My 10 (and a half) Best Films of 2013

As 2013 comes to an end it is time to reflect on the greatest films we have been treated to over the last year!

So, in no particular order, here are my 10 (and a half) favourite UK releases of 2013!

1. Les Miserables
It's hard to believe that it has been less than a year since Hugh Jackman pranced across the big screen singing about how he stole a loaf of bread. One of the first big films of the year, the movie adaptation of the world's best-loved musical did not disappoint; Russell Crowe's dodgy vocals aside, the talented all-star cast definitely made this film an instant classic!

2. Wreck-It Ralph
Despicable What? Monster's Universi-Who? 2013 was all about one animated hero, and he came in the form of Ralph - the misunderstood video game villain who dreamed of being a hero. Voiced by Mr. Cellophane himself, John C. Reilly, and with Sarah Silverman bringing the laughs as cutesie glitch Vanellope, Wreck-It Ralph was the perfect combination of humour, narrative and heart - putting the sequels to established classics Despicable Me and Monsters University to shame.

3. The Great Gatsby
A debatable choice as it is no secret that this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic book received largely mixed reviews. However, Baz Luhrmann, Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan are three of my favourite people in the industry. Throw in an incredible soundtrack, all of the beautiful 1920s fashion and of course those parties and there is very little that can go wrong in my mind!

4. Behind The Candelabra 
Around the time of this movie's release you couldn't walk for two seconds through the London underground without seeing yet another poster advertising the outrageous, sordid and unbelievable true story of history's greatest entertainer: Liberace. A vastly entertaining watch with perhaps the best performance of Michael Douglas' career to date; it is a huge shame that Hollywood refused to back this film stateside, meaning that it will inevitably be snubbed by the Oscars, because Douglas is truly deserving of, at the very least, a Best Actor nomination!

5. This Is The End
No doubt one of the stupidest movie releases of the year but what can I say, I just loved it. This Is The End exceeded my expectations and then some in providing laugh-a-minute comedy with a brilliantly, self-aware cast. There is absolutely no doubt that this is the funniest film of 2013!

6. The Conjuring
The first horror film in my 22 years of life that actually scared me, so for that reason (and because I don't want to be haunted for not including it on my list) it deserves a mention. Very creepy.

7. Captain Phillips

Yet another true life story with yet another Oscar-worthy performance, this time in the form of Tom Hanks as Captain Phillips. Arguably the most tense film of 2013 as I was on the edge of my seat throughout - nobody does it quite like Mr. Hanks...

8. Saving Mr. Banks

...Which can be proven by his second inclusion on the list, this time alongside the brilliant Emma Thompson in the emotionally-charged, fascinating and entertaining tale of how Mary Poppins came to be. Although tainted with a few little white lies incorporated to make Walt Disney look good, this was an enchanting film that had me on an emotional rollarcoaster of tears and laughter throughout. Plus, I just really love the movie poster.

9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Due for release on Boxing Day, this is just the feel-good, heartwarming film that we need to round off 2013. Although by no means an instant classic or a cinematic masterpiece, TSLOWM is laugh-out-loud funny whilst harbouring an interesting and thought-provoking message. The beautiful cinematography and great performances make the somewhat predictive narrative forgivable, this will be the perfect movie to remedy those post-Christmas blues!

10. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

A long overdue arrival to The Hunger Games fandom led to a late addition to my top films of 2013. Having finally read the books and been left unspeakably disappointed by the first Hunger Games film, I caught one of the last screenings of Catching Fire earlier this week. It more than makes up for the monstrosity that is the first film as it truly captures the tone of the books in this heart-wrenching and epic power-struggle between the people of the Districts and the evil President Snow. One of the most loyal film adaptations I have ever seen, every significant moment of the book is pin-pointed and presented to perfection. Catching Fire has everything that makes a great film -heartbreaking emotion (One word: RUE!), high-tension action sequences, beautiful cinematography, great characters and stellar performances. I only hope that Mockingjay follows in this film's footsteps and we can all just pretend the first one never happened.



1/2. The Call
Not worthy of the full glory that other films received but I can't make this post without a special mention to the first half of The Call. A film whose second half would make my 'Worst Films of 2013' list as it ruined a brilliant, fast-paced, intense and emotional hour of genius with perhaps one of the stupidest and most unforgivable endings in cinematic history. It has been months since I watched the film and I am still upset that such incredible potential was let down in this way; had the rest of the film been as good as the first half, The Call would have been in my top films list for sure. Instead, it is definitely number one for disappointment of the year!

Well, there's my round up of the best 10 and a half films of 2013!! Keep an eye on my blog for my next article with the ones to watch for 2014!!

Stay tuned for more and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,

THE CONJURING

I have said it before and I will say it again - I have been watching horror films for as long as I can remember and they simply do not scare me. Every time a new horror film comes out I get really excited and think to myself 'this is the one, this is the one that will terrify me!' And each time I am left disappointed. Even if a horror film is jumpy and creepy it is usually let down by an awful storyline, ridden with plotholes. If a horror film has a great storyline then it usually isn't very creepy - in fact, I had just ended up accepting the seemingly obvious fact that horror films can't be both really good and really, truly scary.... But then The Conjuring came along and showed me otherwise!

The real Perron family

Based on the true story of the 1970s, the Perron family move into an old farmhouse, only for a dark presence to start terrorizing them. Out of options and scared witless, the Perrons call on paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren for help.

I was wary of this film from the get-go purely because paranormal, ghost stories don't usually interest me. I have very little time for the whole supernatural aspect of horror and the way Hollywood had jazzed up classic horror with over the top CGI and ghastly glossy graphics makes my skin crawl. I was therefore relieved to find that director James Wan hadn't pandered to Hollywood's expectations of horror and had instead reverted back to old school techniques that gave the film an authentic essence, reminiscent of the 1970s era of which it is set.

Another issue I  find with horror films is that I very rarely care for the characters. Too often the characters put themselves in stupid and unrealistic situations that make it difficult for the audience to relate too. For example - why are you heading towards the danger? Why are you still in the house?? Wan made a point of avoiding all typical horror cliches in his last film Insidious and was clearly keen to address them again here. First of all, once the Perrons establish that something scary is happening, they seek the help of the Warrens almost immediately and are sure to mention that they would move but have no money and with a family of seven they have nowhere else to go. The fact that the characters were actively seeking out the danger of the spirits was also covered - after all Lorraine and Ed have been called in to help the family get rid of the evil presence, they're going to have to interact with them in order to do so! This avoidance of typical horror movie stupidity made the characters likeable and whilst i was watching i was definitely vouching for them, which is more than I can say for other films of this genre!

Vera Farmiga is the star of the show!

All of the performances in this film were outstanding, especially impressive when the Perron family is largely made up of young actresses, but Vera Farmiga stole the show for me as she fast becomes one of my favourite actresses. Having seen most of her previous films, Farmiga continues to bring a certain element of warmth to the screen and gives the audience an added insight into her characters with just a simple look or expression. I just find her entire presence quite calming and true to how I imagine the real Lorraine Warren would have been, Farmiga was an element of calm amongst the chaos and terror of the film and as silly as it sounds, even as just a member of the audience, I instantly felt safer whenever she was on the screen.

The general storyline was also incredible strong, the true life story was delivered in an engaging and emotive way and unlike most horror films, when it ended there were no unanswered questions or plot holes that always end up discrediting the entire film. The conclusion of the film is more or less definitive but Wan was also sure to make the final scene something that will leave the audience wondering...

Now, we have established that the general premise and the performances were strong, but this is the important bit: how were the scares?!

The scares don't stop at 'Annabelle'...

Absolutely terrifying. I am not kidding, I have genuinely never been so scared in my entire life. There was one segment in particular where I genuinely felt sick with fear and part of me wanted to leave the cinema but at the same time I needed to know what was going to happen. The scares weren't just jumps for no apparent reason; even when there was nothing actually on the screen there was a creepy atmosphere that had you on the edge of your seat and a majority of the time it wasn't as predictable to guess when something terrifying was going to happen as it is in most horror films, meaning that the audience didn't have time to cover their eyes! Wan successfully creates horror through every aspect - he flawlessly merges the visual and audio of the film with the storyline to heighten your senses and doesn't just depend on cheap jumps to shock the audience into submission. It was obvious that the entire process had been thought out in detail and the gradual build up of terror was perfectly paced whilst providing the necessary character and plot development.

From the scares to the narrative to the performances to the execution, there is not a single thing that i can fault this film for. As a huge fan of the Saw franchise I did have faith in James Wan but he exceeded my expectations and provided me with not only the thrills and terror that i was hoping for but also with a great film that made me think.

Despite not usually liking paranormal horror films, personally I do believe in ghosts and so I believe that this allegedly true story is actually  a true story. Wan had the full support and guidance of both Lorraine Warren and the entire Perron family in order to create a film that represents what happened to them as real to life as possible and i think that guidance definitely aided the film. Wan was careful to portray all of these characters in a positive light, for example the Warrens are shown early on in the film telling a couple who think that their house is haunted that the creepy noises are actually coming from the old pipes in their cellar, proving that they were not con artists, and the Perron family are also seen as just your average, every day American family - not some crazy fruit loops who hallucinated ghosts.

All in all I do thoroughly recommend this film as one of the scariest horror films of our time and I would encourage anybody to go and see it. However, having been desperate to be terrified by a horror film for my entire life now that it has happened I don't think that I like it! The night after I watched The Conjuring I was woken up at 5am by a massive bang in my room that I could not find a logical explanation for, since then I have been scared of rummaging in my wardrobe, going to sleep or even just being home alone and I have been making my cats come everywhere with me (animals can sense spirits, right?!) And this is all from somebody who has watched every big horror film that has been released and not even flinched, so I would say to go and watch it but please, watch it with caution.

I award The Conjuring with ★★★★★


Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,