The 10 Best Books of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*Please note that the inclusion of the books on this list is based on the criteria of an original publication date in 2023.

10. The Cabinet of Dr. Leng

by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

9. The House at the End of the World

by Dean Koontz

8. Feast

by Ina Carino

7. Mothered

by Zoje Stage

6. The Donut Legion: A Novel

by Joe R. Lansdale

5. How to Sell a Haunted House

by Grady Hendrix

4. Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing

by Abigail Thomas

3. The Creative Act: A Way of Being

by Rick Rubin

2. Poverty, by America

by Matthew Desmond

1. The Curse of the Marquis de Sade: A Notorious Scoundrel, A Mythical Manuscript, and the Biggest Scandal of Literary History

by Joel Warner

Runners-up:

Don’t Fear the Reaper

by Stephen Graham Jones

The Only One Left

by Riley Sager

The 60 Best Feature Films of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*Please note that the inclusion of the films on this list is based on the criteria of an official 2023 release date. This excludes premieres at film festivals.

60. All that Breathes

Director: Shaunak Sen

59. A Good Person

Director: Zach Braff

58. Shin Kamen Rider

Director: Heidaki Anno

57. The Wrath of Becky

Directors: Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote

56. Blood and Gold

Director: Peter Thorwarth

55. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Director: James Gunn

54. Project Wolf Hunting

Director: Hongsun Kim

53. Polite Society

Director: Nida Manzoor

52. Phenomena

Director: Carlos Theron

51. Candy Land

Director: John Swab

50. Missing

Directors: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick

49. M3gan

Director: Gerard Johnstone

48. Knock at the Cabin

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

47. Scream VI

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

46. Stale Popcorn and Sticky Floors

Director: Dustin Ferguson

45. Cocaine Bear

Director: Elizabeth Banks

44. Unwelcome

Director: Jon Wright

43. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Director: Davis Guggenheim

42. Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story

Directors: Christopher Griffiths, Gary Smart

41. The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

Director: Bomani J. Story

40. John Wick: Chapter 4

Director: Chad Stahelski

39. The Blackening

Director: Tim Story

38. Unicorn Wars

Director: Alberto Vazquez

37. Of an Age

Director: Goran Stolevski

36. Paint

Director: Brit McAdams

35. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

Director: Guy Ritchie

34. Huesera: The Bone Woman

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera

33. BlackBerry

Director: Matt Johnson

32. Air

Director: Ben Affleck

31. Chevalier

Director: Stephen Williams

30. Sakra

Directors: Ka-Wai Kam, Donnie Yen

29. Inside

Director: Vaslis Katsoupis

28. Living

Director: Oliver Hermanus

27. A Man Called Otto

Director: Marc Forster

26. Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

Directors: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg

25. Infinity Pool

Director: Brandon Cronenberg

24. Shin Ultraman

Director: Shinji Higuchi 

23. Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva

Director: Dutch Marich

22. Back to the Drive-In

Director: April Wright

21. How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Director: Daniel Goldhaber

20. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Director: Kelly Fremon Craig

19. The Raker House

Director: John Covert

18. The Quiet Girl

Director: Colm Bairead

17. Suzume

Director: Makoto Shinkai

16. Evil Dead Rise 

Director: Lee Cronin

15. EO

Director: Jerzy Skolimowski

14. Malum

Director: Anthony DiBlasi

13. The Outwaters 

Director: Robbie Banfitch

12. A Thousand and One

Director: A.V. Rockwell

11. Sisu

Director: Jalmari Helander

10. Living with Chucky

Director: Kyra Elise Gardner

9. Gods of Mexico

Director: Helmut Dosantos

8. Filmmakers for the Prosecution

Director: Jean-Christophe Klotz

7. Enys Men

Director: Mark Jenkin

6. A House Made of Splinters

Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont

5. Beau is Afraid

Director: Ari Aster

4. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Director: Laura Poitras

3. Skinamarink

Director: Kyle Edward Ball

2. Holy Spider

Director: Ali Abbasi

1. Toga

Director: Shaun Rose

Runners-up:

Brooklyn 45

Director: Ted Geoghegan

Influencer

Director: Kurtis David Harder

Subspecies V: Blood Rise

Director: Ted Nicolaou

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc

Tetris

Director: Jon S. Baird

The 10 Best Rap Albums of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*The inclusion of the albums on this list is based on the criteria of an original release date of 2023.

10. So Many Realities Exist Simultaneously

by Atmosphere

9. WON’T HE DO IT

by Conway the Machine

8. To See a Sunset

by Kotah the Friend, Statik Selektah 

7. In the Beginning (Vol. 3)

by Madlib, Declaime 

6. Round Trip

by Statik Selektah

5. The Mind of a Saint

by Skyzoo

4. Maps

by Billy Woods, Kenny Segal 

3. Goon Mode

by Snowgoons, Lingo, Ayok

2. Liberation 2

by Talib Kweli, Madlib

1. Glorious Game

by Black Thought, El Michels Affair

Runners-up:

18159 Stout

by Bizarre

College Park

by Logic

MellowLOvation Music

by Rittz

Michael

by Killer Mike

To What End

by Oddisee

The 10 Best Short Films of 2023 (So Far)

By Andrew Buckner

*Please note that the inclusion of the short films on this list is based on the criteria of an official release date of 2023 in the United States. This excludes premiere showings in film festivals.

10. “Mantid”

Director: Krista Michaels

9. “Rise”

Director: Nisha Ganatra

8. “Ivalu”

Directors: Anders Walter, Pipaluk K. Jorgensen

7. “Weathering” 

Director: Megalyn Echikunwoke

6. “Disregard”

Director: Mike Messier

5. “Captcha”

Director: Andy Compton 

4. “Sisyphus Unbound”

Director: Ryan Fleming

3. “The Devil on Derby Street”

Director: Luke St. Germaine

2. “Mrs. Halloway”

Director: Connor Morley

1. “The Ground Beyond”

Director: Jeremy Arruda

Runner-up:

“Rewriting Mallory”

Director: Emerson Adams