Best Films of 2017-2023 (2023)

 Back by popular demand (i.e., my brother-in-law asked me if I have made my 2023 list), here is my list of the best movies for each year going back to 2017.  (My last best-of movies list was in 2016 (which I slighly updated (Best Films of 2016)).)

My method is to look at the top 200 grossing films for a given year and then filter for my favorites starting from there.  Although, now that a lot of movies are coming direct to streaming it throws off the box office figures so I have to scan through some other year-end lists and rack my brain a bit to make sure I capture everything.  

I show the box office ranks in parentheses.  No spoilers.  

Best of 2023

1. Oppenheimer (5) - A solid Christopher Nolan installment.  I appreciated the stylistic choices to lay out the drama (e.g., political intrigue, different color palettes, tense interviews, sciency transition shots, etc.), and I was moved by the scene where he's giving his "victory" speech immediately following the detonation.  
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (3) - Very pleasantly surprised by this film.  It was kind of a throwaway movie-watching experience since I was on a road trip in Idaho with my pre-teen daughter and we were looking for something fun to do.  But then when the movie started I remembered that this is part of the Spiderman graphic novel-type series I'm currently digging and not the interminable series with a revolving-door of lead actors and stakes that are getting so cosmically grand that I can't manage to keep caring much.  Anyways, the villain is fun and the artistic design and creativity is astounding.  The scene where Miles and Gwen are hanging upside down in Manhattan with the beautiful skyline behind them is gorgeous.  Gwen also reminded me of my daughter and her hard-core rock-climbing buddies so that made it fun.  
3. Wonka (20) - Based on the previews and the abysmal Tim Burton / Johnny Depp "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie a few years back, I was really not expecting to enjoy this movie.  But it was light and fun, and it had great music, and I loved the set design and the look & feel of all Wonka's gadgetry.  Chalamet had a lot more charisma here than I anticipated.  It was a fun Christmas movie for our whole family.  
4. Asteroid City (66) - Maybe a bit overly stylized.  I had to watch it over 3 sittings.  Beautiful, and some great chuckles at times.  But I don't find the magic in Wes Anderson's recent films like in the old ones.  
5. Creed III (16) - I loved the first Creed, but this one was just "good".  
6. Elemental (17) - Decent Pixar film.  Their films are getting a little formulaic, but I still ended up liking this movie a little more than I expected based on some "meh" reviews.  
7. M3GAN (26) - A.I. stuff.  A quirky, scary film.  

Movies I'm Eager to Watch (In Order)

1. The Boy and the Heron (58)
2. Anatomy of a Fall (146)
3. Past Lives (100)
4. The Taste of Things (?)
5. Killers of the Flower Moon (36)

Movies I'm Not that Eager to Watch

1. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (13) - I feel like I already saw the movie based on some of the social media campaigns they did showing Tom Cruise jump off a cliff on his motorbike.  
2. Barbie (1) - Val and my oldest daughter watched this and didn't care for it much, so I'll probably pass.