My Own Subjective Top 10 Movies of 2013

Hello, faithful readers.

I told you I'd be back.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I still plan on occasionally posting. I've just given up on regular posting for now. So I've decided to reappear, momentarily, to present to you my top ten list of movies I saw this past year. Remember, these films on this list don't need to have been made in 2013 to qualify, that just has to be the year that I watched them for the first time. Make sense? If not, you can check out past years' lists from 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Truth be told, I thought it was going to be hard to populate my list with ten exceptional movies this year. For a while there in 2013, I went through a string of movies that disappointed me, movies that I was completely indifferent about, movies I disliked and movies I absolutely hated, and yet I still found more than 10 movies to which I gave a rating of four stars or more. And here they are, in a very particular order:





10. Strangers on a Train (1951) - The reason that Strangers on a Train succeeds is because of its antagonist. Robert Walker plays a character that is both charming and terrifying. Plus, Hitchcock does an excellent job of creating suspense and making the viewer feel anxious for the protagonist as well as the antagonist. The climax is a little silly, but this film, overall, is another example of why the name of Alfred Hitchcock will always be remembered.







 



9. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon brings a fresh feel and a fresh face to the slasher genre. It's quite entertaining how this film points out how much planning, how much preparation and how much luck would be needed for the murders in those types of horror movies. It also lets us enjoy a full-fledged slasher movie after showing everything that is going on behind the scenes. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. 





 



8. Life of Pi (2012) - Life of Pi is a beautiful movie, both visually and thematically. This film reminded me of how much I enjoyed the book. Also, I was impressed with Suraj Sharma, who carried his first movie mostly on his own. The CGI is cartoony at parts, but it's easy to get lost in the story and forget that most of what you're seeing is nothing more than visual effects. This is a wonderful adaptation of an excellent novel.






 



7. Looper (2012) - Looper is a clever film. Time travel is always a sticky issue, but this movie embraces the impossibilities and invites the audience to just enjoy the ride. Whatever flaws this movie may have, it makes up for it with its creativity. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a great Bruce Willis. We need more movies like Looper -- creative and smart movies.







 




6. The Impossible (2012) - If you're not sure if your tear ducts are working, watch The Impossible. This movie will inspire terror, despair and, perhaps most of all, hope. However, this movie doesn't feel sappy or emotionally manipulative. The acting is superb - even the child actors give amazingly realistic performances - and the special effects are horrifying. This is an amazing true story brought to life on the big screen, and it is a good reminder of what truly matters in this world.









5. The World's End (2013) - The World's End isn't as comedic as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, but it's still a solid action flick. It's interesting to see Nick Frost play the sensible character and Simon Pegg play the screw-up. Plus, it features a good ensemble cast. The plot is simple, yet fun, and the special effects are spectacular. It's not a perfect movie, but it's an entertaining movie and a suitable end to the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy.













4. Argo (2012) - Argo is a well-made movie based on a fascinating true story. No, it's not 100-percent historically accurate, but it presents the plot in a way that works on the big screen. This drama is also subtly comedic, and it features excellent acting by the entire cast. I'll be interested to see if this one holds up as well on subsequent viewings.









 

3. Wreck-it Ralph (2012) - I enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph more than I thought I would. Even though the trailer spoiled most of the funny stuff, this movie features a heart-warming story about accepting who you are. The animation is literally full of eye candy, and it features enough nerdy video game references to keep me happy. Yes, Wreck-It Ralph has some flaws (e.g. Sarah Silverman); however, as I learned from this movie, we should try to look past the flaws and see the good. I've seen this film multiple times and it holds up quite well.











2. Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - Silver Linings Playbook is technically a romantic comedy, but I hesitate to lump it in with all of the other cookie-cutter rom-coms out there. It is one of the most unique romantic comedies I've ever seen. Plus, it doesn't have that pretentious "quirky for quirky's sake" feel that many independent films do. Bradley Cooper is surprisingly good in his role and Jennifer Lawrence is impressive as always. This is an intelligent movie with an entertaining story about broken people who are trying to help each other become whole.







And the best movie that I saw in 2013 was...
















1. Gravity (2013) - Gravity isn't just a movie, it's an experience. It's an experience of sight, it's an experience of sound and it's an emotional experience, as well. This film makes you feel like you are drifting among the stars, instead of just showing you a story set in space. The visual effects are unique, awe-inspiring and terrifying, and while the plot is simple, there is beauty in its simplicity. I've never seen a movie quite like Gravity.

Also, as an honorable mention, this past year I enjoyed World War Z (2013), Jack Reacher (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) and The Dirty Dozen (1967), as well, but they weren't quite favorite enough to bump out anything in my top ten.

Let's hope 2014 brings about even more difficult choices as to what to include in my top ten list! Thanks for reading!

Comic Con! Bang a Gong! Comic Con!

Faithful readers, I am officially a geek.

I mean, I've manifested geek tendencies before, and I can hold my own when it comes to geek trivia, but I had a rite of passage this past weekend and I wanted to announce it to the world: I attended my first Comic Con. And I would like to briefly share my experience and thoughts with you.

I've thought about attending the Comic Con in San Diego for some time now, but the tickets are way too expensive and the trip there would only add to the bill. So I just admired other people's pictures. However, Comic Con finally made its way to Salt Lake City and that was much closer to me and much more manageable.

So I went. I was resistant at first (money and time were an issue), but I obtained a Press Pass (never mind how I got it) and I was able to go to the Salt Lake City Comic Con. My first "Con" ever.

My first impression was how many people were there. As I was making my way to the Salt Palace (in the pouring rain), I was amazed by all the people who were walking around the city in costume. It was awesome. But I was confused by the fact that many of the costumed people were walking away from the convention center. As it turns out, Salt Lake Comic Con was sold out. No new tickets were being sold. Luckily, I had that Press Pass, and the event staff let me right in.

Crowds. . .why did it have to be crowds?

Wow. So many people were inside.

I'm not a big fan of crowds, so I was hesitant to wander down in the midst of the horde, but it called to me. I couldn't resist.

I didn't really know where to go or what to do, so I just wandered and looked at costumes. As it turns out, that was my favorite thing. I went to a couple panels and I wandered by the celebrity tables, but I just loved seeing the dedication and creative spirit of the people there. I was wearing my Firefly shirt, so I did put some effort into it, but I kept thinking how fun it would be to have a costume that people wanted to photograph. Maybe next year.

The Hulk is much bigger than I thought he'd be.

Anyway, one thing I learned about Comic Con is that most of the celebrities charge for a picture or an autograph -- I had no idea. It almost seems like highway robbery when you have to pay $40 to use your own camera to take a picture of you standing next to Lou Ferrigno. But I guess these people need to make a buck somehow. Some of the celebrities, like Kevin Murphy don't charge for an autograph or picture. But they will accept donations for a charity. Mr. Murphy mentioned that they had raised $850 for the American Red Cross during his time at the Salt Lake Comic Con. Way to go, Tom Servo!

Also, there are big lines to wait in if you want to shell out the cash to stand next to a celebrity. However, I soon discovered the power of the Press Pass and was able to jump the line to snap a photo using my cell phone. Granted, I wasn't in any of the shots and I didn't actually meet any of the celebrities, but seeing them interacting with their fans was pretty interesting.

This guy does a GREAT Tom Servo impersonation.

I have two regrets in that regard: One, I chickened out on meeting Kevin Murphy. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is my favorite TV show, and I get a little tongue-tied when I'm around people I admire. I had already made a fool around They Might Be Giants a few years back, so I figured I'd sit this one out and just snap a photo and run.

The second regret is that I didn't get to see Nicholas Brendon. I recently convinced my wife to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its entirety, and so I'm kind of on a Buffy high. Xander was on a break when I was doing my quick celebrity walk-by pictures, and then he was gone when I got back from attending a panel. Darn. I'll just tell myself that it wasn't Nicholas Brendon. I'll convince myself that it was his identical twin brother, Kelly Donovan.

But that was pretty much it. I was only able to be there for a few hours. I wish I could have been there longer. It seemed strange that they closed down the floor at 7:00, when they still had panels going until 9:00. I don't know why they decided on that. The later panels seemed a little disorganized, too, like the event staff had gone home for the evening.

But I had fun. As I mentioned before, I just loved seeing people walk around in costumes. Plus, even though there were lines and crowds, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Compliments were given out almost as much as flyers and business cards. Everyone seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. And there was a spirit of camaraderie among all of us geeks there. It was like Burning Man, but with more bathrooms and less nudity.

How many Deadpools can you fit into a TARDIS?

I'm glad I went to the Salt Lake Comic Con, and I hope to go again next year.

Winny The Puhh

Faithful readers, I may have already shared this on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, but I felt it needed to be immortalized here on Slice of Fried Gold, as well. This is seriously one of the weirdest things I've ever seen -- and I've seen a lot of weird things.

This video comes from an event called Eesti Laul. Eesti Laul is the contest in which bands from Estonia are selected to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual music competition featuring over 50 different countries that has been going since 1956. Think of it as American Idol on LSD.

Anyway, there are plenty of strange acts that make it into the Eurovision Song Contest, but for some reason, a  punk band called Winny Puhh didn't make the cut. Here is their 2013 performance of "Meiecundimees üks Korsakov läks eile Lätti," which, according to Google Translate, means "Meiecundimees one Korsakov went yesterday to Latvia." So. . .there you go.

And here we go:



Yup. They're wrestlers, who are werewolves (from the neck up), and their drummers are spinning around in the air and then they all go up in in the air and then they pass out. Makes perfect sense to me. I don't know what the judges were thinking -- this is prime Eurovision Song Contest material.

You can give your thanks to Ove Musting, the multicamera director for your seizures. And you can thank, alert reader, Kent for bringing this performance (and the Eurovision Song Contest) to my attention.

Oh, and you can book Winny Puhh for your next wedding, children's birthday party or Bar Mitzvah by emailing them at ove@dts.ee.

Oscars de la Hoy

In the past, I've done a recap or precap for the Academy Awards. And even though this year I don't have very strong opinions about this year's nominees, I didn't want to let you, my faithful readers, down. So I'm just going to jot down a few (pages of) notes as the events unfold. Consider this live tweeting, except that it's not on Twitter and you're not reading it live.

Note: Note that these notes are in order of the events of the broadcast. Note.

• I've had two different family members ask me who Seth MacFarlane is, but I think he's doing a pretty good job so far.
• Halle Berry looked ticked off about the Chris Brown/Rhianna joke.
• Seeing William Shatner just made me sad.
• Seth MacFarlane can sing. Maybe he should have been Jean Valjean. Or at least dubbed over Hugh Jackman's singing voice.
• Why did the dancers at the beginning have to be Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron?
• Yeah, I'm not convinced with the random celebrity dance numbers.
• Samuel L. Jackson is not amused.
• I found the Flying Nun skit to be quite humorous.
• Seth is definitely a showman, unlike some James Francos I know.
• Glad to see movie clips for the nominees. People like clips.
• Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz. Huh? Seriously? He's good, but he plays the same character in Django as he did in Inglorious. This is not a good start to my office Oscar ballot contest.
• Wow. That Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy bit fell completely flat. I feel bad for them. I like both of them.
• Best Animated Short: Paperman. Boo-yah! I picked that one! And the acceptance speech was short and sweet.
• Best Animated Feature Film: Brave. Meh. None of the nominees were that good this ye. . .HOLY COW HE'S WEARING A KILT!
• Yes, I understand that recording the singing live for Les Mis was intentional to get the raw emotion, but I don't want to listen to raw emotion on my Pod.
• Beasts of the Southern Wild is like the Winter's Bone of Lousiana.
• Quweuveuenvena is just an adorable little girl.
• That's not all The Avengers. Where's Thor and Black Widow? If Hawkeye can make it, you can make it!
• Best Cinematography: Life of Pi. I could have guessed this one. In fact, I did guess this one! That free lunch is within my grasp! I wonder how my cinematographer friends feel about this win. Congratulations to Nelson for winning this award!
• Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi. Ok, I liked the book a lot, now I'm really wanting to see the movie. Also, Mr. Jackson, if you make the awkward bit feel like it's not a bit, it's just awkward.
• Is that Jaws music? WATCH OUT, AWARD WINNERS!
• When was the last time Jennifer Aniston did anything substantial? And yet she's still A-list.
• Best Costume Design: Anna Karinina. Way to throw that movie a bone. Also, I like how all of the best costume nominees are period pieces. Apparently the people working on films set in the modern times don't do "real" work on costumes.
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables. So "Best Hairstyling" involves choppy haircuts? What's with the sudden music drop? That made things awkward.
• I like how they're burning through the nominees.
• Ugh. Please don't remind us that Halle Berry was a Bond girl. I'd rather forget Die Another Day.
• I think I'm gonna like this James Bond tribute.
• Seriously, there's something about the Bond theme that is just inherently awesome.
• Are they going to do all 23 Bond songs? Time for a bathroom break.
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• Ok, I'm back. What did I miss? Live action short and documentary short? I'm ok with that.
• Wait, I was promised all of the Bonds onstage at one time during this broadcast. Why didn't tha happen during that Bond tribute?
• I know the basic plot of Argo, but what's this "Lincoln" about? Is it about a president?
• Ouch. Apparently it's still too soon for Lincoln jokes, Mr. MacFarlane.
• Wow. The Kardashians finally made it to the Oscars. . .in joke form.
• Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man. Darn. If only I had an opinion about this one.
• Best Foreign Feature: Amour. Is it really fair for a movie to be nominated for Best Picture and Best Foreign Film? Well, I guess this way they still win, even if they lose Best Picture.
• We have the closed captions on so that we can still hear the show over the children, but I'm glad we have it on for this acceptance speech.
• Whoa. I didn't know the orchestra performed live in a different building. That has to be difficult. I'm impressed.
•  Pssssst! Travolta! Don't pronounce the final "S" in Les Miserables!
• Ugh. I am not a fan of Chicago. If you ask me, that's one year the Academy got the Best Picture completely wrong. I think they were just trying to make up for not giving the award to Moulin Rouge the year before.
• We're giving a lot of time to musical numbers that aren't in the running. . .
• I wonder if the Les Mis cast is singing live this time. . .or if they're pulling a Beyonce.
• LOOK AT EPONINE'S WAIST! IT'S TINY!
• I see that Russell Crowe wasn't invited to this little soiree. . . .oh wait. There he is. That'll show the haters. . .right? 
• I wonder how many seat fillers had to cover the cast and chorus of Les Mis.
• That animated bear looks shockingly convincing. Is that CGI or puppetry? It's gotta be green screen.
• Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables. Because it's very difficult to mix amazing music with mediocre live singing.
• Best Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty AND Skyfall. A tie?? That's crazy! I've never seen that before. I used to not be impressed with this category, until I saw Birdemic and realized how important it was.
• Is it a requirement for sound editors to have long, blonde hair? That can't be a coincidence that all three people on stage for this award are sportin' the same 'do.
• The Von Trapp joke was cheesy, but I enjoyed it. Huzzah for silliness!
• Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. I wrote that answer down before they announced it. I'm psychic. But was there ever really any doubt?
• Huh. An Academy Award museum? That could be interesting.
• That would be fun to get to present awards, but only if I got to present one to Kate Beckinsale. She's due for an Oscar.
• Best Editing: Argo. Those envelopes must be hard to open. I bet by the time this post goes live, there will be an animated gif and/or meme of that moment, Ms. Bullock.
• If you don't like Jennifer Lawrence, you're a jerk. She's so nervous, it's adorable.
• Did you guys see Adele on the red carpet next to Kristin Chenoweth? It made me giggle like a schoolboy.
• It's amazing to think that someone who has such a beautiful singing voice has such an annoying talking voice.
• I miss the days when Nicole Kidman wasn't so plastic.
• It's an odd year. I actually want to see all of the Best Picture nominees. Normally there's one I don't care about.
•  Best Production Design: Lincoln. Did anyone else see that bruise on Kristen Stewart's arm? I blame Chris Brown. Robert Pattinson doesn't have the arm strength for that kind of injury.
• Once again, Ms. Hayek, I'm grateful for the closed captioning. But it's funny how they have her presenting the Governor's Award, just so the viewers will pay attention to . . .whatever that's for.
• Come on, Academy Awards, is that the best kind of tribute you can do for Hollywood stuntmen? They deserve better. Give them their own category!
• In Memoriam: the part of the show when I say "Oh yeah! They died this year!" and "Who is that?"
• But seriously, this part always gets me a little emotional.
• I've always wondered what the Academy would do if a famous actor actually died during the In Memoriam ceremony.
• I can't wait to see the tweets about who the Academy forgot to memorialize this year.
• Oh great. Barbara Streisand is singing. It's time for another bathroom break.
• My dislike of Ms. Streisand may have stemmed from my father's, but I soon gained my own reasons.
• What is going on with Renee Zellweger's eyes?
• Best Original Score: Life of Pi. Notice how Renee couldn't read the winner. And Life of Pi is cleaning up this year.
• Seriously, what is the Academy's obsession with Chicago? It's not that good of a movie or a musical.
• I guess if Man or Muppet could win, this song from Ted might have a shot.
• Best Original Song: Skyfall. Ok, she's got a Grammy and an Oscar, now she just needs an Emmy and a Tony. #EGOT And that other dude has Jef Holm hair.
• It's so cute that Charlize Theron got a haircut to match Dustin Hoffman's.
• Was Ms. Theron in Les Mis, too? Why is her hair so short?
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo. The true story is interesting enough. I'm excited to see what the screenwriters did with it. I still remember Ben Affleck and Matt Damon getting their first award for Good Will Hunting.
• Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino. Maybe this movie is better than I give credit. Look at Tarantino's tie, is that the tie of an Oscar winner? Although I should have guessed this one would win because it had the most controversial language.
• Yes, he just said, "Peace out!" at the end of his second speech.
• I would watch a Zombie Unicorn movie directed by Tim Burton.
• Awww, look at the cute senior citizens!
• Best Director: Ang Lee. Wow. Did not see that one coming. I thought the Academy had to contractually give Spielberg an award every decade.
• This dude may have made an AWFUL Hulk movie, but apparently he's got some talent. I apologize for every time I've mistaken his movies for John Woo's.
•  I still think Seth MacFarlane is doing a good job. He knows the show is not about him and keeps everything moving.
• Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Uh-oh! She fell! Good on Hugh Jackman for being a gentlemen and trying to help. And she played it off well. I'm happy for Ms. Lawrence. She was in one of the highest grossing films of 2012 and she wins an Academy Award for a different film in the same year. And, once again, this proved my point that a Best Actress (and Best Actor) winner has to scream, cry or yell in their role.
• Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. I typed that one in before they announced it, too. And apparently Meryl was a little too quick for the TV producers, too. Jackman did a good job acting, but I really couldn't take his singing voice in that role. Mr. Day-Lewis has a sense of humor, who knew?
• Once again, iconic American roles are being taken over by Brits.
• I don't care if it's method acting, it's weird if you never drop character. It takes a certain level of mental illness to pull that off.
• Jack Nicholson little a little off-kilter. I mean, even more so than usual.
• The First Lady? Seriously? Ugh. The Obamas are politicians, not Hollywood celebrities. They should have let Jack Nicholson do it. Once again, this just proves how Hollywood worships President Obama.
• I think Mrs. Obama's speech is longer than Lincoln. Stop mixing politics with Hollywood!
• Best Picture: Argo. Wow. I guessed Silver Linings Playbook, but I figured it would have been Lincoln. I guess this is the Academy's way of making up for the director snub. George Clooney is truly King Midas when it comes to the Academy Awards. Now I guess I have to see this one.
• Watch out Ben Affleck! Heisenberg is standing right behind you!
• I'm a fan of Affleck's rambling speech. He hasn't changed much since Good Will Hunting, it seems.
• They should have ended it with the win. This musical number is a bit awkward, even if the lyrics are funny.

So that's it. Good night. I need to pay attention to my family.