by Emily Maesar, Associate Editor, TVJawn

No “best of” list is perfect. Obviously, we’re all very different people, but I also haven’t watched many films I think would end up on this list. Partially because I just haven’t gotten to them yet, but mostly because December is kind of stacked with films I think have major potential to be on my list—but I’m writing this before they’re officially out. Such is life. Anyway, here are ten of my favorite films that came out in 2023. They’re all remarkable in their own wonderful ways!

10. Evil Dead Rise (dir. Lee Cronin)

The Evil Dead franchise is such a beast of a thing—I am always surprised and delighted when a new entry in the series gets made and I fall in love with it again. But Cronin’s film actually made me think about that response, because Evil Dead Rise proved, once again, that this film series is one of the most consistent horror franchises to exist. There’s something about it that inspires the best work from everyone involved. Obviously, the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell entries have a remarkable consistency (even when the tone shifts), but Fede Álvarez (who wrote and directed the 2013 Evil Dead) and Lee Cronin have such command over the franchise. In fact, something I really loved about Evil Dead Rise was Cronin’s ability to bring back the comedy. Álvarez’s entry was such a horror fest, much like the original film, but Evil Dead Rise allows its unique location and interesting characters to mix horror and the comedy by way of Evil Dead II. Truly supreme!

9. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (dir. Kelly Fremon Craig)

I was never a Judy Bloom girl. It feels important to note that because I feel like I really could have been, but her books about preteen girlhood missed me in such a spectacular way. I did have a feeling, though, that I could probably appreciate those stories now—and what better way to do so than with a wonderfully made and lovingly adapted film version? Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. has some best acting performances I saw all year, including Abby Ryder Fortson who knocks it out of the park. Plus, it’s always fun and interesting to see Benny Safdie in this kind of role. I think this film is in such perfect harmony with itself and the story it’s trying to tell, even if very few people saw it. I’ve been thinking about it constantly for nearly the whole year.

8. Past Lives (dir. Celine Song)

Personally, I simply love sitting in a theater by myself, crying and feeling my entire life change when I watch a movie. Which is what my experience with Past Lives was like. I’ve always been a big fan of the idea of people being tied together by fate and universe, and Past Lives is such an amazing expression of that. I think about Song’s use of in medias res to start us near the end of the story, with the speculation of the relationship(s) between the three characters presented to us by disembodied voices. That choice alone makes me want to sing, because it opens so many possible universes for them to walk through, and the final place we land is deeply emotional, quietly sad, and beautiful beyond measure. “You dream in a language I can't understand” is perhaps the line that has wrecked me the most this year.

7. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (dir. Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley)

As someone who had previously loved the Dungeons & Dragons film from 2000…I recognize I was wrong for that. I knew that before the 2023 film was even a twinkle in the eye of anyone involved, but seeing an actually good D&D film come out of the mainstream (and not just fan adventures of some kind) has been a truly wonderful experience. The film does a really wonderful job of feeling like the best kind of game you’re ever been part of—but is also aware that it can’t be just for the D&D people in the audience. It’s a fantasy film first and foremost, allowing all the specifics of the game to become part of the storytelling without overwhelming it and making it inaccessible. It’s threading the needle in a great way, and I think it’ll go down as one of the great heist films in its genre: an honor among the thieves of note.

Anyway, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ended up being the only film on this list that I actually reviewed for MovieJawn, so if you want more details on the good stuff (and some history of what it took to get this film made), check it out!

6. Asteroid City (dir. Wes Anderson)

There are a few films this year that dealt with the death of parents—particularly mothers. I would know, as I lost my own mom this year and was acutely aware of it in media, as you might expect. However, nothing hits me square in the chest quite like Asteroid City. In part because I don’t know if I knew how big of a part of the story it would be, but mostly because I think Anderson’s handle on the entire affair was so profound to me when I first saw the film. It’s interesting to compare this to The Darjeeling Limited, a Wes Anderson film I like just fine but didn’t find quite as emotionally arresting. Personally, I think this film is a much more mature and interesting take on grief that I found truly emotionally affecting. Also, the meta elements of this story really reflect all the things I loved about my favorite Anderson film before it: The Grand Budapest Hotel. This film stands on its own but is such a great evolution of Anderson’s style—from both a construction point-of-view, as well as from an emotional one.

5. Barbie (dir. Greta Gerwig)

There’s already been so much said about Barbie, I don’t really know how I can add to the conversation in any meaningful way. But it truly was such a remarkable feat. I remain shocked and surprised by what Gerwig and Noah Baumbach were able to get away with, just from the level of working with one of the most financially profitable intellectual properties of all time. It’s a love letter to girlhood, yes, but it’s also this perfect encapsulation of its own message. Because Barbie isn’t a perfect feminist film, but it doesn’t have to be. It shouldn’t have to be. That’s the whole point. You take the idealized dream of the past, plastic and perfect, and turn it into something human and messy. 

4. Anatomy of a Fall (dir. Justine Triet)

When I stepped into the theater to watch Anatomy of a Fall, I truly had no idea what to expect. I knew people had been talking about the film coming out of the festival circuit, but I was less than inquisitive about it. So, it’s fair to say that I was shocked at exactly how much I loved this film. It’s a courtroom drama that is a showcase of the best the genre has to offer, while also showing off the specific weirdness of the French legal system—something fun and interesting as an American who only really knows about the batshit nature of our legal system. Triet has such a command of tone and pace that it left me breathless by the end of its two-and-a-half-hour runtime. And it’s a runtime that the film earns every single second of, a difficult feat that Triet makes looks easy. Sandra Hüller and Milo Machado-Graner as mother and son are impeccable, weaving performances of grief, anger, and fear that makes Anatomy of a Fall feel alive and compelling. 

3. Theater Camp (dir. Molly Gordon & Nick Lieberman)

I don’t think there’s any real way to understate how absolutely hilarious Theater Camp is. Maybe part of it is being a former theater kid, but Theater Camp is the perfect example of knowing exactly who your audience is and playing directly to them. The film is a mockumentary about the potential last year of a theater themed summer camp. Jimmy Tatro plays Troy, the unlikely director of the camp who takes over for his mother while she’s in a coma. The mix of new counselors like Ayo Edebiri, whose character Janet has no idea what she’s doing, and seasoned duo Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) & Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt) makes for some really interesting dynamics as you imagine a world where these characters might get it together in time to save the camp. But Noah Galvin’s Glenn is the real scene stealer of the film. You watch as he goes from the ultimate techy, who knows everything about how the camp actually functions, to being a star performer saving the day. It’s such a wonderfully put together film filled with heart, humor, and the true community theater spirit!

2. Bottoms (dir. Emma Seligman)

As we come to the bottom of this list (despite being the top, simply because of the layout) we discover that my absolute dang-ass freak bisexual nature is in full effect. First up is Bottoms, the original number one on this list until November. I don’t think I laughed harder at a film this year than I did at Bottoms, a film about lesbian losers who start a fight club in order to get girls. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is one of the best concepts ever said out loud—let alone put on screen. The cast is completely stacked with some of the most interesting young and new actors in the last five years. Specifically, though, Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott are such stars. Obviously, they’ve both been popping off for the last few years, but Bottoms really allows them to shine as leads. Overall, Bottoms is the ideal and perfect kind of weird, horny, violent, and queer.

1. Saltburn (dir. Emerald Fennell)

Saltburn is the ultimately dang-ass freak film of the year, though. Which is great, because I’m a dang-ass freak and I feel like Emerald Fennell made this film for me. Beyond my ultimate excitement that Barry Keoghan finally gets to be number one on the call sheet, the general vibes of just the trailers alone were enough to make me buy into the film completely. But the film itself? I’ve never been so obsessed. Sometimes you’re already a little freak, sometimes a guy is so hot you can’t help but become a little freak, and in Saltburn, both things are clearly true. Like many films on this list, part of the reason I love it so much is because of how dialed in all of the performances are, and with this kind of over-the-top extravaganza…they really have to be. Rosamund Pike proves she’s one of the funniest modern dramatic actresses, while Alison Oliver delivers one of my favorite monologues of the year, soaked in grief and anger. Of course, the internet at large has been talking a lot about the big scenes: the bathtub, the vampire moment, and the grave. However, I think my favorite scene, that shows the kind of range Keoghan has, is the karaoke one. It’s a big moment in the film, of course, but it’s also small in all the ways great character work often is. Ultimately, there are so many things in Saltburn that will be cemented in my brain forever. I’m going to go to my grave thinking about this one.