Taking On 2013: Top Films

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. It took us a while to get through all the great video games, tv shows, songs, albums, supporting and lead performances from the previous year, but we have finally gotten to the point where we can officially reveal Processed Grass's best film from the previous year! Who will take the top honor, who will just miss out? Let's take a gander!

Taking On 2013: Top Films (Q3 Quarterly Review)

So here we are once again, back to taking a look at motion pictures and the best ones of the year so far and how things have all changed since the summer onslaught of superheros and shit came a knockin' and right on the cusp of prestige Oscar picks and some things that might trickle out of Cannes before the end of the year. These ain't albums, these ain't songs, these are films and that's what we're all here for any way, right? Right. So let's get this road on the show, so to speak.

Taking On 2013: Top Films (Q2 Quarterly Review)

With the holiday weekend over here in the states it took a little longer than I would have liked to follow up my look at the best albums and tracks of the year so far, but I am back in the saddle so to speak and ready to start getting all filmy up in here. Even though I haven't seen all the movies I would have liked to before constructing this list, I look at the upper portion of my master list and feel like 2013 has been pretty good so far. But what has changed since the last time? Let's find out!

Taking On 2013: Top Films (Q1 Quarterly Review)

I'm not sure if it's been a slower year for film, generally by this point in time a lot of the foreign films I wanted to see at the end of last year have finally gotten theatrical release, or if I just saw more foreign films than I had anticipated in 2012, but in the first quarter the world of cinema has been a bit lean. Still, despite that when compiling my five favorite films of the year so far, the most accomplished works in their field, some tough decisions had to be made. So, with summer nearly upon us, perhaps it has been a pretty good year so far.

Taking On 2013: Top Albums (Q1 Quarterly Review)

Well, it was a futile attempt to try and squeeze in a few more albums before creating this post. Despite some I've been meaning to check out, I haven't carved out the Spotify time for them as I thrust myself in to a bit more relistens since taking a look at the year's best songs so far last week. Regardless, it's still been a kind of strong year for music at the top. Assuming some of the spots I want to fill in turn out to be as good as I hope. Or not. Who knows. There are some good albums, there are also bad ones. I'll probably write about five of them because it's still so early in the year and (hopefully) this list will radically change by the time we get to the end of June. Music.

And Do It All Although You Can't Believe It

Spring Breakers (Korine, 2013)

I've never really been on a spring break before. Technically I guess I have since my college had a week a year that was called Spring Break, but I never went on trips. Actually, I probably have more vivid memories of MTV's Spring Break coverage as a kid than I do of my college spring breaks which tended to be occupied by paper writing. So as I entered Harmony Korine's latest fever dream of a film, Spring Breakers, there was a part of me that wondered if I would be too far out of my element. Thankfully all those years of MTV watching paid off though, but filtered through the kinetic, frantic party montages Korine creates a sense of clarity, a sense of dread. And it's in this storm that the genius of Spring Breakers emerges.

13 For '13: Most Anticipated Movies

Okay, so I might be about a month late, but for the most part not too much comes out in January anyhow (though one should note that The Grey released in January last year and already we have seen Kim Jee-Woon's first English language film, the surprisingly enjoyable The Last Stand hit theaters along with the Chastain vehicle MaMa), which means that it's still perfectly acceptable to do a 2013 film preview still. Right?

Right.

In the past I have gone month by month, mostly in an attempt to not back load everything with what is sure to be a slew of high profile releases slatted for November and December, but including thirteen titles (and fourteen next year and so on) that has become less of a concern. Also a lot of these don't have release dates, so I'm kind of left just hoping they manage to get a distribution deal at some point. But others have dates. There's no particular order for these, just a collection of things I hope will be great. I've attached trailers in the write ups where trailers were available. Get excited!