By Dan Skip Allen

Honorable Mentions: (In No Particular Order)

Chevalier, Creed 3, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Elemental, Fast X, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mario Brothers Movie The, Path of the Panther, Tetris, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,

1: Past Lives

8.4 IMDB 94 % Rotten Tomatoes

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are torn apart after Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.

Release date: June 23, 2023 (USA)

Director: Celine Song

Distributed by: A24

Past Lives Is the first film I’ve seen in years that knows how to deal with love and friendships properly. This movie has a relationship between two people I wish I could have in my own life. The performances from Greta Lee and Teo Yoo are amazing and the writer/director, Celine Song, makes New York City seem so glamorous.  I have never seen this city look this way. The film romanticized everything about it. I heard good things about this movie coming out of The Sundance Film Festival 2023 but I couldn’t have imagined I’d love it as much as I have. At my heart, I am an old softy. I want to see people fall in love and have a happy life with each other. Sometimes that doesn’t work out and how this movie handles that is exceptional. Celine Song has written and directed one of the best films all year even though it’s only halfway through the year. I think this movie will stand the test of time and be nominated for at least five Academy Awards. Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It’s that good of a film.

2: Air

7.5/10 IMDB 92% Rotten Tomatoes

Sonny Vaccaro and Nike pursue basketball rookie Michael Jordan, creating a partnership that revolutionizes the world of sports and contemporary culture.

Release date: April 5, 2023 (USA)

Director: Ben Affleck

Amazon Studios

Air is one of the multiple films that tell the story of a moment in history or the origin of an item. Air is the best of those. I remember this time from my childhood and it was a big deal that Michael Jordan signed this deal. It changed how contracts with athletes were conducted from that moment on. Ben Affleck created this moment in history perfectly. He assembled a great cast including Matt Damon as Sonny Vicaro, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, and Viola Davis as Micheal Jordan’s mother. They all do a stellar job in their various roles.  The direction and production design in the movie were spot on. He knew how to tell this story and what it means to many people who are fans of Jordan and have bought a pair of Nike Air Jordans in the past. I am neither of those but I know a great film when I see it and this is one of those.

3: Asteroid City

7/10 IMDB 73% Rotten Tomatoes

World-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town circa 1955.

Initial release: May 23, 2023

Director: Wes Anderson

Production companies: Focus Features

Screenplay: Wes Anderson

Cinematography: Robert Yeoman

Asteroid City is another distinctly Wes Anderson film. It has all of his Sensibilities including the production design he’s known for. This is one of the best-looking films I’ve seen all year. The muted colors of oranges, yellows, reds, and blues are so vividly shown throughout the movie. The black and white scenes were also gorgeous to see. The way he shot this film was brilliant. It’s hard to tell where the production design and visual effects start and end. The incredible cast he has ensembles bring his Screenplay to life. He has a bunch of newer collaborators such as Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Liev Schriber, Steve Carell, Maya Hawke, and the list goes on and on. This is one of the best Anderson movies in his filmography. His vision is second to none. He just knows what he wants and it comes out beautifully. 

4: Guy Richie’s The Covenant

7.5/10 IMDB 83% Rotten Tomatoes

During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain.

Release date: April 21, 2023 (USA)

Director: Guy Ritchie

MGM

I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see Guy Richie’s The Covenant. The title threw me off but I was a fan of Guy Richie films before this. The same goes for Jake Gyllenhaal. I am a fan of his as well. So with those two things, I went into this film with an open mind. What I saw amazed me more than I can say. The story was very fascinating because I wasn’t that familiar with war translators before seeing this movie. All the war stuff blew me away but the survival stuff on the behalf of the translator was incredible. It’s one of the most realistic portrayals of a wartime situation I have ever seen. The two main actors Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim give great performances as these two men that switch roles in a sense.  Both actors handled their characters superbly. Richie also did a great job with his direction as well. It’s one of the better films in his filmography.

5: John Wick 4

8/10 IMDB 94% Rotten Tomatoes

With the price on his head ever increasing, legendary hitman John Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin.

Release date: March 24, 2023 (USA)

Director: Chad Stahelski

Lionsgate Films

The John Wick franchise has been one of the most surprising franchises in history because nobody saw it coming. Let alone three sequels. The fourth one in the franchise might be the best since the original or the best of all of them. John Wick 4 has an Academy Award-worthy sound design. I felt like I was being hit over the head by the sound in this movie. The cinematography by Dan Loustsen is the best of his career. It is genuinely some of the best cinematography I’ve seen in years. He uses so many different ways to show how this movie is lit and films. Some of the techniques are groundbreaking. The fight choreography is on another level. The costumes and makeup and hair design on two specific characters, Bill Skarsgard and Scott Adkins, are also Oscar-worthy. This film is truly amazing on so many levels. The least of which is its star, Keanu Reeves, who is mind-blowingly great once again as this character.

6: Rye Lane

7.3/10 IMDB 98% Rotten Tomatoes

Following two youngsters reeling from bad break-ups who connect over a particularly eventful day in South London.

Release date: March 17, 2023 (UK)

Director: Raine Allen Miller

Searchlight Pictures

Rye Lane was one of a handful of films that came out of Sundance 2023 that got some buzz. When I saw it I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. It’s the day in the life of two young people who are coming off of breakups and meeting inadvertently at a street shopping area. They walk around and get to know each other. While being introduced to people in each other’s lives. They share a lot of themselves and it’s very nice. The location of the story takes place in the area named in the title and the colors jump off the screen. It’s a very bright and vivid area of London known as Brixton, South London.  The area helps bring this burdening love story to life before our eyes. It is such a sweet story and a little small film people should seek out on Hulu. 

7: Still: A Michael J Fox Movie

8.2/10 IMDB 99% Rotten Tomatoes

A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture, darling of the 1980s, only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. The actor who is an incurable optimist is forced to confront an incurable disease.

Release date: May 12, 2023 (USA)

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Apple TV+

As a kid, Michael J Fox was one of my biggest heroes. He was doing amazing things on television in Family Ties, and on the big screen in Back to the Future Trilogy. He was just on fire in the 80s and then the unthinkable happened and he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. One of the worst kinds of illness that affect body chemistry and motor function. Still: A Michael J Fox Movie documents his entire life and how he’s handling the disease today. It’s one of the best films of any kind I’ve seen this year. Let alone a documentary. And with my love of his career, it was right up my alley and brought back a lot of nostalgia. It’s a fantastic film, though sad at the same time.

8: The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

8.2/10 IMDB 82% Rotten Tomatoes 4.1/5 Lettwrboxd

Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

Release date: May 5, 2023 (USA)

Director: James Gunn

Produced and Distributed by Disney, Marvel Studios

The Guardians of the Galaxy aren’t considered the best Marvel characters so it was a bit strange for Kevin Fiege and Marvel when James Gunn pitched the idea to them to make a film about this ragtag group of loners. Ten years later it has been one of the most popular IP’s since their inception. The cast of A-holes if you will but I would rather refer to them as a bunch of weirdos instead. Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) Groot (Vin Diesel) Rocket (Bradley Cooper) Drax (Dave Bautista  Nebula (Karen Gillian Mantis (Pom Klementieff along with Gamora (Zoe Saldana) have all had their various storyline in the past but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is Rockets time to shine. With comes a darker story and a pretty nasty villain The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Awudi) He is a pretty evil guy that abuses animals for scientific purposes. Like always though James Gunn infuses his brand of humor and action into a film with a darker storyline. This was the perfect conclusion to this version of these characters. And I was very happy with how this story and group ended.

9: The Flash

7.4/10 IMDB 67% Rotten Tomatoes

Worlds collide when the Flash uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian — albeit not the one he’s looking for.

Release date: June 16, 2023 (USA)

Director: Andrés Muschietti

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Adapted from: Flashpoint

It would be an understatement to say the Flash film has had its fair share of setbacks, from directors coming and going to all the behind-the-scenes drama involving the star of the film Ezra Miller. After all of that Andy Mushietti was finally chosen and eventually made this film. So the fact that this movie turned out decent is a pleasant surprise to me. And one of the best parts about it is the dual roles of Barry Allen that Miller plays. He is amazing as these two different versions of himself. Add in Michael Keaton as Batman, Sasha Calle as Supergirl Ben Affleck as the DCEU Batman, and Michael Shannon as General Zod and you have a crazy Flashpoint Esque storyline. With great action sequences And a story that makes complete sense in this world of the Snyderverse. It’s a bit bittersweet though, but we still have this very entertaining film. Comic Book fans and everyone inbetween will love it.  

10: No Hard Feelings

7/10 IMDB 55 % Rotten Tomatoes

On the brink of losing her childhood home, a desperate woman agrees to date a wealthy couple’s introverted and awkward 19-year-old son before he leaves for college.

Release date: June 17, 2023 (USA)

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing

No Hard Feelings is one of the funniest films of the year. Jennifer Lawrence is usually a dramatic or action-oriented actress. She is as funny and self-referential as I’ve ever seen her before. She truly puts her persona out there for people to laugh at and it benefits this movie tremendously. This film has familiar tropes in it but I didn’t care because the characters made me care about them and their motivation within the context of the film. The supporting cast from Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Natalie Morales, and Ebon Moss Bacharach are all terrific. They add a nice addition to Lawrence who is doing some of the best work of her career. This movie was a pleasant surprise amongst so many adrenaline-filled action films. It’s one of the few comedies this year that made me laugh out loud.