10 Best Movies You Never Saw In 2023
2023 has been anything but a regular year at the movies. The extended strikes from both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America froze press tours and pushed release dates while also throwing a curtain of uncertainty over much of the year. Superhero movies and other kinds of blockbusters that have been massive hits in the past consistently faltered, with Disney having a particularly historic year of movie bombs. But despite all that, most movie fans would say that 2023 was still pretty good.
"Barbenheimer" brought a theater event the likes of which we haven't seen since "Avengers: Endgame," delivering two completely different but similarly beloved hits that have shifted the thinking on what constitutes a modern blockbuster. Foreign films have broken records at the North American box office, action movies like "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning" showed that some scenes still demand the big screen, and the last few months of the year have seen a ton of critically acclaimed dramas ripe for awards season.
In short, 2023 has been packed, even with the strikes. And with so many big releases, plenty of gems have slipped under the radar or gotten passed up in favor of more heavily marketed competition. Looking at critical scores, audience reception, and impact (or lack thereof), we've assembled a list of some overlooked releases that deserve way more attention than they've received. These are the 10 best movies you never saw in 2023.
A Thousand and One
When a film wins the grand jury prize at Sundance, people tend to take notice. Unfortunately, this year's winner, "A Thousand and One," still hasn't gotten the spotlight it deserves despite reaching a staggering 97% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. A.V. Rockwell's feature directorial debut stars Teyana Taylor in a soul-rending performance as Inez de la Paz, a young woman released from Rikers in 1994 who takes her 6-year-old son, Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola), from his foster home without government permission and goes on the run to raise him herself. Over 11 years, Terry grows up and Inez tries to build a home and family with Lucky (William Catlett), all as New York City morphs around them in the broken windows theory era of Rudy Giuliani's mayorship.
"A Thousand and One" portrays poverty, gentrification, and racism in vivid pictures without climbing on a soapbox. The pacing is deliberate and powerful, making every pause and quiet family moment stand out amid the noise. Under the masterful control of cinematographer Eric Yue, the camera turns New York into a living creature. But it's the performances and Rockwell's fantastic writing that make the movie feel so intimate. Taylor and Catlett have incredible chemistry with the three actors who portray Terry (Adetola is replaced by Aven Courtney and Josiah Cross as the years pass), and they echo the film's resounding question: How do you build a stable family when every system around you is designed to pull you apart?
Theater Camp
"Theater Camp" isn't just for people who have been to theater camp. Those who haven't been to Broadway tours, done a middle school play, or lit a saint candle for Stephen Sondheim will enjoy it too — although those who have may feel personally targeted when watching the film.
"Theater Camp" got a decent marketing push from Searchlight Pictures, but that didn't translate into much box office attention. Despite this, it's one of the straight-up funniest movies of the year, and like any good theatrical production, it's got a surprising amount of heart, something that may largely be due to the collaborative process that brought the film about. Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin, Ben Platt, and Nick Lieberman — the first three of whom also star in the movie — all wrote it together. Gordon and Lieberman directed the project as well.
Watching "Theater Camp," it's obvious that it was made by the very kinds of people being playfully made fun of in the movie. It's a love letter to the ridiculousness of performance itself drafted perfectly by a group of former theater kids who just happened to hit the big time. And no matter what your experience with live theater is, it's impossible to watch without a big, dumb smile on your face at the end.
Polite Society
Those who are unfamiliar with the unique trappings of British comedy or the pomp and circumstance of Bollywood might not know what to make of the chaotic mixture of wirework martial arts fights, thriller elements, feminist comedy, and cinematic spectacle that is "Polite Society" at first. Even once the credits roll, it still might be unclear what it is. And that's a big reason it deserves to be seen: There's nothing else quite like it in 2023.
Ostensibly, "Polite Society" follows British-Pakistani teenager Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), who dreams of becoming a professional stuntwoman and loves her older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya). When Lena gives up her aspirations as an artist to become engaged to wealthy young doctor Salim Shah (Akshay Khanna), Ria takes it as a personal affront, dedicating herself to unearthing dirt on the fiance and setting her sister back on an independent path.
That's the plot, but the story is much crazier. There are private school brawls that feel like a mix of "Bloodsport" and "Cobra Kai," while the absurdist tone evokes Edgar Wright films like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Hot Fuzz." At the same time, the film is drenched in flamboyant style, pulling in part from Bollywood and "Ocean's Eleven." The combined efforts of writer-director Nida Manzoor, cinematographer Ashley Connor, and editor Robbie Morrison create a feverish pace that brings out the film's inherent absurdity. It's no wonder that "Polite Society" got five nominations at the British Independent Film Awards (including one win) or that it's received critical acclaim.
Nimona
Based on the gloriously queer and genre-bending graphic novel by N.D. Stevenson, "Nimona" takes place in a city where medieval aesthetics and government systems collide with futuristic technology. There are flying cars and laser cannons, but the land is still defended by knights. It's a wholly original look that Stevenson perfected in the graphic novel, and it comes to life in gorgeous motion under the direction of Nick Bruno and Troy Quane.
After Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is framed for a heinous crime, he teams up with a shape-shifting girl named Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) to prove his innocence, only to discover that she's way more than he bargained for. The dark tone of the graphic novel is pretty significantly scaled back in the movie, presumably with the intention of making a story that's more squarely aimed at kids, but while fans of Stevenson's unadulterated version may notice a lot of changes in Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor's script, the essence remains.
Netflix's "Nimona" is a visually impressive, punk rock declaration that living truthfully is always a worthwhile pursuit and that no amount of fear or oppression from corrupt systems can truly stop people from being themselves. It's one of the best animated movies of the last few years, and more people should be talking about it.
The Unknown Country
Those who saw Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and thought that Lily Gladstone must be just about the best actor on the planet should check out "The Unknown Country," which technically premiered at SXSW 2022 but didn't hit theaters until this year. Don't expect anything like "Killers of the Flower Moon," though. In fact, don't expect it to be like most movies.
With "The Unknown Country," writer-director Morrisa Maltz has crafted a hyper-naturalistic, hyper-visual story about grief, healing, and the American Midwest. Gladstone plays a woman named Tana who embarks on a long road trip after the death of her grandmother, visiting her Oglala Lakota relatives in South Dakota and then journeying to Texas in search of a place her grandmother once visited.
The film has an ethereal, documentary quality, featuring numerous people essentially playing themselves, voice-overs from regular folks Tana meets along the way, a dreamlike soundtrack, and some beautiful vistas and driving shots that wrap the whole thing in a living landscape painting. The dialogue is sparse and grounded, making the scenes in which characters talk feel more like spying on a conversation than watching a movie. In the end, "The Unknown Country" is a simple but gorgeous story about searching for your heritage, the importance of mundane moments, and what it's like to travel alone as a woman in America.
Haunted Mansion
Okay, yes, this is a Disney movie. It's a big, whimsical, family blockbuster — the kind of flick that sticks out on a list like this. But it was largely ignored despite its studio pedigree. Swallowed up in the summer of "Barbenheimer," "Haunted Mansion" made only $117 million on a budget of $158 million, and it's been quickly forgotten.
Don't get it twisted, though: This is a fun movie. In a goofy, heartfelt ode to the family adventure films of the early 2000s, when "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "National Treasure" were as important to the Disney brand as "Cinderella," there's a haunted mansion, and a ragtag crew of friends and ghost hunters have to deal with it. A movie like that lives or dies on the strength of its ensemble, and "Haunted Mansion" has a fantastic one. Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, and the others are great, but it's LaKeith Stanfield's show-stealing performance that brings the film home. His character's relationship with the young Travis (Chase Dillon) anchors the story in a simple but emotionally resonant way.
This is one for which to ignore the critical reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and trust the 84% audience score instead. Katie Dippold's script is light and fun, and director Justin Simien brings it to life with loads of goofy style. "Haunted Mansion" is a perfect family movie, and it's a shame that so many people dodged it in 2023.
Poor Things
Those who have seen any of Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos' films before will be a bit better prepared for the wonderful strangeness of "Poor Things." On the other hand, for viewers who are unfamiliar with the filmmaker — whose better-known work includes "The Lobster," "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," and "The Favourite" — it's honestly a pretty good place to start, though it still has plenty of Lanthimos' patented oddity.
At its core, "Poor Things" is yet another retelling of "Frankenstein," this time with Emma Stone embodying the manufactured monster in the form of Bella Baxter. After being created through weird science by the curious Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), Bella sets out on a worldwide adventure to explore different cultures and her sexuality in a glorious mix of retro-period sci-fi, feminist liberationism, and absurdist comedy.
Tony McNamara's screenplay is wonderfully fun while also embracing the kind of occasional darkness that fans of Lanthimos' previous work will recognize, and the aesthetic comes together perfectly, from Holly Waddington's fabulous costumes to the flamboyant sets and Jerskin Fendrix's score. At the rate things are going at the time of publication, "Poor Things" might not be in the "movies you never saw" category for much longer since it's already getting a decent amount of awards buzz. For now, though, it's still flying largely under the radar for casual fans.
The League
Sports documentaries typically appeal to a specific demographic. What makes "The League" so special, apart from its overall quality, is that it's about much more than baseball. Fans of history, underdog stories, or just good documentaries will enjoy it, as many critics and viewers have already attested to.
At its face, "The League" is a concise history of the Negro Leagues, how they arose, and the innumerable ways they shaped the sport of baseball through the first half of the 20th century. The story is told through extensive archival footage, old audio clips from significant figures in the sport, and interviews with contemporary experts, as well as some creative animation from time to time. That may all sound pretty standard to sports documentary diehards, but "The League" is doubtlessly one of the best we've gotten in a long time.
Directed by veteran filmmaker and longtime Spike Lee collaborator Sam Pollard, "The League" explores the severe racism that kept Black Americans out of Major League Baseball for so long, telling the tale of the Negro Leagues alongside simultaneous historical moments like World War I, the Great Depression, and the civil rights movement. It's a story about not only how hard great Black activists have had to work to achieve even marginal progress but also the good things that can inadvertently be lost when that progress is finally achieved.
Passages
For those whose impression of French cinema is that it's all some Parisian blend of sexy and sad, the deliciously fraught and wonderfully queer romantic drama "Passages," full of knowing glances and long shots of people riding bikes through the streets of Paris, may not change their mind.
Directed by Ira Sachs on a script by Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, "Passages" follows Tomas (Franz Rogowski) and Martin (Ben Whishaw), a film director and a printmaker, respectively, whose floundering marriage goes from dull to tense when Tomas begins an affair with a young woman named Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Through various standoffs and sexual encounters, the film explores the messy web that forms between these three, the kind of narcissism that can erupt out of creative spaces, and the ways that queerness changes — and doesn't change — the way people move through intimate relationships.
Curious parallels to Sachs' personal life aside, "Passages" doesn't stray too far from the genre of sad romance that it inhabits, but the performances are so quietly visceral and Josée Deshaies shoots it all so beautifully that viewers won't even notice. Though it achieved critical acclaim, its wide release was muzzled by an NC-17 rating from the MPA, by which Sachs is disappointed. "It's really about a form of cultural censorship that is quite dangerous, particularly in a culture [that] is already battling, in such extreme ways, the possibility of LGBT imagery to exist," he told the Los Angeles Times. Fortunately, this fantastic drama can still be watched on Mubi.
Godzilla Minus One
"Godzilla Minus One" has become a notable word-of-mouth hit outside of Japan, with stellar reviews and a record-breaking U.S. opening for a live-action Japanese movie leading to an extended theatrical run in North America. Given all that, one could argue that it doesn't belong on this list. But at the time of publication, the film has still only grossed $64 million worldwide — a huge victory for a film made on less than $15 million but a pittance for an ostensible blockbuster.
Despite Godzilla's kaiju-sized place in global pop culture, many casual moviegoers still don't like to read subtitles when they go to the theater. And though it's been expanded, the original North American release of "Minus One" was far more limited than most movies of its franchise scale. That's all to say that, in a year when franchise blockbusters flopped more often than not, "Godzilla Minus One" should be one of the biggest movies of 2023, and it's a far cry from that.
The story is pretty simple: Kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikizhima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) deserts at the end of World War II and grapples with shame while trying to rebuild his life in the ruins of Tokyo. And then, Godzilla attacks. Writer, director, and VFX lead Takashi Yamazaki has crafted an incredible story of hope, resilience, and found family, all set against a truly terrifying backdrop. It's an epic war movie, top-tier kaiju flick, and Spielberg-level emotional drama all rolled into one, and the result is quite simply one of the best movies of the year.
What makes these the best movies you never saw in 2023?
These films were selected after considering a range of factors, including critical reception, accolades, audience reviews, the personal feelings of the writer, and overall exposure. Movies that are likely to get major attention during awards show season or have extended theatrical tails were still considered, and in some cases, included.
However, this list is meant to shine a spotlight particularly on films that may not get that kind of attention, are likely to be written off by a substantial portion of the moviegoing public, or deserve reassessment based on the elements mentioned above.
Lastly, this list is meant to display the immense diversity of films released in 2023. There are plenty more great family films, indie dramas, and monster movies that didn't get their due this year, but our goal was to include a wide variety of genres and styles.