This is a live list where I rank the movies of 2023. People tend to believe I have…contrarian taste. So some of these rankings may surprise you. But they are true and genuine. I highly favor movies with considerable style, deep and rich characters, and strong themes. I’ll be keeping a diary of my thoughts on every new movie I watch. Links to each entry can be found in the rankings.
If you have any recommendations for me, or if you just want to talk about my thoughts or rankings, comment below!
Links to my other rankings:
Table of Contents
Latest Movies I’ve Watched
M3gan
I’ve seen comments online about this movie that we’re not supposed to take it seriously, that it’s a comedy, that looking for depth is missing the point—etc. I find that to be a very strange mentality regarding movies that stylistically have their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks. I don’t necessarily think M3gan is a great movie—in fact, the major issue here is that the movie never goes quite far enough with its playful style. But the film is certainly far more capable and thought-provoking than half of the schlock that gets praised each year. The movie’s pacing is key here, as M3gan effortlessly flows between philosophical quandaries that are more relevant today than ever before as AI pervades the technological space. The major hurdle here is the rather vapid characters. They are decidedly broad and cheeky for the sake of the message, which never allows the themes to steep and gain the gravitas it deserves. The problem isn’t that you aren’t supposed to take the movie seriously—it’s that we would like to take it far more seriously.
Watch M3gan on:2023 Movie Rankings
Movie Diary
The Pale Blue Eye
What a shame. The Pale Blue Eye is packed to the brim with interesting ideas regarding the thin line between life and death, the attraction of the occult, the soul-bending precariousness of spirituality. The only problem? It’s a complete freaking bore. Characters stare vacantly ahead with the deadest eyes imaginable as they contemplate and discuss life’s biggest questions and investigate absolutely grisly murders—a strange dichotomy indeed. What inherently stands as a recipe for a great melodrama or a great detective story instead becomes an undercooked pile of muck that sludges forward and doesn’t bring dignity to any of its hefty queries until the very end. It’s an eye-roll of a movie filled with people trying to great work while tethered to such dead weight.
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