Top 10 Films of 2013

As 2013 has winded to an end, I have decided to come up with my top 10 film list for the year.  This year was truly a great year for film.

1) The Wolf of Wall Street
2) 12 Years A Slave
3) Prisoners
4) Lee Daniels' The Butler
5) Captain Phillips
6) Blue Jasmine
7) American Hustle
8) Don Jon
9) The Great Gatsby
10) Frozen

Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - Review

Some parts of this film had you engaged in the film and some parts had you bored out of your mind.  The plot revolving around Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) trying to find a lost picture cell and trying to reach the photographer, Sean O'Donnell (Sean Penn) about is semi-enjoyable and original.  I think this movie stretched many of its scenes out and some parts it was unclear if Walter Mitty was daydreaming away or in a current state of mind.  Nothing about the film really added up together until the end and I think if this movie was an hour and half, it may have been more pleasurable to watch.  I also thought the film steered in many directions that also made the film not as enjoyable to watch as well.  I did like Stiller's acting and I think he had potential to do better adventurous comedy films down the road and I think this is only a beginning phase for him.  This movie is partially recommendable and is one to just watch if there is nothing to do on a Sunday evening.

Rating - 2.5/5

Dallas Buyers Club - Review

Where do I begin here?  This is a remarkable tale starring Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, and Jennifer Garner is highly enjoyable to watch and it will not disappoint.  The acting on all cylinders is brilliant as Leto will be nominated for an Oscar without question.  It is one of the best performances that I have seen all year and he presents a wonderful job.  The story is a interesting one as it is based on a true story of a man named Ron Woodruff (McConaughey) who goes around the world trying to find medication for AIDS for himself and other part of his group called the Dallas Buyers Club.  Some parts did seem like they lasted for a while and the movie had trouble progressing at times though.  However, some things in the film I didn't feel were explained enough or demonstrated thoroughly as well which the film could have improved on as well.  In the scheme of things, I really did like this story and how it was played out along with the acting.  I think this one will definitely be nominated for Best Picture, but I don't think it is a lock to win though, but Jared Leto may very well be looking at a winning this year.

Rating - 3.5/5

The Book Thief - Review

It takes a while to understand what this movie is really about until almost halfway into the movie, but that is okay.  The time setting of World War II tells a great tale of a young girl who overcomes a struggle of not being able to read and winds up linking with the right people to do just that.  The people she meets has a great influence on her as the story really unveils itself very well.  The acting and story are truly remarkable, but are very sad at the same token.  I think that the movie serves a purpose to describe what could have happened at this cold period of time and it really conveyed its message well.  I found the movie to be very uplifting, but I thought that some parts were stretched out way to much as the film could have been shortened a bit.  Overall, it is a film that will attract to many and I don't think many will walk away disappointed.

Rating - 3.5/5

Justin Bieber's Believe - Review

This is one of the few concert documentaries featured by a pop star entertainer that I walked away very pleased by.  The story revolves around the preparation for Justin Bieber's recent album, "Believe," his recent concert tour, and the adversity that he is facing during his career.  These three fundamentals were key to making this film a pleasure to watch.  The movie demonstrates lots of the hardships and many works that has to go into making an album and concert tour which is great to see.  It is also unique to see how much of the movie they devoted to this, rather then just diving into the success of both like many other of these films tend to do.  I also enjoyed hearing the positive advice from Bieber regarding the many hardships he has faced and how he conveys a message to overcome them and block them out of his rear view.  I enjoyed how he represented his view on trying to avoid obnoxious paparazzi members by not responding to their tactics.  However, I feel the film failed to prove this view by showing him fighting them off in a opening movie stunt video to one of his songs.  I think this should have been left out of the film to convey this.  The songs used in the movie were very upbeat and drew you into the movie which I really liked.  I also liked how they tried to show how Justin Bieber draws to many different people of all ages and genders.  Considering Bieber has been seen to attract to many females, it is shown that it is not just that and many males enjoy listening to the entertainer as well.  I think Jon Chu, the director of the film, successfully made a great film with Justin Bieber and has made on of the best pop star documentary films that has been seen in a while.

Rating - 3.5/5

The Wolf of Wall Street - Review

The duo of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio both successfully have created yet another fantastic film in "The Wolf of Wall Street."  The capped three hour film revolves around the illegal financial stockbroking company ran by Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a few of his friends.  The movie keeps your interest through its length as the stellar acting and unusual plot really does draw you in.   You keep pondering to yourself that this is a true story and in a way it reminded me of the recent film, "Pain and Gain."  However, this film knocks that one out of the park by far.  There are some things that occur in the film that you ask yourself how this or that happened, but as those questions are in midair, the following scene takes the question out of the way.  There are many questions that you will ask about the story and how it was fulfilled, but I guess that is why Google is at our disposal.  Also, I wish that before or after the film, it gave a little more insight on information about the main characters and what happened or happens to them in real life considering it is based on a true story.  In my opinion, I think Scorsese wished to leave those questions for the audience to find out.  I think this would have completed the film to its' entirety though.  Aside from this, the movie is a must see and will be a great contender in the Academy season that is upon us.  This film is one of the best films of the year and I highly recommend it, but just use the bathroom before going.

Rating - 4.5/5

Saving Mr. Banks - Review

I had been anticipating on seeing this film for awhile and I was sadly let down by this movie.  The film goes around the stages of how the 1964 film, "Mary Poppins" was created and the story and the way it is presented does not draw you in.  The movie is constantly reflecting on the main characters, PL Travers (Emma Thompson) life as childhood and how she used her childhood to create the novel, "Mary Poppins."  Then, when they show the modern time of the early 1960's of the film of the production, they fail to show many things that have to be done to create an actual film.  It felt as if you were watching a movie with songs that were being potentially used for the movie that had poor vocalists.  Also, Tom Hanks' acting playing Walt Disney didn't appear real as it appeared that he was himself just disguised as a younger version of Walt Disney.  Also, I didn't like how Walt Disney was supposed to be appear much older at this time of his life and he appeared as if he were 20 years younger.  However, Emma Thompson's performance was outstanding and her acting does steal the show.  Her performance will most definitely be nominated for some awards with the season upon us.

Rating - 2.5/5

American Hustle - Review

With the Oscar season rolling around, "American Hustle," has been the film many have been raving about and they rightly should be.  The story has a great screenplay that keeps your eyes on the screen the entire film and the plot is quite remarkable to go along with.  The story is backed by the great acting by all 5 main stars in the film which some could land Oscar nominees for the breakthrough performances.  The film has many twists and turns which keeps it entertaining as there are many few flaws with this film.  The acting and plot were all great on all cylinders and this is one go see film.  The film's length is choppy and long, but it does keep your attention span.

Rating - 4/5

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - Review

Almost 10 years later and a sequel to the hysterical and interesting "Anchorman" film is released.  With this film, there are many inconsistencies with the story which I did not like at all.  The film kept bouncing off the wall and was not enjoyable at times.  Also, the humor used in the movie appeared to be very dull and idiotic which I did not enjoy either.  In this film, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Brick's (Steve Carell) characters both didn't phase me and I think their characteristics and lines were very obnoxiously annoying to watch on the screen.  Though Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and Champ Kind's (David Koechner) characters were pleasurable to watch as they both played their roles smoothly and didn't overdo their performances.  I think that is where the other two characters went wrong in this movie.  Sadly, a sequel usually can never surpass the enjoyment of an original film in a series, as my expectations for this film were shot down.

Rating - 2/5

Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas - Review

I truly always enjoy watching any Madea movie because they all crack me up hysterically and have a good story that goes along with it.  This film fails to have a good story as it took many directions the entire film.  It does teach a good lesson if we were living maybe 40-50 years ago, but times have changed.  The character's were all comical, but you got tired of them easily as their humor dried off quickly.  Madea is the only character who can entertain you in this film and when Madea is off the screen, you get bored easily.  If Madea weren't in this movie, I think I would have ran out of the theater in less than a half hour, thank God for her.  I don't know if this movie is recommendable, but if your in a need to see a Madea film, maybe watch "Madea's Family Reunion."

Rating - 2.5/5

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Review

The Hobbit trilogy continues on successfully for the most part with the second installment.  This film had a great amount of action sequences and interesting characters to thoroughly watch with their different actions.  These features are what allowed me to enjoy the film.  However, as Peter Jackson has a tendency to do, many scenes took up longer time then they actually needed, in which got a little tiring at times.  Then, the film has parts where you may get disappointed with as well.  I will not go any further with that because I do not want you to ruin the movie for you.  Over all, it is a great film and the Lord of the Rings' movies are always unique to watch and usually draw your interest.  This film successfully does and I think many will walk away with a more positive reaction to it.  Use the bathroom before hand, it's another lengthy film.

Rating - 3/5

12 Years A Slave - Review

Based off the novel written by Solomon Northup in 1853 about being kidnapped and serving as a slave even though, he was a free man.  The story is so unbelievable and was so sad to watch, but held my interest the entire movie.  I couldn't believe how this actually happened as it's screenplay was put into a remarkable film.  The acting on all ends including the slaves and the owners were truly outstanding and some of the actors may well be nominated for some Academy Awards.  The film was very good, but there are many questions you ask yourself the entire film as you're trying to figure out how some things are all falling into place. Aside from that, you are able to follow the movie very well as it is timed very well.  The movie is a little over two hours, but the time feels like it flies by.  This was one of the best movies I have seen this year and I recommend that everyone watches this film because you will not be disappointed.  The cinematography was also very impressive as well as this film is close to flawless.  Go see this film before it starts raking in awards like crazy at the Golden Globes and Oscars.

Frozen - Review

Frozen was one of the most shocking, yet impressive animated films that has been released this year.  The story was very pleasurable to follow along with and had your attention span the entire film.  The character's motives and personalities were enjoyable as well, but one of the character's winds up being a plot twist in the film, in which was interesting to see.  I also really enjoyed the visual effects of this movie and it is no brainer that this film would be nominated for Best Animated Picture for the Oscar's.  The music in this movie sang by all the characters was brilliant as well.  I really do want to go out and get the soundtrack for this film as the music made the movie even more enjoyable.  This was a great all-around animated film and it is a must-see for anyone, especially the families to go out and watch.  I don't think anyone will be disappointed.

Rating - 3.5/5