More top-nominated films of 2013

In our previous post, we did a run-down of the six films that received the most nominations for the Tenth Cosmique Movie Awards. Our thoughts was that perhaps that will help guide voters in deciding which films to catch up on before it's time to vote.

Voters shouldn't feel they have to watch everything: the awards are as much about what we're compelled to see as they are about what we liked that we saw. Even so, some voters will want to try to log as many as possible.

The deadline to vote is April 18, 2014, and you can vote online.

Here, then, are the next six most nominated films of 2013 -- three fantasy films, two biopics covering relatively recent historical people, and a modern adaptation of Shakespeare from a director better known for his science fiction and fantasy work.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Total Nominations: 7
Highlights: Female Hero (Jennifer Lawrence), Male Villain (Donald Sutherland), Intimate Actor (Sam Claflin)

The second film in The Hunger Games franchise, like the first, is fairly faithful to the book. It's not exactly Oscar material (one of its nominations was for Favorite Guilty Pleasure), but the Cosmos also tries to reward the fun, escapist movie fare as well. Sam Claflin received a surprise Actor's Character You Would Most Like to be Intimate With nomination last year for Snow White and the Huntsman. This year he's up for the award again, this time playing Finnick Odair, a young previous victor whom the book presents as one of the most dashing characters.

My Rank: 3 1/2 stars

Carrie

Total Nominations: 6
Highlights: Best Young Actress (Chloë Grace Moretz); Female Villain (Julianne Moore, Chloë Grace Moretz)

It's a valid question to ask why old films ever need to be remade, especially one as iconic as Sissy Spacek's portrayal of the Steven King's telekinetic classic. Perhaps because it's an easy pitch to film executives who can also spare thirty seconds? Regardless, the 2013 remake worked for me because of brilliant casting – not just Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie and Julianne Moore as her religiously-twisted mother, but the entire supporting cast as well. Ansel Elgort brings a wide-eyed innocence to his performance as Tommy Ross, which voters seemed to like as they nominated him for Actor's Character You Would Most Like to be Intimate With. Check out our complete review of the film.

My Rank: 3 1/2 stars

Dallas Buyers Club

Total Nominations: 6
Highlights: Best Film, Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey), Supporting Actor (Jared Leto)

What a year for Matthew McConaughey! The actor, who previously received two Worst Performance Cosmo nominations, this year received a Best Actor nod for Dallas Buyers Club and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Mud. He also won the Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, as did Jared Leto for Supporting Actor. The film chronicles the more-or-less true story of Ron Woodroof, a Texas cowboy who, after being diagnosed with AIDS, sets out to create an underground market for pharmaceuticals from Mexico not yet approved by the FDA. Though some may quibble with some of the historical accuracy, both McConaughey and Leto deliver powerful, career-changing performances.

My Rank: 4 stars

Much Ado About Nothing

Total Nominations: 6
Highlights: Best Script, Best Ensemble, Sexiest Ensemble, Best Comedy

Many Cosmo voters are huge Joss Whedon fans: Serenity's 16 Cosmo nominations scored enough points for it to earn a 17th, a Best Director nomination for Whedon. Still, I don't think anyone expected his next film would be a Shakespeare classic set in more contemporary times. True to form, much of the cast are people who've worked with him before -- Amy Acker on Angel, Alexis Denisof on Buffy and Angel, Nathan Fillion on Firefly and Buffy, and so on. This is the first film solely using Shakespeare's own words to earn a Best Script nomination, though another film inspired by him and using some of his words, Shakespeare in Love, was nominated for Best Film Script of All Time.

My Rank: 3 stars

Oz the Great and Powerful

Total Nominations: 6
Highlights: Best Fantasy, Favorite Male Hero (James Franco), Best Female Villain (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz)

The Wizard of Oz is a huge, huge thing for me. I can't even talk about it. And though it absolutely wasn't all my doing, it should be noted that it was the very first film inducted into the Cosmique Movie Awards Best Films of All Time Hall of Fame. So I went to see Oz the Great and Powerful with both excitement and trepidation. It's not going to be a classic, like Judy Garland's 1939 film. But it's fun, escapist fare that does right by L. Frank Baum's original books. It a good one to have on the shelf, a go-to film when you want something in the background, something you've seen a dozen times before and could still see again.

My Rank: 3 1/2 stars

The Wolf of Wall Street

Total Nominations: 6
Highlights: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill)

As I wrote in a more expansive review, The Wolf of Wall Street revels in its excesses. Hours are spent documenting New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort’s descent from a family man into drunken, drugged, sex-fueled debauchery. And yet it’s a fun ride, one that I enjoyed though clearly not for everyone. I'm a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan, and though I knew he wouldn't win the Oscar (what a strong year for the Best Actor category!), he will eventually. And Cosmo voters can be surprisingly fickle, so who knows...? It comes out on DVD next week and I do plan to see it again.

My Rank: 4 stars


Check out the complete list of nominees by category and by film, and vote the winners by April 18, 2014.