2013 Top 10 Update: Still not definitive

I'm still struggling to get all the films from my list of shame watched before I make my definitive top 10 (or 20 or 30 at this rate) of 2013. Films still to watch include Lincoln, Frozen, Blue Jasmine and Blue is the Warmest Colour and you never know which, if any, may squeeze their way into my top 10 of 2013. I expect to have a definitive list by June hopefully!

Seeing as yesterday I already took the crazy step of doing a top 10 of 2014 so far list, I thought it best to also update what I think were my favourite films of 2013. I have already done my top 10 British films, top 10 horror, sci-fi and fantasy and top documentaries but all these will have changed as my mind works through the films for years to come and also I add more films from the list of shame.

Way back in July 2013, I decided these films were my top 10 of the year so far but this has changed considerably now. Click the titles for full reviews. Without further ado, here is my top 10 of 2013 at the moment:

10. The World's End

 

9. Gravity

8. The Selfish Giant

7. Captain Philips

6. Philomena

5. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

4. Side by Side

3. Spring Breakers

2. Before Midnight 

1. The Impossible

Unfortunately I never reviewed Gravity and there are two other newcomers to this list that I have also not reviewed.

I watched Before Midnight last night and it has blown away most of the competition. I expected it to be good but not that good! It will stay with me for a long, long time I suspect. Though I didn't fully believe the last minute hint at a happy ending, I think maybe that is the point. There are some serious cracks in Jesse and Celine's relationship and though they can keep trying to paper over them, the cracks may yet continue to grow. It might be a very sad story if we ever catch up with these two again.

Another newcomer to the list is The Selfish Giant which is a small British film about two kids who get in with metal scrappers to earn some pounds while skipping school. The performances of the two boys in the leads were absolutely incredible and the story and cinematography were amazing, if utterly tragic in every sense.

What do you think of my top 10 of 2013 so far?

Best British Films of 2013

I saw nearly 20 British films in 2013, many of them of an excellent quality. I love a bit of homegrown cinema and wish more of our talent felt that they could stay in the UK and make the films they want to make. It seems that the Brits pretty much rule Hollywood anyway but imagine if all our stars, directors and all the rest of the talent that bugger off to Hollywood continued to make films for the British industry, I'm damn sure we could rival the American industry.

Superman, Spiderman and the last Batman were all British. Harry Potter was British. Why isn't the British industry as wealthy as Hollywood? Well that's a debate for another time. But thankfully because there isn't as much ludicrous amounts of money flying around, we get to make some gritty and challenging films that often reflect the ugliness and occasionally the beauty of this fair isle.

Sometimes we want to make crowd pleasers and sometimes it seems our directors are actively trying to put people off from seeing their films. I think my top 10 of the year shows a very healthy and diverse British film industry at work.

The only films that I suspect I should have seen before making this list are: The Selfish Giant, Philomena and About Time.


The films that nearly made this list include: Summer in February, Song For Marion and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. 

And now on to the main event. If I have reviewed the film, then please click the title to be magically transported! Here is my top 10 British films of 2013:

10. The Look of Love 

'The Look of Love is the rise and fall of an exploitative entrepreneur. Raymond may not be overly likeable but his relationship with his daughter can be touching and provides evidence of a misguided heart beneath the brash exterior perfectly played by Coogan.'

9. Trance 

'Trance may not have the propulsion or the life affirming joy of Danny Boyle’s greatest films, but as a modern noir and an intriguing psychological maze of a film, it leaves most recent thrillers as distant fading memories.'

8. Sunshine On Leith 

'If nothing else Sunshine on Leith should have you singing along to many of the tunes and confirms Dexter Fletcher as a diverse director to watch. It is a sunny delight!'

7. In Fear 

'In Fear is simplicity itself for much of its running time before running out of gas and resorting to conventional psycho killer thrills by the final scenes. The story may lack much that is new but the execution is brutally efficient.'

6. The Liability 

'The Liability comes loaded with two smoking barrels worth of humour and warmth. While it does not match the very best of British, it is a sharp shooting hitman thriller nonetheless.'

5. I Give it a Year 

'Taking awkward comedy to new levels of cringe worthiness, I Give It A Year will make you squirm in your seat more than a Saw film. Give it ninety minutes of your life.'

4. How I Live Now 

 'Adapted from the novel by Meg Rosoff, it really treats its audience as adults containing mild incest, plenty of swearing, a dash of sex and some shocking moments of violence. It is admirable for not toning down the brutality of war (hello Hunger Games) or the language and lust of its protagonists (goodbye Twilight).'

3.Filth 

'With a sensational soundtrack and putrid performance from McAvoy, Filth is far more fun than it should be. Wallow in it…'

2. Broken 

'Broken is at its best with its wonderful characters and their beautifully observed relationships. The film is filled with outstanding performances that will make audiences smile, laugh and maybe even cry. There are minor issues but nothing in urgent need of repair and Broken will likely be fixed in your mind long after the credits roll.'

1.The World's End

 'The World’s End is like a perfectly poured pint. Golden, bubbly and with an excellent head on it; it tastes so good, you hope that there will be more flavours to the so-called Cornetto trilogy. 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.'

What were your favourite British films of 2013?

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

Top Documentaries of 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)

Top 25 Films to see in 2014

2013 Top 10 Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction

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.

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!

July Movie Reviews and Round up

I'm having to wrap up July's movie watching because as of tomorrow morning I am off on holiday for a few weeks to go and explore the wonderful Thailand and some its many beautiful islands. Hopefully I'll be watching some good films on the flights but there is no way I'll be doing any blogging with the beaches calling me every day.

I've also got to make this quick as I should really be packing.

So this month I have watched:

Foxy Brown
The Deep
The World's End (Please watch out for a cameo from the train station of my hometown High Wycombe in one scene)

Runaway Train
Frances Ha

Escape (review published on Filmoria on Monday 22nd July)
Dark Skies (review published on Filmoria on Monday 29th July)
Dredd

I also watched the whole of series 2 of Danish crime series Unit One which I reviewed for Filmoria.

I also wrote a piece on the career of James Wan so far as his film The Conjuring is out this month.

Dredd is the 95th film I've watched this year, not counting the other 17 films I've re-watched. I've just finished reading The Hobbit this month for the second time in my life and I must say, I only enjoyed it a little more this time. I'm now very much looking forward to seeing how Peter Jackson expands the story in The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again as the book did feel a little stunted particularly towards the end.

The World's End was my favourite of the month. I think I might have time to write up a quick top 10 of the year so far post if I rush before leaving! What have you watched this month?

Other Monthly Round-Ups:

June Movie Reviews and Round up

May Movie Reviews and Round up

Movie watching and writing in April 2013

Movies in March Round-up

February Movie News and Reviews 

January Movie News and Reviews

Recent writing around the web

Haven't had much of a chance to do any blogging this week so thought I would share some of the bits and pieces I have been writing around the web over the last few days instead:

The World's End Review at Filmoria

Deconstructing Cinema: This is England at Static Mass Emporium

The Deep Review at Filmoria

Roland Emmerich Retrospective at Filmoria

Not film related but I've also been blabbing away at Yahoo about all sorts of stuff like:

Why we should celebrate the NHS

Why conflict avoidance will make a happy relationship

I'm currently writing a James Wan retrospective for Filmoria ahead of the release of The Conjuring and then I'll be writing ones on Paul Greengrass and Edgar Wright later in the year. For regular readers, you may know I'm currently writing a book on The Blair Witch Project. I'm trying to get the first draft finished in the next two weeks and then hopefully I will make revisions when I get back from holiday and perhaps it may get published this year!

I hope you will be tempted to go and check out some of my writing elsewhere and particularly the top two which I am very proud of.

Also check out my top 10 films to see in July. If you haven't got a copy of Starbust magazine for this month, there may still be some on shelves for a little while longer and I'd love it if you checked out my two articles inside. Better still, subscribe to Starburst here.

Top 10 Films to Look Forward to in July 2013

Out in UK cinemas this month have thieving magicians, thieving little rich kids and thieves of national secrets. Last month I promised to start writing a regular top 5 films of the upcoming month post but this month I have decided to extend it to 10. There's some good looking stuff out in July and I'm trying to avoid just reeling off all the biggest films and instead dedicate a little bit of time and space on this blog to some films that might go under some radars. Without further ado, here is the top 10 to look forward to in July:

Now You See Me

Now you see a fantastic cast led by Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco but also supported by Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Mark Ruffalo. Magicians rob banks and dish out the stolen loot to their audiences while the Feds try to catch them in the act. Sounds like a lot of fun and must be worthwhile to watch that cast but many accounts suggest it is let down by a ludicrous ending.

The Internship

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson reunite to play two technophobe dinosaurs who join the intern programme at Google. Not literal dinosaurs by the way. Its pretty funny in places but I wouldn't say it's worth rushing out to see in cinemas.

The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola tells the true story of a gang of rich kid brats who went on a thieving spree in 2008 and 2009, robbing the homes of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Hermione stars and is apparently quite good while Paris Hilton's actual house has a cameo.

A Field in England

Simultaneously being released in cinemas, on DVD and Blu-ray and being shown on TV channel Film 4 all on the same day, it sounds like Ben Wheatley has really gone off the rails in this one. Civil War soldiers trip out on mushrooms after deserting a battle in a neighbouring field. In England. Sounds completely bonkers.

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

Documentary about the Russian feminist punk band that dared to protest against Putin's political status and got locked up for their troubles. 

The Deep

True story of a ship sinking off the coast of volcanic islands nears Iceland and the one survivor who faced unbelievable odds and made it home despite the rest of the crew either freezing to death or drowning.

Pacific Rim

Del Toro's monster mash with giant robots taking on giant monsters. If this was Michael Bay, people would be dismissing it but as it has the auteur of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy behind it, you can't help but be excited.

We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

The title says it all really. A documentary about the beginnings of Wikileaks but also a look at both sides of the story; the idealism, courage and insensitivity of the actions of activists at the centre. It's also made by Alex Gibney who made the shocking, riveting Taxi to the Dark Side.

The World's End

The dream team of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost re-team for the final part on their so-called Threee Flavours Cornetto trilogy. The cast is superb with Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Eddie Marsan joining Pegg and Frost on screen in a story of the pub crawl to end all pub crawls.

Frances Ha

Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, the guy behind the incredible The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha stars indie queen Greta Gerwig as a New Yorker struggling to grow up, stay true to her friends and become self-reliant.

There's also Monster's University if you fancy the Pixar prequel.

That's it for July (mainly). What on this list takes your fancy?

Top 5 Films to Look Forward to in June 2013