What to Watch: David's top 5 movies so far

Now that summer is over, we thought that it would be fun to pick out our five favorite movies of 2013 so far. These are purely subjective and likely to change once the Fall and Oscar-hopeful movies come out, but here are the films that we think everyone should see! The criteria is that we have to have seen them in a screening this year, thus Starbuck being on my list despite it being a 2012 Canadian film.

David:

Short Term 12 – It’s rare to see a movie and not want to change a single thing about it, but Short Term 12 has it all: great acting, a heart-wrenching and heart-warming story, and some truly interesting characters brought to life by amazing writing. It’s a movie that everyone should see.

Kings of Summer – A genuinely great indie coming of age movie. This summer had multiple indie coming of age movies come out, but Kings of Summer was my favorite. If you have to choose one, then this is the movie to see, but honestly check them all out.

Don Jon – Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s writing and directorial debut is a confident, smart, and, most importantly, genuine romantic comedy. It’s a guy’s romantic comedy that both mocks traditional romantic comedies while managing to follow the formula closely. The content will probably be too explicit for many viewers, but those that stick around will find that between the cringes and laughs, there is a touching story.

The World’s End – The third movie in the Cornetto trilogy, The World's End is a really good movie. It has a story that is funny but also deals with darker, more complex themes than the previous Cornetto movies, great acting, funny writing, and some excellent cinematography. Plus, it has plenty to enjoy for both fans of previous Simon Pegg / Nick Frost efforts and those who are new to the movies.

Starbuck – They’re remaking this movie as The Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn but there is no reason to wait. The original Canadian (French-language) version is perfect as is. Great writing, very funny acting, and an interesting story make this one of my favorites of the year.

Honorable Mentions:

The Way, Way Back – Another great indie coming of age movie. I loved this one but I liked Kings of Summer slightly more.

Fast 6 – If you like Fast and Furious movies, then you can’t get much better than this movie. It has everything you’d want in a Fast and Furious sequel.