So folks, 2023 is finally coming to an end. This year has seen its share of movie releases both good and bad. 2023 brought us excellent movies such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Barbie, and Oppenheimer along with movies that were highly anticipated such as The Flash and Heart of Stone but turned out rather disappointing. However, this year also saw the release of some movies that deserved more appreciation compared to what they received. So, this post is dedicated to such movies. I believe these are the five most underrated movies in 2023, and you should definitely add them to your watchlist before the year ends.
1. Past Lives
If you are one of those people who think about life too much, Past Lives, released on June 2, 2023, is a movie handcrafted for you. This movie revolves around the central characters of Nora and Hae Sung who are two deeply connected childhood friends.
They got separated after Nora’s family departed South Korea and years later, they were reunited for a week when Hae Sung arrived in New York. This reunion leads to them confronting their life choices, destiny, and feelings deeply buried within them.
Why you should watch Past Lives?
All of us, in our lives, have made certain decisions that we regret. Sometimes they are related to a person, a passion, or even ourselves, and we spend most of our lives running away from them to avoid confrontation. Past Lives is a movie that beautifully portrays how important it is to confront those regrets and how peaceful life can be once you do and make peace with them.
2. The Covenant
The main reason this movie got slightly overlooked was simply because, at first glance, it looks like just another war movie. However, that is not the case. The Covenant is a movie that revolves around Ahmed Abdullah, an interpreter who claims that he does what he does just for the money, and John Kinley, a Green Beret Master Seargent who gets heavily injured.
Contrary to Ahmed’s claims, there is more to his character than meets the eye, which is uncovered throughout the movie.
Why you should watch The Covenant?
The Covenant is an antidote for the repetitive nature of war movies. You should watch it if you are bored of the same old plot of most war movies. Even though it seems to be just another war movie, it has much more heart to it and has a somewhat “Saving Private Ryan” vibe to it.
The Covenant explores various spectrums other than warfare, including compassion, the sense of brotherhood, and companionship.
3. 65
If you are a sci-fi fanatic, you need to, and I mean it with all the emphasis I can, you need to watch 65 ASAP. This movie revolves around Mills, a spaceship pilot, who lives on a planet similar to what Earth is today and where humans live.
He sets out to find a habitable planet for mankind and accidentally crash lands on Earth. The only catch is that he landed on Earth 65 million years ago when dinosaurs still ruled the planet.
Why you should watch 65?
This movie is truly worth watching simply because of how unique its plot is. Usually, we find movies where humans from Earth travel to another planet and encounter aliens. However, this movie twists this concept of a human coming to Earth and fighting against Dinosaurs, which are aliens to him, to survive and escape in his spaceship.
This movie also brings to us a major event in the history of our world with a twist you will never see coming. I am not going to spoil it for you, so go ahead and watch it!
4. All That Breathes
Even though this is not a movie but a documentary, it talks about a much-overlooked topic. All That Breathes focuses on two brothers named Nadeem and Saud, who run a hospital for birds in the city of Delhi, India.
The two brothers have treated an astonishing amount of 20,000+ raptors over 20 years. Shaunak Sen, the director of this documentary, was truly impressed by their efforts and decided to tell this story to the world. To further motivate you, All That Breathes was nominated for Oscars 2023 in the Best Documentary Feature Film category.
Why you should watch All That Breaths?
This documentary brings up a very powerful message, which states that “One shouldn’t differentiate between all that breathes.” If you are someone who has a deep affection for birds, this documentary, in every sense, is handcrafted for you.
The cinematography, sound, and emotional depth of this documentary give a wholesome vibe and bring up a message to humans, to be, human.
5. Old Dads
Have you ever needed to Google “What is YOLO?” or maybe ” What does ROFL stand for?” If you have, Old Dads is a movie that will definitely tickle your bones. This movie revolves around three millennial dads — Jack, Connor, and Mike who are struggling to fit into the constantly changing society.
The three dads find it hard to find their spot in the constantly and rapidly changing concepts of culture, career, and most importantly, fatherhood in an extremely satirical and fun manner.
Why you should watch Old Dads?
If you are suffering from imposter syndrome because you can’t figure out how to navigate through the constantly changing world of newfound morals, rapidly changing cultures, and new ideologies, you should watch this movie.
Old dads not only bring up this issue in a rather light-hearted way but also perfectly bring out the frustration people go through to find their place in this new world.
Aparna Ukil
