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 GREAT GATSBY

I am going to start this review of by saying something controversial: I read the book The Great Gatsby and if i am being totally honest... I didn't love it.

No, wait, come back! I promise I have stuff to say that you might agree with and won't strike your literary soul with horror the way my opening statement did. I just didn't realise when i first picked up the book that ultimately, The Great Gatsby is a love story. The tale of unrequited love and, well, a pretty great man who throws some pretty great parties whilst being in love. Other than love and parties not a lot really happens and even though it is a pretty short book, it dragged.

Now, onto the film. Despite not loving the book i was super excited to see the film... The excitement came around the time the words Baz Luhrmann were uttered in the same sentence as it and was even more intensified when Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan were announced to play Gatsby and Daisy. An element of doubt set in when Tobey Maguire (seriously, what?) was cast as Nick but all in all, despite the bad reviews i was hearing, i was excited. 

To start with, as i expected, the film is visually stunning. The luxury, picturesque buildings, the extravagant parties and the beautiful 1920s fashion... Aesthetically i was in love. The beauty of the scenes combined with Luhrmann's trademark directing technique made it a joy to look at and i think even if i hated everything else about it, the pure beauty of the film would have been enough to make me enjoy it at least a little bit. Luhrmann is one of my favourite directors and this is because i love the fast-paced, carnivalesque nature of his films. I think any other director even thinking about making Gatsby into a film is, quite frankly, unacceptable. If anybody was going to bring those fantastical parties to life it was Baz and he delivered 110%.

Carey Mulligan is beautiful as Daisy

Onto the casting. Carey Mulligan has been a firm favourite of mine since i saw her in An Education four years ago. She is simply beautiful and such an elegant, graceful woman in every role i have seen her in and she floated into Daisy's shoes in a similarly elegant manner and with such amazing beauty that shone through the screen. However, in the book i found Daisy to be quite a one-dimensional character. I had absolutely no feeling or emotion towards her and i am sad to say that this translates into the film as well. I don't think it is by any means a reflection of Mulligan or Luhrmann; they did everything right but, for me, Daisy just isn't a character i can bring myself to care about. There just isn't enough there for me to relate to as she doesn't really have a lot of dialogue and we are told very little about her life, aside from her relationship with Gatsby. I think Daisy's transparant character is more a reflection of the expecations of women at the time of Fitzgerald's writing above anything else. Saying this, the scene where Daisy is preparing to marry and the string of pearls breaks as she is screaming did bring a lump to my throat when watching. Carey Mulligan might not have been able to breathe life into a lifeless character but everything that she did do was beautifully acted and for that, i can not fault her.

Tobey Maguire's comical facial expressions introduced us all to a new Nick Carraway

Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway... Where to start? I can't even begin to tell you how shocked i was when Maguire was announced to play the character who ultimately carries the novel. The story may be about Gatsby but in every sense of the word it is Nick who is the protagonist so casting somebody who had pretty much disappeared since his last big film almost a decade ago did not seem a wise choice for me. Tobey Maguire is Spiderman. To me and to many other people this is all he is known as... Could he really carry the film adaptation of one of the biggest literary classics to exist? As soon as the film started, i was wary. He was definitely not how i imagined Nick to be when reading the book, he was just too awkward - too much of a wallflower, i know Nick is the one who observes the whole story but he doesn't just blend into the background the way that Maguire did. As well as this new awkward personality that Maguire introduced to Nick, it was distracting that he seems to only be able to do facial expressions that border on comical, it is difficult to take him seriously. His facial reactions and the way he responds to other characters almost seemed like a caricature but i have to say, after about half an hour this grew on me. The small essence of slapstick comedy that Tobey Maguire embossed into every facial expression eventually worked for me and i will be completely honest and say that they only worked because of Baz Luhrmann's directing technique. The whole film was very bizarre, very carnivalesque, very caricature and once the parties and the fast-paced nature of these scenes got into the swing of it Maguire's silly face blended in naturally with the rest of the carry-on around him after initally sticking out like a sore thumb. Similarly to Luhrmann's other great films like Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, a lot of the shots were sudden close-ups of the character's faces and although Maguire definitely does not portray the Nick Carraway in the book, which i can see would annoy fans, he does portray an acceptable and watchable Nick Carraway. I did need time to get used to him but in hindsight i think he was a good, not great, choice.

Leonardo Dicaprio: A truly great Gatsby

Oh Gatsby... As with most people my age i have been a huge fan of Leonardo Dicaprio for as long as i can remember, he was one of my first 'favourite actors' having watched The Basketball Diaries at a young age and even then i remember thinking how astounding he was at acting - my love of him is not just down to his sexy good looks. Therefore i could not have chosen anybody else to play the iconic literary character of Jay Gatsby. He did say 'Old Sport' a hell of a lot but all in all he made a pretty great Gatsby (i didn't even mean to make that lame little pun there but i am leaving it in because it's true) He has the charisma, the depth, the look of Gatsby. He was so close to how i pictured him to be when reading the book and i actually connected with film Gatsby a LOT more than i did with book Gatsby. Something about the sad, painful look in his eyes and the hidden anguish he portrayed so well. In the book i was somewhat unaffected by the ending but in the film i was edging towards tears. It just broke my heart to see Gatsby fall apart the way that he does and personally i truly believe that Dicaprio brought Gatsby to life in ways that the book could not. My ultimate favourite scene in the film is when Gatsby is throwing all of his shirts over the stairs; he just looks so happy, so carefree - Dicaprio's entire face transforms, he had the youthful, fresh, innocent look that he did in his early days. It looked like a genuine transition of emotion, not just your bog-standard actor putting across that emotion, you can see that Dicaprio really did feel it and it is little things like that that make the film and fully engross you into the storyline and lives of the characters.

On top of this, there are many other pro-points to the film: The on-screen chemistry between Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan was out of this world. They really looked like they were in love with eachother and the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby was enchanting, even if Daisy as a character was not. The supporting cast was amazing and i couldn't fault anything about any of them and very little of the main narrative was changed in the transition from book to film, which is a rare feat nowadays and must have made fans of the book pretty happy. There genuinely were a whole lot of plus points to this movie but the biggest negative was that i found it around about half an hour too long. There was a section in the middle where it all just seemed to drag and the audience had already understood the pain and anguish at unrequited love but Luhrmann seemed keen to reinforce that as much as possible... And this was too many times for my liking. As i said, the book is pretty short and i had already wondered how they would make it into a feature length film at all, let alone a two and a half hour one. However, similarly to Les Miserables, the prolonged middle section of the film was more than made up for by the incredible ending. The last fifteen minutes had me hooked and the very, very last scene - though really predictable - sent shivers down my spine.

As i wasn't a huge fan of the book i will actually congratulate The Great Gatsby for, in my opinion, being a film that is actually slightly better than the book. Other than cutting down some of that middle section i couldn't think of anything more they could have done in order to improve it. And my love for Baz Luhrmann may be slightly responsible for this but i like to think it is a film that will be enjoyed by most!

All in all i award The Great Gatsby with ★★★★☆

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Love,