Obviously this list was intended to be out before the last week of January. However, as stated before, pneumonia delayed my plans, so here we are. Without further adieu, let's start my favorite movies of 2013 list.
First off, a reminder that this list is my list of favorites. The ranks on this list do not try to convey the quality of the film, or in any way reflect a general consensus of the best films of the year. They merely convey how much I enjoyed the films. In addition, this list includes films that are generally considered to have been released in 2013, even though I saw a few on this list in 2014. It doesn't matter whether I saw the film in the theater, only that I saw it before this past weekend.
First, a list of movies that I wanted to get to, but didn't get a chance to watch for various reasons:
Berberian Sound Studio
Before Midnight
Spring Breakers
The Bling Ring
Upstream Color
The Act of Killing
Fruitvale Station
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Short Term 12
The Wind Rises
Today's post will cover movies #25-16 on the list
#25 Dallas Buyers Club
Great performances by Jared Leto and the rejuvenated Matthew McConaughey highlight this film, based on a true story. The rest of the movie? Rather formulaic and not all that memorable. Still, those performances go a long way, and make it about as enjoyable as a film set during the height of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s can be.
#24 This is the End
The first of this summer's two comedies referring to the end of the world in its title,
This is the End was pretty funny. It included many of the "Apatow" school of actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves during the apocalypse. If you were looking for a low rent sequel to
Pineapple Express, this is the place to go. Jonah Hill is particularly good in the movie (although not his best performance, that comes later on the list), as is Michael Cera's short turn at play against type.
#23 Saving Mr. Banks
Yeah, this is little more than a "brand deposit" for Disney, little more than a giant company patting itself on the back for making
Mary Poppins fifty years ago. It makes P.L. Travers look much more of a fan of the movie than she actually was (although it doesn't exactly make her look like its biggest fans). However, darnit, I enjoyed the performances so much, particularly Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti and Colin Farrell that I enjoyed it despite the other faults. In other words, it's typical Disney.
#22 American Hustle
Hmm....three problematic movies saved by wonderful performances in the first five? Must be kind of trend this year. It isn't that
American Hustle isn't a fun and enjoyable movie, it just is far too ephemeral to be higher on my list. There are many movies I've thought about this year well after I watched them, but this isn't one of them. Unless imagining how it could have been improved counts (it really doesn't). Still, There are some fun directing choices in the film, it has some genuine laughs, and many of the performances (especially Amy Adams) were great.
#21 Now You See Me
I was not expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. I enjoyed the twists and turns, as four master magicians worked together to pull off three absolutely thrilling sets of
tricks illusions*. I admit I haven't watched this since it was in theaters, so I can't say it holds up after multiple viewings, but I did enjoy it at the time..
#20 Philomena
This was another movie I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Again, this movie was strongly assisted by the great performances by Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. In addition, I enjoyed the unexpected way it went, even though many parts of the film were rather predictable. This movie wins the additional award for this list for "Best Movie to Recommend to Parents and Older Relatives", although to be fair there are many others on the list as well.
#19 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
In a year of big franchise sequels, this is the only one to make my top 25 list.** And it truly deserves to be here. I didn't see the first one until a few days before this one came out, and the sequel is a marked improvement. Once again Jennifer Lawrence carries the film, although many of the other characters do great work as well. I have to say I enjoyed the arena battle more in this one than the first movie, and the stuff before it was very entertaining as well. And that is before I mentioned Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is welcome in pretty much every movie. (Yes, I would even watch
this one. NSFW, unless you are using headphones.)
#18 Blue Jasmine
This was the first Woody Allen film I watched in a theater, so that's something. It's been a great year for performances, and Cate Blanchett's performance as Jasmine is one of the best. Like others on this list, it would have been higher if the rest of the stuff around the great performance was even close to being as memorable. This isn't exactly a feel good movie, but it certainly is worth seeing (as is every other film on this list).
#17 The Heat
Paul Feig's follow-up to
Bridesmaids isn't the highest rated comedy on this list, but I probably laughed the hardest at this movie. Sandra Bullock was pretty great in this movie, as was the ever dependable Melissa McCarthy. Had Feig and Co. spent more time subverting instead of (mostly) creating a straigh "buddy-cop" movie, it would probably be higher on this list. Still, it was one of the best parts of a (mostly) weak summer of movies***.
#16 Frances Ha
This is one of two films on this list that I didn't have the pleasure of seeing on the big screen. Fortunately, Netflix was there to pick up the slack. Co-Written by and starring Greta Gerwig, its a movie about some one in their mid twenties trying to make it at their dream career, while floating from apartment to apartment after her long time roommate moves out. It's funny, well-written, and features a good performance by Gerwig. Unless you are sick of entertainment about aimless twentysomethings trying to find their way in the world, this is a film I highly recommend. The relative lowness of this film on the list is less a statement of its quality, and more a statement of how tough it was to rank the top 15 or 16 after the first six on this list. From here to #7 are pretty much interchangable.
*You didn't think I'd get through an item about magicians without some sort of
Arrested Development reference, did you? C'MON!
** One film on tomorrow's list is a "prequel". In addition, I really enjoyed
Iron Man 3 and
Thor: The Dark World. I also enjoyed
Star Trek Into Darkness at the time, although I can't say it's sat well after the fact in my mind. This was a pretty good years for movies, and I had the fortune to see a lot of them.
*** The year would be salvaged by one of the best fall seasons I've seen since I started watching movies in bulk about seven years ago.
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