On 2013 - Top Three and Bottom One

So, 2013 has come and gone (10 days ago, I know I'm a little behind on the obligatory "year in review" type of post).  It was an entertainment filled year where I went to the theater to see more movies and read more books than 2012.  I hope to continue this trend in 2014.  

I see a lot of top 10 lists around (most of them posted timely around New Year's, but I'm behind on reading the blogs too).  I will cut the list down to the top three and bottom one.  Movies / Books are linked to my review where one exists.  

Movies (only counts if I saw the movie in the theater):

# 3 - Monsters University

I took my four year old to see this and she loved it.  I did too.  Even today, weeks after she received the movie on DVD over the holidays and we have more-or-less had this on TV any time Yo Gabba Gabba is not on, I still love it.  It is fun, funny, and one of the better sequels done by Disney.  Ok, what it teaches children may not be the best lesson in the world, but it's a fun movie filled with a lot of good laughs.  I mean, it's Revenge of the Nerds for kids.

I don't believe it.  I'm on a top of the year list!

# 2 - The World's End

These guys are comedy gold.  All three of the movies are completely different yet all carry similar humor, heart and over-the-top ridiculous goodness.   

Made the list.  Time to hit the pub!

# 1 - Pacific Rim

Giant Robots fighting Giant Monsters.  And Ron Perlman.  

I liked the movie this much!

Honorable Mention - The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug  

This loses a little ground in that to me it didn't live up to the first part, and was an hour too long.  

Bottom - Broken City

Maybe it would have been better had I not gone into the theater thinking it would be an action movie.  Probably not.  So.  Slow.  

Books (based on what I read, not year of release)

# 3 Demon Cycle (I need to cheat and use the series since I did a lot of series binging this year)

I never posted a review of these books, so I feel compelled to at least put a blurb here.  I was convinced I would not like the Demon Cycle books (great way to start a review, no?).  I read the premise and thought it really interesting.  And then I picked up book one.  It starts WAY in the past of the "present" storyline (though you don't know that at the time).  Thinking this is what the story would be, I knew I wouldn't like it.  But the present storyline comes on with a vengeance, and it grew on me more and more with each page.  

# 2 The Republic of Thieves 

Sabetha

# 1 The Lightbringer (again cheating with the series name)

Cliche cloaked man doesn't do justice to a FANTASTIC book series (love the coloring though)

Bottom - NOS4A2

I love Joe Hill, and it's really not fair that he holds this position as the bottom of my 2013 pile.  Heart Shaped Box and Horns are fantastic books.  NOS4A2 wasn't horrible, but it really didn't hold my attention as well as his prior works.  And I should add that being the bottom book I read in 2013 is not necessarily a terrible thing.  I had no 1 or 2 (goodreads) rated books in 2013.  I don't read 50 books a year, so I tend to make sure my selections will hold my interest whenever possible.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  2013 was a good book year for me.  I still highly recommend Hill's works, though maybe you pick up the other two books first.  

On The World's End

Where do I begin? 

Edgar Wright.  Now, as an American with no too much free time on his hands, I have not seen EVERYTHING Edgar Wright has been a part of.  I have, however, seen every major theatrical release to date.  So, I feel it safe to say that Edgar Wright can do no wrong.  Shall we take a quick tour through his filmography?

Shaun of the Dead: Probably the best romantic comedy disguised as a zombie movie ever.

Hot Fuzz:  Carrying that same brand of humor into the police buddy-comedy.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World:  How perfect was this comic book adaptation?  Perfect.  

And now, The World's End.  IMDB synopsis:  Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

The World's End marks the end of what is being called the Cornetto trilogy.  The name stems from the Cornetto ice cream that appears in each of the flicks (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End).


But there's more that ties these movies together.  There's running gags (failed fence-jumping scenes) and there's the important thing.  All of these movies take ordinary people and place them into ridiculous situations.  But no matter how ridiculous the situations are, the stories are something of a bildungsroman.  That's not exactly correct as these aren't children coming into adulthood, but rather adults learning to "grow up." The movies are laugh-out-loud funny in the complete absurdness of the situations these characters are put in, but are also touching, heartwarming, and fully relatable.

The World's End is no different.  It is a story about growing up, about admitting there is more to life than those childhood fantasies of forever doing nothing but having a good time, and behind it all, it is the story of aliens attempting to take over the world.  Simon Pegg is fantastic in his Sisters of Mercy loving, alcoholic, broken man role.  Nick Frost, for a change, gets to play the straight character - no longer the bumbling comic relief, and he does it well.  The friendship between Simon and Nick outside of the movie universe gives the emotional scenes a sense of realism.




The movie is incredibly funny.  It's almost unfair but is inevitable that the movie be compared to Edgar Wright's previous offerings.  It's unfair because Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz have benefited from multiple viewings.  I can admit that I grew more fond of Hot Fuzz after subsequent watchings.  It's almost like Super Troopers - a comedy that really needs additional viewings to catch all of the more subtle comedy that is easily missed the first time around.  As such, The World's End doesn't seem to quite meet the standards of the first two in the "trilogy." The setup to the pub crawl is a bit on the slower side.  But once the movie gets going, it is relentless.  Action.  Laughs.  This definitely has the potential to grow on you as it is easily re-watchable.

Not owning Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, I can certainly see myself purchasing a box set of the trilogy upon its inevitable release.  Highly recommended.

On a side note, Edgar Wright's next movie will be Ant-Man for Marvel.  While I was never much of an Ant-Man fan, I am very excited to see his take on a superhero movie.