Ruk's Count Down 65 Movies from 2013 ('Yes, I'm actually going to finish this.' edition)

[Films]

Even though I don't agree with some of the places, this is a good countdown and I'm kinda glad someone is trying to finish their 2013 countdown in the ones who started later [unlike me  ]

[rukaio101]

24. Fast and Furious 6

"Told you you'd be pissed."

 

 

This was stupid. Predictable. Not well written. Not well acted. And I still enjoyed the fuck out of it.

 

It was just so much fun. It was a popcorn movie that knew exactly what its audience wanted (insane car stunts) and makes sure to give us as much as possible, with just enough plot to make it coherent. Vin Diesel and the Rock play Vin Diesel and the Rock, which works because I really like Vin Diesel and the Rock. And while occasionally it tips into the ‘really kinda bad’ territory, it’s at least the fun goofy kind of bad you laugh at, rather than being painfully annoying like a certain other franchise I could mention. (What? No, not MoS, I meant Transformers!) I burst out laughing at a scene where Vin Diesel propels himself over a highway to catch Michelle Rodriguez, lands in a car and walks away with nary a scratch. I laughed even more when Rodriguez asked how he knew that car was there to 'cushion' his landing. Last I checked, cars do not make the most comfortable cushions. But it's all in good fun.

 

And that pretty much sums up the movie. It's stupid but a lot of fun. And I ranked it higher than Dallas Buyers Club. Let the hate commence.

[rukaio101]

23. The Conjuring

"I was very disappointed by the lack of rabbits being pulled out of hats in this movie."

 

 

I don’t think there’s all that much I can say about this which hasn’t been said already. (Which is in no way an excuse so that I won’t have to write much about it). It does a great job building up a creepy, unsettling atmosphere, without overly relying on jump scares the characters are very well acted and sympathetic, a rarity for a horror movie and, while I didn’t get all that scared, I rarely get scared watching horrors anyway, so that’s really not a problem for me.

 

All in all, an excellent horror. Almost enough to make us forget Insidious Chapter 2 exists.

[rukaio101]

22. Hunger Games: Catching Fire

"Needed more arson."

 

 

Futurist is gonna kill me for this one…

 

You know how I was talking earlier about Monsters Inc and how, while I do really like it, I just can’t think of it as a classic? This film is basically the same. I really can’t think of anything majorly wrong with it (although the second half is much weaker than the first, it’s still good in its own right) and there’s a lot of really great stuff in it (I got chills in that scene with the old man) but, when I was deciding a grade for it, I just could not give it more than a B+. Maybe it’s because it got so overhyped on here. Maybe it’s because it got overshadowed by much of the other stuff this year. Maybe it’s because I consider Jennifer Lawrence overrated. (Hey, if Futurist is going to kill me anyway, I might as well take this as far as I can go). I just can’t rank this any higher.

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go make sure my house is perfectly secure with anti-futurist defences. But if you find me dead tomorrow morning with several pictures of Jennifer Lawrence stuffed down my throat, let it be known that I don't really think Lawrence deserved that Supporting Actress nom for American Hustle. 

[rukaio101]

21. Captain Phillips

"The Philippines equivalent of Captain America was weird."

 

 

If the final act was just a bit shorter, I think this film could’ve hit my Top 12.

 

I’m not the biggest fan of the Bourne films (although I don’t dislike them) so I was unsure going in, how much I’d like this film. However, I was really impressed by just how intense it was. It’s much smaller scale than many of the big blockbusters this year and barely has any real action scenes, but I was still on the edge of my seat for most of it, almost entirely thanks to Greengrass’s direction and the performance from the two lead, Hanks and Abdi. Abdi definitely deserved his Supporting Actor nom and, had it been a weaker year, I think Hanks would've been nominated as well. However, I found Greengrass's snub for best director to be the most galling. Greengrass's direction is what really makes this film as he milks the situation for every last scrap of tension and intensity he can get from it.

 

Unfortunately, it kinda ends up backfiring on him in the third act in the lifeboat where he overdoes it far too much and it crosses the line from intense to just boring. By the time the snipers were lining up for their 5^th or so attempt, I just wanted them to hurry up and fire and get it over and done with. But not in a 'the tension is killing me way', more in a 'this is really getting tiresome' way. It was really annoying and put a damper on an otherwise fantastic film. 

[Dementeleus]

Interesting, because I felt that last part was surprisingly intense.

[Films]

21. Captain Phillips

"The Philippines equivalent of Captain America was weird."

 

 

If the final act was just a bit shorter, I think this film could’ve hit my Top 12.

 

I’m not the biggest fan of the Bourne films (although I don’t dislike them) so I was unsure going in, how much I’d like this film. However, I was really impressed by just how intense it was. It’s much smaller scale than many of the big blockbusters this year and barely has any real action scenes, but I was still on the edge of my seat for most of it, almost entirely thanks to Greengrass’s direction and the performance from the two lead, Hanks and Abdi. Abdi definitely deserved his Supporting Actor nom and, had it been a weaker year, I think Hanks would've been nominated as well. However, I found Greengrass's snub for best director to be the most galling. Greengrass's direction is what really makes this film as he milks the situation for every last scrap of tension and intensity he can get from it.

 

Unfortunately, it kinda ends up backfiring on him in the third act in the lifeboat where he overdoes it far too much and it crosses the line from intense to just boring. By the time the snipers were lining up for their 5^th or so attempt, I just wanted them to hurry up and fire and get it over and done with. But not in a 'the tension is killing me way', more in a 'this is really getting tiresome' way. It was really annoying and put a damper on an otherwise fantastic film.

Im so glad that I finally found someone who thought the same about the ending like me

[baumer]

Yea, for me, the ending of CP was the best part.  Brought me to tears.

[rukaio101]

Yea, for me, the ending of CP was the best part.  Brought me to tears.

Oh, I'm not talking about the final scene. That was amazing. One of the most emotional things I've seen all year.

 

I'm mostly just talking about all the stuff on the lifeboat. That was where it got grading for me.

[rukaio101]

Okay, since the next few entries are kinda on the short side, I'll give three more today.

 

20: Anchorman 2

"Funnily enough, 'I immediately regret this decision' were my thoughts on starting this list."

 

 

I saw the original Anchorman for the first time last year, a few months before this came out. It’s now one of my favourite films. Is this film as good as it? No. But it’s still good enough to be considered worthy to the Anchorman name and, in the end, isn’t that all you really need to say about it? The answer, of course, is no, but I’m lazy and not very good at talking about comedies I like, so it’ll have to do. (Seriously, what much more can I say than 'it made me laugh'?)

 

Interesting note: I actually got a perfect chance to make a Chicken of the Cave reference with my family shortly after seeing this. None of them actually got it and I got a few odd looks, but it was still completely and utterly worth it..

[rukaio101]

19. This is the End

"Or is it?" (Well yeah, it probably is)

 

 

It made me laugh. Next entry.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Za Rukaio!

[rukaio101]

18. Thor: The Dark World

"Aka, that film we kinda sorta need to do so we can get to the next Avengers film."

 

 

This film has certainly gotten quite a backlash since its release. Heck, a lot of people are putting it on the same level as Iron Man 2. But, honestly, I still really really like it and think it totally lives up to the Marvel name.

 

Hemsworth is great, Hiddlestone owns Loki just as much as Downey Jr owns Stark, the action was great, the humour was great, some of the emotional scenes actually hit pretty well (Firgga's funeral), it was just a lot of fun to watch and that final twist really threw me for a loop (even if I didn't believe for a second that Loki had actually died). Sure most of the Earth scenes were average (minus the climax, obviously), as were most of the human characters (although I'm not one of those people who absolutely despises Kat Jennings, I don't massive love her either), and Christopher Eccelstone was absolutely wasted as Malekith (but Kurse was still a massive badass of a villain). But they’re not so bad they’re distracting (at least for me). And, luckily, most of the film doesn’t take place on Earth, which is the main problem I had with the first film.

 

So yeah, I really liked this film and don’t really understand why it seems to have gotten as hated as it has. It's definitely a solid, if not great flick.

 

Extra note: After Cap 2 came out, I've noticed something about Marvel's Phase 2 films. They all seem to have a big twist in them that genuinely threw me for a loop which, for someone who's pretty damn good at spotting twists by now, is pretty damn impressive.

[rukaio101]

17. Flashpoint Paradox

"So let me get this straight. By 2015, Quicksilver will have appeared in two major blockbuster superhero movies (three if you include a certain post-credits scene), while the closest the Flash got was the 1997 Justice League TV-Movie. That's just... sad."

 

 

Superheroes again, this time animated and another example of why DC absolutely own Marvel when it comes to animation. And, in my opinion, this one is one of their better offerings. Especially compared to Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore, which was absolute undiluted awful (Note: Rise of the Technovore is not on this list because I completely forgot that it was released this year until just now when I was writing this entry. If I'd remembered, I’d have probably placed it in the low 50’s.) This, on the other hand, is dark, has great animation and some fantastic fight scenes (Special note to Luthor/Deathstroke vs Aquaman’s forces). You get to see a ton of infamous characters (and about 40 more you'd never recognise unless you’re a big comics guy). And nearly everyone dies at the end! (Something I’d very much like to see replicated in the Transformers movies.)

 

It’s the sort of film that really makes you wish Warner Bros would get their shit together when it comes to their comic book movies. Because when your direct-to-video movies are making your summer blockbusters look like absolute horseshit, you know something’s wrong. (Not that that’s hard with MoS. Actual horseshit makes MoS look like horseshit in comparison.)

Edited April 13, 2014 by Za Rukaio!

[rukaio101]

16. Lone Survivor

"Ouch. Just... ouch."

 

 

I have seen gory movies before. I have seen people being thrown into jet engines. I have people getting their head pounded into mush. I have seen Braindead. Multiple times. But I don’t think I’ve seen a movie that has made me go ‘Jesus Christ’ nearly as much as this film. I mean… Jesus Christ… Just the amount of punishment these guys go through throughout the movie… Jesus Christ… And most amazingly of all, I don’t think there was a single point where I stopped and thought ‘no that’s bullshit, that couldn’t have happened’. Admittedly, it looks like there was a lot of Hollywood History involved here but still… Jesus Christ…

 

If I had to say something bad about this film, it’s the title, ’Lone Survivor.’ Kinda gives things away there. Sure it was based on a true story and all but knowing everyone except Mark Walhberg would die really lost some of the tension for me. But still… Jesus Christ…

[rukaio101]

15. Frozen

"Now which Mr Freeze joke do I make first...?"

 

 

This is easily one of the most ridiculously overhyped movies on this forum. There, I said it. Believe me, it’s a fantastic movie and all, but some of you on here treat it like the second coming of Jesus Christ. It’s constantly topping people’s Top 10 animations of all time and some are calling it the new Beauty and the Beast. I’m sorry, it’s good and all, but it’s no Beauty and the Beast.

 

And this isn’t like Monsters Inc where I’m not sure why I don’t like it as much as everyone else does. There are notable problems with this film I can pick out. Ironically, what I don’t like is also to do with one of the strongest elements of the film, the relationship between Anna and Elsa. It’s really not focused on enough. It gets a lot of work in the first act (which is easily my favourite) but it gets pushed sharply to the side to focus on stuff like Kristoph which, while not exactly bad, isn’t nearly as interesting. And, after fantastically subverting the whole classic Disney true love thing, it goes straight back to classic Disney with an unrealistically happy ending. (Sure, we all totally forgive you for freezing over the kingdom, Elsa!!)

 

Let’s face it though, overhyped as it may be, everything else about this film is top notch. Animation, humour, drama, songs, Olaf, etc etc, all great. It reminds me a lot of Hunchback (which is one of my favourite Disney flicks) both in terms of themes of isolation and having those specific darker plots about it which are absolutely fantastic when they get focused on and those plots which just kinda drag it down. Also, oddly enough, the most annoying element about both films were basically sentient comic relief rocks. Here’s hoping Disney never makes an animated Rock Biter movie.

 

To sum up, this was a 'cool party.' Because I have to quote Schwarzenegger's Mr Freeze here somewhere.

[rukaio101]

14. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

"Cloudy 2 over Frozen? I'm getting kicked off the internet for this one..."

 

Before I get million angry posts (which I shall add to the pile), I should say this straight away. Objectively Frozen is a much better film than Cloudy 2. And this isn’t as good as the first Cloudy movie. But damn it, I just had so much fun with this film. I don’t think there’s a single other film I saw this year (in cinemas) that I laughed at as much. It just throws every single joke it can think of at you and a surprisingly high number hit their mark for me. Puns, word play, physical comedy, the just plain ridiculous, I loved it. It wasn’t afraid to hold anything back and really just went out and had a ton of fun.

 

The food animal designs are creative and even if the animation isn’t exactly Pixar, it still more than does the job admirably. The characters are all pretty enjoyable especially the main villain (even if they couldn’t get Mr T to return.) And the story, while a simple one, works fine. Sure, it may not quite reach Frozen in terms of animation or dark dramatic storylines, but in terms of which I had more fun at, it’s just got to be Cloudy 2.

[rukaio101]

13. Evil Dead

"I guess you could say this movie was groo...eat."

 

In a world filled with bad horror remake after bad horror remake, I really wasn’t looking forward to this. The Evil Dead series is one of my favourite horror, hell, film trilogies period and it would be so goddamn easy to get wrong. And while this may not have had much in the way of comedy, this film managed to capture that weird sense of over-the-top gleeful gore that made the first Evil Dead so entertaining.

 

The characters were pretty likeable and well acted, but the direction and gore effects are what makes this movie so entertaining. Fede Alvarez has this weird sort of inventiveness when it comes to his use of gore which helps make it a lot more fun than your typical torture porn. It reminds me of a more brutal and smaller scale Braindead. Kinda like the original Evil Dead.

 

The only problem I had was that the final boss fight was really kind of anti-climactic, but the whole ‘raining blood’ thing was cool so I can forgive it. Also, post-credits Bruce Campbell. No other words needed. Well… except for one.

 

(Come on, I had to do that)

Edited April 14, 2014 by Za Rukaio!

[rukaio101]

12. 12 Years a Slave

"I swear that numbering is a coincidence."

 

 

Okay, I get the feeling I’m going to have to spend the entirety of this entry, not explaining why I like this film so much, but instead explaining why it’s not in the Top 5. Because, if the Best Picture Oscar it received (which I think it deserved even if there are several films I would’ve preferred to have seen win) hasn’t already indicated this to you, this film is really damn good.

 

The reason it’s not higher is because… well… it does feel a bit paint-by-numbers for a slavery film. There’s very little in here that I don’t feel like I’ve already seen in something like Roots (which, I should note, is one of my favourite shows). That doesn’t make it a bad film by any means (Hello, it’s still number 12), but it loses it a lot of the major shock factor that is kinda key not only for a movie like this, but also for something to make it onto my very very favourites list. Ironically, the few bits that I do think went further than the paint-by-numbers (whipping + hanging scenes), were my favourite scenes in the movie.

 

So yeah, I’m aware that saying that’s probably going to annoy people, but it really is how I feel. It’s still a fantastic film though. Hell, it's Number 12 on my list. But what was up with that scene with the Indians though? That was just bizarre.

[darkelf]

12 Years is a great film and totally deserves the Oscar but I don't know how can it be someone's FAVORITE movie of the year just because it's a well made movie. For me, when I grade and rank movies I mostly look at the enjoyment and rewatchability and I don't see myself seeing 12 Years again in a few years at least. It's still around #10 for me (would also probably rank it 12th for the pun).

 

Good job so far by the way.

[rukaio101]

Sorry I forgot to post extra entries yesterday. Today's ones are pretty long though.

 

11. Her

“If you don’t like this movie I shall choke you with a dead cat. And at least one of us will be turned on by it.”

 

 

I wasn’t too keen on seeing this when I first heard of it. I thought it would just be two hours of the film going ‘Ooh, look at this guy dating a computer, isn’t he creepy?’ Hell, the main character is called Theodore Twombley. If that name doesn’t sound like something you should make fun of then the writers should never be allowed to name a child. But what I got was a surprisingly unjudging, very heartfelt and oddly believable romance film.

 

I think, if the writers weren’t as good as they were, this film would’ve fallen flat on its face. I mean, how do you write a character, who is literally just a voice, well enough that it seems convincing that they’d fall in love. But they do and they do it well. Sure a large part of that is due to Scarlett Johansson’s smexy smexy voice and Joaquin Phoenix’s five star acting, but the writing is just so convincing and well-done that it’s hard not to understand when Theodore starts to fall for her. This film very definitely deserved that Best Original Screenplay Oscar it won (over that very undeserving film that shall not be named (What? No, not MoS! American Hustle!)). Now if only they’d given Joaquin Phoenix that Best Actor nom and then maybe I’d be a little closer to taking them seriously as an organisation. (Ah, who am I kidding? No I wouldn’t.)

 

Also, this film gets credit for being one of the most convincing portrayals of the future I’ve ever seen. Sure, that may be because it only takes place in a very small area, but I could really believe that all this technology/whatever could be seen in the future in a few decades or so.

 

Also also, one of the things I really really love about this film is just how unjudging it is. It doesn’t come out and say ‘oh, this is bad’ about something, be it Theodore and Samantha’s romance or the tech-obsessed future or love in general, it shows these things as they are and lets you make your own decisions and interpretations about them. And I really appreciate this. Too often do you find this sorts of films that just shove their message of “X is good/bad” down your throat and, while it’s sometimes works (1984 comes to mind) more often than not, it’s just annoying and one-sided. One of my favourite films with an environmental message is Princess Mononoke and that’s because it take the time to present both sides of the argument. Her just doesn’t present either side of the argument, because that’s not what it’s about. It’s a story about love.

 

Now if only that spam-bot would reciprocate my feelings…