From animated action to atomic bombs: The top 5 movies of 2023

5. “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro star in a true story of the oil-rich Osage tribe and the murderous greed of the pervading white man in 1920s Oklahoma. With incredible period sets and flawless acting, it’s a Martin Scorsese masterclass in filmmaking. Only its 3.5-hour runtime keeps it from being higher on the list.

A French woman embarks on a journey to South Korea and tries to connect with her biological parents who gave her up for adoption as a baby.

Rookie actress Ji-Min Park is enchanting as her character struggles to find her identity in a foreign land, culture and language. Her protective walls are up while silently studying the faces of the strangers who are her blood, searching for something familiar. But on the inside, you can tell she’s screaming, with any sense of belonging clouded by confused feelings of abandonment. The film’s emotion is palpable, showing how sometimes the more you reach out, the more you feel alone.

3. “Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse”

Miles Morales’s purpose as a superhero comes into question after he runs into a team of spider-people variants dedicated to protecting the multiverse.

Not just the best-animated movie of the year, this is one of the best movies—period. The visuals are stunning, the voice-acting terrific, and the action moves at a breakneck pace. There’s so much to take in and appreciate, it begs for a rewatch. It’s exhausting—in a good way.

2. “Past Lives”

Young Nora moves with her family from South Korea to Canada, then New York, leaving behind her childhood sweetheart, Hae-sung. What follows is a story of love and discovery that spans across oceans and decades before the two finally reunite in very different phases of their lives. Hae-sung is recently single when he flies to New York to meet up with Nora and her husband, Arthur.

It’s clear there’s no romantic outcome that will please all involved parties. But that’s OK. Director Celine Song manages to sidestep cinematic cliches, instead blending something both nostalgic and honest about the people who enter our lives, even if they sometimes must leave.

1. “Oppenheimer”

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster provides a fascinating look at J. Robert Oppenheimer, the complicated man who led Allied efforts to build the atomic bomb that would end World War II.

Beyond its all-star cast, thrilling history and flawless direction is a reminder that Oppenheimer put God-like destruction in the hands of man—a decision there’s no coming back from. The bombs may have fallen on Japan 80 years ago, but the moral responsibility of this devastating technology weighs just as heavy today as it did then.