We're already six months into 2023, but already this year has proven itself to be an impressive one at the movies. In the first half of the year, we've already had blockbusters that pushed the boundaries of what we thought these franchises could do (Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, Creed III, John Wick: Chapter 4), stunning independent films that introduced us to some incredible new filmmakers (Past Lives, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Rye Lane), horror stories that defied the conventions of the genre (Skinamarink, Huesera: The Bone Woman), and auteur filmmakers returning with incredible installments in their oeuvre (Asteroid City, Beau Is Afraid, Master Gardener).
Halfway through this year, 2023 is already a stunner of a movie year. While we still haven't gotten to the Barbie/Oppenheimer feud of summer 2023, or new films from directors like Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, and David Fincher, these first six months have already given us some of the best films we're going to see all year.
With the year half over, let's take a look at the 25 best films of 2023 so far.
Air
After directing several acclaimed films from the likes of Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and the Best Picture winner Argo, Ben Affleck returns to his director’s seat for the first time since 2016, with Air. Starring Affleck’s best-buddy Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the dramedy follows the story of how the northwestern shoe company signed a deal of a lifetime with NBA legend Michael Jordan and created the Air Jordan. One of the things that works best about this film is that you don’t need to be a basketball fan, shoe-obsessive, or Jordan devotee in order to fall in love with this film, it’s a classic underdog story. While yes, it is a little weird having the shoe giant being portrayed as an underdog, it is very hard not to get wrapped up in the film’s charm. Affleck is perfectly cast as the no-nonsense Phil Knight, while Viola Davis and Chris Messina are major scene-stealers as Delores Jordan and the foul-mouthed David Falk. From its vintage aesthetic and soundtrack, great sense of humor, and passionate screenplay from Alex Convery, Air is a winner. — Nate Richard
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
I don’t remember the last time I walked out of the movie theater feeling so happy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is a joy from start to finish, tapping into the adolescent girl experience with an authenticity and relatability few other movies have managed. Kelly Fremon Craig handles the iconic Judy Blume novel — and the demographic the book is targeted to in general — with reverence and care. So often, the media talks down to or makes fun of pre-teen girls, but Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. talks to them, validates their struggles, and ultimately celebrates them. It’s also rare to see such emphasis placed on intergenerational relationships, and the time the film spends fleshing out the relationships between Margaret (Abby Ryder Forston), her mother Barbara (an always delightful Rachel McAdams), and her grandmother Sylvia (the legendary Kathy Bates) is refreshing. Ryder Fortson is perfect casting as Margaret — an absolute force who brings heart, vulnerability, and humor to the young protagonist. From religion to puberty, the movie doesn’t shy away from hard issues, but it never loses its soft touch. Blume’s book has forever cemented itself as an iconic piece of literature, and if there’s any justice, the film adaptation will become just as revered in the cinematic space. – Taylor Gates
Asteroid City
Considering how fashionable it’s become recently for people to try and mimic Wes Anderson’s style, it makes sense that Asteroid City shows that no one can Anderson like Anderson. His eleventh film finds Anderson commenting on his own style in fascinating ways, exploring what everything means (both our existence in this world and the film itself), and all through an extremely funny comedy about an alien landing. Anderson’s films have rarely looked as beautiful as Asteroid City, his expansive ensembles never more perfectly balanced, and his framing device is a brilliant way of discussing the very nature of storytelling. Anderson has rarely been more poignant or self-reflective as he is in Asteroid City, a film that makes us question whether we’re an important part of the universe, or maybe we’ll just end up as ashes in a Tupperware container buried next to communal showers in the desert—but can’t both be equally beautiful in their own ways? —Ross Bonaime
Beau Is Afraid
Freud would have loved this one. Beau is Afraid is a wild, imaginative, and unpredictable journey that's simultaneously an exploration of the maternal bond and also just plain bonkers. It follows the tragic journey of Beau Wasserman (Joaquin Phoenix) as he attempts to get home to his mother, running into escalating dangers along the way. With this film, Hereditary and Midsommar director Ari Aster has crafted a nightmare that is hilarious, introspective, and unsettling, all at the same time. This is not a movie you watch and forget. It invites multiple rewatches and heated debates about what it actually means. They'll be screening this in classrooms at some point, and maybe then someone will come up with a definitive answer. — Remus Noronha
BlackBerry
2023 has already had plenty of films about major products that have inundated our culture, from the Air Jordan in Air, one of the most addictive games of all time in Tetris, and a favorite snack with Flamin’ Hot. But BlackBerry stands out from the rest in that this is a film about the invention before the invention that changed our lives, as director, co-writer, and actor Matt Johnson’s film always has the added tension of knowing that no matter how big the titular cellular device becomes, we know that all it’s going to take is a speech from Steve Jobs to make it all come crashing down. Johnson makes BlackBerry almost like The Social Network for the losers, from the bluish tint of the cinematography, to Jay McCarrol’s score that can’t help but remind of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. But it’s the two lead performances, with Jay Baruchel as the device’s inventor Mike Lazaridis, and Glenn Howerton as vicious businessman Jim Balsillie, that makes this truly special, and watching these two polar opposites play off each other is a true joy. BlackBerry is a captivating look at the people behind the device that helped pave the way for one of the most important devices of the 21st century. —Ross Bonaime
Creed III
As the third installment in the Creed saga and the ninth overall film in the Rocky franchise, Creed III was always going to face the challenge of bringing something new to the franchise. Luckily, star Michael B. Jordan, who also moved into the director’s chair for the film, was able to do just that – lending a fresh eye to the film’s fights and turning them into spectacles that felt like something fans of the series had never seen before. The movie’s final match is the real knockout, as the crowd completely falls out of the frame so the camera can focus entirely on the two men in it. To Jordan’s Adonis Creed and Jonathan Major’s “Diamond Dame” Anderson, it’s not just a boxing match, but an exorcism of personal demons and past failures that have plagued them for decades. To the audience, watching the pair slug it out is nothing short of electric and serves as proof that, even without Sylvester Stallone around, Adonis’ story was one worth continuing. —Robert Brian Taylor
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
With a cast comprised of household names like Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, and Michelle Rodriguez, it may come as no surprise that Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was one of the best films of 2023 thus far, especially with Sophia Lillis, Daisy Head, and Justice Smith rounding out the cast of rapscallions and ne'er-do-well. While others have attempted to bring the weird and wonderful world of Dungeons and Dragons to the big screen in the past, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein achieved what their predecessors failed to do by remembering that the most important part of the RPG is the friendships forged along the way—not just fighting dragons (though that's pretty epic too). The film's most memorable moments are provided by a script that allows Pine to be a character actor in a leading man's body, and lean fully into the comedy and mayhem of the party's grand adventure. And yes, the absolute best are those that also feature Jarnathan. Watch it, and you'll get it. The film also features a great performance by Chloe Coleman, who has had a banner year playing the daughters of both Pine and Adam Driver in the dino-disaster flick 65. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may be a nicely contained story, but as the credits roll you will be desperate for more of Daley and Goldstein's storytelling style. —Maggie Lovitt
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
James Gunn’s final farewell to his MCU lineup of misfit mercenaries in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a gut-punch in the best way. For the conclusion to his trilogy, Gunn explored Rocket Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) traumatic origin story, interspersed with the Guardian’s race against their friend’s ebbing heartbeat to track down The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Between splendid visuals and the quick-wit humor Marvel fans have come to expect from characters like Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Rocket, Vol. 3 delivered and then some. At two-and-a-half hours, the script never feels like it’s dragging while it digs into the past and present and keeps audiences on their toes about the future of this bunch of A-holes. Top it off with standout performances from Iwuji’s wild-eyed High Evolutionary, Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock, and the goodest girl, Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is definitely Marvel’s top dog this year – so far! — Tamera Jones
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Ever since it premiered back at the Toronto Film Festival, where it was one of the absolute best of the fest by a wide margin, How To Blow Up a Pipeline has emerged as one of the most thrilling and uncompromising cinematic works of recent memory. Following a group of activists who decide to do exactly what the title lays out, the destruction of fossil fuel infrastructure, it is a film that is about as engaging as anything you’ll see this year. Based on the manifesto of the same name by Andreas Malm, which itself is worth reading as a beast all its own, it takes the basic ideas then gives them narrative shape and form. It all sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does in spectacular fashion. Much of this comes down to the cast, who are all distinct from each other yet integral to the entire operation, but it also is just how focused it is. The flashbacks come at key moments of crisis and the honesty with which it approaches their respective backgrounds is refreshing. In a world where forming coalitions will be crucial to facing down some of the most existential threats we will ever face, this is a film that shows what this will entail while still being entertaining as all hell. Meticulously crafted, sharply written, and well-acted across the board, it is a certified banger, in more ways than one, that taps into the energy that is coursing through a country and world on the precipice of climate catastrophe. While writing about it as many times as I have may end up getting me put on many a list, it is all worth it to champion a film as explosive as this. —Chase Hutchinson
Huesera: The Bone Woman
Huesera: The Bone Woman, from director Michelle Garza Cervera, finds a way to make the cracking of knuckles or the slight shifting of a shadow more unnerving than the entirety of most horror films. And while this certainly leans into its horror in the final third, it's the humanity, the fear of becoming a mother, and the uncertainty of what Valeria will do in this story that makes Huesera so uncomfortable and terrifying. Natalia Solián's fantastic performance as Valeria, who is struggling with who she has become and who she wanted to be, grounds this horror show with a very real tension and reliability. Plenty of movies have turned motherhood into a horror film, but few have done it quite as effectively as Cervera's handling, which focuses on the emotional toll of that unbelievable situation, before tossing the audience into some unrelenting, disturbing imagery in the last act. —Ross Bonaime
John Wick: Chapter 4
Earning every single minute of its nearly three-hour runtime, John Wick: Chapter 4 proves to be a rarity among today’s rash of bloated Hollywood epics, serving as proof that there’s no such thing as a movie being “too long” if it uses its time wisely. So how does the latest (and maybe greatest?!) John Wick justify its length? Oh, only by bringing in some of the action genre’s most well-respected stars – including Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, and Marko Zaror – and letting them do what they do best as they run amok in the Wick-verse. Meanwhile, director Chad Stahelski stages a number of mind-blowing action sequences, each somehow more impressive than the last. (The fact that the “Dragon’s Breath shotgun” shootout and the Arc de Triomphe car chase are in the same movie is patently absurd.) And, of course, there’s Keanu Reeves marvelously centering the whole thing, his weary assassin still sacrificing body and soul in search of a peace that must surely one day come. Does he find it by the film’s end? It certainly seems like it, although the film’s eye-popping box-office receipts might ensure that Wick’s fight isn’t over quite yet. – Robert Brian Taylor
Linoleum
With Linoleum, writer-director Colin West creates an extraordinary tale of the personal universes we all inhabit, the strange messiness of life, and how beautifully it all comes together in the end. Linoleum is ambitious, occasionally messy, but always fascinating, almost like an even smaller-scale version of I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and with two wonderful performances by Jim Gaffigan and Rhea Seehorn. Gaffigan stars as Cameron Edwin, the host of an unpopular children's science show that continues to dream he might one day go to the stars. After Cameron sees a man that looks exactly like him fall from the sky, he begins to build his own rocket in his garage. But it's the way Linoleum folds in on itself, and explores the past, present, and future as one that makes this a compelling and unique vision, and one of the most intriguing films to come out this year. — Ross Bonaime
Master Gardener
With his last three films, Paul Schrader—intentionally or not—has made a trilogy about tortured men with troubling pasts attempting to move past their history that haunts them. But coming after First Reformed and The Card Counter, Master Gardener feels downright hopeful, as Joel Edgerton's Narvel Roth, isn't necessarily running, but he's accepted his disturbing past and has tried to grow from it. Because of that, Master Gardener is full of compassion, and strangely enough for Schrader, a warmth that doesn't usually emanate from Schrader's latest works. These most recent films from Schrader have had small glimmers of hope that pop up from the darkness, but Master Gardener is permeated with this warmth, as Edgerton gives maybe his best performance yet. Master Gardener might be part of a piece with Schrader's other recent work, but it's how Schrader diverts from the formula one is expecting that makes this one such a nice surprise. —Ross Bonaime
Past Lives
In her debut feature, writer-director Celine Song perfectly encapsulates the messiness of life, the many lives we live in this one, and how we evolve into new people, despite staying the same. Song does this through a trifecta of the year’s best performances, as Nora (Greta Lee) reunites with her childhood friend Hae Sung (Yoo Teo), who may have been much more had she not moved from South Korea as a child, and her husband Arthur (John Magaro), who has to contend with the bond these two clearly have. Song handles each of these three stories delicately, making us sympathize and care for all of them, wanting the best for these people, even though we know it’s impossible for each of them to get what they want. Past Lives shows that Song is already an expert filmmaker, who knows how to perfectly handle tone and character to the exact degree, and with this incredible cast and story, her debut will likely go down as the best film of 2023. — Ross Bonaime
Polite Society
When it comes to one of the freshest, most fun to watch movies of the year, Polite Society takes the crown for 2023! Through sharp Jane Austen motifs blended with an inventive clash of culture for an irreverent comedy that punches its way into the unseen, the Nida Manzoor film is everything you didn’t expect from this past year’s catalog. With Polite Society giving way to some major Get Out vibes weaved most charmingly through the quirks of a modern Pakistani family, the film finds teenager (and aspiring stuntwoman) Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) believing her sister Lena (Ritu Arya) is in danger after a suspicious and quick engagement to the dashing young man Salim (Akshay Khanna) from an aristocratic family, strong-armed by his mother Raheela (Nimra Bucha). As Lena and Salim are getting ready to say their lavish “I dos” sprinkled with Bollywood flair, Ria enlists the help of her friends to pull off a determined wedding heist in order to save her bestie and sister. While the film steps into some very outlandish situations that will have you wondering if it’s all really happening to these characters (like the dramatic, yet hilarious escape from a waxing appointment), the commentary is especially smart in its patriarchal dialogue of expectations for women, especially within one’s culture.
Whether we dress a certain way or weigh a specific size or even get caught eating a whole chicken without napkins out in public, the criticisms Lena and Ria endure is very real. As a child of Pakistani immigrants, I can attest — and this makes the movie all the more genuine, sincere and fun as Manzoor’s commentary empowers women to break free from societal norms that discourage more liberal pursuits, like becoming an artist or a stuntwoman. Ria, through her resilience and progressiveness, becomes the personification of the age-old adage, “smash the patriarchy” by the film’s end with her sister and it is glorious! The unconventional comedy brimming with wit packs a strong punch in defying societal norms to challenge tradition for a film that unravels the complexities that branch out into duty to family and sisterhood. Polite Society, as an action-comedy with pitch-perfect dialogue really is so damn funny too with an energetic charm that rightfully deserves more attention and love. — Tania Hussain
Reality
I went into this one with high hopes, but my expectations were blown out of the water. Reality is one of the most intense, gripping thrillers of the year — quite the feat when you consider it mainly unravels in real-time, takes place in one location, and pulls most of its script from FBI transcripts. Sydney Sweeney gives a career-best performance, disappearing into the against-type role of Reality Winner, the whistleblower who exposed Russian interference in the 2016 election. Tina Satter’s direction is nothing short of masterful, making every second of its tight 82-minute runtime in which the FBI questions Reality about the document leaks count. Her mix of grounded, subtle naturalism and experimental choices — like the decision to show us certain pages of the transcripts and the clever way she translates several redacted portions onscreen — makes for a breathtaking watch. (Literally. I found it difficult to catch my breath on more than one occasion.) Her experience in theater shines through in the best way, and it’s not a stretch to say this is one of the most exciting feature debuts we’ve had in a while. I hope to see much, much more from her in the future. – Taylor Gates
R.M.N.
Another film that made its premiere at TIFF, Cristian Mungiu’s riveting R.M.N. is a film that is both specific in its setting and regrettably expansive in its unflinching exploration of xenophobia and hate. The more it goes on, the more there is the grim sense that this could happen anywhere where fear grabs a foothold. Set in a village in Transylvania, its title is the Romanian acronym for “nuclear magnetic resonance,” both a literal reference to a brain scan that takes place in the story and a thematic thesis about what the film itself is setting out to do. Specifically, it centers on a man who returns home after receiving an urgent call only to discover that there is something more sinister laying root. The simmering sense of dread it creates never stops boiling as we come to see in painful detail just how lost everyone may soon become. The less that is known the better, but it is a profile of a person as much as it is an incisive deconstruction of what drives them. The personal stories are then intertwined with the politically perilous paranoia that can destroy those who fail to see the way hate can rot their minds, it is a balancing act that is achieved to near-perfection. The way we witness the community at the heart of the story unravel is understated yet no less unsettling, showing how the urgent diagnosis of their depravity may come far too late to be of any difference. — Chase Hutchinson
Rye Lane
As much as people like to argue that the rom-com is a dying genre, that’s certainly not the case, and Rye Lane is here to prove it. The debut feature of director Raine Allen-Miller, the Sundance pick follows the opposite of a meet-cute (a meet-ugly?) between two down-on-their-luck twenty-somethings in South London (David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah), whose connection grows as they spend an adventurous twenty-four hours together. As colorful as it is charming, Rye Lane is a return to the Richard Curtis-style rom-coms of the ’90s with its uniquely British sensibility, capable of charming even the most cynical of viewers with its antics. But the film is also a departure from the classic rom-com, with Allen-Miller’s unique visual style bringing that special something that might just be the kick the genre needs to make it back to the mainstream. —Maggie Boccella
Showing Up
One of the best films of both the year thus far and her rich career overall, Kelly Reichardt’s sublime Showing Up is a flooring work of cinema even as it exists in the quiet moments of a single life. Specifically, it is the life of Michelle Williams' Lizzy who reunites with Reichardt after having worked together on many other outstanding films together that are all similarly worth seeing in all their glory. Playing a Portland sculptor preparing for a show, she finds herself facing frustrations both personal and professional that start to add up. Some of this has to do with family, as we come to understand her complicated connections to her mother, father, and brother, though it also relates to a wounded bird. All of this is interwoven into something that is as emotionally confident as it is gently comedic. While many of Reichardt’s films have had moments of humor, this is the one that really shows her flexing new muscles and doing so without missing a single step in doing so. On the one hand, it is a deceptively rich character study about what it takes to create and drive the noise of the rest of the world away. On the other, it is playful and warm when you least expect it to be. One viewing is really not enough as each additional one peels back layers of Lizzy as well as the world that she moves through. This builds all the way to several final scenes that we are allowed to linger with which is part of what makes Reichart so great. She is attuned to the world in a way that few, if any, other filmmakers are. The details of everything she brings to life are simply stunning in how they sneak up on you. It is a film where both nothing much happens and also everything happens as its accumulation of small moments come together into something spectacular. — Chase Hutchinson
Skinamarink
There is no film that you’ll see this year or, quite frankly, in most any other quite like Skinamarink. From its disquieting beginning all the way to its petrifying end, Kyle Edward Ball's feature debut is a modern horror masterpiece. First getting buzz on the festival circuit last year before exploding online, its acclaim is a testament to both his vision and the potential for horror cinema to give us some of the most exciting works you'll ever experience. That a film like this then got a theatrical release was a real gift that reminded us of how inventive cinematic auteurs are still among us. Telling what could be a simple story of two siblings who find themselves trapped in their home after all the windows and doors vanish, it thrives in its precise presentation that is crossed with patient pacing. Specifically, it is a very restrained yet no less riveting work of horror where what we don’t see is just as scary as what we do. Taking place entirely in this single location that increasingly feels as though it has been removed from time and space, it plunges into the darkness that threatens to swallow you whole. As voices begin to echo throughout the house and figures seem to appear where there were once none, it settles into a rhythm that is as mesmerizing as it is maddening. It is a truly remarkable film that rewards those who brave the plunge along with it. If you consider yourself especially bold, you’re going to want to turn off all the lights in your house and put on headphones to fully immerse yourself in what proves to be one of the most evocative visions of the decade thus far. — Chase Hutchinson
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Five years after Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse came to theaters, the impact of Miles Morales' (Shameik Moore) last adventure can still be felt, from superhero films embracing the multiverse, to animated films like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Bad Guys evoking the eye-popping style. But Across the Spider-Verse somehow manages to up the ante even further, attempting an absurd amount of visual techniques, balancing a truly bonkers amount of Spider-People, and all while telling an effective story about family and what it takes to be a hero. With Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, and Kemp Powers have not only proven that Miles Morales might be the best Spider-Man we've seen on screen so far, they've also created what is one of the best superhero films ever made. —Ross Bonaime
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Michael J. Fox is an icon on the screen. From his stand-out role as Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties to his star-making role as Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Although it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen Fox onscreen, primarily due to his battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, is a deeply personal and emotional documentary chronicling Fox’s rise to fame, his family life, and how he deals with Parkinson’s. Often times biographical documentaries can feel self-fulfilling and full of a lot of egos, but much like Won’t You Be My Neighbor made the world fall back in love with Fred Rogers, Still reminds us what made Fox such a sensation. It’s more than worthy of your time, just be sure to have some tissues ready. —Nate Richard
The Starling Girl
Writer-director Laurel Parmet proved herself as one to watch this year with her directorial debut, the heady and emotionally devastating The Starling Girl, a story of faith, betrayal, and the lengths one person goes to to uncover their own self-worth. Led by powerhouse performances from Eliza Scanlen and Lewis Pullman, the film is a subtle deconstruction of religious trauma as it follows one young girl’s illicit affair with her youth pastor, a man much more controlling and devious than he might seem. But Parmet’s story is about so much more than sex, pulling back the curtain on contemporary America and the way we treat young women to examine a microcosm of sexuality and self-possession. It’s agonizingly painful and deeply cathartic all at once, a coming-of-age tale steeped in empathy for those with nowhere to turn. —Maggie Boccella
A Thousand and One
Writer-director A.V. Rockwell's feature debut, A Thousand and One, is certainly an ambitious one, not only telling the story of a mother Inez (an incredible Teyana Taylor), and her son Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross) over the course of a decade, but also attempts to showcase the gentrification that has taken over New York City in the 21st century. A Thousand and One is trying to balance a lot, and it doesn't always fully work, but the overall story of attempting to find help to get through the difficulties life throws in our way is a difficult and tragic tale that is hard to shake. A Thousand and One, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is a fascinating debut from Rockwell, a tremendous showcase for Taylor, and a staggering look at the struggle to stay afloat in this world. — Ross Bonaime
You Hurt My Feelings
Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars alongside Tobias Menzies in Nicole Holofcener’s indie dramedy You Hurt My Feelings, a movie searching for the balance between honesty and encouragement in marriage. Beth’s (Louis-Dreyfus) world comes crashing down when she overhears her husband Don (Menzies) venting that the book she’s been writing for two years actually sucks. Don’s honest opinion rocks Beth to her core, causing her to question whether she can trust anything her husband has ever said. This central narrative along with the film’s other storylines like Beth and Don’s son Elliott (Owen Teague) calling his parents out for their shortcomings during his upbringing, Don’s struggles with pleasing his therapy clients, and Beth’s challenges with her sister Sarah (Michaela Watkins) and mother Georgia (Jeannie Berlin) all offer their own points of view on the film’s central dramatic question — where is the line between encouragement and deception? Holofcener navigates this cerebral terrain with poignant moments of slice-of-life humor that ground you in this quietly sarcastic world where people never really say exactly what they mean, and honestly? That fine! —Rebecca Landman