Is the correct way to say it Year End Lists or Year In Lists? For the time being, I’ll follow what Los Campesinos! said. It’s kind of messed up to be barely writing this one month into 2014 but since it is Chinese New Year this weekend I’m technically not cheating nor am I late.
Anyways, the bulk of these lists are going to deal with films. So lets jump into that first. I don’t quite remember if I wrote my Top 10 favorite films last year, but ever since I signed up for Letterboxd, keeping track of the movies I’ve been watching have been so much easier (ditto with their list creating features). So here we go.
TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2013
10. Gravity: This movie was a huge technical achievement and it’s result was a eye viewing spectacle. I saw this one twice in theaters and I’m definitely counting on it to win Best Picture this year at the Oscars.
9. Blue Jasmine: Woody Allen went into some dark territory with this one and I loved it. Cate Blanchett completely owned as the delusional Jasmine who loses everything and deals with it horribly.
8. Her: My favorite sci-fi film in ages. Same for being one of the best romances I’ve seen in a long time. From the writing to the camera composition, everything in this film was beautiful.
7. Before Midnight: Along with Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Richard Linklater’s third film about Jesse and Celine rounds out the series into one of the greatest trilogies of all time. For a lot of people, this film was 9 years in the making and it certainly did not disappoint.
6. The Garden of Words: After a stint in fantasy, Makoto Shinkai’s latest anime feature returns to the roots of his hauntingly depressing 5 Centimeters Per Second by once again telling a tale of angst and distance. Though it doesn’t hit as hard as Centimeters, it is still one of the most beautiful animated films out there and the story moved me towards the end. But why didn’t Tenmon do the soundtrack?!
5. Drinking Buddies: Joe Swanberg pulled a bit from his mumblecore roots for his first mainstream feature, while at the same time keeping his signature style intact. I love pretty much everything this man does.
4. The Wind Rises: Though his last feature was a bit of a disappointment, Hayao Miyazaki came back with a vengeance in a film that solidified his status as the master of animation.
3. Frances Ha: Maybe it’s because I’m in my 20s or the simple fact that I love coming of age flicks, but I just enjoy everything about this movie. And at some points, it was just a complete comfort to see a likewise character who has no idea as to what she is doing with her life.
2. The Way, Way Back: As much as I loved both, this is the film that Adventureland failed to be.
1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: While some of the movies this past year were technically superior in storytelling, this is the movie that captivated me the most out of the whole year. Ben Stiller: BEST HUMAN.
TOP 5 LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2013:
5. Thor: The Dark World
4. Iron Man 3
3. Unbeatable
2. Star Tek Into Darkness
1. Man of Steel
Fuck all these movies.
FAVORITE GIG OF 2013
Best Coast @ The Hangout: I’m still so grateful that they were able to come to Hong Kong and bring a taste of home sweet home. This show was a bittersweet emotional rollercoaster of radness and homesickness.
FAVORITE SONG OF 2013
September by Batwings Catwings
While this song definitely did not give out the same mosh friendly chaos I always enjoyed at their gigs, their sound of the summer was totally best and did it for me the most out of every song this year.
HOWEVER, a close second was Prom Night by Anamanaguchi – this was totallay sex.
That’s it for now I guess.