Damian Writes About Stuff

A goal for this year is to write more and to encourage that I think it will be fun to post some stuff every now and again. Now with 2023 concluded I wanted to do a retrospective on some of the films I’ve really enjoyed and what better format than a classic Top 10 list.

I’m thankful to have a couple of theaters around me that screen these smaller indie releases otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to see them. Also having met a bunch of other movie enthusiasts for sure contributed to watching so many.

It feels hard to make a complete 2023 list when there’s still a ton of really hyped up festival releases that aren’t widely available yet. I included a couple of those, as well as some movies I haven’t gotten around to seeing at the end of the post. Starting off I’ve included some memorable movies from the year that weren’t in the Top 10.

Memorable Movies:

Napoleon / Beau is Afraid: Joaquin Phoenix doing what he does best: playing a weird little guy with mommy issues. Both these movies kinda felt like fever dreams, I laughed basically the entire time during Napoleon (its a parody?) and Beau had its moments along with the surreal sequences.

Godzilla Minus One: Im a connoisseur of big monster movies but even then I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. An elderly man fell asleep and starting snoring during the movie which added much to the experience.

Asteroid City: I vibe with the Wes Anderson aesthetic a lot and enjoyed seeing it used in a desert setting. Watching the group of awkward science kids interact was painfully relatable. It is one of the handful of movies I saw twice this year, and I think that made me understand and appreciate the meta aspect of the stage play more.

Dream Scenario: God tier fart joke. I wish Nic Cage showed up in my dreams to hang out.

Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse: I enjoyed this one as much the first one, the animation was off the charts and Metro Boomin went hard with the soundtrack. But I did leave the theater annoyed because of the “Part 2” cliffhanger 👎.

Top 10 Movies:

10. Fallen Leaves: A cute movie about two down on their luck people connecting that packs a bunch into only 80 minutes. The comedic timing is impeccable which contrasts the feeling of hopelessness throughout.

9. Past Lives: This movie resonated with me a ton, missed connections and what-ifs can weigh heavy on you, so seeing these two people get closure after a life time was cathartic.

8. Killers of A Flower Moon: There were a ton of phenomenal shots and the acting from Leo and Lily Gladstone was great. American greed was on full display with so much agony inflicted and so little repercussions. The pacing just wasn’t it for me, and I feel like I didn’t have the endurance for this movie. The true crime ending was something else.

7. Monster: Great nonlinear story telling, it was like peeling an onion every time you saw the events from the another character’s perspective. In each one the tone is different with the first evoking a horror movie vibe before reveling what is really happening.

6. May December: Enjoyed this one way more than I expected. This is another movie that sits between genres sometimes feeling like a comedy, a drama, or a horror movie. The acting from Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore was phenomenal but I think that Charlie Melton was on another level. Fun Fact: Charlie played Football at K-State, EMAW!

5. The Iron Claw: I generally enjoy sports movies having grown up in rural USA but this movie was so much more. The story is tragic and as an oldest brother I felt very close to Zac Efron’s character. I was the only one in my theater and I was bawling my eyes out at several points.

4. The Holdovers: This movie feels like its out of a different era, like a hidden gem from the 70s. Such a beautiful story about three hurt strangers opening up when they are stranded together. Watching Paul Giamatti’s grinch heart grow three sizes warmed mine. I regret not watching this with my family over the holidays but now I have something to look forward to showing them next time.

Ranking the Top 3 was difficult, they could be in any order really but thats a cop out so heres what I got:

3. Poor Things: Its kinda hard to describe this movie, its a surreal coming of age story with fantastic visuals, and stunning sets, but that just scratches the surface. Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo play these absolutely absurd characters perfectly. They used an interesting combination of wide angle lenses and these cool pinhole views to really emphasize action. There are too many memorable scenes to mention but Mark Ruffalo lifting his arms and yelling “Bellaaaaaaaa!!!” lives rent free in my head.

2. Anatomy of a Fall: This movie did a good job depicting a very complicated relationship and keeping us like the jury trying to piece together what really happened. The lead actress played this morally ambiguous character so well, you would simultaneously think she was a horrible person while believing she was the real victim. It was a bit of a slow burn to start but had a fantastic 2nd half. French court seems like even more of a circus than the US system and the prosecutor guy stood out as a comically “evil” character in a morally grey movie.

1. Oppenheimer: I’ve seen a bunch of indie movies where its just a couple people talking in a room but somehow Christopher Nolan was able to make it so visual stunning and interesting. The amount of drama packed into the security clearance deposition closet was kinda crazy. Of course the whole building and testing the bomb bit was pretty cool too I guess. This movie had a lot going for it and I personally feel like it lived up to the hype.

Last Category: “Movies I haven’t watched yet due to not being available or just because I was lazy, but I probably would like”

Perfect Days: This looks like a slice of life picture about a man who cleans bathrooms in Tokyo and I could not be more excited. This film is by Wim Wenders who directed one of my favorite movies of all time Paris, Texas.

Maestro: I heard some good things but since its on Netflix I didn’t feel the rush to see it while in theaters. I have a soft spot for black and white movies.

Showing Up: Seems like a very cute movie about creating art and the emotional ups and downs that come along with that.

Zone of Interest: I’ve avoided reading too much about this movie to avoid spoilers, but I so know it’s being hyped up a ton. It’s been 10 years since the director released Under the Skin so I’m excited to see what he’s been cooking up.

Thanks for stopping by, check out my Letterboxd if you’d like!