This year I was able to see 133 new releases in the theater (which is a record for me) and, as in year's past, I have compiled a list of my top ten favorites. My ranking is not based on the critical response or on the box office performance but, rather, on how much I enjoyed both the movie and the experience of watching it. As always it is a very eclectic list! (Click on the title to read my original review).
I was completely charmed by this heartwarming adaptation of the classic book by Judy Bloom. This movie portrays the awkwardness of early adolescence in an incredibly empathetic way as Margaret navigates the travails of making new friends, dealing with peer pressure, experiencing her first crush, and trying to understand her changing body. There are lots of poignant moments as Margaret turns to God for answers after being raised without religion but there are also some laugh out loud moments, such as when she and her friends attend a socially awkward party with the boys in their class. Abby Ryder Fortson gives an incredibly compelling and honest portrayal of a teen girl and all of her complexities and I also loved Rachel McAdams as her mother. This is the most delightful movie I saw all year!
Seeing Asteroid City at the Broadway on opening night was probably the most fun I have had watching a movie because there wasn't an empty seat and the audience, full of Wes Anderson aficionados, laughed out loud through the whole movie (as did I). It is a hilarious take on the ultimately futile search for the meaning of life but it is also about the power of art to explain the unexpected. It doubles down on everything Wes Anderson is known for and I especially loved the stylized and elaborate production design, the pastel color palette, the symmetrical shot composition, the deadpan delivery which belies deeper emotions (Jason Schwartzman and Scarlet Johansson are brilliant but the entire cast is also outstanding), the subtle humor (especially the astronomical ellipses), and the title cards. I think this is one of Anderson's best and I loved it.
8. Barbie
Seeing Barbie with my nephew was another one of my favorite viewing experiences (I think we were the only ones in the capacity crowd not wearing pink). Greta Gerwig effectively straddles the line between social commentary about female empowerment and nostalgia for a beloved toy in this movie through brilliant production design, costumes that recreate some of Barbie's most famous looks, and witty self-referential dialogue that had everyone in the audience laughing out loud. Margot Robbie perfectly embodies the iconic doll but Ryan Gosling is an absolute hoot who steals the show as Ken (especially his performance of the power ballad "I'm Just Ken") and America Ferrera is outstanding in her delivery of a powerful monologue about the difficulties of being a woman in today's society. In addition to the laughter and the applause during key moments, a montage to Billie Eilish's song "What Was I Made For?" brought tears to my eyes. It exceeded my expectations in every way!
I saw the final installment of the John Wick franchise opening night with a loud and boisterous crowd and I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, and cheering out loud! The stakes are higher than they have ever been for our protagonist and the action sequences are absolutely amazing with spectacular set pieces that are intense and unrelenting with dynamic fight choreography and visually stunning shot composition. Keanu Reeves gives an incredibly poignant performance, Bill Skarsgard is perfect as a petulant villain, Donnie Yen almost steals the show with his amusing line deliveries, and Rina Sawayama is outstanding in one of the best fight sequences in the movie. Wick's character arc is very compelling because he must finally face the consequences of his actions in a very visceral way and I found it to be surprisingly satisfying.
6. Ferrari
After reading Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine by Brock Yates, Michael Mann's adaptation of this fascinating biography was one of my most anticipated movies of the year and it did not disappoint. Enzo Ferrari reaches a crossroads in his life during the summer of 1957, both personally and professionally, but he is fiercely determined to win the grueling Mille Miglia road race at any cost. Adam Driver is brilliant in an understated but powerful performance and Penelope Cruz is the perfect foil to him because she is as explosive as he is restrained. While this is a meditative character study, there are some thrilling racing sequences and one of the most brutal car crashes I have ever seen. It is both epic and intimate and I found it extremely compelling.
I was able to see an early screening of Killers of the Flower Moon in a packed theater and I was blown away by it. It features a riveting story that is equal parts epic Western, lurid crime drama, tragic love story, and scathing commentary on greed and corruption as white men lie, cheat, manipulate, steal, and eventually murder the Osage to gain control of their wealth from oil. Frequent Scorsese collaborators Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio are outstanding but Lily Gladstone is absolutely captivating in a highly nuanced performance in which she portrays every emotion imaginable. All of the technical elements, from cinematography to production design to editing, are brilliant and the score by Robbie Robertson really adds to the tension. I loved this dark and melancholy masterpiece.
4. Oppenheimer
I was able to see Oppenheimer with my nephew at an early screening and we both found it to be incredibly powerful and thought-provoking. Cillian Murphy gives a brilliant performance that perfectly embodies a man who is conflicted after he succeeds in creating an atomic bomb because he knows that it is needed as a deterrent but is horrified by the prospect of using it. The scenes where Oppenheimer envisions the consequences of his actions while everyone at Los Alamos celebrates are some of the most haunting I have ever seen. Robert Downey, Jr. gives one of the best performances of his career and the supporting cast is also excellent. The sound design and the score by Ludwig Goransson (especially when it mimics a ticking clock) are incredibly effective in creating an anxious atmosphere and the visuals are striking because they give the audience access to the cataclysmic visions in Oppenheimer's head. I was incredibly impressed with this masterful exploration of power and accountability.
I did not expect to love The Holdovers as much as I did but it is the most heartwarming movie I saw all year. A curmudgeonly professor, a depressed and acerbic student, and a cook who is mourning the loss of her son in Vietnam are left at a New England prep school over the Christmas holidays. They initially clash with each other but, after a series of misadventures, they form an unlikely bond. I loved all three characters so much because Angus helps Paul make peace with his past, Paul helps Angus see a future for himself, and they both help Mary get through the present without her son and Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa (in his first role) give incredibly affecting performances. I also loved the 1970s aesthetic in the production design and the grainy film effects. This is a movie that I can definitely see myself watching every holiday season.
2. Poor Things
As a huge fan of Yorgos Lanthimos I knew that I would love Poor Things but this dark and twisted masterpiece exceeded my expectations! This is a fascinating take on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and I loved the themes of rebirth, self-discovery, transformation, liberation, and empowerment. Emma Stone, as Bella Baxter, gives a brilliant and fearless performance and I found her disjointed movements, mannerisms, and facial expressions as Bella develops to be so much fun to watch. Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo (who is hilarious), Ramy Youssef, and Christopher Abbott are also outstanding as the men who try, unsuccessfully, to control Bella. The production design is gorgeous and I especially loved all of the steampunk elements. The costumes are also fabulous and the merging of Victorian silhouettes with the theme of freedom from societal norms is ingenious. It is quite explicit but I absolutely loved it!
1. Past Lives
I had an incredibly emotional response to Past Lives when I first saw it at the Sundance Film Festival in January and no other movie that I saw this year impacted me as much! It is a beautiful story about two people, Nora Young and Hae Sung, who yearn for the past and the life they might have lived together but understand that the lives that they now lead are the ones that they are meant to have. Greta Lee and Teo Yoo give highly nuanced performances where just a glance expresses more emotion that pages of dialogue ever could. Two incredibly poignant moments brought me to tears, including when Nora tells her husband that she is where she was meant to be because it is where she ended up and when she tells Hae Sung that the twelve year old girl he remembers was left behind in Korea. I felt a deep connection to Nora because I often wish that I had stayed in Canada but I know that I am who I am because I left and seeing Nora come to the same realization was extremely cathartic for me!
Honorable Mentions (I loved too many movies for just ten this year): Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Boy and the Heron, Anatomy of a Fall, Godzilla Minus One, and The Iron Claw.
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