FAVE FILMS 2025

Welcome to my 15^th annual movie blog in which I scribble some thoughts about my favorite films of the year. Once again, filmmakers who previously had made my lists appear again. Once again my list doesn’t differ dramatically from other lists & those being celebrated during award season. I’m not sure if my taste is becoming more mainstream or if the mainstream is becoming more like me.

Just a top 10 this year. I just didn’t have the time to expand it with top lists in specific genres. Though it was once again an amazing year for the Horror genre. Thanks ahead of time to all of you who were looking forward to this list. You know who you are.

Check out my Letterboxd page for my 'next' 5 favorite films of 2025 as well as a number of other, interesting lists I've made.

Without further ado, may I present:

My favorite feature films

This list is in order

All my reviews are spoiler-free

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

This might be Paul Thomas Anderson’s best film. I think it’s certainly, objectively, 2025’s best as well & is my favorite of the year. The subject matter couldn’t be more on America’s pulse or fit more aptly into its cultural Zeitgeist. Every performance is outstanding. The film’s tone is interesting in how it blends comedy & drama in surprising ways through scenes that in another director’s hands wouldn’t work without P.T.A.’s nuanced writing style & experienced instinct. I saw this in Prague’s IMAX cinema, which allowed the amazing cinematography to shine in all its glory. It felt like I was in the car on those rolling hills & breathing that American SW desert air I’d recently experienced for the first time during my vacation last summer. I hope P.T.A. finally wins his long-deserved Best Director Oscar. I’d love to see Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood on that stage holding a long-deserved statue as well.

 

WEAPONS

I saw this last summer with my brother during my US vacation, kind of a tradition he & I have about catching horror films in the cinema together when we can. And in the same cinema where we’d caught LONGLEGS a year before. WEAPONS is my favorite horror film of the year, though not the most frightening or disturbing. I just love this story & how the filmmakers decided to tell it. I loved its PULP FICTION-style’ of non-linear storytelling, the individual character chapters & how it reveals necessary plot elements out of chronological order, but in a thematically momentous way. I’m happy Pedro Pascal’s departure allowed Josh Brolan to give his gravitas to his role. Julia Garner & Benedict Wong round out their non-Marvel team-up to perfection. And my god, Amy Madigan’s role as Gladys deserves her Oscar nomination (her 2^nd) & I hope a win. Like director Zach Creggor’s previous film, 2022’s BARBARIAN, WEAPONS is a modern horror masterpiece on its own, as well as one of the most entertaining films of any genre I saw last year.

EDDINGTON

The experience of seeing this film where I did greatly increases my appreciation of the event. It was my first & so far only visit to an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. My longing to see a film, any film, or even experience a festival of some kind at one of their locations stems from all the way back to the early 2000s when Ain’t It Cool News was my Internet browser homepage. Although I didn’t go to their original Austin, TX location, my good friend ‘Em,’ who I visited in NYC last summer, surprised me by taking me to their downtown Manhattan location to see this film. I had no idea it was that cinema. I was descending an escalator a couple of floors beneath a towering skyscraper when the sign of the cinema came into view. And I could hardly contain my excitement.

Director Ari Aster’s 4^th feature shares a number of elements with his previous, 2023 psychological comedy BEAU IS AFRAID & also stars Jaoquin Pheonix in the lead. There is some familiar Coen Brothers-type dry humor at work that makes you uncomfortable to laugh at, but is surely intended. This ‘Covid Western’ story unfolds in constantly unexpected ways & accomplishes something quite surprising. Giving us joy in empathizing with emotionally realized characters that aren’t reduced to ‘caricatures’ of many who weren’t behaving intelligently during the pandemic and also on the right of America’s political spectrum. The ‘refusing to wear masks’ crowd, as it were. And watching Pheonix’s character pave his road to Hell sailing on a wind of good intentions was pure enjoyment. This is also a fantastic double-feature with ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER.

 

SENTIMENTAL VALUE

 

I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to finally watch this. Most showings in Prague didn’t include English subtitles for all the Norwegian spoken, which is throughout. But this is a film that sticks with you. Had I seen it even 8 months ago, I’d have re-watched it closer to posting this list to refresh its abstract & sometimes ambiguous themes. Every performance is so nuanced that every gesture, every facial expression, eye contact or lack thereof, subtle glance & body language expresses more than the words in the script can convey. To the point that what isn’t said, but ‘written’ on the characters’ faces say more than any dialogue ever could. I was often reminded of the perfection demanded by Ingmar Bergman’s best characters along my journey through this very emotional family drama. Norwegian Director Joachim Trier is no stranger to my lists. 2021’s THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD & 2017’s THELMA both made my lists in those years. I’m kind of a sucker for films about films & I am a sentimental fool, so these aspects combined was a sure-fire success to be one of my favorites of the year. This just might be Trier’s masterpiece to date.

 

SINNERS

It is my intention to actively not mention the plot of any film on this list in any detail that might affect your experience of seeing them for yourself. Coming in as blind as you choose. But I need to tread into that territory with this review a bit. I need to mention that this is, essentially, a horror film. But mostly in a way similar to how Peale’s 2017’s GET OUT is also of the genre. Despite both not including ‘traditional’ elements of that genre in terms of what tropes we’ve come to expect of it for most of their runtimes, the social implications of the characters’ circumstances in both films & our understanding of their implications, are what enhance the horrific tone of both films’ setting. And in both, the setting is almost a ‘character’ itself. Especially in the current cultural zeitgeist of hyper-fixation of various aspects, causes & effects of types of social injustice. And if one is not sympathetic to or knowledgeable of the unspoken but omnipresent weight of the larger ‘world’ both of those films exist in, neither are likely to have such a heavy impact on an audience as it did me. And by a record-setting number of Oscar nominations (16 in total – beating the previous record of 14), it seems many were able to ‘read between the lines’ of what these films put on the screen.

I also want to bring up the comparison to Rodriguez’s 1996 FROM DUSK TILL DAWN to further dip my toes into the realm of plot territory. To play Devil’s Advocate for a moment, both it and SINNERS didn’t need to dive so deeply into the horror elements in their last act. Some might even argue that both would have been ‘better’ had they not. But I am a horror fan. And I actually wish both films had taken an even deeper dive into the blood & gore. Both a lot earlier in the plot & a lot more often. And that is my only criticism of both films. Because every aspect of Ryan Coogler’s direction, every performance, especially the double role of Michael B. Jordan, is master-class. The cinematography is perhaps the best I saw all year, overall. The music, sound editing & editing – superb. And the fact that this IS a horror film makes all those accomplishments all the more amazing.

TRAIN DREAMS

This film was completely shot in the Pacific Northwest, which is where I’m from, & is my ‘spiritual home.’ U.F.O.s haunt the skies, sasquatch roam the endless forests & if you’re not careful, you might stumble through the Lynchian curtains of the Black Lodge if you stray off a beaten path. My mother’s father was a ‘woodsman.’ He felled many a tree & bore the scars of how that labor impacts you. Trains in this film represent both tools of connection & destruction. The progress & wealth earned by their expansion were built on the backs of the men & women who sacrificed their health & sometimes, too many times, their very lives without ever tasting the sweet fruit of that success. And TRAIN DREAMS is as haunting as a train’s whistle, heard off in the distance, like the faint scream of every lost soul who built its rails. Director Clint Bentley tells a story that transforms all that into poetry & a meditation on how we shouldn’t forget that there is also beauty in it. He reminds us of the respect we should have for those who shouldn’t be forgotten. And leaves us with an ending so unexpected & surprising, you’ll jump online just like I did to look up the same thing. Let me know if you did or if I’m wrong.

 

HAMNET

I’ve read 3 books dedicated to the question ‘was Shakespeare a real person?’ All concluded ‘absolutely, yes.’ And none of them claim he was a black Jewish woman, like an absurd recent book suggests. Director Chloé Zhao’s magnificent film makes Billy’s wife the main character. I suppose you could call Agnes a witch, though I’m not sure how historically accurate that is. Actress Jessie Buckley’s performance as Mrs. Spear Shaker just might earn her an Oscar. This is quite a sad film, about death & loss. And the relationship between that death & the play it partly inspired is also true. But the film does play with the timeline a bit to suggest that these 2 events were closer together than the actual 3 years of separation. So I can’t say you’re going to learn a lot about Shakespeare’s family’s lives by watching this film. Though it does a great job of recreating the type of living conditions they lived through at the time. The film’s biggest triumph is making the daily lives of these characters more interesting than the play you know is eventually coming. This is a perfect double feature with TRAIN DREAMS in terms of themes & tone. And its ‘art as healing’ theme is strikingly similar to SENTIMENTAL VALUE, making that another perfect double feature. And if you’ve got any tissues left after watching that, that box should be empty after HAMNET, which is why I’m happy I watched both films at home.

 

NO OTHER CHOICE

My favorite Korean filmmaker, whose films I’ve enjoyed for over 2 decades now, shows no signs of slowing down. The film’s title is more of a question than a statement. Here we have a black comedy, commenting on how technology & the flaws of Capitalism are shrinking the need for humans in the workplace. Actor Lee Byung-hun, who you might recognize from SQUID GAME, gives a career-best performance as a patriarch desperately trying to save his family’s livelihood & the desperate measures he decides to take (or not) in an increasingly strangling world. Director Park Chan-wook is a master of composition, working with his cinematographer & musical composer to constantly surprise the audience with creative sequences unlike anyone else in the business. I called his 2022 masterpiece DECISION TO LEAVE his ‘VERTIGO,’ & the comparison to Hitchcock is once again apt here. But it’s not all depressing, indeed there are a number of hilarious moments, accentuated by the drama of the scene, that make this film one of the most entertaining I saw all year. And the one with the sharpest social commentary that will certainly leave a mark.

 

BLUE MOON

 

BLUE MOON feels more like a play. It’s basically told in real time & in a single location. Ethan Hawke plays ‘Larry’ Hart, the amazing lyricist of over 500 original songs & the former partner of Richard Rogers, with whom he wrote 28 stage musicals with, before Rogers would go on to work with Oscar Hammerstein & change the musical world forever. The evening of our film is about Rogers’ first work done without him, the classic OKLAHOMA! And ‘Larry’ slowly watching his career slip away. And it’s as hauntingly beautiful & poignant as the title’s song. I’m a sentimental fool & I identify strongly with the character Hawke so brilliantly brings to life. Director Richard Linklater brings the past to life so vividly if feels like you were really there & are now a part of history. Though for ‘Larry,’ ultimately a sad one.

 

NOUVELLE VAGUE

 

NOUVELLE VAGUE is a film I once had a long evening in a bar with an old friend conceiving ourselves. I wanted to tell a story of the filmmakers of the French New Wave & show the making of one or some of their films. This story is about the making of Godard’s 1960 film BREATHLESS. And all the French masters make an appearance. It takes us back to that hyper-creative moment in history when French cinema was about to take over the world – again. And everybody is cast brilliantly. Linklater has made many films that are my favorites of their years. And in 2025 he did it twice. The man is a genius.

FAVE FILMS 2024

I can’t say that 2024 was a fantastic year for film, but it was certainly surprising. It was an amazing year for horror films. In fact, 3 of them made my top 10. I had a lot of trouble choosing films for this list & especially putting them in order, which I did manage to do once again this time. This is not a ‘hard & fast’ order, but more a relative order that I’ll almost certainly want to re-arrange in the future. But here is how I’ve arranged things as of abandoning this list most recently before hitting that ‘publish’ button.

I spend the time making these ‘film diaries,’ as I call them, because I’ve been inspired by others who have done the same thing throughout the years. One of whom is my friend Bob, whose great lists you can find here. We have a lot in common. Anything that he recommends that isn’t on my list, just add those to my alternative favorites as well.

Like I always say, these are not what I consider the ‘best’ films of the year. They are my favorites. The ones I enjoyed the most. For a variety of reasons. Once again, a number of ‘better’ & award-nominated & winning films didn’t make my list. It's possible that whatever film wins Best Picture tonight isn't even on this list. Which historically would be quite a departure from my previous 13 lists. I prefer when I can recommend films off the radar & just fun. Feel free to DM me or talk to me in person to discuss your favorites that didn’t make this subjective cut. Without further ado, I present…

 

My favorite feature films

This list is in order

All my reviews are spoiler-free 

THE SUBSTANCE

 

I guess I’m calling my favorite horror film of the year my favorite film of the year as well. Kind of unexpected, but this film has really grown on me. I can relate to it on a number of levels. It’s extremely re-watchable. It’s only the 7^th horror film ever nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, which I doubt it will win. But Demi Moore’s performance is amazing & I can see her winning the Oscar for Best Actress after her Golden Globe & a variety of other wins. Of its 5 nominations, I think this might be the only statue it takes home. I’m upset that Margaret Qualley was snubbed because her performance is also excellent. I love body horror & the places this film goes near the end are up there with the best. A lot of directors are influenced by & steal from what influences them & my only little criticism of this film is the number of times it steals from Kubrick & Lynch, just to name a couple. But from another POV, it’s more great stuff that’s stolen from other great stuff I love, so I’ll forgive it for that.

French director Coralie Fargeat is someone I’ve had my eye on ever since I saw & loved her 2017 debut feature film REVENGE. She also directed an episode of the ill-fated Netflix show THE SANDMAN (season 1, episode 9 called Collectors, which is about a serial killer convention from The Doll’s House storyline). I’m extremely sad that the show will be cancelled after the release of season 2 this year.

 NOSFERATU

 

I was lucky enough to attend a double feature at Prague’s Kino Aero where I saw the 1922 version, followed by this masterpiece. I just wish it had been a trilogy & included Herzog’s 1979 film as well. Robert Eggers continues his near-perfect streak of excellent work with this modern classic. The Czech & Slovak-shot film used many of the same locations as the 1922 original as well as a variety of recognizable new locations I’ve visited. The haunting atmosphere the film enchants you with is accentuated by the outstanding cinematography that incorporates a number of Czech locations ‘painted’ into a unique tapestry of original set design.

One tiny criticism I have about the film is a bit of the acting. Bill Skarsgård once again gives a genuine creepy performance with especially voice acting, which was not digitally altered. That’s really what he was able to do after months of training with opera singers. Lily-Rose Depp took inspiration from Isabelle Adjani’s iconic performance in 1981’s POSSESSION, although with inferior success. For me, the weakest performance is given by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who also stars in 2024’s KRAVEN THE HUNTER, which was the final nail in the proverbial coffin of Sony’s Spider-Man adjacent cinematic universe. But on the other hand, I still found these & other performances appropriately comedic for the most part, as are a number of scenes in Murnau’s 1922 original. And deliberately so. Which is partly what makes Eggers’ film so entertaining & re-watchable.

 DUNE: PART TWO

 

This was a difficult choice because my love of this sequel is dependent on combining my love of part one. The synergy effect of both films together is what I truly love. Which is to say that I don’t appreciate where in the story the first film concludes. But now, having the conclusion of the first novel filmed, I love them as a pair. Say what you will about Lynch’s 1984 adaptation (I say it’s Lynch’s worst film, however I still love it), at least it tells the whole first novel’s story.

I think Denis Villeneuve was the perfect choice to helm this endeavor. And that the results speak for themselves. I love all his films & would struggle to pick a favorite. I could criticize some details about both films. For the total length, I think the ending was a bit rushed, for example. But this adaptation of this classic novel that I love will satisfy me for the rest of my life. 2024 also brought us the HBO TV show DUNE: PROPHACY, none of which was directed by Villeneuve, but it’s certainly inspired by his style & highly recommended.

 THE FALL GUY

 

This was chronologically my first favorite film of the year. It’s fun, re-watchable & dedicated to the overlooked & underappreciated role that stunt people play in film. I found Ryan Gosling & Emily Blunt delightful together. There is great action & stunts throughout & the story feels like a nod to many classic action films from the 1980s.

I love American director David Leitch. He started his career as a stunt performer & coordinator. You can find a review of his directorial debut, 2017’s ATOMIC BLONDE, on that year of my reviews. I loved 2018’s DEADPOOL 2, & 2022’s BULLET TRAIN as well. He even co-created the JOHN WICK franchise. All last year I thought that the Academy of Motion Pictures were adding a new Oscar category to 2025’s ceremony, Best Stunt Work, & that this film would win. But I was surprised & saddened to see that this hasn’t been implemented yet. I thought it would be fitting for Leitch to win the first time the award was offered.

 HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

 

The most unexpected & out-of-nowhere film on my list is this black-&-white, slapstick, silent comedy, which is probably the most entertaining & re-watchable film I saw all year. Its dense & detailed action set pieces take full advantage of every possible situation, location & prop in this video game-inspired spectacle. With a budget of only $150,000, American director Mike Cheslik’s debut feature is one for the whole family & all age groups. Its witty & clever skits are a nod to both Looney Tunes & many live-action films of the 1920s & 1930s. I like to describe it to those in the know as, ‘imagine if Chuck Jones & Tex Avery designed a film for Guy Maddin to direct while they were all on drugs.’ Needless to say, this is a very ‘chemical-friendly’ watch for a wide-range of your drugs of choice.

Although this technically premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2022, it received global distribution in 2024 so I’m counting it. One minor issue about watching this film is that it might be one you need to save until the darker seasons, as most of the plot takes place in snowy wilderness, which might feel a little inappropriate to watch in spring / summer.

 DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

 

A very selfish pick is this that I watched in the cinema with my brother while visiting America. It’s certainly one of the biggest ‘crowd-pleasing’ MCU films to date with countless meta nods & winks to various aspects of not only recent MCU films, but the state of comic films in general. I think it's better than DEADPOOL 2 & about on par with 2016’s DEADPOOL, but with many added benefits. Deadpool has officially entered the MCU & he brought a very R-rated Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine along with him (as well as back from the dead, which does probably anger many fans of 2017’s LOGAN, me somewhat included, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s always room for more Jackman Wolverine). Many other characters who I had thought would never get screen time again also return (to avoid spoilers I’ll just leave that hanging there). The synergy effect of all of those characters together creates a fantastic melee of surprising hijinks that I can re-watch multiple times (as of posting this, I’ve seen it completely 3 times & have rewatched multiple scenes many more times than that).

Director Shawn Levy has made a lot of things over the years I’ve loved or at least liked. From the NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM trilogy, to previously working with Hugh Jackman in  2011’s REAL STEEL, to directing 8 episodes of STRANGER THINGS. D&W has the same tone as the previous two DEADPOOL films due to Ryan Reynolds’ writing & creative control. And I’m looking forward to seeing what effect Deadpool’s forth wall-breaking effect will have in the upcoming AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY & SECRET WARS.

 SMILE 2

 

2022’s SMILE was one of my favorite horror films of that year. It’s not the most original idea & it kind of reminded me of IT FOLLOWS but with death replacing sex as a motif. At first I thought that it wasn’t worth getting too excited about this sequel. But little did I know how much more ambitious it would be. SMILE 2 is carried by an amazing performance by Naomi Scott, who won the Saturn Award for her performance in this film. There are multiple sequences that hypnotize you with surreal imagery & playful editing that force you to constantly question whether or not many events are really happening in the film’s reality or simply in the character’s mind. You’re being manipulated by the supernatural being’s spell along this phantasmagorical ride just as much as our protagonist is.

Director Parker Finn directed both films, but this sequel feels like it was created by someone with a lot more experience than just these 2 features under his belt. I would never spoil the ending of a film in these reviews. But I do need to say that the ending is so unexpected & brilliant, not only in content but in style, that it elevates this film to something so astonishingly frightening that it blew me away. I know Finn is working on completing a trilogy of these films. And I am so enthusiastically looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here that I’ll actually see part 3 in the cinema, instead of waiting to watch it at home, where I caught these previous 2.

 FLOW

 

My favorite animated film of the year is another film on this list entirely without dialogue. I suppose you could liken this to LIFE OF PI, but with only tame animals on the boat. I feel the need to briefly describe the plot here, but I won’t give too much away. There seems to be a widespread, even global flood event that raises the water level & displaces a variety of animals, whose journey we follow without explanation as there are no people in the film to explain anything to us. The scale of this event becomes more apparent as we follow a realistic relationship formed by various animals as they seek shelter in various locations that are sometimes familiar & at the same time other-worldly. And I couldn’t help but feel that there is some manipulation with the proximity of these familiar locations compared to where you might find them in real life. So the timeframe of the events is a little unclear. At the center of all of this is our protagonist, the black cat, whose realistic portrayal hooks us immediately with empathy (assuming you like cats I guess) due to how lifelike it seems.

And that’s it. No artifice. No ‘plot.’ No robots that can magically speak to animals. No animals talking to each other. Just a gorgeously animated film, similar to 1993’s live-action HOMEWARD BOUND: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. But amazingly animated where every second is a frame-worthy digital painting. Beautifully realized by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis. This is only his 2^nd feature film, following his beautiful 2019 debut AWAY.

 QUEER

 

Of the two great films directed by Luca Guadagnino from 2024, I prefer QUEER to CHALLENGERS. Which I bring up because if you’ve seen & liked that, don’t miss his other great work of last year. QUEER feels like a film that was made in the 1990s, especially because of the soundtrack, probably my favorite of 2024, which includes songs by: Nirvana, Prince, Radiohead, New Order & many others. And on top of that, there is also a new & original score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, who also composed an original score to CHALLENGERS. Daniel Craig shows once again how versatile he is as an actor. And no, I don’t think it’s a problem for a straight person to play a gay character. I do get upset about casting when a production claims to be historic, but then casts people who are inappropriate (*cough* Netflix’s CLEOPATRA). Surprisingly, I do have a small issue with Jason Schwartzman’s character in the film. I think he wears a ‘fat suit’ & it does seem a bit offensive, but more importantly, just strange & unnecessary.

Guadagnino is no stranger to my lists. 2015’s A BIGGER SPLASH, 2017’s CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, 2018’s SUSPIRIA & 2022’s BONES & ALL are all mentioned in my previous lists. This adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novel captures the tone & surrealism of the author’s prose just as well, if not better, than other films adapted from his work, such as 1989’s DRUGSTORE COWBOY & 1991’s NAKED LUNCH. And if you’re a fan of those films, don’t miss this.

 EMILIA PÉREZ

 

It’s never easy rounding out these top-10 lists. Sometimes it comes down to a coin flip. There are 5-6 films I want to put here. So why this controversial pick? I’m not really trolling here nor am I pushing an agenda. I saw this at Kino Aero with 2 friends & it was a powerful experience. I can agree with some criticism of how ridiculous the plot is & how we’re supposed to immediately forgive someone for heinous actions because the plot tells us to. But don't worry. Take this film in stride & just let it flow over you. Not that this story provides a happy ending though. It’s a proper tragedy. In more ways than one.

A lot of the acting is great. Zoe Saldaña’s performance is award-worthy & she seems like the frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Few, if any, could have played the part of the title character better than Karla Sofía Gascón, despite my objections to some of her real-life opinions. Do I think the film deserves all 13 of its Oscar nominations? If Zoe gets the only Oscar from all its nominations, I'd actually prefer that. Because this film is absolutely not as objectively that great. But that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable.

This is a musical, which is a genre that normally doesn’t make it into my top 10. Especially a musical where, let’s be honest, the songs are not that great or memorable. But I found many of them (perhaps inappropriately so), very entertaining. As well as some of the dialogue. Selena Gomez’s sincere line, ‘my pussy still hurts when I think of you’ seems like it was copied & pasted from something like SHOWGIRLS, which I found hilarious. It’s as if the entire production doesn’t take itself seriously at times just to troll the audience. But unlike JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX, I was actually entertained by the effort. There’s a song called, La Vaginoplastia about a sex change operation, again, that I can’t help but find ridiculously funny. I guess I’m just one of the remaining few Leftists who still has a sense of humor. Don’t skip this film because a bunch of bigots have tried to convince you that it’s bad because of politics. And remember that if you haven’t seen it, any opinion you have about it is meaningless. Sorry to sound so harsh, but the number of people online who have actually created ‘review’ videos of it without having seen it is absurd.

FAVE FILMS 2023

Welcome to my 2023 Fave Films list. This is my 13^th year of doing this. 2023 was perhaps the worst year of my life. And I’m sure my drama affected what films I chose as my favorites. Perhaps more than any other year that I’ve done this blog, 2023 was more about escapism than anything else.

I don't think 2023 was a great year for film. At least ones that I really enjoyed. I had trouble picking 10 & I was planning to do a top 5 horror films as well as top 5 animated films list as well but I had to take 4 titles off of those lists just to create this one due to the lack of films of other genres that I wanted to include. But I think these 10 are probably the films I liked the best.

Last year my friend Eric Wilkinson, who I befriended in 2001 at the Seattle Film Institute, died in a car crash. He was from & lived in Oregon. Eric’s film blog was the biggest inspiration for my own & he was someone I greatly enjoyed discussing films with all year long. You can find Eric’s blog here: https://magnolia12883.wordpress.com/erics-bests/.

I say this every year but these were my favorite films of the year, not the ones I thought were objectively ‘the best.’ There are a number of highly-praised & award-winning titles not on my list. And that’s fine. I’ve probably seen most of them. All I’m really saying is in my humble, give these 10 a try & I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

My favorite feature films

This list is in order

All my reviews are spoiler-free

POOR THINGS

 

My favorite film of 2023 & 1 of only 2 on this list I’ve rated with a perfect 5 stars. Nominated for 11 Oscars & I hope it wins Emma Stone her 2^nd best actress Oscar as well as best cinematography. Most other award nominations seem to be shared with OPPENHEIMER & I’ll be happy whenever that wins Oscars as well. ‘Frankenstein’ is one of my favorite novels of all time & this is an extremely funny, sometimes absurd, masterpiece & inspiration. I saw it twice in the cinema, something I rarely do. And I’ve already watched it again now that it’s online. Disney+ even, as of this posting.

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is no stranger to these lists. Two of his previous films made my top-10 list (2018’S THE FAVORITE & 2017’S THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, which was my 2^nd favorite film of that year). Before that, 2015’S THE LOBSTER was a runner-up (top 15 – many people love this film more than me and that’s OK). And this is my new favorite film by Lanthimos (moving 2009’s DOGTOOTH to #2).

I saw this film in January & with an extreme level of hype surrounding it. And it was better than I’d expected. I had no idea it would become my #1 film of the year & would steal that title from SPIDER-MAN (see below). I visited Lisbon, Portugal last year & was enchanted by the imaginative creativity Lanthimos uses to depict that city. The cinematography is my favorite of the year & extremely creative. And the performances are superb. The script is clever & extremely funny. And the music is other-worldly & paints the perfect tone for the story. And this is British composer Jerskin Fendrix’s debut film as a composer. That’s crazy. And what’s even crazier is that Lanthimos & Stone have already finished shooting another feature film together called KINDS OF KINDNESS, which will be released later in 2024. Perhaps we’ll find it here on next year’s list.

SPIDER-MAN ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

 

This was my favorite film of the year from June until the end of December. And it's the only other film on this list I've given a perfect 5-star rating to. It’s also the film I’ve seen the most times on this list (5 so far & counting). I was certain it would stay there. But then I saw POOR THINGS in January & that all changed. I actually love this one more than INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE a little bit. But they're both brilliant & I hope this also wins best animated feature at this year's Oscars. Sony-produced Marvel films with Spider-Man in them are no stranger to my lists & are always much better than anything non Spider-Man that Sony produces of the Marvel properties they still own. It's also interesting that at 2 hours & 20 minutes, this is the longest animated film ever produced by America. The MATRIX RELOADED-style, cliffhanger ending put some people off, but I knew about that going in & I didn't mind.

BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE is one of my most anticipated films of this year & I have little doubt you'll see it on next year's list as well. I haven't seen Hayao Miyazaki's THE BOY & THE HERON yet, but it winning best animated film would only solidify the master's decision to 'unretire' a good one.

OPPENHEIMER

 

Another masterpiece from Christopher Nolan. I give it 4.5 stars, removing half for the pacing of the last 30 minutes or so. I think it’s going to win the best picture Oscar as well as best actor for Cillian Murphy. It’s been nominated for 13 Oscars in total. I was lucky enough to see this in 70mm in Prague’s IMAX cinema (where I’d seen 6 of Nolan’s previous films), one of the only cinemas in all of Europe showing it in 70mm. People from around Europe were travelling to Prague just to experience it in 70mm & tickets were quite difficult to get for at least the first month of its release. This is also the first film shot on black & white IMAX film, which had to be made especially for it.

The all-star ensemble cast is brilliant & I hope Cillian Murphy wins the best actor Oscar. I think this performance, as well as in the TV series PEAKY BLINDERS for example, has solidified Murphy as one of the best actors working today. I do think this is perhaps the 'best' film of the year. And will win best picture.

SALTBURN

 

A black dramady from director Emerald Fennell, who won the Oscar for best original screenplay for her previous, debut feature film (2020’s PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN). I rate this film 4.5 stars & I’m shocked that it was completely overlooked by the Academy. No Oscar nominations. Not even for Barry Keoghan, the Oscar-nominated actor from THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, who gives what I think was one of the best performances of the year. Certainly better than Ryan Gosling in BARBIE, for example. Jacob Elordi’s & Czech resident Rosamund Pike’s performances were also great. Maybe the Academy was just too freaked out by this disturbing & obsessive story. This film does for bathtubs (& freshly-dug graves) what CALL ME BY YOUR NAME did for peaches.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

 

In this time of supposed ‘superhero fatigue,’ where most of Marvel & DC’s content has been quite lackluster, this gem (Infinity Stone pun intended) was very welcome. Though it’s not that surprising that James Gunn delivered a quality film in his beloved franchise, one of the very best in the MCU. I loved it more than 2, but a tiny bit less than 1. Making Rocket the focus of the story felt absolutely necessary & his tragic story brings a level of gravitas to the MCU unseen since ENDGAME. I laughed, I cried & I cheered watching this film & I currently have it ranked as my 7th favorite film in the entire MCU (part 1 is currently 6th). The soundtrack isn’t quite as iconic as part 1, though the same is true for part 2. But opening the show with an acoustic version Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ was an inspired choice. 

For a Phase Four MCU production, I’m happy the film isn’t crippled with some kind of shoehorned-in multiverse subplot that sets up some upcoming film(s) & instead was allowed to be its own self-contained story that beautifully wraps up this trilogy. I also loved last December’s HOLIDAY SPECIAL on Disney+. One big criticism I do have with GUARDIANS 3 is the character Adam Warlock, who I found disappointing. He is a major character in the comic story of ‘Infinity War’ & introducing him after the conclusion of that storyline onscreen doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I found the character goofy & unnecessary to the plot of this film for the most part. But perhaps he’ll redeem himself with his participation in the upcoming SECRET WARS. I didn’t intend to include this film in my top-10, but after watching this 3 times now, I’m still looking forward to seeing it yet again. A solid 4.5-star rating for the MCU canon.

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

 

This is one of the best Godzilla films ever made. A 4.5-star masterpiece of the franchise that is missing half a star because I wish Godzilla had a bit more screen time & wish it didn’t take so much from the 1954 original, which this film seems to be a soft reboot of. This and 2016’s SHIN GODZILLA are like my 5^th & 6^th favorite films in this franchise. In the world of this film, Godzilla is a brand new threat because the film is set at the end of WWII. And it’s really a story of a handful of characters struggling to rebuild their lives after the firebombing of Tokyo & the PTSD of war. This is the first Godzilla film nominated for an Oscar (for visual effects). 2023-2024 was & is a monumental time for Godzilla. With this film, the great TV show MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS & the upcoming GODZILLA x KONG film, we’ve never had so much Godzilla in such a short amount of time. And I’m super excited for whatever is to come.

TALK TO ME

My favorite horror film of the year is this creepy Australian production by 2 directors who had never made a feature film before. Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou are both Gen Z YouTube content creators whose only previous experience with the horror genre seems to be having worked on the production crew of THE BABADOOK 10 years ago. This film’s story is freaky as hell & the performances are genuinely disturbing. Actress Sophie Wilde ‘embodies’ (pun intended) her character’s drama very convincingly & disturbingly. And the film’s main prop, the severed white hand, is already an iconic symbol of the modern horror genre. You can even buy it on Etsy, LOL.

As you can see, I’m only doing a top-10 this year. There are 2 horror films on this list (see below for #2). But here’s a shortlist of my next 3 favorite horror films of 2023 to round out the top 5: #3 WHEN EVIL LURKS, #4 THANKSGIVING & #5 COBWEB. If you only watch 5 horror films from 2023, you could do a hell of a lot worse than those. Another film I rate 4.5 stars.

INFINITY POOL

 

I’m going to be honest, these last 3 picks were chosen out of a large ‘pool’ of films I rated 4-stars. So after some thought, I decided to go with the next 3, which have stuck with me the most & I find myself thinking about a lot. I love the concept of INFINITY POOL & it’s similar in style to various similar novels I’ve read & other films I enjoy. But the main thing about this film is the cast. I’m still on a Mia Goth high after her two outstanding performances last year (in X and PEARL). And she’s completely unleashed in this film. Alexander Skarsgård is an actor who I respect the more I see him. He’s fantastic in 2022’s THE NORTHMAN & I loved him in the TV series SUCCESSION. Rounding out the cast are many other great performances by a string of actors nobody knows by name (yet?) so I won’t highlight them here.

Director & writer Brandon Cronenberg is the son of legendary director David Cronenberg & I included his previous film, 2020’s POSSESSOR, on my list of 10-favorite horror films of that year. This is his 3^rd feature film & I’m happy he’s followed in his father’s footsteps of making horrific thrillers that I really enjoy.

ALL OF US STRANGERS

 

This drama / fantasy / romance wouldn’t have made my favorite film list in past years, nor would it have this year, had it not gut punched me with its emotional poignancy due to current events. I lost both of my parents in 2023. My father last May & my mother last September. And this not only affected what films I watched & love, but which ones I connected with. Actor Andrew Scott (of SHERLOCK fame) ‘time travels’ to spend time with his deceased parents in this film and this story evoked such pathos within me that I couldn’t deny its impact & rightful place on this list. I don’t fully understand the plot exactly, nor can we rely on the objectivity of our narrator. It leaves us with more questions than answers, but I think it’s more important to feel this film than to understand it.

This is the first film by British director Andrew Haigh that I’ve seen. But his last 7 films all have high scores on IMDB. Actors Andrew Scott & Paul Mescal (Oscar-nominated actor of 2022’s AFTERSUN – another poignant film that affected me deeply & just missed my top-10 of last year) both give amazingly vulnerable performances. And I’m very excited about the upcoming 8-episode series RIPLEY that Andrew Scott stars in (playing Tom Ripley from the Patricia Highsmith novels).

PAST LIVES

I don’t really know what film to put at #10 this year. There were many that I gave 4 stars to & there are still a number of films I haven’t seen yet that could take this spot once I get to them. But I can’t deny the charm of director Celine Song’s debut film, which, to use a phrase I quite enjoy, is ‘quite complicated in its simplicity.’ As an expat myself, I sometimes feel torn between 2 cultures & my place within them. This film could have dived into a bit more of that & there are other aspects that my imagination says would have made this story a little denser, but I know I shouldn’t think about a film that way & instead just take it as it is. I love Korean films but my favorites are usually all made by a handful of directors. So it makes me happy when I can find new talent to recommend. I’m always happy when foreign-language films make my list & I hope including them influences some of you to watch them.