M.Y: Hello people and welcome to today’s review. Basically, we started our “Year In Review” episodes yesterday with The Top 10 Highest Grossing Movies of 2013 by Terver; and later this week, we got the Top 10 Nollywood Movies Of 2013, Top 10 Worst Movies Of 2013 and Top 10 Nollywood Trailers Of 2013. So please stick around. This should be fun, I think.
So, doing the count down with me today is our friend from Movie Reviews, Eric.
Eric: Happy holidays everyone and a prosperous new year to us all. Glad to be here again since the smack down I had with M.Y in the Dumbledore V.S Gandalf V.S Series episode.
M.Y: LOL…Sure it took some time to get over the whooping I gave you. Anyways, lets get started. So we got Eric’s top 5 and my top 5 and they are all in no particular order. Just too guys ranting about their favorite movies. So Eric, lets get started.
Eric’s Top 5 Movies Of 2013
5. GREAT GATSBY
How Leonardo Dicaprio has not won an Oscar is still beyond me. All his performances have been top notch including his role as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (2013). The movie is about Midwesterner Nick Carraway who is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby’s nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, and not ignoring the performance of Tobey Maguire (Nick Carraway), The Great Gatsby is a beautiful movie blending wonderful acting, stunning visuals, an interesting blend of various music genres and a powerful storyline that leaves you thinking at the end of the day. One of the better shining lights of 2013.
4. OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN
Even though this is a Die Hard template enacted in the White House, Yippee-ka-yay and Bruce Willis are replaced with “I will leave a knife in your brain” and Gerard Butler (300’s King Leonidas). This movie was for me, the period 2013 in movies began. When terrorists take over the White House and take the President hostage, it’s up to disgraced former Presidential Detail Secret Service agent, Mike Banning to go save the day. Typically cliche movie you might say but when you check who’s driving the seat of this movie, Antonie Fuqua (Training Day), then you know your in for a ride. As I said in the full review This aint’t Greek Mythology 😉
Check the full review Here
3. NOW YOU SEE ME
My movie of 2013. #LeaveIt #DontTouchIt … (@Dbanj’s favourite lines). From Jesse Eisenberg to Mark Ruffalo, to Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, Now You See Me is directed by Louis Leterrier. Four obscure magicians suddenly rise up the food chain and are known as the Four Horsemen and decide to perform the greatest trick of all putting them on the blacklist of the FBI and Interpol. The trick? Robbing a bank live on stage. Now You See Me was a great movie and a whole lot of twist and turns that left me speechless. Awesome movie!!!
P.S All condescending and cocky roles should be given to Jesse Eisenberg as he’s a genius in such roles.
Check the full review Here
2. STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
Benedict Cumberbatch & J J Abrams are the reason I went to see this movie. Cumberbatch simply because of his role as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC TV show, Sherlock. (M.Y gaan watch this TV show *straight face*). Star Trek Into Darkness centers around Captain Kirk of the Enterprise who discovers an enemy of terror within their organization and is sent on a man hunt to a war zone to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. Awesome movie for me, though dunno about loyal Star Trek fans as I noticed a lot of mixed reviews of the movie from them. Great movie
Check the full review Here
1. HOBBIT: DESOLATION OF SMAUG
Were it not for Now You See Me, this movie might have just stolen my heart. Peter Jackson is just a great director. The second installment in the Hobbit movies was just awesome. Way better than the first. The scene involving Legolas and Tauriel was just the peak of this movie. Can’t wait for next year to see the final installment. (M.Y when are we fully reviewing this movie na? He’s the 1 delaying the review *points finger at M.Y). Great movie and a nice way to wrap the year 2013 up. Full review coming up before 31st Dec, 2013.
M.Y’S TOP 5 Movies Of 2013
5. Lee Daniels’ The Butler
The Butler tells the true story of Eugene Allen’s rise from field hand to a longstanding White House butler. Through his over three decade service in the white house, he served 8 american president and witnesses the transition from the era of slavery to the time of a free country. What I admired the most about the movie was the Cast. Star studded and exceptional, professional and captivating. I also liked how the various historical landmarks were told through a man who wasn’t relevant to these events, but was close to the people who made them happen. Hand it to Lee Daniels, when making black dramas as we saw in Precious, he is the man. He is a few movies away from becoming as great as Spike Lee.
4. HUNGER GAMES: Catching Fire
Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen in the sequel to the highly underwhelming and overhyped Hunger Games (2012). I wasn’t looking forward to anything impressive from this movie. I only went in to see it because of my obsession with Jennifer Lawrence but ended up falling in love with Francis Lawrence (an under estimated and over looked director) who gave a movie twice as better as its prequel. We can also give a lot of credit to the fact that there was a budget double that of its prequel, and a team up of a duo of Oscar winning screen writers. In the end, little surprise the result is such a beauty. (Eric: He’s such a Jennifer Lawrence fan)
3. Epic
2013 has delivered some very good animated flicks such as the long awaited and overdue sequel to Pixar’s Monsters Inc, Monsters University and Walt Disney’s Frozen which seems to be getting a lot of buzz at the moment. But most impressive to me of this year’s animated flicks is Epic. This is the story about tiny little creatures which live in farms and gardens whose existence is hidden to humans. Just like Wreck It Ralph came with an original and highly creative story about video game arcades last year and made it seem very believable even for a cartoon, so did Epic do this year. Not only was it a catch for the kids, even an adult will have a great time enjoying the action romance and comedy going on in the movie.
2. Fast and Furious 6
Well, first of all, I always hated physics. So if a movie comes and takes all physics textbooks and throws them all away and picks the worst physics students they could find and put ideas together from them and make a movie so brilliant and intriguing as this out of them, then F&@K Physics! I am so gonna see you a million times! Fast and furious 6 is a no brainer which sets out to strictly entertain its audience and it does so pretty well. I screamed, panted and eventually lost my voice at all the unbelievable things done in this movie. If you haven’t seen it, I wonder what you have been doing.
Rest in peace Brian O Connor
1. Gravity
Few people call it over hyped and some other few call it underwhelming; but I call this movie the most beautiful movie of 2013. Alfonzo Cuaron’s showoff, Gravity not only shows a powerful performance which reestablishes Sandra Bullock as one of the best actresses of our time, but also delivers a movie which brilliantly blends amazing visuals with soundless effects and innovation in cinematography. I most definitely see myself voting for this movie all the way at the Oscars in the best cinematography category.
M.Y: Please note some other movies which could have been on this list haven’t been released in Nigeria which ‘might’ explain why the 12 Years A Slave and Co you were expecting to see aren’t on the list. We look forward to seeing them. Till then, these are The Top 10 Hollywood Movies Of 2013 brought to you by Sodas & Popcorn & Movie Review.
Eric: Till next time I am invited over, Hasta La Vista.
M.Y: Its pretty certain some of you have got something to say about this list (like why the f&@k isn’t Captain Phillips on this list?), so please fill free to let those thoughts out. Thanks
Movie Reviews 
Good list 😀
Thanks. Happy new year mate…
And to you!