The Cookie Awards: Best movies of 2023

Now that the Oscar nominations have been announced, and other critics’ groups have selected their “Best of” films for 2023, here’s my list.

This year, I decided to take a different approach: I’m sure you’ve never heard of some of these films. Big-budget movies, like the terrific “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” have big marketing campaigns. So my list is an outstanding batch of movies, some of which went sadly unnoticed, with the hope that a few people will see them, enjoy them, and create an audience through word of mouth.

Best picture: “A Thousand and One.” Director A. V. Rockwell created a masterpiece that too few people saw. Teyana Taylor stars as Inez, just out of Rikers in the 1990s. Inez has to find a place to stay, a way to make money, and reunification with her little boy … and that’s just the beginning of the film. This is a compelling character study of a woman who fights for everything she has. The acting is incredible, the screenplay is riveting. Rated R. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best animated feature: “The Inventor.” It’s a musical that looks at the last years of Leonardo Da Vinci’s life. It’s stunning, from the design of the characters – think the stop-motion animation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – to the beautiful cinematography and gorgeous songs. It’s a biopic that’s also a clever history lesson, a tale told with enjoyable music, and a bit of comedy. Rated PG. It’s certainly a movie that you can watch with children, but it will appeal to anyone who appreciates art. It’s as creative and intelligent as Da Vinci was. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Most disturbing drama: “Palm Trees and Power Lines” won acclaim at Sundance in 2022, then was released to streaming platforms in 2023. It’s deceptively simple at first: A teenager (the incredible Lily McInerney) meets a man in his 30s (Jonathan Tucker) who charms her and gives her a feeling of adult stability in what begins as a friendship, although it seems off-kilter from the get-go. The themes involve how vulnerable this disconnected teenager really is. The finale packs a wallop like no other movie I saw last year. Please note: This is very adult material. Rated R. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Biggest surprise (see what I did there?): “Godzilla Minus One,” which is in theaters now in a black-and-white version. This has it all: Adventure, science-fiction, romance, battle scenes, all told from the perspective of a Japanese pilot. Set in the 1940s, this beautifully written story focuses on a small group of people in a recovering land. This is how computer-generated imagery should be used – seamlessly and to create realistic visuals. It’s in Japanese and has English subtitles. Rated PG-13. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best adventure film: “Sisu.” Jalmari Helander wrote and directed this movie that was co-produced between Finland and the United States. It’s set during the Lapland War in 1944. The central character is a tough prospector who lives alone with his horse and dog. He just wants to be left alone to gather and then cash in his gold, but the soldiers he meets have other ideas. With graphic violence and brutality, it’s certainly a war movie and also is a kind of, uh, grim fairy tale for adults. Rated R. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best ensemble piece: “Saltburn” ’is, to put it simply, one of the most shocking films of the year. It’s about obsession, greed and deceit, and it’s not for the nervous or for family viewing. It’s the latest from Oscar-winning writer/director Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman.”) Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan, “Dunkirk”) is a student at Oxford who is awkward and unpopular. That is, until he meets Felix, played by Jacob Elordi, who stars as Elvis Presley In “Priscilla.” Felix is handsome, entitled, and constantly surrounded by adoring men and women. How Oliver gets caught up in Felix’s world of privilege and connections is unnerving, with a shattering finale. Rated R. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best comedy: “You Hurt My Feelings.” Think Woody Allen and “Seinfeld,” because this smart, sophisticated comedy has elements of both. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as a writer who overhears her husband say what he really thinks about the draft of her upcoming novel. Now she’s not sure she can trust anything he says. And she begins to wonder whether their marriage is as stable as she had thought. The characters are smart and the dialogue is witty and intimate – it feels like you’re eavesdropping on the people sitting in the booth next to you at a restaurant. Rated R. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best science-fiction movie: “Jules” It’s about people “of a certain age … like me. But it has a much broader appeal. Sir Ben Kingsley is Milton, a widowed man facing the first stages of dementia. He’s a regular at city hall meetings, where he hasn’t quite reached the kook stage but where his presence results in a lot of eye rolling from the council members. One day, a spaceship crashes into his azaleas, and an injured alien ends up in his home. Milton is concerned, but who can he tell? Who will believe him? And how will the alien get home? It’s funny, strange, and tenderhearted. Rated PG-13. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best film that defies categorization: “All of Us Strangers.” This is one of the most surprising, and sad, grownups-only films of the year. I began watching it without any expectations – I didn’t even know whether it was a drama or a comedy (it’s a drama, although it’s much more than that) Andrew Scott plays Adam, who has an apartment on the outskirts of London. He is trying to write a screenplay while he closes himself off from most of the rest of the world. That is, until he makes the acquaintance of an interesting neighbor … and Adam begins to fall in love. Or so it appears. Rated R. Watch the trailer here.

Best documentary: Tie, “Beyond Utopia” and “Path of the Panther.” Both of these films are about escape and rescue in two extremely different situations. “Beyond Utopia” is a real-life thriller that shows life in North Korea as it seldom, if ever, has been depicted. The star/hero is Pastor Seungeun Kim, a Seoul pastor who has spent years putting his life on the line, with the use of a network of “brokers,” to help people leave North Korea. Be warned: Some of this footage was smuggled out of the country, and shows actual violence. Rated PG-13. Watch the trailer here.

“Path of the Panther” is about the Florida Panther, which has seen somewhat of a resurgence after almost disappearing along the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Filmmaker Eric Bendick has a great respect and understanding of these wonderful big cats, and in this excellent National Geographic documentary turns his focus on why these animals must be saved with the help of careful conservation and salvage of the land itself in a state where housing developments are devouring acre after acre. Anyone with an interest in wildlife, or any size of cats, is sure to enjoy this film. Rated PG. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

Best family film: “Inspector Sun.” This wonderful movie is based on the likes of films like “A Haunting in Venice.” This CGI animation tells the story of a universe of insects, who live in their world but occasionally have contact with humans. The setting is 1934 Shanghai, and Inspector Sun (Ronny Chieng) is on the case. He’s not the great detective he thinks he is, but darned if he doesn’t stumble onto some clues and answers as he bumbles along. When he takes a vacation on a cargo plane to San Francisco, ends up with a spider’s web, if you will, of a mystery on his hands. A black widow spider seems to be the perfect suspect … except she denies she had anything to do with the slaying. Despite the fact that it’s a murder mystery, this is funny, breezy, and full of interesting characters that will appeal to kids and adults alike. Rated PG. Watch the trailer here. Streaming.

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