Who knew saying “no” would prove so powerful?

After swearing off the Avatar and Scream series in 2022 (at least until they receive new masters), I found it easier to resist the latest Shazam, Equalizer, Transformers, Saw, Expendables, and The Nun movies; Kenneth Branagh’s third (?!?) Poirot adaptation; various suspect-looking animation efforts (Migration; Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken); plus whatever the hell Zack Snyder was doing on Netflix.

No trusted sources came running to these bums’ defenses, so the shunning truly felt vindicated and allowed me to catch up on a wealth of film blindspots — and some prestige TV, including finally finishing The Sopranos. (Mad Men remains #1, followed by The Wire and Curb Your Enthusiasm and Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad and…well, you get the point.)

So, yes, I only totaled 157 new releases — a fresh all-time low! And the second consecutive year that I’ve dropped by 14. My overall totals, however, are at 364 films viewed, up 37 from 2022. But as for those 2023 titles, they’re all here, sorted into three groups, presented numerically from worst to best, and will be rolled out one installment per day this week until we reach #1.

Please rate me on the crazy scale from 1 to 157 and, as always, thanks for reading.

157. Skinamarink

156. Bottoms

155. Hypnotic

154. Sweetwater

153. Fool’s Paradise

152. The Boys in the Boat

151. Meg 2: The Trench

150. Silent Night

149. The Exorcist: Believer

148. Cocaine Bear

147. Marlowe

146. Consecration

145. Insidious: The Red Door

144. The Marsh King’s Daughter

143. Golda

142. 65

141. M3GAN

140. Knock at the Cabin

139. No One Will Save You

138. Retribution

137. The Pope’s Exorcist

136. The Last Voyage of the Demeter

135. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

134. The Beanie Bubble

133. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

132. The Zone of Interest

131. Wish

130. Priscilla

129. The Color Purple

128. The Good Mother

127. Breakwater

126. Missing

125. Maybe I Do

124. Chevalier

123. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

122. Five Nights at Freddy’s

121. Blue Beetle

120. Ghosted

119. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One

118. Showing Up

117. Next Goal Wins

116. Talk to Me

115. Sanctuary

114. Fast X

113. The Creator

112. A Biltmore Christmas

111. Polite Society

110. Champions

109. Plane

108. Your Place or Mine

107. The Teachers’ Lounge

106. Smoking Causes Coughing

105. The League

104. It AIn’t Over

103. Elemental

102. Nyad

101. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

(Photo: IFC Films)