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22.1.14

best of '13

This is my 10th year doing my "best of the year" post and in celebration of that I saw 60 movies released in 2013, the most I've ever watched in a year.

This is a simple list. I'm not the Academy, nor am I the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. I am but a man who enjoys watching movies. I'm still not sure if this is a "favourites" or a "best" list, but I would say it's somewhere in between, which is why I provide explanations. 

I rate every movie I see out of 5. I'm not sure how relevant this is. I may change my rating system next year. 

Here is my criteria for 
  1. I need to have watched the entire movie.
    (I fell asleep during The Comedy)
  2. The movie needed to be released in theatres (or on demand) during the 2013 calendar year.

Total Movies Seen: 60
(58 in '12, 44 in '11, 57 in '10, 43 in '09, 40 in '08, 32 in '07, 55 in '06 and 53 in '05)

# of Movies I Gave 5/5; 19


Notable Movies Not Seen; 

  • Dallas Buyers Club
  • Philomena
  • August: Osage County
  • The Butler
  • Captain Phillips
  • The Butler
My 10 best movies of 2013;

10. The Place Beyond The Pines
9. 12 Years A Slave

8. Gravity
7. The Spectacular Now
6. The Wolf of Wall Street
5. Upstream Color
4. Her
3. Short Term 12
2. The Dirties
1. Before Midnight


Honourable Mention (a.k.a. Movies I loved, but didn't make the Top 10)

Star Trek Into Darkness
Man of Steel
The World's End
Don Jon
Rush
Fruitvale Station
Drinking Buddies

American Hustle
List Overview
Let's start from the bottom, like Drake

The Place Beyond the Pines was such an underrated movie. It's final act is so divisive that it took me a few weeks to come around to the movie. The movie doesn't really have any heroes, but it feels very honest and deals with what we're willing to do for family. 

12 Years A Slave was just a very good film. The actors were on point, along with the costumes, settings and everything else. It was just too perfect for me. A technical achievement across the board, it's a great movie.

Gravity didn't even feel like a movie to me. The movie is just an experience. It was arguably the most engaging movie I've ever seen in theatres. It's not really about the acting or the plot at all, it was just a treat to watch. 

The Spectacular Now is a coming-of-age film about a boy finishing high-school. He's basically an alcoholic, and he's really popular, but he's growing up and dealing with issues. I've always liked these types of movies, but this one could be my favourite of all time. It seemed very realistic for this type of movie. The acting and cinematography had a big part of that. 

The Wolf of Wall Street was insane. It was like a roller-coaster ride. A 3-hour roller coaster ride. I would vote for Leonardo DiCaprio if I could vote for Best Actor. 

Upstream Color was a trip. A love story at heart, it deals with being connected in the emotional sense of the world. . This was the most original movie I've seen in a long time. 

Her was lovely. The setting was perfect, the acting was perfect and it felt like an honest representation of what could come to be with technology and love. Aside from falling in love with an OS, it feels like an honest representation of what men want in relationships and love. Amy Adams was really good in this, also.

Short Term 12 deals with some serious issues, but also has comedic moments. While you're watching this movie, I think you get a real sense of the day-to-day issues inside of this group home. It's extremely, extremely, extremely well acted movie for a group of young actors. 

The Dirties was disturbingly realistic, dealing with the disturbingly realistic subject of school shootings. This is a must see by anyone. It just feels too real. It's also a Canadian flick. It's like a movie inside of a movie. 

Before Midnight is as realistic as they come. If you're not familiar with this trilogy of movies, educate yourself. If you think two people talking for 90 minutes is boring, well, you're probably right, but this feels so authentic. The issues are real, the tension is real and I've never felt such an insightful perspective into relationships. It's a beautiful movie. 

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Biggest Surprise; The Dirties (check the trailer here >> )
I watched this movie on a whim, but it blew my socks off. 


Check here for the full list of movies I saw in 2013 >> 

Thanks for reading!

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