The Boar’s Top 10 Films of 2013
Based on UK release, the Boar film team has concocted this list of the best films of 2013. Last year’s films had a healthy dose of black and white, an incredible focus on the cinematically epic, and some of the most boisterous performances of the decade. In short, it was a landmark year in terms of pushing the boundary of cinema, on both a technical and emotional scale. Here’s what we thought were the cream of the crop.
10. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Katniss Everdeen, victor of the 74th Hunger Games, finds herself back in the throes of the arena, and reluctantly at the heart of the Panem rebellion. The sequel to the original Hunger Games film is a step up from the initial instalment in every way imaginable. Character development, acting, and special effects have all been improved, and the trilogy has truly taken flight under new director Francis Lawrence’s power. I think I speak for us all when I say that we can’t wait for the two Mockingjay films, the first of which will be released on November 21 this year.
Helena Moretti
9. Nebraska
Alexander Payne’s humourously melancholic road trip film sees OAP Woody Grant travelling across a vast monochromatic American landscape with his son David, in order to receive his seven-figure ‘fortune’. Most of the laughs come at the expense of Woody’s dimwitted extended family but the scene-stealing quips from Woody’s wife played by June Squibb a.k.a the filthiest 84 year old you’ve heard, are an unadulterated joy. The film proves to be a powerful vehicle for both Bruce Dern’s most subdued performance of his career and also a quirky but subtly charming first foray into drama by SNL-alum Will Forte. Lifted by a toe-tickling score, Nebraska embellishes a sentimental look into a father and son’s crusade for new beginnings.
Raghav Bali
8. Frances Ha
Director Noah Baumbach has created this stylish black-and-white film with Greta Gerwig starring as the endearing protagonist: 27-year-old dancer Frances Halladay. Frances Ha has no structured story, instead it offers a glimpse into Frances’ life as she tries to figure out where she fits in after her best friend moves out of their shared apartment, leading her to journey from Brooklyn to Chinatown, Sacramento and even Paris in the process. With a great soundtrack, a perfectly cast lead and believable situations, this is a beautifully simple film that evokes a Woody Allen style ode to New York.
Olivia Lynch
7. Lincoln
January saw this historical biopic give everyone something to agree on: Daniel Day Lewis’ exceptional performance cast an image as grand as the emancipator’s statue itself. The heart of this film lies away from Washington’s oak-panelled walls, and fundamentally asks the cost of freedom: from congressional bribery, to soldiers drowning each other in mud, Spielberg is both brutally honest about America’s down right violent upbringing, and characteristically loyal to the systems which uphold it. Well-researched and thought provoking, the light shone into the mind of America’s greatest leader also casts a long, uncompromising shadow. This is history class at its best.
James Stannard
6. Blue Jasmine
It’s fair to say that Woody Allen has endured a chequered career since the halcyon days of Annie Hall right through to the turbulent lows of Cassandra’s Dream. But every once in a while he manages to produce a film that not only reignites your love for the man but manages to solidify a place as one of the best films of the year. Blue Jasmine is this film. Cate Blanchett gives a career-best performance as a narcissistic alcoholic on a descent into madness. Astute, funny and humane, this is Allen’s best film in years and is not to be missed.
Sam Tomlinson
5. The Act of Killing
The Act Of Killing is one of the most audacious documentaries ever made. Leaders from the 1965 Indonesian genocide are asked to recreate their own murders in any film genre of their choosing. Director Oppenheimer cleverly eschews what typifies the generic documentary by avoiding historical detail and instead examining through its unique conceit what compels men to commit these heinous acts of violence. What is horrifying is the truly banal nature of evil shown here, as the killers calmly rationalise their murders as heroic acts. These killers have never been brought to justice; hopefully this film will do something to rectify that problem.
Redmond Bacon
4. Mud
Mud is an absolute triumph on every level, and a reminder of how great American cinema can be. Mark Twain is imprinted everywhere, from the setting of the Mississippi River to the mysterious and frightening figure of Mud himself, performed fiercely by Matthew McConaughey. However it is the film’s young lead, Tye Sheridan, who steals the spotlight. Judging from this performance, Sheridan will be going far in the realm of cinema. Visually evocative, emotionally stimulating, and with fantastic direction by Jeff Nichols, this film is a modern masterpiece.
Andrew Sztehlo
3. The Place Beyond the Pines
Derek Cianfrance’s epic tale of two fathers and their sons can quite safely be declared as an American classic. Charting the collision of destiny between motorcycle stuntman Ryan Gosling and police officer Bradley Cooper, the film invokes a macabre sense of mysticism and predetermination within its multi-layered and thought-provoking narrative. With a range of incredibly well measured performances, Cianfrance directs his impressive ensemble with the prowess of a veteran master. Pines is a masterclass in traditional film-making, a gorgeously shot film surging with powerful imagery and profound themes.
Andrew Gaudion
2. Django Unchained
Tarantino’s hotly-anticipated Western was even longer and even bloodier than 2009’s Inglourious Basterds as well as being, put simply, insanely cool. Sharp directing was helped in no small part by Jamie Foxx’s badass slave-turned-avenger Django combined with outrageously unexpected punches of gangster rap. With exploding women and plenty of race and violence controversy, in true Tarantino style this is not a film for the faint-hearted. However, it manages to be hilarious and action-packed for the full 165 minutes. A deserved Oscar winner and full of characters you love to hate, this was one of the standout films of 2013.
Jess Wilson
1. Gravity
“Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.” These words were spoken by French auteur Jean Luc-Godard and to this day remain irrefutable. Film – like any fiction is inherently a lie. Yet with its captivating technical prowess and spiritual epicentre, Alfonso Cuarón’s nail-biting space opera Gravity almost succeeds in blurring the line between fantasy and reality. Using exquisite 3D, hypnotic shot compositions and arresting sound design, Cuarón simulates an immersive and frightening incarnation of unending nothingness, leaving a magnificently vulnerable Sandra Bullock stranded in her quest for Earth. Even when Cuarón’s layers on the nerve-shredding set-pieces the real victory arrives in the film’s delicate musings on faith and the incorruptible stoicism of human courage. Eye-candy doesn’t come sweeter and Hollywood film-making has scarcely ever been so simultaneously heartfelt and ambitious.
Daniel Kelly
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