With Hollywood's award season now full on and everyone with
their list of top movies I thought I would chime in. Mrs. Shopaholic and I have made a concerted
effort the last two months to catch up on movies and have been impressed by
many. Based on what we have seen I compiled
my top 5 favorites of 2013 and a few honorable mentions to boot. Sticking to
my policy of "No Spoilers," as why ruin a good thing.
#1 Gravity:
Gravity (Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller) - This movie is visually stunning! It has to be seen in IMAX 3D and if you can
remember back to the wow factor of seeing Avatar in 3D; this movie takes it to
the next level. Director Alfonso Cuaron
and his son took a real NASA concern and turned it into a marvelous thriller. The combination of the sound effects, musical
score and the brilliant animation/cinematography puts this movie heads above
the rest. It is not Sandra Bullock's
acting that makes this best picture in my mind, it is everything else.
Astrophysicist
Neil Degrasse Tyson may have exposed all the inaccuracies, but he also said
that they got the majority right. Remember their is no sound in space.
This
was the best movie I saw in theaters in 2013 and I would not wait for it come
on home video. (My IMDB vote 9/10)
#2 Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club (Drama/Biography) - Matthew McConaughey
was brilliant in this movie and this was the best acting performance male or
female that I have seen in 2013. The
movie tells the story of Texas electrician/hustler Ron Woodruff who gets
diagnosed in 1985 with AIDS and how he works around the system to get the AIDS
medication he needs for himself and others. One of the others includes Jared Leto who plays
a emaciated Drag Queen and his movie return after a 5 year absence from acting.
Both actors lost significant amount of
weight and look far from their normal charismatic selves.
Matthew McConaughey is nominated for Best
Actor and Jared Leto is nominated for best supporting actor and I would not be
surprised if they both take home an Oscar. The movie also features performances from Jennifer Garner, Steve Zahn and Denis O'Hare. (My IMDB vote 9/10)
#3 Rush
Rush (Action/Drama/Biography) -
This movie dramatizes the rivarly of top 1970's Formula One Drivers
Austrian Niki Lauda and Englishman James Hunt.
This movie takes place in era when 1 in 4 race car drivers died on the
track and prior to the many safety improvements of the 80's. This movie shows two large personalities with
very different approaches to racing, one James Hunt is an aggressive risk taker
and the other Niki Lauda a perfectionist and scientist. These two personalities are played well by
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Spanish actor Daniel Bruhl
(Inglourious Basterds) who both have convincing accents. This movie combines good car action
sequences, character development, drama and thrilling moments. This movie also provides another glimpse into
the 1970's like American Hustle with the fashion and hairstyles. Ron Howard did a great job directing and
bringing this story to life. (My IMDB vote 9/10)
#4 12 Years a Slave
12 Years A Slave - (Drama/Biography) - After last year's excessive Django Unchained someone needed to show the reallity of slavery during the antebellum. This tells the story as written by Solomon Northrup a free black man from upstate New York who was tricked and kidnapped into a life of slavery. Actor Chiwetel Eijofor gives a brilliant performance as the lead character and brings this story to dramatic life. Overall the cast delivers exceptional performances including by Michael Fassbender (a slave master), Lupita Nyong'o (slave woman) and Paul Dano (plantation supervisor). Also, look out for other notable actors including Michael K. Williams (aka Old Omar from the Wire), Dwight Henry (Southern Beasts of the Wild), Taran Killam (Saturday Night Live), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes), Paul Giamatti (John Adams) and Brad Pitt. The latter who helped produce this movie.
English director Steve McQueen deserves great praise for making a movie on such a difficult subject and getting such great performances out of the cast. This was his third feature movie and it leads the Oscars with 9 nominations. I doubt Steve McQueen will win the Oscar as I suspect Alfonso Cuaron will win for Gravity. But, I certainly look forward to seeing his future movies. Similarly, Chiwetel Eijofor was brilliant, but Matthew McConauhey in my mind was just a little more impressive in Dallas Buyers Club. (My IMDB vote 9/10)
#5 The Way, Way Back
The Way, Way Back (Comedy/Drama) - This is a funny strange comedy that tells the story of shy 14 year-old Duncan who goes on summer vacation with his mother (Toni Collete) and her boyfriend (Steve Carell). However, Steve Carell is not the source of comedy, but the source of dramatic friction. What makes this movie truly enjoyable is Duncan's friendship with the local owner of Water Wizz water park (Sam Rockwell) and the ensuing shenanigans. This movie was written and directed by Jim Rash (aka Dean Pelton on Community) and Nat Faxon (screenplay writer of the Descendants). They both have small roles in the movie along with Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet. Allison Janney has particular memorable scenes as the annoying next door neighbor that demonstrates to Duncan he can have a far worse of a mother.
The title is taken from a colloquialism for the rear seat of a station wagon and initially the movie was suppose to take place in the 70's but because of budgetary constraints takes place in present day. This movie was my favorite comedy of 2013 (you can't always watch dramas) and was far better than The Internship, Identity Thief, The Heat, Admission, We're the Millers, and This is the End. Note: I have not seen Anchorman: The Legend Continues (My IMDB vote 8/10)
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