Top Documentaries of 2013

I watched 8 documentaries this year, all of which were released in 2013 in the UK. A couple of these are likely to end up in my top 20 films of the year when I finally get round to making that list. First I have to get through my list of shame and then I'll get on to making a top 20 for 2013. Here's my list of world cinema films I watched this year as well and here is a rundown of all the TV I also watched this year.

8. More than Honey

'Despite the attention to details, presentation of facts and such an intriguing question at the heart of the premise, More Than Honey is less than thrilling. The future of beekeeping is briefly considered but by the end, you may find that you have heard more than enough.'

7. When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun

 'When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun gives the sobering facts with little fanfare and pieces together a chronology of resistance leading up to the Beijing Olympics while giving a voice to those who too often remain unheard.'
 
I also interviewed the director Dirk Simon for Filmoria which you can read here. 

6. How to Survive a Plague

 'How to Survive a Plague is a testament to the incredible bravery, impressive organisation and inspiring action of those at the frontline in the fight against AIDS'

 
5. The Gatekeepers

'The Gatekeepers is a riveting exploration of men with unnatural and terrifying amounts of power. Their actions in the past are often inexcusable, but by the end, their thoughts and their argument will have you hanging on their every word. The Gatekeepers is an extremely important piece of film; its message and conclusion should be heard by those in positions of power all over the world.'

4. Utopia

'Utopia has a powerful message to share and deserves to be seen in every Australian school and by everyone blinded by the sunny delights of Neighbours and Home and Away.'

3. Sound City 

'Sound City details the history of the studio before Dave Grohl collects together an array of musicians to record an album on the old Sound City production board.'

2. Desert Runners

'Desert Runners is a near perfect documentary, capturing the wonder of the human spirit and letting the audience into a world most of us would never dream of becoming a part of. Most importantly it makes us care for characters that could have been hard to connect with. You might not go running with them, but you won’t forget them.'

1. Side by Side

'Side By Side is much more than a documentary about the differences between film and digital. It is a chance to see some of the best directors in the film business discussing their craft and an incredibly important historical document for film buffs. If the end of film is nigh, then Side by Side is a brilliantly fitting swansong to a medium that has made us all fall so deeply in love with the movies.'

What were your favourite documentaries of 2013 or that you saw this year?

Why don't you stay awhile? More 2013 lists from I Love That Film:

TV in 2013: Breaking Bad, Dexter, The Walking Dead, Homeland and more

World Cinema in 2013

Best books I read in 2013

2013 List of Shame or 25 films I should have seen this year

2013 Top 10 Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction

2013 Top 10 So Far (written in July)

Best British Films of 2013

Top 25 Films to see in 2014

2013 Top 10 So Far

It seems like lots of folks have been taking stock of the year that is 2013 so far seeing as we are over half way through it. As I'm about to take my mid-year holiday and probably won't be doing a lot of film watching for the next few weeks, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make a note of all the (UK cinema) new releases I have seen in 2013 and what my favourites of the year have been so far.

So firstly here are all of the 2013 releases I have watched so far in the order that I watched them:

1. The Impossible
2. Flight
3. The Bay
4. Les Miserables
5. Rebellion
6. No
7. Wreck-It Ralph
8. I Give it a Year
9. The Fall of the Essex Boys
10. Warm Bodies
11. Hitchcock
12. Cloud Atlas
13. Song For Marion
14. A Good Day to Die Hard
15. Stoker
16. The Paperboy
17. Django Unchained
18. Zero Dark Thirty
19. Broken
20. Robot and Frank
21. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
22. Sleep Tight
23. The Lords of Salem
24. Trance
25. The Liability
26. Side Effects
27. Evil Dead
28. Spring Breakers
29. Olympus Has Fallen
30. The Gatekeepers
31. Iron Man 3
32. Bait
33. The Look of Love
34. Bernie
35. Everybody Has a Plan
36. 21 & Over
37. Side by Side
38. Sound City
39. A Hijacking
40. Sweet Vengeance
41. This is the End
42. Come as You Are
43. Summer in February
44. Man of Steel
45. Star Trek into Darkness
46. Desert Runners
47. Monsters University
48. The Internship
49. To the Wonder
50.  The Deep
51. The World's End
52. Frances Ha
53. Dark Skies

So 53 of the 95 films I have watched this year have been brand new releases which must be some kind of record for me and I have Filmoria to thank for special advance screenings of many of these. Without further ado, here is my top 10 of 2013 so far:

10. I Give it a Year 
9. This is the End
8. Evil Dead
7. Desert Runners
6. Cloud Atlas
5. Django Unchained
4. The World's End
3. Side by Side
2. Spring Breakers

1. The Impossible

Please click any title for my reviews of the films. It's a pretty crazy list for me. A rom-com??? A remake??? Two documentaries, what looked like (and probably is to some extent) sexist crap, two comedies about the end of the world and a true life tale of massive loss of life. Cheery isn't it?

So that's my top 10 of the year so far (I think). What have been your favourite 2013 films so far? Perhaps The Impossible has stuck with me the most because I'm off to Thaliand. Though it may have focussed on only one family, it is still the true story of the deaths of 200,000 people and was therefore bound to have a strong impact. It is certainly the film that had the biggest emotional effect on me this year. 

I'll be back in a few weeks so until then... take care now and bye bye then!

June Movie Reviews and Round up

In June, I watched a meagre 11 films and there are two reasons for this. 1 was Arrested Development series 4 and the other was Breaking Bad series 4 (and the first half of series 5). Those wonderful folk at Netflix gave me a second free trial this month and I used it to full advantage. The last time they gave me a free trial I watched the first three series of Breaking Bad and this time I've used it to get right up to date.

Although I haven't written much about Breaking Bad, it has pretty much become my favourite show on TV. Series 4 exceeded my wildest expectations. It was perfection and to be honest, I thought perhaps it would have been best for everyone involved to leave it with the bombshell that was dropped at the end. Where the hell could series 5 possibly go to better what had already come before?

Series 5 did then seem to lull a bit but on the plus side is also fulfilling the promise of everything the show and particularly Walt has been leading towards all this time and the first half concluded with another beautiful bombshell. I cannot wait to see how this show ends!

On the other hand Arrested Development was a bit convoluted and too clever-clever for its own good. There was still some of the old charm but nowhere near enough of Gob and Tobias for my liking. I hope if they continue, it picks up again.

The movies I watched in June are as follows. Click the links to check out my reviews:

The Master
This is the End
Come As You Are (Hasta La Vista)
Summer in February
Man of Steel
To the Wonder
Star Trek Into Darkness
Desert Runners
Monsters University
The Internship
Magic Mike

I also re-watched Les Miserables at the Open Air Cinema at Hedsor House which was a really cool experience.

The always entertaining David Jackson came back to I Love That Film to write a couple of excellent pieces: Fight Club and the Doors of Perception and Second-Hand Stories, Second-Hand Opinions

Other highlights of the month were getting the Starburst Magazine Cover Story: The Wolverine Preview. I actually wrote two pieces for this issue of Starburst so that was really cool to see them in print.

My first year at Filmoria passed and I wrote a piece to celebrate. I also got my first clip joint article published on The Guardian website on the Best Battle Speeches in the Movies.

Here at I Love That Film, the huge milestone of 200,000 page views was reached (finally after over two years)!

I also had some more articles for Yahoo Movies published and a very kind Message from the Side By Side Producer about my review of the documentary at Filmoria.

None of the films I watched this month could compete with the majesty of Breaking Bad but I liked This is the End and Star Trek into Darkness quite a lot. However if I could recommend only one, it would be the documentary Desert Runners. Please check out my review to find out why.

I also didn't really get into The Master I'm afraid. What were your best and worst of the month?