Best Picture of 2013
Runners-up
(SoN = Streaming on Netflix)
B-
# 50 - Oldboy (SoN) - - - - - #49 - The Hunt (SoN)
B
# 50 - Oldboy (SoN) - - - - - #49 - The Hunt (SoN)
B
#48 Lovelace (SoN) - - - - - #47 - Her
#46 - Escape from Tomorrow (SoN) - - - - - #45 - This Is the End
#44 - Prisoners - - - - - #43 - The Place Beyond the Pines
#42 - White House Down - - - - - #41 - Iron Man 3
#40 - The Way Way Back - - - - - #39 - Closed Circuit
#38 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - - - - - #37 - The Past
#36 - All Is Lost (SoN) - - - - - #35 - The Summit (SoN)
#34 - Much Ado About Nothing (SoN) - - - - - #33 - August: Osage County
#32 - Blood (SoN) - - - - - #31 - 20 Feet from Stardom (SoN)
#30 - Philomena - - - - - #29 - Blue Is the Warmest Color (SoN)
#28 - Black Rock (SoN) - - - - - #27 - Side Effects (SoN)
#26 - Unfinished Song (SoN) - - - - - #25 - Simon Killer (SoN)
#24 - We're the Millers
B+
#23 - Before Midnight
B+
#23 - Before Midnight
#22 - Fruitvale Station - - - - - #21 - Wish You Were Here (SoN)
And the Top Twenty are...
#20 - In a World... - B+
Written, directed by, and starring Lake Bell, In a World... is a pleasant little indie comedy with some nice performances. It's helped along by the fact that it takes us "behind the scenes" of the voiceover industry -- something we definitely don't get to glimpse on a routine basis.
#19 - Rush - B+
While the film itself story-wise may be a little generic, Ron Howard's direction in Rush is stellar. Nice performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl help make this one better than it probably should be.
#18 - Oblivion - B+
2013 was a great year for science fiction films (at least in my opinion). Oblivion started things off strongly. While reviews talked about how "complicated" it was, I found it smart and nicely acted by Mr. Cruise.
#17 - Evil Dead - B+
Having never made it through the original (which may negate my opinion to all Evil Dead fans), I found this 2013 remake to succeed at keeping me a bit on edge and nervous as its characters bit the dust one by one.
#16 - The Conjuring - B+
Rounding out the one-two punch of horror, The Conjuring manages to scare without any blood and gore. Instead, James Wan crafted an old-school-style ghost tale that succeeds on building tension throughout.
Be sure to click on the "Read More" on the lower left for the remainder of the Best Films of 2013.
#15 - Stoker - B+
A modern day Shadow of a Doubt for all you Hitchcock fans, Stoker is eerie, weird, and full of secrets. With a nice performance by Matthew Goode, director Chan-wook Park tosses in some directorial flourishes that add greatly to the film's aesthetic.
#14 - Byzantium - B+
We've been on vampire overload since Twilight came onto the scene a few years ago, but Byzantium takes us on a different path. Taking place in two different eras -- one current and one in the 1800s -- both tales add dimension to each another and create one of the most interesting vampire flicks I've seen in a long time.
#13 - About Time - B+
#12 - 12 Years a Slave - B+
Richard Curtis created one of the best romantic comedies of the aughts in Love Actually and while About Time doesn't hit that level, it still brought a smile to my face. Followers of the blog know I'm a sucker for a good rom-com and this one puts a sci-fi twist on things. However, at its heart is a lovely romance between two characters who were meant for each other ever since their first "meet-cute."
This one won the Academy Award for Best Picture for a reason -- it's probably the most realistic portrayal of slavery (or at least the most brutal depiction) we've seen on celluloid. It's a very good film, but I found it a bit episodic in nature to really rally behind it which is why it places a bit lower than some might have expected.
#11 - Pacific Rim - B+
This one was just a lot of fun. Pacific Rim doesn't overstay its welcome -- it's the type of film the Transformers franchise wishes it could be. The action scenes were enjoyable and the story was at least a bit unique. I look forward to its sequel.
#10 - Star Trek Into Darkness - B+
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
It's not often that you can say sequels are better than their predecessors, but in the case of Star Trek Into Darkness, I think that's the case. Able to leave behind the origin story of the prior film, this Star Trek is action-packed, yet character-driven, filled with a great ensemble of actors who I wish were given a tiny bit more to do here, to be honest, because of how great they are in their roles.
#9 - Monsters University - B+
How this flick didn't even garner a Best Animated Film nod is beyond me. In a year where animation was a disappointment to me (yes, I'm looking at you, Frozen), Monsters University was the one bright spot. Familiar characters were placed into a new situation so it never felt like a retread, although it certainly paid homage to those college frat-based films of the 80s.
#8 - Blue Jasmine - B+
As someone who found Midnight in Paris a bit overrated, Blue Jasmine is Woody Allen's best film in a long time. Anchored by a great performance by Cate Blanchett, the film has humor, drama, and a great story that's surprisingly relevant in today's world.
#7 - The Wolf of Wall Street - B+
No one was more surprised than me that I loved The Wolf of Wall Street -- Martin Scorsese's salacious nearly three-hour opus about a incredibly rich crook who gets richer thanks to some shady stock dealings. Leonardo DiCaprio gives the performance of the year as the title character.
#6 - Nebraska - A-
A piece of Americana that doesn't poke fun -- sort of -- at Middle America like most flicks focusing on that area of the country are wont to do.
#5 - The Spectacular Now - A-
#4 - Enough Said - A-
Teenage coming-of-age pics are a tough sell because they oftentimes come off as too soft or too hard. The Spectacular Now gives us teens who seem real and natural which isn't easy to accomplish.
Yep -- the rom-com sucker in me loved this one. I recently watched it again and it holds up so gosh darn well. The chemistry between Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini is just fantastic. I can't recommend this little gem highly enough.
#3 - Saving Mr. Banks - A-
I'm a Disney fan. I can't hide it. So perhaps you should take my review of this with a grain of salt. However, I found the story behind the creation of the Walt Disney picture Mary Poppins a real treat. Add into that a surprisingly touching backstory that explains how the crotchety and reserved P.L. Travers got to be so crotchety and reserved and the film is a winner.
#2 - Short Term 12 - A
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
I complained at the beginning of this post that there weren't enough "little films that could" in 2013 -- Short Term 12 is the exception. A lovely tale about trading in a difficult past for a hopeful future, I loved everything about it. And it's streaming on Netflix, so there's no excuse not to watch.
#1 - Gravity - A
This was my most anticipated film of 2013 and I was so worried when I watched it that I was going to hate it. That didn't happen in the slightest. Instead, I fell in love with what director Alfonso Cuarón brought to the screen. Not only was fantastic technical wizardry on display, but this is a big budget affair that places a focus on story as well -- a will to survive, a desire for companionship, and, much like the #2 movie above, a need to move forward with one's life. It's just magnificent.
Previous RyMickey Award Winners
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