Well look at that. We’re here once again. Battered and bruised though we (and cinema) may be, we’ve all made it through another year. And that, all things considered, has to be a win.

So, as we hurtle head-first into a new year and wave goodbye to this one, it’s always important to pause, look back, and take stock of what the last twelve months has offered us.

There’s plenty in the wider world to be down about right now but, let’s be honest. listing out all the ways this planet sucked in 2023 isn’t why you came to a movie top ten list. So, for the sake of all out sanities, let’s hone in on the cinematic positives we’ve encountered this year and leave the real world doom and gloom to others, shall we.

Of course, there’s plenty to lament about the film industry this year too, something the writers and actors strikes so glaringly exposed, as Hollywood studios continued to make themselves look like greedy, ignorant jackasses before our very eyes. That said, this is now officially a designated negativity-free zone, so let’s keep the energy positive and the vibes celebratory.

Strikes aside, this has been quite the year film-wise. As the industry continues its gradual recovery from COVID, some sense of normality has returned to cinema, with a jam packed summer season and film festivals offering their best line-ups for years proving there’s plenty of life left in the pictures yet.

Call it blind hope if you want, but despite ballooning blockbuster budgets and big box office flops across the board this year, I see 2023’s failures working to drive positive change within the industry. With the unsustainability of huge production budgets clear as day and saturation point being reached for certain genres, a sea change within the industry is undoubtedly on the horizon, as studios finally come to their senses and operate their businesses in a far more sensible and sustainable manner.

So, enough waffle. Let’s get down to the good stuff. Without further ado, here are my…

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2023!

Building from the ground up with engaging characters and an organic, impactful story was always the right choice for Godzilla Minus One in its bid to stand apart from its Hollywood kaiju cousins and it executed it all masterfully.

By anchoring the story in a very real post-WWII Japan, the film’s sense of trauma, pain, guilt, and loss is palpable, and can be felt on a level Hollywood just can’t hit with their own monster movies. Heartfelt and emotional without forgetting its duty to thrill, Minus One is a truly remarkable Godzilla effort and quite possibly the best entry in the long running franchise.

Undoubtedly one of Christopher Nolan’s best, Oppenheimer is an explosive, complex, harrowing portrait of morality and obsession. Minor third act wobbles aside, Oppenheimer is a tense, propulsive gut punch that absolutely blasts through its three-hour runtime.

With hauntingly gorgeous visuals, a powerful score, and incredible performances from Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer is a bombastic cinematic masterclass that will leave you shook.

Whether he’s actually happy about it or not, the rest of us can bask in the knowledge that Hayao Miyazaki is back from the brink of retirement and not likely to go anywhere any time soon.

A little Howl’s Moving Castle, a little Grave of the Fireflies, a lot Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron plays like a Studio Ghibli greatest hits set, and for those attuned to the studio’s utterly unique storytelling style, it’s hard not to love every gorgeously bonkers frame of it.

Wake up babe, your new favourite Christmas movie just dropped!

Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti are back together at last and the world is all the better for it. Wonderfully written and beautifully performed, The Holdovers strikes just the right balance between saccharine and sass for a sensational seasonal offering that’s destined to be a future Christmas classic.

With heart and charm to spare, The Holdovers is a wholesome, humorous, wholly affecting piece that - like its fragile characters - opens up its emotions slowly but surely to offer something truly soul-nourishing.

Pure cinematic South London joy, Rye Lane is a loved-up instant classic that wears its rom-com influences on its sleeve, yet feels utterly its own thing.

Vibrant, heartfelt, witty, and insanely wholesome, through Raine Allen-Miller’s bold, big-hearted direction, a sparkling lead pairing, and a scene-stealing role for the streets of SE15, Rye Lane is an absolute charmer that will warm you to your very core.

Delivering scale and ambition without sacrificing heart or narrative impact, Killers of the Flower Moon is a masterful work and Martin Scorsese’s most satisfying film in some time.

Bolstered by a trio of fantastic performances, led by the striking Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon blends a propulsive plot, masterful pacing, and raw tragedy to produce a truly sensational slice of Scorsese cinema that suggests streaming may be more of the director’s bag than he’s letting on.

Gently moving and subtly astute, Past Lives is nevertheless a powerful piece and a stunning debut from writer-director Celine Song.

As it delicately yet incisively probes notions of love, life, and longing, Past Lives uses its deftly drawn, strikingly real characters and their beautifully constructed environments to peel back the veil on the human condition and expose it for all to see.

Yorgos Lanthimos brings his absurdist A-game and his patented brand of off-kilter idiosyncrasy for a fantastical odyssey of self-discovery like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

With quirkiness dialled up to eleven but stuffed full of heart, Poor Things is an ultra-bonkers, ultra-horny, visually spectacular coming-of-age Frankenstein’s monster tale that rides high on your new favourite Emma Stone performance.

A methodical masterpiece. The Zone of Interest is an uncomfortable, uncompromising blend of banality and sheer, unrelenting horror that will crawl under your skin and stay there.

From the haunting sound design to the devastatingly detailed composition of every frame, The Zone of Interest is a thing of beautiful brutality and a truly astonishing cinematic achievement from Jonathan Glazer. A vital watch.

With every frame a work of art and every inch of plot meticulously constructed, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a dizzying, dazzling, transcendent triumph.

Like its predecessor, Across the Spider-Verse once again redraws the boundaries of animation and continues to push them to their very limit, yet, despite its relentless, overwhelming spectacle, the film never once loses sight of its heart, delivering not only the best Spider-Man movie to date but the best film of any sort this year.

Happy New Year one and all! Here’s to better times and more marvellous movies in 2024.