Fatso's Top 20 Biggest Titles of 2013

'Tis the time to be making end-of-year lists and whatnot so we got our number-crunchers to put together the Top 20 titles that were constantly flying off our racks this year. 2013 Oscar Best Picture winner Argo topped the list, a much less surprising title than 2012's #1. Good to see foreign entry The Intouchables crack the Top 10, and curious that some of you were crazy about Alex Cross at one point! Here's the complete list:

1. Argo
2. Skyfall
3. Looper
4. Taken 2
5. Lincoln
6. Life of Pi
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
8. Django Unchained
9. Silver Linings Playbook
10. The Intouchables
11. Jack Reacher
12. Les Miserables
13. Iron Man 3
14. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
15. Alex Cross
16. Pitch Perfect
17. Oblivion
18. A Good Day to Die Hard
19. Game of Thrones - Season 2
20. Zero Dark Thirty

Sci-Fi Trailer Mania: Godzilla, Edge of Tomorrow, Jupiter Ascending, Interstellar

Last week saw the release of no less than FOUR trailers for upcoming sci-fi behemoths. Ok, Godzilla might not be technically what you'd consider "hard" sci-fi but anywho... There's Tom Cruise donning a mecha suit battling aliens while stuck in a time-loop (Edge of Tomorrow looks like a cooler Oblivion); there's Jupiter Ascending, the new space opera from the Wachowskis' featuring Channing Tatum with ridiculous pointy ears and a ginger goatee; and the highly anticipated Christopher Nolan Matthew McConaughey-starring joint, Interstellar, the teaser for which shows barely any footage from the movie itself but should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand...

Moa Winners Shopping and White Lies Now on DVD

Two Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards winners, Shopping and White Lies, are both now available to rent on DVD. Shopping, the gritty coming-of-age tale from Louis Sutherland and Mark Albiston, scooped up 7 Moas, including Best Picture and Best Director, while the period drama White Lies picked up Best Makeup Design and Production Design. Check out the trailers below; full list of winners here.
Also it's great to see Geoff Murphy, director of Kiwi classics such as Goodbye Pork Pie and The Quiet Earth, honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Hopefully we'll get to see a re-release of the currently out-of-print Utu on DVD in its restored form soon.

Final Cut 2013: A Cinema Tribute

Nick Bosworth over at JoBlo.com has put together this fantastic tribute to the movies of 2013. Containing a phenomenal 283 films spread over 8 minutes of sensory overload, the mash-up does an effective job of encapsulating the landscape of cinema in the past year -- although the choices, understandably, are mostly geared towards Western audiences. A number of films haven't made it to our shores just yet, but see how many you can spot:

Paul Walker's "Finest Performance" Hours Out on DVD Jan 15

One of Paul Walker's final films, the Hurricane Katrina drama Hours, will be released on DVD on January 15. It's said to be his "finest performance" yet, showcasing a more dramatic, sensitive side as opposed to the brawny heroics of his career-defining role in the Fast and Furious franchise. Check out the trailer here - it definitely plays to his largely under-recognised "everyman" strengths: For fans wondering what his death will mean for the long-running series, Forbes has a good think-piece examining the tricky issue from a business and creative perspective.  Matt Singer's heartfelt appreciation of Walker over at The Dissolve is worth reading too.