***Favorite Films of 2013***

It's that time of the year again.
The time where lots of critics and cinephiles post their Top 10 (or Top 13 because of 2013).
Most of them post their picks throughout this last month.
I always wait until the very last day to post.
Like always, it's a difficult task choosing my favorites. 
I saw 80 movies this year that are considered 2013 according to
the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 
I narrowed it down to 15 (Top 10 and 5 Honorable Mentions).
These films are either films that entertained me the most, that touched
me in either appropriate or inappropriate ways, and either surprised me or inspired me.

My personal Top 10 Favorite Films of 2013:

 1. Big Bad Wolves
 2. The Wolf of Wall Street
 3. Why Don't You Play In Hell?
 4. Pacific Rim
 5. The Dirties
 6. The Conjuring
 7. Monsters University
 8. R100
 9. The Way Way Back
10. The Last Stand

Honorable Mentions: Gravity, The Kings of Summer, Side Effects, Mood Indigo, and Trance.

This year I had Samurai Monday, Vampire Thursday, Cult Classic Friday, and Oscar Sunday as
monthly specials.
Here's my most favorite to least favorite for each category:

Samurai Monday
 1. Zatoichi
 2. Swords of Vengeance
 3. Shogun's Samurai
 4. When The Last Sword is Drawn
 5. Harakiri
 6. Samurai I
 7. Samurai II
 8. Hanzo the Razor
 9. Samurai III
10. Shogun's Shadow
11. Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai
12. The Twilight Samurai

Vampire Thursday
 1. Blacula
 2. Near Dark
 3. Fright Night
 4. Innocent Blood
 5. Blade Trinity
 6. Byzantium
 7. Dracula (original)
 8. Kiss of the Damned
 9. Day Watch
10. The Hunger
11. Fearless Vampire Killers
12. Vampyr

Cult Classic Friday
 1. Harold and Maude
 2. Eating Raoul
 3. Flash Gordon
 4. Pink Flamingos
 5. This is Spinal Tap
 6. The Room
 7. Mommie Dearest
 8. The Warriors
 9. Naked Lunch
10. Crumb
11. Plan 9 From Outer Space
12. The Man Who Fell to Earth

Oscar Sunday
 1. In the Heat of the Night
 2. Kramer Vs. Kramer
 3. My Fair Lady
 4. The Sting
 5. Rain Man
 6. Rebecca
 7. The French Connection
 8. Hamlet
 9. The Greatest Show on Earth
10. It Happened In One Night
11. Grand Hotel
12. Amadeus

The Croods (2013)

The Croods IMDb
Cute and awesome at the same time.  My son and I enjoyed this caveman adventure story.  A story about family, about adapting to changes, and becoming adventurous for survival. Each character was pretty cool.  You got the protective father and the rebellious teenage daughter story.  Lots of wild and colorful animals including cute red birds that get together and eat big living animals.  Nice.  I'm not a cat person but that colorful tiger was pretty awesome.  I want one of those now.  Overall, nice Animation.  I think this is my 2nd favorite animation this year.  My favorite is still Monsters University.

American Hustle (2013)

American Hustle IMDb
My last movie to see in the theatre this year was this movie.  It was okay for me.  The highlights here are the performances, the wardrobe, and that awesome soundtrack.  That's it.  The story was nothing special.  The first half reminded me of old school Martin Scorsese films.  Too bad Scorsese didn't direct this himself, might of been badass.  I didn't really care for the main characters.  The characters I loved was Jennifer Lawrence's character and Jeremy Renner's character.  My favorite moment has to be when Jennifer Lawrence goes all out singing "Live and Let Die."  Awesome.  I wanted more substance out of this movie.  This won't make it in my top favorite films this year but good to see once for those wonderful performances.  In the Academy Awards political world, this might be the movie they would choose to win.  In my world, it's a bit overrated. 

We're the Millers (2013)

We're The Millers IMDb
Pretty much what I expected: a silly no brainer comedy with a few laughs.  I like the premise of the movie.  In fact, that is what attracted me in the first place.  I like movies about pot and road trips.  Why not?  I think the only character I didn't like here is the American drug boss played by Ed Helms.  Sorry, I don't think he's funny at all.  This is the type of movie I usually wait for on DVD (preferably Redbox, I wouldn't dare pick this at Vulcan when they have other rarities I rather watch).  Okay story, a few funny scenes, lots of cheesy moments, and a typical mainstream ending.  Favorite comedic moment:  Our main guy goes to get a haircut to blend in as a family man.  He tells the stylist to make his hair like the same style as a miserable married guy who hates his boring life and routines and wants to kill himself.  A bored married guy sitting in the waiting area interrupts and tells the stylist pointing at his hair, "right here, just like this one."  This movie would of been hilarious if there were stoner scenes.  Not recommended.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street IMDb
Martin Scorsese's latest film made 2013 a whole lot better.  I am pleased to write that this movie was freaking awesome.  Another title that could describe this movie better would be: Goodfellas of Wall Street.  Yes my friends, this is that good.  I had a feeling this movie wasn't going to let me down.  I kind of hyped it up for myself and it still delivered.  So many great scenes.  So many great performances.  Man, this was funny as hell.  I lost count of all the times I laughed throughout this movie.  There are also lots of sex and drugs in this movie.  Non-stop.  Money buys everything.  One of my favorite scenes: a very messed up Leonard DiCaprio crawls for a while under the influence of some rare pills.  His performance was excellent in this movie.  Even Jonah Hill was good in his role.  Great narration! Great soundtrack.  This movie is 3 hours long but they went by quick for me.  I seriously felt like I was high on cocaine throughout the movie and even after it was over.  Scorsese has never failed me.  Must see movie of the year.  One of my top favorites.  Can't decide if this is number one or number two.   Great to have seen this on Christmas!

Cloudy Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

Cloudy Chance of Meatballs 2 IMDb
I'm a big fan of the first movie. It surprised me and it was a fun ride all the way.  This one also had its charms.  Of course, not as good and fun as the first one, but still entertaining.  Love the characters.  How about that big "Hamburger Spider"?  Creepy but yet looks delicious.  Our main scientist guy is back again.  This time he is ordered by his scientist idol to go on a mission to save the island that is overrun by living food.  He takes his friends along.  Great adventures.  He is being used by his idol.  He learns that these so called evil food isn't evil at all.  Now, he must make things right. The little baby strawberry was cute.  Steve the monkey was funny as usual.  I think this is my second favorite Animation this year.  Enjoyed this with my son.

Oscar Sunday: Rain Man

Rain Man IMDb
Dustin Hoffman can play a good autistic guy.  I liked the movie.  I didn't know what to expect.  A solid award winning drama.  Tom Cruise plays a heartless sales man who's only after money.  When his rich father dies and leaves 3 million dollars to his brother he didn't know existed, he goes out of his way to get to know his brother only to get half of the money.  Like most Hollywood dramas, the character learns and becomes mature towards the end.  I really like Hoffman's performance here.  Love the way he repeats stuff and how smart his character is.  Hell, I would also take him to Vegas and count cards if he was my brother.  Hahaha!  Overall, pretty good drama from the 80's.  That concludes Oscar Sunday this year.  I'll list my most favorite to least favorite at the end of the year.

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Inside Llewyn Davis IMDb
I'm a huge fan of the Coen Brothers but their last few films haven't been that awesome as their older stuff.  This one was okay.  A little disappointing since I wanted more out of it.  Normally, I would of waited to see this on DVD, but, because of the Coens and because I am lucky to live in a city where they appreciate movies, I got to see this in the theatre.  I didn't mind the usual quirky characters and some of the dialogue that reminded me of the Coens.  The overall picture though, felt weak.  I'm not into folk music but I did like one or two songs from here.  Lots of drama with a few comedic moments about a struggling musician who keeps messing up and staying in other people's couches.  Felt a bit sorry for him.  I wanted more out of the supporting characters.  Left the theatre feeling incomplete.  Movies this year haven't been that strong with me.  I still got two more to see in the theatre before the year is over: The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle.  I'm hoping for at least one of those to kick ass.  We'll see. Inside Llewyn Davis is recommended for a one time viewing if you're into folk music and depressing dramas.

Cult Classic Friday: Crumb

Crumb IMDb
My last Cult Classic of the year gets wrapped up with this documentary.  It always comes up in Cult Classic lists.  It's presented by David Lynch.  This is a documentary about the comic artist who created stuff like Fritz the Cat.  His name is Robert Crumb.  He draws lots of psychedelic and sexual stuff.  Hell, he has several fetishes including underskirt and feet, I think.  I didn't know anything about the guy.  He is still alive.  This covers his inspirations as an artist, his dysfunctional family, and interviews with his past lovers.  Reminds me a bit of a great documentary I own called, The Devil and Daniel Johnston.  I thought Crumb was okay to see but nothing special about it. So with that, I would say, a one night stand for those interested.  That's it.  At the end of the year, I will list my most favorite to least favorite movie from Cult Classic Friday this year.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Anchorman 2 IMDb
It is very hard to write my comments on a movie sometimes.  This is one of those times.  Of course, this is my personal opinion and you can take it or you can send it right back.  Don't mean to sound like a school boy bitch, but I was fairly disappointed with this sequel.  It had some laughs and some great moments but the overall picture didn't do it for me.  First of all, it was two hours.  No silly comedy should be that long.  Second, they went over the top in a lot of stuff.  They also went cameo crazy.  It didn't have the freshness and magic from the first movie.  I wanted to see more about the newsroom and making the news rather than a lot of stuff that happens outside the workplace.  I did like the father and son aspect.  Ron Burgundy's son reminds me of my son.  I was wanting more out of this comedy.  I remember seeing the first movie in the theatre and I thought it was okay at first and then I fell in love after multiple viewings.  Not sure if this movie would be the same.  For some reason, most comedies I've seen this year, aren't cutting it for me.  I think if you're a fan of Anchorman, you should see it and have your own opinion.  For others, I wouldn't recommend it.

The Dead Pool

The Dead Pool IMDb
The last Dirty Harry flick surprisingly still delivers.  It follows the same formula as the others.  Starts out with a murder or crime by our main antagonist.  Dirty Harry goes out shooting during a robbery.  He gets chewed out by his superiors.  Tracks down our killer at the end.  It's the same as the other 4 movies but somehow it is still "cool."  At least in my book.  I don't get tired of this character.  Clint Eastwood is badass in his role.  Jim Carrey and Liam Neeson comes out in this one.  Best kill: always in the end, Dirty Harry uses something big for the final kill.  This time he uses a harpoon gun.  Good old 80's action flick with some horror elements.  Love all these movies.  Glad to have the Ultimate Collector's Edition.  Highly recommended.  

New Release Tuesday: Prisoners (2013)

Prisoners IMDb
Not bad of a thriller we got here with a few surprises.  A few months ago, I saw a little film from Israel called "Big Bad Wolves."  It blew my mind up.  To this day, it is my number one favorite film.  This film here is kinda like Big Bad Wolves except there's no dark humor, no clever script, and not as intense.  This is Hollywood trying to make an intense film.  Love Paul Dano as a crazy disturbed guy.  He gets tortured here to the fullest by Mr. Wolverine himself.  There are a lot of cool scenes here.  Semi-predictable ending.  Good solid thriller that I would recommend for a one night of entertainment.  Now, fans of bad ass cinema: look out for Big Bad Wolves in the future.

Sudden Impact

Sudden Impact IMDb
The fourth Dirty Harry movie still delivers.  It is directed by Mr. Clint Eastwood himself.  This one has the revenge theme on it (MS. 45 and I Spit On Your Grave style).  Harry Callahan is sent to a small nearby town and he's on the hunt for a possible serial killer.  The killer is a woman who was raped along with her sister 10 years prior.  She's now taking revenge on those responsible.  She meets path with Dirty Harry and it seems like there are some sparks between them.  Meanwhile, the true bad guys out there start messing with the wrong detective.  This one has the famous line, "Go ahead, make my day!"  The restaurant shootout in the beginning was pretty awesome.  Another good recommendation.

The Enforcer

The Enforcer IMDb
Another Dirty Harry movie bites the dust. The same kind of plot like the others.  Harry is still hardcore and has conflicts with his superiors.  He has a new partner.  This time instead of a serial killer or vigilante cops, he's after some terrorists.  Short and simple.  Harry kicks some ass throughout the film.  Some good old violent scenes.  Love the first two movies.  This one was pretty good.  The streets of San Francisco has a bad ass hero.  Wish his boss would just step away and let him do his own thing.  I mean, everybody should know by now to just trust this guy.  He'll get the job done.
Favorite kill: the bazooka scene at the end.  Hell yeah.  Recommended!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug IMDb
I was going to wait for this on DVD but my girlfriend insisted for a theatrical viewing.  So here I am.  It is everything I expected.  I expected the same old Middle Earth stuff.  Love the fighting sequences.  The spider fights and the fights between the elves and the orcs were my favorites.  All the other stuff is just filler.  I wish this was one hour shorter.  We don't need three 3 hour movies for this.  Wish they could of just made one long 3 hour movie instead of milking it.  But, oh well.  This is a great adventure.  Still like the first one more.  I haven't read the books so I was surprised that they went to the dragon already.  Lots of dragon fighting scenes.  They should of ended this there but we need another 3 hours of them continuing battling the dragon.  To be continued next year.  I love how the first Hobbit movie ended with a good cliffhanger moment.  This one, was a little dull.  Recommended for a great adventure but not priority. 

Magnum Force

Magnum Force IMDb
Dirty Harry is back with another great 70's action flick.  This time is about vigilante cops.  The first half was decent and I stayed wide awake in that bad ass second half.  There's some gore, lots of shooting, and some cool chase scenes.  I saw Dirty Harry for the first time back in 2011 for Shame On Me Night.  Bought the Ultimate Collector's Edition on sale for under 10 bucks the other day and the whole box is practically new.  Man, I feel lucky, punk!  I'll be watching the other 3 movies soon.  I normally don't buy movies I haven't seen but I made a special exception for this box set.   Favorite kill in Magnum Force: Harry Callahan uses his car to kill one of the biker cops in a head on collision.  Highly Recommended and worth buying. 

Vampire Thursday: Byzantium

Byzantium IMDb
The last Vampire Thursday ever was spent with this movie.  I kind of liked it and I kind of didn't.  I like the vampire prostitute angle.  Hey, they gotta survive financially somehow.  I didn't like that they kept going to flashbacks and the ending was a little too poetic for my taste.  The gore here is awesome though. Gotta mention that.  This is from Neil Jordan who also brought us "Interview with the Vampire."  It's got that one girl from Hanna.  It's got the coming of age theme as well.  Overall, I didn't feel it.  Not recommended.  This year's Vampire Thursday has been a disappointment.  I think I liked one or two movies out of the twelve.  Maybe because I've already seen all the good vampire movies.  Oh well, I tried.  At the end of the year, I'll post my most favorite to least favorite movie from Vampire Thursday as well as my other personal monthly specials from this year.

Nebraska (2013)

Nebraska IMDb
A decent dramedy by the guy who brought us "Sideways" and "The Descendants."  It was actually a lot funnier than I expected.  Of course, the drama takes over the whole thing.  Love the mother in this movie.  Very good character.  Crazy indie movie about an old man who thinks he won a million dollars through a sweepstakes letter he received.  His immediate family tells him that it's a scam.  He doesn't care.  He's determined to travel to Nebraska and claim his prize.  His son finally takes him and this road trip story starts.  It's a cute story about father and son bonding.  I would recommend this movie.  It felt good watching this on my birthday.  Started a tradition where I go to the theatre and see a movie for my birthday.  Last year, I took my son to see Wreck it Ralph on my birthday.  This year, is this movie. 

New Release Tuesday: Man of Tai Chi (2013)

Man of Tai Chi IMDb
I didn't like this kung fu movie.  It came out at Fantastic Fest this year.  It is Directed by Keanu Reeves.  Glad I missed it at the festival.   It is non stop action.  Nothing wrong with that.  The problem I had was the story.  It felt bland.  Not original.  Shoot, each time Keanu Reeves comes out, he says something stupid.  He plays an exaggerated villain.  I didn't care for the characters. Movie not recommended.  Go see Tai Chi Master with Jet Li instead. 

Reality Bites

Reality Bites IMDb
This movie bites!  I saw some of it back in the 90's but never the whole thing until tonight.  I understand what they were trying to do but overall I thought it sucked.  It's the typical friends that fall in love story directed by Ben Stiller.  Some of it was funny and most of it was cheesy.  Can't believe I grew up in the 90's.  I like some other cheesy stuff from this period like Saved By The Bell and some the romantic comedies like Clueless.  This movie though, was not my style.  Some of the music is okay.  Ethan Hawke sucks.  Winona Ryder was pretty cool.  Not a movie I would recommend unless you're a girl who grew up in the 90's and never seen this.  I guess this movie was made mostly for them.  Why? I would never know. My favorite part was watching this with my girlfriend warm in the couch on a cold winter night. 

Now You See Me (2013)

Now You See Me IMDb
Imagine if David Blaine and three others just like him would get together and pull a big magical over the top heist.  That's what you get in this movie.  Interesting but too over the top for me as far as the magic tricks go.  It's like Ocean's Eleven with magicians except there's a big super twist at the end.  That's it.  It kept me interested overall but not enough to love the movie.  Jesse Eisenberg plays the same character like most of his movies.  Michael Cane was in it for a few moments there.  That one badass French girl from Inglourious Basterds is here.  She's pretty good.   We got Morgan Freeman's character exposing us to the truth and how these "heist magicians" are able to pull each trick.  So for a one night of entertainment and one night only, I say this movie is okay to see.  Nothing else beyond that. The big Hollywood twist just doesn't do it for me.

Blackfish (2013)

Blackfish IMDb
Am I ready to go to Sea World now after watching this? You betcha!  Gotta get me a Shamu stuffed animal.  Forget what these whales go through.  All sarcasm aside, this documentary was pretty powerful.  Not as powerful as "The Cove" but still delivers a strong message.  I like that we hear testimonials from a few former Sea World trainers.  There's lots of footage from actual incidents taken from tourists.  The doc shows from when whales are captured and separated from their families to being frustrated and locked up in theme parks.  There has been lots of incidents where whales turn on their trainers (sometimes deadly) because of all the stress and frustrations.  Yet, the Sea World corporation denies the facts and blame trainers for these tragedies.  This doc was sad and at the same time, it made me angry.  I won't be taking Nathan there anytime soon.  This movie is worth watching at least once. 

New Release: Drinking Buddies (2013)

Drinking Buddies IMDb
A comedy/drama directed by the one dude from You're Next and other horror flicks.  This is a movie about friendships, love, and beer.  All that sounds good at first but after a while, all of them except for the beer ends up not good.  I knew I wasn't going to like this movie.  Why did I see The Wolverine in the theater?  That could of been my New Release Tuesday today and would of been a lot better than this movie.  I like that this whole thing is improvised by all the actors but they get annoying in a lot of moments.  I don't like Olivia Wilde.  There, I said it.  I'm one of the minority in that aspect. This is shot mostly at a brewery in Chicago.  Gotta visit soon.  Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this movie.  Go see, ah, Beerfest or something.  

Turbo (2013)

Turbo IMDb
Saw this animation with my son at the discount theatre in Round Rock.  The first 30 minutes were great and had lots of potential but then the rest sucked.  It's like Pixar's Cars but with snails.  Man, I thought I've seen everything.  Apparently, these are strong snails.  Not talking about our main snail who gets special powers.  I'm talking about these other snails.  They can take over the city if they put their heads together.  They can fall hundred feet in the air and not put a scratch on their shell.  Okay, I gotta suspend my belief here.  Even with that, I didn't really get into the story.  My son, Nathan, was more into his popcorn and soda.
Not recommended! 

Samurai Monday: When The Last Sword Is Drawn

When The Last Sword is Drawn IMDb
Very awesome movie.  I really liked the story a lot.  Yeah, the last 20 minutes of this long movie was unnecessary in my opinion, but, nothing that would ruin the whole movie.  We got some good samurai action here and some awesome characters.  A little confusing but love that it went back and forth between the present and the past.  Beautiful imagery.  It's about a poor guy who becomes a samurai and does many jobs to send money to his family.  Along the way, he starts becoming a true honorable samurai but stuff happens of course.  The first half had some comedic elements to it but most of the movie was filled with drama and samurai action.  I would highly recommend this movie to samurai fans, maybe even worth buying.   One of the best samurai movies I've seen.

The Internship (2013)

The Internship IMDb
This was silly but I already knew that going in.  It's just another typical comedy filled with cliches.  We got the stuck up girl who is mean half of the movie then super nice the second half.  We have the typical competitive mean guy who leads the top team in this "Internship" competition.  And of course, we have our Wedding Crashers back together again.  It was predictable but fun at times.  It would be badass to work for Google but not to see this  movie again.  Not recommended unless you're in the mood for a silly Hollywood comedy.