Movies Released in 2013 That I've Seen

An absolutely fantastic film. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, Spike Jonze takes another fairly odd idea and just runs with it. In a lot of ways, Her is also frighteningly plausible. Really, I can't heap enough praise on this film, everyone needs to see it and feel the love too.

People like to complain that no original movies are released anymore, but then something like Gravity comes along and completely blows your mind. An extremely brave and unconventional film in pretty much every sense, you're going to find yourself on the absolute edge of your seat while watching. I'm also totally blown away by the fact that it's in converted 3D rather than real 3D (which most cinephiles will know is generally considerably superior). Pretty much every Oscar is lined up for Gravity this year...

A very well made arthouse film with an undeniably fantastic, eerie score and beautiful cinematography. Whether or not you enjoy the plot or editing will likely be up to your cinematic sensibilities, but if you don't mind a slow-burning, intellectual film then Under the Skin should interest you.

American Hustle is a victim of its own success. There's no denying that it is impeccably made, has great performances, excellent style and some killer costume and make-up designs. It's only real weak point is its plot, but simply because it's a bit convoluted and somewhat generic - hardly a major knock though IMHO. However, the number of accolades it received make even someone like me who enjoyed the film go "oh come on, it wasn't THAT good". It's good entertainment in the end, pure and simple.

Considering that this is a series about people being forced to murder each other, Catching Fire is a much more mature film than its predecessor - it already has an audience, so it isn't afraid to shed its "family-friendly" atmosphere. The violence is certainly more gritty and all the more shocking. The film themes also are buoyed by the decision to tell a more mature story, as the dark sides of authority and rebellion are both on display. The actors also have all stepped up their games, with Josh Hutcherson in particular impressing me quite a bit after his relatively bland performance in the first movie. The only real weak point is the games themselves, especially the ending which just feels overly rushed. However, Catching Fire is still a great film and better overall than the original I'd argue.

A very effective horror movie in the... err spirit of The Exorcist. While not as scary as I had hoped, there were still some truly frightening scenes. Like any good ghost story, the movie is done in such a way that you really question whether or not something like this can happen. I thought that the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, but on the whole, The Conjuring is a well-made horror movie that succeeds where it intends to.

A great film, really buoyed by excellent acting, accomplished direction and a strong story. Even if you're not into racing (like myself), you'll surely be captivated by the intense rivalry between the two leads on and off the track.

I'm a bit torn on this one. On the one hand, the movie pretty much does everything it can to piss off people who loved the books, since it deviates pretty heavily (largely to accommodate the decision to split the book + appendices into three three-hour films). On the other hand, the movie was quite good if you can get over the deviations. That said, the opening half hour is way too rushed and the love triangle is just awful, but those are my main major gripes unrelated to fanboy-ism.

As someone unfamiliar with Berserk, part 3 of this mini-series takes a really surprising and pitch-black turn. I was aware of the series' reputation going in, but it wasn't until this entry that it truly lived up to it, with quite a bit of rather extreme content... not necessarily to the point of feeling gratuitous (I could have done without that rape scene though), but it serves to make this a real downer of a finale... as was intended.

A very fun film with jaw-dropping effects and great action. Yes, the plot and characters are fairly thin, but the film excels in pretty much every other category that it's hard to knock it too much for that.

A great, modern family film and somewhat unconventional take on the Disney princess narrative. If you liked Tangled, then I guarantee you'll also like Frozen.

(The movie premiered in 2011, but it wasn't until 2013 that it got a limited release)
Quite a clever take on the overdone home invasion thriller archetype. It's pretty well-done all around with some chilling moments and some rather dark comic bits as well (the film is considered a black comedy, but I only really found the last 5 minutes to be truly humorous... I dunno, I guess I'm not that morbid). The film is also interesting for not making the "final girl" a useless piece of crap, so it's rather empowering actually. Not revolutionary by any means, but definitely fun if you're into violent horror films.

I'm a huge fan of the previous two films in the Cornetto trilogy, they're both among my all-time personal favourite movies. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the movie overall, The World's End doesn't quite live up to them. This is in large part due to tonal issues and a plot which isn't anywhere near as tight as Shaun or Hot Fuzz. It might just be me, but I didn't find it particularly funny on a consistent basis. I've also not really gotten into the alien invasion/body-snatcher sub-genre, so it doesn't resonate so much with me as the previous two films did. Still, it's a very fun movie, but just not at the level its pedigree would suggest.

Denis Villeneuve has quickly become one of my favourite directors out there. Enemy is probably the least known of his films (circa 2017 when I'm writing this), and I feel like it might be the weakest of them as well. Still, weakest Villeneuve is still riveting viewing, although the surrealist elements will be very hit-or-miss depending on the viewer. That said, the core conceit is fascinating and escalates in surprising and effective ways. One to consider checking out if you like Villeneuve's work (and why wouldn't you?).

I'm not a big fan of stoner comedy, but I couldn't help but laugh at This Is the End. While it could also have done with a bit less juvenile humour, it's still a good enough premise that there's plenty of laughs to carry it through.

I really like how Thor managed to stand out in the crowded superhero genre by being both unique and funny. The Dark World continues this trend while raising the stakes. It's certainly not the best movie to come out of the MCU, but it's a lot of unpretentious fun to watch if nothing else.

Better than Iron Man 2, but this film fails to live up to the original film due to its inconsistent plot and overblown-to-the-point-of-ridiculousness villains. That said, I thought the humour was a breath of fresh air in a time when super hero movies seem to have to be dark and gritty. Oh and as for the "twist", I actually thought it was quite clever (and I'm not a fanboy of the Iron Man comics so I didn't have anything to be disappointed about).

While it's not quite as entertaining as Fast 5, Furious 6 is yet another ridiculously fun action film - with heavy emphasis on the "ridiculous". The action is even more over the top, but the main set-pieces manage to throw in their own twists to make sure things don't get too stale (a lesson that the extremely dull 4th film needed to learn), and the action stays kinetic, no matter how many characters we're keeping track of at once. Perhaps most importantly though, the banter between the large cast is what separates Furious 6 from poorer action films - they're fun to hang around with and you feel at least a bit of a connection to them. Furious 6 keeps up the sudden uptake in quality that the F&F franchise has picked up, and hopefully the 7th film will keep the franchise on top and end it on a high note.

White House Down is an unabashed Die Hard ripoff (hell, the hero is even named "John" FFS). That said, it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch, even if it is very stupid and jingoistic. Easily the best Roland Emmerich film in a decade.

I quite enjoyed the previous 3 Evil Dead movies, and so I figured I'd check this one out as well. While I am not exactly one to shy away from gore (hence why I saw this in the first place), this has to be the most violent movie I've ever seen to date. The movie doesn't have the same sense of humour that the previous films did, making this basically an hour and a half of sheer intensity. On one hand, this means that the demonic possessions are treated with real gravitas. On the other, you're probably going to lose your lunch if you have a weak stomach. The movie wasn't bad, nor did I really dislike it by any means, but I just didn't enjoy the nature of the violence in it... and with this movie, that certainly hurts the enjoyment.

(The movie premiered in 2012, but it wasn't until 2013 that it got a limited release)
I'm not really a fan of torture porn movies, but Would You Rather is a pretty sick and twisted twist on the sub-genre. The suspense is just plain harrowing at times, and that basic element carries the movie through. Jeffrey Combs also puts in a great performance as the host, Lambrick. If you're in the market for a horror movie and don't mind if it's torture porn (which implies far more than it actually shows), you can definitely do worse than Would You Rather.

Wolf Creek 2 is a really brutal and nasty film, but like its predecessor it's really well made, smarter than your average slasher flick and up there with Hostel among the best films from the torture porn trend of the mid-2000s. John Jarratt once again puts in a stellar performance as Mick Taylor which keeps you glued to the seat no matter how nasty the film gets.

As someone who doesn't care for Star Trek, I found Into Darkness to be a very entertaining, competently-made action/adventure romp which is far better than the film's subsequent levels of backlash would have you believe. I might have liked it a bit more than the first JJ Abrams film in fact.

On the one hand, Elysium is a kick-ass action movie with great direction and stunning special effects. On the other hand, it's pretty one-dimensional, with ham-fisted social commentary and characters we could give less of a damn about. If this wasn't the follow-up to District 9, then I'm sure it would have gotten a lot more love, but on its own merits, Elysium is an enjoyable popcorn flick - it's just too bad it isn't more.

The Riddick franchise took a major nosedive after The Chronicles of Riddick, but after a long break, Vin Diesel and David Twohy are back. Riddick is an entertaining return to form for the character, although it feels like a pseudo-remake of Pitch Black a lot of the time. Nothing spectacular, but it is certainly an enjoyable action/sci-fi/reverse-slasher movie. The aggressive sexism/homophobia is a bit of a turn-off though.