My Favorite Films of 2013

As you all probably know, 2013 was an awesome year for movies. I had to expand my list from 10 to 15 films. I almost pushed it to 20! While I tried to see all of the best stuff this year, I did not see everything. While I would've liked to see Dallas Buyers Club, The Wind Rises, and Saving Mr. Banks, I couldn't see them soon enough. But I did see enough to make this list. As I said, 2013 was a fantastic year for film. So good, that not every movie made it on to my list. So I'll start off with some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions: Side Effects, Stoker, Pacific Rim, This Is the End, The Way Way Back, Much Ado About Nothing, Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Counselor. (I almost didn't put The Counselor on here, but I did enjoy it and I felt it was really over hated and under seen. Plus the performances were good and the dialog was awesome) All of those films are worth seeing. They just aren't as good as the ones on my Top 15 list. So without much ado, My Top 15 Movies of 2013!

15. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. People love to hate on Peter Jackson's Hobbit films. Sure, the first one was overlong and nothing compared to the LOTR movies, but the second installment was a huge improvement in many ways. The CGI and pacing was a hell of a lot better than the first one. It was also vastly entertaining and a really fun viewing experience, especially in 3D (which I don't usually say). It's not award worthy, but I really enjoyed this Hobbit film.

14. Behind the Candelabra. While Side Effects was quite good, Steven Soderbergh's other film he released this year was a little better.  It chronicled the relationship between Liberace and his much younger lover, Scott Thorson, and did it in a emotionally heavy and tasteful way that I really liked. Soderbergh's direction has never been smoother or more assured. Not to mention the movie boasted two great performances from Matt Damon and Micheal Douglas.

13. Nebraska. Alexander Payne's newest film is one of his best. His story about a sad old man chasing a fantasy with the help of his reluctant son was hilarious and really damn touching. Bruce Dern has never been better and June Squibb gave one of the funniest and best performances of the year. Really a good movie.

12. Mud. Matthew McConaughey has went from mediocre rom-com star to fantastic actor and Oscar contender. Mud is another great example of that. Jeff Nichols crafts a wonderful coming of age story that I haven't seen since Stand By Me. After some promising stuff like Shotgun Stories, Nichols shows he can make really good and meaningful cinema with Mud. The kids acting here are pretty good too, which is definitely rarer then it should be. Mud would be much higher on this list if so much good stuff didn't come out this year.

11. Captain Phillips. Movies don't often have the level of sheer intensity that Captain Phillips has. Paul Greengrass' action movie style direction certainly helped. Tom Hanks already showed he can carry a movie on his back in Cast Away. He just reinforces that here, especially in a powerful last ten minutes. Newcomer Barkhad Abdirahman was fantastic too as a Somali pirate.

10. Frances Ha. Yeah, Frances Ha doesn't tackle big subjects like racism or disease. But it doesn't have to. Noah Baumbach did a great job of showing us a touching snapshot of the life of a struggling artist in New York. Frances Ha has a great performance by Greta Gerwig, a fantastic screenplay, and some very good direction. I highly recommend this film, and it's a shame it's getting snubbed for so many awards.

9. The Place Beyond the Pines. When I saw this in theaters back in April, I was completely blown away. Derek Cianfrance last did the very good Blue Valentine. The Place Beyond the Pines is more ambitious, better acted, and just an extraordinary film in all. Eva Mendes gives a surprisingly great performance along with Bradley Cooper, Ben Mendelsohn, and Ryan Gosling. It weaves together three stories over about a fifteen year period and is exciting, sad, and just very, very good.

8. The World's End. I really love this film. I've seen it twice now and own it on DVD. I'm actually tempted to put it higher on the list. Director Edgar Wright does an amazing job with mixing wild comedy, great filmmaking, surprisingly heartfelt statements about coming home and addiction, and really good performances (specifically Simon Pegg) to make an almost perfect movie. Definitely a satisfying end to The Cornetto Trilogy. I can't recommend this enough.

7. Gravity. Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi thriller is nothing short of mind blowing. People complain that it's short on plot and character, but they're kind of wrong. The simplicity of it is what makes it work so well. While I feel Gravity was quite over hyped, it was still amazing. Especially in 3D, which as I said before, I don't usually say.

6. Prisoners. I walked away from Prisoners with my jaw to the floor and my head filled with thoughts about the film. Not only did it turn the whole mystery genre on it's head, but it was original and intense as hell. Denis Villeneuve nailed it with this. The performances by Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Paul Dano, and Melissa Leo were terrific. This was actually at my number one spot for a while, you really should see it.

5. Inside Llewyn Davis. The Coen Brothers have quite obviously mastered the craft of filmmaking. Their newest film, Inside Llewyn Davis is a funny, emotional, and interesting look at one struggling musician's life in the 60's New York folk scene. It was hilarious at times and sad at others, and very well done. The cinematography was beautiful. Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan both are great here, along with a nice appearance by John Goodman. Not to mention, it had a killer soundtrack.

4. American Hustle. Christian Bale's performance is one of the best things in a movie filled with great things. American Hustle was one of the more entertaining films of the year and was chock full of great performances. It's 70's setting was spot on and the script was very funny. David O. Russell is definitely doing something right.

3. 12 Years a Slave. Never has a film showed suffering as 12 Years a Slave has. Steve McQueen shows slavery as it was, nothing more and nothing less. And boy is it horrifying. Yet, it is so well made and well acted that you must see it. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives one of the best performances of the year as the tortured Solomon Northup. 12 Years a Slave is a film I won't forget for as long as I am alive.

2. The Wolf of Wall Street. Martin Scorsese is my favorite director, and the case could be made that he is America's greatest director. The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese's best film since The Departed, and possibly GoodFellas. It's entertaining as hell, while still showing us the excess and greed personified in 90's Wall Street. Some have criticized the movie for 'condoning' the actions of the people it portrays. This isn't true, and we shouldn't have to be told that these guys are bad. It's the audience's fault if we can't understand that what Jordan Belfort did was bad. The film also houses Leonardo DiCaprio's best performance ever. Give that man an Oscar! I loved The Wolf of Wall Street.

1. Her. I haven't seen a film as astounding as Her probably in a really long time. It makes a relationship between a man and an operating system seem normal, even understandable. Writer/director Spike Jonze also asks and answers so many questions about artificial intelligence and consciousness. Her is beautiful in so many ways. The performances are great. Namely Joaquin Phoenix, but also Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson (even though you never see her). Spike Jonze's screenplay is terrific and his direction is the best it's been since Being John Malkovich, if not better. I can barely express my feelings and love for Her, it's just such a masterpiece. Her is without a doubt, the best movie of the year.
 
 Well thanks for reading! As Always, Happy Viewing! You can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies.

Captain Phillips review

Let's just hope they don't make 'Captain Phillips 2: Cruise Control' starring Jason Patric instead of Tom Hanks.
Every once in a while, a movie comes around that really surprises everyone. A movie that looked just alright, but turned out to be an amazing thrill ride. I suppose last year it was probably Argo. This year it's Captain Phillips. The film is ripped straight from the headlines, but still manages to keep you on edge even though you probably knew the ending. The movie's about a modest New England sea Captain, named Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), whose ship gets boarded by four armed Somali pirates. The only way the pirates will get off the ship is if Phillips comes with them in a small lifeboat. Which he does, being the great captain he is. After that it's nothing more than extreme tension. To say Captain Phillips is exciting would be an understatement. This is mainly because of Paul Greengrass' direction. He's the guy behind a couple other "true story" thrillers and what I think is the best Jason Bourne flick. He's no stranger to movies like this. Which is why it's no surprise that he can make the movie so damn breathtaking. Although I have to say his shaky camera aesthetic can get a bit tiresome after a while. In his defense, this is an appropriate movie in which to use the shaky camera technique. One thing I particularly liked about the movie was how they didn't make the antagonists these nameless criminals who were hellbent on nothing but destruction. A lot of films fall victim to that . (I'm looking at you, Die Hard 2). Most of the pirates are horrible and deserve what they got, but you do start to feel for them a bit. You really can never condone their actions, but you start to understand why they're doing it. It shows what happens in real life without making it some heroic action movie. Greengrass and screenwriter Billy Ray really succeed with that. Tom Hanks hasn't been anything really great lately. Cloud Atlas (which came out last year) was just alright, not great. Especially compared to Hanks' past filmography. Captain Phillips is a terrific comeback for Hanks. I wouldn't be surprised if he scored an Oscar nod for this movie. Tom Hanks plays the title role with a sense of realism that I forgot he was so good with. It reminded me of his performance in Cast Away mixed with the one in Saving Private Ryan, with his unique brand of regular guy likability thrown in. Captain Phillips may be Hanks' best movie since Catch Me If You Can. The only other well known actor here is Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips, Richard's wife. Although being a very talented actress, she's only in about five minutes during the beginning. I know that there wasn't much room for her, but I would've liked for Keener to be used to her full extent. Not worry though, this is Hanks' movie and he shows it. The only other notable performance is Barkhad Abdi as Muse, one of the Somalian pirates. He plays the part quite well, with a certain fierceness. I went in to Captain Phillips thinking it was going to be an overrated movie that the Academy was going to slobber over come awards season. The Academy may love this movie, but now I know it will be justified. Captain Phillips is one of the more exciting movies and well-shot of the year with a terrific performance by Tom Hanks. Definitely, I can say that it's better than the other true story movie we had this year, Pain & Gain. I give Captain Phillips 4.3 out of 5 stars. You can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies.
Happy Viewing!