Cinema Junkie toasts the best of 2023

The 96^th Academy Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday. But today Cinema Junkie hands out its awards and Moviewallas' Yazdi Pithavala offers his picks for the best of 2023.

Ever since the pandemic I feel like the films I want to highlight on my 10 Best List are ones that don’t play it safe, that are trying to break some rules, say something new or just display some kind of audacity. It is less about finding the best made film and more about finding the films that I felt inspired by or felt a more personal connection to.

Focus Features

Beth's top 10 movies of 2023

At number 10, Alexander Payne’s "The Holdovers" because it’s focus on script, character and performance feels radical and audacious these days.

At nine, Brandon Cronenberg’s creepy and disturbing "Infinity Pool." As David Cronenberg's son, he reveals a thematic lineage to his father, but also proves he has a unique cinematic voice.

In the next two spots, I need to cheat a little because I cannot resist including a pair of streaming shows. "The Last of Us" and "Dead Ringers" were both brilliant and rewarding. The line between feature films and streaming shows is blurring as directors move back and forth between the two. These were so exceptional that I felt compelled to include them.

"The Last of Us" is based on a video game that was hailed as one of the best not just for game play but also for story. The series captures the action and horror as well as an emotional wallop.

HBO

"Dead Ringers" is a remake of my beloved 1988 David Cronenberg film and I was fully prepared to hate it. But I was proven wrong immediately, and was riveted to the show from its opening scene. It shows exactly why and how to do a good remake, which is basically to have a new vision. The show also did a gender swap from the Cronenberg film about twin male gynecologists, and gave the body horror a very female spin. Rachel Weisz excelled as the Mantle twins in the series. Brilliant from start to finish.

At number six is the perfectly tuned Hitchcockian thriller from France, "Anatomy of a Fall," which contrasts sharply with the animated "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" which I have placed at five. But both proved audacious in different ways. "Anatomy of a Fall" in terms of its script that built tension from almost nothing, and "Spider-Man" in the bold animation that pushed the envelope at every turn while creating a story that had real emotional weight.

"Past Lives" displays its own original narrative structure and come in at number four, followed by Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Monster" at number three. Both films feel delicate on one level yet powerful in their quiet impact.

Toho Studios

At number two, "Godzilla Minus One." It roared into theaters with both an epic scale and a genuine sense of human tragedy.

And at the top of my list is Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things," a kind of feminist reimagining of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." It is the female empowerment film "Barbie" couldn’t even imagine. "Poor Things" never had to lecture us or mention the word "patriarchy" to make its points. No one had to give Emma Stone’s Bella permission or approval to do anything, and she never had to spew a monologue about all the terrible ways she had been treated. She simply took the initiative to do anything she wanted defying both the men who tried to restrict her, but also any societal rules or mores that dared to get in her way. She tore down "polite society" with rambunctious glee. The film was the most boldly original work of 2023.

Clover Films

Honorable mentions

These films deserve special recognition as well, "The Taste of Things," "Saltburn," "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt," "Fallen Leaves," "Society of Snow," "The Teachers' Lounge" and "A Thousand and One." And special mention for South Korea's "Killing Romance" as the funniest film I saw all year. But it's sad that star Lee Sun-kyun committed suicide, so highlighting this film is also a way to pay tribute to him and his amazingly funny performance.

Horror had a stellar year with Eli Roth delivering the best surprise with "Thanksgiving," a film that returned him to the joyous slaughter of his first films. "When Evil Lurks" from Argentina was the most relentlessly horrific film. "The Blackening" was everything the "Scream" franchise wished it could be — funny, clever, self-referential and well-executed. Women filmmakers scored big with Michelle Garza Cevera's "Huesera: The Bone Woman," Laura Moss' "Birth/Rebirth," Daina Reid's "Run Rabbit Run," Jacqueline Castel's "My Animal," Yoko Okumura's "Unseen," and the Adams Family's "Where the Devil Roams." I also want to highlight the fine work of "Dark Harvest" and "The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster."

Paramount

Beth's awards

Best actress: Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
Runners up: Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall;" Greta Lee, "Past Lives;"
Leonie Benesch, "The Teachers' Lounge"

Best actor: Koji Yakusho, "Perfect Days"
Runners up: Barry Keoghan, "Saltburn;" Mads Mikkelsen, "The Promised Land;" Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"

Best supporting actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"
Runners up: Tilda Swinton, "The Killer;" Isabella Rossellini, "La Chimera"

Best supporting actor: Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"
Runners up: Dar Salim, "The Covenant;" Paul Mescal, "All of Us Strangers"

Best cinematography: "Poor Things," Robbie Ryan
Runners up: "Infinity Pool," Karim Hussain; "Saltburn," Linus Sandgren

Best editing: "Poor Things," Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Runners up: "John Wick: Chapter 4," Nathan Orloff and "Past Lives," Keith Fraase

Best visual effects: "Godzilla Minus One" (hands down, no other competition)

Best action film: "John Wick: Chapter 4"
Runners up: "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant;" "Sisu"

Best documentary: "The Pigeon Tunnel"
Runner up: "Kokomo City"

Warner Brothers

And the award for the worst of the year...

And my picks for the worst of the year: "Barbie," the most unwatchable film since "Forrest Gump;" "Exorcist: Believer" and "The Flash." I also want to mention "Scream VI," as the most unwanted and unnecessary sequel. Michael Mann's "Ferrari" and Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" as big, bad, boring and boated films from directors I like. "Rebel Moon," Zack Snyder's joyless tribute to "Star Wars;" and "Knock at Any Cabin" from M. Night Shyamalan who has simply worn out his welcome.

Searchlight Pictures

A24