The Year 2023 So Far
We’re in June! We have hit the halfway point for the year. Now that The Movie Lovers podcast has ended I thought I’d return the assessment of the year in film back to the blog. So, what I’ll do here is give you my picks for the worst movie of the year so far and the five best films of the year so far.
Now, I’ve only seen around 20 films from the past six months. That equates to less than 4 films per month, so I’m going to invite you up front to take some of this with a pinch of salt. There are a handful of regrettable blind spots at this point for me that I truly wish I had opportunity or access to by this point. Those especially are Kelly Reichardt’s newest, Showing Up, and Nicole Holofcener’s newest, You Hurt My Feelings. But I’m also missing out on Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, which has a strong reputation, as well. And then there’s the drama A Thousand and One and Wes Anderson’s Astroid City. Those are my biggest misses here, so if you’ve seen those films and feel they deserve to be included you now know why they are not and it’s possible they will be in my year-end list.
Honestly, though, from what I have seen, as far as first halves go, this has been a good one. Have we been spoiled with riches of excellent, top-shelf movies? Not really. But there are several movies that exceeded expectations and the quotient for films that are really worthwhile and enjoyable to not is more than usual for this half of any given year. Here’s what I think are…
The Best So Far
5. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
We’ve seen an attempt at adapting the beloved game where friends gather around a table to play make-believe fantasy adventure to film before. It didn’t go well - and that was made by a long-time fan of the game! But when I heard a new film was being attempted I had a hunch it would be better. Then I heard it was by John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein who directed 2018’s Game Night. I was instantly intrigued. Then I heard the film would star Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis, Chris Pine, and Michelle Rodriguez. That’s when I knew this film would at least be fun. And it was really fun! And really good! It’s a relief, because the script was finalized shortly before the pandemic and the film’s release was subsequently bumped to Memorial Day weekend of 2022. And then it got bumped another 10 months. That may have benefited the film, because it allowed for over a year and a half of post-production. Unfortunately, the movie wasn’t a smashing success at the box office, only earning $208 million against its $150 million production budget. Still, it’s one of the most enjoyable movies of the year at this point.
4. Creed III
When Creed was released in 2015 it exceeded expectations and shut down cynics. It was a huge triumph that matched the original Rocky film in many ways. But like Rocky, Creed was followed by an inferior sequel. The question became would Creed follow the path of the Rocky series with each entry offering diminishing returns? Well, thanks to the fresh direction of debut filmmaker Michael B. Jordan and writing by relative newcomers Zach Baylin and Keenan Coogler, we were treated to a film that just falls short of the first film. There have been dozens of boxing movies, so it can be difficult to find new ways to shoot the matches. Jordan found several interesting ways that we hadn’t seen before, making it also an excellent boxing movie and directorial debut. The film also makes room for Creed’s wife and daughter to breathe a little. There’s a lot to appreciate about this sequel - including an electric performance by Jonathan Majors - and far little that doesn’t work. I’m not sure we need more Creed films. But I’m glad we at least got one more solid hit in the franchise.
3. John Wick: Chapter 4
Nine years ago Keanu Reeves starred in an action film about a former hitman out for revenge against those who callously beat him and killed his puppy. This is the third sequel in what became a fluid series of events that followed within a handful of weeks from that incident. The entire series has been stuffed with protracted sequences of stabs, hits, headshots, and other forms of brutal violence. It’s been incredible and immediately entered into the canon of the greatest action movies of all time. Chapter 4 continues that and fails to disappoint. Whereas previous entries featured Ruby Rose, Marc Dacascos, and Halle Berry, this chapter includes Donnie Yen - and he might be the coolest, most amazing of all the films’ supporting characters. It’s also nearly an hour longer than all of the other films. That can lead to some of the action feeling incessant, but let’s not bite the hand that’s feeding us the best meal of its kind we have today. Savor it. It won’t be around forever.
2. Air
Ben Affleck provides the one non-genre film of the list with the true story of how Nike upped their game tremendously in the sports endorsement arena of footwear marketing by using their entire endorsement budget to sign one player: Michael Jordan. Affleck’s direction and Alex Convery’s writing make for a compelling narrative that offers more depth than most films this year by exploring how big a risk this endeavor was and the idea of believing strongly that someone would truly become one of the greatest players in sports history. It’s a strong story that’s made even better with Matt Damon in the lead and the likes of Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis, and, yes, even Ben Affleck in supporting roles. It also has shades of Jerry Maguire made all-the-more apparent with the appearance of Jay Mohr. It may lean too hard into pop culture references of 1984, but Air is the best drama of the year so far.
1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
It took 5 years for this sequel to arrive. I’m sure the pandemic didn’t help its release schedule, but this film was very much worth the wait. It’s just as innovative as Into the Spider-Verse. It’s just as full of references and nuggets for Spider-Man fans of every age (some go by too fast). The score is just as memorable and pulsing. The script is just as irreverent and hilarious. It is the only film this year so far I can truly use the word ‘great’ to describe. Adding Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099, Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie, Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar (a.k.a. Spider-Man India), Issa Rae as a pregnant Jessica Drew, and Jason Schwartzman as Spot adds new and exciting flavors and helps the film avoid any whiff of staleness. If only this was the only thing Spider-Man-related that Sony put its efforts into, because nothing else they’re doing comes close to this.
Honorable Mentions:
The Flash
Elemental
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
A Good Person
Now for the bad news: my pick for the worst film of the year so far…
MEGAN
There’s a handful of disappointing movies already this year. There’s even a couple films that try to go over-the-top and silly like Renfield and Cocaine Bear. But, unlike MEGAN, those movies lean into their wackiness with some degree of success. Being about a lifelike artificial intelligence doll that takes care-giving and companionship to extremes, MEGAN is a film that should act like it’s silly and lean into it. Unfortunately, it fails to do that. Not only that, but it also fails to create a character that is unique outside of its design; MEGAN doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen other AI run amok or any other horror character do before, so there’s nothing really that defines her. Also, most of the characters fail to behave in any way that resembles how a real person would in any situation throughout the film and there are schlockier films with more consistency and logic than this one. It was honestly a toss-up between MEGAN and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. But at least I had fun with the Transformers movie while being disappointed.
So, that’s my look at the year so far. How do you think the year is going? What do you think are the best films and the worst film? Comment below.