2023 Movies: Year in Review

With 2023 at the end, I wanted to share my quick thoughts on all the movies I saw this year. I managed to see 77 movies this year which was quite a bit more than last. This was mostly due to having a subscription at the movie theater and watching a movie pretty much every Thursday. With that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking on the 2023 movies I saw.

77. You People

This was an unfunny Netflix comedy with unlikable characters and dull storytelling. It had Eddie Murphy in the cast and even he could not save it. I didn't like how the characters talked and didn't really find its messaging all that compelling.

Score: 4/10 Grade: D+

76. Marlowe

This was a very boring detective movie starring Liam Neeson. Very little happens in this movie and what does happen is incredibly boring. There were so many plot points that went nowhere. It was boring enough that I almost fell asleep in the theater.

Score: 4/10 Grade: D+

75. Peter Pan and Wendy

This is a very lackluster Disney remake. It doesn't capture any of the charm of the original movie. It has forgettable performances and doesn't do anything with the interesting ideas it tries to introduce. My expectations were low, to begin with, but this movie manages to still disappoint.

Score: 4.5/10 Grade: C-

74. Expend4bles

This was a very disappointing addition to the expendables franchise. It was devoid of all the charm of the other three films. This movie just did not look good as it was full of green screen shots, bad CGI, and lackluster action scenes.

Score: 4.5/10 Grade: C-

73. Hypnotic

This movie started off as a fairly interesting detective film but completely went off the rails in the second half of the film. I also felt that the two main chemistry didn't have much of any chemistry together. If it stuck with what it was doing in the first half, it would have been decent but the big twist really ruined things.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

72. Your Place or Mine

This is just a mediocre rom-com from Netflix. The characters were charming enough but the movie as a whole wasn't super memorable nor was it particularly funny. Also, Rom-coms really aren't my kind of movie so a mediocre rom-com isn't going to do it for me.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

71. Heart of Stone

This is another mediocre film from Netflix. This time it is a spy action film. The characters are all pretty bland and The action doesn't stand out at all. It also just has too many different ideas going on and tries to cram them all into one movie.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

70. Leave the World Behind

This is the third mediocre Netflix film in a row. This film had some thrilling moments and interesting ideas. However, I found the characters too insufferable and the ending itself was just very poor. I think there was a good movie in here but the execution was flawed.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

69. Dream Scenario

Dream Scenario was a movie that many people seemed to like but I just didn't get. It has an interesting idea about the world of dreams and cancel culture. But overall, I just didn't really get what it was going for. Some moments made me laugh but I think I am too dumb for this movie.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

68. Plane

Plane is a mediocre action movie but entertaining enough. It was exactly what I expected. Poor characters and a lackluster plot but there are some entertaining action scenes. It isn't something I would watch again, but it definitely was an entertaining enough way to spend 90 minutes.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

67. 65

This was a very disappointing movie. It has Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs which I thought would be great. Unfortunately, it ended up being a very dull film. It had a few fun sequences but overall, was very lackluster.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

66. No Hard Feelings

This was a summer comedy that didn't really do it for me. It had some funny moments but I wasn't a fan of the overall premise. Jennifer Lawrence was pretty funny but overall, that was about the one positive of the film.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

65. Haunted Mansion

This was one of the main lackluster Disney films from this year. Some of the characters were fun and the mansion was an entertaining setting but I didn't think the story was all that good. It is the type of movie that entertains you but gets forgotten once it is over.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

64. Renfield

This movie is in a similar boat as Haunted Mansion. It was entertaining enough while watching it but forgot about it when I left the theater. Nicolas Cage was fun as Dracula but the rest of the movie was pretty dull. It felt more like a typical action cop film.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

63. Cocaine Bear

I don't think this movie needs much of an explanation. It has a bear. He does Cocaine and people get eaten. It is very entertaining but pretty bad on a plot and story level. You kind of get what you pay for from a movie called Cocaine Bear.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

62. Meg 2: The Trench

This is in the same boat as Cocaine Bear. It is very entertaining but pretty bad on a plot and character level. This movie does have a lot of fun parts and would be one I'd watch again. I'm not there to watch a quality story, I just want to see Jason Statham fight giant sharks on a Jet Ski.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

61. Rebel Moon: Part 1- A Child of Fire

This was a very ambitions yet deeply flawed film. It had great visuals and solid action sequences and world building. However, the story and characters feel so hollow and uncompelling. I was still entertaining but was very disappointed.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

60. Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom was the biggest box office surprise of the year. It has a good message about the issue of child trafficking. The story itself has elements of Ocean's Eleven and Taken to it. I felt that the movie was a bit too episodic with each act of the movie essentially having its own story

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

59. Missing

Missing was an entertaining enough thriller with a unique storytelling device. Everything was told through the view of a computer screen which I thought was a very interesting way to tell the story. However, I really didn't care for how the story did its big reveal at the end. It knocked the movie back for me.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

58. Murder Mystery 2

This was a fun enough Netflix film. Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are both fun. The mystery aspect was entertaining. I don't think the story was super interesting but it still did enough to keep me entertained from beginning to end.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

57. Five Nights and Freddy's

This was an entertaining enough video game horror film. I thought the horror sequences were all well done. The movie also had some surprisingly emotional moments. However, the movie seems to spend too much time on the family melodrama and not enough time on the action and kills.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

56. The Marvels

This was a disappointing Marvel film. It had some fun moments. Khamala steals the show and is so much fun in every scene she is in. I also liked how goofy and campy the movie was and the whole power swap aspect. The story is what was lacking here. It is a bit of a mess and doesn't leave much time for any sort of growth.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

55. 80 for Brady

This was a surprisingly fun film. There were many fun moments with seeing these older women at all of these football things. I also enjoyed the third act while they were at all the Super Bowl events. This was entertaining but at times didn't feel like a cohesive story.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

54. Fast X

This is the 11th addition to the Fast Franchise and is just as entertaining and over the top as the rest. The action sequences are all entertaining but the overall story feels a bit disconnected as all of our characters are separated. The movie also doesn't really attempt to tell a complete story and just leaves things unresolved.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

53. Flamin' Hot

This was an entertaining biopic about the makers of Hot Cheetos. I thought the many characters were a lot of fun and had some good energy. I also liked how the narrator was telling the story. It reminded me of Luis from Ant-Man. Overall, It is entertaining enough but doesn't do anything special

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

52. Champions

This was a fun little underdog story. It was very funny at times and very sweet at others. I felt that Woody Harelson was pretty fun as our main character and had many great moments. It sticks to the underdog formula pretty hard but still does it well enough.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

51. Jesus Revolution

This was a surprisingly decent feel-good story. It had a lot of inspiring moments and some solid characters. It did feel a bit unfocused at times with who the main characters but overall was a decent watch

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

50. The Little Mermaid

This was another live-action Disney remake. There were a few decent things about this movie. The on-land part of the story was pretty well done. Eric is much more fleshed out. Halle Bailey is as great as Ariel. I felt that the movie was a bit too long and bloated. It has the exact same story as the original but somehow is like 50 minutes longer.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

49. A Haunting in Venice

This is a decent enough little murder mystery. I enjoyed the horror haunted house aspect. I also found this to have the most streamlined plot of the three in this series. It didn't do anything terrible but it was exactly super memorable either.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

48. Ferrari

Ferrari was a movie that had a lot of very cool moments but in the end didn't really deliver on what I wanted. Instead of being focused on racing, the movie instead centers around a love triangle. The racing moments were very cool, I just wish they made up more of the film.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

47. Maestro

Maestro was a movie that was very well done but it just not my thing. I can appreciate that the acting was great and it a very classic feel to it. However, the movie is just not my type of film. It was just too literary and serious for me.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

46. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

This was a very colorful and entertaining DCEU film. Just like the first film, this one was campy and goofy. It doesn't have much in terms of a logical plot but absolutely delivers in a dumb fun movie that one expects from Aquaman.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

45. Barbie

Barbie was the biggest blockbuster hit of the year. It was very funny and had great performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling. This was also Sarah's favorite movie of the year. I felt it got a little heavy-handed with its messaging in the second half but overall was a decent enough film.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

44. Dumb Money

Dumb Money was an interesting film about the GameStop stock debacle of 2020. I thought the tone was very unique. It makes for a lighter story while still having tension when needed. I felt that they made the stock concepts somewhat easier to understand. The only issue was that there were a few too many characters.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

43. Pain Hustlers

This was a similar style and tone to Dumb Money except this film is about the opioid issues of the 2010s. Chris Evans and Emily Blunt were both fun characters and the whole sales plot was interesting. However, I felt the characters were a bit unlikeable at times.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

42. The Equalizer 3

This was a fun small-scale action movie. The action sequences were all very simple and practical. I also quite liked the setting in Italy and felt that the town becomes its own character. Overall, this is a solid closeout to the Equalizer trilogy.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

41. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

I found this to be one of the better Transformers films. It has the most streamlined plot. It is kind of in the middle of the two Transformers extremes of the mass spectacle of the early films and the characters-driven story of Bumblebee.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

40. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

This was a fun enough sequel to the Shazam! Movie. This movie still has the comedy we get from the first film and the fun dynamic of seeing kids as adult superheroes. It also gave the side characters a bit more time to shine. While it wasn't great, I still had fun.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

39. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

This movie is about as good as a movie about an 80-year-old Indiana Jones could be. It was fun to see Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones again. The movie also hits the right notes to make you feel nostalgia for the original. However, it by no means captures the magic of the original film.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

38. Wish

This is the newest Disney animated movie. It was fine enough for me. The songs were all good and the story was fun. I don't think it lived up to the hype of being the 100th Anniversary celebration film.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

37. Jules

Jules was a cute little alien encounter movie. The story was very simple and sweet. Ben Kingsly was fun as the lead. I thought all the alien interactions were cute. This movie wasn't trying to be big. It wanted to be just a nice little B movie and that's what it was.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

36. Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle was one of the better DCEU films from this year. I thought the whole Latin aspect was fun. Jamie's family steals every scene they are in. It may be a bit generic but it plays the formula well and kept me entertained.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

35. Joy Ride

Joy Ride was a lot funnier than I was expecting it to be. It had so many fun moments as well as some solid emotional points about discovering who you are. I had fun with it. It wasn't amazing but wasn't terrible either.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

34. Extraction 2

Extraction 2 was a solid action movie from Netflix. It has so many great practical effects and action sequences. I found the story to be a bit better than the first film. It does a great job at what it is going for which is being a mid-tier action movie.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

33. Knock at the Cabin

This is the newest film from M. Night Shyamalan. It was a very thrilling yet simple tale about stopping the end of the world. Dave Bautista gave a great performance and it was fun to see Ron Weasley in something else. The movie also delivers a very emotional ending.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

32. M3gan

This was a very funny horror movie from the beginning of the year. It has some interesting ideas about AI and Megan is a very fun character. I didn't find it too scary. It felt more fun and campy which works for the story they wanted to tell.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

31. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

This was the middle-ground MCU film of the year. We got to see the introduction to Kang which was cool (which is now irrelevant considering Marvel just fired Jonathan Majors). This felt like the MCU's version of Star Wars.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

30. Next Goal Wins

This was the newest film from Taika Waititi. It is your typical underdog story with a fun Taika Waititi tone to it. It is really funny at times while still managing to balance with some more serious and emotional moments.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

29. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

This is the prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. It was fun to see this world again. Snow and Lucy Gray were both very fun characters. I liked seeing a more primitive version of the games. This was also Sarah's second favorite movie of the year.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

28. Asteroid City

This is the newest Wes Anderson film. It has a very unique style that I have not seen before. It has a lot of subtle funny moments. I liked how the movie gives different perspectives and reactions to an alien encounter. The cast here is stacked as well.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

27. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

This was a very fun TMNT movie that perfectly captures the teenaged aspect of TMNT. The turtles are so much fun on screen. The animation was very unique and reminded me of Into the Spider-Verse. I also thought the movie had a solid family aspect.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

26. Napoleon

Napoleon was one of the more epic films I saw this year. It had many sweeping epic battles that were just so cool to watch. I also liked the historical aspect of the film. Joaquin Phoenix also did a great job as Napoleon. I just wish this movie had more battles and less romance.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

25. The Super Mario Bros Movie

This was one of my favorite animated movies this year. The movie gave me exactly what I wanted from a Super Mario movie. Everything from the item boxes to the musical cues was all perfect. I just wish it would have been longer so we could spend more time in the world.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

24. Totally Killer

Totally Killer is essentially Back to the Future as a slasher film and it totally worked for me. The aspect of a 2020s kid going back to the 1980's was so well done. The movie also had a solid whodunit mystery to it. This is probably the closest we will get to a Back to the Future remake.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

23. Gran Turismo

This was another solid underdog story. This time as a racing movie. I thought the video game aspect of this movie was very cool. I liked how it incorporated visuals from the game. It may have stuck to the racing movie formula pretty hard but it does the formula well.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

22. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

This was a very fun fantasy movie. All of the characters were so charming and the world-building is so well done. I like how the movie was accessible to newbies while also having some references to hardcore fans. It was definitely one of the funniest movies of the year.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

21. Sisu

This movie was essentially Jon Wick beating up a bunch of Nazis. It delivers all the action that you want without getting bogged down by much of a plot. I liked how briskly the plot moved and just had a great time watching Nazis get taken down.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

20. The Covenant

This was one of the new Guy Ritchie films from this year. This was a solid war movie about the friendship between two guys. There is a lot of solid action and the bond between the two characters is so well done. It is a bit episodic but overall is good.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

19. Elemental

Elemental is Pixar's version of a rom-com. The chemistry between our two leads is so great and there are so many sweet moments in the film. I liked seeing the evolution of their relationship throughout the movie. I'm not a big rom-com fan but this one was good.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

18. Creed III

Creed III was another solid entry in the Rocky/Creed franchise. This movie does a great job of showing Adonis's post-boxing life as well as dives deep into relationships he had when he was younger. I also thought the fight between Adonis and Damian was great.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

17. Priscilla

Priscilla was a solid biopic about the wife of Elvis. This movie does a solid job of showing what Priscilla's life was actually like. We see what her goals are and how she experienced certain points of Elvis's career. I did think the pacing was a bit off at times but I thought this was a great movie.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

16. The Killer

This is the newest film from David Fincher and is just a solid simple revenge story. David Fincher always knows how to make compelling and thrilling stories. I like how globetrotting this movie is and how each part has its own person that needs to be killed. I also like how it puts the audience in the mind of a killer.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

15. Theater Camp

This was one of the funniest films I saw this year. It is essentially The Office but for theater kids and was just so much fun to watch. This movie does a great job of capturing the personality of theater kids and all of the different aspects of theater while still doing it hilariously.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

14. A Man Called Otto

This was the first movie I saw this year and still one of the better ones. It tells a very sweet story about a lonely man and how he finds friendship. It manages to balance the serious topics of the story with sweet moments as well as humor in such a great way.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

13. The Flash

This was the best of the DC films this year. A lot of people didn't like this movie but I really enjoyed it. Of course, seeing Michael Keaton as Batman was just so cool but I also really liked the story and thought it was a lot better than most of the recent DCEU films.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

12. Scream VI

This was my favorite horror movie this year. I always liked the whodunnit aspect of the Scream franchise but I also enjoyed the NYC aspect of this film. I also liked how this movie focused almost entirely on the characters from the previous film instead of centering on the legacy characters from the originals.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

11. Wonka

This was my biggest surprise of the year. I was not on board when I heard about it but seeing the movie won me over. It is incredibly charming and sweet. The characters are all a lot of fun and the songs are all pretty memorable. It also pays some nice tributes to the original film.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

10. Godzilla Minus One

This is easily the best Godzilla movie I have seen. It still delivers on the monster destruction that I want but this movie also manages to have compelling characters that actually have something to do instead of just being a POV for the Godzilla action.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

This was the best MCU film of the year. This movie does a great job of closing out the story of the Guardians of the Galaxy. We get to dive deeper into all of their characters but still manage to tell a story that is focused and simple.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

8. Killers of the Flower Moon

This was easily the longest movie I saw this year but still very good. Martin Scorsese always knows how to make a compelling story with interesting characters. I liked the whole murder "mystery" aspect of the film. I also thought there were so many great Oscar-worthy performances.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

7. The Creator

This was a great original Sci-Fi epic. I thought the world-building was so good here along with a very good story. I also thought the visuals and CGI looked fantastic. The movie had a lot of great action sequences as well as an interesting take on the AI conversation.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

6. The Holdovers

This was a sweet but solid holiday dramedy. This movie tells a great story about three incredibly lonely people who manage to find comfort in each other. It has many solid emotional moments and some funny moments too. This is just a great old-fashioned feel-good movie.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

5. Oppenheimer

This was yet another fantastic movie from Christopher Nolan. It does a great job of telling the story of Robert Oppenheimer with so much great tension and character building. I also really liked all of the science aspects and found the story incredibly fascinating.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

4. Air

This was a surprisingly interesting story about the making of Air Jordans. I thought Matt Dameon was a lot of fun in the lead role. I thought the whole story was very well told with more funny moments than I was expecting. This was just a solid feel-good underdog story.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

3. John Wick: Chapter 4

This was another great addition to the John Wick franchise. This is the most epic in the franchise and has so many great action sequences. Even though it is almost 3 hours long, the movie has nonstop excitement and action.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

2. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

This was my most anticipated movie of the year and also managed to be one of the best. These Mission Impossible movies manage to get better and better each time. This movie had fantastic action sequences and stunts and a great story. This is an example of a part 1 movie done right.

Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A+

I. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

This is easily the best movie I have seen in a few years. It is not overselling it to call this movie a masterpiece. The animation is fantastic. The story is very well told and all the different worlds are so great and so unique. I can't wait for the final film to come out.

Score: 10/10 Grade: A+