My top 10 films of 2013

Some really good films appeared this year, and yet again it's been difficult to select the final 10. But without further ado, here they are, with links to longer opinions if you want to take a peek. Number 10 - Behind the Candelabra Blingingly touching story of Liberace and his relationship with a younger man, …

The worst films I’ve seen in 2013

As ever with this annual list, these are probably not the worst films, but the ones which have angered, irritated or disappointed me the most this year. Click the film title where there's a link to find out what I thought just after seeing the film. Number 5 - Renoir Airy fairy nothing happens not …

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

When I commented on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last year, I said I would try out more films in the higher frame rate when they appeared. One year on, and this is the next opportunity which arose. I think the 3D HFR technology has been tweaked a little since the last one - it's …

La vie d’Adèle – Blue is the Warmest Colour

Such a lot of hype surrounded this controversial film of a young woman discovering her sexuality that I was in two minds as to whether to even go and see it. As usual, however, I decided that I should go and see it and make my own mind up. Let's get a couple of things …

Soshite Chichi Ni Nara – Like Father, Like Son

Two Kore-eda films in one year is a bit of treat! - (see here for the other). Again this features children, but this time the adults are much more present than in I Wish. Essentially, two sets of very different parents discover that their sons were swapped in hospital just after they were born, and …

Gravity

I tend to avoid 3D as it usually gives me a headache, but I went with it for Gravity, and threw IMAX into the mix for good measure. I was not disappointed. This is a remarkable film - not for the plot, of which there is alarmingly little - but for the fact that it …

Thor: The Dark World

I had been anticipating the return of the demi-god for quite some time, as the first Thor film was hugely entertaining, as was Marvel Avengers Assemble. This isn't as good as either of the above, but it is solid value for money and ticks most of the required boxes. The script needed some lighter touches, …

Captain Phillips

You wait years for a film about a Somali pirate hijacking, and then two come out in the same year - what are the odds? In contrast to A Hijacking, the Danish movie which spends a lot of time with the negotiation procedure in an office in Copenhagen, Captain Phillips puts the viewer right there on the …

Enough Said

It's really nice to come across a film about relationships which doesn't involve a lot of screaming and shouting, and which actually shows some of the anxieties of trying to date in middle age, after the days of youthful exuberance have passed. That's exactly what Enough Said brings to the table. The insecurities of the characters …

Blue Jasmine

I have a confession to make. I just don't 'get' Woody Allen. I wasn't actually going to see this, but a friend persuaded me to go with her, so I went along with an open mind (honestly) to see where I have been going wrong. I discovered that I've been going wrong by thinking that this …