TOP 5 MOVIES OF 2013*
*Australian release dates
5. Life of Pi
4. Django Unchained
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2. Lincoln
1. Gravity
6th Man of the Year: Springsteen and I
It's a rock-doco made by Springsteen diehards. It's a daring project, in that it doesn't reflect on the life of Bruce and the band, rather fans share their experiences of seeing Bruce and explain what The Boss' music has meant to them. Some will enjoy connecting with fans, others will find it over the top and repetitive.
Watch out for "The Philly Elvis"! You've been warned.
Watch out for "The Philly Elvis"! You've been warned.
The ones I missed out on due to my impoverished life: Blue Jasmine, Behind The Candelabra, Captain Phillips, The Turning, Cloud Atlas, Kill Your Darlings, The World's End
ARGH.
Surprise of 2013: Rush
It's not a surprise that Ron Howard has made another decent film. It is a surprise, however, that I would enjoy a film based on racing. I'm not a Fast and Furious junkie... and I only watch Top Gear for the laughs. But Rush isn't all about racing (although, there are some epic race scenes), it's more about obsession, envy and desire. Backed with stellar performances from Daniel Bruhl (a standout as the relentless Niki Lauda) and the Aussie 'God of Thunder', Chris Hemsworth, Rush is a real treat!
(Other pleasant surprises: About Time, The Hunt, Mud)
Surprise of 2013: Rush
It's not a surprise that Ron Howard has made another decent film. It is a surprise, however, that I would enjoy a film based on racing. I'm not a Fast and Furious junkie... and I only watch Top Gear for the laughs. But Rush isn't all about racing (although, there are some epic race scenes), it's more about obsession, envy and desire. Backed with stellar performances from Daniel Bruhl (a standout as the relentless Niki Lauda) and the Aussie 'God of Thunder', Chris Hemsworth, Rush is a real treat!
(Other pleasant surprises: About Time, The Hunt, Mud)
Flop of the Year: The Internship
How bad is The Internship - a film that Vaughn co-wrote? Well, it is something of a D-grade, 2 hour Google ad, which doesn't deliver a single laugh... or moment of intrigue. Instead, The Internship will only give you cliche-and-stereotypical fits.
Not happy, Vince.
(Other disappointments: The Great Gatsby, Elysium)
"Give me back my money, you swindler!" of the Year: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
The only "wonder" surrounding this movie is the wonder of, 'How did they get these actors - Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini, Olivia Wilde - to sign on to such a dull script?!' Surely they were falling asleep while reading this script. Literally. There is nothing magical about this film... except that suckers forked out money to see it. Oh, and goodluck finding a laugh!
Best Actor:Will Ferrell Daniel Day-Lewis
I've controversially withdrawn Will from this award because I forgot that Ron Burgundy is, in fact, a real person. See his edifying and enriching autobiography, Ron Burgundy: Let Me Off At The Top. So I guess this gong will have to go to Daniel.
No! Don't boo at Daniel! He's terrific as Lincoln. Actually, Daniel's been class for so long now that you kind of expect this performance from him. As Abe, however, Daniel is not just believable but game changing. He's like Jordan in the fourth quarter.
You just have to watch him do his thing.
This is a surprise! I'm not much of a Sandra Bullock fan. Or is it that I'm not much of a fan of the films she's in? Whatever it is, her role in Gravity is daring, challenging and breath-taking (pun intended!). She really brings it as the isolated space wanderer. Where she goes, we go. What she feels, we gut-wrenchingly feel. Her performance adds to the outside-this-world (there I go again!) visual experience.
This isn't because the film is anywhere near as funny as its predecessor, it's because the boys finally got another one done. That's worth celebrating.
Life of Pi might be the popular pick - it was known to be one of those "unfilmable stories" - but Lincoln turned the biopic game up on its head. While it was daring not to tell the life story of Abe, it was even more daring to only reflect on the last four months of the President's life. Frank, brutally honest and anything but cliche, Spielberg and co. did their homework.
A Handful to Catch in 2014: The Wolf of Wall Street, The Monuments Men, Inside Llweyn Davis, 12 Years A Slave and Noah
One film sees the maestro returning to his finest craft. Another finds (art) historians being celebrated, while Llweyn Davis sees two of my favourite things coming together: the Coen brothers and 1960s folk music. As for 12 Years A Slave and Noah? Well, get ready for brutally honest and epically sized adventures.
So, what are your Top 5 movies of 2013?
You stay classy, 2013.
(Other disappointments: The Great Gatsby, Elysium)
"Give me back my money, you swindler!" of the Year: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
The only "wonder" surrounding this movie is the wonder of, 'How did they get these actors - Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini, Olivia Wilde - to sign on to such a dull script?!' Surely they were falling asleep while reading this script. Literally. There is nothing magical about this film... except that suckers forked out money to see it. Oh, and goodluck finding a laugh!
Best Actor:
I've controversially withdrawn Will from this award because I forgot that Ron Burgundy is, in fact, a real person. See his edifying and enriching autobiography, Ron Burgundy: Let Me Off At The Top. So I guess this gong will have to go to Daniel.
No! Don't boo at Daniel! He's terrific as Lincoln. Actually, Daniel's been class for so long now that you kind of expect this performance from him. As Abe, however, Daniel is not just believable but game changing. He's like Jordan in the fourth quarter.
You just have to watch him do his thing.
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock
This is a surprise! I'm not much of a Sandra Bullock fan. Or is it that I'm not much of a fan of the films she's in? Whatever it is, her role in Gravity is daring, challenging and breath-taking (pun intended!). She really brings it as the isolated space wanderer. Where she goes, we go. What she feels, we gut-wrenchingly feel. Her performance adds to the outside-this-world (there I go again!) visual experience.
Best Original Screenplay: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
This isn't because the film is anywhere near as funny as its predecessor, it's because the boys finally got another one done. That's worth celebrating.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Lincoln
Life of Pi might be the popular pick - it was known to be one of those "unfilmable stories" - but Lincoln turned the biopic game up on its head. While it was daring not to tell the life story of Abe, it was even more daring to only reflect on the last four months of the President's life. Frank, brutally honest and anything but cliche, Spielberg and co. did their homework.
A Handful to Catch in 2014: The Wolf of Wall Street, The Monuments Men, Inside Llweyn Davis, 12 Years A Slave and Noah
One film sees the maestro returning to his finest craft. Another finds (art) historians being celebrated, while Llweyn Davis sees two of my favourite things coming together: the Coen brothers and 1960s folk music. As for 12 Years A Slave and Noah? Well, get ready for brutally honest and epically sized adventures.
So, what are your Top 5 movies of 2013?
You stay classy, 2013.
I love "Top 5" lists ever since I read high fidelity but they can be very difficult to make! So, don't care so much about the order of these.
ReplyDeleteAlso, apparently I'm way more into action movies and especially comic book movies than you are. And! Lincoln and such came out in 2012 for us, woohoo!
If Zero Dark Thirty still counted, that would totally be my #1 pick. That movie completely enthralled me.
5. Iron Man 3
4. Star Trek
3. The Wolverine
2. Fast and the Furious 6
1. Pacific Rim
I guess my picks are more Japanese influenced too.
My surprise of the year (besides fast and the furious) was Man of Steel. I'm still surprised that it was good and enjoyable.
My 6th pick would be Thor but Hunger games was good too. It didn't get a higher pick because I've read the books I guess, so some of the suspense was gone. Very visually stimulating though.
Is Prisoners out in Aussie land? If so, check that out. I haven't/can't see Gravity, but Prisoners was an incredible suspense movie. I don't even recommend it to people because it messes with your head so much, but damn it was a well-done movie.
Disappointment of the year for me was Now You See Me. Just... cmon.
Movies I still REALLY wanna see (this list is too long): The Conjuring, Anchorman, Walter Mitty, The Hobbit, Much Ado About Nothing, American Hustle, Wolf of Wallstreet, Don Jon, Rush, The World's End, Frozen, Saving Mr. Banks.