Five movies we think you should have watched in 2013
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They say that ending is a start of new beginnings. Well, the saying is true but before we bid our farewell to 2013, let us have a recall on five (5) movies we think you should have never skipped watching on the big screen.
We also would like to thank producers, directors, screenwriters and everyone in the movie industry for giving us big or even bigger 2013 line up of movies. And as a way of showing our gratitude to all these great movies, we have listed the movies that we think deserve a re-run on our DVD player a couple of times in the next year to come.
Below are the movies you should not have missed this year. By the way, this is subjective and these are movies I have watched in SM Cinemas during its run. I try to evade big budgeted film as they surely do spark interest to the general public though it’s inevitable if you really would like to recommend things you love. Laughs!
My list covered a zombie apocalypse, an act of terrorism, two worlds about magic and a Japanese manga inspired theme movie. Going back, with this very cold rainy day, I will be starting off with…
Warm Bodies
A heartwarming love story to heat up your cold hearts. Another Summit Entertainment production movie adaptation of the novel of the same title after the worldwide success of the Twilight saga. An awesomely weird movie that would tickle our hearts delivered grotesquely in action. It has by far accumulated $117M in its total box office tally during its run last February of this year. A very impressive figure for a film that has no stellar cast plugged into it and with very little or close to zero marketing strategies. What carries the movie is the undeniably charming zombie Nicolas Hoult as R in the movie and the chemistry he has with Julie played by Teresa Palmer.
Interestingly, the director finds humor in the predicament our main protagonists currently engulfed with. The unique outline of the story and the unlikely pair we never vision are the factors that place this movie a top notch among other romantic comedies out there. It’s a creepy exploration of how powerful love is and yet being conveyed in a very unusual sense.
And if you’re already bored with this zombie apocalypse as it had been a common theme nowadays, a perfect action-packed suspense drama movie would be best to spice up the sleeping dragon in you. I’m talking about my second movie you should not have missed in SM cinemas and it is…
Olympus Has Fallen
For 2013, we have this one and White House down that talks about terrorism and with a very uncommon location to seize – the White House. Well, the first movie you’ve seen will set the standard and as for me, I gave Olympus Has Fallen the points for being suspenseful enough from start to finish. At the start of the movie, we were introduced to the characters of lead Secret Service Mike Banning played by Gerald Butler and US President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart). It connects us to a friendship that goes beyond work and even extending to brotherhood between a secret service and the most important man in the world. However, we came to show compassion to Banning’s character after he was removed from the secret service because of an unfortunate event but at the same time sympathize with the president by relieving Banning as his bodyguard.
On the other hand, I always love watching gloomy sequences for it adds more dramatic feeling on the scene just like in the later part where Banning secretly access the White House in an attempt to rescue the president he considers a friend and a family. In terms of box office success, well, needless to say, and elaborate on it more as there is a sequel to it already in the making this coming new year.
Oz the Great and Powerful
This is a bit nostalgic for it brings out so many memories of my childhood. Who does not know the farm girl Dorothy with her ruby slippers and dog Toto? They were once the characters we love along with other enchanting creatures like Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. You might be anxious to see them again and relive the past, right? Well, sorry to disappoint you but this movie is set 20 years before Dorothy’s journey in the land of Oz. The good thing about this movie is that it introduces as to new characters and at the same time answers questions as for why we have a coward lion, a tin man and a scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz movie. It’s a prequel to the movie and thus it somewhat clears fog along the way as we watch it. The plot is quite similar to the story we love. Everything starts in old Kansas where we met Oscar ‘Oz’ Diggs our main character who is a traveler magician and a con artist.
The movie also starts in a smaller sepia screen and slowly transitioning to a wider colored screen after he had embarked in the magical land of the witches. But before his hot air balloon got swept in the wonderful and colorful land of Oz by a tornado, we got to see his trickery side as he tries to deceive people through his words and truthful acts. However, that first act of him established a strong connection to viewers as it represents boundaries as to what the main character can and cannot do. On the other hand, we can see two parallel worlds in this movie and how the land of Oz filled those void he had left in his real world.
Oz the Great and Powerful is a movie that I can confidently recommend to children and children at heart. It takes us to world full of magic and living creatures of all sort and maintaining an ambiance suitable for the young ones. It is an eye-candy in its own way. We see magic, humor, adventure, and artistry in every corner. The movie tells a different story from the one we’ve known and the same time hinting references to what we have come to know so far.
Moving on from the magical world of Oz, my fourth on the list is another movie about magic but this time pure human trickery and skills.
This is one movie that perfectly fits the word serendipity for me. It was one of those days when you set aside a movie to watch but when tomorrow comes to the DVD gone missing. That’s what happened to me and ended up having a glimpsed with this movie being piled up at the edge of the shelf. Sometimes movie titles define how the movie will turn out to be but I guess not all of them are true. As they say, don’t judge the book by its cover and so we cannot say the same by a movie title alone. LOL. Anyway, the movie, Now You See Me, is beyond expectation and crafted impressively to entertain viewers with magical tricks, convincing illusions, fast sleigh of hands and funny banters. It is what every magicians and wannabe ones would like to see in a movie like this. The movie does talk about magic and a secret society of magicians that our main characters are aiming to be part of but it still has its own twist and theme to offer too.
The entertainment value it gives is one of a kind as you would like to keep guessing what comes next and be suddenly amazed by the outcome. The scene in every act is performed with extreme grandeur and elegance that audiences both in the film and us viewers paused for a moment to think how did it happen. The plot is carefully thought and the sequence is weaved in such a manner that effectively activates the word magic in its truest sense and that is a total distraction. It captured our complete attention with the magic act before we switch back our focus to reality. It is a mind-boggling movie that will stir the very core of our imagination. A tricky movie with a great twist at the end combined with superb acting and witty conversations.
Pacific Rim
Yes, the movie Pacific Rim from the delicate hands and intricate mind of producer and director Guillermo Del Toro whose previous works were classified having a recipe of both fantasy and horror. A movie set in the near future where we see fighting mechas battling for supremacy against giant kaiju. The terms mecha (robots) and kaiju (monsters) are common to ‘otaku’ as there have been hundreds of stories centering in that genre. Robot geeks that love the Gundam series, Full Metal Panic and the likes will definitely not going to miss the chance to see this type of movie getting greenlit and come to existence on the big screen. Anyway, this big budgeted film tries not to emulate old works from Godzilla and rather draws and creates a new theme of interest. Del Toro amplified this movie with so many intense action scenes shot in different angles from the colossal fighting machines and its nemesis of rampaging unknown creatures.
Though the actions were always shot in a dark and gloomy atmosphere (which I love) like a strong downpour of a rain or under the ocean floor it does not hinder the viewer to feel the immense battle of two godlike creatures accompanied with a heart-pumping heavy cranking sound effect of metals. For a movie as huge as this, a stellar cast is out of the picture as you will be awed with how they make great use of computer generated imagery or CGI’s and stunned with the beautifully designed humungous robots. Well, this movie does give me some throwbacks in my childhood years and will always be on my list to kill time in a delightful way – very entertaining and engaging from beginning to end. By the way, this is obviously not a love flick movie and thus make sure to tag the right people along when watching it at home.
That’s it for me, guys. Thank you, 2013!
What are your favorite movies in 2013? Share your list in the comment section below.