Frozen (2013)

IMDb plot summary: Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.
Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Starring Kristin Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad.

Even setting aside this movie's freaking amazing cast of musical theater people, this is one of Disney's best efforts lately. I was underwhelmed by Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, and The Princess and the Frog, but this movie has won me over. It has easily one of the best animated soundtracks in recent years (Robert Lopez for the win) and two of the most compelling female characters Disney's ever created. Princesses Anna and Elsa have so many nuances and layers that I found myself thoroughly intrigued by them all the way through in a way I haven't been since... I've gotta go with Belle from Beauty and the Beast. The emphasis on familial love rather than romantic love is a refreshing change from the typical Disney princess story. The comic relief is present throughout but doesn't overwhelm the core story - and I have to say, Josh Gad was an inspired choice to voice the always-optimistic snowman Olaf. His "In Summer" song was easily one of the highlights of the movie.

In addition to all of this, the visuals are stunning. "Let It Go" left me nearly breathless - Idina Menzel's vocals soar as she constructs her gorgeous castle of ice. The ice and snow images are so beautiful - this is definitely one worth seeing on the big screen.

This is my favorite non-Pixar effort in ages from Disney. Kudos to them. 4.5 stars.

Flickchart: #210 out of 1979, below Across the Universe and above Once.

Robot & Frank (2012)

IMDb plot summary: Set in the near future, an ex-jewel thief receives a gift from his son: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team.
Directed by Jake Schreier. Starring Frank Langella, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon and Liv Tyler.

This is a creative and charming little flick set just slightly in the future. Frank Langella is wonderful as the aging old man who finds himself bonding in an unusual way with his helper robot. The basic storyline almost resembles an animal movie - the robot could almost have been a dog or some other pet - but then it takes an unexpected turn and becomes a much more interesting story. It's delightful and sweet and original and well worth the watch. 4 stars.

Flickchart: #438 out of 1978, below Flight and above In a Lonely Place.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

IMDb plot summary: A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.
Directed by John Schlesinger. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight.

I feel like I was supposed to get a whole lot more of this than I did. While I was very drawn to Dustin Hoffman's Rico character, I was thoroughly uninterested in Jon Voight, whose character remained at the center of the story. When the gritty realness of the story broke for dreamlike flashbacks or fantasy sequences, I wasn't sure what I was meant to take from any of them, and they just felt out of place. Overall, I wish more time had been spent on Rico and less on Joe. I was not crazy about this one. 2.5 stars.

Flickchart: #1321 out of 1977, below It's Always Fair Weather and above The Professional.

The World's End (2013)

IMDb plot summary: Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.
Directed by Edgar Wright. Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman.

Edgar Wright's movies always make me smile, and this is no exception. From the very start of the movie, I found myself really enjoying it. Simon Pegg does an awesome job playing the horribly juvenile main character, and the rest of the cast is excellent as well. Oddly, I did find myself enjoying the first half of the movie more than the second, once the plot actually kicks in, but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable watch all the way through. Like Wright's other movies, there are also some moments of very moving sincerity amidst the silliness and chaos. Definitely one of the most enjoyable movies of the year - if I hadn't fallen so far in love with Anchorman 2, it'd easily be my favorite thus far of 2013. 4 stars.

Flickchart: #272 out of 1976, below Vertigo and above The Royal Tenenbaums.

The Internship (2013)

IMDb plot summary: Two salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find their way into a coveted internship at Google, where they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy geniuses for a shot at employment.
Directed by Shawn Levy. Starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

This movie takes some patience and, even after that, isn't *really* worth the effort. It takes a good 30-45 minutes to get going and for the main characters to stop being obnoxiously incompetent. After that, there's an occasional laugh and I was at least rooting for the protagonists, but it's not quite enough to make up for the 2-hour running time. I had a similar reaction to Wedding Crashers, so if you really loved that one, you might enjoy this as well. Otherwise, you're not missing out on anything if you skip this. 2 stars.

Flickchart: #1193 out of 1975, below Hustle & Flow and above Man Hunt.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

IMDb plot summary: With the 70s behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy, returns to take New York's first 24-hour news channel by storm.
Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner.

I was surprised by how much I liked the original Anchorman movie, given that I truly hate most films connected to Apatow in any way. Then it turned out to be one of my favorite comedies of the 2000s. And then came the sequel... which turned out to be one of the VERY rare ones that I actually like better than the original. Everything I liked about the first one is ramped up to an even more fast-paced, more ridiculous level, and it's hilarious. Every scene has something to giggle at and quote, and there were very few jokes for me that didn't work on *some* level. I actually went back to see this one again a second time with my family and had just as much fun the second time around. I suspect that even after I've seen more 2013 flicks, this will top my list of favorites for the year. 4.5 stars.

Flickchart: #106 out of 1974, below The Philadelphia Story and above Psycho. This is possibly too high, but maybe not. I did laugh harder than I have in ages. It'll work itself out in my chart eventually.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

IMDb plot summary: A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.

Directed by Peter Jackson. Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and Ken Stott.

All right. For those who don't know my bias against this movie, here it is in a nutshell. I really like the book The Hobbit and really dislike The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit is a fairly silly, light-hearted, fast-paced swashbuckling adventure. The Lord of the Rings is a dark, serious, character-heavy, grandiose sprawling epic. They may be set in the same universe, but the two stories are complete opposites in terms of tone.

The movie version of The Hobbit, as I knew it would, suffers GREATLY when its plot is stretched. There's so much wasted time in this movie, so much unnecessary back story, so much irrelevant subplot weighing down what should be... well, a straightforward "there and back again" tale. The first 15-20 minutes of the movie focus on an uninteresting Brief History of Some Wars of Middle Earth and then a COMPLETELY useless "flash forward" to Lord-of-the-Rings time (just in case, what, we forgot Bilbo was the guy from Lord of the Rings and Frodo was his relative?) before our actual story even starts.

When the movie keeps its pace up, it's entertaining and fun. Martin Freeman makes for a good Bilbo, cheerful and good-natured and willing to forge ahead bravely, no matter what. Scenes like the adventure with the rock giants are taut, adventurous, and fun. But it's bogged down with extra crap - long drawn-out flashbacks demonstrating mostly irrelevant plot points, scenes that seem to be there for no other reason than to foreshadow Lord of the Rings, and lengthy subplots that made me yell, "REMEMBER WHEN THIS STORY USED TO BE ABOUT BILBO GOING TO KILL A DRAGON?"

This movie is not Lord of the Rings. It wasn't supposed to be. And when it tries to be, it fails miserably. Not looking forward to the next two movies and what will have to be an equally plodding pace, except at least Benedict Cumberbatch will get to speak, and that will be a plus. 2 stars.

Flickchart: #1357 out of 1973, below Mystic River and above The Fugitive.