I don’t know if Dune: Part Two would have ultimately made my year-end list but its absence has been felt in the homestretch of a movie year defined by work stoppages, release-calendar shuffling, and backroom shenanigans. Counting also Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme, Challengers, and The Bikeriders, I can think of almost as many potentially enjoyable commercial movies that didn’t come out in 2023 as ones that did. There were multiplex pleasures to be had, of course (pour one out for John Wick, whose series peaked in part four), but in the end, not even a genuinely paradigm-shifting, zeitgeist-surfing blockbuster like Barbie—which, to give credit where it’s due, contained two inspired lead comic performances and a bunch of good one-liners—made the cut. Instead, here’s a list of titles that, by not being for everyone, sought out viewers attuned to their specific wavelengths. As fun as it is to head out (into the world or online) to look for movies, it’s even better when it feels like they’ve somehow found you.
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