2013 The Year in Film Review: Best Movies

2013, regardless of how it was for you, was a tremendously successful year for the many movie studios that are in operation today.  The box office record that was just recently set last year has been broken again in 2013 thanks large in part to the heavy hitters of cinema:  Disney, Warner Brothers, and Universal studios.  These studios have given us some of the most profitable and memorable movies of the year, and we as film fans are in debt to them; due to the fact that our lives would be much more boring without them.  Despite the numerous number of box office successes, there were inevitably a large amount of proverbial "busts"(Lone Ranger, Runner Runner, Fifth estate).  Todays post I felt was appropriate as today is the last day of a historic 2013, and I wanted to run down my top 5 favorite movies of the year.  This is where many of you will disagree with me, but that is a good thing as the overall subjectivity of cinema is its greatest quality in my opinion.  With that said, here are my 5 favorite movies that came out this year.  Enjoy.

5.  Don Jon

 This pick might be based solely on my fondness of Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL), but for whatever reason I really enjoyed this movie.  If any of you have seen it then you know the subject matter is rather.......graphic?  But if you have not, the plot revolves around JGL trying to find a woman that can basically satisfy him more than his porn can.  The idea is very unique and original, and it really shows throughout the film.  I believe I enjoyed this movie so much because this kind of story arc was rather unprecedented at the time, and showcased a very realistic situation that is probably more relevant in todays society than we realize.  Throw in the fact that JGL also directed this movie goes to show the level of talent that this man has.  He may never get the chance to direct a big blockbuster, but if he gives us a few movies about socially relevant subject matter every couple years; than I would be very satisfied with that.  This film also benefited from the sheer beauty of a miss Scarlett Johansson; which is never a bad thing.  Overall this may not be one of the best "films" of 2013, but it did stick with me well after seeing it due to its great blend of charm, humor, and social commentary; which in turn resulted in one of my favorite movies of 2013.

4.  IronMan 3

This one may have been the hardest decision to make on the entire list.  I only wanted to put one superhero movie on this list in some attempt to keep this fairly diversified.  I LOVE superhero movies, and could easily have put Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World, and The Wolverine in place of IronMan 3, but overall I believe that the spot ultimately belongs to Tony Stark.  Take this into consideration.  IronMan 2 had a production budget around 200 million dollars.  That is pretty average for a superhero movie of this scale nowadays.  IronMan 2 grossed about 620 million dollars at the worldwide box office.  That is a pretty damn good return on your investment if you ask me.  Now IronMan 2 I believe is the weakest of all the marvel movies made to this day, and it grossed A LOT of money.  Likewise, I assume if you have a pulse; that you saw The Avengers in the summer of 2012 which was my favorite movie that year.  That movie made 1.5 billion dollars at the box office.  Wow.  But what The Avengers did for Marvel was more important than just grossing that 1.5 billion dollars.  The Avengers brought in a whole new crop of marvel fans that will pay to see any movie that has that Marvel logo.  Whats my proof?  Well, how about the fact that IronMan 3, which was the first Marvel movie to be released after the Avengers, had the same production budget as IronMan 2 at 200 million dollars.  The difference?  IronMan 3 made 1.2 BILLION dollars at the box office compared to IronMan 2 at 620 million.  Was IronMan 3 a better movie than IronMan 2? Absolutely.  Was it 600 million times better?  Absolutely not.  The Avengers effect is inflating the box office gross of every subsequent Marvel movie whether it be IronMan, Thor, and even the lowly Captain America.  The Movie itself was great based solely off of Robert Downey Jr playing the role he was born for, and that was enough for me to say it was awesome.  The twist in the middle of the movie regarding the Mandarin I was not a big fan of, but I did admire the courage Marvel showed in doing it.  Overall I give IronMan 3 the nod based on its success, and the humor employed by the charismatic RDJ in conjunction with the rest of the cast.

3.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I just did a very extensive review on this movie a couple of days ago, so I won't go too deep on this one, but I will reiterate that I was really impressed by this movie upon seeing it.  The first Hobbit was a bit underwelming to me to some extent.  I liked it, but was expecting the next Return of the King; which was an unfair expectation, but a real one nevertheless.  The Desolation of Smaug was a surprise in that it boasted the BEST action sequence of the year.  That 15 minute or so scene where they are escaping the elves and Orcs in the barrels was absolutely amazing.  I wish I could have seen the smile on my face throughout that whole sequence because I am sure it would have been interesting.  Also it boasted one of the most memorable movie villains in recent history in the form of Smaug himself.  Bennedict Cumberbatch really made that role his own.  Perhaps the thing that led to the Hobbits hype was the way it ended, and that it left that audience wanting another movie at that very moment.  I love when movies do that, and this film is no exception.

2.  12 Years a Slave

Okay.  Its time to get serious.  No movie this year tugged at my emotions quite like this one did.  To me as a film fan, I like different kinds of movies for different reasons at different times.  Sometimes ill go through periods where all I want to watch is comedies, or all I want to watch are fantasy/ sic-fi flicks.  But movies like 12 years a slave will always be a priority for me to watch regardless of what mood I find myself in.  For some, movies are just entertainment.  To others, movies are art.  This film is art.  It depicts the true story of a free black man living with his family in New York about 20 years prior to the civil war.  In short, he is kidnapped and sold into slavery eventually winding up in the deep south.  The dialogue in the movie is superb, and really captures the tone of the time period and the overall feeling towards black people living in that era.  I think the best aspect of the movie is the acting performances.  Chiwetel Ejiofor gives the performance of a lifetime in the leading role and better be nominated for an academy award.  The academy loves films like this, and I believe the director and actors will be rewarded accordingly.  I also believe this might be the best film of the year, but it is not number one on my list because I view best film and favorite film as two entirely different things.  The acting performances from Ejiofor to Michael Fassbender to Paul Dano were all better than the ones in my number one film but I just had too much fun when seeing number one to put 12 years a slave above it.  That said, I think12 years a slave is an excellent film and beautifully depicts the hardships and injustice that plagued our country for hundreds of years.

1.  The Wolf of Wall Street

Oh Leo.  You might be the unluckiest actor in the history of cinema.  Clearly one of the best actors in hollywood today, Leonardo Dicaprio has been nominated for best actor at the academy awards 3 times and has never won.  What a shame.  He is a prime example of how hard it is to win an oscar.  You could be the best actor of the last 10 years, and have consistently knocked it out of the park every time; but if you are not the absolute best any particular year then i'm sorry:  you will not win.  Leo should garner another nomination this year for his portrayal as Jordan Belfort the corrupt stock broker, but I do not think he is going to win unfortunately.  Enough of Leo for now; lets get to the movie.  The initial reviews for Wolf of Wall Street were a bit disappointing considering the people involved.  This scared me because this was the only christmas day release that I actually wanted to see.  So I will admit, my expectations were lowered upon walking in to see the movie.  Boy was I impressed.  From the first scene until the credits started rolling, I was very very entertained.  Wolf of Wall Street to me was the most entertaining movie of 2013, and that is what I look for when determining my favorite movies.  The trailers do make the movie look like it will be funny, but when you see the actual film it is absolutely hilarious!  Totally was not expecting that.  Sure the movie was laced with borderline pornography, but if you want a true interpretation of the story then you would be doing a dis service in not including the graphic material.  The whole point of including the sex scenes, excessive drug use, and profanity is to highlight the realness and severity of the situation that the characters were in.  This movie is NOT for children, NOT for the easily embarrassed, and NOT for the easily offended.  This film is made for the people who want an inside look into the real life situations that the Wall street elite found themselves in on a daily basis.  If you want to clean it up and make it more tasteful; then you will not get the true meaning of the story.  Wolf of Wall Street is a high octane ride that is fast paced and filled with explicit material that only builds up the lavishness that is thrusted upon Belfort; which makes it even more powerful when it is swiftly taken away from him.  Do not be intimidated by the  3 hour length.  It absolutely blows by, and I was totally engaged throughout the entire film.  Was it the best made film of the year? One of the top 5 at least.  Was it my favorite? Yes.....Yes it was.

Honorable Mentions:

- Thor: The Dark World
- American Hustle
- Gravity
- Captain Phillips
-  Man of Steel

Thanks for reading my top 5 movies of 2013!  Let me know what you think, and if you agree or disagree; i'd love to hear your opinions.  Stay tuned, I promise to do the review for Thor very soon; I have just been very busy lately.  I hope you enjoyed todays post, and until next time: have a happy new year!

- Big D