10. FILM: Man of Steel; DIRECTOR: Zac Snyder; CREATED BY: David S. Goyer ; ORIGINS: Comic (1933)
I debated adding this film to my list, and if I had created a list of the most disappointing film of the year this one would have been at the top. However it was by far the best comic book film created in 2013 as Marvels offerings Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark Word just did not live up to the amazingness the was The Avengers. And let me not get started on The Wolverine which was just a complete mess. However, despite not living up to my own personal hype, this film looked great on screen and was very fun to watch, which is the least you could ask for with a trip to the pictures.
; ORIGINS: Film(2013)
When it comes to Mecha Anime and giant robots, personally I hate the whole idea, but I did initially respect Guillermo del Toro for using it as the basis for his film, and after I had finished watching Pacific Rim I fell in love with it completely, even deciding to watch Mecha Anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion in its entirety. What I loved about this film was the fact that it was essentially a love letter to the anime style that inspired it, and I think its an embarrassment of epic proportions that the abysmal Grown Ups 2 managed to beat this unappreciated gem at the box office, which means there most probably wont be a second call for these giant Jaegers, which is a shame as I doubt you'll find as much heart in the next Transformers film as you will in this.
8. FILM: The Best Man Holiday; DIRECTOR: Malcome D. Lee; CREATED BY: Malcome D. Lee; ORIGIN: Film (2013)
This film caught me completely off guard! Well not completely as I decided to watch the original Best Man before this one and that was also surprisingly very good. However I still did not expect this films story to be so heartwarming and its characters to be so real. The reason behind my low expectations was my exposure to the mind-numbingly terrible string of Tyler Perry Films that had found it way to the big screen over the last decade, which in my opinion has set black actors back years and reduced them to being nothing but cross dressing caricatures of black people. Which is why I enjoyed this film so much as it showed that black actors have much more in store than simply being the token black person in an all white cast or the stereotypical first character to die in a film. Something I feel has been seriously lacking in the film industry.
7.
FILM: The Bling Ring; DIRECTOR: Sophia Coppola; CREATED BY: Nancy Jo Sales; ORIGIN: Article (2010)
FILM: Spring Breakers; DIRECTOR: Harmony Korine; CREATED BY: Harmony Korine; ORIGIN: Film (2013)
The reason I included this films together is because I feel that they are very much two sides of the same coin, Spring Breakers being the loud mouth party girl who wears her heart on her sleeve and The Bling Ring being the stuck up queen b who will stab you in the back. While both films are far from perfect, Spring Breakers lacking a cohesive story and The Bling Ring not having characters with any real depth, they both have there unique appeals. Spring Breakers may not push the boundaries of Korine's previous work but it does appeal very much to the senses in a way many other films do not. And although The Bling Ring may not be as enchanting as Lost in Translation it does provide an unnerving reflection of the obsession our current generation have with celebrity. And lets not forget they allow us to see a completely different side to Emma Watson, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens.
6. FILM: Don Jon; DIRECTOR: Joseph Gordon-Levitt; CREATED BY: Joseph Gordon-Levitt; ORIGIN: Film (2013)
I've been following Joseph Gordon-Levitt career all the way back since his starring role in the indie film Brick, he has always been a very interesting actor and his directorial debut film shows that he is also an equally interesting writer-director as Don Jon is a very witty, touching and extremely confident film as Gordon makes very interesting choices that fit in very well with his existing resume of films. All in all Don Jon is well worth the watch, that is if you can get over the surprisingly frequent nudity.
5. FILM: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson; CREATED BY: J. R. R. Tolkien; ORIGIN: Novel (1937)
I HATED the first Hobbit film! It was a shocking let down and a complete waste of three hours. Normally I would gladly sit through any Lord of The Ring film regardless of time, however with the Hobbit I simply could not, it was extremely tedious and quite frankly annoying, leaving a bad taste in my mouth with regard to the Lord of The Rings universe and I was dumbfounded as to how it reached a billion at the box office. However The Desolation of Smaug is a shinning return to form for Peter Jackson who in my view hasn't made a good film since The Return of The King. But the Desolation of Benedict Cumberbatch who voiced Smauge proved that ten years was well worth the wait as the film has completely revived my interest in middle earth and left me excited for the next installment, here's hoping There and Back Again will not let me down.
4. FILM: Gravity; DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuar n; CREATED BY: ALFONSO CUAR N; ORIGIN: Film (2013)
When I first saw the trailer for Gravity I was reasonably excited as it looked like an interesting concept. However in the back of my mind I couldn't help but question how a film could be made about a situation that looked like it wouldn't even last 20 minutes. But after watching the film my questions were all answered, as Gravity took me on an intense journey which explored the perseverance of the human spirit, and the strong themes coupled with its awe-inspiring visuals make Gravity truly one of the best films of 2013.
3. FILM: About Time ; DIRECTOR: Richard Curtis; CREATED BY: Richard Curtis; ORIGIN: Film (2013)
I've always been a huge fan British Rom-Coms, from Notting Hill to Sliding Doors and Love, Actually to Bend it Like Beckham. Many of those films were written by Richard Curtis and the director proves again that he is still a hopeless romantic even though he may not be the best science fiction writer. About Time is delicately sweet and at times poignant, it is also very similar to another time traveler film also starring Rachel McAdams who appears to have a penchant for being a Time Travelers Wife. But thankfully it is miles better.
2. FILM: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; DIRECTOR: Francis Lawrence; CREATED BY: Suzanne Collins; ORIGIN: Book (2009)
While the first Hunger Games was good, the second is second to none in terms of big budget adventure films in 2013, and not in terms of this list, as it managed to achieve a rare feat in film which is to surpass the already impressive first movie. The first film while great, was marred by its shaky cam and lack of scale and it appears new director Francis Lawrence set out not to make the same mistakes as his predecessor, expanding upon the world created in the original in this perfectly paced and complex coming of age satire which is more confident and more polished than the original.
1. FILM: Her; DIRECTOR: Spike Jonze; CREATED BY: Spike Jonze; ORIGIN: Film (2013)
I believe that the purpose of a films is to either enlighten, inform or entertain its viewer on some level. Her achieves all three of these without being pompous or pretentious, and asks many philosophical questions about the state of our modern relationships with technology, and each other while creating a strikingly beautiful and familiar future which highlights the significant impact technology can have on anybodys life. But on some level I suppose what I loved most about Her is it use of rich pastel colors which create the sweet and soulful basis for this intelligent science-fiction romantic comedy.
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