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Top 5 Movies of 2023 (So Far)
By Guy In The Chair (@Guyinthechairpresents)
Hey Guys! Its your Guy in the Chair here, and look, we are only days away from August which means half the year has already gone by. While time is just passing us by and we are already anticipating what’s next, lets take a second to appreciate what has already been.
2023 has delivered an INSANE amount of not only fairly decent but a surprising amount of quality movies. I mean from the hit horror films Megan to Evil Dead Rise, to the action/adventure films of John Wick Chapter 4 and Dungeons and Dragons, 2023 has delivered a ton of hits and only very few misses. So lets recap my Top 5 Movies of the year so far!
Honorable Mention
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Are you there God? Its Me Margaret
Trust me I was not expecting to start my list with this film either. But this coming of age story based off the popular book truly was a film that snuck into my heart and gave me such a great big smile on my face by the end credits. Abby Ryder Fortson, who stars as young Margret really carries this film with her amazing performance and wonderful supporting performance from Rachel McAdams. The entire cast honestly is very pleasant and fun to spend time with throughout this movie especially the young girls. While I personally cannot relate to the puberty stages of being female I can relate to how awkward those times were for us kids and they capture that perfectly throughout the entirety of this film
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Creed 3
Creed 3 is an example of, If you get your heart broken don’t sit there and sulk….. Go star in AND direct one of the best sequels in an already incredible franchise!!! Easier said than done yes, but Michael B Jordan pulls it off here in Creed 3. Carried by both very riveting performances from B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors, Creed 3 delivers a powerful story of brotherhood, family, and facing your past to fight for your future! Jonathan Majors of course is a scene stealer as Damian Anderson and the addition of little Amara Creed (Mila Davis-Kent) brings a different but great dynamic to the Creed series!
Air
Look at this point if you put Ben Affleck behind a camera and Matt Damon in front of it, you are bound to have a hit on your hands. Add Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, and a compelling story about the greatest basketball player who ever lived and well you may just have an Oscar contender on your hands. Look Air was directed, written, and acted to absolute perfection and its only an honorable mention on my list that tells you how crazy 2023 has been for movies. But Matt Damon delivers a very inspirational performance in this film along with Viola Davis who for her backyard discussion alone with Damon should get her nominated for an Oscar. Air delivers in every aspect possible without even showing Jordans face just knowing his impact in that shoe is enough to give you goosebumps.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves
This was a film that I was not looking forward to at all. The trailers STUNK, marketing was very bad, and there just was not anything appealing to me about this film whatsoever. Then, I watched it, and I ended up having one of the best times in the theater this year in this film because not only did I find out the directors of Game Night (A top 5 comedy movie of all time for me) directed this film, but they actually did a damn good job in making one of the funniest adventure films of the year. Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez’s, Hugh Grant, Justice Smith, Rege-Jean Page, I mean I could go on and on about how this cast absolutely killed their roles in this film. They all bring a different dynamic to the film that keeps it thoroughly entertaining and there are actually a handful of actions sequences that were way better than I expected this movie exceeded all expectations and I have to tell people about this movie any chance I get.
Barbie
Yes for those who have not seen it Barbie is that good and needs to be seen as soon as you possibly can! Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and most importantly Greta Gerwig all deliver big time on this adaptation of the popular girls toy that has something not only for the barbies of the world but the Ken’s too. This movie is full of heart, comedy, and some damn good musical numbers. I know Margot Robbie plays the main character but as far as im concerned Ryan Gosling’s Ken was the star of the entire movie and stole every scene GIVE THAT MAN AN OSCAR NOM!! But yes barbie concludes honorable mentions.
ONTO THE TOP 5!! ALL CONTROVERSY WELCOME!!!
5. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1
At this point in Tom Cruise’s career we know that when he decides to do something he does it with 150% effort and never plans on slowing down. He showed that in Top Gun last year and now he’s doing it again with Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1. This movie, while not truly surpassing its previous entry (Fallout) still shows that if you give Tom Cruise a Mission, he will do whatever he can to not only complete it, but give the audiences the ride of their lives while doing so. This is a straight adrenaline pumping, action-packed, tyrhill ride from start to finish that really sets up dire stakes and makes this Mission feel like one of the most important ones yet! Cruise’s supporting cast along (Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg) with some newcomers (Haley Atwell, Esai Morales) continue to prove that when you join this franchise you are going to make an impact regardless. This movie is the true definition of a summer blockbuster and a hell of a part 1. Cruises next stunt will be fighting a militia in mid air cause at this point im not sure what he can do to top that train scene.
4. Oppenheimer
When Christopher Nolan announced that he was making a new film with his longtime cast member and friend Cillian Murphy, Film fans could not help but rejoice. Now, Nolan fans were excited because we were getting another entry in Nolans Directography, but fans of Murphy knew that the Peaky Blinders star was going to make sure if you did not know his name after that or if you never even heard of Peaky Blinders, you were going to know who he was after this film.
It would be an understatement to say that Murphy and this cast delivered some of the best performances of the decade (because some cast members only had 5 mins of screen time). But what Nolan pulled off I do not think many of us were ready for. This masterclass of a directing job shows us that Nolan is in a class of his own or at least up there with the best of them (Scorsese, Cameron, Fincher, Villinueve, etc.). While we have known for a while Christopher Nolan is one of the best working directors in Hollywood today, what he accomplishes here is something I truly believe he has never even came close to accomplishing before. The sound mixing, cinematography, score, performances, camera angles, effects (Visual and Graphic) are all things that Nolan has taken from his previous films and perfected his craft to a T. If you were to tell me this was the best Nolan film I wouldn’t argue there with you not only are his directors crafts all on display in this film, but his cast all tries to out do one another on screen and its truly glorious. Murphy and Downey Jr are clear Oscar nominees before we are even close to this movie being over. But its almost as if everyone who shows up in the film does not want to go down without a fight. Im sure if you ask audience members each one can give you a reason why any side character could be nominated even if only delivering 4-5 lines. Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Rami Malek, Dane Dehan, Jason Clarke, Benny Safide, honestly the entire cast (except Florence Pugh, she did well her characters just super generic). Everyone gets a moment to shine in this film but nothing out does the effect the bomb has on you by the time its gone off.
3. Past Lives
“You make my world so much bigger, and I’m wondering if I do the same for you.” I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t relate to those words of true love and also pain in realizing maybe the person you are with isn’t the love of your life. Especially if a figure from their past shows up who they once loved dearly, Past Lives is a film that will sit with you long after you have left the theater. The lengths we go go find love, to feel it, to embrace it, when we believe we have found love we never want to let it go. But what if we had to, what if we had to leave that “past life” behind in order for the one we love to be who they are. When I tell you I love romance movies I would be underselling you. I absolutely adore them!! This movie coming from A24 is truly a shock because while they mostly deliver horror movies this movie here proves that if you give A24 Lemons they can end up making the best damn lemonade you ever had because this movie here is a masterpiece.
Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro all deliver core shaking performances in this film. John Magaro is the low-key star in this movie because of him having to portray the current boyfriend/third wheel in the situation. It leaves him to ask the question where does this leave us if he loves you so much? Lee and Woo/s chemistry is out of this world you would 100% believe that these two had known each other in a past life and throughout the film as you begin to realize where it’s headed, the film is surely to bring tears to your eyes. Past Lives is for all of us yearning for love yet needing to know the sacrifices and lessons it comes with.
2. Talk To Me
“They likeeee youuuu.” If I ever had to recommend a horror movie to a person who hated them, I would tell them watch this and you don’t need to watch any other horror movie because this one will be everything you need and so much more! While this film literally just came out this past weekend, it is without a doubt one of the most spine chilling, disturbingly horrific, frightened wicked films I have seen in this decade. Not only is the premise to this film creepy as hell, but the story that is driving this film is a very heavy one to carry. The film deals with grief, loss of those who are close to you, and the pressure of trying to be accepted by your peers who won’t even pay you any mind until you do something as dumb as take a hand and reach out to those on the “Other Side”. Sophie Wild give the PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR in this film. Capturing the gruesome emotions that come with loss and the things that grief will make you do to heal your pain. I love how this hand is not only treated as a horror object but in the kids minds it is a drug almost shroom like for them which is why they love it so much. But once this growing attachment becomes a sickness, this movie truly takes you for a hellish ride I personally I don’t think ive seen anything like since Drag me to Hell (2009). I have seen this movie twice already and the second time was even more painful than the first. Knowing the fate of these characters and catching all of the foreshadowing throughout the movie, Talk to me is truly one of the best horror movies of the decade and honestly one of my favorite films ever. Joe Bird as Riley is a huge scene stealer. Its actually wickedly insane how good these kids are at acting possessed.
Talk to me will be a film that breathes fresh life into the horror genre (Evil Dead Rise already kinda did that but not like this). The performances in this movie are something to truly be in awe of and the most haunting thing about this film is not the jump scares (which there aren’t many) Its the fact that this is something that 100% can happen and that is probably the scariest part of them all knowing how kids ignorance and dumb decision making could possibly open gates to hell.
