December 27, 2023
Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY
Margot Robbie and "Barbie" formed one half of the summer's big 1-2 punch at the movies.
It's been an eventful year for film, and that might be putting it mildly.
There were numerous high-profile releases across the board, new heights reached in animation with titles like "Across the Spider-Verse," a months-long writers and actors strike of which the effects will carry over well into 2024, and of course, the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon.
And in any year like this, that always leaves a lot to discuss and a lot to pick from.
So without further ado, here are some of the PhillyVoice team's favorites from 2023...
5. "How to Blow Up a Pipeline"
4. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
3. "Anatomy of a Fall"
2. "Oppenheimer"
1. "The Holdovers"
My beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe crumbled, perhaps for good in 2023, but the momentum of "Barbenheimer," a fresh set of animated films and a renewed focus on auteur directors could save the film industry overall. It's for the best.
5. "Oppenheimer"
4. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
3. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
2. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem"
1. "John Wick: Chapter 4"
Only took in a handful of movies and barely watched any TV this year, but what I did see was pretty stellar (save for one*). "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" was a proper and emotional sendoff for a beloved band of space misfits and James Gunn's work with Marvel, while also feeling like a clear jumping-off point for anyone who burnt out on the MCU. "Oppenheimer" was a chaotic, thought-provoking thriller that had Christopher Nolan's direction at its best. "Across the Spider-Verse" was a marvel (yeah, I know) in animation, and Daniel Pemberton's work on the score was excellent. And then came "Mutant Mayhem" with its own distinct art direction and a well-paced, well-executed origin story for the Ninja Turtles, who for the first time came off as actual teenagers – this scene sums it up perfectly.
As for "John Wick: Chapter 4"... This whole series continues to be action movies at their peak. The bar kept getting raised with each entry, and yet somehow, someway, Chapter 4 went and reached even higher. It was a spectacular time to see in theaters.
*The one that was not stellar: "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." That was an unnecessarily long, uninspired, overly focused-tested, and de-aging CG-coated waste of time. "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" looks like a best picture nominee next to it, and I'm of the belief that that movie isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Disney, I want my $20 back.
5. "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour"
4. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
3. "The Little Mermaid"
2. "Barbie"
1. "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes"
Honorable Mentions: "Oppenheimer," "May December," "Red, White & Royal Blue," "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah"
This year brought multiple nostalgia-inducing movies that became some of my new favorites. I loved reliving the Eras Tour in the movie theater, which became more like a concert venue with Swifties dancing and singing the whole time. It was such a unique and fun experience! "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" was a poignant ending to a fun trilogy... still crying over Rocket's storyline. "The Little Mermaid" was one of my favorite Disney live-action remakes of recent times. Halle Bailey was incredible as Ariel, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric... YES!
As a girl who grew up creating intricate storylines for her Barbie dolls, the "Barbie" movie really touched my soul. Ryan Gosling is hilarious and Margot Robbie is literally Barbie incarnate. Underneath the jokes and musical numbers and pink, the deeper messages really hit home for me too. (Honorable mention to "Oppenheimer" which was another great movie and led to the "Barbenheimer" era over the summer, which I don't believe will ever be recreated or topped.) And then there was my favorite of the year: "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." It did an incredible job of adapting an amazing prequel, and ushering in another Hunger Games renaissance. With all this being said, there are still a few more Oscars-contenders I'm going to try to see before the year is up!
5. "Polite Society"
4. "How to Blow Up a Pipeline"
3. "Barbie"
2. "Fair Play"
1. "Dream Scenario"
Honorable Mentions: "May December," "Killers of the Flower Moon," "You Hurt My Feelings," "Showing Up," "Oppenheimer," "The Holdovers," "Maestro"
I love watching movies take big swings, and these picks had no shortage of ambition or imagination. In the Bollywood musical/martial arts movie "Polite Society," a teen wannabe stuntwoman tries to save her sister from marriage to a seemingly perfect doctor hiding a seriously messed-up scheme. "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" turns a radical climate protest into a suspenseful heist movie as a group of unlikely allies join forces to, well, you can guess. Greta Gerwig took her unlimited bucks from Mattel and Warner Bros. and ran with it, giving us a hilarious, candy-colored "Barbie" movie with incredible set design and much to say about femininity, masculinity and Matchbox Twenty. "Fair Play" shows the tense unraveling of a relationship when a whip-smart analyst gets an unexpected promotion over her male coworker (and secret fiance) at a New York hedge fund. And "Dream Scenario" takes Nicolas Cage's status as an internet icon to surreal new heights, casting him as a completely forgettable biology professor who starts appearing in everyone's dreams.
5. Quiz Lady
4. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
1. Oppenheimer
As we bravely continue to enter movie theaters late into a pandemic, we are reminded that movies these days aren't too bad. 2023 had an array of genres represented, from colorful comedies to some grim and realistic dramas. Blockbuster highlights included "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," "Barbie," and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," and indies such as "Infinity Pool" were unsettling and compelling. To highlight five mainstream films in particular, I wanted to start with "Quiz Lady." Sandra Oh and Awkwafina charmed as very different sisters in a bonkers situation. There's also an entire sequence set in Philly, featuring a (fictional) Ben Franklin-themed motel, angry Philly fans, and the first time I've ever heard the word "jawn" in a movie. "
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" was also a good time; what could have been a CGI-laden cash grab was an extremely funny and clever adventure movie centered around a found family, in a "Guardians of the Galaxy" sort of way. On the animation side of things, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" certainly had some "Spider-Verse" vibes, with a creative visual style invoking the feel of schoolchildren sketching on their notebooks. Featuring actual teenage actors voicing the turtles, the pop culture reference-filled script and frantic choreography injected a lot of energy into this Gen Z-era Ninja Turtles movie.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" was a long and harrowing tale of the real-life Osage murders at the beginning of the 20th century. While Martin Scorsese's usual muses (Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro) gave it their all, it was Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart who stood out the most. Through all of the character's suffering and struggles, Gladstone demonstrates immense emotion through microexpressions. You may have to take a break or two when watching this film at home, but it's worth it to learn about this story. Similarly, "Oppenheimer" was simply stunning when I saw it on IMAX in King of Prussia. Granted, I was in the very front row, but sequences like the Trinity test invoked cinematic sensory feelings that I hadn't before. It's a twisty non-linear narrative in classic Christopher Nolan form, yet it flows in a way that compelled me from beginning to end.
