Are you saying that 2013 is already over!? Well, that seemed to go awfully fast didn’t it? 2013 was such a crazy ride for us at DFAT. We’ve been having a blast, and are so happy that each of you have come along for a ride. Below, I have a little recap on what I thought were the Best ‘o The Best in 2013. Enjoy, won’t you!?
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Movies
Pacific Rim- Hands down my favorite film of the year. Guillermo Del Toro knocked it out of the park in my opinion. For all of you who didn’t appreciate the film, don’t go into a movie with a Robot punching a Monster expecting to a deeper meaning to life. The Jaeger’s kicked the Kaiju’s ass and cancelled the Apocalypse in the most beautiful ways possible. Loved. It.
Evil Dead- Fede Alvarez is a mad genius. Remaking the cult classic and adding a disgusting twist on it. It was super gory and amazing, with practical effects and an awesome soundtrack.
The Conjuring- I haven’t jumped in a movie theater in a LONG time. James Wan had me at the edge of my seat practically the entire film.
Star Trek Into Darkness- I’m a big enough Star Trek fan to appreciate the nods to the classics, but I’m not a big enough fan to nitpick this film and say it ripped off it’s source material. J. J. Abrams always wanted to make a Star Wars film (which luckily now he’s getting his chance) and he made a SW film with Trek people. I loved it.
The Wolverine- James Mangold and Hugh Jackman crafted the perfect film for the character. It’s a man who must lose himself in order to find out who he truly is, all the while killing a lot of people.
Thor 2: The Dark World- I thought the first Thor was the weakest of the Marvel Studio films. This film took everything that I’ve loved from the character and cranked it to 11. We were mostly out of Earth in this movie, and though the bad guy was pretty weak; the story was great and the brotherly ribbing from Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddelston was fantastic.
Winner: Pacific Rim. Honorable Mentions: Man of Steel. Not because I liked it. I just wanted to mention how much I think Warner Bros. doesn’t know how to handle it’s biggest property. Good luck on Batman VS Superman or JLA or Man of Steel 2 or whatever you decide to call it. The moment he couldn’t save his father because of a stupid dog stuck in a truck was the moment I gave up on that movie. Ugh.
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Comics
Batman New 52- Scotty Snyder and Greg Capullo had to go big with their Death of a Family storyline and while I fully expected to see the head of Alfred Pennyworth on a silver plate, I was still satisfied with the whole Bat-Family basically turning their back on Bruce because he is too proud. Snyder continues to craft some magic with the Wayne adventures and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Guardians of the Galaxy- Brian. Michael. Bendis. That’s it.
Thor: God of Thunder- Three Thors taking on a guy who vows to destroy every god who ever lived in the past, present, and future. How the Hel does one even top that!?
Winner: Thor- God of Thunder. The Godslayer is one of the BEST villains in the history of comics and I hope to someday see this story arc happen on the big screen. Thank you Jason Aaron. Thank you for letting me believe in Gods again.
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Television Shows
Arrow S2- The reason I currently read DC Comics. The most action-packed show on TV. It’s starting to add in a bit more supernatural elements whilst still being grounded in the real world. It’s extremely refreshing to see a comic property that can be separate from the comics, yet still live up to it’s title and characters. Plus, Felicity.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.- It’s not one of my favorite shows honestly, but it’s good. I’m glad that Joss Whedon is back on TV, but it’s definitely got a long way to go before it can stand on it’s own against the likes of Buffy and even Dollhouse. Agent Coulson is the glue of the show, and as long as Clark Gregg continues, then there’s a chance. But the program could benefit by adding more ‘supers’ on the show.
American Horror Story: Coven- every week I’m creeped out of my mind about what’s going to happen next. Animal sex, incest, rape, ghosts, zombies, frankensteins, and of course the witches. Even with all the crazy stuff going on, this season feels more grounded than Season 2 and Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, and Jessica Lange are all at the top of their game.
Winner: Arrow- its adding Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery and Arrow’s sidekicks, plus The Flash. Geoff Johns wrote the story for the last two episodes. It’s on a roll and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon.
Music
I’m not going to go into music too deep, only cause I loved a LOT of albums this year. Practically every one of my favorite artists came out with something, and it was really hard to keep track of them all. So, here are the artists, take it upon yourself to check these albums out:
Arcade Fire, Eminem, Jay-Z, Michael Buble, Childish Gambino, NIN, Of Monsters and Men, HelloGoodBye, Kavinsky, Big D and the Kids Table, Camera Obscura, Chvrches, Imagine Dragons, Bastille.
Winner: Daft Punk- Random Access Memories. I can’t think of an album that I’ve listened to more this year and has served to be my background music as I work on the site, my drive-into-work theme song, and my get hyped album. It’s as flawless as the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, which was my favorite album of 2010.
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More than all these pieces of Pop Culture that I’ve loved this week, this site has been one of my favorite things of 2013. We entered into Phase 2 as CynicNerd and I call it. We attended NYCC as press, we got invited to ToyFair, Motor City Comic Con, Genericon, and CES. We interviewed a ton of amazing artists and had a lot of great giveaways. We also added new writers to our amazing DFAT CREW. I love all of them: Mozeus, CheriMonster, Doc Palindrome, Myrrick, The Seavage and Princess Marvel!
We truly wouldn’t be here doing what we do if it wasn’t for all our visitors. Thanks to everyone for ushering us into Phase 2, and helping make 2013 a year to remember! Can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store. Travel Safe on your Geekly adventures, fellow Towelites, and Don’t Forget a Towel!
~Chaz
