Looking at the Weekend: 2013 Year in Review

With one new wide release and a handful of minor limited releases, we thought we would do something special today. We’ll include our thoughts on Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones in next week’s article. Until then, we’re going to have a Year-End Special with three categories that each of our contributors submitted responses for. Our responses are included below with highlights indicating items that appear on multiple lists. Also, don’t confuse these with our Top Ten lists as they are not. We might put one of those together later.

Most Anticipated Films That Were Worth the Wait

Wesley Lovell:

12 Years a Slave
Berberian Sound Studio
Dallas Buyers Club
Elysium
Frozen
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Wind Rises
The Wolverine

Peter J. Patrick:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks

Tripp Burton:

Before Midnight
The Bling Ring
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Mud
Star Trek: Into Darkness
(has not seen enough to create a full list of ten)

Films That Were Better Than Expected

Wesley Lovell:

All Is Lost
American Hustle
Beautiful Creatures
The Croods
Enough Said
Inside Llewyn Davis
Rush
Saving Mr. Banks
We’re the Millers
Wish You Were Here

Peter J. Patrick:

Admisssion
The English Teacher
Elysium
The Family
Mud
The Place Beyond the Pines
Stuck in Love
We’re the Millers
What Maisie Knew
White House Down

Tripp Burton:

Frances Ha
Spring Breakers
Turbo
The Way, Way Back
World War Z
(has not seen enough to create a full list of ten)

Most Anticipated Films That Didn’t Live Up to Expectations

Wesley Lovell:

The ABC’s of Death
The Family
Last Vegas
Metallica: Through the Never
Oblivion
Oz the Great and Powerful
Planes
RED 2
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Would You Rather?

Peter J. Patrick:

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
August: Osage County
Blue Jasmine
The Fifth Estate
Man of Steel
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Pacific Rim
Prisoners
Star Trek: Into Darkness
The Wolf of Wall Street

Tripp Burton:

42
The Fifth Estate
Lovelace
Monsters University
Oldboy
Oz the Great and Powerful
Salinger
Something in the Air
Upstream Color
The Wolf of Wall Street

Films Whose Oscar Potential We Most Underestimtated

Wesley Lovell:

Blue Is the Warmest Color
The Croods
Enough Said
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
In a World…
Lone Survivor
Short Term 12
The Spectacular Now
World War Z

Peter J. Patrick:

Before Midnight
Blue Is the Warmest Color
The Croods
Enough Said
Frances Ha
In a World…
Lone Survivor
Short Term 12
The Spectacular Now