THiNC. 2023 Best Movies of the Year!! We are right at the moment of ringing the 2024 bell – and this post could not be later in the year! hahah. There were a lot of fun movies that came out this year, even in spite of this being the rebound Covid film year. Oh, and a massive Hollywood strike year too! Hahah. There was a lot of chaos in the film world this year. But I personally believe that many of those big Hollywood tent pole films moved out of the way, and they made way for some of the smaller Indie films that I love so much.
Do you have a movie that you think should have made it to the THiNC. top fifteen list? Please let us know in the comments. Because I am always looking for amazing movies. And actually, many of these films I wouldn’t have known about save for you guys pointing them out to me. (I’m looking at you Brightwood, Aporia, Beyond the Infinite 2 Minutes, actually now that I’m listing them… I should have just said, I heard about Oppenheimer on my own! hahaha.)
Let’s get to it! The top 15 movies of the year:
#15 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – Brightwood
This movie sets the entire tone of THiNC.’s fifteen best movies of the year. This one can be a bit violent and bloody, but I think it is fantastically violent and bloody in all the right spots. I mean, it is a story about marital chaos and trouble, and the desire to overcome those differences by any means necessary. Wink. Happy hunting THiNC.ers.
#14 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – Aporia
Secret story – I’ve always wanted to craft a time travel screenplay. But a time travel story unlike any other, a story that bordered on magic, and surprise… and the startling chaos that would happen as a result. A story about unintended consequences, and regret. Guess what? Aporia is probably as close to that story that I’ve had in my head that I’ve wanted to create for so many years. I can’t really think of higher praise to give this film than a hope of my own.
#13 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – Beyond the Infinite 2 Minutes
Beyond the Infinite 2 Minutes was shot over the course of seven days in a Kyoto café by members of the Europe Kikaku theater troupe. The film, which is edited to appear as if it was shot in one long shot. It is a brilliantly complex story line extrapolation of a really simple idea that becomes so complex as to be almost unfollowable as it reaches the end. That it was thought up and executed over the course of 7 days is amazing to me.
#12 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – Lola
You’ve never heard of Lola. I guarantee it. If you have, you should be running this site and not me. But it is just so off the beaten path different as to be awesome. These two sisters create a screen that can see into the future. And as they use it to change the tides of World War II, it creates indelible scars across history that they must try to repair. Such a great film. In fact, the eleventh greatest film of the year.
#11 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – 11 Minutes Ago
This one is a little difficult to find. Give me a yell and I might be able to hook you up, if the Justwatch widget above doesn’t have a way for you to watch it. This is the indiest of indies of the list here, which might be a pro, or a con, depending. Personally, the cleverness of the screenplay, the uniqueness of the idea, all propelled this movie onto this list. Lord knows the budget of this movie was like a buck and a half.
#10 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – Rebel Moon
I do not want to hear about this one. I loved Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon. I’m currently watching it a second time with my son, and he’s enjoying it as well. It’s like a Star Wars for grown ups. But if you want to know what it really is? It’s a full-on remake of Seven Samurai… top to bottom. The village in danger, the hunt for warriors to mount a defense. It’s either a Seven Samurai remake, or a 3 Amigos remake… one or the other. Both make me happy.
#9 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – The Creator
I know that some of you were not huge fans of The Creator… no offense, but you were wrong. Watch it again. Sure, it was a semi-sad, non-standard ending. And yes, it broke the rules of the standard exultant sci-fi ending. But I enjoyed everything about this movie. The discussion of the Korean/Vietnam war chaos. The discussion of our capitalistic and technological knee-jerk presumptions of normal. I loved it.
#8 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – The Killer
The Killer was glorious from beginning to end. I loved the introspective thoughtfulness of it. I loved the aesthetic. The soundtrack!? The Smiths from beginning to end. So great. And there was a lot to think about too. A great action film from beginning to end.
#7 Best THiNC Film of 2023 – Infinity Pool
Infinity Pool is a right proper Mindjob movie of THiNC. grandeur and mental demise. It’s an idea so morally bankrupt, and ethically terrifying, as to make you stop and think. But it’s also an idea so steeped in the ideas of the Old Testament, and blood guilt, that I had to take a double take more than once as the film was unspooling. But the ending? The ending is so fantastic as to really give one pause. Wait, what just happened? Are my eyes deceiving me? It’s definitely confusing.
#6 Best THiNC. Film of 2023 – Poor Things
I wasn’t sure where to place Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film. Whether to place it in the nearest trash-bin, or at the top of this list. Some are calling it a flagrant and pornographically corrupt affair, and others are calling it Yorgos’ best film yet. Me? Personally? I saw it somewhere in the middle. I knew going in Lanthimos would hurt my brain. Dogtooth was one of the most uncomfortable viewing experiences I’ve encountered. The Lobster? Brilliant. Killing of a Sacred Deer? Glorious. So, yeah, let’s put it somewhere in the middle of our list shall we?
#5 Best THiNC. Film of 2023 – Saltburn
Saltburn came into the world with mixed reviews. Me? I loved it. Complicated characters. Unclear swoops, twists and turns. And no one’s motives are clear. What is everyone up to and why? No idea. But Barry Keoghan is glorious in this … as he was in Killing of a Sacred Deer, and a half dozen other movies. So it was an obvious watch on my part.
#3 Best THiNC. Film of 2023 – Past Lives
I just recently published my review of Past Lives and I absolutely adored it. Reminded me of my favorite trilogy of all time – The Before Sunrise series. “Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love and the choices that make a life.”
#2 Best THiNC. Film of 2023 – Anatomy of a fall
I adored this film. Sandra Hüller crushed this role. The grey areas of it all. The conversations about the world’s justice assumptions. Of our own need for blacks and whites, and very clear cut answers. If you enjoyed this movie, you would really enjoy The Spinning Man as well. There is an even chance that this film will garner a Best Film Oscar nomination. Doubt it will break through for the win, but I’m hopeful that this Cannes Palme d’Or winner will be recognized.
And the Best Movie of the Year – 2023 – Oppenheimer
I’ve probably watched this movie ten times now. Three of those viewings were on consecutive days in the theater. I quite possibly might have radiation poisoning from all of the times I’ve watched it. It’s an unbelievably good story. The story of the man who created the first atomic bomb becoming a stark opponent of the Hydrogen bomb, and thereby, becoming a huge threat to the United States military complex. It’s a near perfect movie in practically every way. And while it might have released too early in the year to keep its momentum into the Oscar awards season… I still think it will do decent business, and collect a fair share of awards… if not the best movie of the year award. (Lord knows he deserves one after all – if not this one – then what?)
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Thanks for sticking with THiNC., for all of my long time readers. You guys are awesome. Already working on some new big things for the year ahead, and can’t wait to see what drifts up above the flotsam and sticks out in the year ahead. Have a great year ahead everyone, and keep swinging back by to find the best in Indie/Think worthy/Mindjobby films!
Edited by: CY