I'm not much of a critic and to be honest I didn't see that many movies in 2013. Only 9 and most of those were superhero films. What are everyone's favorites for 2013?
In no particular order...
1. Iron Man 3. As pure entertainment this was a great movie. But looking at the series as a whole it was the weakest of the 3 movies. It was too long and tried to do too much despite being long. Unlike many people, I loved the twist and understand why it was necessary.
2. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. I never read The Hobbit or LoTR so what I know of the series I gleaned from the movies. As a person who has been severely disappointed by book to movie adaptations before I can relate to disgruntled fans but at the same time recognize that some things wouldn't translate well to the visual medium of films.
3. Thor: The Dark World. Just more fun and better in every way than the original. Chris Hemsworth's performance as Thor has improved a lot and is much more organic this time around and Tom Hiddleston's Loki is both subtle and sublime.
4. Pacific Rim. I missed the days of summer blockbuster event films and Pacific Rim brought me back to the early to mid 90's. The kaiju/jaegar battles are spectacular and my inner otaku squee'd with delight through the whole thing.
5. World War Z. I'm not a big fan of the zombie apocalypse genre but I really enjoyed the World War Z book. It was well written and danced the line between plausible and unbelievable swimmingly. The film borrows the name and almost nothing else. Film adaptations are supposed to be able to be understood by those who have never read the source material and it succeeds in that. I just never felt anything for the characters at all and I think its because despite all the globetrotting and assists to people of color it was still just a story about a group of middle class White Americans who had connections and thus were spared the worst of the zombie onslaught. The book was amazing because it was narrated from several different global perspectives and you rose and fell with them through their triumphs and challenges. There was almost no risk to anyone at all in the movie except Gerry(Brad Pitt), who always comes out on top somehow.
The other movies were:
The Wolverine
Man of Steel
Hansel and Gretal: Witch Hunters
Oblivion
I'd still like to see Her, the last Miyazaki film, and 12 Years A Slave.
It was a REALLY disappointing year for cinema overall, but my top 5 in no particular order
1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) American Hustle
4-5) Mud/Dallas Buyers Club/Captain Phillips
Havent seen Wolf of Wall Street. Ive heard good things, but Ive also heard its a glorified softcore porn so I'll wait until its on HBO
How in the world is one of the most competitive and unpredictable awards seasons in years a "REALLY disappointing year for cinema"? I'm just going to c/p my list from the other thread.
In no particular order:
Dallas Buyers Club
Mud
Fruitvale Station
Blue Jasmine
Spring Breakers
American Hustle
Wolf of Wall Street
The Act of Killing
Stories We Tell
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Hunt
The Past
Broken Circle Breakdown
Upstream Color
Gravity
All is Lost
12 Years a Slave
Computer Chess
Drug War
The Grandmaster (Chinese cut)
Post Tenebras Lux
Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?
Dirty Wars
Frances Ha
Enough Said
Rush
Prisoners
Nebraska
Philomena
Inside Llewyn Davis
Her
Laurence Anyways
Short Term 12
Before Midnight
The Spectacular Now
A Touch of Sin
Ilo Ilo
The Great Beauty
Wadjda
Frozen
At Berkeley
Leviathan
Cutie and the Boxer
The Square
Captain Phillips
Like Father, Like Son
A Hijacking
How in the world is one of the most competitive and unpredictable awards seasons in years a "REALLY disappointing year for cinema"?
Because I said it was disappointing from my vantage point? I could argue its more competitive/unpredictable because the pool is far more mediocre than some years (and imo, its Gravity and 12 Years a Slave and then everything else in terms of likely winner of the Oscar for best movie). That said, many of those you listed are "select theater only" releases, no? I was referring more to "mainstream" releases. When you look at last year's top films (Sliver Linings Playbook, Argo, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django, Les Miserables, Amour, The Master), this year more closely resembles 2008 (Slumdog Millionaire, Frost Nixon, Curios Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, The Reader) or 2011 (The Artist, Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Tree of Life, War Horse) than last year. So yes, I stand by my opinion that this was a down year overall.
Why judge the quality of a year in cinema based entirely upon mainstream releases?
I'd also like to state that the best picture race is a lot more competitive then you are giving it credit for, given what awards have already been handed out, and critic top ten lists, Inside Llewyn Davis and Her are heavy contenders for best picture as well.
Why judge the quality of a year in cinema based entirely upon mainstream releases?
I'd also like to state that the best picture race is a lot more competitive then you are giving it credit for, given what awards have already been handed out, and critic top ten lists, Inside Llewyn Davis and Her are heavy contenders for best picture as well.
Not every film is readily available to the masses. And while there are certainly lesser known gems out there, this was by and large a year of subpar popcorn flicks (which sadly are being produced with more frequency). I still disagree in regard to the overall race for best movie. The two I mentioned are more or less locks for a nomination, while any number of others could be in as easily as they could be left out
Not every film is readily available to the masses. And while there are certainly lesser known gems out there, this was by and large a year of subpar popcorn flicks (which sadly are being produced with more frequency). I still disagree in regard to the overall race for best movie. The two I mentioned are more or less locks for a nomination, while any number of others could be in as easily as they could be left out
All of the films I listed are either out/or will be out on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital, that to me means they are readily available to the masses. I agree that the two you mentioned are locks for a nomination, as there are ten slots and 12 Years a Slave as well as Gravity are certainly two of the better films this year, but I would be shocked if Inside Llewyn Davis and Her did not get nominations as well.
If you want to talk about subpar films, American Hustle is certainly one of them.
If you want to talk about subpar films, American Hustle is certainly one of them.
A matter of opinion, no different than mine, and entitled to it as am I. I enjoyed it, but it certainly isnt on par with say 12 Years a Slave. American Hustle will be this years Silver Linings Playbook or Avatar (both good movies, but nowhere near as good as the hype would lead you to believe).
You misunderstand. Im was referring to availibility in theaters when released
A matter of opinion, no different than mine, and entitled to it as am I. I enjoyed it, but it certainly isnt on par with say 12 Years a Slave. American Hustle will be this years Silver Linings Playbook or Avatar (both good movies, but nowhere near as good as the hype would lead you to believe).
Not to get off topic, but Silver Linings Playbook was incredible. To put it in the same category as Avatar of American Hustle is insulting.
As for my Top 3 (so far)
1) Gravity:
I left that movie almost out of breath. The visuals were amazing, Bullock was awesome, and the action thrilling. The movie was scientifically accurate but if I wanted to see a documentary on space I would watch just that. The whole "rebirth" story was subtle but still existent.
Let go don't let go
2) Pacific Rim:
This movie even on my fourth and fifth watch still gets me pumped up. A good classic summer action movie with beautiful visuals and amazing action shots. The acting was... meh and the story was... even more meh. But I wasn't there to watch an academy award winning film. I was there to watch ROBOTS BEAT ON ALIENS!
3) Upstream Color
Maybe I am just a sucker for psychological dramas but like Primer this movie just gripped me and kept me interested and enticed the whole time.
I haven't seen 12 Years A Slave, Her, or The Wolf of Wall Street, but from what I have read all three of those movies could be on my list above.
I have seen American Hustle and I thought the movie was good but I pray it doesn't make my Top 5 after I see the above three movies.
Not to get off topic, but Silver Linings Playbook was incredible. To put it in the same category as Avatar of American Hustle is insulting.
All a matter of opinion. It was a good movie. I enjoyed it. I added it to my Blu Ray collection. But I did not think it was as good as it was hyped to be then (or now).
I dont get all the love Pacific Rim is getting. Everything I hate about the popcorn state of Hollywood cinema all rolled up in to one movie. And yes, I get that this is a MTG site and that aliens and robots cater to the most common denominator, but they do ABSOULTELY nothing for me.
With the exception of one particular scene i found that Pacific Rim to be well... what i wanted at this stage of my life, i wanted something that i could connect to (so yeah all those little things that are based on the stuff i grew up with), that made me feel the way Bay's Transformer's failed to do during all 3 movies.
All these Hunger games and twilight and warm bodies and all those similar films.... well it just drags on me, hell even elysium i dont like because i felt it was two movies rolled into one.
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1. Gravity, Cuaron, Mexico/US
2. Blue Is the Warmest Color, Kechiche, France
3. 12 Years a Slave, McQueen, UK/US
4. Before Midnight, Linklater, US
5. The Great Beauty, Sorrentino, Italy
6. Like Father, Like Son, Kore-eda, Japan
7, Omar, Abu-Assad, Palestine
8. Upstream Color, Carruth, US
9. A Touch of Sin, Jia, China
10. You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet, Resnais, France
I dont get all the love Pacific Rim is getting. Everything I hate about the popcorn state of Hollywood cinema all rolled up in to one movie. And yes, I get that this is a MTG site and that aliens and robots cater to the most common denominator, but they do ABSOULTELY nothing for me.
I think most of us liked it because Del Toro didn't try to BS any of us in claiming that this was some original innovative idea. He was like "Guys, this movie is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a unoriginal robot vs monster brawlfest"
I think most of us liked it because Del Toro didn't try to BS any of us in claiming that this was some original innovative idea. He was like "Guys, this movie is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a unoriginal robot vs monster brawlfest"
More or less.
Del Toro promised a movie about giant robots beating up giant monsters.
1) Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2) Hobbit II: Desolation of Smaug
3) Oblivion
4) Gravity
5) Madea... j/k... stopping at 4
Can someone please hold down Tyler Perry down so a couple of Marines with tube socks stuffed with bar soap can beat the mediocracy out of him so he stops making films????
I think most of us liked it because Del Toro didn't try to BS any of us in claiming that this was some original innovative idea. He was like "Guys, this movie is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a unoriginal robot vs monster brawlfest"
Just not my cup of tea. I like my movies the academy award winning variety and my books the "pacific fim" type.
Just not my cup of tea. I like my movies the academy award winning variety and my books the "pacific fim" type.
Nothing wrong with that =D
I like my books the Pulitzer winning type and movies to whatever I'm in the mood for at the moment.
But I would be really puzzled as to why people might put Pacific Rim as a bad movie. Just because the plot is pedestrian and the story-line seems childish doesn't mean that it's a bad movie. Del Toro is a great director, and the direction of the film itself clearly shows this.
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In no particular order...
1. Iron Man 3. As pure entertainment this was a great movie. But looking at the series as a whole it was the weakest of the 3 movies. It was too long and tried to do too much despite being long. Unlike many people, I loved the twist and understand why it was necessary.
2. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. I never read The Hobbit or LoTR so what I know of the series I gleaned from the movies. As a person who has been severely disappointed by book to movie adaptations before I can relate to disgruntled fans but at the same time recognize that some things wouldn't translate well to the visual medium of films.
3. Thor: The Dark World. Just more fun and better in every way than the original. Chris Hemsworth's performance as Thor has improved a lot and is much more organic this time around and Tom Hiddleston's Loki is both subtle and sublime.
4. Pacific Rim. I missed the days of summer blockbuster event films and Pacific Rim brought me back to the early to mid 90's. The kaiju/jaegar battles are spectacular and my inner otaku squee'd with delight through the whole thing.
5. World War Z. I'm not a big fan of the zombie apocalypse genre but I really enjoyed the World War Z book. It was well written and danced the line between plausible and unbelievable swimmingly. The film borrows the name and almost nothing else. Film adaptations are supposed to be able to be understood by those who have never read the source material and it succeeds in that. I just never felt anything for the characters at all and I think its because despite all the globetrotting and assists to people of color it was still just a story about a group of middle class White Americans who had connections and thus were spared the worst of the zombie onslaught. The book was amazing because it was narrated from several different global perspectives and you rose and fell with them through their triumphs and challenges. There was almost no risk to anyone at all in the movie except Gerry(Brad Pitt), who always comes out on top somehow.
The other movies were:
The Wolverine
Man of Steel
Hansel and Gretal: Witch Hunters
Oblivion
I'd still like to see Her, the last Miyazaki film, and 12 Years A Slave.
1) 12 Years a Slave
2) Gravity
3) American Hustle
4-5) Mud/Dallas Buyers Club/Captain Phillips
Havent seen Wolf of Wall Street. Ive heard good things, but Ive also heard its a glorified softcore porn so I'll wait until its on HBO
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Mud
Pacific Rim
Iron Man 3
Maybe Thor: The Dark World
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There are a number of movies I have a bit of interest in though, like 12 Years a Slave, The Hunt, A Hijacking and Nebraska
1. Frozen
2. Pacific Rim
3. Iron Man 3
4. Thor: The Dark World
5. Gravity
Note: My selection is based mostly on movies i could take my kids to watch (excepting Gravity), and that i came out overall still enjoying/loving.
Frozen gets first spot becuase my kids are STILL wanting to rewatch it, and they saw it on cinemas like 4-5 times due to family.
I need to find a Blueray or 'something' equivalent soon.
Oh I forgot about Frozen, I guess I will have to remove Thor from my list and Let it Go. ahahaha
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How in the world is one of the most competitive and unpredictable awards seasons in years a "REALLY disappointing year for cinema"? I'm just going to c/p my list from the other thread.
In no particular order:
Dallas Buyers Club
Mud
Fruitvale Station
Blue Jasmine
Spring Breakers
American Hustle
Wolf of Wall Street
The Act of Killing
Stories We Tell
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Hunt
The Past
Broken Circle Breakdown
Upstream Color
Gravity
All is Lost
12 Years a Slave
Computer Chess
Drug War
The Grandmaster (Chinese cut)
Post Tenebras Lux
Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?
Dirty Wars
Frances Ha
Enough Said
Rush
Prisoners
Nebraska
Philomena
Inside Llewyn Davis
Her
Laurence Anyways
Short Term 12
Before Midnight
The Spectacular Now
A Touch of Sin
Ilo Ilo
The Great Beauty
Wadjda
Frozen
At Berkeley
Leviathan
Cutie and the Boxer
The Square
Captain Phillips
Like Father, Like Son
A Hijacking
Because I said it was disappointing from my vantage point? I could argue its more competitive/unpredictable because the pool is far more mediocre than some years (and imo, its Gravity and 12 Years a Slave and then everything else in terms of likely winner of the Oscar for best movie). That said, many of those you listed are "select theater only" releases, no? I was referring more to "mainstream" releases. When you look at last year's top films (Sliver Linings Playbook, Argo, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django, Les Miserables, Amour, The Master), this year more closely resembles 2008 (Slumdog Millionaire, Frost Nixon, Curios Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, The Reader) or 2011 (The Artist, Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Tree of Life, War Horse) than last year. So yes, I stand by my opinion that this was a down year overall.
I'd also like to state that the best picture race is a lot more competitive then you are giving it credit for, given what awards have already been handed out, and critic top ten lists, Inside Llewyn Davis and Her are heavy contenders for best picture as well.
Not every film is readily available to the masses. And while there are certainly lesser known gems out there, this was by and large a year of subpar popcorn flicks (which sadly are being produced with more frequency). I still disagree in regard to the overall race for best movie. The two I mentioned are more or less locks for a nomination, while any number of others could be in as easily as they could be left out
All of the films I listed are either out/or will be out on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital, that to me means they are readily available to the masses. I agree that the two you mentioned are locks for a nomination, as there are ten slots and 12 Years a Slave as well as Gravity are certainly two of the better films this year, but I would be shocked if Inside Llewyn Davis and Her did not get nominations as well.
If you want to talk about subpar films, American Hustle is certainly one of them.
A matter of opinion, no different than mine, and entitled to it as am I. I enjoyed it, but it certainly isnt on par with say 12 Years a Slave. American Hustle will be this years Silver Linings Playbook or Avatar (both good movies, but nowhere near as good as the hype would lead you to believe).
Pacific Rim (A new Kaiju film!)
The Heat
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Gravity
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
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Not to get off topic, but Silver Linings Playbook was incredible. To put it in the same category as Avatar of American Hustle is insulting.
As for my Top 3 (so far)
1) Gravity:
I left that movie almost out of breath. The visuals were amazing, Bullock was awesome, and the action thrilling. The movie was scientifically accurate but if I wanted to see a documentary on space I would watch just that. The whole "rebirth" story was subtle but still existent.
Let go don't let go
2) Pacific Rim:
This movie even on my fourth and fifth watch still gets me pumped up. A good classic summer action movie with beautiful visuals and amazing action shots. The acting was... meh and the story was... even more meh. But I wasn't there to watch an academy award winning film. I was there to watch ROBOTS BEAT ON ALIENS!
3) Upstream Color
Maybe I am just a sucker for psychological dramas but like Primer this movie just gripped me and kept me interested and enticed the whole time.
I haven't seen 12 Years A Slave, Her, or The Wolf of Wall Street, but from what I have read all three of those movies could be on my list above.
I have seen American Hustle and I thought the movie was good but I pray it doesn't make my Top 5 after I see the above three movies.
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It's competitive and unpredictable because it was such a dismal year in film.
I dont get all the love Pacific Rim is getting. Everything I hate about the popcorn state of Hollywood cinema all rolled up in to one movie. And yes, I get that this is a MTG site and that aliens and robots cater to the most common denominator, but they do ABSOULTELY nothing for me.
All these Hunger games and twilight and warm bodies and all those similar films.... well it just drags on me, hell even elysium i dont like because i felt it was two movies rolled into one.
1. Gravity, Cuaron, Mexico/US
2. Blue Is the Warmest Color, Kechiche, France
3. 12 Years a Slave, McQueen, UK/US
4. Before Midnight, Linklater, US
5. The Great Beauty, Sorrentino, Italy
6. Like Father, Like Son, Kore-eda, Japan
7, Omar, Abu-Assad, Palestine
8. Upstream Color, Carruth, US
9. A Touch of Sin, Jia, China
10. You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet, Resnais, France
I think most of us liked it because Del Toro didn't try to BS any of us in claiming that this was some original innovative idea. He was like "Guys, this movie is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a unoriginal robot vs monster brawlfest"
More or less.
Del Toro promised a movie about giant robots beating up giant monsters.
He delivered.
1) Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2) Hobbit II: Desolation of Smaug
3) Oblivion
4) Gravity
5) Madea... j/k... stopping at 4
Can someone please hold down Tyler Perry down so a couple of Marines with tube socks stuffed with bar soap can beat the mediocracy out of him so he stops making films????
Just not my cup of tea. I like my movies the academy award winning variety and my books the "pacific fim" type.
Nothing wrong with that =D
I like my books the Pulitzer winning type and movies to whatever I'm in the mood for at the moment.
But I would be really puzzled as to why people might put Pacific Rim as a bad movie. Just because the plot is pedestrian and the story-line seems childish doesn't mean that it's a bad movie. Del Toro is a great director, and the direction of the film itself clearly shows this.