Why So Blu?

Kori’s Top 10 MUST-SEE Films of 2013

So another year has come and gone way too quickly, bringing with it a long list of great movies as well as some I wish I could get the hours of my life back.  So with this being said, if you are anything like me, then you have a hard time choosing which movie to commit hours of your life to. Well I know your time is precious, so being the nice person that I am, I want to help your decision making go a bit smoother.  I have compiled my list of Top 10 movies that I was lucky enough to see during this wonderful year of 2013.  I want to give you some of my rules for this list though.  They really are quite simple. I chose from the movies released theatrically in 2013 that I saw.  This does not include any older movies that I may have finally caught up on and watched this year, and obviously, nothing that I did not have the chance to see. I know there are films that came out this year that I have missed and most likely would have made it on my list, but I can’t do anything to change that unfortunately. You may hate all of my selections, and you may love them. That is the beauty of having an opinion. So without further ado…..

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# 10 Disconnect

Starring – Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Andrea Riseborough, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Alexander Skarsgård, Max Thieriot

Director – Henry Alex Rubin

Release Date – April 12, 2013

I happened to run across this movie while scrolling through the On Demand channels. It caught my attention enough to type in my password and purchase it. I am glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The film explores how people experience the negative sides of modern communication technology by following three stories.

An ambitious, up-and-coming reporter Nina has much success with her interview with underage video chat-room stripper Kyle. Kyle, a runaway, works in a “house” with other chat-room strippers under his boss, Harvey. However, the FBI wants her to reveal his address in order to shut down the whole website that hosts the web-rooms. Since she has paid him in order to make initial contact, she may have broken the law, making the police and her boss put pressure on her to cooperate.

Two boys, Jason and his friend Frye, impersonate a girl, “Jessica Rhony,” on Facebook Messenger and convince teenager Ben (the son of Rich, a legal counsel at the TV station where Nina works) to send a lewd picture of himself. The boys distribute it to classmates, and the picture circulates to nearly everyone in their grade. Ben is so embarrassed by this cyberbullying that he attempts suicide and ends up in a coma.

Cindy and Derek, a married couple who recently lost their child, struggle after their identities are stolen online. They hire private detective Mike, Jason’s father, to find the thief, and after revealing that Cindy had been regularly chatting on a support group website, Mike determines their burglar. They go after the suspect, Stephen Schumacher, following him at work, watching his movements, and breaking into his home for evidence.

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# 9 Homefront

Starring – Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth

Director – Gary Fleder

Release Date – November 27, 2013

I am a huge Jason Statham fan, so when I saw the trailer for this I was immediately excited. James Franco being in it is just icing on the cake.  This movie has not received a lot positive reviews, however ,I really did enjoy it. Based on the book by Chuck Logan, the screenplay written by Sylvester Stallone, the movie Homefront tells the story of a widowed ex-DEA agent (Jason Statham) who retires to a small town for the sake of his 10-year-old daughter.  He didn’t choose the town well as a druglord (James Franco) threatens the peaceful community and wreaks havoc on the family.

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# 8 Prisoners

Starring – Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Terrance Howard, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano

Director – Denis Villeneuve

Release Date – September 20, 2013

This is one of those movies that can hit so close to home. It is one of those, what would you do films. In order to save your child I think that there is no limit to what one would do. As this movie shows us what two families are forced to do to find truth and most importantly find their daughters.

In Prisoners, Hugh Jackman is Kelly Dover.  He is hell bent on finding his and his neighbors’ kidnapped daughters.  His neighbors are played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis.

Jake Gyllenhaal is Detective Loki who spends much of the movie following Hugh Jackman’s character around, thinking that he might get to the bottom of the kidnappings this way.  He’s sort of on the right track. But not quite.

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# 7 Oblivion

Starring – Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Melissa Leo

Director – Joseph Kosinski

Release Date – April 19, 2013

This movie was brought to my attention by my boyfriend.  He saw it and could not stop talking about it.  It was his excitement about the movie that sparked my interest.  I have to say, he was right, that’s right Brian, I said you were right.  This movie was brilliant.  In the year 2077, Tech 49 Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Jack tells us that the planet was nearly destroyed sixty years ago, during a war against a race of alien invaders known as Scavengers (“Scavs”). The Scavs destroyed the moon, causing massive earthquakes and tsunamis, and then launched their invasion. They were only defeated by the use of nuclear weapons, which left most of the planet irradiated and uninhabitable. The arrival of an unexpected traveler causes him to question what he knows about the planet, his mission, and himself.

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# 6 World War Z

Starring – Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox, David Morse, James Badge Dale, Eric West

Director – Marc Forster

Release Date – June 21, 2013

With all the hype surrounding zombies in the recent years I must say that I was a bit skeptical going into this one. I thought, oh great another zombie flick. Boy was I wrong. This film was action packed from the beginning. If you didn’t know, the movie World War Z is based on the novel of the same name by Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. However, if you’ve read the book – and seen the movie – then you know that they have nothing in common with each other.

The movie World War Z tells the story of United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.

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# 5 Gravity

Starring – George Clooney, Sandra Bullock

Director – Alfonso Cuarón

Release Date – October 4, 2013

I could not wait to see this one. Clooney and Bullock together, come on, doesn’t get any better than that. I saw this one on the big screen twice. I admit I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie, who wouldn’t be. In the movie, astronauts – Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (Clooney) – attempt to return to earth after debris crashes into their space shuttle, leaving them drifting alone in space.

There is talk of a Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (George Clooney) and Best Actress (Sandra Bullock) Oscar campaign for the movie. That is how good it is.

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# 4 Pacific Rim

Starring – Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Rob Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr., Ron Perlman

Director – Guillermo del Toro

Release Date – July 12, 2013

How can a movie with huge monsters and robots be a bad choice? It can’t. This movie is great fun from the beginning to the end.  When legions of gigantic monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising up from the sea, a war begins that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neutral bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes — a former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) — who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

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# 3 The Great Gatsby

Starring – Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobet Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Amitabh Bachchan, Jack Thompson

Director – Baz Luhrmann

Release Date – May 10, 2013

For the handful of you who weren’t forced to read this in high school, The Great Gatsby follows would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and goes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. While chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is here that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their lies, loves and deceits.

As Nick bears witness, he writes a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy.

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# 2 American Hustle

Starring – Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Louis C.K., Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Robert DeNiro, Jack Houston

Director – David O. Russell

Release Date – December 13, 2013

From the first trailer I saw for this movie I was hooked. I knew it was going to be one of the best movies of the year. Look at the cast alone, how can that not excite you? From Bradley Cooper’s tight 70’s curls to Christian Bales ridiculous comb-over, this film was destined to be great.

The 1970s-set true story of a con artist (Christian Bale) and his partner in crime (Amy Adams), who were forced to work with a federal agent (Bradley Cooper) to turn the tables on other cons, mobsters, and politicians – namely, the volatile mayor of Camden, New Jersey.

Chances are that the latest film that the trio filmed in Boston will earn a plethora of 2014 Oscar nominations, as there are six Oscar nominees and/or winners starring in this movie.

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# 1 Wolf of Wall Street

Starring – Leonardo DiCaprio, Jean Dujardin, Matthew McConaughey, Joanna Lumley, Spike Jonze, Shea Whigham, Jon Favreau, Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner

Director – Martin Scorsese

Release Date – December 25, 2013

This should come as no surprise with this being my most anticipated movie of the year. The movie The Wolf Of Wall Street is the fifth big screen collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese; following Gangs Of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and Shutter Island. Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his roles in his first three Martin Scorsese movies. My guess is that he will nominated yet again for his role as Jordan Belfort.

In the 1990s Jordan Belfort, former kingpin of the notorious investment firm Stratton Oakmont, became one of the most infamous names in American finance: a brilliant, conniving stock-chopper who led his merry mob into a massive office on Long Island. Now, in this astounding and hilarious tell-all autobiography, the Leonardo DiCaprio character, Jordan Belfort, narrates a story of greed, power, and excess no one could invent.

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