Chris Reviews 2013 in Movies

2013 has been one of my least favorite years as far as movies are concerned. Pretty much every single movie that I was looking forward to, did not live up to my expectations. Of course there have been exceptions but as a whole it seems to have been a pretty lame year for film fans. These lists are just based off the movies I had a chance to see so keep that in mind before you attack me in the comments about a particular film not being on the list.

5 Best Movies-

The Worlds End-

One of the few movies I was looking forward to that did not let me down. I got a chance to see this as a marathon of all 3 of the Pegg, Frost and Wright films and it was probably my favorite movie theater experience of the year. It manages to create the same fun and humor as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead while also featuring and interesting Sci-fi premise.




Captain Phillips-

Probably this years best Thriller as Paul Greengrass crafts a gripping drama about a pirate attack on a US Cargo Ship. Its a fascinating film that will keep you entertained throughout and Tom Hanks gives his usual solid performance. This is probably 2013's Hurt Locker for me in that I really like it a lot but it will likely win more awards than I think it should.

Pacific Rim-

While it didn't quite live up to my expectations, I still had a blast! Pacific Rim is a truly creative Sci-fi action movie that features some spectacular visuals and a lot of exciting Monsters and Mech fighting. If it wasn't for a weak script this would likely have been my favorite movie of the year but I still like it for what it is... a fun, big budget, B-movie.

Spring Breakers-

This movie is definitely not for everyone. It is an oddly structured, almost experiential film that you will either love or hate. I loved the style and once i got passed that I discovered a rather fascinating critique on the millennial generation. That being said the best part of this movie is James Franco as Alien the really shitty gangster. Oh and it features Gucci Mane as James Franco's former best friend turned rival.

Filth-

This was my surprise movie of the year. This is an awesome Scottish film based on a novel by Irvine Welsh who wrote Trainspotting. James McAvoy gives a phenomenal performance as a detective on the edge of insanity who is trying to earn a promotion. Its an insanely fun film that rides the perfect balance of dark comedy.





5 Worst Movies-

 21 & Over-

A bland and unoriginal college comedy movie. I watched this at 2 in the morning, which is the perfect time for movies like this and still thought it was boring.

Bad Grandpa-

Normally I don't like Jackass movies at all but the trailers looked really funny so I went and saw it. Unfortunately almost all of the funny gags where in the trailer and the rest was pretty lame. The film tries to make a narrative out of this with an extremely generic father and son road trip movie but it just doesn't work.

Warm Bodies-

The Twilight of Zombie movies.......enough said. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug-

While I had my issues with the first Hobbit movie I still enjoyed it. Sadly the sequel does not improve upon the first film and the Hobbit is set to become this generations Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. The story feels extremely stretched, the acting is mediocre at best, the actions scenes are tedious and it feels as if the franchise has lost its magic. The one bright spot is Smaug, but 20 minutes of a cool CGI dragon can't make up for the numerous other flaws.

Star Trek Into Darkness-

I have been a huge Star Trek fan for pretty much my entire life. I have watched all the shows, have all the movies on blu-ray, read some of the books etc. So  I like to think I have a firm grasp on what Star Trek is and this movie is not Star Trek. It is a Star Wars fans attempt at making a Star Trek movie. Not only is this not a Star Trek film but its just a bad movie in general. The script is a piece of shit and really is just a bunch of action scenes spaced perfectly apart to keep an audience entertained for 2 hours without any real substance. I could go on a rant about how much I dislike this movie but suffice it to say this is my least favorite movie of the year!

 Guilty Pleasure Movies-

 Bullet to the Head-

Man this movie bombed at the box office but it was a hell of a lot of fun. If you are into the old school 80's action movie genre like me this was the movie for you. Stallone kicks some ass, Jason Momoa is a cheesy bad guy and Sarah Shahi is the hot chick in Walter Hill's (The Warriors) directorial comeback.

Olympus Has Fallen-

Another old school action cheese fest that I had a lot of fun with. I still have not see White House Down but I have heard that Olympus Has Fallen is the better of the two attack on the White House films. Sure the story is pretty shitty but Gerard Butler is solid as the lead with some good one liners and there are some pretty great action scenes. To be honest a lot of why I like this is probably related to being nostalgic about these old school, overly dramatic and patriotic action movies from the 80's and 90's but I can't help what I like.


Summary-

There are some movies I still really want to see such as 12 Years A Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street so those may get added to my top list. If you want to see a comprehensive ranking of all the movies from this year look to the right side of the screen and there is a tab labeled 2013 Rankings. That list is always being updated, even after the year is over. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts about this year in movies and lets hope for a better year in 2014!

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart