert’s supper of whiskey
MAY DECEMBER: “I don’t think we have enough hot dogs.”
OPPENHEIMER: Rabi speaks to the committee
THE PERSIAN VERSION: Smuggling tapes through Tehran airport
THE POPE’S EXORCIST: Riding the scooter ~OR~ “Talk to my boss.”
THANKSGIVING: Carver doesn’t kill cats

*****

Cary Murnion — Filmmaker

Honorable Mentions: BARBIE / THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL / THE EQUALIZER 3 / KNOCK AT THE CABIN / MAY DECEMBER / PACIFICTION / SALTBURN / SANCTUARY / SHIN KAMEN RIDER / SHOWING UP / TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

#10. THE ZONE OF INTEREST

#9. PLANE

#8. INFINITY POOL

#7. REALITY

#6. NIMONA

#5. ROTTING IN THE SUN

#4. THE KILLER

#3. THE ROYAL HOTEL

#2. HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE

#1. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE: Installing the bomb
INFINITY POOL: The break-in
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4: Climbing the Sacré-Coeur stairs
THE KILLER: Fighting The Brute
THE KILLER: Sitting for dinner with The Expert
KNOCK AT THE CABIN: Using the axe
PLANE: The plane flies into the bad guy
ROTTING IN THE SUN: Señora Vero confesses
SALTBURN: The final dance
SHOWING UP: The pigeon in the gallery

*****

Aaron Neuwirth — Out Now with Aaron and Abe

Honorable Mentions: BEAU IS AFRAID / THE BOY AND THE HERON / GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 / THE HOLDOVERS / ORIGIN / PAST LIVES / POLITE SOCIETY / POOR THINGS / RYE LANE / THEY CLONED TYRONE

#10. ASTEROID CITY

#9. AMERICAN FICTION

#8. THE KILLER

#7. A THOUSAND AND ONE

#6. ANATOMY OF A FALL

#5. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

#4. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

#3. GODZILLA MINUS ONE

#2. OPPENHEIMER

#1. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
ASTEROID CITY: “Dear Alien”
THE BLACKENING: The group plays “The Blackening”
GODZILLA MINUS ONE: Godzilla chases the boat
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4: Dragon’s Breath
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: Scorsese’s radio show epilogue
OPPENHEIMER: The post-bombing speech in the gym
R.M.N.: The town hall debate
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE: The Spider-Man chase through Spider Society
TALK TO ME: The possession montage
THE ZONE OF INTEREST: The final moments/cleaning up

*****

Michael Rousselet — 5-Second Films

Honorable Mention: LITTLE JAR

#10. THE HOLDOVERS

#9. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

#8. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

#7. TALK TO ME

#6. BOTTOMS

#5. THE KILLER

#4. MAY DECEMBER

#3. BARBIE

#2. POOR THINGS

#1. GODZILLA MINUS ONE

Favorite On-Screen Moments:
BARBIE: The “Depression Barbie” commercial
BEAU IS AFRAID: When the film ended, so I could finally leave the theater
COCAINE BEAR: Attacking the ambulance
GODZILLA MINUS ONE: The atomic breath scene
GODZILLA MINUS ONE: The boat chase
M3GAN: M3GAN’s dance and killing spree
MAY DECEMBER: Gracie realizes (~dramatic music sting~) there aren’t enough hot dogs
OPPENHEIMER: Quoting the Bhagavad Gita during sex (silliest thing I saw all year)
POOR THINGS: The dance scene
TALK TO ME: The time-lapse sequence of the seance party