I watched this in 2013
The films I've watched in 2013. Change to 'Date added' in the drop-down to see the most recent. More here when I get around to it :-)
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102 titles
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsGary GitchellTodd MooreDana MooreA further followup of the case of the West Memphis Three and the decades long fight to exonerate them that finally gained traction with new DNA evidence.I saw the first PARADISE LOST doc way, way back when it first came out, and have been singing its praises ever since. Few can match it, and it tells its ugly story cleanly. Number 2 was part re- hash, part campaign manifesto, still gripping but lesser. And part 3, this film, achieves the near-impossible ... Mild boredom. Sorry but while the subject is inherently fascinating, and I am behind the three guys all the way, the film makers over-stuffed this with forensics. The whole case is an outrage, and there's a killer loose out there, but I have higher hopes for WEST OF MEMPHIS, which I hope to see soon. Time to get a fresh pair of eyes n this story.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsNaomi WattsEwan McGregorTom HollandThe story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.Just not enough for me. What was unfathomably devastating in real life, becomes a white, middle class, brow-beating plod towards the * SPOILER * conclusion which strives so hard to be uplifting, it hurts. * END SPOILER. Naomi does an Oscar-nominated Suffering Woman routine, and throughout I was wondering if it turn out to be anything but crushingly predictable. It didn't. If you must experience this horrible story the safety of your own home, watch one of the Discovery docs. The Impossible creates the spectacle you crave, but withdraws it oh so quickly, receding like the water, into sludge.
- DirectorRob LettermanConrad VernonStarsReese WitherspoonRainn WilsonStephen ColbertA woman transformed into a giant after she is struck by a meteorite on her wedding day becomes part of a team of monsters sent in by the U.S. government to defeat an alien mastermind trying to take over Earth.After seeing bits of it a hundred times, I sat down with Holly (3) to watch this all the way through. With one exception - Hugh Laurie's appallingly unfunny voice acting - I loved it. Simply a great laugh, beautifully written, visually imaginative and spectacular, and just so witty. A very difficult thing to pull off ... CGI animation usually looks fantastic, but rarely does the script match the eye candy. Here, it probably even exceeds it.
- DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsTom CruiseRosamund PikeRichard JenkinsA homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper responsible for a mass shooting.I just can't get past the Cruiser playing Jack Reacher. Sorry, I know I should be able to, but I can't. He's simply too short, end of. The story is good though .. Clean, classic thriller, it motors along, doesn't over complicate, delivers. The God that is Werner Herzog, however, falls flat here. Un-scary, un-memorable, and way under-used. In the book, which I enjoyed, he's a fearsome adversary. Here, he's almost invisible. Still, this is solid, and worth a second go on Blu-ray when it comes out. Still wish they'd cast a big guy though. Just a big guy! How hard can it be?
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisAnanda GeorgeRay SahetapyA S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
- BLU RAY AT HOME
- DirectorBart LaytonStarsAdam O'BrianNicholas BarclayCarey GibsonA documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.Almost brilliant, but ultimately the drama-doc format they chose for this - which given the lack of actual footage was almost unavoidable - got in the way for me. THE IMPOSTER does hit you with a few surprises though, but it's a bit of a slog before you get there. The story IS pretty unbelievable, but then towards the end, you begin to get an idea of why... Who knows who you can believe. Only one thing is certain - the perpetrator is an absolute *beep* and maybe it was his complete unlikeability which turned me off THE IMPOSTER ultimately.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsJoyce McKinneyPeter ToryTroy WilliamsA documentary on a former Miss Wyoming who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary.Somehow I missed this whole story when it played out for real in the papers, so it was all fresh to me. Like the best documentaries, it keeps surprising you right to the end. One very damaged woman, and a handful of guys chuckling behind their hands, like boys do. Definitely Errol Morris Lite, though.
- DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.Loved it first time round, even better second time around. Only one thing I hate ... The zombie family. If only they'd picked some different horror to come creeping after them.. Otherwise, CABIN absolutely rocks, right to the splattery end...
- DirectorColin TrevorrowStarsAubrey PlazaMark DuplassJake JohnsonThree magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.Lightweight but neat and intelligent, with a character at its heart, played by Mark Duplass, who is fascinating. Similar to K-PAX, where the protagonist may by well be a mad man, although not as Hollywood-slick. The girl at the heart of it is a little too indie-chick perfect, but Duplass makes for a refreshingly original hero. The sideshow characters don't work, but who cares, I wanted to see what happened with the main attraction, and I love a film which pursues its concept to a logical conclusion.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsClive OwenAndrea RiseboroughGillian AndersonSet in 1990s Belfast, an active member of the IRA becomes an informant for MI5 in order to protect her son's welfare.Gripping and surprising, but talky. When that talkiness involves the broadest of Ulster accents, and you're listening among the background noise of a plane (as I was), you kind of need subtitles ... There's a decent Big Reveal and a whammer of a surprise at the end. Owen and especially Riseborough are damn fine. Gillian Anderson not so much. Not as ominous and terrifying as the reviews had led me to believe, but a solid thriller.
- DirectorLauren GreenfieldStarsJaqueline SiegelDavid SiegelLorraine BarrettA documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.The stock review of QoV goes something like: 'wow this is a crazy story but you will love her, despite yourself'. Well, no. This woman comes across as obnoxious, selfish, ignorant car crash of a mother, matched by a withdrawn, permanently angry ex-billionaire who has long since checked out of the marriage. Vulgar in all possible ways, and thoroughly unlikeable people, although - it has to be said - a gruesomely fascinating documentary.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJessica ChastainJoel EdgertonChris PrattA chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.A right belter, almost on a par with ARGO. There's a very dense, talks first half to get through, but the film comes into focus half way through and by the Raid it has your goolies. What a set piece that final forty minutes is, and Man those special forces soldiers know their job. It's a fairly accurate account, too, by all reports. The admirably un-flashy action climax delivers brilliantly.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsKarl UrbanOlivia ThirlbyLena HeadeyIn a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.A fantastic surprise, DREDD is one of the best action movies I've seen in years. Shot with real creative flair, but with absolutely NOTHING spared (the violence is prodigious and ultra bloody, true to its original 2000AD and Action Comic roots), I simply can't wait to get the Blu-ray and see it again. Not bothered about the 3D version, you don't need it. The most beautiful splatter movie ever made? Raw, economical, intelligent entertainment. Bravo.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsKirsten DunstCharlotte GainsbourgKiefer SutherlandTwo sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.Second time around, at home, the climax is still stupendous. You have to work to get there, though. Too hard, for Marie, who had checked out long before. Like DANCER IN THE DARK, it starts with absolute beauty, and drags you through hell before giving you the bleakest of all finishes. Not one to put you in a happy mood. One of my favourite films of the last ten years, though. Every now and then, Von Trier really pulls one out of the bag.
- DirectorGary RossStarsJennifer LawrenceJosh HutchersonLiam HemsworthKatniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsKate WinsletJennifer ConnellyPatrick WilsonThe lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations in suburban Massachusetts.
- DirectorMalik BendjelloulStarsRodriguezStephen 'Sugar' SegermanDennis CoffeyTwo South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
- DirectorRob ZombieStarsSid HaigSheri Moon ZombieBill MoseleyThe murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape the vengeful Sheriff Wydell, who is not afraid of being as ruthless as his target.
- DirectorPeter CattaneoStarsRobert CarlyleTom WilkinsonMark AddySix unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsDenzel WashingtonNadine VelazquezDon CheadleTroubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.The crash is extraordinary, I admit. You just have to marvel at it, although the final impact is a bit...flat. But I've never been one for films about self-destructive druggies or alcoholics, and Denzel plays both in FLIGHT. His booze-sodden Captain is a pretty unpleasant man, and the will-he won't-he courtroom drama comes too late in the day to rescue the film from more than a solid-ish 7 out of 10. Without the plane stuff it would have been a 5. Not gripping enough as a human drama, I didn't care about Denzel a great deal, so the attempt at some sort of emotional redemption at the end flopped, just like his plane.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.Wordy, worthy Oscar bait and to be honest a crashing bore. I honestly gave LINCOLN a real chance, I had heard it was a bit of a slog, and went in prepared. But I lost the will to live after maybe Abe's third or fourth quiet, oh-so-meaningful morality speech, and snoozed until the film finally got going ... The Vote. By which time i had long since checked out. I'm sorry Steven Spielberg, I love you (sometimes) and all that, but my goodness you made a dull one here. No doubt it will be showered with Oscars.
- DirectorXavier GensStarsLauren GermanMichael BiehnMilo VentimigliaSurvivors of a nuclear attack are grouped together for days in the basement of their apartment building, where fear and dwindling supplies wear away at their dynamic.The essential nature of a group-survival film like THE DIVIDE is this ... Do you care about anyone? In THE GREY it's Liam. In TITANIC, Jack and Rose. In ALIEN, the genre masterpiece, it's everyone. I had zero expectations going into this - just indulging my quiet taste for genre / horror films on a rare day off - but I was surprised and impressed with THE DIVIDE. I won't go so far as to say I cared, particularly, about anyone, although Michael Biehn, who gets a free pass in any film owing to his magnificent past, surprised me ... I thought I had his arc nailed from the start, and I was so wrong. Get past Rosanna Arquette doing her super-damaged deranged victim woman act yet again, and your fairly stock twitchy, eye-bulgingly nasty bad guys, and you'll find a film with some originality, and best of all, a fitting ending which gives you time to breathe and take in. The last 30 seconds makes up for the excesses, of which there are many. Not for the kids. Enjoyed this.
- DirectorTom TykwerLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsTom HanksHalle BerryHugh GrantAn exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.Well I survived, and so did Marie, and we talked about it allthe way back home, which is the mark of a good film. However, I'm not sure what we just saw. I compare CLOUD ATLAS to one of those old Magic Eye pictures, where if you relax your eyes you see a 3D image of something else entirely different emerge. But only if you stop thinking about what you're seeing. Maybe CLOUD ATLAS is that, a mosaic of scenes and images which implant something far deeper in your mind, ready to awaken on second viewing. Or maybe it's just a mess. I don't think so though. I am a Tom Tykwer devotee after seeing just one film of his - the magnificent PERFUME - and I love the way he makes a film look so ... interesting. 'Bizarre' was Marie's word, and she's right. If I watch this again one day (there's no doubt that the Blu-ray will look incredible ... this is visually one of the most stunning films I've ever seen), CLOUD ATLAS may make a rush up to the higher end of my Flickchart. For now the jury's out, but I'm glad I saw it, and glad that I'm on its side. Brave, ambitious film making with an A-list cast taking risks. Fantastic, really, I think ...
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreMilitary lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.Stuck this on for a cosy film night with a takeaway, because you can rely on A FEW GOOD MEN. I've probably seen it too many times now, and this time around its lengthy, talky courtroom scenes actually dragged a little. Familiarity breeding a little contempt, maybe. But ... so many quotable one-liners, so many precision-crafted scenes, so many great, great cheesy performances. Nicholson and Cruise simply HAM this one up at full throttle. Simple, undemanding, clever and satisfying, but it's slipping down the list .. it's not ageing well.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.