The Best and Worst of 2013

Stoker

Side Effects

The Place…

2013 was an interesting year in movies for two reasons: 1) the bigger movies hyped for awards season were generally disappointing, and 2) there were no great indie dramas this year, unlike 2012 which featured Safety Not Guaranteed and the second-best film of the year, Sound of My Voice.

In keeping with the parameters established last year, this list is a rundown of every 2013-released film I saw in the theater.  All links will be to the original posting.  From worst to first:

Anchorman 2 — 1/10 and Honours for Worst Movie of the Year

Broken City — 2/10.  Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, and… why?

Room 237 — 2/10

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints — 2/10.  Biggest disappointment among indies.

Mama — 2/10

No — 2/10 (Officially a 2012 film, but not released until 2013)

The Conjuring — 3/10

Now You See Me — 3/10

Much Ado About Nothing — 3/10.  Nothing is right.  As I recall, critics were pretty well tripping over themselves when this was released, and it ends up being another forgotten movie come awards time.  Validates my reaction, I’d say.  I swear, if American Hustle had been released in March there would not have been any nominations or talk about it being a Best Picture Oscar favorite.

Kon-Tiki — 3/10

Star Trek Into Darkness — 3/10

American Hustle — 4/10

You’re Next — 4/10

The Great Gatsby — 4/10

Out of the Furnace — 4/10

Fruitvale Station — 5/10

Blue is the Warmest Color — 5/10

Inside Llewyn Davis — 5/10

The Wolf of Wall Street — 5/10

The Place Beyond the Pines — 5/10

Stoker — 6/10

Mud — 6/10

The East — 6/10

Enough Said — 6/10

Nebraska — 6/10

World War Z — 7/10

Prisoners — 7/10

All Is Lost — 7/10

Dallas Buyers Club — 7/10

This Is the End — 7/10

== TOP TEN ==

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10.  Blue Jasmine — 8/10

9.  Elysium — 8/10

8.  The Way, Way Back — 8/10

7.  Don Jon — 8/10

6.  Side Effects — 8/10

5.  Gravity — 8/10.  Rating applies to in-theater 3D showing only.

4.  Oldboy — 8/10

3.  Captain Phillips — 9/10

2.  Her — 9/10.  A profound and visionary film, but edged out for best of the year because it didn’t have the emotional wallop delivered by:

1.  12 Years a Slave — 9/10 and Clearly the Best Movie of the Year.  The more I’ve thought about this movie, the more I appreciate its greatness.  An instant American classic, it is important not only within cinema but as an historical testament.