Find the best movies and show to watch from the year 2023. These handpicked recommendations are highly-rated by viewers and critics.
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Actor: Adam Pengsawang, Amanda Collin, Arved Friese, Felix Kramer, Finn Nielsen, Gustav Lindh, Jacob Ulrik Lohmann, Joen Højerslev, Karel Heřmánek, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Lise Risom Olsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Magnus Krepper, Martin Feifel, Michael Brostrup, Morten Burian, Morten Hee Andersen, Nanna Finding Koppel, Simon Bennebjerg, Søren Malling, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Zdeněk Dvořáček
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
You may not know the name of Errol Morris, but you must have seen either Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The Night Manager, as films and TV have offered ripe adaptations of 20th century espionage novels under the disguise of simple entertainment. What you may not know is that the author of the books they are based on has been a spy himself, for most of his life. David John Moore Cornwell, better known as John le Carré (his pen name), is the subject of the latest work of detective-turned-filmmaker Errol Morris whose penchant for exploring the limits between fact and fiction has propelled the documentary form numerous times over the last decades. The film is a quasi-biographical doc with some exceptional reenactments that color Le Carré's own tales to try and outmanoeuvre the viewer's ceaseless desire to fix what one sees into either category: fact or fiction. With an ex-spy and a documentarian, you never know.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Charlotte Hamblin, Douglas Rankine, Garry Cooper, John le Carré, Mike Noble, Simon Harrison
Director: Errol Morris
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Ben Yuen Foo-Wah, Benjamin Tsang, Chen Yi-wen, Cheng Yu-Chieh, Cherry Hsieh, Chia-En Yang, Chien Sheng, Ethan Juan, Gingle Wang, Huang Di Yang, Lee-zen Lee, Ming Che Lee, Nelson Shen, Peggy Tseng, Troy Liu, Yi-Jung Wu, Yu An-Shun
Director: Wong Ching-Po
There's a reason why despite little marketing and only a handful of stars to its name, The Night Agent became the most-watched series on Netflix upon its release. The show is a solid political thriller that recalls the likes of 24, Jack Reacher, and the Bourne series; beneath layers of top secrets and twists is a well-known (and well-liked) formula supercharged with pure action and thrills. It even finds a surprise star in Gabriel Basso, who provides a star-making turn as the simple but rootable Peter Sutherland.
Sure, it's not the most complex thriller out there, but The Night Agent deserves a spot on your to-watch list for the familiar rush, bingeable suspense, and impressive performances it delivers.
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: D.B. Woodside, Enrique Murciano, Eve Harlow, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Gabriel Basso, Hong Chau, Luciane Buchanan, Phoenix Raei, Sarah Desjardins
Based on a novel, The Lying Life of Adults might feel, at first, like a standard Netflix coming-of-age series, complete with vintage styling (the 90’s, this time) and teenage shenanigans, like skipping classes, preoccupation over sex, and rebelling against parental disapproval. Sure, the show does go through these moments, but the writing of original novelist Elena Ferrante, with the assistance of the writing team and showrunner Edoardo De Angelis, elevates this template through its subtleties, as Giovanna visits her estranged aunt Vittoria, and compares and contrasts the way she lives, with the way her parents approach life. It’s both a portrait of a divided family, but also one of a divided city, and it makes Giovanna’s coming-of-age a more nuanced journey that we haven’t seen before.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Alessandro Preziosi, Giordana Marengo, Pina Turco, Raffaella Rea, Valeria Golino
Partially based on the 860-page memoir, "A White House Diary", and on the actual audio recordings Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson made during her time as first lady, The Lady Bird Diaries is an intimate reworking of a past we still know very little about. Told from the vantage point of First Lady Johnson candidly and in detail, the audio track shapes the whole film. All the archival footage is nicely complemented by hand-drawn animations to fit the missing images, but all the visuals are always in service of the narration. In this way, the documentary becomes a piece of history and an archive in itself, its illustrative functions – a crucial storytelling tool for posteriority.
Genre: Documentary, History
Director: Dawn Porter
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Actor: Arliss Howard, Bernard Bygott, Brandon Morales, Carlos Rogelio Diaz, Cécile Coves, Charles Parnell, Daran Norris, Emiliano Pernia, Endre Hules, Erik Hellman, François Patissier, Gabriel Polanco, Ilyssa Fradin, Jack Kesy, Jérôme Keen, Julia Rowley, Kellan Rhude, Kerry O'Malley, Kev Morris Sr., Leroy Edwards III, Lía Lockhart, Michael Fassbender, Monique Ganderton, Nikki Dixon, Sacha Beaubier, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte, Stéphane Vasseur, Tilda Swinton
Director: David Fincher
Genuinely exciting but with more than enough heart to keep its genre trappings from overwhelming the story, The Kidnapping Day wastes no time setting the stakes and its plot into motion. Several crimes occur seemingly at the same time, which not only keeps the show's various mysteries equally interesting, but emphasizes how our protagonist (the kidnapper Myeong-joon) is ultimately just a naive person caught in the crosshairs of something larger. But because of his poverty and desperation, he becomes a natural target of suspicion by the people who don't know his full story.
And accompanying Myeong-joon from the beginning of the series is 11-year-old Ro-hee, who wakes from a dazed state with no recollection of who she is, but with knowledge beyond her years. The somewhat antagonistic but tender bond she gradually forms with her reluctant kidnapper is the furthest thing from Stockholm syndrome. Instead, their relationship becomes a window into a particular class dynamic that runs throughout The Kidnapping Day (as well as a host of other South Korean films and shows). In these first two episodes watched for this review, the series already presents a world characterized by a deep yet normalized divide between the rich and the poor.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Actor: Jeon Yu-na, Kim Sang-ho, Kim Shin-rock, Park Sung-hoon, Yoon Kye-sang
Director: Park Yoo-young
From poaching elephants and smuggling sandalwood to killing people in the most ruthless manner possible, Koose Munisamy Veerappan's crimes are manifold, and they engulfed all of Southern India. The first half of this four-part series chronicles his early life and the escalation of his criminal affairs through talking heads and archival footage. The documentary balances the perspective of the authorities with that of Veerappan's gang in interesting ways; where officials saw him as cunning, people close to him, like his wife Muthulakshmi, praised his desire to create wealth for his people, regardless of caste. By the end of the pilot, you’re sure to be at the edge of your seat as the series raises the stakes and promises to be as challenging and compelling as the first episode.
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Ahn Eun-jin, Bek Hyun-jin, Choi Moo-seong, Choi Moo-sung, Gi So-you, Hong Bi-ra, Jang Won-young, Jung Woong-in, Kang Mal-geum, Kim Won-hae, Lee Do-hyun, Lee Sang-hun, Oh Ha-nee, Park Bo-kyung, Ra Mi-ran, Seo Yi-sook, Yoo In-soo
The Artful Dodger’s leads might literally come from a Charles Dickens novel, but there’s something more playful about the way it deals with its historical social issues. Where Oliver Twist would change his fortune with fairytale-like goodness, former pickpocket Jack Dawkins aims to carve it out through quick amputations, which give him some status, though no wealth, and gambling bets, which risks his limbs. While the narrative isn’t as complex as the social criticism Dickens is known for, the series is undeniably entertaining with its novel approach, even if it pokes fun a little too often at the actual horrific hygiene practices of the 1800s.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Damon Herriman, David Thewlis, Maia Mitchell, Miranda Tapsell, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Director: Jeffrey Walker
Genre: Drama
Actor: Heo Joon-seok, Jung Woo-sung, Kang Shin-il, Kim Ji-hyun, Kim Mi-kyeong, Lee Jae-kyoon, Oh So-hyun, Park Jin-joo, Shin Hyun-been, Shin Hyun-bin, Shin Jae-hwi
Director: Kim Yoon-jin
You just wouldn't expect yet another superhero show from The CW to carry the sort of emotional weight typically reserved for prestige melodramas, but Superman & Lois gets close. In contrast to recent darker portrayals of the Man of Steel, this series allows Clark Kent to remain a nerdy, wholesome dad, whose greatest challenges come from the problems he can't solve with his powers. In fact, some of the superheroics only slow the show down from doing what it does best: navigating different relationships within the Smallville community, exploring various conflicts that can still pop up in a loving marriage, and looking at how Clark and Lois's kids deal with the secrecy around having (or not having) powers.
Strong, character-focused writing and mature, measured performances help put Superman & Lois above a number of its superhero contemporaries. It still falls victim to cheesy situations and occasional stretches of monotony (especially in the second season), but its dedication to human drama over action set pieces and expanding its lore makes it easy to be moved by their most personal problems. This is what DC has needed all this time.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Alex Garfin, Chad L. Coleman, Dylan Walsh, Elizabeth Tulloch, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette, Sofia Hasmik, Tayler Buck, Tyler Hoechlin, Wolé Parks
The director of one of the few esteemed horror sequels (Wrong Turn 2: Dead End) adapting H. P. Lovecraft? Yes please. Joe Lynch reimagines "The Thing on the Doorstep" with the tropes of 90s erotic films and a tribute to classic possession horror cinema, meriting all our admiration for his effort. Suitable Flesh (even the title is erotic!) is fun, daring, very dark, and very horny. Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) delivers a strong lead performance, but Judah Lewis's (The Babysitter) sleazy Asa is what stands out here. Because of the horror's nature, all the actors will have a go at playing a demonic version of their characters and it's mostly good fun, but Lewis channels a certain scary nihilism that fits in very well with the film's attitude towards sex and possession... Without revealing too much hereafter, I must say that the film takes the phrase "an out of body experience" to the next level, when relating it to sexual pleasure.
Genre: Horror
Actor: Ann Mahoney, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Davison, Chris L. McKenna, Heather Graham, J.D. Evermore, Joe Lynch, Johnathon Schaech, Judah Lewis
Director: Joe Lynch
After the ending of the show Suburra: Blood on Rome, it had seemed like there was nowhere else for the franchise to go, with plenty of the main cast dead. But after three years, the world of Suburra is back on Netflix in Suburræterna, and despite the chaos that reigns in Rome, there are still opportunistic survivors circling over remaining scraps of control. One survivor is Spadino Anacleti, who, after he had left for a more tolerant Berlin, is now forced to return home, with no other suitable heir for the family. While new viewers might be lost with the names referencing previous characters, fans of the franchise would enjoy the way Suburræterna unfolds, as the Suburra story, inspired by the real life Mafia Capitale, takes on a life of its own.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Carlotta Antonelli, Federica Sabatini, Federigo Ceci, Filippo Nigro, Giacomo Ferrara, Giorgia Spinelli, Marlon Joubert, Paola Sotgiu