The best movies of 2023 (so far)

2023 may have marked the return of the Hollywood blockbuster season to our shores for the first time in four years, but must-see movies have been few and far between in the months since Christmas.

Marvel’s output has been a mixed-bag (the Guardians got a fitting farewell, but the Ant-Man-headlining Quantumania underwhelmed), only Red, White and Brass has really stood out among local releases, while the Academy Awards were dominated by two movies released last year.

However, after looking back over the past five-and-a-half months, Stuff to Watch has come up with a list of the 10 titles we believe are well worth revisiting, or catching up with for the first time.

Boston Strangler (Disney+)

Keira Knightley headlines this 1960s true-crime drama which focuses on Loretta McLaughlin – the reporter who first connected the murders and broke the story of the Boston Strangler.

She and fellow Record American writer Jean Cole (The Golden Age’s Carrie Coon) battled sexism and cronyism to first inform the public about the city’s notorious serial killer and then uncover conspiracy and corruption.

Writer-director Matt Ruskin (Crown Heights) has done a terrific job of creating a sense of space and place for his true-crime drama. This is a tale that mixes the visceral feeling of a city living in fear a la Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam, with the inherent drama of the twists and turns of a journalistic investigation that served the likes of Spotlight and All the President’s Men so well.

The Fablemans (Neon, GooglePlay, iTunes, AroVision, YouTube)

Dedicated to his parents Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler, Steven Spielberg has lovingly crafted a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age story that’s both a searing drama and a spellbinding look at the power of cinema.

Essentially, it’s the Spielberg “superhero origin story”, as we follow his cypher Sammy Fabelman (Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord, then Gabriel LaBelle) from his first encounter of the shock and awe of the moving picture via a trip to a New Jersey movie theatre to see the opening night of Cecile B. De Mille’s The Greatest Show on Earth in January, 1952 to his initial employment in Hollywood’s dream factory.

The impressive cast also includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and Judd Hirsch.

Living (iTunes, GooglePlay, AroVision, YouTube)

Bill Nighy is at his stunning, tightly-wound best in this poignant and powerful English-language “reimagining” of Akira Kurosawa’s much-loved 1952 movie Ikiru (To Live).

He plays Mr Williams, a respected, no-nonsense English civil servant known for his attention to detail and decisiveness. However, away from the office, he is facing a personal crisis. But rather than sharing this with his family, he instead sparks up a friendship with a much younger former colleague Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood).

With a screenplay by Nobel and Booker Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, this definitely evokes memories of ‘90s British dramas like Shadowlands and The Remains of the Day.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Neon, iTunes, GooglePlay, YouTube, AroVision)

US comedian Jenny Slate voices the eponymous one-inch tall character who’s our guide through this delightful mockumentary.

Discovered by debutant feature director Dean Fleischer-Camp when he moved into an Airbnb following the breakdown of his marriage, Marcel’s interaction with his surroundings, curiosity about the world and relationship with his grandmother Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini) will fascinate the viewer almost as much as the film-maker.

A truly charming and endearing tale that seamlessly blends stop-motion animation and live-action in a way that will melt your heart.

Rye Lane (Disney+)

Despite a very clever London rom-com-related hole-in-the-wall eatery pun, a magnificent celebrity cameo from one of that famous movie’s stars and its street-level celebration of the city’s southern markets, parks and neighbourhoods, this rollicking and occasionally emotionally raw tale actually reminds one of a story set on the other side of the English Channel.

As accountant Dom (David Jonsson) and aspiring costume designer Yas (Vivian Oparah) recount, regret and remonstrate about their respective most recent relationship disasters, it’s hard not to think of Richard Linklater’s beguiling 2004 Parisian, reminiscence-filled roam Before Sunrise.

But while that perhaps packed more of an emotional punch than here, there’s no doubting Raine Allen Miller’s sometimes uproarious debut will appeal way more to a contemporary audience, offers far greater laughs-per-minute and surely must be the only rom-com in history to begin with a “meet-cute” in an art gallery’s inclusive toilets.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (In Cinemas)

The best-attempt at bringing a comic-book to life since Ang Lee’s much-maligned and hugely-underrated Hulk. One of the greatest superhero movies since Christopher Reeve made audiences believe a man could fly. A blockbuster sequel to rival The Empire Strikes Back in terms of emotional stakes.

The superlatives aimed at Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson’s visually-stunning, mind-boggling, multi-dimensional and multi-format (everything from live-action to Lego sits alongside the main computer-generated animation action) are well-deserved, as they not only continue the adventures of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), but also reinvent the traditional perception of Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld) via her Earth-65 incarnation’s double-life as Spider-Woman.

Go for the jaw-dropping visuals, stay for the engrossing story and start counting the days until Beyond the Universe is set to be released (currently March 28, 2024).

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple TV+)

Both hilarious and heartbreaking, Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) takes us on an emotional journey through the life and times of the Back to the Future, Family Ties, Spin City and Teen Wolf star.

Taking its cue from the actor’s quartet of books, Fox offers an intimate glimpse into what it was like suddenly going from struggling to make ends meet to being Hollywood’s hottest property – and then attempting to hold on, as Parkinson’s Disease began taking its toll.

Particularly striking and effective is the extensive use of clips from Fox’s film and TV projects to convey emotion and reflect, particularly visually, the stories and feelings Fox is also projecting via voice-over. It all means Still is very much his story, in his own words.

The Territory (Disney+)

Immersive and informative, this award-winning documentary offers a terrific template for how to present an even-handed look at a potentially thorny topic.

Not only is this a clarion call regarding the human threat to the Amazonian rainforest, Alex Pritz’s debut feature is also an excellent primer on the increasing political and social divisions within Brazil. At its heart, it’s the story of that country’s Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau peoples and their attempts to resist increasing incursions from “invaders” wanting to clear and develop their forested home.

As well as eschewing the traditional voice-over and allowing everyone involved to tell their story in their own words, The Territory’s greatest strength lies in its attempt to give viewers a holistic view of the complex situation.

Tetris (Apple TV+)

Who knew that the backstory to the gaming phenomenon that captivated the world in the 1980s could produce a Cold War thriller to rival some of that movie genre’s greats?

Filth and Stan and Ollie director Jon S. Baird’s story follows the misadventures of Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), the Japan-based American who discovered Tetris in 1988 and then risked everything by traveling to the Soviet Union to join forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) to bring the game to the masses.

Baird and screenwriter Noah Pink’s tale is as much about the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and the Succession-esque fall-from-grace of Robert (Roger Allam) and his boy Kevin (a suitably unctuous Anthony Boyle) as it is about pixel-rotation – and all the more engrossing as a result.

Women Talking (iTunes)

Canadian actor-turned-director Sarah Polley’s first feature foray behind the camera since 2012’s Stories We Tell was well worth the wait.

An adaptation of Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name, this focuses on a group of women in an isolated religious community who have gathered together to make a decision that will affect all their lives.

A kind of a cross between Dogville, The Village and The Handmaid’s Tale, Women Talking is evocatively shot with a colour-drained palette, features a haunting soundtrack by Joker’s Hildur Guðnadóttir and showcases the talents of everyone from Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Rooney Mara, Frances McDormand and Ben Whishaw.