2013 Top

Not exactly a remake of La Dolce Vita, yet somewhat of a modern interpretation. Protagonist Jep examines the meaning of life, religion, the nature of love and friendship, the city of Rome, etc. There are so many themes, tangents and characters that are visited, you could probably watch this film several times in a row, and still get different revelations out of it.

For example, take the quick throwaway scene where an aging Countess looks around a museum exhibit that documents her own history and decline into poverty, and you have this strange character's entire life summed up for you. But that's the last you see of her, and it's immediately on to the next thing. This film will make you want to move to Rome. Brilliant!

I love F1, so obviously this is going to be one of my all time favorites!

Scorsese does his best work in years. Di Caprio carries the movie with his performance.

Del Toro is a director who doesn't need to inject any Twilight angst or meta humor into his films, which makes them unusual by modern standards. Amazingly a simple old fashioned giant monster movie looks HIGHLY original in this era of comic book franchises and remake-a-thons!

Even though the message is a bit obvious - we know slavery sucks - this movie doesn't compromise or exploit the situation it depicts. Since the source material was a first hand account from that time, the film has the highest level of historical importance, due to its authenticity.

Exciting animated depiction of one of the most famous Batman comic serials ever written. It may take a moment to wrap your head around the 80s setting but once you get used to it, this 2 part series is actually better than the Watchmen movie, as far as Frank Miller adaptations go.

Much like "The Raid" from 2011, this film just goes full speed from beginning to end. The intensity and the suspense never let up except for a few quiet moments to take in the amazing space scenery! If there was ever a movie that is worth seeing on the big screen, instead of home video, this is it.

After two films in this trilogy, we can safely state Peter Jackson's own filler content is not as inspired as Tolkien's was. But in this particular chapter, the dragon vs hobbit showdown in the final act manages to change this slow-paced fantasy saga into an action movie spectacle for the ages!

I admire the film because it breaks the mold of Hollywood's melodrama-heavy film structure. Instead the style here resembles neo-realism - the cast is mostly non-actors - mixed with the unflinching violence of a Gaspar Noé or Jee-woon Kim flick. If this emerged out of the exotic lands of Iran or Korea, the film community would praise it endlessly!

Pleasant surprise. The "old school" Schwartz era action movie has disappeared into the shadows of the Superhero and Sci-Fi CGI mega movies. But this release rises above the clumsy Expendables films as a rare vintage taste of 80s action nostalgia.

This is a short film based on a mysterious super hero (?) figure. In just a few minutes you get an interesting take on the themes we've seen countless times in comics and movies over recent years.