My best and worst films of 2013
by mad_mandonna | created - 22 Jan 2013 | updated - 31 Dec 2013 | PublicMy personal favourite films that I have seen in the year 2013.
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1. Gravity (2013)
PG-13 | 91 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Dr 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.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen
Votes: 863,143 | Gross: $274.09M
Utterly stunning, edge of your seat thriller, well acted drama and so brilliant in its simplicity. 10/10
2. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong
Votes: 318,891 | Gross: $95.72M
Claustrophobic and utterly engaging. Done more as a journalistic film instead of a drama, but it works as both. Utterly brilliant, though it is a hard film to truly love and it doesn't warrant a repeat viewing. 9/10
3. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
PG-13 | 146 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss 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.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 721,186 | Gross: $424.67M
Brilliant follow up, that combines good action and an emotional depth rarely seen in films of this ilk. 8/10
4. Monsters University (2013)
G | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A 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.
Director: Dan Scanlon | Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren
Votes: 389,930 | Gross: $268.49M
Doesn't have the emotional oomph of Monsters Inc, but it's still a very worthy prequel,with great characterization and humour. The monster world is a place I'd like to visit. 8/10
5. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch
Votes: 497,049 | Gross: $228.78M
Fast paced, engrossing and enthralling. Never been a massive Star Trek fan but this film may make me change me mind. 8/10
6. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
PG | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.
Director: Rich Moore | Stars: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman
Votes: 458,362 | Gross: $189.42M
Great concept, great story. Disney are finally getting back to their rightful place as animations best studio. 8/10
7. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Drama, Western
With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Votes: 1,694,824 | Gross: $162.81M
As a Tarantino movie it ranks pretty low, but as a movie in its own right it pretty cool even if it is waaaaay too long. 8/10
8. The Croods (2013)
PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.
Directors: Kirk DeMicco, Chris Sanders | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener
Votes: 231,971 | Gross: $187.17M
highly entertaining, enjoyable and funny. Not quite pixar good but still great on its own merit. 7/10
9. The Conjuring (2013)
R | 112 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
Votes: 554,732 | Gross: $137.40M
A very engaging and well paced horror film that seems to have taken the best bits of other horror films and put them in this one. I didn't find it as scary as I possibly should have, but still a good watch. 7/10
10. Despicable Me 2 (2013)
PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When Gru, the world's most super-bad turned super-dad has been recruited by a team of officials to stop lethal muscle and a host of Gru's own, he has to fight back with new gadgetry, cars, and more minion madness.
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud | Stars: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove
Votes: 425,999 | Gross: $368.06M
Such a nice film, funny and cute. Everything one wants in a children's film, but that is one of the problems it is a bit too geared towards children. 7/10
11. Les Misérables (2012)
PG-13 | 158 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
Votes: 345,992 | Gross: $148.81M
Half Masterpiece, Half mediocrity. Some Fantastic performances, music and set pieces marred by a few miscast actors and some irratic camera work. 7/10
12. Warm Bodies (2013)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Horror, Romance
After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world.
Director: Jonathan Levine | Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Lio Tipton
Votes: 243,561 | Gross: $66.38M
Clever concept and an original take on an overused genre. A bit sappy for my personal tastes but still a very enjoyable watch from start to finish. 7/10
13. Man of Steel (2013)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An 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.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane
Votes: 811,792 | Gross: $291.05M
Great cinematography, acting and story marred by incoherant storytelling and some poor scripting. A real shame as the potential in this remake was sky high. Too bad the editting was also crappy could have made the film miles better. Instead it comes out somewhere in the middle of the road in terms of superhero films. 7/10
14. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
As the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 272,614 | Gross: $182.21M
Very slow pace and at times too dialogue heavy, but an intriguing and well performed portrait none the less. 7/10
15. Oblivion (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.
Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
Votes: 553,067 | Gross: $89.02M
Some "intelligent questions" are asked but never answered. Though the film is entertaining it tries too hard to be smarter than it is. 7/10
16. The Heat (I) (2013)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
An uptight FBI Special Agent is paired with a foul-mouthed Boston cop to take down a ruthless drug lord.
Director: Paul Feig | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Michael McDonald, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir
Votes: 181,279 | Gross: $159.58M
Some good comedy here and great chemistry. But the laughs don't come till near the end and neither does the story. But generally a decent watch. 6/10
17. The Wolverine (2013)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Sci-Fi
Wolverine comes to Japan to meet an old friend whose life he saved years ago, and gets embroiled in a conspiracy involving yakuza and mutants.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima
Votes: 492,030 | Gross: $132.56M
Not as bad as origins and it has a lot more dramatic wieght. But Wolverine has been overused too much in the series. I'm hoping for less involvement in Days of Future Past. 6/10
18. Elysium (I) (2013)
R | 109 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga
Votes: 471,017 | Gross: $93.05M
So much potential squandered. 6/10
19. Iron Man Three (2013)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
Votes: 899,114 | Gross: $409.01M
Really rather bad film, plot holes the size of craters, bits that don't make sense, action with no purpose. The worst of the trilogy by a long way. 5/10
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