24 Lies a Second: That Was the Year That Was

0 Conversations

That Was The year, That Was – Episode VII

Well, here we are again. How was 2013 for you? As you might expect, I spent most of it in a cinema. 65 new movies made it onto my viewing list in the twelve months just concluded (plus the 'final cut' of The Wicker Man, of course), but I shall break with tradition by not troubling you with a full list of the films involved.

On the whole it felt like a pretty good year, with no massive disappointments and a few unexpected gems appearing. A diverse year, too, with general trends being hard to discern – or then again perhaps I just haven't been paying enough attention as usual.

So, without further ado, onto the Lassie awards for 2013 – mostly broken down by genre, this time round.

Comedy: I still don't find most modern comedy films especially amusing, but there were a few this year that raised a chuckle. Anchorman 2 and Alan Partridge both lived up to considerable expectations, but managing to do that while being extremely funny and also telling a resonant and quite affecting story was Edgar Wright's The World's End. Hopes for his collaboration with Marvel Studios on Ant-Man have duly been raised.

Action Movie: I would always feel bad if I had to give this to a film which Jason Statham didn't appear in. Luckily he is in Fast and Furious 6, albeit only for a few moments right at the very end. It's quite easy to sneer at the F&F franchise but these are generally supremely well-crafted pieces of entertainment. The death of Paul Walker last December was, of course, a tragedy, but it would equally be a shame if that caused the end of this particular series.

Documentary: Not quite as good a year as 2012, but a few gems, and it was actually quite difficult to make a choice in the end. My criterion here is the extent to which the film manages to make an unpromising topic interesting – and by this standard a great film about an elderly restaurant owner sneaks it over a great film about homicidal whales. So the Lassie goes to Jiro Dreams Of Sushi, with an honourable mention for Blackfish.

Science Fiction: Now, does Gravity actually count as SF? A difficult question and no mistake. I'm not entirely sure it does, but then the boundaries of this particular genre have always been fiendishly difficult to determine. Anyway – there were a number of decent, smart SF films in 2013, Elysium, Oblivion, and Robot & Frank amongst them. (Upstream Color would also definitely be on the list had I actually understood it.) In the absence of Gravity, I would – perhaps controversially – give the award to Ender's Game, a thoughtful and accomplished film which didn't seem to make much of an impact on its own merits.

Fantasy: Again, where do you set the borders? I tend to lump all the superhero movies in here, too, which makes things even more confusing. Anyway – I did enjoy Pacific Rim very much (borderline SF, I suppose), and also Man of Steel, but – it's like the glory days of the column all over again! – it would be perverse not to recognise the scale of Peter Jackson's achievements in the second Hobbit film, a definite improvement over the first one.

Drama: Now I think Gravity should go in here... but enough already. Other 2013 dramas I particularly enjoyed included A Late Quartet, Wadjda, and Trance. However, the best non-spacesuit related drama of the year for me was Rush, a gripping story rivetingly told.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year: Strong temptation to plump for Star Trek Into Darkness here, but to be honest I was always expecting it to be a let-down. However, this uncoveted prize goes to World War Z, quite simply because of the chasm in quality between the source novel and the movie. The prospect of a sequel is not a cheery one (unless, of course, it features much more of Peter Capaldi reprising his role as 'WHO Doctor').

Worst Film of the Year: Not that many candidates this year, but some real stinkers in there – including After Earth and – bang up to date – 47 Ronin. However, just edging both of these out was the truly woeful A Good Day to Die Hard, not least because of the way it slimes the reputation of a once-mighty franchise.

Best Film of the Year:Gravity. Whatever genre it belongs to.

Awix's Choice: The coveted prize for my favourite film of the year, however, goes to one which I even I admit has some serious and quite bizarre flaws in it (the BBC's Mark Kermode described it as a 'complete failure'). Nevertheless, I found it to be an exhilaratingly deranged piece of work and am looking forward to seeing it again – it is, of course, Cloud Atlas.

What of 2014? Not many absolutely huge releases in prospect, though I suppose The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the final Hobbit film qualify. There is of course a new Christopher Nolan film to anticipate, plus the troubled Fast & Furious 7 (something for most people in one or other of those, I suspect), not to mention what promises to be an off-the-wall offering from Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy. However, it's the unexpected pleasures which make spending most of your time in the cinema such a rewarding pursuit. Stay tuned.

24 Lies a Second Archive

Awix

06.01.14 Front Page

Back Issue Page


Bookmark on your Personal Space


Conversations About This Entry

There are no Conversations for this Entry

Entry

A87820275

Infinite Improbability Drive

Infinite Improbability Drive

Read a random Edited Entry


Written by

Credits

Disclaimer

h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the Not Panicking Ltd. Unlike Edited Entries, Entries have not been checked by an Editor. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more