1) How to Blow Up a Pipeline Activism masquerading as the perfect heist film. Or was it the other way around?
2) The Holdovers Wanted to spend the rest of the month in this movie.
3) Asteroid City Margot Robbie’s best work of 2023.
4) May December Nobody plays people trapped in a performance like Natalie Portman.
5) Nightsiren Witches and men don’t mix and never will.
6) Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism In a year with multiple possession movies, this is still the best.
7) The Killer Michael Fassbender is the CEO of murder.
8) Evil Dead Rise Give Alyssa Sutherland an Oscar you cowards.
9) Jethica Sad, beautiful, and tricky. My favorite kind of film.
10) Paint It sounds like a parody, but it’s a movie with a very big heart.
Near Misses: Napoleon, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, The League
Most Overrated: Talk to Me, When Evil Lurks
Most Underrated: Paint
Wild Card: Between Alyssa Sutherland and Lizzy Caplan, this was the year of mommy dearest in horror.
Acting Kudos (Male): Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Michael Fassbender (The Killer), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
Acting Kudos (Female): Alyssa Sutherland (Evil Dead Rise), Lizzy Caplan (Cobweb), Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline)
Best Director: Greta Gerwig (Barbie), Todd Haynes (May December), Wes Anderson (Asteroid City)
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson (The Holdovers), Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik (May December), Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola (Asteroid City)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach (Barbie), Ariela Barer, Jordan Sjol, Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), Andrew Kevin Walker (The Killer)
TV Series/Event: Deadloch, an Australian black comedy and murder mystery that builds to the perfect conclusion
Worst Film: I won’t stop saying mean things about Talk to Me to anyone that likes horror.
The Little Film That Could: I won’t stop saying nice things about Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism to anyone that likes horror.
This article appears in December 15 • 2023.