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Brisbane Film Critics Select Gravity As Best Of 2013

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Since 2011, I have been pulling together a list of the best movies of the year according to the Brisbane-based film critics who I run into regularly at preview screenings.  Drive topped the list in 2011 with Argo taking the honours in 2012.

To come up with an overall top 10, I’ve used a simple points system and applied it to the list of each critic. It is as follows:

3 points – the top film on each list.

2 points – the films ranked between 2nd and 5th on each list.

1 point – the films ranked between 6th and 10th on each list.

If two films finished on the same score, the film that appeared on the most number of top 10 lists is ranked higher (as an indication of wider approval).

The results have now been tabulated and... Gravity is the clear cut choice as the year's best film. It featured in the top 10 list of every Brisbane critic who was surveyed (that's a first).  The film has pulled in more than $20m at the Australian box-office (including 3 weeks in the #1 spot) highlighting its strong appeal with the broader public.

Taking the runner up prize was another popular film - Django Unchained.  It made its way onto 10 of the 13 lists.  It was followed by the best of the foreign language contingent, The Hunt. 

Only a small number of Australian films were released during 2013 but one managed to sneak into 10th spot on the list - Mystery Road.  More than 50% of the Brisbane critics thought it was the best of the local product.

Asked for their favourite performance of the year, there were two popular choices - Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine and Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips. Both actors are on track to earn Academy Award nominations later this month.

On that note, here are the top 10 movies of 2013 according to Brisbane critics…
Brisbane Film Critics - Top 10 Of 2013
1.
Gravity
2.
Django Unchained
3.
The Hunt
4.
Zero Dark Thirty
5.
Blue Jasmine
5.
Captain Phillips
5.
Frances Ha
8.
Mud
9.
Life Of Pi
10.
Mystery Road

You can view a table of all the votes and final scores by clicking here.

A big thanks to all the critics who were able to contribute. Hopefully we'll do it again next year!

You can check out information on all the Brisbane critics (along with their choices for the best and worst of 2013) below.

 

Matthew ToomeyMatthew Toomey

Born in Brisbane, Matt Toomey was introduced to the world of cinema when he landed a job at a video store fresh out of high school in 1995. A few years later, he started his own website and reviewed movies regularly on a community radio station. In 2005, he joined the team at 612ABC and can be heard reviewing the latest releases every Thursday on Brisbane’s highest rated breakfast program with Spencer Howson. He can also be heard nationally every second Sunday at 1:30pm on ABC Digital.

Website: www.thefilmpie.com
Twitter: @icestorm77
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Life Of Pi
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Blue Jasmine
4. Gravity
5. The Hunt
6.
Philomena
7.
First Position
8.
Stories We Tell
9.
The Heat
10.
Django Unchained
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
Nebraska
2. Saving Mr Banks
3. All Is Lost
4.
The Past
5.
Don Jon
Best Australian Film:
The Rocket
Best Animated Film:
Frozen
Best Documentary:
Stories We Tell
Best Performance:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Worst Film:
Grown Ups 2
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Pacific Rim
Life Of Pi

 

Tim MilfullTim Milfull

Tim was a long-time contributor to the now defunct Brisbane street press publications Rave Magazine and The Independent. He is now a freelance writer, and his thoughts about film can be found on his blog and on Twitter.

Website: www.milfull.com
Twitter: @milfull
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
The Rocket
2. Rust & Bone
3. The Hunt
4. Fruitvale Station
5. Django Unchained
6.
Amour
7.
Gravity
8.
Mystery Road
9.
Drug War
10.
100 Bloody Acres
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
The Grandmaster
2. Borgman
3. Matterhorn
4.
Blue Ruin
5.
The Eternal Return Of Antonios Paraskevas
Best Australian Film:
The Rocket
Best Animated Film:
Monsters University
Best Documentary:
Stories We Tell
Best Performance:
James McAvoy (Filth)
Worst Film:
This Is The End
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Pain & Gain
The Rocket

 

Sarah WardSarah Ward

Sarah Ward is a freelance film critic, writer and festival devotee. She is a film reviewer and feature writer for artsHub, editor of Trespass Magazine, and a contributor to FilmInk, Metro Magazine, Senses of Cinema and AtTheCinema. Sarah also co-hosts the SLiQ Flicks film podcast, and her work has been published across a range of cinema, culture and festival outlets, such as KOFFIA, the Spanish Film Festival, SBS Film’s Social Review and the World Film Locations book series. In addition, she has worked for a number of entertainment and arts organisations and film festivals, including as a jury member and programming committee member.

Websites: www.artshub.com.au
www.trespassmag.com
www.atthecinema.net
www.playslashpause.com
Twitter: @swardplay
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Frances Ha
2. Gravity
3. Stranger By The Lake
4. Pacific Rim
5. Only God Forgives
6.
Enough Said
7.
Mud
8.
Spring Breakers
9.
Drinking Buddies
10.
Django Unchained
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
Inside Llewyn Davis
2. Nebraska
3. Tom At The Farm
4.
All Is Lost
5.
The Paradise Trilogy
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
Frozen
Best Documentary:
Stories We Tell
Best Performance:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Worst Film:
Grown Ups 2
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Pain & Gain
Frances Ha

 

Baz McAlisterBaz McAlister

Baz McAlister is a blow-in from the wilds of Northern Ireland who now works as a journalist and editor in Brisbane. He started watching horror films at the age of ten. He never fully recovered.

Website: bazmcalister.wordpress.com
Twitter: @bazmcalister
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Django Unchained
2. Stoker
3. The World's End
4. Gravity
5. Captain Phillips
6.
The Place Beyond The Pines
7.
You're Next
8.
Evil Dead
9.
Elysium
10.
White House Down
Best Australian Film:
100 Bloody Acres
Best Animated Film:
Frozen
Best Performance:
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Worst Film:
After Earth
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
White House Down
Django Unchained

 

Garry WilliamsGarry Williams

Garry Williams is a reviewer for the 4ZZZ-FM Film Club broadcast each Thursdays from 6-7pm on 102.1FM.

Website: 4zzzfm.org.au/program/film-club
Twitter: n/a
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Gravity
2. American Hustle
3. Lincoln
4. Django Unchained
5. Before Midnight
6.
Mud
7.
Prisoners
8.
No
9.
Flight
10.
Rush
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
Antarctica: A Year On Ice
2. The Pervert's Guide To Ideology
3. The Spirit Of '45
4.
I Am Devine
5.
The Dance Of Reality
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
The Croods
Best Documentary:
Stories We Tell
Best Performance:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Worst Film:
The Lone Ranger
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Snitch
Gravity

 

Laurence BarberLaurence Barber

Laurence Barber is a writer, film and television critic, and Twitter maven who is sorely disappointed at how few of his best films of the year actually got released in Brisbane. His reviews can be found at The 500 Club, Graffiti With Punctuation, on his blog The Film Fix, and less formally on his Twitter and Letterboxd.

Websites: thefilmfix.wordpress.com
www.letterboxd.com/laurence
Twitter: @bortlb
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Laurence Anyways
2. Upstream Colour
3. No
4. The Hunt
5. Before Midnight
6.
The Bling Ring
7.
Mystery Road
8.
Cloud Atlas
9.
Gravity
10.
The Heat
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
For Those In Peril
2. The Selfish Giant
3. Wadjda
4.
Tom At The Farm
5.
Gloria
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
Paranorman
Best Documentary:
The Impostor
Best Performance:
Paulina Garcia (Gloria)
Worst Film:
Movie 43
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
White House Down
Laurence Anyways

 

David EdwardsDavid Edwards

David Edwards is the editor and film critic for The Blurb, a website that provides the latest news and reviews for arts entertainment in Australia.

Website: www.theblurb.com.au
Twitter: @TheBlurbMag

Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Blue Jasmine
2. Frances Ha
3. Django Unchained
4. Stoker
5. World War Z
6.
The Heat
7.
Mud
8.
Hitchcock
9.
Elysium
10.
Gravity
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
August: Osage County
2. Prince Avalanche
3. Dallas Buyers Club
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
Paranorman
Best Performance:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Frances Ha
Blue Jasmine

 

Michael DaltonMichael Dalton

Michael Dalton is the editor and film critic for the "Screen" section of M/C Reviews.

Website: reviews.media-culture.org.au
Twitter: n/a
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Captain Phillips
2. Blue Jasmine
3. The Best Offer
4. Gravity
5. Blancanieves
6.
Zero Dark Thirty
7.
Tabu
8.
Mystery Road
9.
Enough Said
10.
The Conjuring
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
The Past
2. Stranger By The Lake
3. Blue Ruin
4.
Berberian Sound Studio
5.
The Bay
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
Chico & Rita
Best Documentary:
First Position
Best Performance:
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Worst Film:
I'm So Excited!
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Riddick
Captain Phillips

 

Peter GrayPeter Gray

Peter Gray is a Brisbane based freelance entertainment writer specialising in film. Currently the entertainment reporter/film reviewer for QNews, Queensland’s largest LGBT publication, and regular contributor to M/C Reviews and Hush Hush Biz.

Website: hushhushbiz.com
qnews.com.au
Twitter: @ratedPDG
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Django Unchained
2. Captain Phillips
3. Prisoners
4. Gravity
5. Next
6.
Zero Dark Thirty
7.
Star Trek Into Darkness
8.
The Hunt
9.
Mud
10.
Rush
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
Nebraska
2. Don Jon
3. Oldboy
4.
Saving Mr Banks
5.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
Frozen
Best Documentary:
The Armstrong Lie
Best Performance:
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Worst Film:
Movie 43
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
The Call
Django Unchained

 

Gary McDonaldGary McDonald

35 years ago Gary’s movie career began as Publicist in film distribution in Australia and later Internationally.  He moved onto journalism, television production and freelance film work.  His 1st reviews were published late 70’s in full gloss colour street mag ‘Me’.  Over 3 decades reviewing film and tv, he is now with Fairfax Media 4BC and ABC.  Gary is soon to relaunch his webblog “Fat Elephant in the Room” with the philosophy, ‘Don’t talk about it unless you have seen it’ and has current film and television production underway in the UK and USA.  ‘A good movie reminds us to feel’.

Website: fatelephantintheroom.com
Twitter: n/a
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Rush
2. Life Of Pi
3. Django Unchained
4. The Hunt
5. Gravity
6.
Blue Jasmine
7.
Captain Phillips
8.
Zero Dark Thirty
9.
Barbara
10.
The Best Offer
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
12 Years A Slave
2. Saving Mr Banks
3. The Book Thief
4.
The Nun
5.
August: Osage County
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
The Croods
Best Documentary:
20 Feet From Stardom
Best Performance:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Worst Film:
The Loneliest Planet & Frances Ha
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Mr Pip & Meet The Millers
Rush

 

Jason ReedJason Reed

Jason Reed is screenwriter and film reviewer who spent over a decade working in the Brisbane cinema industry. He has worked behind the scenes at BIFF, has been interviewed on ABC Radio, written for Filmink, local street press Rave Magazine and Scene, online sites including The 500 Club, and has been a judge on the horror panel for the Aurealis Awards.

Website: 500.the400club.org
Twitter: @jprfilm
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Mud
2. Gravity
3. The Hunt
4. The Place Beyond The Pines
5. Django Unchained
6.
Prisoners
7.
Sightseers
8.
Upstream Colour
9.
Frances Ha
10.
Silver Linings Playbook
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour
2. Don Jon
3. Blue Ruin
4.
White Reindeer
5.
Tom At The Farm
Best Animated Film:
Monsters University
Best Documentary:
Stories We Tell
Best Performance:
Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt)
Worst Film:
Movie 43
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
Frances Ha
Mud

 

Jesse ThompsonJesse Thompson

Jesse Thompson is a film and television student whose reviews can be Brisbane-based film reviewing collective The 500 Club, and heard each Thursday from 6pm on 4ZzZ’s Film Club. Although he spends more time with Hollywood’s back catalogue than arthouse classics, he still abides to the dictum that there’s no film not worth seeing.

Website: 500.the400club.org
Twitter: @jethom17
Top 10 Released Films:
1.
Tabu
2. Frances Ha
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. No
5. Mystery Road
6.
Gravity
7.
Before Midnight
8.
The Hunt
9.
The Counselor
10.
Cloud Atlas
Top Unreleased Films:
1.
Laurence Anyways
2.
Only Lovers Left Alive
3.
The Selfish Giant
4.
The Act Of Killing
5.
Stranger By The Lake
Best Australian Film:
Mystery Road
Best Animated Film:
Monsters University
Best Documentary:
Stories We Tell
Best Performance:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Worst Film:
Jobs
Most Surprised To Enjoy:
White House Down
Tabu

 

Des PartridgeDes Partridge

Des Partridge was the film critic for The Courier Mail from 1973 to 2010. In that time, he interviewed some of the world's best-known actors and filmmakers.

Website: n/a
Twitter: @DesPartridge
Top 9 Released Films:
1.
Omar
2. Gravity
3. Life Of Pi
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. Lincoln
6.
Django Unchained
7.
Barbara
8.
The Great Beauty
9.
Rust & Bone
Omar