The Honorable Mentions of 2023

Greetings, Movie Fans!

Now it's time to get into the good stuff! Color me surprised how 2023 ended up being what I consider to be a pretty stellar year for movies, and trust me, it was desperately needed after about a three year slump between 2020 and 2022. For a few of those years, it was hard to find enough movies to fill a Top 10, no less have an Honorable Mentions roster. As for 2023, this is the largest stack of Honorable Mentions I've had in an age, and the Top 10 for the year was pretty tough to put together from all the choices.

While the Top 10 will be last one I post for obvious reasons, I wanted to take some time to shine a light on films that I loved from last year that, if the competition hadn't been so stiff, would have likely made the Top 10 in their own right. 

There's a decent pile to get through here, so I will keep it short and sweet (maybe).

Here are my Honorable Mention films from 2023, in no particular order:

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem"

I don't think it would be fair to say that this is the TMNT movie "I've been waiting my whole life for" or anything, as I still have a strong affinity towards the live action Turtles from the 90s, and while my expectations were pretty low at the time, I found the animated "TMNT" from 2007 to be far more enjoyable than I predicted. I've still largely ignored the live action films from the 2010s that have Michael Bay's stink all over them, because life is too short. Still, I couldn't help but love pretty much everything "Mutant Mayhem" had to offer. I know there was some criticism about it having too much comedy in it, but to that I say "Fuck It", because there's already an abundance of seriousness in cinema. The cast absolutely nailed the essence of the characters with a modern twist, a bulk of the jokes landed, and "Mutant Mayhem" is yet another new animated release showing some pretty impressive innovation in style. Perhaps Disney should take some notes. 

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie"

If this ends up being the crowning achievement for Illumination Studios for the rest of time, I'm totally fine with that. Granted, I wanted "Super Mario Bros." to be an hour longer and I am completely open to sequels and spin-offs from Nintendo, because holy shit, could you imagine all the potential gold?? While geared towards a younger crowd, the animation was absolutely stunning in this picture, the cast couldn't have been much more perfect if it tried, and my inner child was smiling nostalgically from ear-to-ear. Case closed.

"Evil Dead Rise"

When I went to see "Evil Dead Rise" in the theater back in April, I thought for sure when it ended that it was going to be my pick for the best horror film of the year, and it still would be Top 5 for sure, but 2023 boasted a better horror selection than I anticipated. Regardless, "Rise" has everything that I love about the series to date: Tongue-in-cheek humor, strong performances from a lesser known cast, and copious amounts of blood and body horror. Raimi and Campbell - keep 'em coming, lads!

"Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3"

For as much as I have enjoyed the MCU, particularly through the Thanos saga, even I have to admit that while I'm not experiencing what most are calling "fatigue", the whole project feels incredibly awkward right now due Covid completely fucking up the schedule, and Disney not handling that all-too-well. This latest installment of "Guardians" almost feels like a misfit in a mix of new avenues and names that don't appear to have a clear path to where they're going with all the cast and crew changes going on. If I can tune all that out, though, "Vol. 3" was a pretty superb ending to the trilogy. I wouldn't say it matches the heights of the first one, but I do feel it had quite a bit more to offer than "Vol. 2". Being one of my favorite sections of the MCU to date, it was hard to say goodbye to this crew, but in the end, I suppose bittersweet is a good thing.

"Elemental"

It feels like it's been a minute since the last time I truly loved a Pixar movie. To be clear, I like all of them, and I don't feel there are any bad films in the catalog. Some are great and some are excellent, and there are some that are, in modesty, just good. I don't know if I can say I love "Elemental", but it is Pixar's best film since "Soul", and there are many aspects of the film that I did love. First and foremost, the animation is gorgeous, which is par for the course for Pixar, but in the case of "Elemental", it was in the minor details that the shine came through. There are a few scenes that gave me that good old fashioned jaw-drop reaction. Don't get me wrong, the characters are solid, the actors performing them are also amicable, and the story is fine, I'm just getting to the point where I'm itching for Pixar to pivot and try something new. Either way, it's still a keeper!

"Sisu"

I don't care how old I get and how many of this type of film comes out during that time, there's always going to be something incredibly arousing about unflinchingly graphic carnage at the expense of Nazis. 

Go ahead, please tell me how that's in poor taste. 

This latest entry in the saga introduces the myth of a being called "Sisu", and how an aging gold-digger who is simply trying to exist in his own little bubble at the closing days of World War II gets stumbled across by a group of fleeing Nazis. They decide this guy would be fun to fuck with, only to find out he's kinda really good at killin'. That's pretty much all there is and all there needs to be. If you like watching Nazis getting justice the bloody and violent way, "Sisu" will satisfy all your needs!

"SAW X"

"SAW" - love it. "SAW II" - love it. "SAW III" - love it. "SAW IV" - love it (the ice blocks, cmon!!!). "SAW V" - kinda sucks. "SAW VI" - love it. "SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER" - really sucks. "JIGSAW" - meh. "SPIRAL" - I appreciated the direction it went. 

Ten movies, holy shit. To me, that's both impressive, and also a bit sad in that I haven't really loved a "SAW" movie since 2009. While I was incredibly stoked to hear that Tobin Bell was going to make a big return in "SAW X", I couldn't help but be skeptical when I heard it was a pseudo-sequel squeezed between the first two movies. I guess it has to make sense for those who know why, but it made me wonder what the Think Tank really had to offer. Turns out, it had plenty! I'm pretty sure Tobin was in this film more than the other 9 combined, which was far overdue in my opinion, and the writing was shockingly strong in this entry. The traps were decent, not the best, but it honestly didn't bother me much because of how character-driven "X" was. It definitely revitalized my love for the series, and Hell Yeah, bring on "XI"! 

"The Boogeyman"

I actually don't want to say much about "The Boogeyman" because it was one of the true horror gems of 2023 in how criminally underrated it was with mainstream audiences. I know my expectations were low going in, and I shouldn't ignore that playing a part, but I was truly impressed with the atmosphere, suspense, the monster, the use of light play, and the list goes on. Just go see it and keep an open mind. It's on Hulu the last I checked.

"Totally Killer" 

I can't imagine I'm the only one noticing this lately, but horror comedies have been kicking some serious ass over last decade or so. Of course, I'm not suggesting they're all Gold Standard. "It's a Wonderful Knife", for instance, was a letdown. While calling "Totally Killer" horror is generous, it is a riff on 80s slasher movies in the same way "Freaky" was a few years ago, and I loved the shit out of that movie. With "Killer", the gimmick isn't a body swap, but a time leap whilst maintaining modern sensibilities, and I have to say it's another winner! Kiernan Shipka carries a bulk of the load, and her comedic timing was sharp. The writing was also well-suited to the vibe, with a bulk of the jokes landing pretty squarely on the target. I hope it'll get a physical release later on. 

"The Burial"

Imagine my surprise when I entered "The Burial" thinking it was going to be a pretty straightforward legal drama, and have it turn out to be a colorful, energetic comedy in a lot of respects. There is drama in it, to be sure, and while I clearly didn't know the backstory of Willie E. Gary and Jeremiah O'Keefe (played masterfully by Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones) nor can I speak to the film's accuracy even now, "The Burial" was so much fun to watch. It almost feels like a call back to films of the same stripe from the 90s and 00s that don't get made as much these days. If you're a fan at all of these type of procedural films, check it out, it's well worth the watch!

"The Killer"

David Fucking Fincher. That's it. That's all. The day his name doesn't get on my Honorable Mentions list at minimum is the day I've seen it all and I can retire from existence. Okay, "Mank" was kinda-sorta close to not making it, but I still ended up having too much appreciation for it as a passion project to knock it down. 

I'll admit that I was completely on-board with Michael Fassbender when he first broke onto the scene, but then with the more I saw, the less range I noticed. However, leave it to Fincher to work that to both of their advantages, as the "Killer" lead was written perfectly for Fassbender's style and showed a precise, yet decently flawed contract killer that I found to be an interesting twist on the genre. Oh, and by the way, is it possible to talk about "The Killer" without completely geeking over how ball-bustingly satisfying the Second Act fight scene was? No? I didn't think so. 

"The Killer" likely doesn't land in my Top 5 for Fincher (a tough lot to crack), but it still gave me the sustenance to sustain me until his next film, or, pssst, more "Mindhunter", dammit!

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"

Okay, okay, please put the pitchforks away! I know "Across" is in virtually every Top 10 list imaginable, and it showing up here is not me suggesting it's undeserving of that praise. I've loved both the Miles Morales movies so far, and I can't wait for more. That's also why this one in particular isn't on my Top 10 - the movie doesn't technically end. Yes, I could rank it higher on its own merits, but try as I might, I can't get my brain to work that way. I have to see "Across" and "Beyond" as a single entity, and since I can't do that yet, I reserved my Top 10 for other films that aren't under the same circumstances. Look, the animation once again is barrier-smashing, the screenplay is incredible, and the cast is perfect. If you haven't seen it, shame on you. Does that help? 

"Leo"

In 2023, I didn't have an animated musical starring Adam Sandler and Bill Burr as a classroom iguana and turtle on my Bingo card, and I certainly didn't have said combination being really good on my Bingo card, either, but here we are. Don't misunderstand me, you're not getting the likes of a "Lion King" or "Hamilton" in terms of musical chops from "Leo", but the songs are effective enough in the moments they serve, and the film offers up plenty of heart mixed with the tongue-in-cheek comedic honesty of the two leads. Whether you're a fan of him or not, I for one am glad that it appears Sandler still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.

"The Creator"

Gareth Edwards seems to be one of those directors that makes films that are good enough to be engaging, and even memorable in some ways, but somehow never really break into the stratosphere of greatness. I like "Godzilla" (2014), I like "Rogue One", and I also like "The Creator". I can appreciate how one of the biggest talking points about it has been "How the fuck did he pull this off with only $80 million dollars, and how are $250 million dollar films looking like shit lately in comparison?", but on the other hand, the downside is that "The Creator" sparks more curiosity with that than the content of the film itself. To be sure, the visuals are splendid, John David Washington does a solid job in the lead, and the story is something I'm always up to see. I didn't walk away disappointed, but I did wish it had more charisma to strongly separate it from the rest of the pack. 

"The Last Voyage of the Demeter"

Oh, Universal, you really fucked up on this one. "Demeter" has flaws for sure, and they're pretty easy to spot, especially with the (CGI) portrayal of Dracula in some scenes, but this was a compelling horror-drama from the start, and it should have gotten far more love than it received. Troubled production aside, Andre Ovredal did a great job saving this film from almost certain doom, and of course he did, "The Autopsy of Jane Doe" and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" don't need introductions. Not to mention Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham breathe tons of human emotion and life into an adaption of one, yes, one chapter of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". When it hits streaming, definitely give it a chance!

"Maestro"

If this film doesn't win heaps of awards for Best Makeup Effects, I won't know what to think anymore. The End.

Okay, but seriously, Bradley Cooper directs this movie with an abundance of ambition and energy, and with it being a biographical film about Leonard Bernstein, whom had more life than 2 hours can possibly cram in, I can and should only say so much. Just know that Cooper and Mulligan are excellent in their roles, the mix of color and black/white cinematography was pure eye candy, and like I mentioned before, the makeup details are nothing short of art. "Maestro" definitely deserves all the praise it's been getting.

Still with me? I told you it was a long list this year! It's a good problem to have, I promise.

Last, but not least:

"Past Lives"

In a world full of cotton candy rom-coms and romantic dramas that like to dive headfirst into fantasies about long lost loves, Director Celine Song and "Past Lives" dare to say, "Screw that, time for some real world shit". I can safely say this is not the type of romance that is going to pander to the stereotypes of the genre, and that it may lose some votes from the crowd that prefers the peppy and toe-tapping gloss of most romance films, but there's a reason why it's getting accolades that it is getting in the awards circuit - Celine Song, Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magara understood the assignment and crushed it. The film is a remarkably grounded slow-burn, and by the end, it dealt a few gut punches that felt more real than anything I've seen in the genre for a long while. Full applause from me!



Thank you for checking out and reading my Honorable Mentions from 2023!

Next Up: The reigning champions - "Top 10 Films of 2023"