There are occasions when I have a hard time coming up with 5 films for my year-end list (I think of 2005 in particular when it was Serenity, Batman Begins and.. well..). This year it was hard coming up with 5 films, as well, but for a different reason altogether – there were a tonne of legitimately ‘great’ films this year. One has worked its way into my Top-10 of all-time, another was a more-than-worthy sequel to another one of my All-Time-Top-10 and the other three are incredible films in their own right that should all garner significant awards attention.
In honour of that, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before – I’m starting off with an ‘honourable mention’ section in order to ensure that some of the films that I’d otherwise have to leave off get their due (especially since I was so damned lax with my movie reviews this past year – suffice it to say, they all deserved their fair share of bacon).
Honourable Mentions
Frozen - This Disneyfied take on the Hans Christien Andersen classic, ‘The Snow Queen’ was disarming in all the right ways - Charming performances, a wonderful soundtrack and a powerful, uplifting message. Plus it managed to sneak an Arrested Development reference in there for those who were keen enough to spot it. What’s not to love?
Star Trek Into Darkness - This film’s deceptive ad campaign managed to keep me in the dark who Benedict Cumberbatch’s character was – right up until they started talking about the Eugenics Wars (KHAAAAAAAAAAN!). At that point, I grinned like an idiot, sat back and thoroughly enjoyed this well-paced, action-oriented sequel. The Trek ‘reboot’ was one of my favourites of 2009, so I’m especially pleased that this film turned out as well as it did. … Plus, did I mention Benedict Cumberbatch. … CUMBERBATCH!
Catching Fire - The second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy was my favourite of the three books, so I was eagerly looking forward to the film adaptation – specifically, the portrayal of two of my favourite characters in Johanna and Finnick. I’m pleased to say that the casting in both instances was spot-on. The action-sequences were tight and the new director did away with that damned, handheld, shaky-cam. In short, it was everything I hoped it would be. Now, the real trick will be seeing if they can take the very real issues that exist with Mockingjay, the third novel in the trilogy, and seeing if they can iron them out for the theatrical release. We shall see.
Now, without further adieu -
Top-5 Films of 2013
5. Captain Phillips - For my money, one of the toughest genres to do right is the ‘based on real events’ thriller. Because the event already happened in real life, anyone with real-world knowledge of the situation can have a tough time buying in (for instance, if we know the character survives their ordeal, do we care when someone pulls a gun on them?). The great films in the genre manage to succeed in spite of this with memorable performances by the leads and creating spectacular set-pieces that manage to stay grounded and within the boundaries set up by the true-to-life situation. Captain Phillips succeeds on both of those fronts. Tom Hanks’ titular character is a model everyman (a bit of a hard-ass to his employees, but only because he takes his job seriously) thrown into an impossible situation when Somali pirates take over his Maersk freighter. Director Paul Greengrass is wise to humanize the pirates (giving them ample screen time, back stories, etc.) , as well, so the film doesn’t just play out as simply a ‘good vs evil’ morality play - which serves to make the climactic confrontation that much more tense. In all, it’s a solid thriller with a harrowing climax and my fifth favourite film of the year.
4. The World’s End - Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s conclusion to their so-called ‘Cornetto’ trilogy (so named because a character in the film eats a different-flavoured Cornetto ice cream cone in each film – they otherwise literally have nothing in common, short of all being awesome) is quite possibly the greatest high school reunion / pub crawl / alien invasion movie of all-time. Pegg stars as Gary King, the former King (hurr hurr) of his high school, who has fallen on tougher times. In a bid to try and regain some semblance of his former glory, he meets up with his old chums so they might conquer the elusive ‘Golden Mile’ (12 pubs, 12 pints, 1 glorious night!). Of course, as you'd expect, his hometown has been taken over by alien-robot invaders, which serves to complicate matters somewhat. What makes the film so great is that – like its Cornetto sibling, Shaun of the Dead – it recognizes the trappings of the film (in this case, alien invasion sci-fi) and plays with it in a manner that’s at once deconstructing, yet reverential. It never parodies the genre, though the film is unquestionably one of the funniest of the year on its own merits. My second-favourite of the Cornetto trilogy (behind the aforementioned brilliance that is Shaun..) and my fourth-favourite movie of the calendar year.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street - Speaking of funny films, The Wolf of Wall Street is definitely hilarious in its own, depraved way. Think about that for a second – a Martin Scorcese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio was one of the funniest movies of the year. It’s been said that a great character performance can make a good film great (Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and a great film incredible (Ledger in The Dark Knight). DiCaprio’s performance as the titular Wolf (chaotic-neutral stockbroker Jordan Belfort) is one such performance. He’s utterly mesmerizing. Unhinged, unscrupulous and unapologetically debauched, he’ll go down as one of the great anti-heroes of modern cinema. A lot of people have drawn comparisons to Pacino’s Scarface, but the truth of the matter is that Al was chewing scenery for a lot of that film. Leo’s performance is more nuanced. You see glimpses there, behind his rich, entitled veneer, that hint of a man who worked hard for what he has – and is now fighting furiously to hold onto it. It’s an incredible performance that elevates this very good film to something great – and my third-favourite film of 2013.
2. Before Midnight - You may be aware that the Richard Linklater-directed Before Sunrise is one of my ten-favourite films of all-time. That film was released in 1995. 9 years after that, we got the sequel, Before Sunset (one of my favourites of 2004, just behind Spider-Man 2). Now, 9 years after that, we are gifted the third film in this unlikely franchise. I use the term ‘gifted’ purposefully. The movies never make much money. Indeed, they barely qualify as wide releases. Yet here we are, nine years after the second and a shocking 18 years after the first movie (my God, if that doesn’t make you feel old, nothing will) getting to revisit these two characters that we’ve come to know and love. It’s like stopping by to catch up with good friends. 18 years after their first chance meeting on a train in Vienna, Ethan Hawke’s Jesse and Julie Delpy’s Celine are now entering middle-age. We learn they never got married, but they live together with twin girls of their own. We get to meet Jesse’s son from his previous marriage (the one that was ostensibly dissolved following the couple’s second meeting in Paris during the events of Before Sunset). We discover that Jesse moved to France to be with Celine, but he’s quickly becoming homesick. Just snippets, but they paint a picture of a relationship 18 years in the making. If the first film was about the joys of young love and the second film was about second chances, this film is about relationships – and both the good things and bad that come with them. Honest, thoughtful and sweet, it was my second-favourite film of 2013.
1. Gravity - ‘Revolutionary’ is a film term that gets thrown around like confetti sometimes, but there are the rare cases when such hyperbole is actually warranted. Gravity will change the way you view FX-driven films. It’s tense, taut, thrilling filmmaking with the most immersive use of 3D in the history of cinema. You feel like you’re out there, floating in space. It’s an incredible, technical marvel that’s made human by tremendous performances by the two leads (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney). I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing me rave about it after my previous review, but to put it simply - a triumph and the best film of 2013.
What I’m Playing: Dead Rising 3 on X-Box One
What I’m Reading: Fables (Vertigo), Walking Dead vol. 19 (Image)
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