Josh's Favorite Movies of 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

One of the best parts about the new year is reminiscing about all of the cool stuff that happened. I like to make lists. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Over the next few days I'll be doing exactly that. First up...  favorite movies: 

# 10 Despicable Me 2

Who says all sequels suck? I'm so glad they they expanded on Gru's life, rather than re-hashing old information--as most animated sequels do. His new girlfriend/wife was a great addition to the family and I love how they expanded on the minions. Even the purple monster minions were funny. Also, a shark on a rocket... come on... that's hilarious. 

# 9 The Wolverine

Okay, so let's get the elephant out of the room right now. The last 20 minutes of this movie sucked--which is why I didn't rate this higher. However, the first 3quarters of the movie were pretty solid and Hugh Jackman definitely gave his best Wolverine performance to date. PLUS, the teaser scene for the upcoming X-Men movie rocked.  

# 8 Ender's Game

Let's face it, those of us who read the book when we were children have been waiting over 20 years to see the movie. And to be honest I was a bit concerned with how this movie would turn out. But I was overall very impressed. The actors gave solid performances and the movie was very true to the book. My only complain is that I wish we could have spent a little more at the academy.I feel like they did a great job on the Ender-Graff and Ender-Rackham relationships, but left much to be desired with his relationships with the other kids. 

#7 Man of Steel

Although this wasn't the most sound movie (plot/dialogue-wise anyways), it was a great reboot for the franchise. The action scenes were out of this world. Henry Cavil was a believable superman and handled the mantle of Supes very well. I also loved the Krypton scenes/culture/back story. They did a great job depicting Superman's relationship with both of his fathers and his mother. The only thing that felt forced was his relationship with Lois Lane. Although I thought the new Lois was more gritty and relevant, their romance seemed a bit rushed and lacked real motivation.

#6 Star Trek: Into Darkness

Yet another great sequel. I loved this movie. Keep in mind, I used to make fun of Trekies in my younger years. Cumberbatch was great as Khan. Kirk and crew were spot-on. Bone's and Scotty had tons of great dialogue. The scene with the Klingons was rad--they totally crushed it! The only thing I worry/wonder is if Chekhov is a relevant character anymore...

#5 Iron Man 3

I loved this movie from beginning to end. Although it wasn't as good as Ironman 1, it was far better than 2. We see a different side of Tony Stark, as his mind is still coming to grips with the aftermath of the alien invasion from Avengers. Unlike most of the die-hard fans, I thought the plot twist with Mandarin was both brilliant AND super-funny. Guy Pearce was great villain and believable match for Robert Downy. The scene at the end with all of the different versions of Ironman was incredible (albeit a bit self indulgent) and I even liked what they did with Pepper Pots and the fire powers. 

#4 Thor: The Dark World

Fun, fun, fun. This movie was so much fun. I was worried there wasn't enough content for them to make another Thor movie, but boy was I wrong. Anyone who has a sibling, knows that they nailed the relationship between Thor and Loki. Asgard was incredible. Seeing the Star Wars-esque battle with the Dark Elves was uber-awesome. Also the fight at the end with Maleketh, where they jump through the different realms was epic! Also, Thor's mom--OMFG--what a bad-ass. My only complaint is the character Jane. I don't understand why Thor would dig her over the warrior chick from Asgard...

#3 Frozen

This was the biggest surprise of the year. I took my kids to this movie thinking it would be just another Disney princess film--a waste of my adult time. But boy was I wrong! The story was engaging. The characters were lovable. The songs were memorable. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the "Beauty and the Beast" of this decade.

#2 The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

Peter Jackson has done it again. Even though this wasn't technically a sequel, The Desolation of Smaug was better than its predecessor. I was worried about how a talking dragon would come across on the big screen, but I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised.  They spared no expense to make Smaug as impressive as he was in the book. Nothing short of spectacular. Even though I know the story, I was on the edge of my seat when Gandolf went to the enemies secret layer. Also, these were some of the best action sequences since LOTR. The barrel scene with Legolas was frigg'n awesome (and funny to boot). The way they depicted the dwarves battle with Smaug was both believable and exciting to watch. Also, the spider scene was super creeeeeeeepy! AND I loved the way they left on a cliffhanger. Great job!

#1 Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Yet another example of a sequel beating out the original. Catching Fire did a great job fixing the pacing, and shaky camera issues from the first installment while giving us a deeper look into this interesting world. The director did a great job showing us more of Panem and helping us understand the scope of the story. The dynamics of the love triangle were clear and we learned more about Katniss and her family. Having read the books it was nice to see that they not only portrayed scenes accurately, but did so in such a way that helped the audience get a real visceral feeling of being in the arena with the contestants. The range of emotions Jennifer Lawrence portrayed was incredible. Even in just the last scene, where she goes from scared, to surprised, to sad, to angry, to uber-pissed off. No words, just shear emotions. And she killed it. I can't wait to see Katniss and her team switch to beast mode and go crazy against the capitol. 

So what do you think? Did I miss anything? What were your favorite movies in 2013? Let me know in the comment section below.