The Best Films of 2013

Luke Miksa's: The Negative Space Bar

2013 was a pretty fantastic year for cinema — as long as you look past onset of blockbuster/superhero fatigue, often ridiculous Australian release schedules for smaller films (aka Stupid Australian Release Schedules), and a strange fascination with the apocalypse arriving a year too late. But I kid; for every annoyance, the medium produces many things to be excited about. I’m keeping this positive!

Let’s get down to it:

Missing the cut: The Wolverine, The Way Way Back, Side Effects, The Kings of Summer

I havn’t seen these (mainly due to Stupid Australian Release Schedules) but I’d probably dig them: The Wolf of Wall Street, Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years a Slave, Short Term 12

Cloud Atlas was released in Australia in 2013 (Stupid Australian Release Schedules), but for the sake of this list it will be treated as a 2012 film.

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10. Captain Phillips

The second-most intense film of the year (number one is below), which is made more so due to the fact that the incredible events depicted in Captain Phillips actually happened (sans the Hollywood artistic license). Tom Hanks knocks this role out of the water with an incredibly strong showing, and his performance in the final scenes left me in shocked silence for a while. Director Paul Greengrass knocked this one up a notch, even with his visceral, shaky-shaky handheld style (which I’m generally not a fan of).

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This Week in Trailers: Carrie, Elysium, The Great Gatsby, Rush

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Elysium – Trailer

2013 will be a bumper year for science fiction and the two that have me psyched are the two most original concepts: Guillermo del Toro’s giant-robot/kaiju slugfest Pacific Rim and Neill Blomkamp‘s directorial follow up to the highly acclaimed District 9, Elysium.

Blomkamp will — much like District 9 — load Elysium with sociopolitical commentary, which I always welcome. Films with a message, whether you agree with them or not, at least prompt discussion and are more likely to have a longer shelf life than films without a strong message (which is why science fiction films from the 1970’s and 80’s leave a lasting cultural impression, unlike a majority of today’s product).

Elysium stars Matt Damon and co-stars Jodie Foster, William Fitchner, Alice Braga, and Blomkamp staple Sharlto Copley; Damon and Copley both sporting striking and unique visual looks. It opens in Australia on 15 August, and I can’t wait.

via Yahoo!

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Carrie – Trailer

After the rather nifty teaser which dropped late last year, we’ve seen a series of posters for Carrie — based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel — featuring the titular heroine (Chloë Grace Moretz, following in the blood-drenched footsteps of Sissy Spacek); and now finally, a full theatrical trailer which… feels like déjà vu.

There is nothing on display which was not present in Brian De Palma’s original adaptation (or other adaptations to follow); which is clear because this trailer takes us through nearly the entire plot of the movie. Was this due to the marketing execs understanding that a large percentage of the population is already familiar with this story, or is it just a bad, spoiler-filled trailer?

Either way, this boasts all the hallmarks of an unnecessary remake — an odd choice for director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry, Stop-Loss), but I am a Stephen King fan and films based on his novels have dried up since the 90’s, so I remain optimistic. It also stars Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Gabriella Wilde, and Ansel Elgort. It will receive wide Australian release on November 14.

via Yahoo!

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