Best of 2013, According to Me!

 Greetings my fellow movie goers! I'm the girl behind the blog, you know me as TheCinemaChick and we all know I am obsessed with films. 2013 wasn't a great year in movies, since I tended to feel either apathetic towards or just meh. Very few films blew me away or made me excited so this list was a bit harder to make. Plus, I just didn't see that many films. My grand total, I think was forty five. And yes, I do keep a list of what movies I see and how many times I saw them. Instead of my usual “this was my top fave” thing, this list is just going to be in no particular order. It's just a bunch of movies I loved that I recommend to others.


With that said, lets jump right into it, shall we?

Honorable mentions:  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Fifth Estate (I have a love/hate relationship with it), Oz: The Great and Powerful


If you haven't seen any of these movies, I apologize. There be spoilers ahead.

• 1. The Wolverine.
  
• Overall, I did not care for it. The movie was long and it felt long. The things I absolutely loved about it were the sense of continuation. It doesn't skip the previous films and makes allusions to its predecessors. While it could be a standalone film, it's not because of the long history Logan has. Another amazing detail that made me happy was knowing they pretty much stuck to the comic book plot. There were elements that seemed to come straight from the pages but some of it was brand new. The newer content actually did not detract from the overall feel but for me, the lack of action and the length were a big drawback.
  
  
• Despicable Me 2
  
• Who doesn't like those minions? It also showed that different families (in this case, single parent with adopted children) can be happy and thrive. It also has great comedy that parents and children both can enjoy. Again, its the minions. The scene where they were all partying and having ice cream was adorable, then the one minion with the lights and kept saying “bee-do! Bee-do!” was memorable. My nieces and nephews love it which makes it even better in my eyes because lately, it seems like there is nothing family friendly in the theaters. And they movies that are come few and far between. Plus, Fry took me to see this on my mother's birthday, a day that I just couldn't be alone. I know Mom would have loved it too and I still miss her so much.
  
  
• Mud
  
• Honestly, I wish this one had been more successful. While it wasn't the most exciting thing out there nor did it have some epic story, it was realistic. It showed a young boy learning the hardships of life while trying to do the right thing. He sees how love is both wonderful and painful at the same time. He meets Mud, played beautifully by Matthew McConaughey, the man who teaches him valuable lessons that his parents forget to tell him. It's about friendship, trust, first loves, lost loves and letting go of things even though you don't want to.
  
  
• Frozen
  
• This one was cute with tons of songs that will get stuck in your head. The characters were great, even if they didn't really experience any change whatsoever. It was a delightful tale about one sister willing to do everything for her sister when things go wrong. For once, our heroine, in this case, Anna, didn't need a man to save her. She saved the day by choosing family of the man. To me, this is a positive message for younger girls, one I have seen since Brave. I would like to see more strong female leads like Anna and Merida in animated films.
  

• Star Trek Into Darkness
  
• I'll admit, I had a little trouble accepting this one at first. The whole parallel universe thing got to me. Seeing Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan didn't sit well. I ended up seeing it a second time when I realized, “This is pretty good.” Then I saw it a third time, because it came out close to my dad's birthday. You know, since we no longer have MovieMomma with us, let's call my dad DigitalDad. That sounds good. Anyway, Star Trek is his fandom, so after he explained some things to me, I understood the movie even more. My favorite parts had to be the action sequence between Khan and Spock, the “final” interaction between Kirk and Spock and basically anything involving Dr. McCoy. Seriously, Bones has some sass.
  

• Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor
  
• I know, I know, technically this wasn't a movie but a special presentation on the BBC, but I saw it in a movie theater, therefore it counts as a movie. Everyone knows I am a Whovian so to me, this was perfection. It tied together some loose ends, it explained some of the older jokes and come on! Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt had amazing chemistry. They just worked so well on screen, bickering like brothers. Though technically, they're the same man...never apply logic to Who. Anyone who saw this knows how epic the end of it was. The scene were they flashed little snippets of previous Doctors, from Hartnell to present was beautiful. And I loved it when the counselor said “No sir, all thirteen” and we got that brief shot of the next Doctor, Peter Capaldi's eyes. That final shot with all the incarnations standing together? Yeah, safe to say I was in tears because it was so damn perfect.
  

• This Is The End
  
• I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard during a movie. It's a funny post Apocalyptic comedy which hasn't been done very often. Yes, a lot of the humor is extremely crass and a lot of people will be offended by it. There are a lot of references to drugs, alcohol, sex, masturbation and demons. Then there's the devil...if you've seen it, you know what that was a bit shocking. But some of the best moments were the ones you'd never expect to see. The final scene was great, having some of the comedians who'd been raptured dancing to the Backstreet Boys...with the actual Backstreet Boys. Also, if you've seen it, you know what saying “Channing Tatum” is worth cracking up over.
  

• Thor: The Dark World
  
• First off, no I don't like this purely because of Loki. I do not see movies just because “Like, OMG, he's totally hot!” For me, I needed questions answered. I still would like to know how the bridge was repaired but I digress. While the movie does feel too long, there is a lot of humor mixed with the overall urgent feel. Tom Hiddleston once again dazzles (yes, I said dazzles, get over it) as the god of mischief. Loki brings the humor but he also has moments where he's utterly pathetic. I don't mean that in a negative way. Look at him when he takes down his illusions for Thor after learning the Frigga is dead. He's devastated! He even saves Jane for Thor. While everyone else seems to remain a static character, Loki, along with Eric Selvig and Darcy, seem to be the only dynamic ones. Once again, I still can't stand Jane Foster, but Loki makes up for that.
  

• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
  
• I hated the run time of nearly three hours. I loved one thing about this film that I applauded from the last one: the faithfulness to the book. It's still one of the best adaptations I have ever seen. Jennifer Lawrence captures every emotion wonderfully, even if Katniss does seem wooden most of the time. Then there's Jena Malone as Johanna Mason, who steals every scene she's in. Seriously, if she had been more prominent in the film, she would have stoeln that too. Sam Claflin is perfect as Finnick Odair, the cocky, swaggering Tribute from Distrct Four. My heart broke when Mags, the female Tribute from the same District, chose to sacrifice herself for the others. The other characters, Wiress, Beetee, Enobaria...all captured perfectly. The arena came to life just as I had pictured it. The ending was a little weak for me. That close up on her face as she goes through the emotions...not the best. I would have loved to have seen Peeta looking scared while in the hands of the corrupt Capitol members, namely President Snow, who is absolutely villainous despite being in the background for the most part. I'm not thrilled that the final movie, Mockingjay, will be split into two parts, I still look forward to it because we will finally get to see District Thirteen. Having read the book and knowing what will happen, I can say this. If you get emotionally involved in movies like I do (I'm the girl who cried when Rue died), be sure to pack some tissues. You're going to need them.
  

• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  
• Come on, you all knew this one would be on there. This movie suffers from the same problem every Peter Jackson film has. Nothing happens, there's a lot of walking then everything happens at the end of a near 3 hour film. To be fair, there's far more interesting things in this one than in the first installment. We get to meet Beorn, the man who can turn into a bear, we go to Mirkwood to meet Thranduil, the king and father of Legolas. We also get to meet Tauriel, who seemed unnecessary to me. I get that Jackson wants to add in more female characters since the book has none. Maybe it has some really minor ones...I haven't read it in years. It's also in the high frame rate, which gives me a slight headache. Dol Goldur and the Necromancer are incredible and hello, there's Smaug! Benedict Cumberbatch did the motion capture for the dragon, along with the voice. If you know what his voice sounds like, you too will find this dragon to be sexy. There's something about the way he slinks around and speaks slowly, as if he's teasing Bilbo the whole time. Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace (who is younger than Orlando but still plays his father) and Evangeline Lilly are refreshing characters that bring another layer of depth to the film. I recommend this one to anybody who has a love of J.R.R. Tolkien. It's worth the time and money and the ending is an amazing cliffhanger. I know I, along with Fry, are waiting impatiently to see the conclusion of the series next year when There and Back Again hits theaters.
  

So there you go guys, ten movies you need to see or rent or catch on Netflix. If you watch it in some illegal manner, that's none of my business. I'm looking forward to being a better critic in 2014 and making sure I stay on top of things so that I don’t slack off like I did this year. I am going to school once again, so I will be busy. Perhaps I'll do a list of films I'm dying to see in the new year. Maybe I won't. I don't know yet.


I'm TheCinemaChick and Fry and I will be seeing Saving Mr. Banks tonight.



Happy New Year everyone. Be safe, be happy and be yourself.

Trailer Trash: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

 What is up everyone? It's almost time for Christmas so here is my early gift to you. I'm TheCinemaChick, joining forces once again with the ever bubbly Kit Kat. We're back for another installment of Trailer Trash, where we look at a trailer for an upcoming film and just go “What the hell is this?” Tonight's pick is a good one. As we all know, January isn't exactly the best month for horror movies. The last one “The Devil Inside” was such a disappointment, it's been dubbed one of the worst films of all time because the ending was like a giant middle finger to the entire audience. So, does “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” stand a better chance? Well, let's look at the trailer and see what's scary as hell and what makes us groan. Kit Kat, say hello since it's been too long since your last visit.


Hello all you movie lovers and haters. I’m Kit Kat and I’m back for another lovely round of Trailer Trash. While I haven’t personally seen all of the other Paranormal Activity Movies, just seeing the trailers didn’t get my hopes up for a decent movie. And here we are again with their FIFTH installment… Besides the Fast and Furious franchise…I don’t remember another series with five movies.


Other than Harry Potter, Indian Jones I think, James Bond...nope. The thing is, the whole “found footage” genre has been slowly dying for years but for some reason, this franchise will not die. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a sixth or seventh installment from them. Here's my main issue with the films. We know it started with Katie and Kristie. With each film, we have gotten father and farther away from them. In this trailer, they are briefly mention and one of them is a stepmother. I'm guessing this means the daughter from the second film finally returns since she apparently wasn't home when her parents were killed and her brother taken. I'm not sure how I even remember that off the top of my head.


Yes, those are the others. Indiana Jones being the least successful of the most successful I do believe. But the fact that they are still trying to make a good horror movie for this franchise is a little…disturbing. Many by now would have gotten the point and stopped the insanity. From an outside point of view, the movies all seem to blur together because they all look similar.


My main issue is, how are these all connected and will there ever be an end? I just don't understand how this demon can affect so many people when the main characters are not even present anymore. Ok, yes Katie was in the fourth one briefly but that's not much. There's also too many characters overall. Most of them are totally irrelevant to the plot anyway. So now we're apparently in the south side of Los Angeles, with some Hispanic kids. I have no freaking clue what this has to do with anything I have seen before and I've seen all the films to date.


And I’ll say what I thought after first seeing this trailer: is this a horror movie or a live action Grand Theft Auto? I mean really. The music, the visuals. I couldn’t help but to think that they are trying to do way to much on the establishing of our location. Sure, it’s LA but we know it’s a horror movie franchise. That’s the point of going to see this movie. Not for feeling like we are LA. Sure we need to feel for the characters but I don’t know how well I’d feel for some guy who seems to party all the time and that he thinks a baseball bat will protect him from gangs.


What bothers me is that I know this will follow the formula of its predecessors, nothing for the first 3 acts, then all the action and horror will take place in the final act, followed by some title cards telling us this is still being investigated or something. The whole series is getting a bit stale, so honestly, they need to liven things up a bit. Do something different. Build suspense, stop relying on so many jump scares and for the love of Matthew Gray Gubler, give us an ending to the story, not a continuation! Seriously, I want to know how this thing ends. What's with the demon and what's going on with the sudden shift in location? There is no sense in continuity here. The films are all highly disjointed but at least the first three sort of worked as a trio. Everything else is just confusing and unneeded.


*stares off into the distance* ah…Matthew. *ahem* And I completely agree. If you are going to do a shift in location then you need you let the audience know why but not at the expense of the current movie. I fear the same that this movie is going to try and establish itself in the timeline and then half way through you will finally get the new movie with them prodding you to keep you realizing it’s connection to the others. Movies like that never work because they are trying way too hard and that’s what’s happening here. By now they are either desperate or hoping fifth time is a charm to make some money. I’m sure some people will go to see it for mindless entertainment but maybe this time someone will get the hint to rethink doing another one.


To be fair, we are basing everything we are saying solely on what we've seen from the trailer. I admit, the creepy factor is indeed there. There are several things that I find unsettling and downright disturbing. There are a few things where I just go “What??” or “I don't want to know...but now I need to know.” This does seem to have other horror elements worked in besides demonic possession. I did notice the religious aspect being introduced, so here's hoping they don't offend the entire Catholic church with this. Then there's a scene with the two creepy girls saying “He'll see you now”. What the actual hell?


I agree there are some creepy aspects to the trailer. The parts that get me are when he is standing looking in the mirror and pulling the string or whatever out of his eye. *shudders* Get’s my skin crawling. But the jump scare of seeing the guy down the road and the kids not being able to get out of the car. He disappears and suddenly he’s in the window and breaks through the window. Those moments get my adrenaline going like a horror movie should. If they do work those horror aspects in well with the rest of the movie then maybe it might not be as bad as we think it will. Besides, it’s all ready been proven that two creepy girls talking together are creepy.


I have a little big of hope that this one might be an improvement over the previous four. It seems to be going in a different direction and hopefully it won't be the formulaic mess it has been. There seems to be some new things introduced so its possible that it won't completely suck. We can only hope that this is true. Knowing my luck, I'll be dragged to see it. If I'm lucky, I'll get stuck next to a cute guy so when I get “scared” I can grab him. *crosses fingers* Please let it be Tom Hiddleston.


Well, I’m broke and don’t have the money to see this one. Besides, I’m saving my money to see Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. I like me some hot dwarves and elves over possibly bad horror movies anyday.


Yeah, you say that but wait until you see Smaug. That is one sexy dragon, mainly because he has the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. That's all I really have to say about the new Paranormal Activity film coming out in January. I hope this is the final installment honestly. I'm looking forward to 2014 and the hundreds of new films coming out, waiting for me to critique.


And with any luck, we might have another bad movie to review for Bad Movie Bonanza. Knowing movies as we have, there will always be another bad movie to rant about. Oh the fond memories. And that’s all I have to say about the movie either. No high hopes but maybe some very small ones.


Well Kit Kat, I believe it's time to sign off. Here's to the holidays, the New Year and to the movies that will be released, both good and bad. Anything to add?

Just that I hope to get back to my reviewing of books very soon. The holidays are always hectic but I hope to get at least one review done before the year is out and maybe even a video for my video roulette. Only time will tell. Anyway, I’m Kit Kat and I love me some trailer trash.

I'm TheCinemaChick, wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday.  My Best of 2013 list is coming, so stay tuned.

Top Ten Worst of '13

 Hey guys, what is up? I'm the one and only female film critic called TheCinemaChick. I know, I know, I still haven't exactly gotten back into my groove but finals are over and I have a one month break before I resume classes. So let's get to it.

It's my favorite time of year, the time when I pick my top ten worst films and my top ten best films of the year. Usually I would go with the same number as the year, like Top 13 of 13, but since I've been slacking, I haven't seen that many films. This year, I only saw 44, which is a huge decrease from my previous years. My current record was close to 80, but at the time I wasn't going to school. So, let's hope that in 2014 I get in the game and prove certain people (the ones who said I wasn't good enough to join their film fellowship) that I'm a damn good cinephile.

So, without further ado, let's discuss the movies I hated the most this year. As usual, my number ten worst film would be one I hated but I could sit through again. If it makes number one, then I'd rather be stuck eating...I don't know...ghost chilis for a day.

(I apologize for the odd formatting.  I'm technologically challenged.)

Honorable Mentions: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Jack the Giant Slayer and The Fifth Estate.

10. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

I love this series. I've read the first four books and someday I'll get around to reading the fifth one. The first one was done rather well. The second one...not so much. There was a lot of material left out and it just didn't capture the same magic as “The Lightening Thief” did. The same main actors return, which I appreciated. Some new faces show up as well, such as Tyson the cyclops and Clarisse from the Area cabin. The dialogue was weak, the action scenes weren't that interesting and the ending fell flat. However, because I enjoy the series, I'd watch it again

9. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
   I honestly don't know what to say about this one. It had the potential to be awesome and I like the premise. To be fair, I've also only read the first half of the first book. Then the whole “Clary and Jace might be siblings” thing turned me off. I would not mind watching it again because it does have Aidan Turner as a sexy (Irish?) werewolf. Also, the whole movie is just so bad its funny. I laughed way more than I should have but it was worth it. Watch this one for laughs.

8. The Lone Ranger
Honestly, this one wasn't so bad in my opinion. However, it dragged far too long and I absolutely loathed the framing device. The story within a story thing got on my nerves. The plot would be going along just fine, then it would be abruptly interrupted to go back to the older Tonto and the small boy. I found it very distracting to the point where I got sick of it. In general, the pacing was slow, the jokes were terrible and the plot was basically paper thin. Johnny Depp really needs to reconsider the roles he chooses in the future. His recent projects have not been doing so well. Let's not discuss “Dark Shadows”.

7. Iron Man 3
Don't get me wrong. In my eyes, Marvel and Stan Lee can do no wrong. Most people hated “Iron Man 2” but I loved it. The third one...Tony Stark was whiny, annoying and to me, he just gave up in the end. Then there are the subplots that get brought in and ignored halfway through. A lot of the film was forgettable and the villain was mediocre. Also, I don't like Pepper Pots. She's useless, then all of a sudden, she has awesome fire powers and saves the day. Really Iron Man? You gave up everything for a girl? I mean, I know Thor had some major issues with Jane but that's one hell of a long distance relationship. And, as much as I don't like Pepper, I believe she can do better than Tony Stark.

6. Now You See Me

I don't like Jesse Eisenberg. The plot couldn't decide if it was about kids doing magic, exposing magic, bank robbers or a love story. Instead, it chose to do all of that, making it highly jumbled and somewhat boring. And the ending...how did they escape and not get arrested? Things just didn't add up. The ending had a twist that I did expect but it was still cool to see.

5.Man of Steel

This one wasn't all that bad. I'm not a fan of Superman to begin with and I can't stand Zack Snyder since he always does this comic book matte background thing. It felt far too long to me and the origin took up about a third of it. Can we talk about the overload of phallic symbols in there? Seriously, look when Zod and his crew are exiled. Tell those don't look like...well, you know. Then Russell Crowe NEVER goes away. He dies in the first fifteen minutes but he keeps coming back. I know he's like a hologram or something, but now he's an omnipotent hologram who knows everything about the enemy. He becomes convenient, almost to where there was no conflict because Crowe has everything already solved. I couldn't get emotionally invested in the characters and lost interest halfway through. It wasn't worth the ticket price.

4.The Purge

Honestly, the concept was good. What would you do if you had 24 hours to do whatever you wanted? It had potential. Then it was just a drawn out game of cat and mouse. Most of the characters were flat and did nothing for me, except for the Polite Man. He has no name but he I s very polite, courteous and smiles sweetly as he threatens to break into a house and kill everyone because they are hiding someone. His friends are all in suits and the women wear flowy white dresses. They all have creepy masks on. Those moments were a little terrifying. I just didn't care for the amount of violence, especially at the end. Plus, the ending was made painfully obvious at the very beginning. I'd watch it again, but only for the Polite Man.

3. The Host

Stephanie Meyer, aliens that can take over your body and a really awkward love triangle with four people. I just explained a 700+ page book and saved you about 2 hours.

2. Pacific Rim

I just didn't get it. The aliens were inside the Earth the whole time? Visually it was outstanding and it's worth seeing, I just did not know what I was watching. The background wasn't explained well enough so I was lost the whole time. Maybe if someone explained it to me I'd like it more but for now, I just don't know why Godzilla had so many clones in the Earth's core or why the giant robots from Power Rangers had to fight them. So...yeah. I don't get it.

1. Riddick

Where do I begin with this one? I think its awesome that Vin Diesel funded this film with his own money and all, but it was horrible. Nothing made sense, it had almost nothing to do with its previous films and it was almost like a glorification of Diesel himself. This movie is a Vin Diesel movie starring Vin Diesel. There is gratuitous nudity that doesn't need to be there, extremely foul language and a good portion of violence. Almost nothing happens and it's mostly another cat and mouse thing. I liked “Pitch Black” and the movies prior to this one. I j ust could not get into this one. It focused way too much on Riddick to the point where I hoped someone killed him because I was sick of seeing him. And when they killed his dog...that's when I lost all interest. Personally, if I were Karl Urban, I'd want my name take off and just be an uncredited cameo. He does absolutely nothing, barely has any dialogue, then is never seen or heard from ever again. To top it off, it has a happy ending. Stick to the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Speaking of the “Fast and Furious” franchise...I am deeply saddened by the sudden and unexpected loss of Paul Walker. He was a very talented actor and an amazing person. There were many charities he supported and he didn't care for all the things many celebrities do. He lived a low key life. Paul Walked will never be forgotten, thanks to his memorable films, his generous spirit and for being a philanthropist.

I'm TheCinemaChick and Fry and I are going to see “The Desolation of Smaug” tomorrow...with a boy!