Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/234240
30 2013 in review IN CINEMAS TODAY St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 Captain Phillips (12) 18:30 Gravity (3D) (12) 20:45 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 47 Ronin (3D) (12) 10:20, 13:30, 16:05, 18:40, 21:15 Battle of Year (12) 13:35, 16:05, 18:30 Saving Mr Banks (U) 21:00 Walking with Dinosaurs (U) 10:15, 13:00, 16:15, 18:20, 20:50 The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (12) 10:30, 14:00, 17:20, 20:45 Hunger Games: Catching Fire (12) 10:00, 15:00, 18:00, 20:50 Frozen (U) 10:15, 13:45, 16:15, 18:40, 21:10 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Free Birds (U) 11:30, 14:20, 16:30, 18:30, 20:45, 23:00 Walking With Dinosaurs (3D) (U) 12:15, 14:15, 16:20, 18:30, 21:00, 23:10 Escape Plan (15) 11:25, 14:05, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:40 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (12) 11:05, 14:15, 17:45, 20:45, 23:40 Homefront (15) 11:40, 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 21:10, 23:30 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (3D) (12) 11:00, 14:30, 18:00, 21:15 Runner Runner (15) 11:30, 14:20, 16:20, 18:25, 20:55, 23:00 The Counsellor (18) 11:30, 14:00, 16:25, 18:45, 21:10, 23:35 Silhouette (PG) 11:00, 13:30, 16:00, 18:25, 21:00, 23:35 Frozen (U) 11:40, 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 20:55 23:10 Captain Phillips (12) 11:35, 14:20, 18:05, 20:50, 23:35 Saving Mr Banks (U) 11:35 14:25 18:15 20:50 23:30 Thor: The Dark World (12) 11:25, 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:00, 23:25 The Butler (12) 11:45, 14:25, 18:15, 21:05, 23:45 47 Ronin (12) (3D) 11:15, 14:30, 18:20, 21:05, 23:40 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (12) 12:30, 16:00, 20:00, 23:20 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Frozen (U) 10:30, 13:30, 15:50, 18:10, 20:40 47 Ronin (3D) (12) 10:40, 13:20, 15:50, 18:20, 20:50 Homefront (15) 10:55, 13:45, 16:05, 18:15, 21:10 Captain Phillips (12) 10:50, 13:35, 17:55, 20:45 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (3D) (12) 10:45, 14:30, 18:00, 21:15 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (12) 10:30, 14:00, 18:05, 21:00 Walking with Dinosaurs (3D) (U) 10:35, 13:35, 15:45, 17:50, 20:50 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 DECEMBER 2013 The best and w Our resident critic TEODOR RELJIC ranks the worst and best films of 2013 This year was marked with 'more of the same' franchise blockbusters for the most part, though some gems managed to twinkle through the dross. But when it was dark, it was very, very dark indeed. Sadly, some of the most promising international films of this year have yet to reach our shores. But here's a gathering of some of the most notable ones that did... from both sides of the quality spectrum. THE BEST 5. Captain Phillips Filmed on Malta's waters, the Tom Hanks starring 'true story' is more than just a thriller about pirates hijacking an American-flagged ship. Though director Paul Greengrass (Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy) takes care of the tension good and proper, the film also - sneakily - reveals itself to be an investigation of how the West treats Africa, and the gulf of injustice that may never be healed. An unexpected tour de force which packs a brilliant performance by Hanks and introduces a promising new talent in newcomer Barkhad Abdi, Phillips was proof that a mainstream blockbuster doesn't have to be dumb. 4. Pacific Rim Giant robots beating the living daylights out of even larger sub-aqueous aliens. What could go wrong? Well, plenty, but luckily fan-favourite Mexican director Guillermo del Toro knows enough of his 'kaiju' lore (i.e. films like Godzilla and their ilk) to lend enough texture and panache to what would otherwise have been a run-of-themill box office placeholder. Big, brash and funny, but boasting a beating heart at its centre too, 'Rim' is set to become a cult hit. 3. Only God Forgives Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn reunited with his acting muse Ryan Gosling - the duo had collaborated on moody and violent hit Drive back in 2011 - to create what is probably the most divisive cinematic experience of the year, thanks to its unashamedly symbolic structure and hyperviolent, lush stylings. But an experience it most definitely is - which is more than can be said for its bland, by-the-numbers counterparts. 2. Prisoners Sometimes, a foreigner's perspective is just the ticket. It certainly the case with this child-abduction thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall, directed by FrenchCanadian Denis Villeneuve but set in a woodland suburbia that reeks post-911 Americana. After the law proves ineffective in locating his child's kidnapper, Keller Dover (Jackman) decides to take the law into his own hands. The 'law' in this case involves the torture of a mentally damaged man-child who may be innocent after all. Tense like the best of them but packing a moral quandary that rises above genre - along with a career-best performance from Gyllenhall this is meaty, substantial entertainment. 1. The Act of Killing Compiling these kinds of lists can get tortuous. How do you determine what will make it, and on what grounds are you going to leave stuff out? But Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary is there to rivet your attention and slacken your jaw out of place. Challenging Indonesian death squad members to re-enact the brutal political massacres they visited upon alleged communists in '60s as pieces of cinema, Oppenheimer crafts something by turns shocking and achingly beautiful. It's a reminder of art's true function: to activate your senses into full gear and to remind you that being human is an endlessly complex affair. No film in recent memory has ever felt this essential.