My top 5 worst films of 2013

5. World War Z–A decent outbreak movie, but a god awful zombie film.

4. Iron Man 3– A colossal disappointment. I’ve learned to live with its flaws on second viewing, kind of like somebody lives with missing a foot.

3. A Good Day to Die Hard– Not a bad film, but just mediocre throughout.

2. Oz the Great and Powerful– Good looking film, with mostly forgettable characters and a half-assed “tragic” origin for a classic film villainess.

1. Bullet to the Head– What should’ve been a good cop/criminal buddy flick turned into a mediocre/lame mess. At least the girl from “Fairly Legal” was naked in it.

My top 5 best films of 2013

5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug– A bit long, but I was once again transported to Middle Earth.

4. Thor: The Dark World –Hemsworth and Hiddleson once again make every scene they’re in fun to watch. Everybody else just helps move things along. Fun movie, but a bit too jokey and a bit too “Star Wars.

3. The Wolverine– After a second viewing, I enjoyed it much more. Classic Wolverine storyline, but you need to by the extended cut if you want to see more ninjas cut extensively by Wolverine.

2. This Is the End-This was hilarious. The celebrity self-parodies and over-the-top scenarios blended almost perfectly.

1. Star Trek Into Darkness– A lot of people hated this one, but this big Trekkie was very happy with this it.Everything seemed to really feel like Trek. A few too many homages to “Wrath of Khan.”

Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Very good, but still has its flaws. Although the film seems to be missing a few elements, like a lot of the humor and some of the epic action I’ve come to expect, it does a good job of keeping you invested throughout the two-hour plus running time. There are a few moments where things slow down and it’s easy to lose interest, but otherwise, everything moves along pretty well. The CGI is great, except for a handful of moments and designs of costumes and locations are amazing. The final part of the film does suffer from a few problems. The length of the film had me worn down and I was dreading the fact that at some point things will end fairly abruptly in order to set up the final chapter. I did see the film in 3D and felt it was a waste of money and was only impressed by one or two shots.

***1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Overall, entertaining but never feels very satisfying. I’ve never read any of the Hunger Games books, so I had little idea what to expect. I was really looking forward to the film’s Hunger Games and they took an exceptionally long time to get to them. It seemed like a longer wait then the first film. The story was engaging, but the Games were the payoff. Once they arrive, everything felt rushed. Character deaths were quick and barely on screen. All but a handful of the competitors were virtually ignored and only got the spotlight placed on them when their “In memorial” photos were displayed in the arena. The man vs. man aspect was almost completely replaced with the man vs. environment story and everything ended abruptly. No final showdown, just an Empire Strikes Back inspired cliffhanger. The cliffhanger wouldn’t be so bad if the final book in the trilogy wasn’t cut into two films. Now we have another cliffhanger in waiting. The love triangle from the first film is made even more awkward here and I’m not sure who to side with. Jennifer Lawrence brings her strong acting to the role and kept emotionally invested in her character’s plight. Also, the budget allows for some grand shots of the future landscape.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: Thor: The Dark World (3D)

Very entertaining, but a few things keep it from being great. The film follows up nicely from the first “Thor” film and “The Avengers.” All the major storylines with each character gets addressed in some form. The designs of all the characters and sets took what they had in the previous film and add a bit more grittiness to everything. However, there’s a very Star Wars vibe to all the new technology and many of the action sequences. This is not a bad thing, but there’re a few moments in the finale where the humor is almost too much. It’s not Jar Jar Binks bad, but it kills the mood a bit. The dynamic between the main characters keeps you invested, particularly between Loki, Thor and their parents. This includes an incredibly moving and visually stunning sequence in the middle of the film. The new villain, Malekith, is a bit of a letdown. While he looks cool and is a major threat, his motivation isn’t much more than him being then him being evil. There are two post credit scenes to watch out for. One a few minutes in and one after the credits are completely over. I ended up seeing the 3D version of the film, which was not bad as far as 3D goes. It was almost worth it just for the exclusive “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” footage.

***1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: Carrie (2013)

Nothing really special, and yet another remake that we probably didn’t need. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched the original “Carrie.” I don’t remember much of it, but after watching the new version, I read the plot summery. Basically, there’s little difference between the two films. Aside from the injections of modern technology like cell phones and the internet, there’s not much new worth mentioning. The film itself is entertaining enough to keep my interest throughout, but knowing how the story ends, it kept me from investing too much into the characters. The acting overall is a bit bland, with only the two main roles featuring any acting of interest. And even then, Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mother never does much more than convince u that she’s the “evil crazy religious lady.” Chloe Grace Moretz has a more nuanced performance as Carrie, but with a role lacking a lot of dialog, her acting consists of a lot of flaring her nostrils and giving us a few wide-eyed stares.

**1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: Kick-Ass 2

Overall entertaining, but the film never seems totally focused. The main plot is fairly flimsy; held together mostly by the character arcs and only coming together at the end of the movie. Of the three major character arcs, Hit-Girl’s is easily the most interesting, but it does get a little weird with a “Mean Girls” inspired plot. In and out of costume, Hit-Girl is really the star here and you always want more of her. Kick-Ass’ storyline hits and misses. He’s at his best when interacting with his Justice Forever teammates. I think those who haven’t seen the first film will probably be the least satisfied with Kick-Ass himself, since his motivation for being a superhero is only touched upon in the sequel. The portions of the film dealing with the evolution of the film’s villain never seem to reach their potential. Every time things get interesting, there’s an odd twist that takes things in a different direction. Most of the supporting characters are fairly one-dimensional, with Jim Carey’s Colonel Stars and Stripes being the most interesting. The film’s humor is pretty strong, with some good one-liners and funny moments throughout. The action scenes are bloody and fairly realistic, but the overuse of CGI blood tends to stand out as a distraction. There’s a post-credit scene that I missed, but it didn’t sound like anything really worth staying for.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: Elysium

Well-put-together film, and is strong in many aspects. The acting is top-notch, with Sharlto Copley making the most of every scene that he’s in. Matt Damon and Jodie Foster also deliver. The effects are excellent, creating a believable futuristic world that features people living in squalor and others in decadence. The story is pretty good, keeping things interesting for the most part. The movie is surprisingly violent, and along with in the profanity, it really gives it a gritty feel and keeps it grounded. The action scenes are pretty cool, but sometimes they use an odd camera move that was a little distracting.

***1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: The Wolverine

Very solid film, but never truly excels. They did a lot right with this movie and very little wrong. Hugh Jackman is flawless as Wolverine. He has everything down as this character by this point. I thought all the other heroes were well-played, even though they lack any super powers. Rila Fukushima has the right amount of attitude and style to bring Yukio to life and made her a credible “bodyguard” for Logan. Tao Okomoto is very likable as Mariko and her relationship with Wolverine seem organic and flow nice with the story. The villains of the film are its weakest point. Viper is not very interesting, and never seems to have any true motivation. It was already bad enough that they altered the character so extremely from the source material. The way they handled The Silver Samurai was just strange and led to an unsatisfying plot twist. The story itself was good and generally kept things moving. A few of the action sequences felt a little flat, but the Japan setting helped give everything a unique feel. I also thought they did a great job of making this a stand-alone film, while still making enough references to connect everything together. There is a scene a few minutes into the credits and it’s worth staying for as it gives a hint of things to come.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: Pacific Rim

Overall pretty entertaining, but fell a little short of most fronts. The story wasn’t anything too groundbreaking, but it’s enough to keep you invested in what’s coming up. This movie has a strong concept and it works overall: Giant Robots fighting giant monsters with the fate of humanity on the line. While these battles are well-done and well thought-out, everything seems to go down at night, or underwater or underwater at night, making it difficult to keep track of what’s going on and which robot is fighting which monster. The lead characters are all given enough backstory to flesh them out, but there always seems to be something lacking. For example, there’s other teams assisting in fighting off the monsters, but they feel like stereotypical background characters thrown in just to have an international team of robot pilots. There are a few moments of humor that break the tension, but I thought they could’ve slipped in a bit more without making things feel like a comedy. The finale brings together all the elements to a conclusion that has you emotionally invested in the fate of the characters and makes the journey worthwhile. There is a brief scene after the credits that I didn’t catch, but it didn’t sound like it was anything that important.

*** out of *****