Commander Shipp’s Top 10 Films of 2023

The 2023 movie season is over, but award season is just around the corner. What did Commander Shipp think about this year’s offerings? Let’s discuss.

It’s my second annual listicle! Yay!

I’m kidding, if you remember how this worked last year, while this is technically a top ten list, you’ll notice it’s also not ranked. That’s because I hate ranking movies; I find the exercise interesting but the takeaways that people make exhausting. If you don’t include or rank their favorite movie appropriately, it completely invalidates your list, instead of launching a conversation into how you came to that conclusion.

This criticism sort of extends to the Oscars, where I respect them as industry awards, but get exhausted (there goes that word again) by the idea that films should compete.

How do you make that fair?

Should we give every production the same script and see how they fare in what they make? Should we let Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan go one-on-one in a movie cage match to see who the best filmmaker is? (Actually, I would pay money to see that…)

If I’m losing you, let’s use a sports analogy to help drive home the fact:

In College Football (Hollywood), if you want to make the playoffs (Oscars), you need to win enough games (buzz) to at least be in contention for a coveted berth (Oscar nomination), however that’s where the similarity ends. Unless you’re Florida State (a.k.a any movie that should have at least received a Best Picture nomination) in which case, you get public acclaim and pats on the shoulder, but get the cold shoulder at the awards show.

I know I’m joking and realize that these are subjective, but I’m trying to drive home the fact that listicles and the award show system have some flaws that aren’t recognized when we go through the process each year. We sort of get caught up in the frenzy every time and forget all the great films that delivered us an amazing year just so we can burrow down to a winner. Forgive me for not being incredibly enthusiastic about how callous this can become. In that spirit, before you get to the list, let’s go through the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention

Cassandro

Gael García Bernal soars (quite literally) in this portrayal of real-life Mexican wrestler Cassandro, who becomes one of the most famous exótico performers (drag wrestlers) of all time. What’s most touching through the entire film is his relationship with his mother and father, how deftly the film connects and showcases their impact on his life trajectory and how Cassandro choose to deal with it.

Past Lives

Celine Song’s directorial debut is a strong showcase in how human yearning and love can persist for decades and through natural disconnects. Greta Lee and Tae Yoo have fantastic chemistry once the narrative shifts to their in-person interactions and Song does a great job weaving and incorporating the dating culture of the mid-2000s into the narrative in some ways that work well and others that hold back an otherwise fantastic romantic drama.

Concrete Utopia

Utopia marks Um Tae-hwa’s second time in the director’s chair (though he’s helmed a few smaller projects before this), marking an impactful and strong international debut for a creative who’s spent time with veteran Korean director Park Chan-wook on Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005). Weaving between classism, societal collapse, and the limits of human compassion, Utopia finds way to breathe new life into the well-worn disaster genre while delivering another memorable opportunity to Korean acting veteran Lee Byung-hun.

The Holdovers

Alexander Payne teams up again with Paul Giamatti to deliver a fantastically warm and memorable coming-of-age story that unites three disparate characters in Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as a school teacher, student, and cafeteria worker stuck together for Christmas. The setting really allows each one an opportunity for their various traumas and shortcomings to be laid bare while creating spaces for them to grow with one another.

My Top 10 for 2023

Godzilla Minus One

If I had started these lists back in 2016, I would have likely included Shin Godzilla for its superb political commentary on modern US / Japanese relations. So it’s no wonder that a throwback Godzilla film that’s well-executed and debates the merits of kamikaze pilots while dissecting the imperial remnants of post-war Japan made the list. It wisely finds a solid balance between a limited number of action set pieces and putting humans at the forefront to deliver an instant Kaiju classic.

Infinity Pool

Director Brandon Cronenburg is showing that he inherited the same wicked sense of creativity that his father (David Cronenburg) possesses. Anchored by stellar performances from Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård, this mental thriller delivers in the grotesque and eerie department while also providing a timely and sharp social commentary on wage privilege.

The Iron Claw

Director Sean Durkin’s exploration into the Von Edrich wrestling family will leave audiences shaken, but it’s the type of film that’s designed to make fathers and sons open up and talk to one another. There’s an overwhelming sense of grief and sadness as you watch these men fail to overcome their demons or help one another move past tragedy as it nearly strangles their entire family whole.

Poor Things

I love when an actor/actress commits themselves fully to a role and that may seem like a weird thing to say. Sure, we would hope everyone is giving their best when they approach a role, but sometimes there’s instances when a performer is leaving nothing behind, no reserves, pouring everything out on the screen. That’s what Emma Stone has done with Yorgos Lanthimos’ recent dark comedy that tackles the roadblocks women face when exploring their sexuality. It thoroughly skewers several problematic issues that powerful men wear on their sleeves while providing an avenue for Stone to absolutely chew scenery.

The Creator

If you read my initial impressions on Gareth Edwards return to the director’s chair, it took a bit for the themes that Edwards put forth to resonate with me. And there are unfortunately a few decisions made in the plot that make you scratch your head, but the overall theme of redemption is incredibly powerful amidst an impressive array of special effects and practical locations shots while also adding new thoughts to the ever-present conversation on artificial intelligence.

All of Us Strangers

Andrew Scott has always delivered in his appearances in BBC’s Sherlock, Amazon’s Fleabag series, and his solo and ensemble stage work. However his performance in this modern ghost story, anchored by supporting cast members Claire Foy, Paul Mescal, and Jamie Bell, highlights what new range and heights he can still reach. The ending (non-spoiler) while technically a twist, leaves quite a gut punch without resorting to a cheap shock and will lead to fantastic conversations with audiences about what exactly happened.

American Fiction

No offense to my number one pick down below (especially since it will likely get a boatload of Oscar nods) but…if any film should get the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, American Fiction would be my pick. Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut coupled with a strong adaptation and Jeffrey Wright anchoring the production elevates a complicated conversation on blackness in modern Hollywood and what we choose to produce as creatives.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse

There’s one scene that encapsulates my emotions around this film and while I don’t want to spoil it in case you haven’t seen it, there’s a line from Miguel O’Hara (voiced by Oscar Isaac) where he tells Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) that he doesn’t belong. It hit me immensely inside and outside the narrative due to every issue a black Spiderman has faced (like the infamous internet blowup over Donald Glover being considered for a role) and when Miles pushed back against that assertion, it felt like a vindication of the character in more ways than one.

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

All Dirt Roads is one of the most striking portraits of the black body that I’ve ever witnessed. Director Raven Jackson and cinematographer Jomo Fray create an intimate look into two generations of southern black women and how their lives ebb and flow with the triumphs, tragedies, and things left unsaid.

My Top Pick

Oppenheimer

I would hesitate to say I was completely out on Christopher Nolan. But Tenet (2020) really tested my narrative patience even if there’s plenty of elements that I love in that film (along with John David Washington’s performance). It felt like, as this one YouTuber opined, Nolan was sacrificing story for scale. Literally calling one of your characters the Protagonist would have likely made my fanboy brain excited a decade ago, but in my growth as a reviewer and writer, it absolutely annoyed me and made me worried about his subsequent projects.

This was the mindset I was dealing with when I sat down to watch Oppenheimer at the BFI IMAX in London with a group of excited friends. I was ready to be mad, to be disappointed, and/or to role my eyes at a spectacle with no connection. For the first 5 minutes, as the three timelines of Oppenheimer are being laid out, I wanted to chuck my popcorn bucket at the screen because it felt like we were going down the same, problematic trend.

Despite that rocky start, I settled in and found myself blown away by what was happening once the score started to build and the main timeline began to move itself forward. Those early gripes seemed incredibly trivial and Nolan had restrained his worse impulses (for the most part) to create something truly unique, a film that found a way to play into the mythology of the famed physicist while also using his security clearance trial as a tool to hold him accountable for his actions. Coupled with a once-in-a-lifetime sized score by Ludwig Goransson, Oppenheimer is easily Nolan’s finest film and my pick as the best of 2023.

Conclusion

There’s a few films I wrestled with including on this list, like Barbie or a few more film festival darlings, but I believe these here are the ones that resonated with me the most through this year. This list doesn’t reflect my Oscar predictions (see my thoughts at the beginning) but I wouldn’t be surprised if some on this list take home hardware from the various associations, Globes, and finally the Academy Awards. So what do you think? What did you have on your list? Have you seen the movies talked about here and what did you like or dislike about them?

To join the conversation, head on over to our Nerd Union Discord for our 2023 movie AMA, scheduled for January 8th, 7PMCST and if you can’t wait for the video chat, feel free to drop questions and comments into the channel and I’ll answer whenever I can.

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