Dan's Top 30 "New To Me" Movies of 2023
Introductions? Schmintroductions! Here’s 30 movies that I watched in 2023 for the first time and loved to varying degrees. No order, just recommendations. Let’s go.
Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance (dir. Alanis Obomsawin, 1993)
Synopsis: In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, sets the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness.
An essential BluRay release from Canadian International Pictures. An incredible piece of documentary filmmaking as activism. Canada makes me wanna fucking puke!!! If you buy one BluRay after reading this list, make it this one.
F/X2 (dir. Richard Franklin, 1991)
Synopsis: A special effects man helps his girlfriend's ex, a cop, with a sting operation, where the ex gets killed. Something's off and he investigates with help from an ex-cop PI friend.
This capitalizes on the promise of the original's concept (what if a special effects guy got hired to fake an assassination but then got framed for real?!) even moreso by doubling down across the board. I don't mind the first one, but this is the cartoon ass Saturday morning version; more FX, robot clowns, exploding bean cans, hot-link dog distractions and convoluted gold stealing plots. Honestly, this was a ripper and I had so much fun watching it.
I’ll Take You There (dir. Adrienne Shelly, 1999)
Synopsis: A woman forces a man to move forward with his life after his wife dumps him.
In I’ll Take You There, Shelly hasn't quite shaken the thing that Sudden Manhattan also did (which is having all the characters meet up at the end for one of those scenes where everyone yells and freaks out comedically.) That the rest of the movie is so strong - in a way that both bucks clichés while somehow still adhering to the expectations of the rom com genre - that it can't help but be a pinch underwhelming when it all leads up to another one of those finales. It does make room for Sheedy's character to get a some good final moments in though so it ultimately works.
Shogun Assassin (dir. Robert Houston & Kenji Misumi, 1980)
Synopsis: A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.
I've seen this called “incomprehensible” but I wonder if that's worse when you're familiar with the source material? I mean, it seemed pretty comprehensible to me… plus it's wall to wall sick jams on the soundtrack and arterial spray laden fights for 84 minutes. Not much to complain about here 🔥
The Cat (dir. Lam Ngai Kai, 1992)
Synopsis: A cat from outer space teams up with a young girl and an old man to fight a murderous alien that possesses people.
I've known about this movie for a number of years and waiting until 2023 to finally watch it was a big mistake… because it rips super hard!!! Incredible effects and an amazing finale, as you'd expect from a Lam Nai-Choi joint. Don’t do what Danny G. did… watch it today.
The Hard Part Begins (dir. Paul Lynch, 1973)
Synopsis: The ups and downs in the life of a country-western singer.
"That's about the worst thing you can be in this industry… 'not bad.'"
See also: Drama Season Recommendations
The Hard Part Begins deserves to be mentioned alongside other essential downbeat Canadian dramas like Goin' Down The Road (1970) or Nobody Waved Good-bye (1964). Thankfully, the Vinegar Syndrome partner label Canadian International Pictures released it on BluRay sourced from a new 4K scan of the original 16mm reversal.
Bachelor Mother (dir. Garson Kanin, 1939)
Synopsis: Polly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin’s Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of a foundling. Outraged at Polly’s unmotherly conduct, David Merlin becomes determined to keep the single woman and “her” baby together.
High charm levels! A very amusing and funny rom com with some Christmas vibes (takes place partly at a department store of course.) It gets right to the point of the concept and then mostly just elevates or oscillates around amusing situations and misunderstandings that come up as a result but without getting too deep in the farce complications. A good balance!
The Secret of Roan Inish (dir. John Sayles, 1994)
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human.
Just a huge delight and a magical entry into Sayles' career. Kind of a miracle that Sayles has made so many of my favourite movies and in such varied ways. This is almost so different you wouldn't expect they could pull it off - nearly entirely built upon a folk slash fairy tale style, a lyrical and poetic approach that seems to be working very different filmic muscles than their other movies. I loved it.
Razor Sharpe (dir. Troy N. Ashford, 2001)
Synopsis: With dreams of becoming the next big action film hero, struggling actor Razor Sharpe (director Troy N. Ashford) takes a bit part in a movie with a bank robbery scene, only to discover that the heist is real – and that he’s been set up to be the fall guy.
This one checks all the boxes!!!!!
The boxes:
✅ Shot on video
✅ Vanity project
✅ Opens with a quote from the writer/director/producer/star
✅ Gunshots and explosions added in editing
✅ Overuse of the "neck snap" move
✅ Monotone line readings
✅ Amazing fashion choices
✅ The writer/director/producer/star gets an awkward sex scene
✅ Wildly high body count
Remember My Name (dir. Alan Rudolph, 1978)
Synopsis: Just released from prison, a young woman arrives in town to “start a new life,” but soon begins stalking a married construction worker for no apparent reason.
See also: Drama Season Recommendations
This one has amazing performances from Geraldine Chaplin and Anthony Perkins, plus a super stacked cast of supporters. It’s alternatively darkly funny but has a real undercurrent of a kind of seething, bubbling dread. Phenomenal stuff, especially the cinematography from Tak Fujimoto.
Solarbabies (dir. Alan Johnson, 1986)
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future ruled by the military, a group of renegade teenage orphans find a legendary orb, Bohdai, that can supposedly bring the rain back to dried up Earth.
I’ve seen seen bits and pieces of this movie over the years and have known it as one of those "all time misguided 80s movies" kind of thing …but it's actually a genuinely cool YA post-apoc escape-plus-heist yarn.
The eco-war-scorched rusted out waterless scenery and Verhoeven-lite fascist jail-camp all work well alongside scrappy teen/sport/80s-orb plotting. Even if this totally sucked I'd probably be at ~minimum~ very endeared at the idea something so tonally specific even exists. But the fact that it was super watchable on top of that? Good stuff, no idea why it gets any hate outside of someone not wanting to embrace something that might be seen as “silly”.
Paper Mask (dir. Christopher Morahan, 1990)
Synopsis: A lowly hospital orderly impersonates a recently deceased doctor and goes to work in the busy ER of a small hospital where he meets and befriends a nurse who slowly figures out his secret and helps him maintain his charade.
British drama with Paul McGann as a hospital orderly who decides to impersonate his doctor friend after they die in a car crash. This basically becomes a kind of cringe thriller where they get themselves into situations where they need to, you know, be a doctor but they don't have the knowledge. Makes some points about the hospital system, tossing doctors into the fray and having them figure it out as they go. There's a nice amount of depth here despite the movie's obvious surface of playing "The Great Pretender" three or four times throughout. Very watchable and a bit oddly overlooked maybe?
Mortuary Blues (dir. Jeff Lau Chun-Wai, 1990)
Synopsis: The rays of the moon bring a coven of female zombies back to life. A special police squad is assigned to stop them.
A wildly wacky tone here that is mostly just going for jokes, jokes, jokes and with actors as committed as these (Sandra Ng especially!! So funny!) it really works. The bits don't all land of course, and it takes a minute for the movie to settle into it's tone, but after that it's a lot of fun.
Dead Presidents (dir. Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes, 1995)
Synopsis: A Vietnam veteran returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist.
So bizarre that this was received as being "messy" when it came out???? Like, I’m sorry that this is three great movies in one that all add up to a cohesive whole? Seems like a "their problem" not the movie's to me.
Heartbeat (Michael Miller, dir. 1993)
Synopsis: A divorced father falls in love with a pregnant woman whose husband had abandoned her when he discovered she was expecting a child.
Emma and I went on a bit of a mini-marathon of made-for-TV Danielle Steele adaptations in 2023 and this was a stand-out. This soapy yuppie-romance gets a lot of mileage out of its appealing cast, and the direction is decent too.
John Ritter plays a divorced father of two and Polly Draper's husband took off when he found out she was pregnant ("we had a DEAL!!" he says.) For a while it plays as a real 'ships passing' kind of romance with them working on the same lot but not knowing one another, and then when they do meet and fall in love don't expect there to be any kind of high-drama other than 'will she get back with her husband?'.
Like I said, it's soapy (and Ritter even works on a fake 'a life worth living' soap opera! love it) and honestly surprisingly effective. Ritter and Draper are sweet together and you root for 'em to make it work.
Bamboozled (dir. Spike Lee, 2000)
Synopsis: Hoping to get fired, TV producer Pierre Delacroix pitches the worst idea he can think of: a 21st century minstrel show. The network not only airs it, but it becomes a smash hit.
It’s impossible to deny something this angry, confrontational, messy, experimental, shocking, funny, horrifying, etc. etc. Amazing that Lee put two home run "can't imagine your average moviegoer stumbling into this in theaters" movies in a row with Summer of Sam and this one.
An Enemy of the People (dir. George Schaefer, 1978)
Synopsis: A scientist stands against an entire town when he discovers their medicinal spa is polluted.
See also: Drama Season Recommendations
Maybe it was the time period this takes place in, but this felt like a 60s hangover early-70s movie, not something from the late-70s. Really great though, all around. Terrific performances and though it does have that "this is just a filmed play" I appreciated the split-diopter use. One of those movies you watch and think about the current political climate and it makes you go hmmmmm
Let Him Go (dir. Thomas Bezucha, 2020)
Synopsis: Following the loss of their son, a retired sheriff and his wife leave their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas.
The poster is giving direct to DVD movie your parents want to see, when actually it's a really effective neo-western thriller that goes surprisingly grim. Great performances, good dramatic foundation so when it does go bleak it feels earned. All around solid work and shouldn't have gone as under the radar as it has. Again, maybe the poster is to be blamed for that.
Creepies (dir. Jeff Leroy, 2003)
Synopsis: Deadly spiders are accidentally unleashed from a top-secret military installation. Army specialists and Tanks are called in to exterminate the deadly predators, but the outbreak is worse than expected.
The kind of movie you press play on and within ten seconds you know exactly how great it will be. You will have to overlook the inclusion of a certain slimebag porno actor though. Thankfully, there are a ton of practical miniature effects to distract you from that small cameo. The kind of cheap and entertaining movie that makes all the other cheap and less entertaining movies look bad.
Michael Clayton (dir. Tony Gilroy, 2007)
Synopsis: A law firm brings in its ‘fixer’ to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.
For some reason in my mind I always got this movie and Mr. Brooks confused despite them looking like completely different movies. I had never seen either of them until 2023 and guess what? This one is legitimately great. The kind of movie that Will Sloan calls “a very good normal movie” and you know exactly what they mean by that. You watch this on a slow, rainy Sunday afternoon and it just feels good to sink into.
Lies (dir. Jim Wheat & Ken Wheat, 1983)
Synopsis: Struggling actress accepts high paying job to play a rich heiress committed in a lunatic asylum, not knowing she’s really being set up as a surrogate for the real girl who’d been murdered.
A twisty thriller about a struggling actress who gets a suspicious gig portraying a real heiress who witnessed a murder and is being held in an asylum. Gets referenced alongside Unsane which makes sense, but also has more to it than that comparison might make you think. Tight little movie, good cast, would be cool to see this on a better print some day!
Mother (dir. Frank LaLoggia, 1995)
Synopsis: Weisser is a young college bound man whose future is threatened when his mother interferes with his love life and a pending scholarship. He also discovers that his mother’s best friend wishes to get closer to him, even if it means murder.
Fun crazy mother thriller well directed by LaLoggia (Fear No Evil, Lady in White.) Has fun performances and the climax knocked it up a half star I'd say. Helps that Ladd shares the spotlight with a conniving friend played by Dukakis who leans all in. Could see this looking great on a Blu with all its canted angles and they could throw in the director's cut too! Apparently you can see that on YouTube though, so I hear… eyes emoji.
The Unborn II (dir. Rick Jacobson, 1994)
Synopsis: A sinister fertility experiment has created a generation of twisted children. A relentless woman has made it her business to destroy these mutant babies before they destroy the world!
This sequel has more shoot outs and car chases than I expected!! This movie (and the first one) are just great, and likely a little underrated. Feels like the first movie had more of a hook it (what if a baby from a fertilization program was A MONSTER!?) but this one cranks up the monster baby action so I'm not complaining at all.
Venus Flytrap (dir. T. Michael, 1987)
Synopsis: Three street punks observe two young affluent kids shoplifting from a record store. On a lark, the street kids invite themselves along to a party at the home of the yuppies’ friends. There the party games turn from strip darts to Russian roulette.
"Life's a gas!"
Surprisingly nasty little SOV thriller slash horror joint. A bunch of homophobic punks rob a record store ("you listen to moby grape?") and meet some preppy rich kids along the way. They invite themselves along to the rich kids' party and things escalate from there. It feels a little ahead of its time in what it's getting at under the surface. Sits in an odd place where because of where it goes I'm not sure I'd label it as "fun" but it also has that comfy SOV atmosphere that is always appreciated. Great ending too.
Mind Over Murder (dir. Ivan Nagy, 1979)
Synopsis: A young woman with precognition realizes she is being stalked by a killer – a mass murderer she previously had used her psychic powers to identify to the skeptical police.
We picked this randomly on Tubi and was surprised how off putting and suspenseful is gets at times. Has a very cool, weird approach to visualizing the main character's telepathic visions with slow motion and green screen effects etc. The villain is a super gross sweaty misogynist creeper and the main character's husband is one of those slime ball guys who sucks from frame one and only gets worse. Feels like one of those TV movies that would be a shoe-in for a new release because the copy on Tubi is gnarly looking.
The Lost City of Z (dir. James Gray, 2016)
Synopsis: A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Major Percival Fawcett, who disappeared whilst searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.
Catching up on some Gray blindspots. James Gray is one of those directors that I enjoy more and more the further I dive into their career. So far, no real missteps in their filmography yet (though I have a few more to get to.) I loved this even though I've never been a Charlie Hunnam fan and sometimes bounce off period pieces. Top shelf, two-plus hour weekend afternoon material.
Shattered Glass (dir. Billy Ray, 2003)
Synopsis: The true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass, who concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories. But his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down.
Absolutely stacked cast on this with Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey, Hank Azaria and Steve Zahn here alongside what is easily Hayden Christensen's best ever performance. One of those “indie” movies that reminds you that there’s a big hole in modern mid-to-lower budget moviemaking right now.
Haunt (dir. Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, 2019)
Synopsis: On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an “extreme” haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears
When this came out I think I heard some negative reviews so I skipped it… but as far as stripped down mean horror movies go this is a good one. There's also a lot of 'what if real scary things happened in a haunt??!?!?!' movies and this is even one of the better of those. It nails a vibe where you could imagine going to a haunt kinda like this - but it's also movie-ified in a fun heightened way before all the murdering happens. You can feel the 'produced by Eli Roth' all over this but it stops just short of being grossly dark and mean or bro-y. I was really concerned they were gonna make a certain person a hero and I'll just say... phew!!!
The First Deadly Sin (dir. Brian G. Hutton, 1980)
Synopsis: A serial killer is stalking New York. Inspector Edward X. Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces of the case.
An icy serial killer drama that takes place around Christmas. Alternates between a downbeat Sinatra investigating murders and dealing with his hospitalized wife (Dunaway). I can imagine some people's ideas of a good time isn't a slow, bleak movie with a bulk of it's running time devoted to figuring out what an ice axe is but I was on the right wavelength I guess! Great cast too with Brenda Vaccaro and Joe Spinell among others.
Mi Vida Loca (dir. Allison Anders, 1993)
Synopsis: Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie’s boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies.
See also: Drama Season Recommendations
I love the way this bounces from character to character, sometimes recounting the same situations and experiences from different angles. One of those ‘90s indie-dramas that just feel incredibly earnest and completely honest. Keep your eyes peeled for blink and you’ll miss ‘em cameos by Spike Jonze and Jason Lee, haha.
