So this is the first half of my rankings for every 2023 movie I’ve seen from worst to best. I’ve seen 23 movies as a whole (ironically) and this is basically 23-11. In a way, I’ll kind of be doing a rehash of my reviews for each of the movies and a few I will be adding some things I might not have said in the original. The link to each of the original reviews will also be posted with the selection
The Worst Movie I've Seen From 2023/#23- Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/03/quantumania-review.html
This was a very bad year for superhero movies (with the exception of 3), and Quantumania was basically the starting point of it. Don't get me wrong, the movie isn't completely bad, it's just not very good either. The story was kind of bland and the characters feel like hollow shells of their former selves. Jonathan Majors was the best part of the movie, but that doesn't matter since the dude was ironically revealed to be a jerk and is now going to jail. The problem with the movie isn't the fact that they're introducing a multiverse. The problem is that so many other movies do it so much better (even one movie within the MCU did it better). I never thought I would see a day where the MCU needed to take notes from other movies (notably Everything Everywhere All At Once and the Spider-Verse franchise).
#22- Wish
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/11/wish-shouldve-been-great-but-it-wasnt.html
Wish is pretty much a giant pile of wasted potential. While I personally like the animation, I understand why people say it looks unfinished. And I won't deny that the writing was definitely unfinished. The pacing is way too fast, the constant references overpower the plot, and a majority of the characters were either underdeveloped, or didn't need to be there. The songs were fine, but that's pretty much all they were, fine. I would be lying if I said 'I don't listen to any of them', as I do listen to 1 song. But that doesn't mean I think the song is amazing, it's still relatively bland. Disney's 100th anniversary was very bitter sweet, and it's most likely gonna get even lower from here.
#21- Napoleon
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/napoleon-was-odd.html
Napoleon was a very strange film. It has all the makings of an amazing Hollywood blockbuster, except a point. Despite the film being about Napoleon Bonaparte, I'm not exactly sure what it's trying to say about him. Don't get me wrong, the movie's not all bad as its strong points are the performances and war sequences. But other than that, I'm not even sure why the movie was made. I also did not like the random sex scenes, but this is coming from someone who doesn't like sex scenes as a whole. Considering the director of this movie is considered an icon (Ridley Scott), I would've expected a whole lot better.
#20- The Killer
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-killer-was-decent-enough.html
I wanted to get into The Killer. And while I did to an extent, it was just barely. Don't get me wrong, I understand why some people may applaud the first act of the film. But for me it was just boring (and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer himself agreed). But that was only the first act, the rest of the movie was pretty cool. The fight scenes were very well choreographed and I really liked Michael Fassbender. And over all, I did find his character very compelling despite knowing very little about him aside from his job. I do wish that I got into it more than I did. But at the end of the day, I like what I like and this doesn't take away from the movie
#19- Maestro
Original Review- https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/maestro-iron-claw.html
As I mentioned in my review, Maestro did get a little boring. And like The Killer I was initially disheartened that I didn't get into it as much as I would like. But from what it looked like, others didn't get into it very much as the film is constantly referred to as "Oscar Bait". Don't get me wrong, it is. But it also has a lot going for it. Like its acting, Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan did a very good job in the movie. The cinematography was also very beautiful as well as Bernstein's music. What I like about the movie is that it made me understand why Bernstein is acclaimed. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but I do respect what he does.
#18- The Color Purple
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/discombobulated-but-good.html
To be honest, The Color Purple is also "Oscar Bait". Don't get me wrong, I did think the movie was good, but it had a lot of gray areas involving its writing and its music. This might be me having an attachment to the original movie, but I just felt that many moments in the film were very underwhelming. Also, a lot (if not all) of the new songs kind of sucked. But the performances (both acting and singing) were very good (with the exception of Taraji). While not amazing, still decent enough to carry the film. Other strong points include the costumes, set design, and the choreography. The movie will receive at least a few Oscar nominations, but I don't think the reception is strong enough for a Best Picture nomination.
#17- Leo
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/leo-wonka.html
While this was a bad year for superhero movies, it was a fantastic year for animation. While Leo wasn't amazing, it was still better than it should've been (unlike Wish) and was too ADORABLE. It was surprisingly a very good mix of hilarious and sweet. With the moments I laughed at the most involving those kindergartners (who might possibly be demons from HELL), and all of the sweetest moments involving the titular character and the 8th graders. I don't expect it to become an awards show favorite (especially considering how competitive 2023 was). But if it does get recognized at all, I'll be very happy about it.
#16- You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/11/you-are-so-invited-to-this-review.html
Adam Sandler also had a decent year as You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah was also pretty good. I appreciate that it had some actual kids getting into realistic situations and had some genuinely funny moments. It gave a little bit of education to the viewers on the Jewish culture, and a majority of the cast is Jewish as well. A majority of the cast is also Sandler's family. I didn't mention this in the review, but his daughter Sunny held herself very well as the central character and appears to have inherited her father's comical charm. With that being said, Adam was still hilarious and probably the funniest part of the movie.
#15- The Equalizer 3
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/10/equalizer-3-was-good-just-not-great.html
I have never seen the first 2 Equalizer's, and I really need to as I had a good time with The Equalizer 3. While it was definitely outshined by other action movies from last year, it was still very thrilling and probably had one of my favorite villain defeats of 2023. Denzel Washington was of course great as he basically commanded every scene he was in. Don't get me wrong, the movie wasn't perfect as some of its characters needed some development while others I was hoping it would do a lot more with. But overall it was a very fun watch and while inferior to other films of last year, it was still decent. As my review is called, the movie was good, not great.
#14- Creed 3
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/04/creed-3-review.html
I actually had a hard time deciding if I should put Creed or The Equalizer higher. But I decided to put Creed 3 higher as I thought the writing was while not amazing but still tighter in this than The Equalizer. While I do consider this inferior to the first 2 Creeds, It was far from a bad film. I feel like this is the most vulnerable we've seen Donnie and I really like that. This one also has Jonathan Majors in it and ironically he played the villain. The only reason he played both jerks so well is because he actually is one in real life. This does not undermine the movie though. Creed 3 was not amazing in any way, but it was a good watch.
#13- Wonka
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/leo-wonka.html
I was in a community production of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory as an oompa loompa. So you can only imagine how much nostalgia I felt when I saw Wonka. While no one can top Gene Wilder's portrayal, Timothee Chalamet was very good in the role and I do like him more than Johnny Depp as Wonka. While a little cheesy at times, I found this movie very imaginative and whimsical as it really did capture the spirit of the original film. While Hugh Grant had a little too much CGI on him, I did like him as the oompa loompa as he was definitely nonchalant enough for the role. I also like the surprisingly dark moments of the film, mainly involving the villains. They were SALTY!
#12- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/super-mario-bros.html
Again this was a very strong year for animation, in terms of both quality and box-office. The Super Mario Bros Movie (which I watched very late in the year) is not an amazing movie at all. But it is a very enjoyable one. This might be the funniest movie I've seen all year as a good majority of the movie (most of them involving Bowser) had me rolling on the floor. The animation was also very clean and crisp, which I mentioned in my review. The film's box-office is not something to scoff at as it is the second highest grossing movie of the year under Barbie. This movie isn't amazing but it is incredibly fun and great for an entire family to enjoy. And judging by the box-office, people clearly agree.
#11- The Burial
Original Review: https://naesnotlikeyou.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-holdovers-burial.html
The Burial is pretty much the definition of a true court drama. And normally I’m not into court dramas, especially when there’s politics involved (which is pretty much all court dramas in a whole). But this one was very compelling. Each of the court scenes were some of the most nail-biting moments I had witnessed that year. Each and everyone of the actors had given it there all. It was also very nice to see Jamie Foxx up and at it again after his medical emergency. I know there are a lot of idiots claiming he’s a clone. But last time I checked, I’m pretty sure it was John Boyega who got cloned right (reference to They Cloned Tyrone, which I have not seen)? Just shut up and enjoy his company, because I sure did. Welcome back Jamie. We’ve missed you, and we’re glad you’re back.
Part 2 will most likely be released in a week. The link to the google slides is down below like always. Thanks for reading.
Google: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1v-pVXhvqc12Nu05gmFzEi34InFn2RBxYfvRIC8h28cE/edit?usp=sharing
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