Count Down 100 Movies from 2013 (Multiple users) Tele page 20

[tawasal]

Just getting in the way, tawasal. As usual.

Best way to get a response, from old people.

[Dementeleus]

15. This is the End

 

 

This is one of the more discussed movies here on the forums, so I doubt I have anything unique to add to the conversation. It’s very funny, but like most comedies these days (especially from this group of guys), the overall movie is a bit ragged when it comes to pacing. When it’s on, it’s on, but there’s also a fair amount of chaff. It’s not particularly disciplined as a movie, but there are plenty of laughs throughout.

[Dementeleus]

As a side bit of trivia, the worst 2013 movie I saw was IDENTITY THIEF.

[Michael Gary Scott]

As a side bit of trivia, the worst 2013 movie I saw was IDENTITY THIEF.

We agree it was near my bottom

[Dementeleus]

14. 42

 

 

A shamelessly old-fashioned hagiography. Brian Helgelund chose to focus on a narrow window of time — about two years — so this really isn’t “the Jackie Robinson Story”. It’s about the brief span of time when he broke into the big leagues, and thus the movie is the Jackie and Branch show; Harrison Ford’s Branch Rickey is as much of the story as Jackie Robinson was. As such, we don’t get a whole lot delving into Robinson as a man (there are brief moments here and there), and in large part it ends up being Jackie the Legend. But what a legend it is! The movie is somewhat sanitized but there are still some surprisingly shocking and/or uncomfortable moments, in particular when Alan Tudyk’s Ben Chapman starts heckling Robinson. You’ll get more out of it if you’re a baseball fan, but it’s still a well-made, straightforward biopic.

[CoolioD1]

That movie was bad.

 

Though I agree that Identity Thief was worse.

[Dementeleus]

13. Drug War

 

 

Like many classic crime sagas, this is about a cop and a criminal forced to work together and how ultimately they have to choose where their loyalties lie. In this case, a mid-level meth manufacturer/dealer is captured by the police in mainland China, and the penalty there for meth-dealing is death. But the cop in charge of the investigation offers him a choice: inform on his network and lead the police to his high-level distributors, and they’ll spare his life. The rest of the movie is a detailed look at the investigation, at the little details of infiltration and the price various people pay for being loyal (or disloyal) to their respective sides. Honglei Sun is a revelation as the laconic cop, and Louis Koo is also very good as the increasingly anxious and nerve-wracked meth dealer.

 

I’ve seen this described as a Hong Kong version of HEAT, and that seems appropriate; it has the same cool, clinical examination of both police and criminals, and Johnnie To really amps up the violent shootouts at times. The movie is harsh and somewhat of an indictment on both sides — a careful tight-rope effort by To, who made the movie with the approval of the Chinese censors and managed to turn that to his favor.

[The Futurist]

Tele, you current signature is the best.

Hollywood misses Paul and it doesn't even know it.

The Black Book was fantastic.

[baumer]

Great job so far Tele.   You have a really unique voice.  

[Dementeleus]

Great job so far Tele.   You have a really unique voice.

 

 

Hmmm, I could take that a variety of ways. But thanks, B.

[baumer]

Allow me to retort.

 

You have a very clear way of reviewing a film.  It speaks to us all.  I can clearly understand why you like or dislike something.  Unlike some reviewers, you go beyond the "it sucks" or "it fucking rules". This is what I mean by unique.

 

Happy now.  

 

[Dementeleus]

12. Pacific Rim

 

 

An average, derivative story taken to great heights by Guillermo del Toro. First and foremost, you can feel the joy that went into making this; it’s a production created by people deeply in love with their monsters and robots. Like any big-budget del Toro movie, the entertainment comes not from what’s front and center, but the little details on the edges of things: the retro-future steampunk design, how each jaeger manages to convey its national heritage, how the stereotypes are cheerfully embraced. Only a Del Toro movie would feature a subplot about black-market kaiju body-parts sold for sexual stamina. And yet, that makes perfect sense — this fictional universe feels like our own because that’s exactly the sort of stupid shit that people do when confronted with something alien and new. But for all the VFX and giant punching action scenes, the best parts of PACIFIC RIM are the little moments: little Mako wandering the streets in tears, clutching her shoe; the final tender moments between her and Stacker Pentecost*; the absurdly corny yet awesome Herc Hansen* farewell “that’s my son, Stacker!” From the first frame on screen and the first jagged guitar riffs of the score, I had a big goofy smile on my face and it never left. A movie for my childhood.

 

 

* Bar none, PR had the greatest collection of character names in 2013: Stacker Pentecost, Raleigh Becket, Mako Mori, Newton Geiszler, Hercules Hansen, and Hannibal Chau. Those are all-timers, right there.

[The Stingray]

Imo, The Europa Report is so-so, Fast 6 is fun but not as fun as 5, This Is the End is mostly unfunny, Drug War looks cool (I'ma have to check that one out).

[Dementeleus]

No, yes, no, yes.

[tawasal]

Why is it taking so long Tele? Hurry up. 

[MrPink]

Why is it taking so long Tele? Hurry up. 

 

Old men gotta take their afternoon naps.

[Dementeleus]

Old men gotta take their afternoon naps.

I just woke up from one! :lol:Sorry guys, I've been away from my laptop today. I'll do more later this evening.

[Kalel009Shel]

Riddick is truly one of the big surprises of 2013 for me.  Kind of like Tele says, Pitch Black was really good and COR really sucked, bad.  But Riddick was so much better.  I remember going to see it only because I had a couple of hours to kill and I had seen everything else.  So I reluctantly sat down to watch it and was certainly shocked at how good it was.

 

Good to see it on your list, Tele.

Winter baumer buddy... You do it was the horrible editing job thatDirector and his peers

were forced to do to get the rating and cut the running time.. See the uncut directors cut.

 

The version of Chronicles of Riddick that was meant for the audience is one of my favorite

sci-fi films of all time. .Its far better than the Theatrical version..  And the best riddick movie in my

eyes and so many fans eyes. Have you all seen the uncut COR??? Its a must see.

 

Another example of forced editiing and studio mingling fugs up what should have been a BO star.

How did Riddick 2013 do?

[Dementeleus]

11. The Great Gatsby

 

 

I’m not a huge Baz fan in general; usually even hist best stuff I only like, not love. Pairing him with GATSBY seemed like a disaster waiting to happen, but it works surprisingly well, led by excellent performances across the board (Leo, of course, the standout), and after a typically Baz-ish first 40 minutes or so, it’s actually surprisingly sedate by his standards. I got through all my education without reading the novel, somehow, so I didn’t have any points of comparison (probably a good thing), but I found myself surprisingly moved.

[Dementeleus]

And now the Top 10...

 

 

10. Philomena

 

 

Another unexpected pleasure. I only happened to see it because my relatives were in town and they wanted to watch it. I was dreading a treacly, on-the-nose Lifetime movie, and I was guessing I knew the story from the trailer (which seemed to give it all away). I was wrong on both counts. It’s a very modest movie, but well-made, well-acted, with a surprising second-act reveal and a very moving conclusion. Dame Judi is great, as always, but the surprise is Steve Coogan, who does a very good job with a dramatic role that’s outside his typical comedic stuff. Very recommended.