Best War Movies of 2013

1.

Lone Survivor

6.1

7.5/10

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

2.

How I Live Now

4.7

6.5/10

An American girl on holiday in the English countryside with her family finds herself in hiding and fighting for her survival as war breaks out.

3.

The Kill Team

3.7

7.0/10

In 2010, the media branded a platoon of U.S. Army infantry soldiers “The Kill Team” following reports of its killing for sport in Afghanistan. Now, one of the accused must fight the government he defended on the battlefield, while grappling with his own role in the alleged murders. Dan Krauss’s absorbing documentary examines the stories of four men implicated in heinous war crimes in a stark reminder that, in war, innocence may be relative to the insanity around you.

4.

A Terrible Beauty

3.6

8.0/10

A Terrible Beauty is the story of the men and women of the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, Irish and British, caught up in a conflict many did not understand and of the innocent men and boys, executed because of what transpired in The Battle of Mount Street Bridge. The British soldiers were the last of the Great War volunteers, who joined up together to fight the Germans. They knew that there was a strong chance they would die in France, but to die in Dublin would never have crossed their minds. The Irish Volunteers were weekend warriors many of whom had no idea they were about to take part in large scale battles on the streets of Dublin.

5.

The Ghost Army

3.3

7.6/10

During World War II, a hand-picked group of American GI's undertook a bizarre mission: create a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the German Army as their audience. The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops used inflatable rubber tanks, sound trucks, and dazzling performance art to bluff the enemy again and again, often right along the front lines. Many of the men picked to carry out these dangerous deception missions were artists. Some went on to become famous, including fashion designer Bill Blass. In their spare time, they painted and sketched their way across Europe, creating a unique and moving visual record of their war. Their secret mission was kept hushed up for nearly 50 years after the war's end.

7.

Burning Blue

3.1

6.1/10

Following two fatal aircraft accidents aboard an Aircraft Carrier, a government agent is placed aboard the ship. His mission is to determine what may be at the root of these mishaps and prevent the inevitable third chain breaking accident which abruptly changes course when a sailor reports seeing one of the top ranking fighter pilots in a gay club. The aviator and three of his squadron mates and their spouses all become the subject of a deadly modern day witch hunt entangling them in a web of jealousy and deceit which tests their concept of love, friendship and honor and changes their lives forever.

8.

The Wipers Times

3.1

7.0/10

When Captain Fred Roberts discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium in 1916, he decided to publish a satirical magazine called The Wipers Times - "Wipers" being army slang for Ypres. Full of gallows humour, The Wipers Times was poignant, subversive and very funny. Produced literally under enemy fire and defying both authority and gas attacks, the magazine proved a huge success with the troops on the western front. It was, above all, a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. In his spare time, Roberts also managed to win the Military Cross for gallantry.

10.

Return to the Hiding Place

2.7

4.8/10

When a young resistance fighter witnesses atrocities towards the Jews, he's drawn into a web of espionage and clandestine activities. When he meets a young physics students and resistance journalist - Hans Poley - they embark on a hunt through underground tunnels, Gestapo hijacks and daring rescues.

11.

The Exit Room

2.5

7.0/10

Imprisoned journalist Joseph Michaels faces a government execution during a future American Revolution.

12.

Canopy

2.2

4.9/10

An unlikely friendship between 2 young men becomes everything, when an Australian soldier takes refuge under the canopied jungles of Singapore, during the violent Japanese invasion in World War II. Jim is lost, injured and defenseless in a hostile, tropical world, hunted by Japanese troops, Seng, a Singapore-Chinese resistance fighter emerges from the jungle and the two young men find themselves thrown together hoping to survive.

13.

The Patrol

1.8

4.2/10

Afghanistan, 2006, Helmand Province becomes one of the most dangerous places on Earth as the British Army is deployed into the Taliban heartland. The Operation, Herrick, became synonymous with the struggle as British troops fought a losing battle against this unseen enemy.

18.

Unmanned: America's Drone Wars

0.0

0/10

This documentary from Brave New Foundation and director Robert Greenwald, investigates the impact of U.S. drone strikes at home and abroad through more than 70 separate interviews, including a former American drone operator who shares what he has witnessed in his own words, Pakistani families mourning loved ones and seeking legal redress, investigative journalists pursuing the truth, and top military officials warning against blowback from the loss of innocent life.

20.

Forbidden Ground

0.0

4.9/10

Three British soldiers find themselves stranded in No Man's Land after a failed charge on the German Trenches. Set in France 1916.