Happy New Year, everyone. Time for my
annual ranking of movies. I saw 27 this year, that's the most I've had on this
list for years. It may be the most I've ever had. Still, there were movies I'm
sorry I missed--Blue Jasmine, Blue is the Warmest Colour,
The Wind Rises, and Her. Sometimes even
piracy can't get around lousy distribution. I'll probably include them on
2014's list.
A lot of the films on this list may draw
dispute--one in particular I'd be inclined to call a 2012 film except
Sight and Sound ranked it with 2013 films. Mostly I just go
on when the film had its first wide release in some major market, somewhere.
Okay, here they are, counting down from
worst to best. Turns out there was only one movie this year I thoroughly
hated:
27. The
Conjuring (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
I probably wouldn't have seen this if I'd
known it was from the same director as Saw. But The
Conjuring sucks in a different way than Saw with
less dull zaniness and more emptiness.
26. Man of
Steel (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
There were some nice performances and
action in this movie but they couldn't save it from one bonehead plot point
after another, from a mentally unstable Jonathan Kent to a Lois Lane written as an after thought.
All with a big bland Henry Cavill bow on top.
25. The Secret Life of
Walter Mitty (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Some funny, skit-like parodies and good
performances were too out of context in an attempt at a sincere story which
suffered more from a lack of commitment in its director.
24. Star Trek: Into
Darkness (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Ineffective callbacks to Star Trek
II detract somewhat from good performances by Cumberbatch, Pine,
Saldana, Pegg, and Weller. The film also has some effective action sequences.
23.
Gravity (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Truly incredible visuals and filmmaking
technique are unfortunately directly opposed by a story based on the idea that
everything is under God's benevolent control.
22. Pacific
Rim (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Guillermo Del Toro's homage to anime and
kaiju movies is a lot of fun.
21. An Adventure in Space
and Time (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
I'm not sure how good this movie would be
for anyone who's not a fan of Doctor Who but the story of
William Hartnell's growing inability to perform a job he was extremely
passionate about is heart breaking. David Bradley's performance is
extraordinary.
20. Chennai
Express (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
Some really fun musical numbers, beautiful
costumes and scenery and a couple of charismatic stars. A lot of fun.
19. Upstream
Colour (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
Some really nice, dreamlike filmmaking is
sabotaged a little by the director's disapproval of sex and hypocritical stance
on religion and Transcendentalism.
18. Evangelion: 3.0 You
Can (Not) Redo (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版：Q Evangerion Shin Gekijōban: Kyū) (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Not nearly as good as the original series
but it was nice to finally see Shinji and Kaworu get to spend real time
together and there's plenty of beautiful, bizarre imagery of Superflat
structures, bloody seas and giant entrails.
17. World War
Z (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Although I like the film as a whole, this
one mainly earns its rank for its first half hour, a really well made sequence
of a family dealing with their city's sudden zombie infestation.
16. Iron Man
3 (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
A group of characters nicely realised, more
by the performers than the writers, play off each other really well. And Tony
Stark coming to grips with who he is in the universe in a new way works too.
15. This Is the
End (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
A very funny film about authentically
shallow people and their shallowness surviving the apocalypse and even death.
14. Europa
Report (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
A nice, found footage style film impressive
for its credible depiction of space travel that easily eclipses
Gravity.
13. Only God Forgives
(my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Gorgeous imagery and a great, Spaghetti
Western story about loyalty and justice doesn't quite have the impact it
perhaps ought to. But all the pieces are fantastic.
12. The Hobbit: The
Desolation of Smaug (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Wonderful imagery and a complex world
hampered by a couple needless subplots and action sequences. Nevertheless, even
some of the unnecessary stuff is quite good. This film would have ranked higher
had it maintained a better focus on Bilbo.
11. Frances
Ha (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Really funny, vital dialogue and some
charming performances. It may play it just a bit too safe with its hipster
protagonists but you like Frances
enough to want to stay with her on this ride.
10. The Place Beyond the
Pines (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
A good, slow burning story about how the
world can work against basic human need.
9. Byzantium (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Contemplative, beautiful imagery and subtle
performances of subtle characters. It's people trying to crawl out from under
oppressive identities and lonely circumstances.
It's not hard to see why the director of
this film has been called the next Miyazaki
but his mood is more adult and the story less interesting. What makes this
story work is in how brilliantly it conveys just a rainy day.
7. Devil's
Pass (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
A brilliant chain of established tension
through well written characters and effectively weird situations spooled out
with good story telling instincts.
6. The
Counsellor (my
review, the Wikipedia
entry)
A terribly cruel, philosophical
film noir.
5. The World's
End (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
An engaging portrayal of a group of old
friends and a small tale of responsibility versus hedonism that rather
amusingly becomes a big tale of responsibility versus hedonism.
4.
Mama (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
Frightening production design, costumes,
makeup and effects all serve a genuinely wonderful story about characters and
their relationships. It's a story that doesn't pass judgement on the needs of
the dead or the living.
A movie that pares the question of morality
to the very bone, every scene finding just the right question to ask in order to
reach a far larger question.
2. The Wolf of Wall
Street (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
1. The Act of
Killing (my
review, the
Wikipedia entry)
A strange technique is used to
surreptitiously cause an unrepentant mass murderer to slowly come to realise
just what his actions mean. A tremendous piece of filmmaking made all the more
horrifying and saddening for how easy it was for so many others in Indonesia to
live happily after committing atrocities. It's a frightening and enlightening
film about just how deeply malleable morality is.
Twitter Sonnet #581
Ill fitted forks refrain from the fight
club.
Drama dribbles charmed basket ball crumb
cake.
Nuclear socket paint sunk the wood sub.
Mucus porkpie hat says Hutt's on the take.
Blank stilt walker cassettes jangle above.
Recorded aromas bake the wine bread.
Gas station cafes sell a red bug.
Galactic pharmacies leave rock undead.
Robot mouse mannequins dance for spark
plugs.
Animal malt shops maul trolley ice cream.
Pink hair freighters clutch their timid old
tugs.
Foam egg arms embrace a flat pillow dream.
Magnetic teas tickle with white silk mitts.
Peas with black eyes write the New Year
permits.
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