Best Films of 2013

First, let me take some time to mention 3 films that might have been overlooked by a lot of people. While these 3 films did not make my top 10, they definitely deserve some special recognition.

1. Trance
2. Stoker
3. The Angel's Share

If you haven't seen any of these films (as well as the films below), take the time. You won't be disappointed.

Now, onto the list.

10. Nebraska

A beautiful examination on growing old that is both humorous and heartbreaking at the same time.

9. The Place Beyond the Pines


















Derek Cianfrance creates a sweeping film that examines how one man's actions can have repercussions that lat far past their lifetime.

8. To The Wonder

Terrence Malick returns to form in a emotional examination of love and love lost. And of course, some of the most beautiful and powerful photography of the year.

7. 12 Years A Slave

'12 Years A Slave' is certainly unflinching in its examination of slavery in the US. But more than that is is a wonderful examination of one man's fight for survival and freedom.

6. Inside Llewyn Davis

The Coen Brother's 'Davis' is a true love story to the folk music scene in New York City in the 1960s filled with wonderful characters and fantastic songs written by the talented T-Bone Burnett. Isaac's Davis is a lead character that you can't help but fall for.

5. Ain't Them Bodies Saints
















If Terrence Malick were to create a mainstream film, it would be 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' and that is a complement all films should strive for.

4. Laurence Anyways

















On the surface, 'Laurence' is about a man finally embracing his sexuality in an era in history when being transgender was an extreme taboo. But in fact it is a melancholy examination on what that decision could have on the ones a person loves.

3. Her

















'Her' is both wonderfully quirky and beautifully touching. It's Sci-Fi, yet completely plausable. Jonze has crafted a fantastic love story that is performed by a masterful Phoenix.

2. The Grandmaster

Every kung fu film in history has looked at the martial arts as a means for action. Wong Kar Wai masterfully shows it in it's true form: a philosophical way of life that goes beyond the fight and shapes the soul of those who follow its teachings.

1. Gravity

I have never been so emotionally involved in a film in my life. Never before have I sat in a theatre and fully transported into the world on screen which is a testament to Alfonso Cuaron's talent and visionary style of filmmaking.

Worst Films of 2013

5. Only God Forgives

The only thing saving this excruciatingly slow, meandering film is that it has some of the most beautiful cinematography of the year. But that's nowhere near enough to carry the rest of the flaws.


4. The Canyons

With the exception of Lohan, the acting in this film is on par with a bad middle school play. Throw in a totally unfocused, far fetched script and the film is just a mess.


3. Frances Ha

This film is the epitome of hipster pretentiousness. Nothing ever happens, the acting isn't anything worthwhile, and the characters are totally unlikeable. And of course, it just has to be in black and white.


2. Bad Grandpa

There's nothing wrong with a good hidden camera prank movie. However, don't treat your audiences like they're idiots and make them pretend that this isn't a film with Johnny Knoxville in tons of make up and then force a horribly, well, forced storyline down their throats on top of that. The scenes between pranks were just utterly awful.


1. We're The Millers

I'm not sure what's the worst aspect about this film. The fact that every joke is horribly unfunny, or that you can see every one coming from a mile away. This film is the absolutely unoriginal, uninteresting, and a total waste of a viewers' times. The cast of this film should've known better.

Best Albums of 2013

5. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time

4. Kanye West - Yeezus












3. The Naked & Famous - In Rolling Waves













2. CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe













1. Tegan & Sara - Heartthrob

BONUS:
Best of 2013 Playlist (click on song for music video)

1. Thirty Seconds to Mars - Up in the Air
2. Desaparecidos - Anonymous
3. Bloc Party - Ratchet
4. CHVRCHES - Recover
5. The Naked and Famous - I Kill Giants
6. John legend - All of Me
7. Tegan & Sara - How Come You Don't Want Me
8. Sky Ferreira - You're Not the One
9. She & Him - I Could've Been Your Girl
10. Sigur Ros - Isjaki
11. Paramore - Daydreaming
12. Kanye West - New Slaves
BONUS 13. The Lonely Island (feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar) - YOLO

Top 10 Films of 2012

10. Zero Dark Thirty
A wonderfully crafted film brought down only by Jessica Chastain who comes of more as a whiny woman behind a desk than an Bin Laden expert.

9. Wreck-It Ralph
The best Pixar movie made outside of Pixar. The film is perfectly rounded with something for viewers of all ages.

8. Moonrise Kingdom
Simply put, a much welcomed return to form for Anderson.

7. Life of Pi
A magical film about love, life, God, and survival brilliantly crafted by Ang Li. "Life of Pi" is the most unique film of the year by far.

6. This Must Be The Place
One of the most original travel films you will ever see in your life. Penn's Cheyenne is both fragile and powerful. A tour-de-force.

5. Beasts of the Southern Wild
Part fantasy, part heartbreaking drama. The performance five year old Quvenzhane Wallis gives is breathtaking.

4. Silver Linings Playbook
David O. Russell's romantic comedy breaths fresh air into a usually stale and boring genre. Cooper and Lawrence both play their flawed characters perfectly.

3. Rust and Bone
Cotillard delivers a powerhouse performance as Stephanie so much so that any award she doesn't win is doing her a disservice. The film will make you cry out of pain, happiness, and every emotion in between.

2. Argo
The fact that Affleck was able to construct a thriller based on historical events in a way that still keeps the audience on the edge of their seats is a testament to the fact that Affleck has moved well beyond the dick and fart jokes of the Kevin Smith films that first put him on the map.

1. Anna Kerenina
Part theatre, part Russian ballet, part film, all brilliant. This was by far the only film that captivated me from frame one to the very last credit.

Best Albums of 2012

5. Stars - North

4. Tilly and the Wall - Heavy Mood















3. Bloc Party - Four















2. Sigur Ros - Valtari

1. Silbermond - Himmel Auf
It might not be in English, but this is not only the best albums of the year, but one of the best albums of to 2000s.

Worst Films of 2012

Another year, and another list of the best and worst of the year. Here is a look back at the five worst films I saw last year.

Dishonorable mentions: "Chronicle" and "Mirror Mirror"

5. Casa de mi Padre

The novelty of Will Farrell speaking Spanish is gone before the first scene ends. Then it just becomes a horrible attempt at a cleverly written and acted spoof of Spanish Language films of the 1970s.

4. Lincoln

An actor's dream film. A viewer's worst nightmare. The film consists of a series of Oscar baited monologues from well known actor after well known actor to the point of complete annoyance. Even the brilliant Daniel Day-Lewis couldn't turn the horribly written dialogue into something fascinating.  And then there's Sally Field's horrible performance...

3. On the Road

Everything about this film is a mess. It's not engaging (especially Kristen Stewart's performance) and it just rambles on and on with no focus or point. Garrett Hedlund delivers a solid performance as Dean, but it's doomed simply by being surrounded by everything else in this film.

2. The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen needs to go back to his improvised mocumentaries because clearly scripted comedy is not his thing. This film is one of the most boring, unfunny comedies I have seen in years.

1. The Comedy

Hipsters rejoice! Your prophet has arrived! In a horrible ironic twist..."The Comedy" is a strict drama. However, it is so much more than that. It is the most pretentious, boring, aimless, dreadful film ever made. There is absolutely nothing going for this film. The characters are all boring, one dimensional, pricks with no redeeming quality. There is no story. There is no...nothing. It's no shocker that this film only had a 20 page treatment going into production.

And there you have it. Let's hope in 2013 I have a harder time coming up with this list.

R.I.P. Robert Sherman

Yesterday the world lost a great man. Robert Sheman, though many might not know him by name alone, the music he wrote with his brother is known around the world. He and his brothers wrote the timeless Disney songs from films such as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book,Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Charlotte's Web, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to name just a few. They also wrote the theme There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow for Walt's Carousel of Progress and It's A Small World (After All). This is just a fraction of the work he is known for.

Robert also joined the US forces at the age of 17 and became a very decorated member of the Army. He was also shot in the knee which left him to walk with a cane the rest of his life.

Robert's son Jeff, who broke the news to the world summed up Robert so beautifully. "He wanted to bring happiness to the world and, unquestionably, he succeeded. His love and his prayers, his philosophy and his poetry will live on forever. Forever his songs and his genius will bring hope, joy and love to this small, small world."

Robert, thank you for all of the joy you have brought to the world. You will certainly be missed but your legacy will live on forever.