Top 10 Movie Heroes 2013: The most captivating protagonists in film this year.

Today, I'd like to look at the top 10 movie heroes of the year.

Criteria:
Anti-heroes count, as long as they're the protagonists
Must be a film from 2013. (duh)
No video game or television characters, that's a story for a different time.
Must be a specific character or group.
Spoilers ahead.

10. James Franco as Oscar Diggs aka "Oz" from Oz the Great and Powerful: In Sam Raimi's entertaining fantasy film, Franco portrays the charismatic, albeit deceitful magician "Oz", who, when sucked into a tornado and transported to the land of Oz, pretends to be a wizard and must protect the realm from evil. Oz may be a con artist, but he's still an underdog who I rooted for until the end. He's funny, charming, and deep, down, under all that deceptiveness, is actually a good guy.

9. Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker as Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner, respectively, from Fast & Furious 6: In the latest and most over-the-top installment in this already unrealistic (but very entertaining) movie series, Dom and Brian, with the help of the equally bad-ass Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), seek to take out a rogue group of car-racing criminals, a group which is essentially a dark mirror image of their own crew. Dom and Brian must face their pasts and confront new enemies as well as old friends. Despite the characters not having all that much depth, the two leads do their best in the roles, and their best is surprisingly good. These two leads are the heart of what makes the series work (aside from all the adrenaline-fueled action sequences), they're charismatic, and they have great chemistry together. Dom and Brian are two bad-ass guys who are equally as skilled in combat as they are behind the wheel of a car.

8. Simon Pegg as Gary King from The World's End: Even though Gary's a pathetic, manipulative man-child trying to relive his high school glory days in his late 30's, you can't help but love him. He's stubborn, selfish, ignorant, and stupid, but he's also charismatic, hilarious, and strangely likeable. His quest to finish a pub crawl in his home town (while fighting off alien robots) may have been a big selfish and very ill-conceived, and although he inadvertently causes (with the help of his buddies) the downfall of society as we know it, Gary King is a dim-witted antihero we can still empathize with, despite all his major flaws.

7. Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips from Captain Phillips: Hanks has portrayed two real-life people this year: Phillips, and Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks, I chose this performance for my list because Phillips truly is a hero. He saved almost all of his crew members from Somali pirates in 2009 when they raided his ship. Hanks is able to deliver all the raw emotion needed for the part in an extremely effective way, and the fact that Phillips was back at sea just one year after this traumatic incident took place is astounding.

6. Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner as Ron Burgundy, Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland, and Champ Kind, respectively, from Anchorman 2- The Legend Continues: These lovable but completely idiotic and obnoxious news team members from San Diego are back, and this time, they're in New York. Despite their many faults, namely: sexism, racism, alcoholism, temporary drug addiction, and general stupidity and incompetence, this news crew is determined to give America the news it wants to hear, not necessarily the news it needs to hear. But, when you live in a world as crazy and surreal as the Anchorman-universe, who can blame you? Ron Burgundy and his news team are stupid, bad at their jobs, and generally strange, but you can't help but root for them, and they definitely know how to "stay classy" at all times.

5. Martin Freeman and Sir Ian McKellen as Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, respectively, from The Hobbit- The Desolation of Smaug: In Peter Jackson's epic fantasy/adventure film, Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf accompany the company of dwarves to retake their home inside the Lonely Mountain from the malevolent dragon Smaug. Baggins is an underdog who you root for because he needs to prove himself not only to Gandalf, but to the company of dwarves, and to do that he needs to retrieve a precious stone from the gold-covered underground lair of Smaug, an action that could cost him his life. Gandalf, despite having a very minor role, is a wise old wizard who separates from the company of dwarves to go and discover more about the Necromancer and his army of dark followers, an act that could end of being equally as dangerous, if not more dangerous than Bilbo's quest. With their surprising amount of courage and strength, Gandalf and Bilbo prove to their foes that they are more than what they seem.

4. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark aka Iron Man from Iron Man 3: In this film, Tony unfortunately has PTSD after the climax of The Avengers, where New York was attacked by Loki and a ton of aliens and Tony had a terrifying near-death experience. In the midst of all this, he's also having relationship problems with Pepper, his good friend Happy Hogan is hospitalized after a freak explosion in L.A., and he must face off against his arch-nemesis The Mandarin (a powerful, mysterious, and elusive terrorist) and his small army of fire-powered and seemingly indestructible Extremis thugs. However, all this drama doesn't ware on Tony too much, as he still maintains his keen intellect, arrogance, and sharp wit and humor. Tony Stark is stripped of everything in this film, but he's able to overcome all these challenges and take on The Mandarin and his Extremis-powered soldiers, all while spouting insults and witty remarks at his enemies.

3. Hugh Jackman as Logan aka Wolverine from The Wolverine: Another Marvel film in which the titular hero is stripped of his powers and must overcome seemingly impossible odds. In this movie, the brooding and immortal Wolverine travels to Japan to visit a powerful but elderly businessman who wants Logan to share his immortality with him. When Logan refuses, all hell breaks loose: the businessman dies, the businessman's daughter is put in danger, ninja assassins want to kill him, and the businessman's sinister assistant Viper begins to hunt him down; but worst of all, Logan seems to be losing his powers, making him equally as vulnerable as the average human. Despite being far more vulnerable in this movie, Logan is no less fierce or dangerous, and he proves to his new adversaries he is a force to be reckoned with, all while facing his past and showing a more emotional side than before. Logan is tough, jaded, and a stone-cold killer, but can also be compassionate and caring when he needs to be.

2. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and many others as James T. Kirk, Spock, and the crew of the Enterprise from Star Trek-Into Darkness: Jim Kirk, Mr. Spock, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty, Uhura, Bones, and Dr. Carol Marcus are all very likeable protagonists and are the heart and soul of this film series. Kirk is a womanizing, charming, and reckless captain who, although quite intelligent, sometimes acts before he thinks. Spock is a highly intelligent, logical, and strong Vulcan and valued member of the crew. Both these two together make the perfect duo to lead the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and together make the perfect foes for Khan. All three are equally intelligent, and Spock is the physical match for him. Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew are lovable, heroic, and funny characters who you love seeing take down alien adversaries and who you want to see overcome obstacles such as defeating Khan and the corrupt Admiral Marcus.

1. Henry Cavill as Kal-El aka Clark Kent aka Superman from Man of Steel: In Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan's reimagining of the character, Kal-El is a little darker than before, but no less iconic or heroic. Although being a little more emotional than we've seen him in previous entries, Kal-El is still the same bad-ass superhero that we've become accustomed to. He literally embodies the role in a way no one has done since Christopher Reeve. He's got this look to him that just says "Superman". He also is able to give us a darker, more emotionally complex look at the character than ever before, and makes the implausible Superman character more grounded in reality, despite all the alien superpower stuff. Kal-El is not only an extremely powerful being, but also compassionate, kind, and composed, and is the embodiment of all that is good (despite some flaws), the almost perfect hero.

Honorable mentions:
Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket from Pacific Rim
Chris Hemsworth as Thor from Thor-The Dark World
Tom Hiddleston as Loki from Thor-The Dark World (anti-hero)
Matt Damon as Max De Costa from Elysium
Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup from 12 Years a Slave
Ben Stiller as Walter Mitty from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodruff from Dallas Buyers Club
Steve Carrel as Gru (voice) from Despicable Me 2
John Goodman and Billy Crystal as Sully and Mike, respectively, (voices) from Monsters University
Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson from 42
Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin from Ender's Game
Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld  from American Hustle (anti-hero)
James McAvoy as Simon Newton from Trance (anti-hero)
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit-The Desolation of Smaug
Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman from The Hobbit- The Desolation of Smaug
Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lily as Legolas and Tauriel, respectively, from The Hobbit- The Desolation of Smaug
Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone from Gravity
Jared Leto as Rayon from Dallas Buyers Club
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl as James Hunt and Niki Lauda, respectively, from Rush
Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal as Keller Dover (anti-hero) and Detective David Loki, respectively, from Prisoners
Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane from World War Z
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jon Martello, Jr. from Don Jon
Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Justin Bartha as The Wolf Pack from The Hangover Part III
Colin Farrell as Lazlo Kerrick aka Victor from Dead Man Down
Leonardo Di Caprio as Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street
Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne as Josh and Renai Lambert from Insidious- Chapter 2
Lin Shaye as Elise Ranier from Insidious- Chapter 2
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren from The Conjuring
Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pena, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, and Anthony Mackie as the LAPD "Gangster Squad" from Gangster Squad
Bruce Willis as Frank Moses from RED 2
Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and James Franco as themselves in This is the End

 (Images: bringmethenews.com, collider.com, upi.com, kulfoto.com, marvel.wikia.com, spidercule.blogspot.com, neverfeltbetter.wordpress.com)

 

 

 

 

Frozen: The latest creation from the team behind "Wreck-It-Ralph"

Today, I'm looking at the acclaimed animated feature from the team behind Wreck-It-Ralph and Tangled.

Frozen:
This film is basically a reimagined version of acclaimed author Han Christian Andersen's famous fairy tale The Snow Queen, which is somewhat toned down from the original book. It follows two sisters/princesses in the fictitious kingdom of Arendell in the Alps, the older of which has cryokinesis (the power to control ice and snow). After a childhood accident, the older sister must control her powers and lock herself away in her room, while her younger sister is blissfully unaware of the powers and thinks her sister is shutting her out because she doesn't like her. When the older sister is finally able to become queen, she allows the public and other wealthy leaders to enter her castle and witness her coronation. She unfortunately loses control of her powers and brings on an eternal winter before retreating into the mountains. Now the younger sister, a prince, and a young working-class man and his pet reindeer must go and see if they can save the older sister from herself and end the winter. The voice cast in excellent featuring Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, House of Lies, Fanboys, The Lifeguard), Idina Menzel (known for her stage roles in Rent and Wicked, and her screen roles in the Rent film and Glee), Jonathan Groff (Glee, C.O.G., Looking), Josh Gad (1600 Penn, The Rocker, Jobs, and the Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Broadway musical The Book of Mormon), stage actor Santino Fontana, and Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Serenity, 42, A Knight's Tale, Suburgatory, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Wreck-It-Ralph). The best two characters by far are Olaf the snowman (voiced by Gad) and Oaken (voiced by Bolt co-director Chris Williams). Olaf and Oaken are comedy relief, but aren't annoying like in most family films. Oaken only appears in one scene, but he's one of the most memorable characters, and he should have been in more of it. Olaf's just funny, plain and simple. Tudyk's character, the Duke of Weselton, is more of a minor role, but he's entertaining because he's such an obnoxious, stupid little asshole, you can't help but be entertained by his antics. The musical numbers are okay, I'm not a huge fan of a lot of Disney music, so I didn't particularly like the songs in this film, as they were kind of repetitive, however, they were short and bearable. This film, like Wreck-It-Ralph, opens with a cool opening short. This time, rather than going for sentiment like in Ralph's short "Paperman", they decided slapstick comedy was the way to go, and they did a short where the characters from a 1930's Disney cartoon pop out of the black-and-white screen and into a colorful, modern-day movie theater. The short is called "Get a Horse!" and is the first original Mickey Mouse cartoon in almost 20 years. The feature film is produced by John Lasseter, a major name in computer animation, as he is one of the founders of Pixar, and wrote and directed Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug's Life, and Cars 1 &2. The film has great direction, and the animation is extremely well-done. Frozen is definitely one of the best animated movies of the year, it's smart, well-animated, and sentimental, which isn't surprising considering the large amount of talent behind it. 4/5 stars.

 (Image: Wikipedia)