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

[RobinHood26]

Riddick was probably the worst movie of the ear for me, I pretty much agree with you on everything else though, especially Elsyium. 

[Gopher]

I wouldn't say being out of NYC necessarily brings Woody out of his element. The strengths of his best films come down to the characters, and Jasmine is one of the best characters he's created IMO. 

[The Futurist]

But he s perv.

[Plain Old Tele]

21. The Conjuring

 

 

I find subtlety and suggestion far more scary than wild action freak-outs, so to me the first half of THE CONJURING is fantastic. Really creepy, very entertaining, and James Wan just plays the audience like a fiddle. It’s great. The second half is far more conventional and far less scary — once people start getting thrown around the room I start thinking about the wire-work and technical details and don’t find it particularly horrifying at all, and the movie ends on an oddly flat note. Still, that first half is gangbusters.

[Plain Old Tele]

20. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

 

The first 90 minutes of SMAUG are excellent; Jackson establishes a brisk pace and he does a solid job of both condensing the rather sprawling, episodic narrative and giving his actors little moments to shine. And the barrel escape is one of the flat-out most entertaining and brilliantly-conceived action sequences this year… up there with THE LONE RANGER train stuff, easily. Unfortunately, the last third of SMAUG gets slaggy and self-indulgent. There’s still plenty of great moments — Stephen Fry’s Master is excellent, Bard the archer is one of the rare characters who’s far, far better in the movie than in the book, and of course, CumberSmaug is fantastic on every level. But there’s simply too much of everything: in their efforts to ramp up every little moment, we spend too much time in Laketown with Bard getting chased around by the Master’s minions, we spend too much time in the Mountain with an increasingly ludicrous dwarf/Smaug face-off… it’s not so much that any individual moment is bad (though a couple of them get close to that), it’s that it’s over-stuffed and the clean pacing is ruined. And I haven’t even mentioned Gandalf’s various adventures in Sauron-hunting, which overall is a mixed-bag (Orcs are just about the most boring characters ever). Still, there’s a lot set up for an entertaining final chapter next year.

[4815162342]

If they used that sneak peek as a theatrical trailer, I am positive OW business would have had a noticeable bump.

[Plain Old Tele]

19. Oblivion

 

 

I went into OBLIVION with low expectations. After all, I was very disappointed with Kosinski’s previous effort, TRON LEGACY. But much to my pleasant surprise, I thought OBLIVION was a fun (albeit derivative) science-fiction thriller. The heavy lifting is largely done by spectacular production design and cinematography and a robust score by M83. Tom Cruise is solid — as always — the rest of the cast is strong, and if you can hang in there amidst all the twists and turns (arguably the plot relies far too much on huge reveals) you end up with a fairly classic science-fiction story told well. There are a few things that bugged me: the opening narration is far too on the nose (and is a big reveal for anyone who’s paying attention and seen any amount of SF), Cruise’s trip to his hidden valley seems awkwardly placed in the story (I would’ve moved it earlier), and the ending is perhaps a bit too happy and pat. But then again, I tend to like things more ambivalent. Definitely worth watching, and if you’ve got a big TV and a good sound system, so much the better.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I am hoping you saw Short Term 12. 

[Michael Gary Scott]

I am hoping you saw Short Term 12.

he hasn't even seen before midnight

[Plain Old Tele]

I am hoping you saw Short Term 12. 

 

I haven't. Sorry. Been meaning to and haven't had the chance.

[Plain Old Tele]

18. Lone Survivor

 

 

This is another movie that I had low expectations for. In fact, I watched the screener more because I had some unexpected free time and was making an effort to be as complete as I could with my holidays releases, and the fact it was only two hours long meant it fit into my viewing window better than other options. Well, color me surprised, I was surprisingly affected by it. The post-credit, pre-mission stuff in Afghanistan is mostly terrible: it’s so on the nose and without subtlety or grace or nuance that it felt like an awkward recruiting promo. But once the story moves into the nitty-gritty of the actual mission it becomes a very different movie. The huge extended action sequence is handled very well, I thought — some of the better combat stuff I’ve seen in awhile. Obviously, the title makes no bones about who lives and who dies, so a large part of the middle section is sort of watching (on edge) to see who’s gonna die first and how. Where Berg really hits a home run is the final few minutes: sure, it’s manipulative as hell, but you know what? It works.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I haven't. Sorry. Been meaning to and haven't had the chance.

Your breaking my heart. 

[MrPink]

Your breaking my heart. 

 

So sayeth all the Frozen fans for the past two months.

[Plain Old Tele]

17. The Europa Report

 

 

This nifty little movie flew under almost everyone’s radar, but it’s really one of the better science-fiction movies in recent years and an eye-opener about how much you can accomplish on a limited budget these days. It’s also one of the best found-footage movies ever made, where what you’re seeing actually makes sense (no “I’m being chased by a monster but I’m going to run back and pick up my camera” gag here). The movie is about the first manned mission to Europa, and it’s presented as a documentary made after the fact: interviews with the explorers, the mission control crew back on Earth, and footage from the mission (both from internal cameras on the ship and cams mounted on spacesuits). The conclusion is obvious and — like OBLIVION — anyone who’s experienced a fair amount of genre fiction will guess what’s coming, but it’s still well made and the overall sentiment is worthy (and under-appreciated by most SF movies these days). There are a few moments that don’t quite work (or work as well as I would’ve hoped), but this is a little treasure that deserves to be found and watched.

[tawasal]

Come on! We need more old man.

[4815162342]

^ Now added to Netflix queue.

[tawasal]

My post?

[Plain Old Tele]

My post?

 

Just getting in the way, tawasal. As usual.

[Plain Old Tele]

16. Fast & Furious 6

 

 

The FAST franchise has been one of the most unexpected and unique in movie history. Left for dead after TOKYO DRIFT, Justin Lin stepped in to create a whole new trilogy that reunited all the cast-members of the earlier movies, and it’s capped off by FAST 6, a fun and spectacular blockbuster with some of the most amazing, absurd and wonderful stunt set-pieces of 2013. The movie itself doesn’t quite reach the high of FAST FIVE, which introduced The Rock and managed to have a tight, cohesive plot amidst all the mayhem, but aside from some second-act slowdowns and some of the funniest plot-contrivances you’ll see outside of a soap opera (amnesia? really?), FAST 6 works on almost all cylinders. It takes awhile to ramp everything up, but the runway assault is the most ridiculous and awesome action scene of 2013 (close runners-up: THE LONE RANGER’s train finale and SMAUG’s barrel escape). The FAST franchise has become *the* Hollywood franchise that embraces diversity wholeheartedly, wears its heart on its sleeve, and appeals to women as much as men. It’s truly one of the first global franchises (in terms of on-screen talent as well as popularity around the world).

[tawasal]

I don't watch many movies and most I see in a year is like 40 and I never hit 50, but this year I reached 70 and that's because of the greatness in movies this year.