2013 Top
Listing personal favourites from the year 2013
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26 titles
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHugh JackmanJake GyllenhaalViola DavisWhen Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.It is so interesting, disturbing and everything in between. On my second viewing, I paid a lot more attention to the characters and they are all so well developed. One of the interesting topics is how people handle trauma.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsTom HanksBarkhad AbdiBarkhad AbdirahmanThe true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.One of the most anxious movie viewing experiences. One of my favourite Tom Hanks performances.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.A movie that manages to make you actually feel for the characters without it being forced or cheesy.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsIan McKellenMartin FreemanRichard ArmitageThe dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, their homeland, from the dragon Smaug.Such a fun movie. The CGI for Smaug is one of my favourite usages of the technique of all time.
- DirectorBenny SafdieJosh SafdieStarsLenny CookeTom KonchalskiLeBron JamesLenny Cooke was the number-one ranked high school basketball player in America, but his inevitable fall from grace will forever be remembered.This film can quite easily be divided into two halves. The first half was made with the intention to follow an upcoming superstar through his highschool years and the second half is what it’s like when it doesn’t come together. The distinction between these two halves is what made the documentary so great for me; the cut into Cooke approaching his 30’s was so sudden and impactful. I couldn’t help but to feel the devastation he and so many others with big ambitions have gone through; the endless nights of imagining ”what if”.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostMartin FreemanFive friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.Edgar Wright just doesn’t miss. The comedy is so inventive and the characters are interesting and likeable. At the beginning I felt that some of the jokes were too forced but it got better as time went on. The pacing is my biggest issue because the movie is quite repetitive because of it’s concept but the humour and the performances from everyone make it a great time nontheless.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJonah HillMargot RobbieBased on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.An extremely entertaining movie which doesn't feel too long in just shy of 3 hours. Di Caprio is once again fantastic, so is the editing and Scorcese's idea of what is entertaining and how to make it work in a movie. I also really liked how the movie doesn't seem to take a real stand on whether or not Belford's actions are right or wrong.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaMachiko OnoYôko MakiRyota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.Sensibility I've come to expect from Hirokazu Kore-eda
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd HarrisDr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.Visually gorgeous. Perhaps lacks substance or I have just missed it.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsOscar IsaacCarey MulliganJohn GoodmanA week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.The atmosphere in 'Inside Llewyn Davis' is unlike anything I have seen before. From the films I have seen, the recent Charlie Kaufman film 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' resembles the atmosphere the most but it's still very different. How I would describe the atmosphere is that it's sort of melancholy and ghostly but the film didn't feel overly sad or miserable, but instead very mysterious. The cinematography and the excessively bleak coloring are the obvious components for making me feel this way. What kept it from being too miserable was the layered portrayal of Davis and the quirky side-characters.
While I could connect to Davis' literal and metaphorical lack of home and the feeling of being lost and while I found how the film handled the themes related to the uncompromising nature of true artistry interesting, there was just something missing for me. Maybe the quirky characters distracted me too much from Davis' plight or maybe it's just yet another case where I need a rewatch to really immerse myself. - DirectorBong Joon HoStarsChris EvansJamie BellTilda SwintonIn a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.Now that I watched this, I’ve seen every feature length film from Bong Joon-ho! I had heard some bad things about this and I didn’t like his other international film, Okja, so my expectations were quite low. But to my pleasant surprise, I found a lot to enjoy about it!
I think the film is well paced. There are quite a lot of action scenes but between them the film slows down and each time we get to know more about the situation. The information is often presented in a straightforward fashion but it didn’t bother me too much because I was genuinely interested to know more. There are also moments which initially don’t make sense but are explained later which only adds to the mystery. The action scenes are mostly well made and feel really chaotic and energetic.
The concept of the film is fairly simple but compelling. The film takes place in a train which is an interesting setting. The production design is really neat and each car of the train feels distinct and interesting. Some of the CGI looks quite poor but it didn’t bother me too much. The editing of the film feels really messy at times, especially towards the end. Scene contuinity didn’t make sense to me couple of times and emphasis is given to moments that feel out of place. For example the kid walking to the heart of the engine or the focus on Franco, the semi-boss.
The way this film tackles the theme of classism is as much on the nose as it can be but it manages to make observations that I found interesting, nontheless. I liked how things were muddled up in the end and it made me think about society as a whole. People will never be equal, there will always be people who suffer and people who thrive. The only way to break the cycle is to leave the train. As a sidenote, Tilda Swinton is pretty great! - DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.Technically absolutely incredible. The script feels quite disjointed however.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsForest WhitakerOprah WinfreyJohn CusackAs Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.A decent script with a strong cast. The directing is just too conventional to make it memorable.
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsJennifer LawrenceJosh HutchersonLiam HemsworthKatniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.Enjoyable at the time of watching but ultimately very forgettable.
- DirectorDan ScanlonStarsBilly CrystalJohn GoodmanSteve BuscemiA look at the relationship between Mike Wazowski and James P. "Sully" Sullivan during their days at Monsters University, when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.It looks incredible as you'd expect, the characters are still as enjoyable as in Monsters Inc. and it was surprisingly entertaining for the most part with the fast pacing being a key part in that. But in the spectrum of Pixar films, Monsters University feels largely pointless. It doesn't seem to have anything original to say. The film also should have ended way sooner than it did.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiZiyi ZhangJin ZhangThe story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee."The Grandmaster" is very similar but totally different to the four other Wong Kar-wai films I have seen. The film looks magnificent like the other films and uses techniques and features that I've come to expect from him: step-printing, use of rain, voiceover etc. What feels unlike Kar-wai is the structure of the film. The Grandmaster feels something like a middle ground of a conventional biopic and a Kar-wai film. There is a clear narrative but it feels disjointed with the film jumping back and forth in time. It feels like the film is lacking narrative focus and doesn't know what it wants to be exactly. It just feels like the trademark fleeting nature of his films doesn't suit the biopic format too well. However, it is clear that he is passionate about the subject. The film is very nice to look at and is entertaining enough, but while watching it I was hoping I was watching one of his other films.
- DirectorNawapol ThamrongrattanaritStarsThanapob LeeratanakachornChonnikan NetjuiPatcha PoonpiriyaMary is in her last course of school. She'll confront sudden changes in her life, loving relatins and friendship. Based on some tweets of an anonymous girl.
- DirectorTian-yi YangStarsSiyuan ZhaoJia FuPongpazroj DejFang Lei, a Beijing housewife, is leading a peaceful and affluent life with her husband and daughter. Life goes by until one day a man appears in her dreams. His appearance is unclear, but the touch of his body is awakening a woman Fang Lei didn't know she could be. This shadow slowly becomes the lover she can't live without. Afraid of starting to loose her mind, she turns to a Taoist Monk for help. But the separation with her inner ghost is too painful and she soon returns to him.
- DirectorTsai Ming-liangStarsKang-sheng LeeKuei-Mei YangYi-ching LuAn alcoholic man and his two young children barely survive in Taipei. They cross path with a lonely grocery clerk who might help them make a better life.
- DirectorVikas BahlStarsKangana RanautRajkummar RaoLisa HaydonA Delhi girl from a traditional family sets out on a solo honeymoon after her marriage gets cancelled.Pretty nice script is ruined by the directors sugarcoating and the editing makes the movie feel like a series of musicvideos.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsHenry CavillAmy AdamsMichael ShannonAn alien child is evacuated from his dying world and sent to Earth to live among humans. His peace is threatened when other survivors of his home planet invade Earth.So uninteresting, generic, ugly looking film. Supermans conflict with humanity is pretty interesting.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsRooney MaraCasey AffleckBen FosterThe tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met.I found this film to be such a ponderous, meandering and melodramatic mess. I have seen a lot of people praising the film for its cinematography and score and while I thought couple of scenes looked interesting mostly I hated how it looked and I found the score to be very repetitive and used in a way that further hindered my viewing experience. On multiple occasions the music made it hard to understand dialogue and if that was a conscious decision, I can't understand why. The only other Lowery film I have seen so far is 'A Ghost Story' and I consider it to be one of my favorite films so the disappointment is immense.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCarey MulliganJoel EdgertonA writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.Prime example of "all style, no substance" and even the style can't always be appreciated. Acting is very so-so, but Di Caprio remains captivating. Tonally confused, I don't think the director had a vision what he was aiming to do.
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloCarlo VerdoneSabrina FerilliJep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.'The Great Beauty' is one of those films that are not for me, not at this moment in time anyways. The film feels and looks incredibly expensive, often times reminding me of the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby' but purely from a visual standpoint it felt a lot more impressive than that. The camera is often moving and the movements are always very smooth and inviting. The film follows a rich man who spends time in rich and snobby circles. He seems to dislike plenty of the people he is around and seems to be rather displeased in his current life situation. I didn't get a lot more out of him even though we follow him for more than two hours. The dialogue reminded me a lot of Aaron Sorkins' quick-fire dialogue in many scenes. There is a lot of dialogue in the film but it often feels way too cryptic for me to derive anything from it. The film also jumps around way too much for my liking and made me feel as I'm constantly trying to catch up to what's happening.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Guy PearceGwyneth PaltrowWhen Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.The only good thing about is Robert Downing Jr. Then there are some all right things about it such as production value and supporting actors which is to be expected. Pretty much everything else about it was unbearable. It's not evemn laughably bad (apart from some editing choices and plot points) but its just very boring.
- DirectorAlan TaylorStarsChris HemsworthNatalie PortmanTom HiddlestonWhen the Dark Elves attempt to plunge the universe into darkness, Thor must embark on a perilous and personal journey that will reunite him with doctor Jane Foster.The only things I liked about this was one funny line and the portals were kinda fun. Other than that, it pains me so much when movies that with such huge scale are done in the most mundane, unimaginative way. There was absolutely nothing unique about this film. And also, the editing sucked.