With 2023 halfway through that means it’s time to tally what the year in movies has brought us. It’s been a fantastic year for cinema with some great movies already released and hitting the top charts and some most anticipated to come.
Movies have had an impressive start in 2023. From a combination of theatrical releases, streaming exclusives, and a diverse lineup of films in terms of story, budgets, and genres, they have certainly had plenty to offer audiences.
With the ongoing summer movie season, let us bring attention to big blockbusters and possibly some surprise hits so far from Hollywood, Bollywood, and Lollywood.
Hollywood
Super Mario Bros
The Super Mario Bros. movie is the biggest film of 2023 so far, and it will be difficult for any movie to top it. The film is a brightly colored simple adventure story, very much in keeping with the spirit of video games.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Earning every single minute of its nearly three-hour runtime, John Wick: Chapter 4 proves to be a rarity among today’s rash of bloated Hollywood epics, serving as proof that there’s no such thing as a movie being “too long” if it uses its time wisely.
Creed 3
As the third installment in the Creed saga, Creed III faced the challenge of bringing something new to the franchise. Michael B. Jordan was able to lend a fresh eye to the film’s fights and turn them into spectacles that felt like something fans of the series had never seen before
Cocaine Bear
Cocaine Bear is Elizabeth Banks’s action-comedy-thriller loosely based on a 1985 incident when an American black bear ingested a massive amount of cocaine and was found dead soon after that.
Evil Dead Rise
Evil Dead Rise is the latest entry in the Evil Dead franchise, one that can be seen as either a reboot, a sequel, or part of a larger franchise. It is gory, gross, over the top, and the right mix between scary and absurd.
Air
Ben Affleck returns to his director’s seat for the first time since 2016, with Air. Starring Affleck’s best-buddy Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the dramedy follows how the Northwestern shoe company signed a lifetime deal with NBA legend Michael Jordan and created the Air Jordan.
Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a gut punch in the best way. Between splendid visuals and the quick-wit humor Marvel fans have come to expect from Vol. 3 delivered perfectly.
Polite Society
When it comes to one of the freshest, most fun-to-watch movies of the year, Polite Society takes the crown for 2023! Through sharp Jane Austen motifs blended with an inventive clash of cultures for an irreverent comedy that punches its way into the unseen, it is everything you didn’t expect from this past year’s catalog.
Reality
Reality is one of the most intense, gripping thrillers of the year. It takes place in one location and pulls most of its script from FBI transcripts with Sydney Sweeney giving a career-best performance.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Across the Spider-Verse somehow manages to up the ante, attempting an absurd amount of visual techniques, balancing a truly bonkers amount of Spider-People, and all while telling an effective story about family and what it takes to be a hero.
Rye Lane
Something of a shorter, jazzier, more free-form, Rye Lane is a rom-com that puts two strangers together on a long, breezy walk-and-talk that neither of them really wants to end.
Bollywood
Tu Jhooti Mein Makaar
It’s the breakup comedy musical revolving around Mickey (Ranbir Kapoor), an over-confident player with a side hustle hotline to help people break up with their S.O.S. But what will he do when the hotline gets a call from his girlfriend, Tinni (Shraddha Kapoor)?
Emergency
Emergency revisits the turbulent period in Indian history when the country was put under a state of emergency from 1975-1977, and how the Prime Minister at the time, Indira Gandhi (Kangana Ranaut), used her political power.
Pathaan
Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan), is a former agent who must team up with spy Rubina Mohsin (Deepika Padukone) to take down a terrorist (John Abraham) who, you guessed it, is also a former agent.
Shehzada
Switched at birth meets rags-to-riches with forbidden love sprinkled on top in Shehzada, a musical comedy.
Kathal
A young policewoman goes on a wild ride to solve the case that will make or break her career: the suspicious disappearance of a local politician’s prized jackfruit.
Lollywood
Money Back Guarantee
Money Back Guarantee, depicts individuals getting increasingly greedy for money and power. It conveys a sense of vengeance.
Dadaal
The story’s lead is a Layari female boxer who becomes a contract assassin in order to avenge her sister’s honor.
Huey Tum Ajnabi
Huey Tum Ajnabi is a Pakistani historical romance drama film. It dares to deal with a subject so sensitive, divisive, and traumatic to the history of Bangladesh’s liberation, the War of 1971 in the Indo-Pak sub-continent.
Kukri: The untold story of serial killer Javed Iqbal
The spin-chilling story of Pakistani serial killer Javed Iqbal, who abducted and murdered over 100 children between 1998 and 1999.
Teri Meri Kahaniyaan
Teri Meri Kahaniyaan is a feature film showcasing three different short films across various genres, with various casts and directors. The film marks a first in Pakistani cinema by opting for an anthology comprising multiple stories rather than following a single plot. It includes the following stories; “Sajin Mahal”, “Aik Sau Taeswaan” (123rd), “Pasoori”.
Allahyar and 100 Flowers of God
The animated story follows Allahyar, a young boy from northern areas of Pakistan, who along with his best friend Hero (Chakor), travels to a new world in order to rescue his father from a race of ruthless, tree /wood-poaching robots.
Babylicious
Babylicious, helmed by Essa Khan, has Syra Yousuf and Shahroze Sabzwari in lead roles. They will be playing each other’s love interest. The story of the film is a love story about ‘winning your ex back’.
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