[tps_title]Evan Griffin’s Top Films of 2013[/tps_title]
#5 The Way Way Back
There’s something strange about this movie. Maybe it’s my fascination with Steve Carell finally playing a truly unredeemable jerk rather than a goofy accidental jerk. Maybe it’s the infinite charm of Sam Rockwell. It very well could be that beach town that this film’s summer was filmed in was practically near where I grew up (Hey, I’ve been to birthday parties at Water Wizz) and every summer I felt like I was exactly the same kid Liam James was playing throughout the film. All I know is that this movie made me, for the first time a movie did in a very long time, feel noticeably happy when I walked out of the theater. There’s nothing wrong with a feel good movie that shows that the only way to be comfortable with growing up is taking care of who you really love and that nobody ACTUALLY grows up: we just kind of try to hide it, and writer/director Jim Rash (Community) and Nat Faxon (The Descendants) shine that through loud and clear.
#4 Iron Man 3
I’m biased, I love Marvel. That being said, I also love Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). So when you allow him to team up with Robert Downey Junior again, and throw in hundreds of Iron Man suits and an equal amount of dark comedy we’ve yet to see in most Marvel character’s movies? Yeah, of course I’m going to love it. It’s not without its problems, but it’s the most sympathetic we’ve seen Tony Stark, and he’s a character people already love.
#3 12 Years a Slave
This film had an effect on everyone who saw it, where you’re in a haze of depression when you walk out of the theater. Powerful performances from every single actor from Benedict Cumberbatch ro Michael Fassbender, and not one ounce of star power is wasted, but not one can hold a candle to Chiwetel Ejiofor’s performance, which is beyond compare. And Steve McQueen’s direction depicts slavery in the 19th Century in the most painfully honest way I’ve ever seen. It also made me realize that, despite its gruesome history, the deep south is actually a quite beautiful scenery!
#2 Gravity
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Sandra Bullock’s nearly solo performance is truly amazing and is the heart of what allows us to be sucked into, what sounds like such a simple concept, on a very personal level. This film is gorgeous, and Alfonso Cuaron’s film absolutely deserves every award and nomination as Ang Lee’s Life of Pi earned last year as an Oscar film. It is effects driven, but the technology is used to effectively drive the film, not run its emotional core into the ground.
#1 The World’s End
The final entry of the hysterical, very loosely tied together trilogy of British comedy brought to you by the bizarrely witty trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. If you loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, there is literally no reason you should not watch this movie immediately. If you haven’t seen any of them, they’re all wildly inspired and some of the hardest laughs I’ve had from movies in years. It’s Bloody (and Ice Cream) Brilliant every step of the way.
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