2023 was a great year for me film-wise. For the first time I began watching tons of diverse, creative films and I found to my surprise that I absolutely love the movies. Films are a powerful, visual form of storytelling that I think Christians need to learn to harness and master better than we have in the past. So here are my ten favorite movies I watched in 2023, as well as short reviews and descriptions of each of them. (After watching these, I think I wouldn't mind going into screenwriting!)
10. Kate & Leopold
7/10
14 +
I’m usually not a huge chick-flick person, but this one had a good story! It follows 19th century inventor Leopold (Hugh Jackman) as he accidentally time travels to modern day New York City and meets the ambitious yet intriguing Kate (Meg Ryan).
9. The Super Mario Bros Movie
7/10
6 +
I got to see this one in theaters, which was really fun. Honestly this one really surprised me. It was funny, very clever with all the classic Nintendo references, had a good plot, and didn’t seem to be pushing any agenda like most animated films of the last decade or so. Very inventive and cool.
8. The Avengers
8/10
13+
I know. I hadn’t seen The Avengers until THIS. YEAR. What kind of messed-up writer am I? But I finally watched it, and…I loved it. I was expecting something pretty cheesy and predictable, and while Avengers wasn’t a jaw-dropping story by any means, it was just. Plain. Good. I had a lot of fun watching this with my folks and now intend to watch the rest of them.
7. You’ve Got Mail
8/10
14+
Yet another Meg Ryan movie! I have to say I enjoyed her acting much more in this one, and You’ve Got Mail with the competing bookstores and the lengthy email writing was right up my alley (since I regularly visit one and do the other). Both Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were fantastic in this movie. One of the things I really appreciated about it was the main characters didn’t look like super-stars (*cough cough: Hallmark movies!*) but normal, attractive people.
6. Jurassic Park
10/10
12-13+
Okay, this movie was amazing! With the iconic John Williams soundtrack and the superb acting (Ian had to be my favorite character…Chaos theory, anyone?) it was a total blast to watch with my family.
5. Amazing Grace
9/10
12+
This is probably one of my new favorite movies. I’m not usually a huge fan of Christian films—they often come off too preachy. This one though; this was perfect. I loved everything about it, and was really pleased and impressed by all the famous actors who came to act in it, including Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, Sherlock Holmes), Romola Garai (BBC 2009 Emma) , and Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore in HP 3-8).
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home
10/10
13+
WOW! I never thought a Marvel movie would make me cry. But this one did. I can sum up this movie for you easily: I loved everything about it. Now go watch it. Like, now. Right now. Or else.
3. BBC Emma (2009)
10/10
11+
The first time I watched this movie, I actually wasn’t a huge fan. But on a recent re-watch, I realized how truly good it was. Sure, it has a few minor issues (some of the dialogue comes off a little too modern) but other than that, it’s a great adaptation of my favorite Jane Austen book.
2. The Jesus Revolution
10/10
14+
This movie…wow. Just wow. It set me on fire for Jesus in a way I’ve never been on fire for him before. I think every Christian teen and adult should watch this movie. It’ll make you laugh and cry.
The Matrix
10/10
15+
This movie has some hard scenes to watch violence-wise, but it’s so worth it and is such a beautiful allegory. This movie really impacted my writing and storytelling this year. Definitely a good one that I would recommend to mid-older teens and above. The story, the characters, in short, everything that matters most in a movie was spot-on.
What were your top movies of 2023? Comment below and let me know! I’d love to discuss them with you. And if you want any full-blown reviews and content break-downs of any of these films, feel free to comment telling me which ones you'd like to see. Or you can even shoot me an email at egrunyan@egrunyan.com if you want specific content warnings for one of the movie listed here. I’d love to help!
Indeed, what kind of writer are you to not have seen The Avengers before this year?!?
Just kidding.
I actually just saw it for the first time as well (woe is me xp).
I have some new movies to try as I have only watched 4 of your 10. Amazing Grace was, well, Amazing! I haven't had the kids watch it so ill have to have the older 2. The Jesus Revolution we watched in theaters with our small group and it was good as well. Jurassic Park..... I watched about half, when my eyes weren't covered. I'll admit I did a lot of screaming and jumping in this one and couldn't sleep for a while after with the music and pop outs! I'd not recommend this one without a FULLY emptied bladder. 😂 And finally, You've Got Mail. That may be my all time favorite! It is sweet and has a lovely…
I love six out of ten of those movies!!!! Some of my favorite movies that I watched last year was probably The Prestige, Batteries Not Included, The Fugitive, Little Women (the 1994 and 2019), E.T, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception, and Road to Bali/Road to Rio( that was an overload 😂)
Oh my goodness, I love that version of Emma so much!
I recently watched You’ve Got Mail for the first time, too! (And that’s my favorite Emma version 💜). Amazing Grace was wonderful!