Seven Best Films of 2013

As a highly satisfied Cineworld Unlimited member, I saw 45 films at the cinema this year. That might sound like a lot, but I know of several people who saw more than twice that number, and there were plenty of films I missed in 2013. Here is my quick-capsule review of my seven favourites, with a list of my least-favourites to follow in the next couple of days. Enjoy.

7. Enough Said
This film was always going to be overshadowed by the tragic death of star James Gandolfini a few months before release, but leaving that aside, it was a very enjoyable film in its own right. The combination of Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus would have tempted me to the cinema no matter the film, and I’m glad it did. What I saw was a well-acted, well-written gentle comedy telling the story of two older people, both divorced, who fall in love. It’s not going to be a classic, and it doesn’t join the ranks of my top rom-coms, but it was an excellent watch, and one I’ll probably revisit before long. 

6. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Reaction was mixed, but broadly positive, for this film, I believe. I very much enjoyed it, although it may have suffered slightly from my rewatching all of I’m Alan Partridge shortly before its release. It was always going to be difficult for the film to live up to the brilliance of one of Britain’s best-loved TV characters, but I thought it held up very well. With most small-to-big screen transitions, the main problem is usually pacing, but Alpha Papa managed to avoid this. Comedically, it felt very similar to several episodes back-to-back, but with higher stakes (aka a siege). It’s hard to go wrong with Partridge, and this outing didn’t disappoint.

5. Gravity
Most people who saw Gravity will, quite rightly, rave about the 3D and the phenomenal visual experience of the film. It should look great, it took them about 40 years to make, or something. I certainly enjoyed all of that (it was the only film I saw in 3D this year, and I regret nothing), but I was also very impressed with the way the story was told. There’s very little introduction, you’re just thrown into it and have to deal with everything. The two lead actors, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney (more or less the only two actors, actually), were both fantastic. Clooney was enormously believable, as was Bullock, who was better than in anything else in which I’ve seen her (admittedly, I haven’t seen much of her). I imagine watching this film on DVD will be a far inferior experience, but still a very worthwhile one.

4. Rush
As someone with little interest in Formula 1, this was a film I saw mainly because it looked great from the trailers, and everyone said it was great. I too thought it was great. Much of the marketing focused on Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt, but it was Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda who stole the show, although both were excellent. The friendship (of sorts) and rivalry between the two was what drove the film, if you’ll pardon the terrible pun, and it dragged me right into the story within the first 10 minutes. If you haven’t seen it, it comes highly recommended by me, even if you’re not into cars driving really fast and stuff. It’s less about Formula 1 than it is about people, rivalry and humanity. But if you like fast cars and loud engine noises, there’s plenty of that stuff too.

3. Iron Man 3
I liked the first Iron Man film, but felt the second one was fairly poor. This one was utterly fantastic, though. The Dark Knight is still very much the yardstick for superhero films, but Iron Man 3 is up there with some of the very best. It was one of two films I watched with my friend Matt within a short space of time (the other being Man Of Steel, which features on a different list), and the contrast between them could hardly have been greater. I always like a decent amount of humour even in more serious films, of which this had plenty, and I like when an actor engages in the character of his superhero. It’s not supposed to just be about origins, powers and costumes; the person underneath is a major part of any superhero. Robert Downey Jr. has got that aspect of it nailed, and turned in a typically top performance as Tony Stark. A must-see if you’ve ever enjoyed any such films.

2. Blue Jasmine
I’m a big Woody Allen fan, but his recent efforts have been very hit and miss (something that could be argued for his entire career, actually). His last film, To Rome With Love, was a big disappointment for me, while the previous one, Midnight In Paris remains one of my favourites. When Woody hits, though, he really hits, and Blue Jasmine is one of his best (of those I’ve seen, at least). I was expecting it to be more of a comedy, probably because I’d read almost nothing about it before seeing it, but ended up fascinated by a beautiful character study. Alec Baldwin and Louis C.K. both made welcome yet brief appearances, but any time that Cate Blanchett was off-screen was almost wasted. Her performance was truly incredible, and I left utterly enthralled.

1. The Way Way Back
This was the real gem of the year, for me. Definitely reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine (with which it shares two main actors, Toni Collette and Steve Carell), The Way Way Back was a great film for me to see exactly when I did. Perhaps a surprise entry for the top spot, especially given that on paper it’s nothing more than a nice little story with some a few good laughs, but in terms of enjoyment value, no other film in 2013 was as enjoyable for me as this one. A brilliant cast brings to life a great script, including a cameo from co-writer and co-dean-rector Jim Rash. I don’t expect to see this film top many, if any, other lists for film of the year, but I really loved it and would recommend it to anyone. Except my enemies; I have another list of recommendations to follow for my many enemies.

In order to pre-empt any “didn’t you see X?” questions, I missed Don Jon and Philomena, both of which I wanted to see but couldn’t make the timings work due to various reasons. Honourable mention goes to Django Unchained and Now You See Me, both of which would have made it onto a top 10 list. I wrote out a whole paragraph for Lincoln, which I saw in January, before being reminded that it actually came out in 2012. Great film; it just wasn’t eligible.