Cory Woodroof's Top 20 films of 2023, including Oppenheimer and Barbie, of course

Trying to cobble together a year-end list for an entire movie calendar can be tricky.

It’s a bit like reorganizing your den. You move around the chairs, tables, lamps and other knick-knacks a couple of times, never fully satisfied with how it looks but ultimately beholden to great being the enemy of finished.

I watched more than 150 films that were released in 2023 in one way or another, still thinking of more I’ve missed and agonizing how to rank so many excellent films against each other as if it’s some sort of competition.

My philosophy on year-end lists is this: it’s a very imperfect process that captures a moment in time more than it crystalizes opinion for infinity.

For example: in 2019, I felt strongly about Knives Out and Little Women being at the top of my list. Now, I’d easily say Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood was the best movie that came out that year (and that decade).

Your year-end film list ebbs and flows depending on your mood. I don’t inherently like the idea of pitting films against each other, but it can be a useful exercise to help inform your tastes and quantify a year in cinema.

I pour a lot into what I watch every year, as it’s deeply important for me to be able to cobble it all together in this space for all of you at home. I might have a different idea on how this should’ve gone next week, and therein lies the beauty and the agony of making these things.

The best part was watching the movie for the first time; this is just a collage of what’s come and why it all meant so much to me in the rearview.

Let’s dive in, shall we?