Well, 2013 is halfway home. Six months of films are now in the can, and now we can look forward to the conclusion of the summer blockbuster season and the hopefully rewarding Oscar season. However, I do not want to let the first half of the year go to waste just yet, especially since some of these films will still be percolating in my mind when I come to wrap up the entire year, both for good and bad reasons. As is custom amongst movie related websites nowadays, I will bring to you some lists. These particular lists are what I consider to be the ten best and five worst films of the year as of now. I reserve the right to rearrange films both on an off the lists when I come to the end of the year as opinions evolve over time. So, let’s just cut this before it gets too boring.

The Top 10

10. Drinking Buddies

This will be one of several films on this list that have yet to be released, but that gives me the opportunity to get the word out there. In true Joe Swanberg fashion, this film deals with the emotions and relationships of a small group of people. Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson star as two best friends working in a brewery. Johnson’s partner (the always delightful Anna Kendrick) wants to get married. Wilde is in a relationship that is on the outs. Seems like a simple enough premise, but this film goes about defying your expectations and not sticking to conventionality that it is incredibly refreshing. Wilde, Johnson, Kendrick, and every player involved is delivering emotionally raw performances, whilst still being funny. The film also creates one of the most honest portrayals of a friendship, between Wilde and Johnson, that we rarely get to see in movies, especially considering it is a bi-gender friendship. This hits VOD on July 25th and theaters August 23rd. Do yourself a favor a check it out.

9. Much Ado About Nothing

I am not sure if you guys have heard, but there is this guy named William Shakespeare. He is a fairly good writer. He had a sense of humor that stretched from the lowest to the highest of brows, as well as create fully realized, engaging characters. Well, another funny and smart guy named Joss Whedon decided to interpret one of the former’s works into a film. The twist? He set the entire thing in a house. In his own house, actually. This Whedon, much like Shakespeare, has a stable of actors that he can call on a whim and do whatever project he tells them to. The result is one of the best adaptations of any Shakespeare work on film. His comedies are hardly ever given the time of day (how many Hamlet adaptations are there?), but thankfully, this film works on every comedic level. It is just one of those films that keeps you smiling. Nothing wrong with that.

8. Upstream Color

I am typically pretty averse to “weird” movies. Usually, the pretentiousness of the filmmaker gets in the way of what actually could be an engaging and emotional film. Symbolism is bludgeoned into my face in place of story and character. Thankfully, Shane Carruth, nine years after his last film Primer, has managed to blend that “weird” cinema that I so loathe with actual, real substance. It is a marvel that it finally got accomplished, and to the extent to which the film works, it is even more gratifying. The film is currently on DVD, and I highly suggest you pick it up or rent it. Whether or not you will like it is beyond me. I just think it is a film that needs to be seen. Then see it again.

7. Side Effects

You can read my review for the film here, so I will not go on too long about this one. Steven Soderbergh knows how to make a great film is what it comes down to. Anchored by two powerhouse performances by Rooney Mara and Jude Law, this is a thriller that has so many twists, tonal shifts, and questions that you really have to surrender yourself to the film and just let it happen. The phrase “on the edge of your seat” gets used far too often, but here, that saying certainly applies. Then, going back a second time, the characters and relationships take on a whole new life. Soderbergh better come out of that retirement sooner rather than later.

6. Frances Ha

There are always those actors that show up in so many independent films that you wonder, “Why are you not on the A-list?” Greta Gerwig is proving to be one of those actors. She is someone who is incapable of playing something false on screen. I never see acting. I just see the character. In this particular case, it would be the titular Frances that I see. Her and cowriter/director Noah Baumbach create an, to go back to what I said about Drinking Buddies, honest world filled with honest characters in honest relationships. Sure, the film swings to being a bit too hipster for my taste, but they always bring it back into how people truly connect with one another, try to find their place in life, and what their true calling is. The film is as close to being Woody Allen without being Woody Allen as you can get it, and I applaud it. I applaud it all day long.

5. Before Midnight

There has been outstanding amount of hyperbole surrounding this film, and you can whole heartedly throw me in with the rest of the crowd on this one. I am going to go back to that well again: honesty. If there ever was a film series dependent upon honesty, it is this Before series. Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy have created something magical with these characters, and this is probably the pinnacle of their creation. I love these characters, even when at times they can be completely irrational and rather loathsome. But that is sort of the point. It is to look at love from all angles, as truthfully as they can. Due to where this film takes place, in terms of where these two’s relationship has progressed, they are able to open up a can of worms they never could before, and it is so engaging to watch. Riding along in their conversations is bliss, even when they can get pretty rough and hateful. If they decide to make another in nine years, it has a lot to live up to.

4. The East

This is another film I reviewed, which you can read here. Basically, this is what a thriller should be: smart, suspenseful, and earned. This film blurs moral and ethical lines in a very interesting way, making you second guess whose side you are on time and time again. Brit Marling belongs in that camp with Greta Gerwig as someone who should be on that A-list. Not only is she magnificent actor, but she and her collaborator Zal Batmanglij have developed a unique voice that I cannot wait to hear from again.

3. Short Term 12

Yet another review you can read if you missed it the first time or just wish to read it again, which is here. I suggest reading the review as I think it perfectly spells out why I love this film and why you should see it when it is released August 23rd. Look for it this Oscar season. I have a feeling it will be talked about quite a lot.

2. Stories We Tell

Documentaries are far from my favorite form to tell a story. Typically, they run their course and make their point after about twenty minutes and the rest is just repeating what has been said over and over again. Stories We Tell is unlike any documentary I have seen in a long, long time. Sarah Polley goes on a quest to figure out how the various people that have impacted her life (family, friends, colleagues, family friends) tell their version of her mother’s story. What follows is one of the most fascinating experiments in how narratives and perceptions are formed that I have ever seen. It shows how everyone has a unique voice about the truth and whether they believe that truth is the truth. Polley’s life is populated with extremely fascinating figures that I could hear talk for hours. This is a film that must be seen. Even if you do not like documentaries, go see this film. It really plays with your expectations in both a fun and emotionally satisfying way. Like Before Midnight, the critical lauding of this film has been astounding, and it is even more deserving of its praise. Sarah Polley should be immensely proud of her work. It is quite something to behold.

1. The Spectacular Now

This was my favorite film of the year when I reviewed it back in March, and it remains there now, and will probably stay there through the end of the year. I think this film is pretty much perfect. It has amazing character work, excellent performances, engaging relationships, humor, drama, and some amazing visual flair that never tries to show off. I cared so much about where these characters were going to end up at the end of this film. It is a really hard thing to describe when a film really gets to you. Both times I saw this at South By Southwest, I was moved to tears. A film doing that is rare. Kudos to everyone involved, and I cannot wait until I get to see it again in August!

…And The Bottom 5

These films really hurt my soul. They ate up time I can never get back, money I could have spent on something better, and brain cells that were otherwise quite useful. If you wish to inflict massive amounts of pain on yourself, a good place to start would be watching these five films. But, as that is a very small percentage of the population, avoid these piles of garbage at all cost!

5. A Good Day To Die Hard

4. Pain & Gain

3. After Earth

2. Movie 43

1. The Host

Well, that about does it for now. The first half of 2013 has produced some pretty great films, and some that I wish were never shown to any human. I hope the balance of good and bad tips heavily in favor of good. I look forward to revisiting this list in six more months! Also, what have been your films you would watch again instantly this year? And what films do you wish you could take a sledgehammer to?