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An article looking at some of the top pics from this year, published by the newspaper entirely written for and run by young people. Our website, though we are not allowed to post a link, is youngperspective.net
With 2013 fast drawing to a close, it’s about that time of year we start to look back over the films the past months have brought. Although, I should stress, the 2013 movie season is far from over - that’s usually marked by the Oscars the following February. That being said, it’s always nice just to have a quick recap of what we’ve been served along with some of my personal favourites.
So far, I have to say Pacific Rim is the movie of the year for me. The blend between silly characters with broad caricatures mixed with the jaw-droopingly awesome fights between 25-storey high robots and Godzilla-esque towering beasts ensured I loved every little bit of it. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but it’s certainly self-aware enough to mean that you’re always engaged on more than a superficial level whilst being constantly entertained. It’s certainly not to everyone’s taste (you know who you are), but for me it provides endless rewatchability and it is brilliant spectacle.
Talking of spectacle, another excellent sci-fi this year was of course Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Mirroring Pacific Rim with amazing visuals (although Gravity’s are undoubtedly superior), it was equally thin on character or plot, Gravity replaces the huge unending fun ride of Pacific Rim with knuckle-biting tension from start to finish. The thing with Gravity is that at certain points there are obvious gaps, moments where more or simply better development for both the characters and plot would benefit the film, moments which weren’t apparent in Pacific Rim. I’m not saying Pacific Rim couldn’t have ensured better development (to be honest each of the characters could have been replaced with a cardboard cut-outs and not much would have changed), but it’s that Gravity is always trying to have you convinced it’s about these deep human characters, with religious subtexts and themes about evolution. It’s certainly beautiful and definitely brilliantly entertaining, but on some level it feels a tad empty with chunks that could hugely benefit from a smudge more character depth. I understand that it’s a bit hypocritical to be saying this and still letting Pacific Rim be at the top of my list, but it’s all opinions anyways. Pacific Rim thrilled me throughout, unfortunately Gravity had me, very occasionally – well, lost.
While we’re on the subject of huge blockbusters, another big surprise of the year was Iron Man 3. Going in with expectations not that high, I was pleasantly surprised by the brilliant script, snappy dialogue and explosive action and characters, all piling up to create one of the best and funniest Marvel superhero movies so far. It soars above any of the other superhero films this year, despite strong competition from Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World or The Wolverine.
By this point we’ve already got some serious Oscar worthy films for our own personal consideration. One strong contender is undoubtedly Ron Howard’s Formula 1 biopic, Rush. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor himself) as over-the-top, brash British racer James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (The Fifth Estate) as cool, calculating Austrian Niki Lauda, the two go head to head to compete for what they see as ultimate glory. Sure, it sags a little in the middle and at some points the characters are almost too simplistic (with some definitely gratuitous sex scenes thrown in), but overall it’s lively, well-acted and the racing sequences are terrific. Once they’re in the cars and the music is pounding in the background, you’ll forget all its flaws and just enjoy the ride.
Another very strong entry would be Prisoners. Starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal (two personal favourites of mine) as a father trying to recover his kidnapped daughter and the detective in charge of the case respectively, they do absolutely incredible jobs. Their performances are both real and powerful, and it’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from Jackman (excluding as Wolverine, of course) and Gyllenhaal (not including Donnie Darko. I did say one of their best…). The movie serves as a slow-burning, incredibly tense thriller, a disturbing insight into potential situations that could realistically spin off out of hand and as a poignant statement about both the purpose of torture and what it means for someone to be truly desperate.
There were a few brilliant comedies that I thought could be specifically mentioned here. Obviously there was Edgar Wright’s conclusion to the fantastic ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ with The World’s End, pitching high school friends Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman some decades on from when they last met and – eh, fighting a huge horde of robots. The fantastically sharp and witty humour that has now come expected from Wright (in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) is piled up again and again here, along with some really melancholic and sincere themes about teenage years and moving on from the past. Not as good as Shaun of the Dead, but still excellent.
Picture
The World's End © Focus Features
The Way Way Back also unreservedly deserves a mention. A very sweet coming-of-age comedy about a 14-year old boy, Duncan, who goes to stay in his step-fathers’ (Steve Carrell) holiday house, where he accidentally gets a job at the local water-park run by Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is undoubtedly the star here, with nearly every line being hilariously zany or sarcastic or just plain funny. The themes of childhood and growing up and whatnot are definitely not fresh, but the film manages to put its own spin on them well enough to keep you consistently charmed and entertained throughout.
There are a few movies I loved this year that didn’t get mainstream cinematic release at all, so I’m sorry if you haven’t heard of these next ones. The best independent movie I’ve seen this year so far is The Kings of Summer, again a coming-of-age comedy, this time where 3 friends decide to leave their parents and go to make their own house in the woods, living there forever. With such a simple premise and a simple plot, the film wondrously manages to get so much constant humour and heart out of all the young stars and adult actors alike. It’s definitely worth a watch.
One that managed to slip under most people’s radar was a film called What Maisie Knew. Following a seven year old girl (Maisie) through the borderline traumatic divorce that her parents (Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore) are going though, the film does an outstanding job of making sure that you are completely hooked on everything Maisie does. Another captivating performance from the ever fantastic Alexander Skarsgård (The East, True Blood – TV) only adds to the quiet brilliance of the superbly miserable film, which leaves you glued to your screen.
Probably one of the best made movies I’ve seen this year was another small one, Short Term 12. It follows two social workers who help run a lodge-type home for neglected children with varying mental disorders and difficulties. The film is very powerful in a contained way, even the slightest movements or sentences can set you on edge. At points it’s tough to watch; sometimes because you’re close to tears, other times because the emotional or physical impact on what you’re seeing is very distressing. It’s charming, sad and generally brilliant all round, a strangely uplifting and depressing film that demands to be seen by all.
Those are my picks for best of the year so far. As I said, there’s still much to look forward to, brutal slavery drama 12 Years a Slave, fantasy adventure The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and many others wait to be seen before February arrives. Just for clarity, I’ve assembled all of the movies I’ve mentioned in order of preference, how/where you can see them and a review Young Perspective published on them if applicable.
(see our website for list)
With 2013 fast drawing to a close, it’s about that time of year we start to look back over the films the past months have brought. Although, I should stress, the 2013 movie season is far from over - that’s usually marked by the Oscars the following February. That being said, it’s always nice just to have a quick recap of what we’ve been served along with some of my personal favourites.
So far, I have to say Pacific Rim is the movie of the year for me. The blend between silly characters with broad caricatures mixed with the jaw-droopingly awesome fights between 25-storey high robots and Godzilla-esque towering beasts ensured I loved every little bit of it. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but it’s certainly self-aware enough to mean that you’re always engaged on more than a superficial level whilst being constantly entertained. It’s certainly not to everyone’s taste (you know who you are), but for me it provides endless rewatchability and it is brilliant spectacle.
Talking of spectacle, another excellent sci-fi this year was of course Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Mirroring Pacific Rim with amazing visuals (although Gravity’s are undoubtedly superior), it was equally thin on character or plot, Gravity replaces the huge unending fun ride of Pacific Rim with knuckle-biting tension from start to finish. The thing with Gravity is that at certain points there are obvious gaps, moments where more or simply better development for both the characters and plot would benefit the film, moments which weren’t apparent in Pacific Rim. I’m not saying Pacific Rim couldn’t have ensured better development (to be honest each of the characters could have been replaced with a cardboard cut-outs and not much would have changed), but it’s that Gravity is always trying to have you convinced it’s about these deep human characters, with religious subtexts and themes about evolution. It’s certainly beautiful and definitely brilliantly entertaining, but on some level it feels a tad empty with chunks that could hugely benefit from a smudge more character depth. I understand that it’s a bit hypocritical to be saying this and still letting Pacific Rim be at the top of my list, but it’s all opinions anyways. Pacific Rim thrilled me throughout, unfortunately Gravity had me, very occasionally – well, lost.
While we’re on the subject of huge blockbusters, another big surprise of the year was Iron Man 3. Going in with expectations not that high, I was pleasantly surprised by the brilliant script, snappy dialogue and explosive action and characters, all piling up to create one of the best and funniest Marvel superhero movies so far. It soars above any of the other superhero films this year, despite strong competition from Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World or The Wolverine.
By this point we’ve already got some serious Oscar worthy films for our own personal consideration. One strong contender is undoubtedly Ron Howard’s Formula 1 biopic, Rush. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor himself) as over-the-top, brash British racer James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (The Fifth Estate) as cool, calculating Austrian Niki Lauda, the two go head to head to compete for what they see as ultimate glory. Sure, it sags a little in the middle and at some points the characters are almost too simplistic (with some definitely gratuitous sex scenes thrown in), but overall it’s lively, well-acted and the racing sequences are terrific. Once they’re in the cars and the music is pounding in the background, you’ll forget all its flaws and just enjoy the ride.
Another very strong entry would be Prisoners. Starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal (two personal favourites of mine) as a father trying to recover his kidnapped daughter and the detective in charge of the case respectively, they do absolutely incredible jobs. Their performances are both real and powerful, and it’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from Jackman (excluding as Wolverine, of course) and Gyllenhaal (not including Donnie Darko. I did say one of their best…). The movie serves as a slow-burning, incredibly tense thriller, a disturbing insight into potential situations that could realistically spin off out of hand and as a poignant statement about both the purpose of torture and what it means for someone to be truly desperate.
There were a few brilliant comedies that I thought could be specifically mentioned here. Obviously there was Edgar Wright’s conclusion to the fantastic ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ with The World’s End, pitching high school friends Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman some decades on from when they last met and – eh, fighting a huge horde of robots. The fantastically sharp and witty humour that has now come expected from Wright (in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) is piled up again and again here, along with some really melancholic and sincere themes about teenage years and moving on from the past. Not as good as Shaun of the Dead, but still excellent.
Picture
The World's End © Focus Features
The Way Way Back also unreservedly deserves a mention. A very sweet coming-of-age comedy about a 14-year old boy, Duncan, who goes to stay in his step-fathers’ (Steve Carrell) holiday house, where he accidentally gets a job at the local water-park run by Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is undoubtedly the star here, with nearly every line being hilariously zany or sarcastic or just plain funny. The themes of childhood and growing up and whatnot are definitely not fresh, but the film manages to put its own spin on them well enough to keep you consistently charmed and entertained throughout.
There are a few movies I loved this year that didn’t get mainstream cinematic release at all, so I’m sorry if you haven’t heard of these next ones. The best independent movie I’ve seen this year so far is The Kings of Summer, again a coming-of-age comedy, this time where 3 friends decide to leave their parents and go to make their own house in the woods, living there forever. With such a simple premise and a simple plot, the film wondrously manages to get so much constant humour and heart out of all the young stars and adult actors alike. It’s definitely worth a watch.
One that managed to slip under most people’s radar was a film called What Maisie Knew. Following a seven year old girl (Maisie) through the borderline traumatic divorce that her parents (Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore) are going though, the film does an outstanding job of making sure that you are completely hooked on everything Maisie does. Another captivating performance from the ever fantastic Alexander Skarsgård (The East, True Blood – TV) only adds to the quiet brilliance of the superbly miserable film, which leaves you glued to your screen.
Probably one of the best made movies I’ve seen this year was another small one, Short Term 12. It follows two social workers who help run a lodge-type home for neglected children with varying mental disorders and difficulties. The film is very powerful in a contained way, even the slightest movements or sentences can set you on edge. At points it’s tough to watch; sometimes because you’re close to tears, other times because the emotional or physical impact on what you’re seeing is very distressing. It’s charming, sad and generally brilliant all round, a strangely uplifting and depressing film that demands to be seen by all.
Those are my picks for best of the year so far. As I said, there’s still much to look forward to, brutal slavery drama 12 Years a Slave, fantasy adventure The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and many others wait to be seen before February arrives. Just for clarity, I’ve assembled all of the movies I’ve mentioned in order of preference, how/where you can see them and a review Young Perspective published on them if applicable.
(see our website for list)
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This review was written for Young Perspective, the newspaper entirely written for and run by young people. To read more of our arts/reviews, sport and news visit youngperspective.net
This review was written for Young Perspective, the newspaper entirely written for and run by young people. To read more of our arts/reviews, sport and news visit youngperspective.net
