The post Best Movies of 2023 appeared first on Anglican Mainstream. By Brett McCracken, TGC. It was an interesting, unpredictable year for movies. The ominous specter of AI sparked lengthy writers’ and actors’ strikes that debilitated the industry for...
The post Best Movies of 2023 appeared first on Anglican Mainstream.
By Brett McCracken, TGC.
It was an interesting, unpredictable year for movies. The ominous specter of AI sparked lengthy writers’ and actors’ strikes that debilitated the industry for more than a third of the year. A seemingly organic meme (#Barbieheimer) led to box-office gold for two movies that likely wouldn’t have been as big without the bizarre dynamics of social media pseudoevents. Faith audiences propelled a movie about child sex trafficking to become one of the biggest box-office hits of the year.
Meanwhile, in the face of several costly flops and mounting accusations of promoting woke propaganda, Disney CEO Bob Iger promised to return the storied studio to its “roots” and prioritize quality storytelling over “messaging.”
Things are shifting in Hollywood. Audiences are showing signs of superhero movie fatigue (thank goodness), while “brand movies” (movies based on toys, video games, or Taylor Swift) are poised to further blur the lines between advertising and entertainment. The faith-based film genre, meanwhile, continues to improve, and I’m optimistic that in future years, Christian-made films will regularly show up on “best of” lists like this.
But movies made by or about Christians aren’t the only ones believers can celebrate. By common grace, we can find a few diamonds of goodness, truth, and beauty in the rough of contemporary moviemaking. Some celebrate themes Christians can get behind: the goodness of marriage and parenting, the sanctity of life, the beauty of friendship, the valor of sacrificial virtue, and sober realism about sin and temptation. I highlight these sorts of movies below.
Don’t take my commendations as wholesale endorsements of the content. Just because I loved a film doesn’t mean I loved everything in it. A movie that contains valuable truth isn’t necessarily free of all falsehoods, and a “best” movie doesn’t mean an appropriate movie for all audiences. Though the films highlighted are all in some way edifying—depicting goodness, truth, or beauty in ways Christian viewers can celebrate—a few are rated R and should especially be viewed with caution and discernment.
Here are my 10 favorites, 5 honorable mentions, and 10 excellent documentaries released in 2023.
Top 10
1. Godzilla Minus One
I didn’t have it on my 2023 bingo card that the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise would top my “best movies of the year” list. But some of the best moviegoing experiences are left-field surprises, like this subtitled Japanese production.
The post Best Movies of 2023 appeared first on Anglican Mainstream.