There and Back Again: 2013 in Film Part 3

And now, we come to the big final list with a key title out of the way and seen, I can now finally write up my favorites list of 2013.

No further ado, let's get started:

5. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Coming in at number 5 was the last major film I saw in 2013 and that is Ben Stiller's adaptation of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

It was very easy to dismiss this film from the advertising presented for it as being sentimental hash and even I've done it a little bit but when I've thought about the film I've thought about its sincerity, its old fashioned feel and its sense of imagination and adventure and living deep and sucking all the marrow out of life.

And boy was it refreshing to see after so many films that are cynical, heartless and at times nasty in terms of their characters and subject matter.

4. Rush: Coming in at 4th place is Ron Howard's F1 rivalry Drama Rush which was about the rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 1970's.

I really enjoyed this film when I first saw it, I loved the two performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, I loved Howard's direction, I loved the look of the film and I loved the script by Peter Morgan and the night I saw the film it really grew in my mind and I wanted to go back and see it again and I duely did so and enjoyed it as much the 2nd time around.

3. Pacific Rim: At number 3 a film which was number 1 for a while and that is Guillermo Del Toro's sci-fi action film Pacific Rim.

This movie came along at the right time for me as before I saw it I was not enjoying going to the movies very much as it had become a real chore in terms of the travel requirements and also in terms of the films themselves just being empty and heartless for the most part and I had started to think "I don't know if I want to do this anymore."

This film single handedly turned all of those feeling around, I came out of the film with a huge smile on my face from enjoying the great action and story and characters but more importantly I came out of that film with my love of film in general being given a huge shot in the arm, the last film to do this for me was Hot Fuzz in 2007 and like that film, there is a part of me that will hold it as being important for that key reason.


2. Rewind This: Coming in at 2nd place is the VHS documentary Rewind This.

Rewind This on the other hand touched me very deeply primarily due to its subject matter about VHS tapes which is something I have collected passionately over the last 6-7 years and how the rise and fall of that format has led to the media environment we see before us today.

1. The World's End: Yes folks, my favorite film of 2013 is Edgar Wright's Sci-Fi Drama Comedy the World's End.

Watching the World's End in the cinema I had an absolute blast and when I came out of it I thought to myself "I feel like I've been manipulated" but it was in the nicest possible way, I loved the ensemble between the 5 men, I loved Edgar Wright's direction and I also loved the fact that Simon Pegg was willing to play a very unlikeable character and he nailed it in a big way, it's a big shame it didn't win the Best Ensemble awards.

Plus the film packs all of its ideas and themes into a 90 minute to 2 hour running time and thank fucking god for that as I am really getting fed up with movies going 2 hours and 45 minutes for no good reason other than to be artistic or meaningful but then again most editors these days seem either too chicken or are simply too gutless to stand up to their directors and say "No" but what editor these days has the balls to stand up to some of these directors especially given the worship thrown their way even if they directed commercials about floor tiles and lingerie.

And so that is my favorites list of 2013, let's look forward to 2014 and all of the cinematic wonders and blunders and bitter disappointments that they hold.