The Wolf of Wall Street 2013

The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 American black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on Jordan Belfort's memoir of the same name. It was released on December 25, 2013. The screenplay was written by Terence Winter, and the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a New York stockbroker who runs a firm that engages in securities fraud and corruption on Wall Street in the 1990s.
The film also features Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, and Jean Dujardin. It is the fifth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, and the second between Scorsese and Winter following Boardwalk Empire.
       Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) narrates the film showing his monstrous success with his firm complete with ribaldry at work, a sumptuous home on the Gold Coast of Long Island and a trophy wife who is a former model. He then flashes back to 1987, where he began a low-level job at an established Wall Street firm. His boss (Matthew McConaughey) advises him to adopt a lifestyle of casual sex and cocaine to succeed. However, shortly after he passes his exam to become a certified stockbroker, he loses his job on account of the firm's bankruptcy as a result of Black Monday.
Now unemployed in an economy that is unaccomodating to stockbrokers and sufficiently discouraged to consider a new line of work, Jordan's wife Teresa (Cristin Milioti) encourages him to take a job with a Long Island boiler room dealing in penny stocks, which are also largely ignored by regulators. Belfort impresses his new boss with his aggressive pitching style, and earns a small fortune for the boiler room and himself as penny stocks have a much higher commission than blue chips. Jordan also befriends Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), a salesman living in the same apartment complex and they decide to go into business together. To facilitate this, his accountant parents are recruited as well as several of Jordan's friends, some of them experienced marijuana dealers. The basic method of the firm is a pump and dump scam. To cloak this, Belfort gives the firm the respectable name of Stratton Oakmont. An article in Forbes dubs Jordan the "Wolf of Wall Street", and soon hundreds of ambitious young financiers flock to his company.
Initial release: December 17, 2013 (New York City)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Running time: 180 minutes
Story by: Jordan Belfort
Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, AFI Movies of the Year, National Board of Review Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor in a Comedy

Pacific Rim 2013

Pacific Rim is a 2013 American science fiction monster film directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by del Toro and Travis Beacham, and starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, and Ron Perlman. The film is set in the 2020s, when Earth is at war with the Kaijus, colossal monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. To combat the monsters, humanity unites to create the Jaegers  : gigantic humanoid mecha, each controlled by at least two pilots, whose minds are joined by a neural bridge. Focusing on the war's later days, the story follows Raleigh Becket, a washed-up Jaeger pilot called out of retirement and teamed with rookie pilot Mako Mori as part of a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kaijus.
        In 2013, human cities come under attack by the Kaijus:[note1 1] colossal beasts who come through an interdimensional portal on the Pacific Ocean floor. To combat them, the Pacific Rim nations build the Jaegers: equally colossal humanoid war machines. Each Jaeger is piloted by two people whose brains are linked to share the overwhelming mental load of operating the machine. The Jaegers are initially effective, but many are destroyed as the Kaijus grow more powerful and their attacks more frequent. In 2025, the involved governments deem the Jaeger program nonviable, and discontinue it in favor of building massive coastal walls to protect humanity from the Kaijus. The four remaining Jaegers are redeployed to Hong Kong to defend the coast until the wall's completion. Jaeger commander Stacker Pentecost (Elba) devises a plan to end the war by destroying the portal with a thermonuclear bomb.Pentecost approaches retired pilot Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) and convinces him to return and pilot Gipsy Danger, the Jaeger he and his brother Yancy once piloted. During a mission off the coast of Alaska in 2020, Yancy was killed by a Kaiju while connected to his brother, traumatizing Raleigh. In Hong Kong, Raleigh is antagonized by Chuck Hansen (Kazinsky), co-pilot of the Jaeger Striker Eureka, who sees Raleigh as unreliable. Later, Raleigh tests with potential co-pilots to find one with whom he connects strongly, which ensures effective performance in battle. Sensing a strong connection, Raleigh demands to be partnered with Mako Mori (Kikuchi), the director of the Jaeger refurbishment project. Pentecost opposes, Mako being his adoptive daughter, but he eventually relents. During the duo's initial test run, Mako becomes engrossed in a childhood memory of the Kaiju attack which orphaned her, and nearly discharges Gipsy Danger's weapons in the hangar; Pentecost deems her unready for combat. However, when a double Kaiju attack in Hong Kong destroys two Jaegers and disables Striker Eureka, Pentecost has no choice but to send out Raleigh and Mako to take a last stand with Gipsy Danger.
Initial release: July 11, 2013 (Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, ...)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Running time: 132 minutes
Initial DVD release: October 15, 2013 (USA)
Budget: 180 million USD (2013)

Olympus Has Fallen 2013

Olympus Has Fallen is a 2013 American action thriller film. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, it stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman, with Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Finley Jacobsen, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, and Rick Yune in supporting roles. The film depicts a North Korean-led guerrilla assault on the White House, and focuses on Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to stop them. Olympus Has Fallen was released on March 22, 2013, by FilmDistrict and received mixed critical reception but earned over $160 million against a $70 million production budget. Olympus Has Fallen is one of two films released in 2013 that deals with a terrorist attack on the White House, the other being White House Down. A sequel titled London Has Fallen is in the early stages of development.
        Mike Banning (Butler), a former US Army Ranger and Special Forces service member, is the lead Secret Service agent assigned to head the Presidential Detail. He maintains a personal, friendly relationship with President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart), First Lady Margaret (Judd) and, especially, their son Connor (Jacobsen). During a Christmas evening drive from Camp David to a campaign fundraiser, a tree branch falls and strikes the front of the president’s convoy, making the vehicles skid out of control on black ice on a bridge. The lead vehicle crashes through the guard rail and falls into the icy river below, leaving the presidential limousine teetering on the edge of the bridge. Banning is able to save President Asher, but Margaret and two other agents die when their vehicle falls and crashes.Eighteen months later, Banning works at the Treasury Department, within sight of the White House. He has been removed from the Presidential Detail because the sight of him triggers Asher’s memories of the night Margaret died. During a political meeting between Asher and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo (Keong Sim), North Korean-led guerilla forces, under the guise as local garbage services and a crowd of tourists, mount an air and ground assault. Aided inside the White House by treasonous members of Prime Minister Lee’s detail, including Dave Forbes (McDermott), an ex-US Secret Service agent turned private contractor, aerial cover fire from a commandeered US military gunship, and scores of Secret Service agents running haphazardly and openly into enemy fire, the attack results in the eventual capture of the White House. Asher and several top officials are held hostage in the White House bunker, where the terrorists use a video connection to the Pentagon command centre to show the execution of Prime Minister Lee. Agent Roma (Hauser) alerts the Director of the Secret Service Lynne Jacobs (Bassett) that “Olympus has fallen”.
Initial release: March 20, 2013 (France)
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Running time: 120 minutes
Initial DVD release: August 13, 2013 (USA)
Languages: English, Korean

The Kings of Summer 2013 Yahoo Trailer

The Conjuring 2013 Yahoo Trailer

There have been far, far too many exorcism movies in the past decade -- they've become so disposable that even "The Last Exorcism" got a sequel (Come on! It was called "The Last Exorcism!") -- and most of them have been horror-ible (sorry). It's all the more reason "The Conjuring" was such a welcome breath of fresh air/pure terror, a highly original, often understated shocker that like many of the all-time best films in its genre, never revealed too much and sustained a bone-chilling mystery that kept us on the edge of our seats. Oh, and that doll. This wasn't only the scariest movie of the year, it was among the very best.

Blackfish 2013 Yahoo Trailer

One Southern California mother's piercing documentary about Sea World and Shamu turns into an explosive expose about corporate malfeasance and the fate of the six-ton serial killer whale Tilikum. Gabriela Cowperthwaite created the movie that Sea World doesn’t want us to see -- and launched the #FreeTilly movement. "Blackfish" joins the American documentary renaissance with an edge-of-your-seat feature as compelling, shocking, and revealing as any summer blockbuster but completely CGI-free.

Frozen 2013 Yahoo Trailer

Between the catchy songs performed by killer voices -- a special tip of the hat for Idina Menzel and the surprisingly fantastic Kristen Bell -- and the ridiculously adorable faces of the current Disney era, you'd be hard-pressed to dislike this animated fairy tale. "Frozen" has the makings of a "Little Mermaid"-style classic, but with an even more modern, feminist twist. After all, the main moral of the story has nothing to do with sweet Anna falling for the woodsy Kristoff, but rather the love of family and sisterhood.

American Hustle 2013 Yahoo Trailer

"American Hustle" not only moves, it purrs and dances its a** off. Fat-and-bald Christian Bale, sexy-to-the-max Amy Adams, and the rest of the outrageously brilliant cast get supersized by David O. Russell's inventive, dare we say, lyrically guided mind behind the camera. He even manages to sneak in a pseudo-musical into his '70s crime opus: Bale and Jeremy Renner lead a restaurant sing-a-long and Jennifer Lawrence angrily croons to Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die."

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa 2013 Yahoo Trailer

Forget about his age, Jackson Nicoll delivers the comedy performance of the year. While there's obviously something inherently wrong with allowing a 9-year-old to perform such inappropriateness, there's also something so hysterically right. You've got to have one huge stick up your butt not to laugh your way through this highly original, subversively funny, kick-you-in-the-jimmies good time. No movie I saw this year caused such convulsions, and believe me, I was looking.

2 Guns 2013

2 Guns is a 2013 American action film directed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur and starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.Based on a graphic novel series of the same name published by Boom! Studios, the film was released on August 2, 2013.
      Criminals Robert Trench (Denzel Washington) and Michael Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) are questioned by the United States Border Patrol after a meeting with drug lord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos) in Mexico. Unknown to Stigman, Trench is an undercover DEA agent and reports to his superior, Jessup (Robert John Burke), that he failed to acquire cocaine from Greco that they could use as evidence to convict him. Against Jessup's orders, Trench decides to remain undercover and assist Stigman in robbing $3 million from Greco, so they can prosecute Greco for money laundering. Trench later meets with his lover, Deb Rees (Paula Patton), who is involved with another man as well, while Stigman, an undercover Intelligence Specialist with the Navy SEALs, meets with his commanding officer, Harold Quince (James Marsden), who instructs Stigman to kill Trench so the Navy can use the stolen money to fund covert operations.

Lone Survivor 2013

Lone Survivor is a 2013 American war film written and directed by Peter Berg, and starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. It is based on the 2007 nonfiction book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. Set during the War in Afghanistan, the film dramatizes the failed United States Navy SEALs mission Operation Red Wings, in which a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team was tasked to track Taliban leader Ahmad Shah.
   The film is based on SEAL Team 10's failed mission: Operation Red Wings on June 28, 2005, to capture and kill notorious Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah, during the War in Afghanistan.
Initial release: December 25, 2013 (USA)
Director: Peter Berg
Running time: 121 minutes
Adapted from: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Awards: BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Action Movie, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture, BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor in an Action Movie

Broken City (2013)

Broken City is a 2013 American crime thriller film directed by Allen Hughes and written by Brian Tucker.  Mark Wahlberg stars as a police officer turned private investigator and Russell Crowe as the mayor of New York City who hires the private detective to investigate his wife.
Initial release: January 18, 2013
Director: Allen Hughes
Running time: 109 minutes
Initial DVD release: April 23, 2013 (USA)
Screenplay: Brian Tucker

Pain & Gain (2013)

Pain & Gain is a 2013 American crime-comedy film directed by Michael Bay and starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie. The film is loosely based on a story published in a 1999 series of Miami New Times articles written by Pete Collins and compiled in Collins' 2013 book Pain & Gain: This is a True Story, which details the kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder of several victims by an organized group of criminals that included a number of bodybuilders affiliated with Sun Gym.The film is Michael Bay's fourth film to be rated R by the MPAA. The film's title is a play on the common exercising adage of No pain, no gain. The adage is used for the French title of the film.
Initial release: April 11, 2013 (Miami)
Director: Michael Bay
Running time: 129 minutes
Initial DVD release: August 27, 2013 (USA)
Music composed by: Steve Jablonsky

12 Years a Slave 2013 Yahoo Trailer

In the hands of any other director, the true story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man kidnapped and forced into slavery from 1841 to 1853, could very well have been formulaic, run-of-the-mill, and overly sentimental. Thankfully, it landed in the hands of Steve McQueen ("Shame"), who portrays the brutality of slavery by framing Northrup's tale as a taut thriller, creating a visceral experience for viewers akin to someone grabbing you by the throat and not letting go for two hours (in a good, somewhat cathartic way). What results is an instant classic, and the definitive slavery film of our time. Believe the hype: "12 Years a Slave" will knock you out … again, in a good way.

Gravity 2013 Yahoo Trailer

How did they do it? It's a question we're still asking about director Alfonso Cuarón's astonishing science-fiction movie. And we don't mean how did they film that 12-minute-long opening shot that puts you right in deep orbit with the astronauts on screen. Or how did they get Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, two of the biggest stars in the world, to agree to be dangled like puppets in an enclosed box to simulate the motion of spinning off into space. Or how did "Gravity" get to be the highest-grossing original film of the year (not a sequel, comic-book adaptation, or both). The real question is how did they make such a visual spectacle and pulse-pounding thriller also one of the most heartfelt and genuinely moving stories of the year?

The Wolf of Wall Street Yahoo Trailer

Martin Scorsese's previous movie was "Hugo," a sweet, kid-friendly romp that made some wonder if the old master had lost his edge. But he shut critics down with this, his fifth and best collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. This adaptation of Jordan Belfort's memoir of unlimited greed and debauchery in the financial world of the early '90s has the manic energy of Scorsese classics like "Goodfellas." It's also flat-out hilarious, with Jonah Hill heading up a deep bench of comedic talents. The film does run long, and it could be seen as unintentionally glamorizing the reckless behavior it actually decries. It's still the most potent jolt of pure cinema you'll see this year.

Dallas Buyers Club 2013 Yahoo Trailer

Every bit as great as Tom Hanks Oscar-winner "Philadelphia," "Dallas Buyers Club" -- also about a man with HIV-AIDS -- is vastly different, showcasing a visceral, rousing cowboy spirit. "I prefer to die with my boots on," Matthew McConaughey's Ron protests as he goes against doctor's orders. Jared Leto is searing and heart-wrenching as Ron's unlikeliest of sidekicks. Intuitive in all the right ways, "Dallas" flaunts its star's most important performance to date.

Her 2013 Yahoo Trailer

Who would've thought that watching Joaquin Phoenix fall in love with his computer, in this case a highly-advanced operating system (OS) voiced by Scarlett Johansson, would make for one of the more oddly realistic and emotionally moving films of the year? That is the beauty of Spike Jonze's "Her," a thoughtful, unique, and slightly frightening look at where our addictions to technology may soon lead us.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2013 Yahoo Trailer

Don't act so surprised to see this film so high on our list. After all, when was the last time a book adaptation with a huge following that was also a sequel succeeded on so many levels? We'll bet never. Jennifer Lawrence and co. brought more action, higher stakes, and even more heartfelt emotion to the franchise's second installment. Packed to the brim with great performances and both heartbreaking and heart-pounding moments -- with just the right dash of fun -- we have to give a District 11 salute to director Francis Lawrence, who just nailed it. Needless to say, our countdown to Nov. 21, 2014, when "Mockingjay – Part 1" hits theaters, has already begun.

Inside Llewyn Davis 2013 Yahoo Trailer

The story of perpetually down-on-his-luck folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is not a happy one, but because it's told through the artistic and insightful lens of Joel and Ethan Coen, there is cinematic magic made in the misery. Their exploration of the early beginnings of American folk music has a timeless, familiar quality and, as we've come to expect from the Coens, a killer soundtrack. Not to mention a few key performances by Isaac, Carey Mulligan, and John Goodman.