Review of 2013

Well, as the year ends here comes the obligatory blog about the year's best that many of you will only glance at, bemoaning the absence of one film or my over exuberant praise of a title you found maudlin. First off then:

2013 WAS A DREADFUL YEAR FOR MOVIES

It absolutely was. There was virtually nothing this year that was great or worthy of purchase for the home theatre shelves (we all have those, right?). As filmmakers like Steven Spielberg talk about movie-going becoming a real novelty rather than art for the masses, the writing on the wall becomes ever more legible. Few films truly grip, studios try to meet the demands of every single demographic group resulting in everything lacking surprise or flair. Even those 'message movies' that the Oscars love were largely dull and irrelevant. I cannot recall any of them. The few interesting films there were were exactly that, interesting. Hardly, the stuff of praise to describe a film as interesting. Even the auteur pieces often felt too experimental or unchallenged by the editor's knife.

Therefore, my list will include interesting titles worth inspection but hardly essential. Although there were at least four films this year that were great and worthy of your money. We'll save them for the end.

WORTH A WATCH BUT HARDLY ESSENTIAL

MAN OF STEEL

I will defend this film more than most. Yes, it is an hour too long and has a complete disregard for human life (the innocent bystander body count hits genocidal figures), but there was something about this Superman iteration that felt relevant, which every iteration before didn't. Henry Cavill admirably fills the suit and the film acknowledges the fearful reaction the world would have to Kal-El. Kevin Costner's scant time on-screen alone gives the film a heart and soul. Hans Zimmer's score rocks too.

THE KINGS OF SUMMER

Coming of age tales about boys are fairly common these days. The beats are often too well trod to merit the nostalgia they aim for. What stands Kings of Summer out from the films before it is a wonderful sense of humour that manages to sit perfectly beside the more serious ideas. Add to that a cast that can handle either at the turn of a phrase. Nick Offerman gets special praise for finally nabbing a role proving there is more to him than the bitter buddha of his Parks and Recreation character, Ron Swanson.

MUD

Another coming-of-age tale, this time with an interesting criminal story in the background. The Mississippi setting has a threatening edge to it, and the characters are very well drawn given they all play second fiddle to child actors, Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. Matthew McConaughey continues his brilliant run of mature roles and more time devoted to his character would have been nice, rather than spending it with the boys. The third act evolves into the Peckinpah movie it has been threatening to be throughout, and it is a welcome change from the sedate pace that precedes it.

THE WORLD'S END

The Cornetto Trilogy concludes with the first inessential instalment. It lacks the laughs of its former films, and the ending feels like a cop-out but there is a lot to admire still. The central characters have Pegg and Frost playing refreshingly against type, and the central idea of the staling of friendship is a powerful one. Add in the best fight sequence of the year, and you have a pleasant watch. Just not the film you wanted to see.

THE LAST STAND

*GUILTY PLEASURE KLAXON* Seeing Schwarzenegger back on screen was an unexpected delight. The film is utter tosh and defies logic, physics, legal precedent and political correctness, but in an age of rather vanilla action it was a welcome palette cleanse, if one you instantly forgot after you finished watching.

FAST AND FURIOUS 6

It seems very odd to write, in the wake of recent news, the fun that is to be had watching this carmageddon, but that is exactly the film on screen and to describe it as anything else is perjury. This film is bonkers. The dialogue is awful, the plot is non-existent but when I tell you I laughed the hardest all year when Vin Diesel executes a flying head butt, you should be sold.

DJANGO UNCHAINED

When was the last time Quentin Tarantino heard the word no? This three hour Western is packed with originality and some exceptional characters (take a bow Messers DiCaprio and Jackson) but is crippled by the director's need to have everyone talk. Westerns are not about talking; they're about silence and action. Sometimes the dialogue works but often it slows the whole thing down. If he had taken an hour out of it, and maybe had the gall to give us the ending that the film threatened (a real downbeat ending where racial prejudice wins out seemed to be on the cards), it might have been a real return to QT's glory days.

ALAN PARTRIDGE: ALPHA PAPA

Fans of the Coogan character border on zealotry, such is their love for Alan; but was the film perfect? No. For such a short film it still dragged and often went into territory the TV show would never have allowed itself to venture. That said, the final ten minutes will have you in tears from laughing.

OBLIVION

Derivative of just about every film that came before, Oblivion was really not very original with its narrative. Visually though, it was exceptional. The scorched earthen landscapes were things of utter beauty and Joseph Kosinski (after his under-rated debut Tron: Legacy) is proving to be a wonderful visual storyteller, who takes his time setting up everything without an urge to blow something up. Also, the closing song is brilliant.

WORTH YOUR TIME AND MONEY

GRAVITY

Neither the saviour of cinema or a perfect, flawless piece of work. What we have is a one-off; a beautiful and thrilling ride that operates entirely within the confines of the cinema screen and through the glare of 3D glasses. Alfonso Cuaron has made a film that is absolutely meant to be seen in the darkened auditoriums of a multiplex, and it is a brilliant visceral piece of filmmaking that will have you gasping for air. But on home video; the experience will be lost. See it in a cinema and experience it. Because otherwise you will spend your time wondering what all the fuss was about.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

Greek tragedy done on a small-town scale. This is a film about characters, their actions and the repercussions. Ryan Gosling plays the deadbeat who starts stealing to provide for a son he barely knows, while Bradley Cooper evolves from earnest hero to careerist schemer. It is about twenty minutes too long, arguably Gosling's arc is the least essential, but the structure is so different from what we are accustomed to that the film just about manages to hold our attention despite the lag. This film has a devastating emotional power that leaves you thinking about what you saw long after the credits roll.

IRON MAN 3

Who would have thought the comic book movie could really surprise us a decade on? Under the directorial eye of 80s enfant terrible Shane Black, Marvel didn't just repeat the formula they had finally gotten right with last years Avengers. Black threw out the rule book and made a movie he wanted to see. Showing little regard for fan expectation or what had preceded it, he carved out a niche movie that barely resembles a comic book movie. The third act twist was brilliant and Robert Downey Jnr became the Sean Connery of Iron Man - irreplaceable. Like the director and film itself, he is funny, irreverent, but full of heart when required. It was a real surprise and the only blockbuster this year that tried to do something different whilst remaining loyal to the spirit of what had come before.

THE ONLY, REALLY GREAT FILM THIS YEAR

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Often a director too concerned with message or style, Paul Greengrass made his most humane film to date, resulting in the strongest film of his career. Tom Hanks is the story's beating, all-too-human heart, opposite Somali newcomer Barkhad Abdi, chilling with his ice cold practicality. 

After an opening scene that sets up the world Phillips has to lose, the tension never lets up. The terms "nail biting" and "edge of your seat" are overused hyperbole, but in this instance they are absolutely appropriate. Be it the opening siege or the later claustrophobic negotiations that make up the second half Greengrass' film is never short of tension. 

Much has been made of Hanks' final scene in the film, as the weight and reality of his character's ordeal finally hits home. It is the actor's finest work to date, but also represents the trauma the audience has just endured along with him. The film is brutal, uncompromising and the only one that I cannot stop talking about this year.