2023 is already shaping up to be an elite year of cinema. One that could rival 1999, 2007, and 2014 which feels wild to say. A reason for this preemptive praise is due to the directors who are releasing films which includes Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, and Denis Villeneuve. The last time these four directors released films in the same year was 2010, so today I’m going to look at the films they released 13 years prior and see if there is a good chance that their 2023 film will beat their 2010 film.
David Fincher
The Social Network (2010) vs The Killer (2023)
For Fincher, it will be difficult to make a film better than The Social Network. I deem The Social Network as the best film of the 2010s decade for many reasons. It has the best score I’ve ever heard from Trent Reznor along with the best script that’s ever been written, in my eyes, by Aaron Sorkin. The dramatic biopic is amazing, but there is a way that Fincher’s The Killer could be better than The Social Network. He’s back with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker who wrote Se7en. Walker writes raw scripts that are demented beyond belief and it appears that’s what we’re getting with The Killer.
This reported neo-noir action thriller staring Michael Fassbender is my most anticipated film of 2023. That’s probably because Fincher is my GOAT. Like I mentioned prior, it won’t be easy to top The Social Network, but Fincher has a knack for making good film after good film that break the mold of what he did prior.
Martin Scorsese
Shutter Island (2010) vs Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Reports coming out of Cannes is that Killers of the Flower Moon is one of Scorsese’s best. It’s also reported that it’s Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performance.
Back in 2010, Scorsese and DiCaprio collaborated for the fourth time with the mind bending thriller Shutter Island. I think Shutter Island is a film that hasn’t aged well for me. When I go back and rewatch it, I’m not as big on it as I was when I first saw it, but it’s still one of Scorsese’s finest pictures. The duo of DiCaprio and Scorsese is a proven hit, especially when you factor in that DiCaprio starred in Scorsese’s Best Picture winning film, The Departed.
Along with DiCaprio, we’re seeing Scorsese with De Niro which makes for a banger every time from Goodfellas to Casino to The King of Comedy. I’m excited to see these two megastars come together on the big screen for the first time in 30 years, but this time with Scorsese running the show. When people look back into Scorsese’s filmography, I have a sneaking suspicion that Killers of the Flower Moon will be remembered more fondly than Shutter Island. It’s just my gut feeling.
My one and only concern is the near three and a half hour length. I saw a phenomenal tweet that read “The longer the film, the closer to God” and it’s a great point. The Irishman was over three hours and Killers of the Flower Moon is well over the three hour mark. Scorsese does a great job holding the audience’s attention, but the runtime definitely makes me skeptical.
Denis Villeneuve
Incendies (2010) vs Dune: Part 2 (2023)
When people talk about Villeneuve’s best, films like Arrival and Prisoners come to mind, but one that people will mention (mainly to be hip) is Incendies. Look, it’s a really great film, but I don’t view it as his best. It’s a raw, intense, and gutting film about nuclear families that are broken beyond belief. With Dune: Part 2, we’re going to see something a lot different from Incendies so it’ll be tough to compare the two and which will overall be better, but I’m going to try to.
Sequels are always risky. Villeneuve didn’t direct the sequel to Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, but he took a risk by directing Dune initially because he took on a project that the great David Lynch once directed. So in the case of taking risks, it doesn’t matter to Villeneuve. I wasn’t huge on Dune when I first watched it, but on a second go round, I loved it. It has great action, tremendous cinematography, and also a very deep plot for a science fiction flick. The first one was great, but left the door open in anticipation for a banger sequel.
I think over time, Incendies will be looked at as a better Villeneuve film, but Dune: Part 2 will have a smash impact on the year, especially when you see the cast. Bringing Timothee Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, and Dave Bautista together is a recipe for success.
Christopher Nolan
Inception (2010) vs Oppenheimer (2023)
One thing that Christopher Nolan seems to hate is making a film that isn’t confusing. Things might change this year though with his biopic Oppenheimer. While it may be a biopic, Emily Blunt recently described the film as a “thriller” due to the scripts intensity. I do think Nolan excels best when his films have a clear plot like Insomnia, The Dark Knight, and Dunkirk, but he’s seen success with mind benders like Inception, Memento, and Interstellar.
What has me most intrigued is that Nolan has never done a biopic film. He has a signature twist of making all of his films intense and this seems to be no different. He’s tackling an unexplored topic of the man who made the atomic bomb and we all know how much Nolan hates CGI. In Tenet, Nolan opted to crash a Boeing jet rather than CGI it in. That just makes me curious on what his plan is for showcasing a nuclear explosion.
A lot like Scorsese’s Shutter Island, Inception hasn’t aged extremely well for me. I’ve consistently bumped it down my list of Nolan films, but it’s still solid. I just think that Oppenheimer is going to bypass Inception in the grand scheme of Nolan’s filmography. There’s a monstrous amount of hype built around it with a cast including Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh.
