Croatia joined the European Union;<\/p>\n
In United States v Windsor<\/em>, the US Supreme Court granted federal recognition to same-sex marriage;<\/p>\n House of Cards<\/em>, The Americans<\/em>, Nathan for You<\/em>, Bates Motel<\/em>, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown<\/em>, Inside Amy Schumer<\/em>, Ray Donavan<\/em>, Drunk History<\/em>, Orange is the New Black<\/em>, Brooklyn Nine-Nine<\/em>, Marvel’s <\/em>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.<\/em>, The Goldbergs<\/em>, and Rick and Morty<\/em> premiered;<\/p>\n 30 Rock<\/em>, The Office<\/em>, Futurama<\/em>, Breaking Bad<\/em>, and What Not to Wear<\/em> aired their final episodes;<\/p>\n Colin Kaepernick led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl where they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens;<\/p>\n Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University announced they had produced the first embryonic stem cells via cloning;<\/p>\n Prince George of Wales was born;<\/p>\n While Patti Page, Conrad Bain, Stan Musial , Ed Koch, Mindy McCready, Hugo Chavez, Paul Bearer, Chinua Achebe, Richard Griffiths, Roger Ebert, Don Shirley, Annette Funicello, Margaret Thatcher, Jonathan Winters, Allan Arbus, George Jones, Ray Harryhausen, Ray Manzarek, Jean Stapleton, Frank Lautenberg, James Gandolfini, Alain Mimoun, Cory Monteith, Helen Thomas, Dennis Farina, Eileen Brennan, Karen Black, Elmore Leonard, Julie Harris, Seamus Haney, David Frost, Tommy Morrison, Ken Norton, Tom Clancy, Ed Lauter, Hal Needham, Marcia Wallace, Walt Bellamy, Doris Lessing, Paul Walker, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Parker, and Peter O’Toole died.<\/p>\n The following is list of my ten favorite films released in 2013:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 10) The Great Beauty<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n As a young man, Jep Gambardella wrote a well received novel which made him famous and wealthy. Now, he writes cultural columns and throws elaborate parties.<\/p>\n On his 65th birthday,\u00a0he walks through Rome reflecting on his life. The first half of the movie, as he meanders through the city, is a Felliniesque<\/a> version of My Dinner with Andre <\/em>(1981). But when Jep\u00a0attends a dinner with an elderly nun, it transforms into\u00a0a sublime meditation on the purpose of life.<\/p>\n The nun clings to a worldview which looks beyond her personal desires to a much bigger truth. In contrast, her cadre of followers are a pathetic bunch who seek to profit off her piety.<\/p>\n Jep is moved by the encounter, realizing it’s possible to break through the tyranny of self-interest.\u00a0 The odds aren’t good. Of the more than twenty people at dinner with the nun, Jep is the only one who understands what she’s saying, but as long as there\u00a0is at least one person who can see the great beauty of the world, all is not lost.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 9)\u00a012<\/a> Years a Slave<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n In 1843, Solomon Northrup<\/a>, a free African-American musician, is kidnapped and sold into slavery. He spends 12 years of his life in\u00a0captivity until he is finally freed and reunited with his family.\u00a0 This film is based on his memoirs describing his ordeal<\/a>.<\/p>\n A\u00a0few parts of the film didn’t work for me like\u00a0Brad Pitt\u00a0as Canadian Samuel Bass appearing in the final fifteen minutes and\u00a0providing Solomon with a means\u00a0to escape his fate.\u00a0 This would have been better with a lesser known actor; Pitt as the unsung hero seems like ego stroking (especially since he also produced).\u00a0 The\u00a0historical counterpart may have been a Canuck, but it seems too convenient for a non-American to accurately see the horrors of American slavery.<\/p>\n It makes me giggle to think Taran\u00a0Killim is in a Best Picture winning film.\u00a0 I’d like to think his character is a descendant of Jebediah Atkinson, the 18th century critic he plays on Weekend Update.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/tenkmovies.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/04\/the_great_beauty_poster.jpg\")
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