KSanders writesKyle Sanders’ Top 10 Films of 2023

I don't know about you, but I watched a TON of films this year. And most importantly, I saw them at a movie theater. No really, an ACTUAL movie theater! From my count (thanks to social media check-ins and a somewhat photographic memory), I visited Chicago's movie theaters a whopping 66 TIMES this year! 

Half of those took place at my favorite spot in all of Chicago: The Music Box Theater. Other notable visits included historic theaters like The Davis in Lincoln Square (mostly involving titles featured at our inaugural CHIRP Music Film Festival), and the now-defunct New 400 Theater of Rogers Park (may its hallowed doors rest in peace). 

I also got to check out some blockbusters at the new Alamo Drafthouse located in Wrigleyville, the AMC Newcity theater in Old Town, and the Landmark Century in Lakeview. So many films, so many locations! That has to be a new personal record, because not that long ago, my yearly movie theater visits could be counted on one hand. And that was BEFORE Covid!

In a post-pandemic world though, movie theaters are surprisingly going strong. Last year it was all thanks to Mr. "Maverick" himself, Tom Cruise. This year though, a certain pink-attired gal could probably add another level to her Malibu Dreamhouse thanks to huge box office returns. "Barbenheimer" became an unexpected cultural event that was a successful payoff for Warner Bros' Barbie and Universal Pictures' Oppenheimer, and proved you can release a wildly fun comedy based on an iconic doll AND a biographical drama about the Atomic Bomb simultaneously without commercial conflict. I myself did NOT see both as a double feature (in fact, just a few days apart), but any gimmick to motivate the masses to movie theaters I fully support!

With 2023 coming to a close, I looked back on all of this year's films and put together a Top 10 List of my favorites. Criteria included runtime (my sincerest apologies to the three hour opuses Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer), originality (you won't find any franchise properties mentioned here--cough, cough, MARVEL, cough cough), coherence (if Wes Anderson continues to make convoluted rabbit holes like Asteroid City, he might lose me as a fan forever) and lasting impression (I'm sure there was a film I could mention here, but--I already forgot about it...). 

10) Talk to Me

An Aussie horror film that treats communicating with the dead as casually as huffing glue out of a brown paper bag down by the old swimming hole (or was that just my adolescence?). This film from Down Under is about a group of teenagers who contact spirits using a mysterious embalmed hand that allows them to be possessed for up to 90 seconds. Any additional second over, and well...let's just say the spirit might get a little too comfortable. An impressive feature directorial debut from brothers Danny and Michael Phillipou, Talk to Me dusts off the old familiar horror tropes and gives them a fresh 21st-century spin--conjuring up an effective ghost story in the TikTok era.

9) Rotting in the Sun

Absolutely outrageous, Rotting in the Sun is a dizzying K-hole ride filled with a cast of horny characters and a plot with more curves than a Peyronie's-riddled penis! And if you clutched your pearls at that description, then seeing this dark comedy will cause your jaw to drop further than the Times Square Ball on New Year's Eve! When a depressed filmmaker nearly drowns at a nude gay beach, he crosses paths with a social media influencer who happens to be a fan. When the two decide to work together on a project, a knee-jerk plot twist sends the film spraying into unpredictable directions. Sprinkled with full-frontal nudity and unsolicited sex, this film is a raging hard-on erupting with frenetic energy.

8) The Boy and the Heron

This was the only animated film I saw this year (better luck next time, Pixar!), and the only one worthy of seeing on the big screen. The latest from Hiyao Miyazaki is a tale set during the Pacific War, and motherless Mahito must move to the forested estate of his father's new wife. There, Mahito is taunted by a grey heron that leads him to an alternate world full of magic. Like all Studio Ghibli titles, The Boy and the Heron is beautifully animated, full of whimsy and wonder brushed with dark strokes of nightmarish imagery (seriously, you'll never look at parakeets the same way ever again). 

7) Fremont

Initially I assumed Fremont would be a quiet drama about the plight of Afghan refugees. Instead, I was treated to a quirky character study in the same vein as Napoleon Dynamite--but for grown-up cineastes. True, the movie focuses on the life of Donya, a former translator for the US Army during the War in Afghanistan, who now lives a quiet life working at a fortune cookie factory in California's East Bay. But the film goes deeper, exploring Donya's displacement and feelings of survivor's guilt that prevent her from seeking fortunes not unlike the ones she doles out in every cookie made. An intimate film that basks in the quietness of its scenes, Fremont is a mood piece worth experiencing.

6) Passages

This drama features the love triangle of the year! Franz Rogowski portrays Tomas, a film director who controls his actors a lot better than his personal life, which is about as put together as the seams of his colorfully robust sweaters. He strikes up a passionate fling with a young woman, despite already being married to a man. The problem is, he can't seem to choose exactly who he really wants. Heated arguments, inflated egos, passionate sex, and more break-ups and shake-ups featured here than on any album by Fleetwood Mac!

5) Anatomy of a Fall

What should be considered an accidental death gradually turns into a possible homicide in this courtroom drama that won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Novelist Sandra Voytner's husband tragically falls to his death from the roof of their house. The autopsy reveals that he suffered head trauma prior to landing on the ground, putting Sandra under suspicion. Did I mention Sandra has a knack for including personal conflicts in her novels--and that her most recent book involves plotting a murder? With a script taut with sophistication and a mesmerizing turn by actress Sandra Hueller, Anatomy of a Fall not only puts its protagonist through the wringer, but also its audience. You'll be discussing the verdict with your friends for years!

4) Poor Things

From the absurdist mind of Yorgos Lanthimos comes another black comedy that is as bizarre as it is hilarious. Emma Stone stars as Bella Baxter, a Frankenstein-meets-Barbie creation of a Victorian woman with the brain of her unborn child. At first infantile in her development, Bella quickly learns of intellect, pleasure, and empathy--all influenced by experiences she has with the varied men in her life. Adapted from Alasdair Gray's novel, Poor Things is light on Lanthimos' usual knack for deadpan deliveries, but heavy on the surreal--from the disturbing hybrid animals that roam around mad scientist Willem Dafoe's mansion, to the steampunk skylines of a Nineteenth Century Europe. The cast is stacked with standout performances too. Stone is a wide-eyed wonder, but Mark Ruffalo's dastardly turn was the true highlight for me.  

3) Past Lives

I give credit to Past Lives for introducing me to the Korean philosophy of "in-yun" or, the ties between two people over the course of time. This film brings up a lot of "what ifs," specifically through the conversations between Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends from South Korea who get torn apart, reconnect virtually, and finally reunite face-to-face all within the span of twenty-four years. The distance between them never ceases to keep them connected, but their ultimate reunion leaves the fairytale happy ending open-ended for another time--perhaps in another life. Nothing like leaving it up to fate to keep the chemistry simmering (and the tears streaming).

2) May December

The balancing act between Persona's dramatic duality and Single White Female's trashy intensity that this film pulls off is most impressive. A never better Natalie Portman is an actress who, in order to better understand the character she'll be playing, meets and observes the woman whom the role is based on: a Mary Kay Letourneau stand-in (brilliantly performed by Julianne Moore) who went to prison for having an affair with a thirteen-year-old boy only to marry him and start a family after getting released. Portman's character does what any responsible actor would do: cause all hell to break loose! With this campy drama, director Todd Haynes moves out of his "homage to Douglas Sirk" era and gives us his ode to Lifetime Original Movies. I hope this isn't his last!

1) The Holdovers 

Alexander Payne's comedy had me the moment the grainy '70s cinema opening credits started rolling! It immediately comforted my viewing experience, draping over me like grandma's afghan on a cold winter's night. That's not to say that the film is a feel-good family experience though. This flick follows emotionally repressed characters coping with their depression in the most unhealthy ways (alcohol, bullying, overly strict lesson plans that teeter damn close to abuse), yet find themselves stranded on a New England prep school campus that has shut down for the holiday season. Paul Giamatti hasn't had a role this juicy since quenching his thirst with a spit bucket in Sideways; and coincidentally, is the last film Payne directed that overflowed with this much addictive charm, sharp wit, and talented performers. An original story that made sense and clocks in at just a little over two hours, I consider The Holdovers my favorite film of the year!