A Year of Films to See and Avoid (2013)

Since the internet was prematurely ablaze last month with their designated “Best of” and “Worst of” the year lists in film, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I wanted to properly wait until the year  was over to give myself ample time to watch and marinate on what 2013 had to offer, but sadly a fair amount have yet to cross my path (I’m looking at you Frances Ha, Blue is the Warmest Color and Short Term 12).Regardless, I still wanted in on the fun to put a list together. Now, without further ado, these are the films from 2013 that I highly recommend seeing and avoiding.

1. Before Midnight – Arguably the best and most endearing film of the year. If you’ve followed the blossoming love story of Celine and Jesse in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Before Midnight is the perfect closure to their rocky relationship.  Before Midnight is a testament of love and deals with the hardships and annoyances of being in a long term relationship. It’s a film that’s just as heartbreaking and uplifting as its predecessors.

2. The Conjuring – One of the scariest films I’ve ever had the pleasure to grimace at.

3. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio reminds us all why they are kings in Hollywood with this biting, dark critique of Wall Street and its excessive wealth.

4. American Hustle – Funny, complex, and phenomenally acted, American Hustle is a well-rounded awesome cinematic experience.

5. The Kings of Summer – The little known, forgotten gem of the summer that’s a pure-hearted, beautifully shot coming of age tale with a Stand By Me feel.

6. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen’s powerful film is a ridden with the intention of promoting white guilt or even to remind us how horrific slavery is. Instead, it reminds us of the tragic nature of groupthink within society and prompts us to question where our heads are as a society today.

7. The Spectacular Now – A poignant love story detailing how a quiet bookworm turns the life of a teenage screw-up living in the moment upside down, teaching him true love and how to be man.

8. From Up on Poppy Hill – Studio Ghibli’s provocative story of love, loss, and hope with a backdrop of 1960’s Japan.

9. Fast and Furious 6– Cars, explosions, muscles, and more badassery than the entire series combined. It’s the perfect action film filled with brawn and steel. Sue me.

10. This Is The End – A hilarious look into a deteriorating friendship that takes the apocalypse to mend. Plus, Danny McBride proves he can cum where ever he damn well pleases, even if it is the end of the world.

Other great films of the year to check out: Gravity, The Butler, and Spring Breakers.

Now, films of the year that I highly recommending avoiding like the plague:

1. Upstream Color – a god-awful story of two people’s complex magnetism towards each other after being conned and having their lives destroyed. It’s both depressing and nonsensical.

2. Evil Dead – A sorry excuse of a remake which on it’s own could have just been a mediocre horror film, but its audacity of being a remake of a cult classic, and it’s ultimate failure, makes it my least favorite horror film of the year. And I saw Mama…

3. Baggage Claim – If I weren’t a female, this movie would have just been another pile of wasted dribble. But, because I am a female I was both insulted and bored while watching it. Still regret ever seeing this to begin with.

4. The Internship – A movie so unfunny and so forgettable that I actually forgot I even saw it.

5. Inside Llwyen Davis – It’s the Coen Brothers, so one would think it’d at least be interesting. Sure, if something happened and if a story was actually told. Only one scene out of the entire film made Inside Llwyen Davis watchable and had I known  that scene was on YouTube I would have saved my money.

6. Mama – Slow, boring, confusing, and as scary as a “Goosebumps” episode.

7. The Bling Ring – Sophia Coppola stylistically tells the story of a group of spoiled, ruthless, teenage thieves. However, she does nothing more than give the real life criminals another reason to brag and feel entitled. “Omg guys, Sophia Coppola totes made a film about me. It’s kind of a bfd.”

8. Gangster Squad – A cast picked by the gods with a script wiped by the god’s asses. Ryan Gosling couldn’t even save the boring pile of mess this film was.

9. The World’s End – My most anticipated film of the year that was ultimately the biggest let down of the year. Although magnificently directed, writers Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg forgot what made their previous collaborations so effective and hilarious; a sensible story and great chemistry.

Welp, there you have it. Those were the films of 2013 that left an impression on me, but I know there’s so many more that I have yet to see. Now go forth and watch more films in 2014, I know I will!