My favourite films in 2013
The order is sort of "a bit arbitrary". It's really hard to put films like "short term 12" and "gravity" next to each other. I loved them both for different reasons and the fact that one ended up 1st and the other 4th doesn't really mean one is better than the other, it's just that in this list I couldn't put 4 films as number 1.
That's all.
That's all.
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- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsBrie LarsonFrantz TurnerJohn Gallagher Jr.A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.This film truly touched me. It made me smile, laugh, cry... And I've been thinking about adopting a child ever since...
- DirectorHirokazu KoreedaStarsMasaharu FukuyamaMachiko OnoYôko MakiRyota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.One of the most touching films I've seen in a long time.
It had me in tears pretty much throughout...
Gentle, sweet, profound, never sentimental and yet incredibly emotional. - DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn the near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.One of the most accomplished films by Spike Jonze in my view. Clever, beautifully written, meaningful... disturbing and hilarious at the same time. Not for everyone, but I loved it.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd HarrisDr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.Yes, I know the script might now amount to much... But it's been a long time since I can remember being so overwhelmed by the experience of a movie like I have been with this one.
And of course, it has the best use of 3D EVER. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJonah HillMargot RobbieBased on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.It's probably baggy, overlong, rude, misoginist, but I had not had so much fun in a cinema for a long time.
Di Caprio is on top form and the editing is masterful. - DirectorsJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.A weird experiment... How on earth did they come up with this idea? An unforgettable film. It'll probably stay with me forever.
- DirectorHaifaa Al-MansourStarsWaad MohammedReem AbdullahAbdullrahman Al GohaniAn enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.Transgressing powerful and yet light, quiet and intimate at the same time.
Not just an important film, but a beautiful piece of cinema. - DirectorClio BarnardStarsConner ChapmanShaun ThomasSean GilderTwo thirteen-year-old working-class friends in Bradford seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal.Poignant and upsetting and yet tender and beautiful. A difficult film to recommend in the same way those old Italian film from the Neorealism time are difficult to digest and yet incredibly powerful.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.An amazing transformation from both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto make this an unforgettable film and elevate it to a must-see
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsEmma ThompsonTom HanksAnnie Rose BuckleyP. L. Travers, a London author who is financially broke, visits Los Angeles to meet Walt Disney, who is keen to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the cinema. However, his methods do not meet her approval.It might be my love for Mary Poppins, or maybe for Emma Thompson but I truly adored this one and by the end I was swept away by this charming comedy. One of the best of the year.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsMichael PolleyJohn BuchanMark PolleyA film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.An interesting, powerful and thoughtful documentary that challenges our notion of memory and family mythology and a study on storytelling and the slippery nature of truth. A detective story, a love letter, a film about making a film and, in the last act, an incredibly moving one too (even if it does loose some of its subtlety in places and actually it's very deceiving). Highly recommended
- DirectorJordan Vogt-RobertsStarsNick RobinsonGabriel BassoMoises AriasThree teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land.One of those little gems that hardly anyone saw at the time. Summer time, kids, and hut in a forest... Did somebody mention Stand by Me?
Sweet, poignant, honest and... just lovely. - DirectorWoody AllenStarsCate BlanchettAlec BaldwinPeter SarsgaardA New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks like a million dollars but isn't bringing money, peace or love.The best Woody Allen in years... Maybe because it's not trying to be funny. In fact the best scenes are the most dramatic ones.
.. And of course Cate is an Oscar Winner!!! - DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMatthew McConaugheyTye SheridanJacob LoflandOn a Mississippi River island, two young boys encounter a stranger who tells wild tales about bounty hunters and a beautiful woman.The first unexpected turn from McConaughey I saw in 2013. A revelation. But it's the main kid who steals the show on this one.
Delicate, hypnotizing, and beautiful. - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHugh JackmanJake GyllenhaalViola DavisA desperate father takes the law into his own hands after police fail to find two kidnapped girls.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpySeamus Davey-FitzpatrickWe meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, any more clever and any more inspired... Before Midnight comes along making this one possibly the best trilogy together with Toy Story in the history of cinema.
- DirectorsNat FaxonJim RashStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteAllison JanneyShy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.lovely, unpretentious and sweet. And anyway, give me a story about a misunderstood kid growing up during a summer holiday and you can be sure I'm going with it!
- DirectorRon HowardStarsDaniel BrühlChris HemsworthOlivia WildeJames Hunt and Niki Lauda, two extremely skilled Formula One racers, have an intense rivalry with each other. However, it is their enmity that pushes them to their limits.An unexpected surprise which almost made me forgive Ron Howard for the shameful Da Vinci Code and its terrible sequel/prequel Angels and Demons. Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda is very very very good and deserves all the praises he's been getting. Pacy, snappy and slick entertainment the way only Hollywood can give you.
- DirectorSean EllisStarsJake MacapagalJohn ArcillaAlthea VegaThis riveting crime thriller follows Oscar, a recent emigrant to Manila who gets pulled into a harrowing world of corruption and violence when he takes a job as an armored car driver to support his family (in Tagalog w/ English subtitles).
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsBruce DernWill ForteJune SquibbAn aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenAnnika WedderkoppA teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
