Movies I Watched in 2023

January 1, 2024

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6 Minute Read

My wife and I have a system where we often have movie nights and take turns picking the movie. We continued it this year and have watched quite a few. Some of them I’ve seen before. Others I have not.

My Favorite Movies Seen in 2023

These were my top movies seen and would highly recommend.

Glass Onion: This had a good cast and Daniel Craig was fantastic. Definitely some good twists.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: 40 some years later, this still holds up.
The Shawshank Redemption: I don’t know if I ever saw this all the way through, but the movie was fantastic. Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman were great in it.
Dungeons & Dragons: Among Thieves: I enjoyed this movie. It was a good fantasy flick with a good mix of humor. Chris Pine was funny, Michelle Rodriguez brought the action and the supporting cast were likable.
Star Trek: Into Darkness: I know there’s a bunch of hate over the Khan reveal, but I actually enjoyed this movie. It even brings in some of the moral commentary Star Trek is known for.
Barbie: I enjoyed this. It had a good mix of humor with a positive message.
Alien: Even 40 years later the sci fi & horror aspects hold up. The movie was and is fantastic!
Oppenheimer: I enjoyed this. I’m not 100% sure how much was dramatized, but it provided a good look at both the interest in the science and the post-WWII realization of what they did.
Star Trek: Nemesis: I know this movie gets a bad rap and it does have its issues, but I still enjoy it. Last time seeing the Enterprise E in action.
Aliens: I enjoyed this one. It holds up well enough too after over 30 years.

Movies I Enjoyed

While not my favorites, I enjoyed these as well and would recommend them.

Amsterdam: This was a weird movie. Felt kind of weird given the way the story was told versus the true parts of the story
The Irishman: I’m not sure what the hype was around this. De Niro, Pesci & Pacino were good, but the movie dragged on way too long.
Clerks: The movie was not as good as I remember it being.
You People: Had a lot of good laughs from this. Jonah Hill and Lauren London had good performances.
The Harder they Fall: I enjoyed the movie. It had good action sequences and the cast was fantastic.
Death on the Nile: Had some nice twist and turns. While the ending made sense, not entirely sure how we got there.
Margin Call: I’m not sure how to feel about this other than it feels very much like Wall Street.
This is Where I Leave You: Wasn’t a bad movie. It had a good mix of humor and drama. It was a little predictable though.
Gatsby: Some things I remembered from the book...some things I didn’t. I didn’t hate the adaptation.
The Gray Man: This was definitely a good action flick. Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans both did a great job.
Inside Man: I enjoyed this with its twists and turns.
Charlie Wilson’s War: I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting when I started this. It wasn’t a bad movie and Tom Hanks did a great job, parts of it just felt kinda “meh”.
The Out-Laws: This was particularly dumb, but it still had some good humor. It wasn’t the best movie ever, but I enjoyed it.
For the Love of Spock: This was a nice look back into Leonard Nimoy and what he brought to Star Trek and science fiction in general. It was through the eyes of his son Adam and had actors from all walks of Trek and other shows on it. It wasn’t afraid to talk about the more-grim side either.
Star Trek (2009): I enjoyed the reintroduction to the Star Trek series. The replacements for Kirk & crew do a great job reprising the roles and there’s a good mix of humor and action.
Star Trek Beyond: I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed this as much of the others, but it was definitely Star Trek and a good Trek action film.
Bros: This was a typical romantic comedy. It had some good scenes and a positive message.
Bull Durham: Typical ‘80s movie, but enjoyable. Some good bits of humor and baseball.
BlackBerry: I thought this was ok. Glenn Howerton reminded me of his Dennis character from Sunny.
Interstellar: The visuals for the movie were phenomenal. The story was solid and was interesting.
A Haunting in Venice: Always love a good mystery movie.
Alien3: I think I liked the first 2 movies better, but this was still an enjoyable sci-fi thriller. The ending was a little too predictable.
Father Christmas is Back: Had some good humor to it with your typical Christmas tropes. Somewhat predictable but still watchable.
U-571: This was a typical war movie that was enjoyable, albeit a little predictable.
Alien: Resurrection: It was okay. Definitely felt like the series was drawn out 1 sequel too many.

Movies I Was “Meh” On

These movies, well, I wasn't the biggest fan of, but that could just be my tastes.

Jurassic World: Dominion: Definitely glad I didn’t see this in the theaters. Nothing compares to the first Jurassic Park movie.
Sorry to Bother You: This movie started off good...then jumped the shark.
Mad Max: Fury Road: Maybe I’m not the target audience but I found this movie to be weird and incredibly predictable.
Young Frankenstein: I know this is considered a classic, but I can’t say I liked it all that much. It had its lines, but I’m a “meh” at best on it.
Snowpiercer: This movie was kind of weird for my tastes. Some good action scenes, but the ending seemed a little lackluster.
The Menu: Another weird one. I’m really not sure how I feel about it other than “meh”.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: I found the movie to be dragged out far longer than it needed to be.
This is the End: I didn’t go into this with high expectations. I was not disappointed, dumb, but did have its moments.

Edit 1/2/24: Corrected reviews for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood & This is the End

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