Saturday, January 25, 2014

Cass' Top 10 Movies of 2013

Now that 2014 is well under way, I'd like to take a look back at the year that was 2013, specifically movies of 2013. Please note these are my top picks of the movies I saw last year and do not include many of the Oscar nominated flicks (because I haven't seen them). Hopefully other movies (12 Years A Slave, Mud, Frances Ha, Gravity, Her) will make the rounds on Redbox or Netflicks soon. What were your favorite movies of 2013?


Top 10 Movies of 2013


10. Trance  This movie starring James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson, directed by Danny Boyle was slow paced and a bit off kilter at first, but like so many psychological mysteries (Memento, Sliding Doors), once you get into the meat of the story and the action steps it up a notch, you realize Trance is really quite a daring and fiendishly clever little tale. On a second viewing (courtesy Redbox), I was able to catch so many of the clues in the beginning, and have to admit, I truly enjoyed Trance much better the second time around. This film would have been higher on my list had the beginning 30 minutes not dragged as much.

9. Django Unchained  Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz pull off stunning performances in Tarantino's 70's-esque exploitative take on slavery and the old west. If you like Tarantino's style, then you'll probably love this movie. If you think his movies are too dialogue heavy (and they can be), or too violent, you may think another film should have made the list. As I've always said, Tarantino is an acquired taste and not everybody gets him.

8. Iron Man 3  I surrendered to the superhero shtick and enjoyed this darkest take yet on the helmeted hero. Ben Kingsley (whom I've always admired since his role as Gandhi) played both dramatic and comedic, sometimes in the same scene, showing his incredible versatility. Tons (literally) of action and enough smash-ups of Iron Men to keep the guys in the audience very happy.

7. Star Trek Into Darkness I have to admit I'm not a Trekkie or a Trekker or whatever uber fans of the franchise call themselves these days, but I got pulled into the plot and characters. Especially the character played with incredible finesse by Benedict Cumberbunch. He totally made watching this latest inductee to the Star Trek saga completely worth it. The actor has pathos and how!

6. American Hussle  How many A list actors does it take to make the perfect screwball dramity? Apparently the answer is five. Inspired by a real life NYC con man, this reinvented 70's-styled flick pays due homage to one of the godfathers of direction, Martin Scorsese. Starring Robert DiNiro, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, and Amy Adams.

5. Prisoners Brilliant acting from Hugh Jackman, proving he is much more than a set of claws and a weird hairdo. I've seen him play comedic roles and seen him in dramas where he shines. Don't think to typecast this guy, because he truly has the chops to play any role out there.


4. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug The middle is always the hardest part to write, be it a book or a screenplay, and although this second movie in The Hobbit series seemed to drag at times, it still delivered some wonderful scenes, with incredible cinematography. Martin Freeman is such a versatile actor, I don't think he gets enough credit for his capable handling of the character.

3. Frozen Yes it's an animated Disney flick. Yes it's for little kids. But it was a fun movie and the artistry brought me back to the old days of Disney, to classics like Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid. Kudos to Kristen Bell who did a wonderful performance as the voice of Anna.

2. The Wolf Of Wall Street Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up in one of the hottest flicks of the year. The comedic talents of Jonah Hill add to this wild ride through the early 90's financial madhouse.

My top pick is...

 
1.The Family Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer are fun to watch in this comedic dark tale of a mob informant and his family adapting  to the witness protection program. They find old habits are hard to break. Hilarious.


4 comments:

Jerri said...

I have only seen one of these movies.

Cassandra said...

Which one did you see, Jerri? I think most of these are available to rent at Redbox, or coming soon to Netflix, so you'll have to give them a try. With the winter chill and ice and snow outside, it's fun to snuggle on the sofa, light the fireplace, and watch a movie. Don't forget the popcorn! :D

Heather said...

I wish I'd gotten to half that many movies. I think I only saw three in the theater this year, only one of which (Iron Man 3) is on your list. One of my faves not on your list was "42".

Cassandra said...

Hi Heather,

**huge wave**

Missed seeing you around, gf. Hope it's because you've been busy with lots of good things happening. ((hugs))

We didn't go to see "42" so I couldn't include it on the list. Neither Bear nor I are big on sports movies or sports in general, so we gave it a pass. I hope you get to see some of these movies I listed, on Redbox or Netflix.