Best non-horror flicks of 2013
 

So seeing as a lot of us don't only just watch horror I'm interested to hear what films/documentaries outside of the genre you've dug this year.

I'm a bit behind (still need to see Gravity and a few others) but here's some of the stuff that I thought was impressive:

Only God Forgives

Nicolas Winding Refn strikes again and illustrates once more why he is one of my favorite directors. This one may be a case of style over substance but I thought this was a amazingly surreal and brutal piece of cinema.

Prisoners

Completely dark and grim but I found this one captivating and thought it had a great cast. Definitely one of those films where you put yourself in their shoes and question what you would do in the same circumstances.

Rewind This!

Very good documentary on the rise and fall of the VHS format. Nice balance of history and insights from the dead format geeks.

A Band Called Death

One of the better music documentaries of the year. Detroit's criminally overlooked proto-punk band Death finally get their day in the sun.

Sound City

An interesting history of the studio with some great performances by McCartney and Fear's Lee Ving. Didn't expect to like this one as much as I did.

Bullet To The Head

Straight up old school action from genre veteran Walter Hill. His best film in years.

The Place Beyond The Pines

Went into this one blind which was definitely an advantage. Thought the cast totally killed it and the storyline/script was excellent.

Meet The Millers

Great chemistry between the cast and all killer no filler script made this the best comedy of the year for me. Laughed my ass off.

This Is The End

Well written for the most part this self reflexive comedy was pretty sharp.

...bound to be forgetting a few films. Let's hear yours!

Loved This Is The End too.

I missed a lot this year, but my favorites have been:

This Is The End
Captain Phillips
Spring Breakers
Blue Jasmine
The Act of Killing (best film of 2013)

I can't think of all the good films I've watched throughout the year but I can say that I was surprised by Sushi Girl. It wasn't a brilliant piece of art by any means but I went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised enough for it to have left an impression.

This thread just made me realize I haven't seen any good non-horror films of 2013! :shocked:

Kill your Darlings
Great film about a period in the life of the Beat Generation - Ben Foster nails it as Bill Burroughs and Harry Potter has steamy butt secks.

In Fear
Decent Irish Indie Horror - half Dead end/half Hitcher. Oh did you say non-horror. Ok - decent Irish Indie thriller.

Dom Hemmingway
Ok - this wasn't great but I did enjoy watching Jude Law chew up the scenery on the big screen while I sipped cheap cider.

Filth
Ok - it didn't quite work but James McElvoy did a great job in the lead role. No Tapeworm though. Ending kinda wimped out too. So besides the lack of parasites and random racial scapegoating, it was pretty decent.

Blackfish
Upsetting but interesting documenty about Orcas (actually 1 particular Whale) that killed a number of his trainers.

Hummingbird
Jason Statham being Jason Statham.

The Counsellor
I know this was hated but I enjoyed this one. Maybe my expectation were lowered after the shitting reviews. Great Cast, Ridley Scott and a Cormac McCarthy script - what more do you want :-)

Also liked some of the stuff Elvis mentioned - in particular:

Only God Forgives
Ok it lacked a strong narrative but I was still go emerged in this visual odyssey. Loved Kristin Scott Thomas in it and Ryan Gosling didn't talk much and gazed into the distance like the best of them.

The Place Beyond The Pines
9/10 for the Tattoos alone.

I thought the Oldboy remake was great...

like Spike Lee or not..

i enjoyed The Counsellor as well

::big grin:: Same here, at least not any that were actually released this year, as far as I remember... but I haven't seen many horror movies released this year either. To be honest, I'm rarely in a hurry to see the newest movies unless there's a special reason to... there are still so many older movies I haven't seen yet, so it's not like I'm running out of options.

Been looking forward to that one. I don't think Welsh's work has ever been effectively put the screen (The Acid House was pretty close) so I was expecting them to water it down a bit. Still will be checking it out anyways.

I'd have to add Elysium to my list. Really solid flick. Enjoyed it a lot more than Oblivion.

i dug them both but Elysuim was stronger - grittier.

Oblivion had its strengths though - it had some gorgeous visuals and was fun