Top 10 Best Films of 2013
10. 42
It’s so painful and maybe even a bit mean to say, but I need to stand by it - movies about racism in America are a difficult topic now. Most films try to advertise to families and thus find themselves in a rut of dumbed down violence and treatment. In particular, last year The Help did very little for me to feel the anger and frustration I should feel towards such serious subject matter. 42 had me feel everything I could have possibly felt. Anger, sadness, a desire to stand up and fight for these characters that existed far before I was even born. It made me cry with tears of joy, and scream at moments of horrendous injustice. It’s been a very long time since a movie affected me that way, and it was a really beautiful thing. And most importantly, it took a sport I always found uninteresting and made me fascinated by it. It’s a great experience, and a beautiful telling of such an overlooked story.
Apparently there are a lot of problems with this film, criticisms of the depiction of the captain being totally fabricated. But as a movie, it’s a total success at making the audience suspenseful and frightened, reminiscent of Argo in its often silent moments. It’s also one of the movies that has an obvious ending, yet manages to keep us excited and guessing what will come next for our characters. Tom Hanks plays a (possibly fabricated) fabulous leader, clear and firm, while also being human, afraid and second guessing himself, worried at his own outcome. The villains have enough story for us to feel their humanity, but not so much that we support them. It’s a great tone, and I loved every second.
8. Dallas Buyers Club
I don’t like Matthew McConaughey. And even with all of the attention this film has gotten, I have to emphasize that I think he only did well in the film for its obvious writing for him to play himself. But putting that aside, I can’t pretend that he wasn’t a perfect choice for the role. And if I put him aside all together, this movie is one of the most honest, genuine, beautiful movies I can remember watching. Especially Jared Leto, playing a soft spoken, beautiful character with sensitivity and grace that was unparalleled. It had a great tone, sense of silence and noise that I’ve never experienced in such a distinct way. It’s a beautiful, emotional, and honest.
7. The Place Beyond the Pines
A lot of people didn’t gravitate to this film. It was told in an uncomfortable way, with three separate stories connected chronologically and thematically. But I loved it. It showed three unbelievably talented actors give beautiful, sensitive performances in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Ryan Gosling’s story was exciting, thought provoking, and very upsetting, moving into Bradley Coopers story of mistrust, exposure of misconduct, and sacrifice, and how those choices affected Dane DeHaan’s character in the final act of the film. Everyone in this movie is amazing, the music is deep and thoughtful, the cinematography is beautiful, it’s just a gorgeous movie. And of course, who can say no to Ryan Gosling’s shirtless self giggling while feeding a baby ice cream? Women’s pants just flew off.
6. Fruitvale Station
This is a heart wrenching story of a young mans decisions to change his life by dropping marijuana usage, spending more time with his daughter, getting a job, and becoming the best person he can imagine. All of this done before a tragic unexpected ending. It’s based on an incredibly sad true story, and Michael B Jordan’s portrayal of this character is nothing short of career defining. It’s both lovable and questionable, all brilliant. Ariana Neal gives another dynamite performance in the best child performance I’ve seen since Beasts of the Southern Wild. Octavia Spencer also comes in with the best performance I can think of for her. The film boasts beautiful cinematography, hypnotizing music, and spot on pacing and story telling. This is one to watch as soon as you possibly can.
5. The Worlds End
I’m so biased towards Edgar Wright movies, I love them so much. And I love the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy’s other two films, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. But honestly, this might be my new favorite of the series. It was so incredibly funny, new and fresh enough to define itself from the rest of the trilogy, and yet is just tongue in cheek enough to make fun of itself and its established characters from previous movies. It looks great, with awesome and creepy special effects to give you chills while you watch. Not to mention an amazingly funny cast with an awesome set up and conclusion. This movie works on every level, even with just enough believable drama to balance the constant humor. I guess the best way to say it is that it works in the best ways, constantly. And it’s freakin hilarious.
4. Gravity
It needs to be said that Gravity is NOT a perfect movie. It opens up with such a predictable set up that the rest of the story is obvious. It’s like the old trope of a cop two days from retirement, or a man on the last day of the job. Then it has some weird sequences that made me role my eyes at the cheesiness of them. But what it fails at in subtlety, it makes up for in awesome cinematography, crazy special effects, amazing performances despite the somewhat lackluster script, and such a tense and exciting story filled with unforgettable moments. Not to mention this is the first movie I’ve really loved Sandra Bullock in. We saw a silly and cocky side of George Clooney that I loved getting to know, and a chemistry between the two that simultaneously didn’t exist and functioned perfectly. So it’s proof to me that an unimpressive script can result in a really great piece of art.
Her is a delightfully creepy and yet beautiful movie about a man falling in love with his computer. It’s disturbing how not disturbing it actually was. I understood his attraction to his computer, it made sense to his life and his personality. The movie was slow, thoughtful, and patient. It let the audience breathe with the film, letting us adjust from our world to this world perfectly. Every performance was flawless, even if it was only Scarlett Johanssons voice. The colors of this film in particular are both soft and yet strangely abrasive. Even passing roles, such as the one played by Chris Pratt, are memorable for their ease of accepting a lifestyle that is foreign to us. It’s a brilliantly written, fabulously directed, flawlessly performed, and just a crazy experience of a movie.
2. The Way Way Back
This is a very unrecognized comedy from the summer, about a young introverted kid finding his voice working for Sam Rockwell at a water park to escape the cruelty of his mothers boyfriend. Not only is it hilarious, it’s so sweet and lovable. It has a flawless portrayal of an introverted and depressed kid, one that I definitely identify with at his age. He has his quirks that make us laugh, but mostly we just feel sad that he’s hurting. Steve Carell plays the incredibly unfunny and cruel boyfriend to our main characters mother, opening the movie in an incredibly hurtful speech to the kid. Anna Sophia-Robb owns her role as the girl next door, who is intrigued by this strange kid, excited at the idea of him being someone different than the awful people around her. Hilariously funny, perfectly saddening, and beautifully relatable, this is a movie I’ll never forget.
1. 12 Years A Slave
I can remember the exact moment I knew this movie was my favorite of the year. It was during the speech Chiwetel Ejiofor had his speech to Brad Pitt. I felt hardened by the film, I had seen violence that I’d never seen in a film before, in such a disturbing and hurtful light. But this speech was what finally made me cry. After everything this movie put me through, this moment was so beautifully written and shot, it was like feeling every weight and burden this man had gone through collapse on top of me all at once. It was so sad, so beautiful, so upsetting. This movie is unlike any other, using brutal reality of slavery and slave owners to make us feel the real pain of hopelessness. Benedict Cumberbatch’s character in particular, a good hearted and fair man who in the hardest moment refuses to help his slave, brings a brutal reality to the level of good heartedness that didn’t exist for a slave. It’s a brutal awakening and a beautiful story, one that left me completely broken in my seat, unable to move for a good 20 minutes. It is, without a doubt in my mind, the best movie of the year.
Well, that's it! Time to move forward, into 2014! But before we do, what were some of your favorite movies?! I'd love to know!
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