The Best of 2013...Part Four...The Best Movies of the Year!

Happy New Year!

But before we get too far into it, let's take a look back at the best of what I saw and reviewed around these here parts.

Ready?

Set...

Go!


First, let's give some Honorable Mentions.

These movies are good. 
Really. Good.

However, they aren't "Great", and I put great in quotes to say that one viewing was probably enough.

These are the Schindler's Lists...Saving Private Ryan...etc. etc... the big epic dramas that one viewing was enough.  Powerful viewing, enjoyed it a lot, but can't see myself wanting to sit down and watch it again.

Through no fault of their own, sometimes that's just how movies are. 

First-

Django Unchained -



I officially no longer hate Quentin Tarantino films.  This movie was amazing on many levels.  Hilarious. Heartbreaking. Disgusting.  Sometimes at the same time.  It's a powerful movie that is definitely worth a viewing if you have not seen it.

Argo -




Why I no longer give Ben Affleck any grief on anything.  He's really a good actor, and his tenure behind the camera has helped him hone his craft in front of it.  It's a gripping drama, and well worth a viewing.


Now, on to the ones that I want to sit down and watch again.

And again.

;)


These are 10 of the Best Movies I Watched in 2013:


 Here Comes the Boom-




Every list should have some "What the heck?!?" candidates.  My entire list could qualify in many critic circles.  However, that's okay.  I like what I like, and I'm fine with that.  Leading off the list is a comedy that shouldn't work with Kevin James a high school teacher who goes into Mixed Martial Arts to make some money to help his school.  Again, there's a heart in this film that you're not expecting when you go into it, and it sneaks up and grabs you.  You leave the movie feeling good, and that's a wonderful way to feel after any movie.

Dredd-

The best comic book adaptation of the year that you may have missed.  Gone is Sylvester Stallone.  Insert Karl Urban, a great actor who, again, if memory serves, never has one minute of screen time without his helmet on.  That's impressive, and note-worthy in Hollywood where actors insist that their mug be shown as much as possible.  Urban owns the screen as Dredd, and I would love to see a sequel with him donning the helmet once again.

Pitch Perfect -

 Yep, I admit it.  This movie was hilarious, and I just watched it again recently, and I still found it incredibly funny.  The songs are well done.  The dialogue is crackling.  There's very little that I don't like about this movie.  Except that my wife doesn't enjoy it as much as I do.  But I get that a lot. ;)

Iron Man 3-

A Marvel movie in the Top 10?  This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me.  We cap off the Iron Man trilogy with a Christmas present that wraps up Robert Downey Jr's tenure as Tony Stark in his own films...at least for now.  Things go out with a bang, as the many armors of Iron Man are put to rest.  This is both a good and bad thing.  I understand that the point of this movie was to show that Tony Stark IS Iron Man, whether he is in the suit or not in the suit.  A little forced and clichéd throughout, but overall, I enjoyed it.  Yes, including the Mandarin. :)

42 -

A baseball movie?  I don't even like baseball! Except when it is well done in movie form.  This is one of those instances.  However, it is so good, it couldn't just get an honorable mention, it deserves to be put into rotation with Field of Dreams and other cinematic masterpieces that celebrate America's pastime.  Also, an important look at how America used to be, and how far we've come (and how far we've yet to go) as a people.

Rise of the Guardians -

How about that, Rise of the Guardians wound up cracking the final list after all.  So you've had 3 opportunities to hear that this was the best animated movie of the year.  Hopefully you've managed to believe me on at least one of those occasions and have watched it for yourself.  You're in for a visual treat.

Fast and Furiou 6 -

What a bittersweet moment this is.  Losing Paul Walker puts this franchise into a tailspin.  I have some ideas on how they should proceed with # 7 to write him out of the storyline and allow the franchise to grow and evolve with this loss.  Back to # 6 though, and this was a great romp that built on the incredible Fast Five and took it to the next level.  Setting up # 7 with the closing moments of this film just built on how great this franchise has become.  The change in directors was going to be something different, and now that the entire tone is going to shift, it will be interesting to see what Vin Diesel and company have in store for us.

Now You See Me -

I love a good heist film.  At its center, that's exactly what this film about magicians truly was: a heist film.  It was very well done and I enjoyed every twist and turn that the movie took us on.  Even the predictable plot twists were enjoyable, aided by a remarkable all-star cast that didn't doom the movie to failure.  The inevitable sequel is coming, and it's got some big shoes to fill, but I'm certainly looking forward to them trying.

Life of Pi -

You could stop and say that this was the most beautiful movie that has been shot in years, and that could be enough.  When you factor in the story that goes along with it, that's the icing on a great cake.  Some people may not like the message that the film delivers, but it's a message that people haven't liked for a long, long time.  I liked it, and the movie has gotten better with repeated viewings.

Thor: The Dark World -

The best movie of the year, and it happens to be a Marvel film.  My bias must be showing. :)  That's okay, this movie was an amazing triumph for the franchise.  It's the sequel that is superior to the original, which bodes well for the future of Marvel films.  Iron Man was unable to pull that off.  Whether there will be a third Thor movie or not, the franchise at least goes out on a high note, but hopefully  it's not done yet.  And if the studio is taking notice, they will realize that what the fans want is more Loki. 

Possibly even a Loki movie?

Yes please!


So that concludes 2013 in movies.

I'll be back tomorrow to begin tackling the 300 + movies that will add up to the best and worst, and everything in between for 2014.

As always, thanks for reading!

The Best of 2013...Part Three...The Animated Movies

Another year, and another wave of decent animated films to enjoy for the whole family.

What I've learned though?

Pixar is slipping, and all of the other studios are closing the gap.

It hasn't translated with many critics and audiences, yet, and that's a shame.

However, if Pixar (and Disney for that matter) wants to retain their crown, they've got to step up their game.

Now, on with the countdown!


Hotel Transylvania -

Sony Animation returns to the best of the year listing with one of Adam Sandler's best performances in ages.  It simply took a cartoon to make it happen.  Surrounded by his usual cohorts, the gang lends their voices to some of horror's finest creatures of the night to bring a coming of age love story between a vampire and a human.  Filled with lowbrow humor (as to be expected) but with a surprising amount of heart it was one of those surprising films to find that I liked it as much as I did.

The Croods -

Conversely, the first of 2 Dreamworks films to hit the list, I was actually a bit disappointed that I didn't like it more than I did.  Perhaps it's the Flintstone factor? ;)  Again, it was good, just not quite as good as I had hoped for.  Sadly, that seems to be the balancing act for animated films: They either miss or shoot well past my expectations.  In 2014, I guess I need to either set the bar really low for every film, or not pay attention to what is coming out until it shows up on my doorstep.

Monsters University -

Pixar returns with a prequel to one of my favorites of all time.  Good, but not great.  That's been the status quo from Pixar for the last 3 years (Cars 2, Brave and now this).  While it was great to have Crystal and Goodman back together again (for the first time!) as Mike and Sulley, it was missing the heart (Boo) that made the first one so memorable for me.

ParaNorman -

I totally expected to hate this one.  Looking an awful lot like a Tim Burton production, which I would have loathed (remember Frankenweenie?) this was a movie that was smart, well-written and had more heart than I ever expected.  Not your typical animated feature, but I think if you've overlooked this one, you've really missed out on an underrated gem.  Streaming on Netflix if you haven't seen it.

Wreck it Ralph -

So close to the best movie on the list.  It was fun. Funny. Well written. Great voice cast. Beautifully lush animation. Wonderful story. Willing to see a sequel.  Just a great fun time.  However, it loses the edge, ever so slightly to the next film on the list.  But when it comes down to it, it's comparing animated apples to animated oranges.  They are both delicious, but they are totally different fruits.  If you want to have a good time for 90 minutes, this is your film right here.  However, if you want to be mesmerized by a story that digs a little bit deeper, then you finish the year with...

Rise of the Guardians -

Dreamworks scores big, at least here, with one of the most hauntingly beautiful animated films you'll get to see.  Everything I said about Wreck it Ralph, Rise of the Guardians does as well.  However, replace Funny with Amusing as the laughs are not nearly as big and broad in this film.  Plus, if your heart strings aren't plucked when you discover Jack's center, you're even colder than Jack Frost is.

:)

Tomorrow: This is it, the best of the best of the year.  Will any of these films from the last three days make the final cut???

The Real Review... "Rise of the Guardians"

 

Okay, now that I had my April Fool's Joke yesterday, let's bring you the REAL review today...

 

 

The only thing that can stop the Boogeyman...

The Story:

The Guardians watch over the children of the world.  North (Alec Baldwin) is the guardian of wonder.  E. Aster Bunnymund (Hugh Jackman) is the guardian of hope.  The Sandman is the guardian of dreams.  And the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) is the guardian of memories.  When all of this is threatened by Pitch (Jude Law) who is attempting to destroy all of childhood's hopes, dreams and wonders.... can the addition of perpetual mischief-maker Jack Frost (Chris Pine) tip the scales in favor of good, or is humanity doomed?

After months of tears and begging, I finally gave in and watched the movie.

It was everything that my kids swore to me, and more.

Much darker than Wreck-It Ralph, that doesn't mean there isn't a sweet side to this story.

It's fun, but not "funny", so the two films are on entirely different spectrums of animated entertainment.

You want fast visuals and fart jokes? Wreck-It Ralph is for you.

You want something deeper for yourself as a parent and for your kids to gather, then this is that film.

The animation from Dreamworks is superb, as always.  The voice acting is stellar, again you never lose sight of the character onscreen due to the voice of the actor in a stunt-casting role.

In fact, Alec Baldwin is all but unrecognizable as North enlisting a jovial Russian/German hybrid for his Santa.

I can see why many people could be turned off by the darkness of this film, but you're wrong.

It was a well-made film, and a shame that we have a generation of kids (and adults) that may not be able to appreciate that.

My only complaint with the film?

Whoever decided to end the film with THAT musical interlude...  I don't care what your intentions were, and from what I read, the idea behind it was sweet....

But that was just plain awful.

Maybe that's where DreamWorks went wrong?  You walk out of the theater, and the song over the credits is your last feeling, and if you walk out to that, you're not feeling it.

Final Grade: A.  You missed out on the + due to the musical choice.

Would I Own It: Already done!  The kids were suitably impressed.

 

 

Worst...Movie...Ever... "Rise of the Guardians"

They are there to protect the children...

Someone should have protected us from them.

The Story:

The Guardians (Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman) gather together to welcome their newest guardian, Jack Frost to the fold.  What doe the Guardians do?  They protect the children of the world from dangerous things...

like Pitch... the Boogeyman has returned!

Based on a series of children's books, I have to hope that those books are more coherent and responsible than this film.

Ugh.

First, the animation is subpar, typical work from the hack Dreamwork Studios.  They will strive to beat Pixar, but will fail, time and time again.  Disney does better work than this with their eyes closed.  In fact, I'm thinking Fox has a better animation studio at this point.

The voices?  Zzzz... Alec Baldwin is over the top as Santa Claus and Hugh Jackman plays the Easter Bunny as Wolverine.

Jack Frost is a joke of a hero... he wants to be fun and lovable, but he's really just a menace to the children and the Guardians themselves.

The only good that comes from this film, there should be no room for a sequel.

I hope!

Final Grade: F-  Easily the worst animated movie I've ever seen.  Possibly the single worst movie I've ever watched.  I wish I had stabbed my eyes out and saved myself from this one.

Would I Own It: Not if I can help it, but some of my kids thought it was great, so I'm sure I'll be buying it.

Bah.

Let's hope that I can find a better movie to review after April 1st this month!

Guest Review(s): Rise of the Guardians

So today, I am reviewing a movie that I have not seen.

Rise of the Guardians from Dreamworks.

Okay, that is not entirely accurate.

Today, I am letting the kids take over this review, sort of, to give you their thoughts on the movie.

They are begging to go back to the theater so that I can watch it this time, they swear it is that good.

For those that follow my Facebook page, you've seen the art that my daughters have drawn for the Fan Art Contest.

I was afraid when they all went on opening day, that they had set the bar for expectations so incredibly high that it would be impossible to meet their desires.

It turns out, I worried needlessly.

As the oldest said, "it blew all of my expectations away".

You've all seen the review that says that this is "The Avengers of animated movies" by now.

My kids agreed.

With a month to go, this is their # 2 movie of the year, right behind the Avengers, and ahead of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Pretty good praise from the six of my kids who all have diverse opinions about what is, and is not a good movie.

To quote the oldest: "Rise of the Guardians is, in a word, magical."

Next kid: "Seriously, I could go on and on about how great it was, but I won't."

Third oldest..."Easily one of the best movies of this year."

The 3 non-teens are all in agreement as well.

So I'm looking forward to seeing it.  If it's as good as they claim, I highly anticipate it being on my Top 10 list for NEXT year.

Sorry kids, I won't be heading to the theater that I know of.

: )