The Best and Worst Films of Summer 2013

The summer has come to an end and this was one of the biggest box office summer seasons that we’ve had in recent years. What were the best and worst films of summer 2013? You may have your own favorites, but here are a few of mine.

We’ll start with the best, in no particular order.

The franchise is taking bold new leaps while remaining faithful to fans of the classic series and the classic actors. Once again, the younger cast hits all the right notes and the script was just reminiscent enough of Star Trek II to give moviegoers that eerie feeling of déjà vu. My rating: 4-1/2 stars

Take Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) out of the suit and you are left with a man facing life with his own anxieties and that’s where a hero’s true strength will be revealed. Arguably the best installment in this franchise. My rating: 4-1/2 stars

Okay, this isn’t Oscar caliber nor is it even a thinking man’s movie. It’s just pure popcorn cinema with a healthy dose of pathos mixed in for good measure. This film stayed on top of the box office for over a month in a summer filled with big budget blockbusters…and there’s a reason for that. My rating: 3 stars

Leave it to Pixar to develop an ideal mix of childlike wonder, the magic of friendship, the realism of true life and humor that transcends age and gender and a stellar cast of Hollywood A-list voice acting to create the perfect summer animated movie. If you haven’t seen this yet, then what are you waiting for? My rating: 5 stars

I went into this expecting another Transformers. Boy was I ever wrong. This is compelling science fiction story telling at its best. The characters and situations are brilliantly conceived. And assuming they do one, I can’t wait for a sequel. My rating: 4 stars

Hugh Jackman is back playing old iron claws, this time in Japan. Some of the scenes are totally far-fetched but, like Iron Man III, Jackman faces his own human frailties and, as a result, becomes a better hero. My rating: 4 stars

Another thinking man’s science fiction tale in a summer that didn’t dumb down the action adventure movie. Matt Damon and Jodie Foster prove again why they’re on Hollywood’s A-list. My rating: 4 stars

A quiet picture, compared to summer’s other great movies. It’s a great study in how life can unravel and take someone who’s on top of the world and shatter them down their very core. Woody Allen at his best. My rating: 4-1/2 stars

What passes for comedy in Hollywood today is often anything but funny and plays down to the low brow roots of its audience. Here, though, the Brits have done it again. Don’t get the British humor? It’s an acquired taste. My rating: 4-1/2 stars

Coming at the tail end of summer is often a curse for a movie, but the best ones manage to thrive in this otherwise dismal wasteland and prove themselves to be more than the sum of their frame count. This is a buddy cop movie unlike many that have come before. My rating: 4 stars

And now for the five worst or most disappointing entries, in no particular order:

Hopefully, they will let this franchise die now. It’s run its course. But then again, Hollywood rarely learns from its mistakes. My rating: 1 star

Who actually thought this script was either funny or good? Men in Black without the humor or star chemistry. My rating: 2 stars

Two hours worth of movie with 20 minutes worth of entertainment. Shyamalan needs to find the formula that once clicked for him. This isn’t it. My rating: 2 stars

Drug smuggling as entertainment? We have sunk low. Just because this did well at the box office doesn’t necessarily make it a good movie. My rating: 2 stars

What passes for comedy in Hollywood today is sophomoronic at best and stupidly unentertaining at its worst. This is a great combination of both. Very inappropriately named, too. My rating: 2 stars

Dim the lights, pass the popcorn, I’ll see you this fall at the movies!