MY FAVOURITE MOVIES OF 2023

It’s that time of the year again to take stock of the movies seen in 2023 and share what my personal favourites were with you. As in previous years, a number of these movies were spill over from 2022 as they were released towards the end of the year or that I simply did not get the opportunity to catch them in time. Likewise, my top 10 list here is not comprehensive because I had yet to see a number of potentially great movies that were released globally in 2023. Most notably missing would be the highly acclaimed KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, GODZILLA MINUS ONE and NAPOLEON.
My personal favourite movie of the year is probably a surprise to many of you as it was a movie that was pretty much ignored by the media and hence, fell under the radar of most movie goers’ attention. SOUND OF FREEDOM was easily my choice as THE best movie of the year not because it was the most entertaining or that it was the most enjoyable movie I watched in the year. Quite the contrary. This movie was very difficult to watch because of its realistic depiction of the very real evil that lurks in the world today – child trafficking. Watching this movie it was obvious that everybody involved with the making of this film made it with such passion that the whole thing comes across as authentic and respectful of the subject. It does not need to rely on graphic violence, foul language or nudity to tell a story that is already encompass all these elements. Instead, what we get is compelling story that is well told and acted. I find it surprising that some critics can say that this film was underwhelming or falsely label this as a faith based movie. It may be released by Angel Studios which specialises in a lot of faith-based movies but SOUND OF FREEDOM certainly does not come across as such.
Coming in a distant second place is Tom Cruise in his 7th Mission Impossible outing. Like last year’s TOP GUN MAVERICK, Tom Cruise proves to the world that he remains the world’s greatest action movie star and continues to outdo himself in every new movie that he makes. Remarkably he is not only just good at the physically demanding moments, but demonstrates time and again what a great character actor he is with his perfect sense of humour and ability to bring off moments of tenderness and sensitivity even amidst all the mayhem. He may not be in my top movie of the year but the is definately my choice as Actor of the Year! This year’s list also include a number of entries to long surviving franchises like John Wick and Indiana Jones. Kudos to the film makers for keeping the flame burning and making these latest entries look and feel as relevant today as they were when they first appeared.
The following is my top 10 favourite movies for 2023 list more or less in order of my own personal preference:
- SOUND OF FREEDOM
- MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING PART ONE
- JOHN WICK CHAPTER 4
- TAR
- INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
- BABYLON
- SILENT NIGHT
- GRAN TURISMO
- NYAD
- A HAUNTING IN VENICE

Like previous years we had the usual mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. Not everything was great as there were the unfortunate occasions where I felt like 2 hours of my life was wasted and gone forever. As usual many of the films had big names attached to them which makes it worst. And I dare say one or two of these may actually in some movie critics list of Top Ten Films for the year! My list for the worst of 2023 includes PLANE (Gerard Butler), MARLOWE (Liam Neeson), MUDER MYSTERY 2 (Jennifer Aniston), PAINT (Owen Wilson), EXTRACTION 2 (Chris Hemsworth), THE BOOGEYMAN, THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER, MEG2: THE TRENCH (Jason Stratham) and ASTEROID CITY (Director Wes Anderson). My pick for the worst film of the year is HEART OF STONE which was yet another high-profile action thriller from Netflix that is just simply a torture to watch.
The two movies that made the most impact in the movies this year, BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER are left out in my list for the best and the worst. The reason is simple. BARBIE was simply not really that good and just an obscene excuse for a Male Bashing movie. It was mildly entertaining and pretty to look at, that I admit, but not something I would gush over like a teenager. OPPENHEIMER disappointed me. As I said in my review, a movie about a great man and a great event in history, does not automatically makes it a great movie. It was too long, and yet still failed to provide strong characterization for anyone apart from Oppenheimer himself. I find myself still wondering what made Oppenheimer the person he was as there was little substance to help provide a clue where he got his talent from especially during his development years as a child and youth. Unless we are all expected to accept it as something he was born with. Finally, all the hoo-ha about Christopher Nolan’s association with the IMAX technology which promoted the idea that this needs to be seen in an IMAX hall is hogwash. This film is 90% dialouge which means the whole IMAX association is immaterial.
That’s all my thoughts for the year in movies for 2023. I am looking forward to 2024 as there does seem to be a lot of potentially good movies and TV series to look out for. Do pen me a word or two about your own thoughts of what the movies in 2023 were like for you.