Favorites of 2013: annalouwho

annalouwho

Favorites of 2013

Jan 02, 2014 01:48

© samwinchters

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

You fought very hard in the Games, Miss Everdeen. But they were games. Would you like to be in a real war?

Good riddance, Gary Ross. A new director, new writers, and a bigger budget have given us a Hunger Games movie with actual tension and excitement this time! The whole thing just seems so much more confident and powerful than the first film (with everything inside the arena being particularly improved). And Catching Fire is my favorite book of the series, so I'm especially happy they got this one right.

© film-tea

Life of Pi

I know Richard Parker's a tiger, but I wish I had said, "It's over. We survived. Thank you for saving my life. I love you, Richard Parker. You'll always be with me. May God be with you."

What a beautiful film, in both the story itself and of course the visuals. I'm still not completely sure how I feel about about the religious implications, but I do love a good story about the power of fiction and its relationship to Truth. It's also amazing to me that Ang Lee could make such a powerful movie almost entirely out of a boy on a boat with a CGI tiger.

© bewitchthemind

Les Miserables

Tomorrow we’ll discover what our God in Heaven has in store. One more dawn. One more day. One day more!

Yes, I know it's sappy. But I love the musical, so of course I also love a big, beautiful film production of it. And the decision to do the singing live was absolutely brilliant, even if some singers aren't as strong as others. It was a decision that really puts the emotions of the performances front and center, and I love that. I cried pretty much nonstop from beginning to end.

© a-torvs

Pacific Rim

Today, at the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other.

As far as Guillermo del Toro goes, this movie is obviously more in the vein of Hellboy than Pan's Labyrinth. It might be a little cheesy at times, but I'm OK with that. It's the underlying ideas that really make it special. It's an action movie that celebrates empathy, family, multiculturalism, and cooperation, with a beautiful love story at its core. And then, of course, it also has giant robots fighting monsters, which is just awesome.

© xavierstea

Silver Linings Playbook

There will always be a part of me that’s sloppy and dirty, but I like that, with all the other parts of myself. Can you say the same about yourself, fucker? Can you forgive? Are you any good at that?

Absolutely my favorite movie of the year (I watched it three times). Describing it is like just listing a bunch of things that I love: romantic comedy, psychiatry, football, dancing, classic literature. It sounds like it should be a total cluster, but it all actually fits together wonderfully. It's a refreshing romantic comedy, but what's really amazing is that it's also an intelligent and affecting depiction of mental illness.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Django Unchained (I'm ambivalent because of the subject matter)
Gravity (The script wasn't quite as strong as the acting and directing)

TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 2013

© enalgunlugar

The Americans

I fit in! I fit in like I was supposed to! And, yes, I liked it. So what? I was supposed to be able to trust you, and I did. And I shouldn't have. I never should have.

As far as spy shows go I might actually like this one better than Homeland. I love a good period drama; I love a good counter-narrative; and I love that it's not just a spy show but also a portrait of a marriage. It works brilliantly because the values that are important in espionage are the same values that are important in marriage: trust, communication, and partnership.

© alexkingstons

Broadchurch

I’m not done with him. I want him. I had one job as his mum: get him ready for the world, set him up to meet it and be the best he could be. And I failed him. I let him down.

I had never been a big fan of Chris Chibnall (see Doctor Who and Torchwood); so I was very surprised to find him responsible for this entire show that is so incredibly insightful and sensitive about grief and guilt and human frailty. I also never knew that David Tennant had this kind of grim, world-weary performance in him (and he's not even the best of the cast). And now there's going to be a U.S. remake (called Gracepoint), which I am very wary of.

© scallison

Doctor Who

Not everything ends. Not love. Not always.

Everyone talks shit about the Moffat era all the time now, but I actually really enjoyed the stretch of episodes this year. Yes, it's frustrating that Clara doesn't have any discernible character arc, but Jenna Coleman is delightful, as is Matt Smith to me still. And most of the episodes (with the Christmas special being the most glaring exception) I found to be quite thrilling, funny, and touching.

© ladyaryastark

Downton Abbey

It's strange for me to be arguing about inherited money and saving estates, when the old me would like to put a bomb under the lot of you.

Another show that everybody hates now, but I actually loved Series 3. Yes, the plot resolutions are a bit convenient and the prison storyline is a mess; but the character drama and relationships are excellent (especially regarding Branson Tom), and the thematic exploration of classism and sexism is as strong as ever. Also, I love that the cricket match episode actually works as the perfect finale for the show. (Just pretend it ended there.)

© fnnickodeir

Game of Thrones

You're mine, as I'm yours. And if we die, we die. But first we'll live.

As a hardcore fan of the book series, I tend to criticize this show an awful lot. I can rage on and on about story changes and character assassinations (see Robb Stark's entire mess of a storyline). But then there's an amazing moment with Jaime and Brienne, or Theon and Ramsay, or Jon and Ygritte, or Arya and the Brotherhood, or Dany and the slavers, and then I have to admit how much I honestly really enjoy this damn show.

© eatsleeptv

The Hollow Crown

For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings.

Before this, the only play in the Henriad that I had ever seen or read was Henry V. I knew nothing of Richard II and little of both Henry IVs. Now I love them all. The plays all together offer an interesting analysis of what makes a great leader. And these productions in particular are gorgeous and brilliantly acted. I especially love how naturalistically the actors approached the language. That's how Shakespeare should be done.

© methsmith

In the Flesh

When you died, everything turned to shit. Life didn’t mean anything anymore.

I was expecting an irreverent show about zombies; what I got is a heartbreaking story about death, depression, and prejudice. Much like my response to Broadchurch, I was surprised by how sensitive the writing is about issues like suicide, mental illness, and homosexuality. And while the show can work as social commentary on a grand scale, it works even better as an elegiac family drama.

© jakeparalta

New Girl

We're a family. You can’t choose who you love, sometimes they choose you. And sometimes it’s just because you got a really great deal on Craigslist. I got a really great deal on Craigslist. I got all of you.

This year was all about Nick and Jess. Though all the characters got some great stories in the back half of Season 2, everything about Nick and Jess becoming a couple is so completely perfect that it just eclipses everything else. And even though Season 3 hasn't been as strong for all the other characters so far, I still think this is the most delightful show on television.

© bluevein

Orphan Black

I'm at the bloody crime scene pretending to be a bloody cop, so I need to know if the bloody fingerprints will flag a bloody match!

This might actually be the most feminist television show I have ever seen. It's an awesome celebration of all different types of women and a condemnation of the injustices perpetrated against our bodies and personhoods in society. (This show would definitely not be the same if the clones were males.) It's thoughtful and disturbing, but it's also frequently hilarious and a ton of fun. And Tatiana Maslany is an absolute wonder.

© theongreyjoy

A Young Doctor's Notebook

Suffer, because this is far worse. It will take you to a lush meadow in the height of summer. You will lie down in the soft grass, and bask in the sun and feel nothing but bliss. And you will never want to return to this frozen pisshole in the snow.

I think this is the only thing I've seen Dan Radcliffe in since Harry Potter; and he's wonderful. This show starts off hilariously as a black comedy, with the doctor fumbling his way through his very first patients, but it turns dark fairly quickly as he turns to morphine to escape the bleakness of the Russian winter. Great stuff. I wish it were longer than four half-hour episodes.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Could have easily made the list, but I missed about half the episodes)
Sleepy Hollow (Delightful, but I really wish the Revolutionary Era timeline weren't such a mess)

fandom: year in review