Editorial by Flaco Jones

VOG's Best Movies of 2013

VOG's Best Movies of 2013

It's the end of the year, so awards are being handed out and everyone is making their lists of the best of 2013. Well, many of the movies we highlight here on VOG don't make a lot of those lists or award shows, despite being some of the biggest box office hits and keeping the Hollywood machine running smoothly year after year.

So this is our list, based completely on the reviews compiled here on the site with a little help from our readers. I've gathered all the A range reviews and ranked them based on where they fell into that range, using the review response grades to break any ties. And even if you never got around to adding a review response, you can rank these movies yourself at the end of the article for one final list of the best in geek film for 2013.


5. Iron Man 3 




Along with kicking off the summer movie season, Iron Man 3 was the first theatrical review to hit VOG. Critical Myth's John Keegan liked the action pieces and said it was "a different take on the character arc of Tony Stark, but ultimately lacking the briskness and fun of The Avengers or the first Iron Man." Readers mostly agreed, praising the film as a fun summer popcorn movie as long as you don't think about the plot too much.


4. Star Trek Into Darkness




While tied with Iron Man 3 based on both grades on the site, I bumped J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel to 4 on the list because of the greater number of A grades in the response reviews. With all the responses, it was clear this movie stirred a lot of opinions. In his review, Bronzethumb pointed out there was "still a lot of the fun adventure elements that made the previous film so watchable" but that the sequel does take a darker turn and even takes liberties with established Star Trek canon.


3. Gravity




The response review grade for Gravity was the highest of the movies on this list, but there wasn't as much feedback as the other big movies this year. I'm sure the film will probably end up with a handful of awards, and it was a box office hit on top of that, for its depiction of space that Henry Tran called "something less magical and more terrifying." It definitely worked for a film that could have no villain other than the unforgiving setting.


2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire




Henry Tran was also on hand to review the sequel to the smash-hit Hunger Games film. He praises the performances in the movie, especially Jennifer Lawrence who he says "once again imbues Katniss with this determined personality that seems to have hardened since the first film." The VOG readers responded with minor issues over the length or ending, but still enjoyed the movie overall.


1. Man of Steel




Topping our list for 2013 is Zach Snyder's take on Superman. It scored a solid A, again from reviewer Henry Tran, and the same grade from the average of VOG review responses. While it was certainly a controversial take on the most recognizable superhero in history, the film performed well enough at the box office to relaunch the Superman franchise for the 21st Century. Henry agreed, calling it "a great start to the newest version of Superman."

That's the list according to VOG, but you the readers can have one final say. Rank these films based on where you think they should be when we look back at the geek movies of 2013. And what about the films we didn't get around to reviewing or didn't score an A grade? Add your opinion in the comments below.


Flaco Jones is a former film school grad and current professional A/V nerd. You can follow him @flaco_jones on Twitter.

Editorial by - 1/6/2014 7:18 PM1213 views

Your Ranking

What was YOUR favorite movie of 2013?

Flaco has assembled the best rated films from VOGNetwork last year, but which was your favorite?

Based on 11 Participants

  1. Iron Man 3
    (Average Rank: 2.36)

  2. Gravity
    (Average Rank: 2.90)

  3. Man of Steel
    (Average Rank: 2.90)

  4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
    (Average Rank: 3.36)

  5. Star Trek: Into Darkness
    (Average Rank: 3.45)

Registered Participants can rank these choices, and are eligible to receive Points during the article's first week of publication! Why not sign up and start playing today?

Comments

act_deft
act_deft
1/6/2014 9:55 PM

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Reply
Of all the movies listed, I've only seen one. And curiously enough I put in #2 <_<

But out of my favorite films of the year, Pacific Rim has got to be one of them. That movie was my childhood in live action/cgi form.
pkjr92
pkjr92
1/7/2014 5:07 PM

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I saw all of these this year, with the exception of 'Gravity', and I think it was a great year for movies; this fall and winter in particular.

My number one was Star Trek: Into Darkness, and although it may not be The Academy's choice for Best Picture, it was a solid sequel to the 2009 reboot. A close second for me was The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which I think was an improvement on the first film in pace and technical elements (cleaner and clearer 3D specifically).
Flaco_Jones
Flaco_Jones
1/7/2014 8:54 AM

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I have to applaud Rob for the choice of photo at the top of this article. Amazing and appropriate!

And remember if you want more VOG points and you've seen these movies, search for the original reviews here on VOG and add a response review. As far as I know, those don't stop giving points like the list ranking.
Bobby Blackwolf
Bobby Blackwolf
1/7/2014 10:49 AM

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Reply
That is correct.
Flaco_Jones
Flaco_Jones
1/7/2014 10:50 AM

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Gravity is still far and away my favorite movie this year. I also really enjoyed Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest Coen Brothers film. I always geek out on their movies, so that counts for me.
Bochikawa
Bochikawa
1/7/2014 11:51 AM

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Personally i didn't see a whole lot of new movies this year... and the only two on the list that caught my attention... well i wasn't in the right mind at the time >.> ill have to go back and watch them.

Most of the movies i watched this year was actually catching up with the last 2 decades of good films i always wanted to see but never did... there is still quite the list there
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