That's the theme of 2013 thus far. After a spectacular 2012 movie year, I plunged head-first into movie reviewing after being out of the game for years (some of you might remember me from my Livejournal days of 2004-2005). That year was spectacularly back-loaded, with nearly all of my year-end Top 10 movies debuting in July or later (the one exception, Moonrise Kingdom, which I let in by virtue of a tie). I can only assume we're headed for something similar in 2013, but the first half of the year displayed a noticeable change, and not one for the better. I did not award a single wide-release movie three-and-a-half stars or better.
While there are five ***1/2 films present here, some of which feature big-name actors, all of them debuted in limited release. They eventually expanded, but none of these were anywhere close to major box office players. They're not popcorn-munching affairs. But those aren't the only kinds of movies I give high marks to. Had I reviewed movies last year, I would've awarded several first-half, mainstream movies ***1/2, including The Avengers, The Cabin in the Woods, Chronicle, and The Grey. Based on recent history, the second half of 2013 will reward our patience and give us a cornucopia of strong, high-quality entertainment, but damn it, why wait so long?
Because of most years' second-half surge, I'm guessing most of these movies will miss the year-end Top 10. No. 1 has a good shot of making the cut, but I don't know about the others. Creating a list right here at the end of June at least lets me give some of the better 3-star movies a little love and highlight some very good-to-great movies that many mainstream movie-goers missed out on.
.Now on with it. As is my tradition, I present them in reverse order, saving the best for last.
This movie certainly polarized the fans. A key twist late in the proceedings was thought of as wickedly clever by some and denounced as cheap and lazy by others. Not to mention the fact that some veteran Trekkies bemoan the more action-oriented approach. For me, that matters little. This was a highly entertaining ride that kept the adrenaline flowing from beginning to end. Where Star Trek goes after 2016 is up in the air (a return to television, perhaps?), but at least for now, J.J.
Abrams keeps the franchise living long and prospering.
Two sci-fi movies in a row, but this one plays better to the thinking person. It's a visually stunning and well-paced adventure, but its ruminations on the nature of identity and humanity make for a fuller cinematic experience. At the rate Tom Cruise is going, he could do these movies for at least another 10 years. If they're at least as entertaining as Oblivion, you can bet I'll be there to watch them.
It's as frenetically paced as a superhero film or a Fast and Furious flick, but it's also smarter, breezier, and more creative. Now You See Me is a lot of fun and keeps us guessing all the way through the improbable final reveal. This also boasts one of the best casts top-to-bottom of any 2013 motion picture, and everyone delivers. It's done about as well as a movie about magicians can be done.
Pixar returns to one of their better concepts (a world of monsters) for a prequel, and the result, while not as clever as its earlier movie, is still a very good family film and one of the better movies of the summer. The initial thought of a prequel had me concerned, but I was surprised as to how much life, wit, and energy that this universe and characters have on a second go-around. As of right now, it's the movie to beat for the Best Animated Film Oscar.
As a baseball die-hard, I was looking forward to this Jackie Robinson bio-pic more than any movie in the first half of the year, and while it's unlikely to win any awards, I wasn't disappointed. It's equally compelling as a sports movie and as social commentary. And it's lifted by a star-making turn from Chadwick Boseman as well as Harrison Ford in one of his best parts in years. Of the movies I graded three stars to thus far, this one stands out as the strongest.
This movie scored 99% on rottentomatoes.com. That's very impressive, and it's easy to see why so many critics liked it. Mud is engrossing as both a Huck Finn-esque coming-of-age story and as a southern-gotchic-tinged thriller. It's a long movie but totally worth the time investment. And Matthew McConaughey once again impresses in the title role, indicating he has mercifully left the world of silly rom-coms far behind him.
Richard Linklater's third outing in the unconventional relationship of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) is once again delightfully verbose and witty, but it's also easily the darkest yet. Love at 41 demands a lot more than love at 23 or 32, a fact this movie illustrates powerfully. It's not everyone's kind of movie; you have to have an appreciation for movies that are entirely about dialogue and philosophical musings, but it's one that everyone should nonetheless seek out.
Talk about a polarizing film! For many viewers, Spring Breakers may be more notable for its former Disney "good girls" taking a walk on the wild side than it is for its brutally effective commentary on the shallowness of today's youth. It's a movie that pushes a lot of buttons and is sometimes intentionally discomforts the viewer, but it has a lot to say. It's not the sexploitation flick the ads promise, but something far darker, more provocative, and more memorable.
2. The Place Beyond the Pines
This would've been right at home with the Oscar contenders, but I'm glad we got it earlier in the year to mix things up. The Place Beyond the Pines is an immensely compelling three-act tale about sons paying for the sins of the fathers. It contains three distinct storylines, each with a different main character, and seeing them connect is a real treat. It also boasts Bradley Cooper in what I believe is his best acting job to date, even better than his Oscar-nominated role from Silver Linings Playbook.
1. DisconnectThis is superior ensemble-based movie-making. Given the timely subject matter of social media, I expected Disconnect to be good, but not this good. This is also a three-pronged story, but each one is hugely engrossing and has so much thought-provoking material about our lack of communication in the digital age that anyone who watches this will be able to relate. It's one of those few movies where, as I watched it, my thoughts never drifted away from the characters, not even for a second. It came closer to a four-star rating as anything I've seen all year, and it's the only movie on this Halftime list that I'm certain will appear at year's end as well.
So bring on the second half!
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