As of June 30, I had only seen 48 movies in the theater this year. (So you’d think I’d have more time to update this blog.) I’d better step it up by December 31.
January (5): Hitchcock, Silver Linings Playbook, Mama, Les Miserables, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
I had previously seen and enjoyed Hitchcock and Silver Linings Playbook in 2012. Mama is nicely atmospheric for a while, with an interesting performance by Jessica Chastain, but the premise inevitably descends into extreme silliness, and not the good kind. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is clever and very gory (and silly, but the good kind). I disliked Les Miserables much less than I’d anticipated, having no fondness for the source, but it was impossible (for me) to care about the fates of any of the characters–except maybe Javert. He was just trying to do his job!
February (7): Parker, Warm Bodies, Argo, Beautiful Creatures, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Side Effects
Parker is great fun, just the kind of lean, fast-paced crime movie I tend to enjoy, and about a katrillion times better than Payback, the last attempt to adapt the Donald Westlake/Richard Stark character. Warm Bodies and Beautiful Creatures are fine if you’re a teenager. Snitch is well-made and features a very respectable, very serious lead performance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (In the same vein, see also: the darker, severely underappreciated Faster.)
March (11): Jack the Giant Slayer, The Last Exorcism Part 2, Dead Man Down, Dead Man Down, Dead Man Down, Jack Reacher, Oz: The Great and Powerful, Stoker, Admission, Olympus Has Fallen, G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Jack the Giant Slayer and Oz: The Great and Powerful are decent family films. I was dubious about The Last Exorcism Part 2, given how much I loved the first movie and its crazy ending, but my doubts were unfounded: this installment drops the found-footage angle and focuses on poor Nell and her continued struggles, and Ashley Bell is more than up to the task of carrying the movie. I saw Dead Man Down three times in one week (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday), so, yeah, I liked it; it’s a story about blackmail and vengeance, and there are expensive-looking action sequences and explosions, but it’s completely character-driven. A+. I had missed Jack Reacher in 2012; I quite enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind a sequel. Stoker is gorgeously shot, anchored by a brilliant performance from Mia Wasikowska. Admission is a nice romantic comedy/drama with an unusual female protagonist. Olympus Has Fallen is not exactly “good” and just looks cheap when compared to White House Down, but its one redeeming feature is that it is really violent. And I suppose it’s sort of amusing. G.I. Joe: Retaliation is fine, but I found myself missing the characters from the first movie.
April (10): Olympus Has Fallen, Jurassic Park, Evil Dead, Spring Breakers, Ginger & Rosa, The Sapphires, Trance, Oblivion, Disconnect, Pain & Gain
I ended up seeing Olympus Has Fallen a second time because I lost a bet. Jurassic Park holds up remarkably well, even if I’d rather be watching Jurassic Park III. Evil Dead is one of the goriest movies I have ever seen in theaters. Spring Breakers is surprisingly good, a critique rather than a celebration. I expected to like Ginger & Rosa more than I did, which is something I can say for pretty much all of Sally Potter’s films, so you’d think I’d eventually learn to lower my expectations. The Sapphires is terrific, and woefully underseen. Trance is a return to form for Danny Boyle, closer in tone to Shallow Grave than Slumdog Millionaire (thank goodness). Oblivion is one of the better sci-fi movies of the last decade, a welcome surprise. Disconnect is distinctly unsettling and I’m still thinking about it, so, job well done, filmmakers. (Lessons learned: never buy anything online, never post on message boards, never Google “teen runaways.”) Pain & Gain is a violent black comedy, right up my alley.
May (5): Iron Man 3, Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6
Iron Man 3 is by far the best of the series, thanks in large part to writer/director Shane Black. I liked Star Trek Into Darkness more than the first one. Fast and Furious 6 is a lot of fun, can’t wait for the next installment.
June (9): Now You See Me, Frances Ha, The Purge, The East, Man of Steel, The Bling Ring, World War Z, White House Down, The Heat
Now You See Me is a diverting caper film. Frances Ha is a nice showcase for co-writer/star Greta Gerwig, who is very likable. The Purge has an entertaining premise and an important message: kids and neighbors are THE WORST. The East is complex, well-acted, well-written. Man of Steel is probably the best Superman movie to date. The Bling Ring is well done but inconsequential. World War Z is much better than I thought it would be; that goes for White House Down, too. The Heat is not only very amusing, but also casually feminist, so, a good time at the movies.
Top 5 of 2013 (so far): Dead Man Down, The Sapphires, Stoker, Frances Ha, The East
Best Summer Movies (so far): I have actually enjoyed almost all of the big-budget summer releases this year – Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6, Man of Steel, World War Z, White House Down, The Lone Ranger. I also liked The Heat and Now You See Me. So either summer movies are getting better or I’m getting less critical in my advanced age.
Summer Movie MVP: Literally the week before I saw Iron Man 3, I started watching the AMC show Rubicon (only one season, 2010). When I saw Iron Man 3, I thought, “Gee, that remarkably competent henchman looks very familiar.” Only when the credits rolled did I realize that it was James Badge Dale, the star of Rubicon. He also has brief but memorable turns in World War Z (as the captain in Korea) and The Lone Ranger (as the Lone Ranger’s brother), leading Entertainment Weekly to dub him “the American Sean Bean.”
Mom’s Top 5 of 2013: Star Trek Into Darkness, The Sapphires, Kon-Tiki, White House Down, Man of Steel
Dad’s Top 5 of 2013: 42, Iron Man 3, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Lone Ranger, The Sapphires
Kaiti’s Top 5 of 2013: Iron Man 3, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Fast & Furious 6, White House Down, The Lone Ranger
eating junk, watching rubbish 