2013 So Far (Sep - Dec) Top 5 2013 Releases

The final part of my assessment of the final four months of 2013 is the one most people care about I guess, the best movies released this year. Kind of irrelevant with the year end list coming up but I've seen a massive 65 of them and these are the best 5:

5. Rush - Dir. Ron Howard

4. Frances Ha - Dir. Noah Baumbach

3. August: Osage County - Dir. John Wells

2. Blue Caprice - Dir. Alexandre Moors

1. Gravity - Dir. Alfonso Cuarón

Full list of 2013 movies seen Sep - Dec: Kick-Ass 2, World War Z, Oxyana, Monster's University, The Bling Ring, Burton & Taylor, The Hangover Part III, This is the End, A Single Shot, Rewind This!, Privacy Setting, After Earth, Dead in Tombstone, An Accidental Soldier, The Internship, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Ass Backwards, Paradise, Man of Steel, White House Down, All is Bright, Crystal Fairy, Some Girl(s), Violet & Daisy, Gravity, Despicable Me 2, Turbo, This is Martin Bonner, Riddick, Earthbound, Blue Caprice, The To-Do List, We're The Millers, McCanick, Mystery Road, The East, The World's End, 2 Guns, The Wolverine, How I Live Now, The Kings of Summer, Elysium, Frances Ha, Prisoners, Machete Kills, Big Sur, A Case of You, The Last Days on Mars, Kilimanjaro, Mood Indigo, Runner Runner, Out of the Furnace, Blue Jasmine, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, Fruitvale Station, Much Ado About Nothing, August: Osage County, Escape Plan, Rush, American Hustle, Computer Chess, Burma

2013 So Far (Sep - Dec) Bottom 5 2013 Releases

My roundup of the third segment of 2013 continues with a look at the worst the year has offered me so far.  Having seen a scandalous 65 releases from 2013 the field was quite competitive, here are the five films I've enjoyed the least:

5. How I Live Now - Dir. Kevin Macdonald

4. Runner Runner - Dir. Brad Furman

3. Turbo - Dir. David Soren

2. Ass Backwards - Dir. Chris Nelson

1. The Hangover Part III - Dir. Todd Phillips

Full list of 2013 movies seen Sep - Dec: Kick-Ass 2, World War Z, Oxyana, Monster's University, The Bling Ring, Burton & Taylor, The Hangover Part III, This is the End, A Single Shot, Rewind This!, Privacy Setting, After Earth, Dead in Tombstone, An Accidental Soldier, The Internship, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Ass Backwards, Paradise, Man of Steel, White House Down, All is Bright, Crystal Fairy, Some Girl(s), Violet & Daisy, Gravity, Despicable Me 2, Turbo, This is Martin Bonner, Riddick, Earthbound, Blue Caprice, The To-Do List, We're The Millers, McCanick, Mystery Road, The East, The World's End, 2 Guns, The Wolverine, How I Live Now, The Kings of Summer, Elysium, Frances Ha, Prisoners, Machete Kills, Big Sur, A Case of You, The Last Days on Mars, Kilimanjaro, Mood Indigo, Runner Runner, Out of the Furnace, Blue Jasmine, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, Fruitvale Station, Much Ado About Nothing, August: Osage County, Escape Plan, Rush, American Hustle, Computer Chess, Burma

2013 So Far (Sep - Dec) Top 10 Pre-2013 Catchup

Today is marked by three quick recommendation posts, wrapping up the third segment of the year in cinema.

First up, of the 208 films released prior to 2013 seen for the first time during this four month period these are the 10 I enjoyed the most and all come very highly recommended. I've been a lucky boy.

10. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Dir. Joseph Sargent

9. Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Dir. James William Guercio

8. Nashville (1975) Dir. Robert Altman

7. F for Fake (1973) Dir. Orson Welles

6. Monte Walsh (1970) Dir. William A. Fraker

5. A Matter of Life and Death (1946) Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

4. For a Few Dollars More (1965) Dir. Sergio Leone

3. Black Narcissus (1947) Dir. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

2. Blow Out (1981) Dir. Brian De Palma

1. Army of Shadows (1969) Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville

2013 So Far (May - Aug) Top 5 2013 Releases

The final part of my assessment of the second four months of 2013 is the one most people care about I guess, the best movies released this year. I've seen a massive 64 of them and these are the best 5:


5. Spring Breakers - Dir. Harmony Korine

4. White Reindeer - Dir. Zach Clark

3. Behind The Candelabra - Dir. Steven Soderbergh

2. Before Midnight - Dir. Richard Linklater

1. The Fifth Season - Dir. Peter Brosens, Jessica Hope Woodworth

As you might expect from such a large quantity of films to choose from this was much harder than picking five films seen in the first third of the year. Honourable mentions could go to another seven(!) over the past four months and they are highlighted below in the full list.

Full list of 2013 releases seen May - Aug: I Give It a Year, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Parker, Star Trek Into Darkness, Broken City, A Good Day to Die Hard, The Place Beyond the Pines, Snitch, Bullet to the Head, Broken, Gimme the Loot, Behind the Candelabra, The Call, Stoker, Burt Wonderstone, Rapture-Palooza, Phantom, Mud, Odd Thomas, Penthouse North, Spring Breakers, Olympus Has Fallen, Redemption, The Croods, Off World, Pictures of Superheroes, A Field in England, The Fifth Season, GI Joe 2, Fast 6, Trance, Trash and Progress, Supporting Characters, White Reindeer, Europa Report, Pawn Shop Chronicles, Lunarcy!, Pacific Rim, Night Train to Lisbon, Only God Forgives, Rock Jocks, Oblivion, Klip, The Act of Killing, Before Midnight, More Than Honey, Drinking Buddies, The Lifeguard, Magic Magic, The Canyons, Byzantium, Touchy Feely, Epic, Laurence Anyways, The Heat, The Iceman, Pain & Gain, Clear History, A Teacher, The Look of Love, Empire State, Now You See Me, Prince Avalanche

What have you seen? What are your favourites from the year? Join the conversation in the comments or tweet @BBBGToby with #2013best. 

2013 So Far (May - Aug) Bottom 5 2013 Releases

My roundup of the second third of 2013 continues with a look at the worst the year has offered me so far.  Having seen a scandalous 64 releases from 2013 the field was quite competitive, here are the five films I've enjoyed the least so far:

5. Olympus Has Fallen - Dir. Antoine Fuqua

4.  Epic - Dir. Chris Wedge

3. I Give It A Year - Dir. Dan Mazer

2. A Glimpse Inside The Mind of Charles Swan III - Dir. Roman Coppola

1. Die Hard 5 - Dir.  John Moore

So many awful movies coming out of Hollywood this year, I've been torturing myself in the hope that one of them will entertain me but it's so rare these days. It's as though they're determined to make the worst movie possible at all times, some other notably bad movies highlighted below.

Full list of 2013 releases seen May - Aug: I Give It a Year, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Parker, Star Trek Into Darkness, Broken City, A Good Day to Die Hard, The Place Beyond the Pines, Snitch, Bullet to the Head, Broken, Gimme the Loot, Behind the Candelabra, The Call, Stoker, Burt Wonderstone, Rapture-Palooza, Phantom, Mud, Odd Thomas, Penthouse North, Spring Breakers, Olympus Has Fallen, Redemption, The Croods, Off World, Pictures of Superheroes, A Field in England, The Fifth Season, GI Joe 2, Fast 6, Trance, Trash and Progress, Supporting Characters, White Reindeer, Europa Report, Pawn Shop Chronicles, Lunarcy!, Pacific Rim, Night Train to Lisbon, Only God Forgives, Rock Jocks, Oblivion, Klip, The Act of Killing, Before Midnight, More Than Honey, Drinking Buddies, The Lifeguard, Magic Magic, The Canyons, Byzantium, Touchy Feely, Epic, Laurence Anyways, The Heat, The Iceman, Pain & Gain, Clear History, A Teacher, The Look of Love, Empire State, Now You See Me, Prince Avalanche

Agree? Disagree? What's your least favourite film of 2013 so far? Comment below or tweet @bbbgtoby with #2013worst 

2013 So Far (May - Aug) Top 10 Pre-2013 Catchup

Continuing to assess my year in cinema this is the first of three posts looking at the films viewed between May 1st and August 31st.

Of the 236 films released prior to 2013 seen for the first time during this four month period these are the 10 I enjoyed the most and all come very highly recommended.

10. Jess + Moss (2012) Dir. Clay Jeter

9. Dogtooth (2009) Dir. Giorgos Lanthimos 

8. Lorna's Silence (2008) Dir. Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne

7. Police, Adjective (2009) Dir. Corneliu Porumboiu

6. Atmen (2012) Dir. Karl Markovics

5. Damnation (1988) Dir. Bela Tarr

4. Wake In Fright (1972) Dir. Ted Kotcheff

3. The Colour Wheel (2012) Dir. Alex Ross Perry 

2. Weekend (2011) Dir. Andrew Haigh

1. Unforgiven (1992) Dir. Clint Eastwood

Anyone got a 100% success rate with these ten? How's your year going for great films? Tweet me.

2013 So Far (Jan - Apr) Top 5 2013 Releases

The final part of my assessment of the first four months of 2013 is the one most people care about I guess, the best movies released this year. I've seen 21 of them and these are the best 5:

5. John Dies at the End - Dir. Don Coscarelli

4. American Mary - Dir. The Soska Sisters

3. Dans La Maison - Dir. Francois Ozon

2. Side Effects - Dir. Steven Soderbergh

1. The Hunt - Dir. Thomas Vinterberg

OK that's it, I fully expect the top 2 to still be around come the end of the year but the others I'm not so sure about. Very good films all the same however.

What have you seen? What are your favourites from the year? Join the conversation in the comments or tweet @BBBGToby with #2013best.

2013 So Far (Jan - Apr) Bottom 5 2013 Releases

My roundup of the first third of 2013 continues with a look at the worst the year has offered me so far.  I have seen a healthy enough 21 releases from 2013, here are the five films I've enjoyed the least so far:

5. Gangster Squad - Dir. Ruben Fleischer

4. Sushi Girl - Dir. Kern Saxton

3. The Brass Teapot - Dir. Ramaa Mosley

2. Java Heat - Dir. Conor Allyn

1. Freaky Deaky - Dir. Charles Matthau

Agree? Disagree? What's your least favourite film of 2013 so far? Comment below or tweet @bbbgtoby with #2013worst