Starburst Magazine have asked all their contributors to come up with their top 10 of 2013. Starburst are a magazine dedicated to horror, fantasy and science fiction so all the movies picked have to fall into those genres. Also because the issue that looks back on 2013 has to be printed and ready to be published before the year comes to an end, only films released from November 2012 to November 2013 can be included.
That means yes to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and no to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. As it happens, I'm haven't even included An Unexpected Journey into my top 10 of the year anyway. However it did just miss making this list along with
Safety Not Guaranteed, This is the End and Elysium.
So here are my top 10 horror, fantasy and science fiction films of the past year. Click the titles to read my full reviews:
10.
Grabbers (Reviewed at Static Mass Emporium)
"Like a happy drunk, it appears effortlessly entertaining. More
importantly it sobers up nicely when something more than lairy laughs
are required of it. As the characters get increasingly inebriated,
Grabbers
manages to up the terror while also upping the comedy. No film that’s
this funny is ever going to scare the pants off the audience but it does
manage making exciting look easy. Go see it inebriated and have a laugh
along with the tanked up characters. You might not wet yourself with
fear but if you get pissed enough before hand, you’ll probably piss
yourself laughing."
9.
Star Trek Into Darkness
"The action and special effects are spectacular but never overwhelm in
the same way as some of the more CG assisted scenes in other summer
blockbusters (namely Man of Steel). All in all Abrams has nailed the
reinvention and whether he chooses to return for a third Star Trek film
or not, he has set the franchise up beautifully for further adventures.
Let's all cross our fingers and hope that he can he can do the same for
the galaxy far far away... "
8.
You're Next
"Aussie stunner Sharni Vinson is the biggest reason to watch
You're Next and her character Erin is quick to fight back when the
masked men come a-knocking. She is endlessly resourceful, smart, strong
and sexy and you will root for her right to the vicious end. As the body
count surges and spikes, Vinson's Erin is forced into action; not just
action but brilliantly brutal violence. The other victims might be
infrequently sympathetic but screaming and shouting at each other does
provide some darkly comic moments."
7.
Iron Man 3 (Reviewed at Filmoria)
"Tony Stark might be battling demons, making Iron Man 3 slightly darker,
but the trademark wit is still present and Robert Downey Jr. gives
another performance that effortlessly demonstrates why Iron Man has
become the leader of not only the Avengers but also Marvel's Phase 2 and
also a bold and brilliant start to summer blockbuster season."
6. Gravity
Technically astounding, utterly gripping, but a little lazy in the story department.
5.
Cloud Atlas
"Cloud Atlas is incredibly
ambitious, an impossible adaptation that manages to capture the essence of the
book and improve it with a streamlined and smart narrative structure. The
directors have created breathtaking, visually astounding different worlds,
taken a potentially pretentious idea and visualised it on a grand scale, both
entertaining and intellectually stimulating."
4.
The World's End (Reviewed at Filmoria)
"Instantly quotable and with some of the best profanity
ever written, The World’s End is a great way to spend your last night
on Earth."
3.
Evil Dead (Reviewed at Filmoria)
"
Relentlessly gory, with some of the most inventive and
disgusting scenes of self-mutilation ever seen on screen; this is Evil
Dead for the torture porn generation but far more fun than that sounds.
Never quite as scary as the original, it makes up for this with shocking
amounts of splatter-tastic violence."
2.
Life of Pi (Reviewed at Static Mass Emporium)
"
Life Of Pi has taken eleven years to get from page to screen but
is absolutely worth the wait. Ang Lee has created an unbelievably
cinematic treatment of the novel. Though the film itself takes its time
getting to the heart of the story, the cinematography is spellbinding,
the score is stirring and newcomer Suraj Sharma gives a heartfelt and
compelling performance as hero Pi. Just don’t expect it to turn atheists
into believers."
1.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Reviewed at Starburst Magazine)
"
The
romance is starved of oxygen by the grim mood of the first half but
finally sparks begin to fly until it positively crackles by the end.
Building to an electrifying climax, this is one of the best science
fiction sequels since The Empire Strikes Back."
What were your favourites of the past year?
By the way, the worst of the year booby prize goes to Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem which I was overly generous to when I gave it 2 and half stars at Filmoria.
