DALLAS — In 2023, Hollywood recovered nicely from the pandemic setbacks that hindered its last few years' output and produced a great variety of standout films.
In fact, I found Tinseltown's 2023 output so strong that I decided to expand my standard year-end list of top 10 films to a 15 collection of 15 this year.
Scroll through my choices below and see if you agree!
15. THE IRON CLAW
How could I not include the movie about the North Texas wrestling icons, the Von Erichs? A contemporary Shakesperean tragedy with plenty of triumph, too.
14. AIR
Set in the same era as the Von Erichs' run, director Ben Affleck captures the creation of Nike's iconic Air Jordan brand with all the '80s feels. (Hey, remember VHS tapes?)
13. YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
Nicole Holofcener came with a smart adult comedy here with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, her perfect protagonist in a role exploring how words can hurt.
12. A THOUSAND AND ONE
Tenya Taylor shines in this powerful, small film about an ex-con mom who nabs her son from foster care and tries to build a family.
11. THE ZONE OF INTEREST
In this one, a well-off German family leads an everyday life... except dad runs the Auschwitz concentration camp next door. Starkly powerful.
10. THE HOLDOVERS
Director Alexander Payne reunites with "Sideways" star Paul Giamatti for this winner about a curmudgeon of a professor in charge of students over Christmas break.
9. SALTBURN
Writer/director Emerald Fennell delivers another brilliant screenplay with this one satirizing the British upper crust and the devastating consequences of classism
8. BARBIE
Writer/director Greta Gerwig thinks pink in a playful satire that just so happened to be one of the biggest films of 2023. What would happen if the world's favorite fashion doll suffered an existential crisis? It's a joy to witness.
7. ANATOMY OF A FALL
This one offers an unconventional look at a murder investigation. Did a man's wife push him to his death -- or was it suicide? Will their sight-impaired son hold the clues? All great questions.
6. AMERICAN FICTION
A writer played by Jeffrey Wright can't get published because his work isn't 'black' enough, so he gives the publishers what they want! hilarity ensues.
5. OPPENHEIMER
Christopher Nolan's searing look at the man behind the atomic bomb and the personal guilt that follows the act that changed the world. Worth the hype.
4. POOR THINGS
Emma Stone is a Victorian female 'Frankenstein' in this one -- and, as her brain catches up with her body, she becomes sexually liberated in a wildly matter-of-fact way.
3. MAESTRO
Bradley Cooper writes, directs and becomes composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. His wife accepts his personal choices while harboring heartbreak. Very much worth the Netflix stream!
2. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Martin Scorsese's look at the systematic killing of wealthy members of the Osage Nation for their money is steady locomotive led by Lily Gladstone with quiet power.
1. PAST LIVES
Writer/director Celine Song's feature debut is one of the most beautiful, contemporary love stories in recent memory. Do we fall for the right person, or the one who's right at the time? Get this one on your radar now before awards season offers the hype it deserved all along.