The Best Movies of 2023 (So Far)

Expectations are always low for the first few months of the year at the movies. To some extent, you know what you’re going to get: at best, some adequate franchise fare—at worst (and more likely), lots of crap. This year has been no exception, hence the mostly positive reception to formulaic flicks like Dungeons and Dragons and Creed III. It seems wrong to grade multi-multi-million dollar blockbusters on a curve, so you won’t see many of those movies showing up on this list. It was a grim winter, but things are finally heating up as spring hits full swing. Just this week, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reteamed as sneaker executives. Plus, we’ll see new films from auteurs like Kelly Reichardt, Daniel Goldhaber, and Ari Aster. And there’ll be both a Judy Blume documentary and an adaptation of her most iconic work. Until then, here are some of the best movies so far. [View in Browser]( [Esquire]( [SHOP]( EXCLUSIVE [SUBSCRIBE]( [The Best Movies of 2023 (So Far)]( [The Best Movies of 2023 (So Far)]( Expectations are always low for the first few months of the year at the movies. To some extent, you know what you’re going to get: at best, some adequate franchise fare—at worst (and more likely), lots of crap. This year has been no exception, hence the mostly positive reception to formulaic flicks like Dungeons and Dragons and Creed III. It seems wrong to grade multi-multi-million dollar blockbusters on a curve, so you won’t see many of those movies showing up on this list. It was a grim winter, but things are finally heating up as spring hits full swing. Just this week, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reteamed as sneaker executives. Plus, we’ll see new films from auteurs like Kelly Reichardt, Daniel Goldhaber, and Ari Aster. And there’ll be both a Judy Blume documentary and an adaptation of her most iconic work. Until then, here are some of the best movies so far. [Read More](   [How the 'AIR' Soundtrack Got Made]( [How the 'AIR' Soundtrack Got Made]( It is the most totally awesome 1980s compilation collection. Ever. [Read More]( [25 Polo Shirts That Will Restore Your Faith in Polo Shirts]( [25 Polo Shirts That Will Restore Your Faith in Polo Shirts]( It's suddenly looking like one of the smartest pieces of clothing a guy can own. [Read More](     [How I Finally Learned to Love Mushrooms]( [How I Finally Learned to Love Mushrooms]( A lot has happened since Iliana Regan’s first memoir, Burn the Place, was released. The Michelin-starred chef was named to the National Book Award longlist for nonfiction in 2019, the first for a culinary writer since Julia Child, nearly 40 years earlier. She was referred to as the Greta Thunberg of the culinary world by Kim Severson of The New York Times. Regan moved, with her wife Anna, into a remote log cabin near Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest and created an immersive culinary destination, Milkweed Inn. And she completed another memoir, Fieldwork: A Forager's Memoir, about her life and heritage as a forager that spans her family history, her childhood, and her time at Milkweed Inn today. In this exclusive excerpt from her new memoir, she recounts one of the first times she went foraging for mushrooms with her father. Here is a passage from Chapter 4, titled "Meadow Mushrooms," from Fieldwork, out in January 2023. [Read More](   [I Can't Stop Watching This Video of Ben Affleck Speaking Spanish]( [I Can't Stop Watching This Video of Ben Affleck Speaking Spanish]( The 'AIR' director flexed his bilingual skills while promoting the film. [Read More]( [Why the Expensive Suitcase Reigns Supreme]( [Why the Expensive Suitcase Reigns Supreme]( Rimowa’s classic aluminum carry-on is an icon for a reason. [Read More](     [This Hat Was My Obsession]( [This Hat Was My Obsession]( Not long ago, I stumbled upon a photo of a fresh-faced Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern attending a toxic-waste benefit at MGM in Culver City. Sounds very chic. It was September 1986, and perched atop MacLachlan’s head was a blue-and-white cap with a large, colorful—but indiscernible—patch on the front. It got me wondering, What is that hat? When it comes to caps, I like them as random as possible. No brand names. No sports teams. I’ll take something stranger, thank you. What started as an idle curiosity about MacLachlan’s hat quickly became an obsession. After securing a hi-res image to work from, I futzed for hours in Photoshop until the word PALOMAR emerged from the pixels. [Read More](   [90-Day Transformation Challenge: Arms]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection]( esquire.com ©2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019