The Top 10 Movies of 2013

#10

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

Spearie winner for Best Song (Stay Alive)

Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a film that will leave you feeling very happy when you leave the theater. As great as an important dramatic film is, the initial purposes of film were as a form of storytelling and entertainment, both of which are more than capably filled out by Walter Mitty. Easily Stiller's most accomplished turn as a director, Walter Mitty features beautiful images, strong emotion and a sense of adventure without ever getting too dark. It's a great film to see if you need a pick-me-up, or just want a fun time at the movies.

#9

ALL IS LOST

Spearie winner for Best Sound Editing

Runner up for Best Original Score and Best Sound Mixing

Nominated for Best Actor (Robert Redford) and Best Song (Amen)

All is Lost in some ways serves as a counterpoint to this years Gravity. Both are films about people being forced to survive through incredibly difficult circumstances using nothing more than their own resourcefulness. Aside from that, however, they are opposites. All is Lost is minimalistic versus the more Hollywoodized Gravity, mute where Gravity is talkative, and counterpoints Gravity's emotional and visceral experience with a more contemplative one. It's a film that many people simply will not enjoy, but it is a gutsy film, and one that is not easily forgettable, least of all due to Redford's performance and the brilliant sound design. It may not be the best film of the year, but it is easily one of the bravest. 

#8

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

Spearie runner up for Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Jared Leto) and Best Original Screenplay

Though a very traditional biopic at first glance, Dallas Buyers Club manages to push itself ahead through its strong story and wonderful characters. McConaughey especially is excellent as the HIV afflicted redneck Ron Woodruff, and he leads a similarly excellent cast which also includes the brave Jared Leto as Woodruff's transvestite business partner. It's a story about survival and living and standing up for what you feel is right, all while taking its main character on a journey that turns him into a better person. A very classical film, but also a great one.

#7

PACIFIC RIM

 Spearie winner for Best Action Sequence (Hong Kong Rumble)

Runner up for Best Sound Editing

Nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects

Far from a perfect film, Pacific Rim probably has the most issues that can be pointed out of any film in the top 10. However, it counteracts this by simply being the most entertaining film of the year. Better than any other monster movie before it, Pacific Rim's excellent visual effects and cinematography really sell the scale of the film. The action sequences feel more like battles between Titans than visual effects trickery. Sure it is a simple story with simple characters, but it is perhaps the most enjoyable two hours I spent in a movie theater all year, and in the end that counteracts all else.

#6

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Spearie runner up for Best Film Editing

Nominated for Best Director (Paul Greengrass), Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Supporting Actor (Barkhad Abdi), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design and Best Sound Editing.

Paul Greengrass once again shows that he is one of the strongest filmmakers alive when it comes to the thriller genre. Telling the true story of the Maersk ship captain who was kidnapped by Somali Pirates, Greengrass fills the story with an ever increasing sense of tension and danger. He is aided in this task by very strong performances from Tom Hanks as the titular Phillips and Barkhad Abdi as the sympathetic leader of the pirate group that kidnaps him. Though its veracity is a bit suspect (the film is based on an autobiography by the captain, and as such is likely biased) it is still a great and solid thriller.

#5
THE WAY WAY BACK

Spearie runner up for Best Ensemble Cast and Best Original Screenplay
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sam Rockwell) and Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette)

In a market saturated with coming of age films in all varieties, The Way Way Back sets itself apart through the strength of its characters and the relate-ability of its story. Following a teenager named Duncan on one very unwelcome summer vacation, the screenplay, written by directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, creates a believable world for Duncan to exist in and interact with, filled with funny and fully realized characters. The standout is Sam Rockwell as the lazy manager of a water park which Duncan finds refuge in. Though mostly a comedy, the film is unafraid to veer into more dramatic territory, especially when dealing with the overbearing boyfriend of Duncan's mother, played by Steve Carell in a great against-type role. The cast all delivers in this heartworming tale and allows it to stand out against the competition.

#4
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Spearie Winner for Best Original Screenplay
Runner Up for Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling)
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Derek Cianfrance), Best Ensemble Cast, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography

Along with All is Lost, The Place Beyond the Pines stands in for the bravest films 2013 had to offer. This ambitious film uses a unique structure which many people may find hard to follow. At some points, the film even feels like it is going off on a tangent. It is a huge credit to the screenplay, then, that everything finds a way to reconnect by the end of the film. A true ensemble film, nearly the entire cast delivers strong performances in this super-serious film, and every action has tangible and permanent consequences. This is all more than enough to make up for any flaws the film has.

#3
GRAVITY

Spearie Winner for Best Actress (Sandra Bullock), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing
Runner up for Best Director and Best Visual Effects
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Action Sequence (ISS Escape)

Though far from the best script of the year, Gravity had me stuck in my seat, face forward at attention for its entire running time. The brilliant visuals and sound design create a world that sucks you in and never lets go. This film marks the rare occasion where I actually forgot I was watching a movie. Alfonso Cuaron's vision was fully and effectively realized, creating the greatest thrill ride of the year.

#2
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

Spearie Winner for Best Film Editing
Runner up for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated for Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Ensemble Cast, Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Best Supporting Actress (Margot Robbie)

Well that screenshot pretty much sums up the insanity that is The Wolf of Wall Street. This is a film that, from the very first moment, says "Fuck You" to all good taste and never looks back. It is also one of the most consistantly entertaining films of the year despite its 3 hour run time. Thanks very largely to Thelma Schoonmaker's perfect editing, Wolf keeps a steady pace of jokes and crazy situations up so that the audience never gets bored. Many people have questioned whether or not it is right to find entertainment in such bad behavior, but truly if you've ever enjoyed an action film or a movie where anything bad happened you have experienced the same thing, and though it is occasionally tough to decipher what is a joke and what is not, it is certainly a film that nobody will forget.

#1
12 YEARS A SLAVE

Spearie Winner for Best Picture, Best Director (Steve McQueen), Best Ensemble Cast, Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender), Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o) and Best Adapted Screenplay
Runner up for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Sarah Paulson), Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design

This wasn't really a tough competition. 12 Years a Slave is far and away the most emotional and powerful film of 2013. Though it may feel like Oscar-bait, once you see the film you will see another side of the story. This is a very realistic and minimalistic film, with director Steve McQueen's more artistic style shining through and keeping the film from becoming melodramatic. The film trusts its audience to know how bad slavery is, and so it does not try to shove it down the audience's throat, but instead to deliver a realistic view of what slavery was like. The cast is universally excellent, especially Ejiofor's understated lead turn as a free man who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. It is a powerful film that everybody needs to see, and easily the greatest film of the year.

Honorable Mentions:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Great and fun, but doesn't quite feel like a full movie) Fruitvale Station (wonderful performances and story, but even at 90 mins the film feels a bit padded) The World's End (wonderfully entertaining but the least funny of the cornetto trilogy) Prisoners (One terrible scene where it counts really brings the film down) American Hustle (Great when it gets going, but it does take a while to get to that point)

THE BOTTOM 3

#3

THE GREAT GATSBY

Spearie Nominee for Best Original Song (Young and Beautiful) and Best Costume Design

The choice of Baz Luhrmann as director of The Great Gatsby was a good choice for the party scenes, and a bad choice for almost every other moment of the film. While Luhrmann kept the energy up for the parties, he kept the same style throughout the rest of the film, and it simply did not fit. A perfect example of missing the point of the source material, Fitzgerald's commentary and brilliant story were turned into little more than an excuse for Luhrmann to go to the worst of his excesses. The costumes were pretty though.

#2

ONLY GOD FORGIVES

There's a pattern with the worst films of the year being cases of directors not reigning themselves in. A stylish director is a good thing, a director who makes a movie solely about his style is an indulgent and terrible thing. Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive was the best film of 2011 because it meshed his unique style with an accessible and interesting story. Only God Forgives, however, is about how minimalistic and artistic Nicolas Winding Refn can make a movie, and that on its own is simply not interesting.

#1

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2

Ask yourself, is the image above terrifying, or cheesy. It's telling that the moments of intentional comedy are the only moments in Insidious: Chapter 2 that ever achieve their purpose. They are easily outdone, however, by the hilarity of the films attempted scares, which are so over the top that there is almost no way to find them even remotely scary. I actually quite enjoyed the first Insidious, but Chapter 2 is simply too poorly written and made in every regards to even remotely function as a passable horror film. Ameteurism from an otherwise accomplished filmmaker, Insidious: Chapter 2 is an example of how laziness in filmmaking simply cannot make a strong film.