The Movies I Saw In 2013

[shutyertrap]

I've taken to doing this every year on Facebook, and I posted it here last year. So why break tradition? What follows is everything I saw for the first time in 2013. I find seeing what a person watches tells a lot about them, especially if they're honest about it! Feel free to strike up a conversation with me about what I did or didn't watch this year.

These are the movies I saw in 2013 for the first time and an asterisk indicates seeing it in a theater…

Most Liked for 2013 (no particular order)

-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*
-Iron Man 3*
-Fast & Furious 6*
-Despicable Me 2*
-The Wolverine*
-Gravity*
-The Hunger Games: Catching Fire*
-Django Unchained
-Silver Linings Playbook
-Pitch Perfect
-Dredd

Last year I picked ‘The Raid’ as the movie to see. Turns out ‘Dredd’ was almost the exact same movie! However, Gravity is the flick I knew I had to see in 3D on the big screen, and it didn’t disappoint.

Better than average that I saw in 2013

-Warm Bodies
-Evil Dead
-Frozen *
-Monsters University*
-Moonrise Kingdom
-This Is 40
-Seven Psychopaths
-Argo
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower
-Magic Mike

I’m not always a Wes Anderson fan, but I really dug ‘Moonrise Kingdom’. I may have just liked it because of how precise his camera moves.
‘Perks of a Wallflower’ is the other film that stands out just by sheer virtue of not pandering to the audience.

Movies I Hated in 2013

A Good Day To Die Hard*
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (fell asleep by the end and didn’t bother to rewind)
Twilight: Breaking Dawn pt. 2 (thank God this crap is over)
Total Recall (why? Completely pointless)
The Watch (a fart of a movie)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (should have been fun, but no, just boring)
Project X (dammit I’m old. Grew angrier at kids every second I watched)

I love the Die Hard movies. I have zero love for this latest one. You could practically see Bruce just counting the money while he recited lines. So many convenient circumstances it was laughable. Stretched believability to the breaking point even for a Die Hard movie. I mean, a spray that cleans up radiation? A car managing to force a very armored truck into a concrete divide? C’mon now.

Everything Else I Saw 2013

54 new to me movies I saw this year. That’s 8 few than last year. Of that, 13 I saw in the theater, which is 3 more than last year. The difference was Mace actually wanting to see some things this year. While I feel the movies I liked most are much better than last year’s list, everything else didn’t really have much impact on me. Part of that comes from seeing many of these long after the hype has died down. The other part is seeing ‘em at home instead of in a theater. The enjoyment of seeing a movie with a crowd on a big screen doesn’t make a movie better, but it can make the experience more memorable.

The Last Stand
Oz the Great and Powerful
Olympus Has Fallen
Jurassic Park 3D*
Oblivion*
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Now You See Me
World War Z
Blackfish
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2*
Red Tails
Jack Reacher
Zero Dark Thirty
Killing Them Softly
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Cloud Atlas
Frankenweenie
Killer Joe
Savages
The Amazing Spider-Man
Katy Perry: Part of Me
Ted
Brave
Dark Shadows
Goon

Special Awards for 2013…

Movie I knew was gonna suck but watched anyways: Hansel & Gretel
Movie I regret paying to see in the theater (which almost never happens): Die Hard 5
The “well that was depressing” movie that made me feel guilty for still wanting to visit Sea World: Blackfish
Despite the word ‘kill’, movies that didn’t excite: Killer Joe, Killing Them Soflty
Why I continue to watch small budgeted or indie films: Perks of a Wallflower, Magic Mike
Movie that reminds you Ah-nold is irreplaceable: Total Recal
Movie that reminds you Ah-nold is no longer himself: The Last Stand
The “curse you, shakey-cam!” award: Zero Dark Thirty
The “maybe I just don’t get it” award: Lincoln
The “yes I actually made a point of watching this” award: Katy Perry: Part of Me

 

[Jeff Strong]

Told ya Gravity was good!

Might go see the new Hobbit tomorrow. I'm not a huge fan, but they are entertaining.

This is 40 was awful. Didn't finish it.

I agree with your other rankings for those I've seen, which is actually less than half of 'em, heh.

 

[grashopper]

Gotta say, Iron Man 3 would be a huge disappointment for me. Enjoyed the first two a lot and how they were a bit more grounded in reality but I think the avengers ruined it. All the wonky alien talk and stuff killed it a bit for me. It didn't feel like it added to the story and was casually mentioned to tie it in.
The rest was ok...ish but didn't live up to my hype.

Loved Silver Linings Playbook
Wolverine was surprisingly decent.
I thought Total Recall was actually pretty good. Not to replace the oldie but it was a decent sci-fi flick if you ignore the name.

Really wanting to see gravity.

I'll add Great Gatsby - not entirely sure how I feel about that but man....Toby is really hard to watch at points.
Water for Elephants - had that twilight guy and Reese Witherspoon. That said, surprisingly good.

Can't remember much else that you haven't listed.

 

[night]

Two movies that stood out for me: Django Unchained (horrific realism mixed with twisted humor makes this movie a surrealistic masterpiece). Live of Pie (just a great Zen experience).

Frankenweenie I just love, because I am a fan of Tim Burton and there is nothing not to like about this movie.
Gravity was good.

Below average: Despicable Me 2. As cool and great as the first movie was, this is a sad rip-off lacking a good story with lame jokes. I hope this will not become like the endless Ice Age movies that gets worse and worse.

 

[netizen]

In no particular order, actually in reverse order of the ones pulled from my Netflix Viewing Activity list

Evil
Timecrimes
Rise of the Zombies
Slaughterhouse Five
Triumph of the Spirit
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Do The Right Thing
I Need That Record
GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
The People vs. George Lucas
The Big Fix
We're Not Broke
Independent America: Rising from Ruins
Big Boys Gone Bananas!*
Nicholas Nickleby
Dealin' with Idiots
Killing Bono
Sympathy for Delicious
The Terminator
This Must Be the Place
Gallowwalkers
Reel Injun
Rhyme & Reason
The King's Speech
Paranormal Whacktivity


Films that stood out and I actually remember them:
The FP
Robot & Frank
Primer
Upstream Color
Super
Goats
Starlet
Snow on tha Bluff
Inseparable
Sound of Noise
Garbage

 

[kimkom]

Nice list there SYT.

Gotta say I was tempted by Gravity but it just looked liked two people spinning around in space, followed by more spinning in space while crashing into things. Hopefully there was more to it than that!

I got to catch up with some new Blu-Rays over Christmas and I have to say I really enjoyed Oblivion. Predictable but beautifully made and had a great score.

I thought Monsters Uni was a let down and of the rest you mention, Life of Pi was a triumph in my opinion.

Shakey-cam (for the love of God, stop!) awards to Man of Steel and Star Trek: Into Darkness.

 

[kimkom]

Told ya Gravity was good!

Might go see the new Hobbit tomorrow. I'm not a huge fan, but they are entertaining.

Me neither, but I heard this one is really good.

 

[night]

I forgot The Conjuring, great chilling horror flick!

 

[xAzatothx]

quite enjoyed Elysium.

 

[shutyertrap]

Might go see the new Hobbit tomorrow. I'm not a huge fan, but they are entertaining.

This is 40 was awful. Didn't finish it.

Technically I cheated and saw The Hobbit on new years day, but too bad! While I think these are lacking in the wonder that I experienced with LOTR, it's still the same vibe and I can't get enough of 'em. Not many 3 hour movies can make me settle in and at the end have me go, "what? it's over??"

This Is 40 struck too many chords for me to deny it. My 'above average' list really is movies that stuck with me somehow. In other words, I didn't forget them moments after watching.

Gotta say, Iron Man 3 would be a huge disappointment for me. Enjoyed the first two a lot and how they were a bit more grounded in reality but I think the avengers ruined it.

Loved Silver Linings Playbook
Wolverine was surprisingly decent.
I thought Total Recall was actually pretty good. Not to replace the oldie but it was a decent sci-fi flick if you ignore the name.

I don't think you're wrong about The Avengers tainting everything. I do feel Iron Man 3 was much better than 2 though, which felt like nothing more than a place holder. And I really like the dialogue Shane Black writes.

Total Recall I could have been fine with if they hadn't done call outs to moments from the original. It felt like they were doing their own thing, changing up the story and all, and then they'd put in either a one liner from the original, or do a moment like removing the tracking bug that completely pailed but still reminded you of the original. Worst moment was using the "get ready for a big surprise!" woman only to have it be a fake out. Had you not seen the original, the scene would not play the same and was actually kinda pointless.

Below average: Despicable Me 2. As cool and great as the first movie was, this is a sad rip-off lacking a good story with lame jokes.

My kid was dying to see DM2, so I took him opening day. It was one of the best experiences I've had at the movies with him. He had such a great time, it was infectious. He had a similar good time with Cloudy 2, but I merely shrugged at that one. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the minions.

Gotta say I was tempted by Gravity but it just looked liked two people spinning around in space, followed by more spinning in space while crashing into things. Hopefully there was more to it than that!

I thought Monsters Uni was a let down and of the rest you mention, Life of Pi was a triumph in my opinion.

Gravity is quite simply an experience. It's what seeing a movie on a large screen is all about. I don't know how it will play on a TV, but I suspect it will be like when a friend of mine finally saw Jurassic Park. He watched it on a 19" tv late at night with the sound barely on so that he didn't wake up anyone. Afterwards he was like, "meh, I don't see what the big deal was". Now if you have an 80" 3D set with full surround, your home experience might differ!

I liked Monsters U even if it was Revenge of the Nerds lite. Pixar man, they tap into a happy place.

 

[shutyertrap]

Here's what I know I'll see for sure in the next year. I get Netflix 3 times a year, and only for one month each time. In that time, as fast as they can send 'em in the mail, I'm watching. At various points in the year, Dish will give a weekend free of HBO or Starz, and I let my DVR go crazy, recording things I might only be slightly interested in. Usually this is where my worst list comes from! Anyway, here's the sure rentals...

Pain and Gain
The Great Gatsby
This Is The End
Man of Steel
Pacific Rim
R.I.P.D.
Elysium
The World’s End
Metallica Through The Never
Machete Kills
Enders Game
Thor: The Dark World
American Hustle
Saving Mr. Banks
47 Ronin
Wolf of Wall Street
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay

 

[kimkom]

Gravity is quite simply an experience. It's what seeing a movie on a large screen is all about. I don't know how it will play on a TV, but I suspect it will be like when a friend of mine finally saw Jurassic Park. He watched it on a 19" tv late at night with the sound barely on so that he didn't wake up anyone. Afterwards he was like, "meh, I don't see what the big deal was". Now if you have an 80" 3D set with full surround, your home experience might differ!

I liked Monsters U even if it was Revenge of the Nerds lite. Pixar man, they tap into a happy place.

Yeah, I get what you're saying about Gravity. I had a feeling it may not transfer the experience all that well to the smaller screen, but having not seen it I was hoping there may be more than just eye candy and 'an experience'. I had one person tell me it was in their top 5 worst films of all time!

Pixar, gotta love 'em. The Incredibles, Up and Wall-e... probably among their best films. Monsters Uni though? Nah, nowhere near those heights for me. I'd rank it as one of their lowest points.

Also, I get where grashopper is coming from, I thought the remake of Total Recall was pretty cool. Lens flare overload in places

Argo was another nice surprise. Liked that.

Enjoyed Elysium too, even though it went a bit mental towards the end. Though not as mental as Django Unchained! That was a film and a half.

 

[Gord Lacey]

I wish I could see more movies in the theater, but I've found the "theater experience" to be extremely frustrating. Far too many idiots on their phones the entire movie. The last movie I went to was Thor 2, and I nearly got into a fight with a guy who wouldn't stop texting the entire time. Near the end of the movie I pulled out my phone, turned on the flashlight and shone it on him and said "Put your ****ing phone away!" This was after asking him twice to stop texting earlier. So frustrating!

I really didn't like "This is 40." I found that to be extremely depressing, and not that funny.

 

[xAzatothx]

forgot all about Argo! Saw it during a flight. Really enjoyed it - although fact I can't remember it, makes me question how good it really was

 

[Kolchak357]

Watch much more at home than the theatre.
But I did go see Skyfall (007), and Pacific Rim. Both were fun.
Wife also dragged me to see some awful chick flick. Can't, and don't want to remember the name.

 

[Bonzo]

There's a Slaughterhouse 5 movie?

 

[kimkom]

Any takers for Rush? That was one we were aiming to see at the cinema but never got round to it.

Captain Phillips was another one...

Come to think of it, there were a lot of releases in 2013!

 

[JefferyD]

Slaughterhouse Five is a terrific movie. I read somewhere that Vonnegut said he liked it. I saw it all the way through for the first time this year. Really well done, I thought.

 

[netizen]

There's a Slaughterhouse 5 movie?

Nope, i was totally imagining it in between other movies and books