Rebecca’s Top Ten Movies of 2013

We’ve decided here at the Silver Petticoat Review that you, our esteemed audience, deserves to know each of our favorite movies from 2013. So, here I am, last on the list to regale you with my top ten movies from 2013. I will be honest. I go to the movies mostly for pure entertainment and not necessarily great film. My films are probably the ones the critics claimed were dumb and “just another teen film.” What can I say? That is what I like and I am not ashamed of it.

My list is for those who love YA films, Disney movies, and just plain fun. Most of them are not considered a bastion of serious filmmaking, or the greatest piece of artistic expression to hit the big screen in a millennium. No, here you will find the fun and fluffy happy movies that make you feel good and put a smile on your face. That is why I go to the movies. I should also mention that I haven’t exactly been going to the movies every week either, so some movies that I may have loved just won’t be on here because I didn’t get a chance to see them. So, without further ado, here is my list of the top ten movies of 2013.

10. Oz The Great and Powerful

This movie didn’t get great reviews or a great reception but I liked it nonetheless. First of all it has one of my favorite actresses in it, Rachel Weisz. No matter what movie she’s in I’m guaranteed to like it. Hell, she even inspired me to go see an artistic and critically acclaimed movie. Not something I do very often. I loved her in this movie as I love her in everything. I also just loved the fun aspect of the movie. It didn’t take itself too seriously, which is a quality I can respect and enjoy in a movie. It was fun and entertaining. Let’s just leave it at that.

9. The World’s End

This is a movie about a pub crawl, so right away you know it’s not going to be serious. That this pub crawl turns into a fight to save the earth just makes it even better. This is also a Simon Pegg movie, so if you are familiar with Shawn of the Dead you should be able to guess what the kind of movie this will be. Basically, you’ve got British silliness abounding and Simon Pegg’s particular breed of dry witty humor echoed throughout the movie. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to see a movie about five pub crawlers becoming humanities only hope for survival? It’s a tour de force of absolute ridiculousness. I loved it!

8. The Host

Let’s call this what it is, another teen/YA book turned into a movie. And that’s exactly how it came across. It wasn’t brilliant, but it was still entertaining. I think the concept of the book is interesting and that it adapted well to the big screen. With how introspective the book is, I was actually impressed with how well they were able to adapt it to the film version. I enjoyed the young love story, the adventure, the story of a dystopian future run by aliens. It was a cute movie that did try to be a bit serious, and didn’t exactly succeed at being oscar worthy, but did entertain me enough that I decided to buy the DVD. I’d watch it again.

7. The Heat

This movie made me laugh out loud and sigh with contentment at the same time. I loved the bickering and camaraderie between Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. It’s your typical female buddy cop movie. The two women don’t want to work together but find something to bond over in the end. And, of course, they save the day in grand style. But what you have in this movie that makes it special is the talent of these two hilarious actresses. Both have been in hugely successful comedies prior to this, and bring that experience to this movie. Go ladies!

6. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Here we have yet another entertaining YA novel turned into a movie. But look at the cast in this one! You’ve got the recently rising star, Lilly Collins, and the uber sexy Aidan Turner. What more could you ask for? For me, at least, anything Aidan Turner is in is worth a look at. I know he was in a smaller role, but I still think he was brilliant. Lilly Collins did an admirable job in her role as well.

5. Frozen

Here’s my Disney contribution. I absolutely love Disney cartoons. I practically flew over the moon when I found out they were doing fairy tale based films like the ones they did in the past. Come on. Who doesn’t love The Little Mermaid? So, I’m pretty much immediately enamored by any cartoon fairy tale that Disney comes out with these days. In this film you have the enormous talent of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel. Let me tell you, that woman can sing! Her beautiful voice fills the air with it’s power a grace in this movie. I also think the love and kinship between the two sisters in the tale was particularly heartwarming. I don’t want to give anything away, but this movie provides a new twist to the “love conquers all” idea. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll want to sing along. I definitely recommend Frozen.

4. About Time

This heartwarming movie from the director of Notting Hill is nothing short of breathtaking. I loved the time travel aspect, but more than that I just liked the relationships portrayed in this movie. It ended up being a movie more about those relationships and the love between people that a time travel film. Don’t get me wrong, the time travel aspect added a cute twist to it, but it didn’t define it. I absolutely love Bill Nighy in it, as I love him in all of his films, even Underworld. They really picked a great cast all around for this movie. Everyone fit their roles and characterization perfectly. They made a film involving time travel feel realistic and well more like a regular romantic comedy, like Notting Hill. This is movie I wouldn’t miss for the world.

3. Austenland

This is yet another movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It was not well received by almost anyone, but that’s because they didn’t understand the point of the movie. It’s supposed to be ridiculous! Take a chill pill and just sit back and enjoy the utter preposterousness of the movie. It’s hilarious! I mean come on. You’ve got Jane Seymour holding a fake lamb in the beginning., and Keri Russell has a cardboard figure of Mr. Darcy in her living room. I don’t think it takes much deductive reasoning to figure out the direction this movie is going in. It is wonderfully silly and that’s what makes it so entertaining. It doesn’t try to take itself seriously for one minute. Every other scene has some kind of silliness going on in it. I truly loved this movie. So much so that I’ve been waiting and waiting with baited breath for it to finally come out on DVD. They’re taking forever! So, yeah, this is definitely one of my favorites. I would recommend reading the book also as an added bonus.

2. Gravity

This is one of the more serious films I actually managed to see this year. A big part of my decision to go see it was that Sandra Bullock is in it. She didn’t disappoint either. As funny as she is in The Heat, here she is absolutely serious and quite rightly terrified. Can you imagine being cast adrift in space? I’d pee my pants for certain! Something the ever dignified Ms. Bullock did not do. Clooney and particularly Bullock’s performances are simply inspired. The theme of being cast adrift as if on a deserted island plays strongly throughout the movie, reminding me a bit of Cast Away  and Robinson Crusoe. Their journey trying to make it back to Earth is at times terrifying, heartwarming, and thought provoking. I was also suitably impressed by the stunning visual effects and cinematography. This is most certainly a movie for the ages.

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I thought this movie was amazing. I liked the first, but I thought they really upped the quality a notch with the second movie. The cast has certainly improved with the stellar new additions made. I also thought the action scenes in this one were much better with more excitement and danger. I didn’t entirely enjoy the amount of gore in the first movie and I am glad they toned that down a notch and focused more on the characters. I definitely felt like I got to know Katniss and Peeta better in this film as well as the new characters they threw in. Adding Jenna Malone to the cast was brilliant. She played her part cleverly and definitely added positively to the overall effect of the movie. I cannot wait to see her in the third film! I also loved Jennifer Lawrence, as I did in the first movie. I think she is such a brilliant actress and has a maturity and polish to her that most other actresses her age just don’t have. I still feel like she has more chemistry with Lenny Kravitz than she does with Josh Hutcherson, but what can you do. I personally think that was a miscast. I loved the scenery as well as the costumes and makeup again in this film. The forest scene especially were breathtaking. I am definitely buying the DVD of Catching Fire. I highly suggest you check it out if you haven’t.

Well, there you have it. My top ten favorite films of 2013. As I said before, I definitely go for the entertainment value of films more than the critically acclaimed or more cerebral films. Hopefully I’ve inspired you to give some of these fun movies a chance and add them to your own top ten list.

What movies would be on your top ten list? Sound off below…

RELATED

Check out our reviews of Austenland, About Time, and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.

Take a look at Amber’s Top Ten Movies of 2013 and Autumn’s Top Ten Movies of 2013

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