Rank of All Films Reviewed in 2013

A lot of people ask me why someone should follow my blog rather than the thousands of other movie review blogs and websites.  Good question!  For one, my blog is made up of one single voice.  I don't have multiple contributors or a composite of mass opinion mixing all kinds of different taste.  Whether you agree or disagree with my taste, at least you're getting one man's consistent and relative opinion on most everything released.  The other thing I do here (which I don't know of any other film critic that does) is rank all the films I've seen.   Some possible reasons other critics don't do this is that it's hard, it's time consuming, it requires keeping track of everything released and what grade you gave it, you open yourself up to criticism, and your ratings throughout the year have to hang together and be relatively consistent if you want to maintain any credibility at all.  But another reason is that it's silly, to some degree.  This is a subjective opinion of one person at a single point in time, not a science.  On any given day I might elect to change my ranking.  But I revisit it all year long, and re-watch many of my favorites to get it as close to accurate of how I feel about these films on a relative basis as possible.  In any event, even if I change it after I publish it (which I will), it gives you a single source to refer to for an opinion on what to see and what to skip from the 303 films I saw that were released in 2013.  As always I welcome your feedback, both positive and negative.


About Time     Grade: A+

Prisoners     Grade: A+

World War Z      Grade: A+

Philomena      Grade: A+

The Short Game     Grade: A+

Before Midnight     Grade: A+

The East     Grade: A

Star Trek Into Darkness     Grade: A

Hunger Games: Catching Fire     Grade: A

Lee Daniels' The Butler       Grade: A

Blood      Grade: A

August: Osage County     Grade: A

Pain & Gain      Grade: A

Trance      Grade: A

Dallas Buyers Club       Grade: A

Captain Phillips       Grade: A

The Call      Grade: A

Side Effects      Grade: A

Enough Said       Grade: A

Broken      Grade: A

Short Term 12      Grade: A

The Wolf of Wall Street     Grade: A

Disconnect     Grade: A

American Hustle     Grade: A

The Spectacular Now     Grade: A

12 Years a Slave     Grade: A

Blue Jasmine      Grade: A

Broken City      Grade: A

Some Velvet Morning      Grade: A

The Sweeney      Grade: A

Kick-Ass 2       Grade: A

Simon Killer       Grade: A

20 Feet from Stardom       Grade: A

56 Up       Grade: A

In a World ...       Grade: A

Jobs       Grade: A

Still Mine       Grade: A

Don Jon       Grade: A

Some Girl(s)       Grade: A

This is the End       Grade: A-

Blackfish        Grade: A-

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty     Grade: A-

The To Do List       Grade: A-

A Single Shot       Grade: A-

The World's End       Grade: A-

Mud       Grade: A-

Saving Mr. Banks     Grade: A-

Rush       Grade: A-

Prince Avalanche       Grade: A-

Koch       Grade: A-

Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay     Grade: A-

Let the Fire Burn       Grade: A-

Seduced and Abandoned      Grade: A-

The Brass Teapot       Grade: A-

The Hangover Part III       Grade: A-

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey      Grade: A-

The Silence      Grade: A-

Blue is the Warmest Color       Grade: A-

The Hunt      Grade: A-

It's a Disaster       Grade: A-

A Case of You      Grade: A-

Life According to Sam       Grade: A-

Broken Circle Breakdown      Grade: A-

Pacific Rim       Grade: A-

The Family       Grade: A-

Frances Ha       Grade: A-

Dark Skies       Grade: B+

Welcome to the Punch       Grade: B+

The Way Way Back       Grade: B+

The Reluctant Fundamentalist      Grade: B+

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug       Grade: B+

Stuck in Love       Grade: B+

Ender's Game Grade: B+

2 Guns      Grade: B+

We're the Millers      Grade: B+

Sightseers       Grade: B+

The Lifeguard       Grade: B+

Afternoon Delight       Grade: B+

Between Us       Grade: B+

Wrong       Grade: B+

Runner Runner       Grade: B+

Oz the Great and Powerful       Grade: B+

Concussion       Grade: B+

Sunlight Jr.       Grade: B+

Scenic Route       Grade: B+

Iron Man 3       Grade: B+

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone       Grade: B+

Byzantium       Grade: B+

Snitch       Grade:  B+

The Armstrong Lie       Grade: B+

Tim's Vermeer       Grade: B+

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom       Grade: B+

Escape Plan       Grade: B+

The Purge       Grade: B+

The Iceman       Grade: B+

Running from Crazy       Grade: B+

21 & Over      Grade: B+

Antiviral      Grade: B+

Lone Survivor      Grade: B+

Gravity      Grade: B+

Her      Grade: B+

Frozen Ground       Grade: B+

R.I.P.D.       Grade: B+

The Place Beyond the Pines       Grade: B+

The English Teacher       Grade: B+

Upstream Color       Grade: B+

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters       Grade: B+

The Factory       Grade: B+

Zero Charisma       Grade: B+

Devil's Pass       Grade: B+

Now You See Me       Grade: B+

Somebody Up There Likes Me       Grade: B+

Dead Man's Burden       Grade: B+

Austenland       Grade: B+

Salinger       Grade: B+

I Declare War       Grade: B+

The Kings of Summer      Grade: B+
 
Phil Spector        Grade: B+

Gangster Squad       Grade: B+

Parker     Grade: B+

Sound City       Grade: B+

Unfinished Song       Grade: B+

Broadway Idiot       Grade: B+

Last Love (a.k.a. Mr. Morgan's Last Love)       Grade: B+

We Are What We Are       Grade: B+

I Give it a Year       Grade: B+

Mr. Nobody       Grade: B+

The Past       Grade: B+

Man of Steel       Grade: B+

Free Samples       Grade: B+

Thanks for Sharing       Grade: B+

Sweetwater (a.k.a. Sweet Vengeance)       Grade: B+

See Girl Run       Grade: B+

Closed Circuit     Grade: B+

Terms and Conditions May Apply       Grade: B+

Killing Season       Grade: B+

Baggage Claim       Grade: B+

Frozen       Grade: B+

Escape from Tomorrow       Grade: B

The Invisible Woman       Grade: B

Charlie Countryman       Grade: B

A Teacher       Grade: B

Labor Day       Grade: B

Last Vegas       Grade: B

Fruitvale Station       Grade: B

Girl Most Likely       Grade: B

Generation Iron       Grade: B

Ain't Them Bodies Saints       Grade: B

Nebraska      Grade: B

Gloria      Grade: B

Mental      Grade: B

The History of Future Folk      Grade: B

Wish You Were Here       Grade: B

Dead Man Down       Grade: B

Stand Off (a.k.a. Whole Lotta Sole)       Grade: B

Everybody Has a Plan      Grade: B

In the House       Grade: B

The Truth About Emanuel        Grade: B

The Company You Keep       Grade: B

The Big Wedding       Grade: B

The Numbers Station       Grade: B

Rapture-Palooze       Grade: B

Much Ado About Nothing       Grade: B

Life Tracker       Grade: B

Shadow Dancer       Grade: B

What Maisie Knew       Grade: B

Beautiful Creatures       Grade: B

Fairhaven       Grade: B

The End of Love       Grade: B

Arthur Newman       Grade: B

How I Live Now       Grade: B

Here Comes the Devil       Grade: B

Lore       Grade: B

Black Rock       Grade: B

Cold Turkey (a.k.a. Pasadena)      Grade: B

Touchy Feely       Grade: B

Starbuck       Grade: B

Reality       Grade: B

$ellebrity       Grade: B

Elysium       Grade: B

Populaire       Grade: B

Grabbers       Grade: B

S#x Acts     Grade: B

Parkland       Grade: B

White House Down       Grade: B-

Europa Report       Grade: B-

Drinking Buddies       Grade: B-

Grudge Match       Grade: B-

Identity Thief       Grade: B-

The Internship       Grade: B-

Olympus Has Fallen       Grade: B-

A.C.O.D.       Grade: B-

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues       Grade: B-

Jack the Giant Slayer       Grade: B-

6 Souls       Grade: B-

After Earth       Grade: B-

The Bling Ring       Grade: B-

Upside Down       Grade: B-

Oblivion       Grade: B-

C.O.G.       Grade: B-

Crystal Fairy       Grade: B-

Good Ol' Freda       Grade: B-

Stories We Tell       Grade: B-

All is Bright (a.k.a. Almost Christmas)       Grade: B-

Machete Kills        Grade: B-

Red 2       Grade: B-

Monsters U       Grade: B-

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks       Grade: B-

Muscle Shoals       Grade: B-

Guns, Girls and Gambling       Grade: B-

Tomorrow You're Gone       Grade: B-

Arcadia       Grade: B-

Inside Llewyn Davis       Grade: C+

Out of the Furnace       Grade: C+

Last Days on Mars       Grade: C+

Best Man Down       Grade: C+

The Wall       Grade: C+

The Book Thief      Grade: C+

All is Lost       Grade: C+

Adore       Grade: C+

The Look of Love       Grade: C+

Insidious Chapter 2       Grade: C+

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones       Grade: C+

Grown Ups 2       Grade: C+

The Best Man Holiday       Grade: C+

Spring Breakers       Grade: C+

The Time Being       Grade: C+

The Last Stand       Grade: C+

Graceland       Grade: C+

The Great Gatsby       Grade: C+

To the Wonder       Grade: C+

The Heat       Grade: C+

The Great Beauty       Grade: C+

Getaway       Grade: C+

Pawn       Grade: C

The Last Exorcism Part II       Grade: C

Resolution       Grade: C

Love Is All You Need       Grade: C

Angel's Share       Grade: C

Behind the Candelabra       Grade: C

42       Grade: C

Admission      Grade: C

The Lone Ranger       Grade: C

The Conjuring       Grade: C

You're Next       Grade: C

Magic Magic       Grade: C

Paranoia       Grade: C

The Power of Few      Grade: C

Mama       Grade: C

Passion       Grade: C

The Fifth Estate       Grade: C

The Counselor       Grade: C

Thor: The Dark World       Grade: C

The Sapphires       Grade: C-

As Luck Would Have It       Grade: C-

The Playroom       Grade: C-

Movie 43       Grade: C-

Clear History       Grade: C-

When Comedy Went to School       Grade: C-

V/H/S/2      Grade: C-

ABC's of Death       Grade: C-

John Dies at the End       Grade: C-

Safe Haven       Grade: C-

A Good Day to Die Hard       Grade: C-

Small Apartments       Grade: C-

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction       Grade: C-

Peeples       Grade: C-

Wadjda       Grade: C-

Haute Cuisine       Grade: C-

Dealin' With Idiots       Grade: D+

Herblock: The Black & The White      Grade: D+

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor       Grade: D+

Stoker      Grade: D

Warm Bodies      Grade: D

Phantom      Grade: D

Frankenstein's Army       Grade: D

Jayne Mansfield's Car       Grade: D

The Wolverine       Grade: D

Revenge for Jolly!      Grade: D

Kill Your Darlings      Grade: D

Jewtopia       Grade: D

Expecting     Grade: D

Delivery Man       Grade: D

The Croods       Grade: D

Diana       Grade: D

A Dark Truth       Grade: D-

Gimme the Loot       Grade: D-

At Any Price       Grade: D-

33 Postcards       Grade: D-

Motel Life       Grade: D-

The Wind Rises      Grade: D-

A Band Called Death       Grade: D-

The Act of Killing       Grade: D-

3 Geezers       Grade: D-

The Girls in the Band       Grade: D-

Storage 24       Grade: D-

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III       Grade: F

Evil Dead       Grade: F

The Rambler       Grade: F

Hell Baby       Grade: F

Homefront       Grade: F

La Maison de la Radio       Grade: F

Wrong Cops       Grade: F


Additional Films Not Reviewed:

47 Ronin
After Tiller
American Promise
Artist and the Model
The Attack
Augustine
Battle of the Year
Justin Bieber's Believe
Betty Page Reveals All
Beyond the Hills
Black Nativity
Blancanieves
Bullet to the Head
Carrie
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Computer Chess
Cutie and the Boxer
Despicable Me 2
Dirty Wars
Drug War
Electrick Children
Emperor
Epic
Escape from Planet Earth
Fast & Furious 6
Fill The Void
Free Birds
From Up on Poppy Hill
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Gimme Shelter
The Grandmaster
Great Expectations
Greedy Lying Basterds
Hannah Arendt
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
A Haunted House
A Haunting in Connecticut
Hava Nagila (The Movie)
A Hijacking
The Host
I'm So Excited!
Inequality for All
Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
Instructions Not Included
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain
Kiss of the Damned
Kon-Tiki
Like Someone in Love
The Lords of Salem
Lovelace
Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas
Man of Tai Chi
Metallica: Through the Never
Midnight's Children
Mother of George
Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary
Museum Hours
My Brother the Devil
No
No Place on Earth
Oldboy
One Direction: This Is Us
Only God Forgives
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
Pandora's Promise
Paris-Manhattan
The Patience Stone
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
A Place at the Table
Planes
Redemption
Renoir
Riddick
Romeo and Juliet
Scary Movie V
Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's
Smurfs 2
Something in the Air
Spinning Plates
Stranded
The Summit
Tyler Perry's Temptation 
Terraferma
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Therese
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Turbo
Venus and Serena
Walking with Dinosaurs
Ways to Live Forever
Wedding Palace
Wicker Man - Final Cut
You Will Be My Son
Zaytoun