Good Evening Followers!!!! As many of you know, today is the
final day of 2013!!! I can’t believe how fast the year has come and gone. The
films released this year have been memorable in both a positive and negative
way. But now, focus is shifting to the films that await us in 2014. With the
New Year just hours away, let me share with you my top 5 films from this past
year.
Star Trek Into
Darkness
Out of all the films I could think
of this year that had a lasting impact on me, Star Trek Into Darkness constantly
appeared in the conversation. As the follow up to one of my all-time favorite
sci-fi films, Into Darkness was an action packed and emotionally engaging
spectacle that delivered big in every aspect. From the brilliant performance of
Benedict Cumberbatch to the intense action sequences that left me breathless,
Star Trek Into Darkness is no question a clear cut choice as one of my top
films of 2013
Pacific Rim
One of the big surprises on this
list is Pacific Rim. I came into that movie with high expectations. But my
expectations were soon outmatched by an epic spectacle that is just as big as
its larger than life fighting robots. Pacific Rim delivered on what I believe
to be the best action movie of the year. Combining eye popping visual effects
with white knuckle action, Pacific Rim became a huge success story during the
Summer Movie Season. I for one am glad that this film made it on the list. It
clearly earned the spot as one 2013’s best pictures.
Lee Daniel’s The
Butler
This one truly is a first, a film
on my list that made an impact on me not with visual effects, explosions, or
loud action, but with its incredibly powerful story of triumph and strength.
Headlined by an incredible all-star cast, Lee Daniel’s The Butler is proudly
displayed on my list. An engaging story told with strong emotion and little
apology. Daniels truly doesn’t hold back in his films. You truly get the full
effect of what the characters go through during that time period and it is
sometimes hard to sit through but by the end, you are glad you did. This film
defiantly belongs on this list as well as it belongs on the nomination board
for the upcoming award season.
Captain Phillips
Miles out at sea, far away from
human contact, and pirates are bearing down on your position. What would you do
to keep your crew safe? That question was answered in full in the Tom Hanks
thriller Captain Phillips. One of the most powerfully intense films I’ve ever
seen, Captain Phillips isn’t a guns blazing explosion fest, but a very
emotionally intense experience that holds you all the way through. This film is
now among my favorite Tom Hanks movies and one of the best films of the year.
Behind Hanks and some great up and coming talent, Captain Phillips is a triumph
that belongs in the conversation as a possible Oscar contender.
The Hunger Games:
Catching Fire
Can’t really say I’m surprised by
this one. The sequel to the 2012 blockbuster came in with high expectations and
delivered on them as smooth as silk. Behind another strong performance by Oscar
winner Jennifer Lawrence, Catching Fire displayed the first film’s strengths
and improved greatly on its weaknesses. Newcomers to the franchise Sam Claflin
and Jena Malone were fantastic in their roles as Finnick Odair and Johanna
Mason respectively in addition to veterans Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth
building on their characters. Delivering bigger action and thrills, more
emotion, and staying tremendously true to the source material, The Hunger
Games: Catching Fire establishes itself as the best film in the franchise and
raises the bar for incoming young adult novel adaptions which hasn’t been done
since Harry Potter. The odds were no question in this film’s favor.
Compiling this list was extremely tough given all the great films I
saw this year. But in the end, the result is exactly how I wanted it. These
films were among 2013’s best and I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store.
Speaking of which, check in tomorrow for my list of the ten movies I’m psyched
to see in the New Year. See ya soon!!!
