Movies That Entertained Me In 2013

In no particular order:

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Wolf of Wall Street
Saving Mr. Banks
August: Osage County
Inside Llewyn Davis
Dallas Buyers Club
The Book Thief
Philomena
Thor: The Dark World
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
Delivery Man/Starbuck
Bad Grandpa
Captain Philips
Gravity
Prisoners
Rush
Don Jon
In a Word
Short Term 12

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

What I liked:

• It tells parts Nelson Mandela's true life story.
• It nice to see Idris Elba staring in a leading role.
• Naomie Harris complemented Elba well.
• It showed the good, the bad, and the ugly of both Nelson and Winnie.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

What I liked:

• Ben Stiller was delightful as Walter Mitty.
• Stiller also directed it.
• Kristen Wiig is lovely.
• Wonderful supporting cast: Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott, Adrian Martinez, Sean Penn, Patton Oswalt, and Shirley MacLaine.
• It's an enjoyable story with layers that all connect in the end.
• Fabulous soundtrack.
• Rupert Holmes' "Escape (If You Like Pina Coladas)"
• It was beautifully shot.  Great camera work and cinematography.
• Stay until the lights come on for a special version of "Escape".

The Wolf of Wall Street

What I liked:

• It's based on a true story.
• Matthew McConaughey is classic McConaughey.  
• Jonah Hill is fantastic.
• The supporting cast continues to be wonderful: Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Joanna Lumley, Christin Milioti, Christine Ebersole, Shea Whigham, P.J. Byrne, Kenneth Choi, Brian Sacca, Henry Zebrowski, Ethan Suplee, and Aya Cash.
• Directed by Martin Scorsese.
• It's a crazy, almost unbelievable, story.
• Hair, makeup, and costume design were all great.
• Fabulous soundtrack.

Saving Mr. Banks

What I liked:

• It is an interesting behind the scenes look of how the film, Mary Poppins, came into existence.
• Emma Thompson is always wonderful.
• Tom Hanks made for a good Walt Disney.
• It has a talented supporting cast: Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman, Kathy Baker, and Rachel Griffiths.
• Stay through the credits for a special treat.

American Hustle

What I liked:

• It has an amazing cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Jack Huston, Michael Pena, Shea Whigham, and Elisabeth Rohm.
• It has a great soundtrack.
• Hair, make up and costumes were fantastic.
• The story was interesting. 
• Robert De Niro makes a cameo, if you want to call it that.

August: Osage County

What I liked:

• Meryl Streep knocks it out of the park once again.  Simply perfect.
• Julia Roberts is fantastic.  She is still gorgeous with very little make up on and better yet, she's not a size 2.
• The supporting cast is outstanding: Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nickolson, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch and Misty Upham.
• It's dark, funny, depressing, hopeful, and sad.
• Great dialogue.
• Love the music that Steve listens to in the car.
• Love the movie poster.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

What I liked:

• It has more action than the first one.
• Great special effects.
• Hair, makeup, and costumes are excellent.
• It has a great cast: Iam McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Dean O'Gorman, Aidan Turner, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, Adam Brown, Cate Blanchett, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, and Evangeline Lilly.
• Lilly is a nice addition to the cast.
• Cumberbatch has a great dragon voice.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

What I liked:

• Hair, makeup, and costume design is fabulous.
• Outstanding cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, Lynn Cohen, Sam Clafin, Toby Jones, and Jena Malone.
• Great action scenes.
• Wonderful special effects.

Inside Llewyn Davis

What I liked:

• It is written and directed by the Coen Brothers.
• Oscar Issac just nails it.  He is a great actor who can also sing very well.
• It also stars Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Max Casella, Adam Driver, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Alex Karpovsky, and Helen Hong.
• Beautiful music.
• Lots of sarcasm.
• Loved the twist!

Dallas Buyers Club

What I liked:

• It's based on true events of Ron Woodroof's life.
• Jared Leto is absolutely amazing as Rayon.  Great acting with immense dedication to the roll.
• Matthew McConaughey plays the part very well.
• Hair, Makeup and Costume Design are outstanding.
• It also stars Steve Zahn, Denis O'Hare, Kevin Rankin, and Griffin Dunne.
• You can appreciate the good that the internet can do after remembering how life was without it.

Grudge Match

What I liked:

• Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro play convincing former boxers.
• Great call to have Ireland Baldwin play Kim Basinger's character in the flashbacks.
• It also stars Kevin Hart, Alan Arkin, Jon Bernthal, and LL Cool J.
• The story is entertaining.
• Stay to the credits to see a funny clip of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
• They spent a lot of money on special effects to make these two look like boxers (then and now).

2014 Golden Globe Nominations

My initial thoughts:

• No love for my favorite, Short Term 12.
• No love for Lee Daniel's The Butler.  While not a critic favorite it was a fan favorite.
• Barkhad Abdi is on the road to receiving an Oscar nomination for his role in Captain Phillips.

Read the full list of nominations here.