My Top 10 Best Movies of 2013 - List by Matt Harrison

After finally seeing enough films, I can now make my list of my Top 10 best movies of 2013. Before I begin, I have a couple disclaimers. One, this is my list and my opinion will be different to yours meaning, so please respect my opinion as I would respect yours. Two, I didn't see every movie to come out this year but I did see all of the ones I was desperate to see. Three, this list will also be different to my preliminary list I made on New Year's Eve as I have seen more movies and my opinion on a couple of movies may have changed.

One last thing, the honourable mentions. These are movies I thought were great but I can't put them on my Top 10 list because I enjoyed other movies more. They are:


12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Elysium

Frozen

Mud

Saving Mr Banks


I know right? 12 Years a Slave didn't make the list? That just shows you how much I love these 10 great movies below. Without further ado, let's begin the list:



#10 Prisoners

Despite having an unsettling subject matter, Prisoners is masterfully shot by the genius Roger Deakins and acted beautifully by Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano in particular. Prisoners will keep you guessing throughout and is one that really gets under you skin when you've finished watching it, much like David Fincher's Se7en.




#9 The Place Beyond the Pines

I gave this great movie an A+ but it has moved down the list in the last couple of weeks. Despite not enjoying the movie as much as others on the list, I found myself in awe of it's beauty and completely captivated by the characters on screen. The acting is fantastic, the script emotionally engaging and what I loved so much about it was it's unique handle on storytelling, which allowed this clear three-part drama to unfold.




#8 Star Trek Into Darkness

JJ Abrams yet again provides us with a stunning and entertaining Star Trek movie, only this time it really is meant for Star Trek fans. Despite not knowing a thing about Star Trek lore, I enjoyed this movie so much. I thought the relationship between Kirk and Spok was as dynamic as ever without it ever re-hashing the first film and Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain was incredibly captivating and menacing, as expected.




#7 Man of Steel

Some people love it and some people hate it. I love it. I know it has many flaws and I can understand them, but I walked out of Man of Steel with what I wanted, a gateway to a DC Cinematic Universe, which they are now expanding. Hans Zimmer's score was the best of the year, Cavill was a perfect Superman and watching Superman use his powers causing utter chaos and destruction was entertaining as hell, and fine by me.




#6 Her

I don't like romance movies but I love Her. Spike Jonze's love story is brought to realisation through an award-worthy screenplay and characters that the actor's realise to their full potential. Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerising as ever, Scarlett Johansson's voice work brought her character (a computer) to life as it's own being, and I found myself really wanting this relationship to work. Heavily emotionally invested within the story and in awe about the care and detail put into the world building, Her really got under my skin.




#5 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

This is more like it. This was one of the most fun movie experiences of the year because this movie did exactly what the Lord of the Rings did, it made you feel as if you were going on the quest. The Desolation of Smaug was non-stop excitement and thrills throughout. Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen were perfect as Bilbo and Gandalf respectively, plus the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) is the best dragon ever put on screen. Jaw-droppingly beautiful and menacing as hell, he was a great asset to the story and the movie as a whole. I have to wait a whole year for the last movie, which is way too long.




#4 American Hustle

David O'Russell's latest effort has received critical acclaim from award-giving associations so nowadays it is the cool thing to say that it's overrated. I disagree. The writing is fantastic, the music is kick-ass, and the characters are so layered and so interesting that I could literally sit down and watch them interact with each other all day long. The performances are all amazing, plus it's a movie with such a clever plot that it demands repeat viewings. I can't wait to watch it a second time.




#3 Gravity

As a 90 minute thriller, Gravity is perfection. Sat there with my heart-pounding and my fists clenched, all I wanted was for Sandra Bullock to bloody grab on to something! Gravity is the best visual experience I've ever had with a movie. The visual effects are the best I've ever seen and the sound editing was used effectively. The cinematography was also the best of the year as it gave the emptiness and isolation of space it's own character, contributing more to the thrills. Alfonso Cuaron deserves a Best Director award at the Oscar's as this "Director's film" had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Like Avatar, people think it's the cool thing to hate on it but I honestly loved the thing to pieces.





#2 The Wolf of Wall Street

Martin Scorsese is back and this time the 71 year old is producing a super-charged movie like the Wolf of Wall Street. Directed with flair and energy, this movie is also the funniest of the entire year. I spent a lot of the 3 hour run time laughing my ass off or being seriously entertained by everything that was happening on screen. Di Caprio finally got an Oscar nod for this performance in which he is on fire, Jonah Hill also scored a much-deserved nomination as well. As said before, this movie is 3 hours long and not one single second of it was dull. I love the debauchery and hilarity of this movie, but it's only number 2.




#1 Rush

I walked out of Rush with a beaming smile on my face. I was so thankful that such a great movie had been made about the sport I love, and handled with such accuracy and care. The amount of detail that went into re-creating one of the best rivalries in F1 history was staggering. The music, the editing, the cinematography, the phenomenally-handled race sequences added to this atmosphere of high-octane drama and danger. However, Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl's Oscar-snubbed performance as Niki Lauda were stand-out. The rivalry was handled with amazing perspective and maturity and I was constantly switching back and forth between the 2 without ever having to chose which one to route for. Despite knowing the outcome of the story (being a massive F1 nerd) I still found myself on the edge of my seat clenching my fists at what was going happening on screen. It's honestly one of my favourite movies of all time, I love Rush. It's my favourite movie of 2013.







Thank you to anyone who viewed this list and I can't wait to start reviewing 2014 releases in the future. 2013 was an amazing year for movies, so comment below your top 10/favourite movie of the year and share your opinions with the world.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

My Top 10 Movies of 2013 - Preliminary List

As promised, I wouldn't end the year without a list of my top 10 movies of this year. Before I begin I have 2 things I want to disclaim. One, there are a lot of movies that won't make this list because I haven't actually had chance to see them. I will be seeing these 2013 releases in early 2014 and hopefully some of them can make my final list come Oscar build-up season. Two, my list will be different to yours. Please respect my choices as I would for yours. Thank you, let's begin...


10) Elysium - Neil Blomkamp's Elysium slots in at number 10 on my list as this Summer movie was not only exciting, but brimming with his passion. Amalgamating enjoyable sci-fi aspects with relevant social commentary, Elysium was a fun and thought-provoking time in the movie theatre.


9) Captain Phillips - Tom Hank's amazing performance in which he disappears into the role of the man Richard Phillips coupled with Paul Greengrass's confident direction that created a claustrophobic and isolated atmosphere of tension in a thriller which impressed me a fair bit.


8) Saving Mr Banks - Tom Hanks creeps on to my list again but really this movie is all about Emma Thompson, who puts in an award worthy performance as P.L Travers. Saving Mr Banks has stuck with me since the day I saw it and I really liked it because it mixed some very happy feel-good moments with realistic emotional tones, creating a varied emotional viewing experience.


7) Prisoners - This movie about child abduction gave me a chilling feeling inside of me, which is credit to Roger Deakin's perfect cinematography and performances by Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal that were hypnotisingly brilliant. This compelling movie is being overlooked by various "award giving" associations.


6) Star Trek Into Darkness - JJ Abram's sequel to the 2009 Star Trek movie gave Star Trek fanatics what they wanted. Not a "Trekkie" myself, I really enjoyed this summer blockbuster due to the dynamic relationship between Kirk and Spok and Benedict Cumberbatch's mesmerising and authorative performances as the villain.


5) Man of Steel - A dividing movie among the fans, I loved this movie. Not only was it nice to see Superman use his whole palette of abilities, but it was also gratifying to see him throw down with a villain destroying everything in their path. Plus, Hans Zimmer's score is the best of the year.


4) The Place Beyond the Pines - A movie split into 3 parts, The Place Beyond the Pines is a drama with it's own unique handle on story telling, some epic cinematography that brings the pine forest to life plus some compelling performances from a very talented cast. This drama sucked me into it's world and I was thoroughly invested in the story and characters throughout.


3) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - This is what I wanted to see from a Hobbit movie. The second part of this trilogy saw it's excitement never stop throughout. I was constantly entertained through all the dangerous scenarios our characters found themselves in, plus while watching I felt exactly the same as I did when watching Lord of the Rings for the first time. Now that ain't nothing.


2) Gravity - Combining the best visual effects I have ever seen with cinematography that made me feel out their in space with the characters, Gravity was a non-stop 90 minute nail-biter in which I ended up clenching my fists hoping Sandra Bullock would make her way out of this impossible scenario more times than I can recall. It's cool to hate on Gravity, but it's visually breath-taking and heart-poundingly thrilling for it's entirety. 


1) Rush - Thanks Ron Howard! Not only did you surpass all of my expectations, you created a movie in which F1's tradition was respected by creating an atmosphere of risk and danger. I could go on for days about my love for this movie. For now, let's just say I had the highest expectations for Rush compared to any other movie I saw this year and still left the theatre with the most satisfaction. I love Rush, it's going to take something special to beat it in the final Top 10 list.


So there you are. Granted this list could change with a lot of movies on my list still to see. The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Inside Llewyn Davis, Her and Dallas Buyers Club are the main ones to look out for in the coming moths and hopefully some of them can make the final list when I make it. I'm looking forward to that list; there'll be honourable mentions, pictures and all!

Thanks for reading as usual. Happy New Year to all of you reading this and here's to another year of great movies in 2014!

Thanks again,
Matt