Favorite films seen in 2013

Gravity, Philomena, Metropolis, A Room With a View…. These are a few films and TV shows from my list of 2013 films (released in Louisville) or the list of older films that I had never seen before (14 of which are streaming on Netflix). Last year, I summarized my IMDb films of 2012. This year, in October, I created my own custom spreadsheet of movies.

Films I've seen, released in 2013

TitleTypeMyAvg.#Ratings
42Feat.107.640140
47 RoninFeat.86.620906
A Good Day to Die HardFeat.85.4117907
American Hustle *Feat.87.784115
Amour *Feat.107.848394
Bettie Page Reveals AllDocu.87124
Birdemic 2: The ResurrectionFeat.42.4733
Blue Is the Warmest Color *Feat.98.119519
Blue Jasmine *Feat.77.545292
Charles Bradley: Soul of AmericaFeat.107.6260
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (S2)Series88.3840
¡Cuatro!Docu.88.855
Craig Ferguson: I'm Here to HelpFeat.87.1163
Drinking BuddiesFeat.86.222027
ElysiumFeat.76.7172790
EpicFeat.76.748706
Frances Ha *Feat.97.616883
Fruitvale StationFeat.97.619434
Gravity *Feat.108.3252724
History of the Eagles Part OneDocu.97.8485
Louis C.K.: Oh My God TV Special78.2002284
Much Ado About NothingFeat.77.48153
MudFeat.77.560915
Only God ForgivesFeat.85.849964
Oz the Great and PowerfulFeat.86.5130601
Phil Spector TV Movie86.33016
Philomena *Feat.107.98090
Picasso Baby: A Performance Art FilmDocu.97.740
Prisoners Feat.78.1147084
QuartetFeat.96.89748
Red Bull Stratos - Mission to the Edge of SpaceDocu.8n/an/a
Room 237Docu.76.49200
Secret Project RevolutionShort98.344
Side by SideDocu.97.77346
Star Trek Into DarknessFeat.97.9253676
The ConjuringFeat.107.6151753
The Grandmaster Feat.76.613019
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Feat.88.2199498
The Hunt *Feat.98.365737
The Impossible *Feat.97.6100341
The Last Ice MerchantDoc. Short87.525
The Place Beyond the PinesFeat.87.4115809
This Is the EndFeat.96.9172296
Top of the Lake *Series97.67068
TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from KeyboardDocu.97.78516
Upstream ColorFeat.76.9010284
We're the MillersFeat.87.1150504
Whatever This Is.Series88.625
World War ZFeat.97.1261490
Zero Dark Thirty *Feat.87.5153985
Films released in the Louisville area in 2013 that I've seen. IMDb ratings ("Avg." column) based on Jan. 27, 2014 numbers. * Nominated for Golden Globe
Nominated for Academy Award
Nominated for Emmy Award

Films I’ve seen, pre-2013 release

Of the older films I’ve seen this year, here are the highlights. I’ve notated the ones that are streaming (at time of publication) on Netflix. I was motivated to watch a lot of these after reviewing the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, particularly if they passed the Bechdel Test.

  • 49 Up (2005, docu., Netflix)
  • A Room with a View (1985, Netflix)
  • A Trip to the Moon (Watched both the original 1902 b&w version, and newly restored 2012 Blu-ray hand-colored version with Air soundtrack)
  • Amreeka (2009)
  • Blue (2012, new YouTube series)
  • Breaking the Waves (1996)
  • Carrington (1995)
  • Children of Paradise (1945)
  • Chimpanzee (2012, docu.)
  • Coldplay Live 2012 (Netflix)
  • Control Room (2004, docu., Netflix)
  • Cosmic Voyage (1996)
  • Crumb (1994, docu.)
  • Dancer in the Dark (2000)
  • Electric Shadows (2004, Netflix)
  • Enter the Void (2009, Netflix)
  • Forks Over Knives (2011, docu., Netflix)
  • Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
  • Kick-Ass (2010)
  • Leonie (2010)
  • M (1931)
  • Man With a Movie Camera (1929, docu., Netflix)
  • Metropolis (1927, purchased 2010 “complete” Blu-ray with newly found footage; also streaming Netflix)
  • Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980)
  • My Brilliant Career (1979, Netflix)
  • My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
  • Night and Fog (1955, docu.)
  • Nostalgia for the Light (2010, docu.)
  • Pearl Jam Twenty (2011, docu., Netflix)
  • Porco Rosso (1992)
  • Princess Mononoke (1997)
  • Senna (2010, docu., Netflix)
  • Seven Chances (1925, Netflix)
  • The General (1926, Netflix)
  • The Holy Mountain (1973)
  • The House Is Black (1963, docu.)
  • The Killer (1989)
  • The Pixar Story (2007, docu.)

Forecastle 2013 artists playlist

155 songs and over 11 hours of music on Mog.com in preparation for Louisville’s Forecastle Festival, July 12-14.*

Forecastle Festival
Used by permission from The Forecastle Festival

I’m hoping Robert Plant will play a Zeppelin tune or two, like this totally reconfigured “Black Dog” performance last year. I’m not even going to mention any other “must see” artists for fear of leaving anyone out, but here are a few of the headliners: The Black Keys, The String Cheese Incident, The Avett Brothers, Alabama Shakes, The Flaming Lips, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Toro Y Moi, Jim James, and Big Boi.
Read more Forecastle 2013 artists playlist

Summer Movies I Want to See, 2013 Part 1

My fifth annual list of summer movies. More to come… this is just for May so far. I must be getting picky—there are only four wide-release films on my list (see asterisks). On the other hand, it’s nice that there are twenty-six films in May alone that seem to be worth watching. For previews and synopses, go to Rotten Tomatoes Upcoming Movies.

Star Trek Into Darkness crash

Read more Summer Movies I Want to See, 2013 Part 1