Over the past week, we’ve been looking back on 2013 and trying to whittle down what we thought were the “best” of the year.  Obviously, this is all subjective.  There is no mathematical formula at work.  I feel I shouldn’t have to state this, but there are people in the comments section who feel that everything should be appraised “objectively”, which in this case would simply be “These are five actors who starred in movies” or “These are five people who directed movies”.  The debate comes over who can be considered the best in their respective fields.  Who gave a performance that we still can’t shake?  Who put together a powerhouse of a picture?  Who created the score we’re still humming?  Who was the bane of our protagonists?  Who’s on the cusp of the A-list?  These are fun questions to ask, and hopefully they’ll stir up some fun (and respectful) debate.

Hit the jump for my miscellaneous “Best of 2013″ picks.  Check back from December 28 – 30th for the Top 10 Films of 2013 lists from me, Adam, and Dave.

The Motion Picture Academy of Arts & Sciences has announced its short list for the films that will vie for the Best Visual Effects Oscar.  A total of 10 films will compete in a vfx “bakeoff” in January, where select scenes from each movie are shown to the voting members.  Among the short listed titles are Pacific Rim, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, World War Z, The Lone Ranger, Star Trek Into Darkness, and of course Gravity.  Curiously, Warner Bros.’ Man of Steel failed to make the cut, as did Ender’s Game and The Wolverine.  Though critics were mixed on Man of Steel and Ender’s Game, both films showcased some seriously excellent visual effects—especially Ender’s Game—so it’s surprising to see them left off this Oscar short list.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of films that made the cut, and sound off in the comments with which one you think featured the best visual effects of the year. The 86th Academy Awards will be held on March 1st, 2014. 

The adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s beloved science fiction novel Ender’s Game hit theatres on Friday, and while it’s not looking like a break-out hit, it did not embarrass itself either. Fellow newcomers Last Vegas and Free Birds, came in about equal, but – considering the latter’s family-earning potential – its estimate seems a bit underwhelming. In more impressive news, Thor: The Dark World flexed its muscles overseas, taking in $109.4 million from its first 30 territories.

We’re now two films into the career of Joseph Kosinski, and it’s fair to say that as a visual filmmaker he’s incredible.  But when it comes to story, he doesn’t have the best eye for material, and that’s been a problem in both Tron Legacy and in his latest picture Oblivion.  Tom Cruise stars alongside Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko in this story of a post-apocalyptic Earth.  My review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump. 

Out this week on Blu-ray is Oblivion.  The sci-fi spectacle stars Tom Cruise as Jack, a drone repairman stationed on the abandoned remains of earth.  With the planet destroyed by a war with the alien “Scavs” Jack is assigned to the surface with a mission to extract vital resources that fuel the new human colony.  And his mission is almost complete, but a crashed ship soon uncovers a truth that calls into question everything he believes, and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.  Oblivion also stars Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo.

Oblivion’s greatest strength is its stunning visuals and masterful effects, and in celebration of the film’s Blu-ray release I recently sat down with Visual Effects Supervisors Eric Barba and Bjoern Mayer to talk about creating the film’s impressive aesthetic.  During the interview they talked about the interplay between two studios bringing to life a single vision, how closely they worked with director Joseph Kosinski, which effects were most difficult to pull off, and their favorite effects in the finished film.  Hit the jump to watch.

Quite a few worthwhile titles are hitting Blu-ray this week.  Here’s a look at the new releases:

• Oblivion (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $19.99 (43% off)
• On the Road [Blu-ray] – $12.99 (57% off)
• The Place Beyond the Pines (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $22.99 (34% off)
• Mud [Blu-ray] – $16.99 (32% off)
• To the Wonder [Blu-ray] – $19.96 (33% off)
• Robin Hood: 40th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) – $24.96 (33%off)
• West of Memphis [Blu-ray] – $26.93 (25% off)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much [Blu-ray] – $16.99 (43% off)
• Ishtar [Blu-ray] – $13.99 (30% off)
• The Sapphires (Blu-ray + DVD) – $17.99 (42% off)
• Aftershock [Blu-ray] – $14.99 (50% off)
• The Borgias: The Third Season (Blu-ray) – $29.99 (55% off)
• Battlestar Galactica 35th Anniversary [Blu-ray] – $14.19 (29% off)

Out this week on Blu-ray is Oblivion.  The sci-fi spectacle stars Tom Cruise as Jack, a drone repairman stationed on the abandoned remains of earth.  With the planet destroyed by a war with the alien “Scavs” Jack is assigned to the surface with a mission to extract vital resources that fuel the new human colony.  And his mission is almost complete, but a crashed ship soon uncovers a truth that calls into question everything he believes, and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.  Oblivion also stars Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo.

In celebration of Oblivion’s Blu-ray release I recently sat down with director Joseph Kosinski for an interview on the Universal Studios lot.  He talked about what he took away from working on the project for so many years, having the opportunity to tweak the film for the Blu-ray, the music only version of the film, the difference between adapting an existing work and directing an original script, and working with the designers to create the look of the film.  He also gave a brief update on the status of the next Tron sequel.  Hit the jump to watch.

Joeseph Kosinski‘s new Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman starrer Oblivion is the rarest of all things, a big budget scifi film aimed squarely at adults. While the trailers might seem like they give away the whole movie, I assure you they only scratch the surface. Things get really weird and far more ambitious than the I Am Legend-style one sheet implies.

Last week Collider sat down with Freeman to discuss his small but pivotal role.  During the interview, Freeman talked about the difficulty of always being a world leader in films, getting a demotion in Olympus has Fallen, what he looks for in a role, the importance of yawning, how to get a more mellifluous voice and much.

It was the only game in town, so Oblivion’s first place finish this weekend didn’t come as a shock. Universal’s sci-fi release had a solid debut – earning an estimated $38.1 million from 3,783 locations, or just under what G.I. Joe: Retaliation managed three weeks back. Oblivion also topped its initial domestic projection of $35 million, though the real strength of the Tom Cruise vehicle is overseas.

As the only new release of the week, it should be no surprise that Oblivion took first place at Friday’s box office. The sci-fi feature, starring Tom Cruise, earned an estimated $13.3 million from 3,783 locations yesterday, though it is unclear if that includes the $1.1 million it made from Thursday and midnight previews. Oblivion is expected to take in $38 million through Sunday. That number is slightly ahead of the film’s pre-release forecasts and would stand as Tom Cruise’s highest opening since Mission: Impossible III, if realized.

The Place Beyond the Pines expanded from 514 to 1,542 theatres on Friday. The Derek Cianfrance drama fell just short of the top five and is on track for a $5 million three-day total.  We’ll have full details and analysis tomorrow.

Joeseph Kosinski‘s new Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman starrer Oblivion is the rarest of all things, a big budget scifi film aimed squarely at adults.  While the trailers might seem like they give away the whole movie, I assure you they only scratch the surface. Things get really weird and far more ambitious than the I Am Legend-style one sheet implies.

Last week, Collide sat down with Olga Kurylenko and Andrea Riseborough to discuss their surprising and twist-filled roles.  During the interview they talked about shooting in Iceland, wanting to switch parts, the massive and elaborate sets and much more.

When science fiction wants to present thoughtful subtext, it can’t go broad.  The freedom to construct a world has to come down to precise themes.  The world can be derivative (or “inspired by” if you want to be charitable), and the themes can be universal, but they have to be cohesive.  In casting a wide net for influences, Joseph Kosinski‘s Oblivion mashes-up the ideas from better movies, and doesn’t put them towards abstraction or ambiguity, but towards ambivalence.  The film is more concerned with its gorgeous visuals and rousing score while the emotions become lost in a shuffle of reveals and fragmented ideas.

Joeseph Kosinski’s new Tom Cruise starrer Oblivion, opening tomorrow, is the rarest of all things, a big budget scifi film aimed squarely at adults. While the trailers might seem like they give away the whole movie, I assure you they only scratch the surface. Things get really weird and far more ambitious than the I Am Legend-style one sheet implies.

Last week, Collider sat down with writer/director Kosinski to talk about his film. During the interview, Krosinski discussed the challenges of making an original idea into a major film, designing the film for IMAX, shooting in 8k resolution on the new Sony CineAlta F65 camera and more.

Producer/director Joseph Kosinski’s visionary sci-fi epic, Oblivion, was inspired by his graphic novel written in 2005 which became the pitch for the film.  Set in the year 2077, the story centers on Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), a security repairman stationed on an evacuated, post-apocalyptic Earth who is part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat.  When Jack rescues a beautiful stranger (Olga Kurylenko) from a downed space craft, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew.  Opening this Friday, the film also stars Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough and Melissa Leo.

At the recent press day at Universal Studios, Kosinski discussed how the finished film compared to what he had originally envisioned, why he likes movies that ask big questions but don’t necessarily answer all of them, the challenges of creating a sci-fi world that’s never been seen before, getting M83’s Anthony Gonzalez to compose the cool score, what the actors brought to their roles, how his background in mechanical engineering and industrial design influenced the film’s groundbreaking visual design, collaborating with DP Claudio Miranda on the high definition front projection, and why he chose not to do 3D.  Hit the jump for the interview.

Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman joins Tom Cruise in Oblivion, a visionary, action-packed sci-fi thriller directed by Joseph Kosinski opening in theaters this Friday.  Freeman plays Beech, the morally ambiguous leader of a mysterious band of survivors that continue to inhabit Earth six decades after an alien invasion irradiates the planet.  Beech suspects Jack (Cruise), a daredevil pilot serving as the last drone repairman stationed on the planet, may hold the key to saving the remaining people of Earth.

At the film’s recent press day, Freeman revealed that the main reason he wanted to be a part of the project was to work with Cruise and that he felt sci-fi was the perfect genre for them to be involved in together.  He was also drawn to the film’s awesome technology, the love theme that’s central to the story, and the fact that he got to fire a dual .50-caliber machine gun which he’s never done before.  Freeman also discussed what it’s like working with older directors like Clint Eastwood and Rob Reiner compared to younger ones like Kosinski and Christopher Nolan and how he disagrees with Humphrey Bogart and feels he owes the public a little bit more than just a good performance.  Hit the jump to read more.