Films of the Year
Spring Breakers. I have gotten to the end of 2013, and I still have violently mixed feelings about this film. It’s either one of the best works of art of the 21st century, or total garbage, but it definitely isn’t anywhere in between. I might hate this film - I haven’t decided - but I love the reaction it gave me.
Iron Man 3. I was initially going to write an essay about this (someone else beat me to the punch) but this felt less like a superhero film and more like a spiritual sequel to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Every line in this is perfectly crafted.
Smashed. I’m not sure how I’ve managed to miss so much independent cinema over the last couple of years, but this one was definitely an oversight - it’s heartbreaking, and perfectly acted, and hit home in so many ways.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour. This one kind of came out of nowhere, right at the end of the year, and as such I wrote about it very recently. Click the title to see those thoughts.
Number of films seen this year: 100. You can go through all of them at this here link, or if you just want a list then you can see that in a plain text file here.
Number of cinema trips: 12. That’s probably a record low. This year, I’ve had to save a lot of money for current and future visa expenses, and as a result disposable income has been a little lacking. That doesn’t explain the relative lack of films viewed at home, but it might explain the dampened enthusiasm.
A couple of highlights in that list, selected purely on the basis of their cinematic merit, are Gravity (which I saw in the Manchester IMAX) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (which I’d never seen on a big screen before, and benefited hugely from a massive sound system).
Number of films I’d seen before: 12. To Kill A Mockingbird and Ocean’s Eleven merited repeat viewings. The rest were a mixed bag. I really wish I hadn’t come back to Stranger Than Fiction; the Emma Thompson in my memory was not the same as the one depicted on-screen.
Films I wrote about for Bright Wall/Dark Room: 2. Spring Breakers, and Good Night, and Good Luck. Equally proud of both of those. Let’s go for three next year.
Films I really should have gotten around to seeing sooner: 5. The Graduate is on this list. So is Whip It. Diverse tastes.
Films I own that I have yet to sit down and watch: 222. Roll on 2014.