Apart from themed attractions, I'm also a bit of a film nut. I've been meaning to write a couple of reviews to shove on here but just haven't found the time, so instead here's my top 5 films of 2013. I had to actually Google what came out this year as I had completely forgotten what I had been to see! Turns out quite a lot, and mostly (ignoring the recent Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, which I won't go into right now *shudders*) good stuff. So, my top 5:
1. Stoker - From the director of OldBoy, this was Chan-wook Park's first venture into English speaking territory, and suffice to say his unique and gripping style translates rather well. Stoker was haunting. The film constantly had me guessing throughout the duration of the film and always managed to maintain an underlying sense of unease, which served to superbly set off the unnerving climax. Macabre yet romantic in style, absolutely gorgeous.
2. Frozen - Two things were in my mind going into this film. Firstly, Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen is my favourite fairytale and I have long awaited a Disney 'adaptation' of the story and secondly, although Tangled was good it was a departure from the fairytale formula that us Disney geeks crave. Frozen is nostalgic yet post-modern - it features all the romance and breathtaking landscapes, songs and memorable characters from the well-loved Disney classics and combines them with a contemporary humour and design. I adored it, it was the perfect throwback to those nostalgic classics whilst simultaneously leaving behind tired plot-lines and out-of-date character stereotypes. Oh, and I must have listened to 'Let It Go' about 100 times, and I intend on 100 more before I even begin to get bored of it. Instant classic.
3. Spring Breakers - When I saw that director Harmony Korine was involved in this film I got excited. As a fan of Kids and Gummo, I was looking forward to what I hoped would be a 'realistic' look at teenage lifestyle for this decade, something I have felt cinema so far has lacked it since the dawn of 2010. When I saw that this film starred James Franco as a drug dealer alongside former squeaky-clean Disney Channel stars I lost my mind and pre-ordered a ticket immediately. It did not disappoint. Spring Breakers is raw, sometimes uncomfortable, breaks boundaries, is funny and fun to look at as well as providing what is either the funniest or most disturbing scene in a film for me this year (just YouTube James Franco covers Britney Spears and you'll see what I mean). The film did not disappoint and what was definitely a gamble with the casting paid off.
4. The Place Beyond The Pines - I'm a big Ryan Gosling fan, and in being so will pretty much go and see whatever he is in, regardless of whether I'm interested in the story of the film or not (which is how I ended up in the audience for Gangster Squad). And The Place Beyond The Pines featured him as a bad boy. On a motorbike. With tattoos. Hmm, might have to go watch this one by myself, in case I get all flustered. I fully expected Gosling to be the shining star of this film but in actual fact, it turned out that Bradley Cooper was the surprise draw for me. The film is segmented into three story lines surrounding father-son relationships, and as each develops so more secrets and twists of fate are revealed. The film is brutal, a little on the gritty side but also heartwarming. And did I mention it features Ryan Gosling. On a motorbike. With tattoos.
5. The Paperboy - Rarely does a film grace our screens with the power to genuinely shock an audience anymore, and it is for this reason that The Paperboy makes it on this list. I have never been in an audience that collectively audibly gasped before and it really was my cinema moment of the year. The Paperboy features some stupendous acting for a line-up that we are so used to on the big-screen that it was genuinely refreshing to glimpse them in these challenging and genuinely interesting roles. The Paperboy is a decline into pure misery and despair with an underlying threat of intense and unexpected violence, but without becoming vulgar or obscene. And Nicole Kidman gives what is probably one of the sexiest scenes I've ever seen in the cinema. Really excellent stuff.
And so that rounds off my top five! Thank you for reading, and hope everyone has had a fun Christmas!
