*I'm sure this will contain spoilers*
Finally, the year in movies has come to an end and by year, of course I mean 13 months since half of the best movies aren't even released in the calendar year. Multiple awards shows have already occurred and we wait, with less than baited breath for the grandfather of them all, The Academy Awards. However I have never been one to allow the marketing of the Oscars to dictate how I feel about the films of the year and although in years past I have agreed with the Oscars, this will certainly not be one of those times. We had a very good year in the cinema, not the best, but certainly one that will create plenty of films that will gauge the interests of millions in the years to come, and certainly the creation of many new stars for us to awe and ogle. Overall I found this to be a very well-rounded year without a clear, distinct best picture. However, naturally, the Academy has pretty much nailed down the three finalists for best picture in the films of Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, & American Hustle. It is possible one of the other six might sneak into the fold, but the Academy rarely plays spoiler on its favorite award. While I understand the critical acclaim for these three films, none of them make my top five. This is not in any way to say that if 2 out of 3 of them win the Oscar that they won't be deserving, just that there are films not nominated that take the cake, so to speak, for the year. I really liked 2 of the films, and enjoyed the third. But it will be readily apparent in the paragraphs to come what I thought of the frontrunners.
Normally I have written this article on the based categories of the Oscars, but this year I have created my own, since no one will argue with my ability to create my own blog entry. There are a total of 20 categories that will be spread out in three parts, the first dealing with the films as a whole, the second with the actors, and the third with the odds and ends. Today I will be discussing the best films, in my opinion, of 2013.
A word on how I decided this list: As a graduate student I do not have all that much time to spend for myself. My free time and personal life have become much less free and personal than I would like. However as a sufferer of the dreaded disease known as OCD (perhaps the reason why I have to put everything into lists) I have found tranquility and calmness at the cinema. This is the reason that through the stress and unstructured time commitments, I still manage to find the time to watch as many movies as I do. Some people read, watch tv, go to the bar, work out, hang out with friends, or more prevalent forms of debauchery (I love that word) in their free time. I choose movies. Most of the time that means I choose movies that include reading movies (foreign films), watching them on tv, discussing them at the bar, watching them while I work out, go to the cinema with friends, and plenty other ways of enjoyment. This year I watched over 85 films, mostly because I did a nonstop movie marathon in December and early January, but also for the above reasons. Therefore I feel I can adequately determine what I thought were best films. And worst films. Let us begin.
The Best Picture of 2013
The Academy arbitrarily decided on making this category ten movies and then dropped it down to up to ten movies. Why they made this second decision makes very little sense to me, but nonetheless, I am not a member of the Academy unless you count the Academy of Former Speech Coaches. Go AFSC! Since it is 2013, my list is the best 13 movies of the year. I truly had a hard time nailing down this list. I really enjoyed a lot of movies this year. At final count I believe I could've made the best 42 movies of 2013 (42 didn't make the cut). So there will be plenty of movies on the outside looking in. Movies such as Her, August Osage County, and Dallas Buyers Club along with smaller films such as What Maisie Knew, The Dirties, and In a World… just barely missed the cut. All are wonderful films but something I have found as I begin to hone my critical skills, rather than just saying I liked or didn't like something, was that many movies fell just a tad short either because of plot, acting, or movie based mistakes or because of connection. I bet if I had watched Her last year I would've loved it, but it is no longer as applicable as it once was in my life. So take that into account. Starting with 13 and going down.
13. It's a Disaster Stars: Julia Stiles, David Cross, America Ferrara
Most likely, you did not see this movie. Of all the movies on this list is is the worst rated but still managed a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's still fresh (if that matters at all). It is a simple premise. Four couples have brunch together. Quickly the brunch dissolves when fighting and bickering occur and divorce becomes a major issue. One person tries to leave and at her door is their neighbor in a hazmat suit that tells them a bunch of dirty bombs were set off down town. What happens next is the madness inherent in the circumstance of oncoming death, but rather than panic this movie settles in for a hilarious, definitively dark comedy, that while appears uneven at times, still manages to subdue hard core critics with its charm. Even though I loved This is the End, hands down It's a Disaster is my favorite comedy of the year. Some will compare it to Carnage but because of the subtly of its storytelling it never falls off the rails. At first the ending feels like it jumped the proverbial shark, but then it gets reeled back in as the film concludes and you leave the theatre laughing. I really loved this movie and was one of the few movies that I bought immediately when it came out.
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| Faxon, Rockwell, James |
12. The Way Way Back Stars: Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Liam James
Since turning to Writing/Acting, Nat Faxon has completely changed his career around. First his Academy Award winning The Descendants and now this little gem have begun a really wonderful writing career. Much like his first film, this should not be considered a comedy, although it is very very funny. Although she is in a lot of terrible movies, Alison Janney always makes a film better and is quite funny as the alcoholic neighbor of the vacationing family. This is a coming of age tale about 14 year-old Duncan (Liam James aka young Shawn from Psych) on a summer vacation with his mom (Collette) and her asshole, overbearing boyfriend (Carell). A social pariah he finds solace in an unlikely father figure Owen (Rockwell, who is really good) manager at a local water park. Liam James does a very good job and Steve Carell finally shows that he can be more than 'a one trick pony ', which will either be confirmed or broken forever in his upcoming film Foxcatcher. This is a wonderful little independent film with great performances from Carell and Rockwell and has an ending that is heartwarming without be hollywood based.
11. The Wolf of Wall Street Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie
Along with movies like Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, This is the End, and The Spectacular Now, The Wolf of Wall Street was one of the most entertaining movies of the year. I completely disagree with the controversy surrounding this film, although I understanding it and find it unfortunate that Belfort is collecting money from the production of the film, but I disagree that it shows him to be likable. I saw this movie as a descent into narcissism, neglect, and deceit. Is it wrong that I found it funny along the way? Leonardo DiCaprio is, of my opinion, the best working actor today who has yet to win an Oscar. This oversight should be fixed. This is without a doubt, I believe, his best film role ever trumping even Howard Hughes in The Aviator. DiCaprio is brilliant at showing this self-obsessed lunatic dissolve into a dangerous sociopath. Never did I think that Belfort was likable but rather that DiCaprio's portrayal was superb. There are many outstanding performances in this movie including Jonah Hill, Rob Reiner (His discussion of Bush with his son is really hilarious), and for 10 minutes, Matthew McConaughey who has turned in his best year of acting in his career. I thought this movie was hands down hilarious and socially disturbing. The reason why I have to put it so high up on the list is, for the same reason other Oscar hopefuls will be, for its many pitfalls as a movie. Although it is great and as I will discuss later has one of the best scenes of the year, it has horrific editing. Coming in at 3 hours long, this should've been 2:20 tops. I also found an issue with the ending. I believe the movie should've ended with a pan out on the audience and the people sitting in the room are all the people that Belfort had fucked over. This was a very enjoyable film, with superb acting, but needed better artistic understanding for overall film production especially in the department of editing.
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| No need for background music |
10. 12 Years a Slave Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o
Ever since I became an avid watching of the movie industry I have always said that there are two actors at the top of my list along with Tom Hanks, Marlon Brando, and Jimmy Stewart. Those two men are Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor. I am so very happy and excited for a man whose career I have watched ever since 1997's masterpiece Amistad. Finally he was given a role that he richly deserves and he performs it with great dexterity and subtly complexity. His captain, Steve McQueen, is a brilliant director and in my humble opinion shoots a scene in this movie that is hands down in the top ten for best scenes ever shot in a film. For that reason alone if this movie wins best picture I will be okay with it. The hanging scene in this movie is by far the most disturbing six or so minutes of film that I have ever seen. It is simply brilliant. However there were two major problems I had with this movie. One which the critics disagree with me on is the casting of Michael Fassbender. Although I believe he is a fantastic artist (If you haven't seen Shame go see it now) I thought his performance was too over the top for this movie boarding on Django territory. It took me out of the film. But my real problem with the movie came after it was shot and it was the horrific, and I do mean horrific score by Hans Zimmer. For me, it nearly ruins a brilliant film. First of all, the majority of the score is based on the song "Time" from Inception so anyone watching the film is immediately ripped away when they hear it. But the near criminal use of the score is the bigger issue. This movie had no business being scored in the first place. McQueen does a fantastic job of using something many directors forget: silence. In the hanging scene, in the confrontation with Fassbender, each time the only sound we here is background and it builds the intensity. The hollywood-ification of this film with the score made this a difficult movie for me to like. One scene easily demonstrates this and it is when Solomon must play fiddle for a Masquerade. We zoom in on him playing and his face clearly reads everything we need to know, but just in case dumb people are watching, the music of the scene disappears and in comes Zimmer music to tell you how you should feel. Simply criminal, because without the score, even with my Fassbender problems I would call this film a masterpiece, but with the music it becomes very problematic and took me out of the film.
9. Philomena Stars: Steve Coogan (Best year of his dramatic career), Judi Dench
This is a beautifully told, gut wrenching film that uses simplicity to tell its story. There is no cinematography brilliance or CGI or music or any other sort of high technical cinematic discoveries. It is pure and simple a wonderful story and it is brilliantly acted by both Coogan and Dench. With her long career, I dare say this is in the rarified air of the best roles of her career. She has only one Oscar for Shakespeare in Love. This role is much better. I would say her best performances have come in Notes on a Scandal and Philomena. This is not a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen, but it must be watched. In terms of a movie there are better productions, but this is a story that needs to be told and will make you leave the theatre both smiling and crying and even bitterly angry depending on your religious upbringing. I rarely cry during movies. I cried during this one.
8. Jagten or The Hunt Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, and other Danish Actors you don't know.
This year I watched five foreign films. I stopped at four because after seeing Wadjda, The Great Beauty, & The Past, I knew that Blue is the Warmest Color (Which narrowly missed the list) would be my favorite. However, a former student, Alex Doser, continued to nag me about seeing The Hunt. Thank goodness he did. This movie is incredibly smart, manipulative, and deceitful in its creation. The script is very well honed and Mads Mikkelsen gives the performance of a lifetime as Lucas, a former teacher who has to start over after a rough divorce, by working at a preschool/daycare. This movie looks at the power of a lie and the control it can take over a small community, where guilty until proven innocent is the code rather than the other way around. I think the finality of the third act is a little abrupt and causes many more questions than answers but this is a must watch. This topic could never be covered by Hollywood as powerfully as this does. In Hollywood there would be this trailer and it come out much more like this year's Prisoners, music and all. The isolation created within this tale makes it stand out and the little girl played by first time actress Annika Wedderkopp is very powerful. Thank you Alex.
7. Captain Phillips Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi
Another movie that is filled with controversy over its portrayal of a real story. In Tom Hanks' best performance in years he plays Captain Phillips, who is hijacked by Somali pirates and must survive all while trying to save his crew. Many of his real life crew argue that the heroics due to Phillips in the movie make him look like a savior and that was not their captain, rather he was the reason they were put in harms way. And after seeing the film. I completely agree with the second part and not the first. Hanks does what so few actors can, he humanizes heroes. Sometimes, in the case of Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan that makes him the ultimate hero. Here it makes him an ordinary man put in extraordinary circumstances and it leads to a lot of issues, his ineptitude nearly gets him killed and in the final scene we see all that realization come over him. There are no heroes in this film but in creating that there are no clearcut villains. There should be a special category this year for best casting and it would go to this film. If you do not know what Paul Greengrass did with this film look here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/captain-philips-somali_n_4084160.html. This is a fantastic film with two tour de force acting performances that, much like Philomena, focuses first and foremost on the story rather than any sort of extra justification.
6. Nebraska Stars: Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Will Forte
This movie represents Alexander Payne's sixth directed film adventure and although fans of The Descendants and Election might disagree with me, I think this is his best film. If Philomena is a simple story then Nebraska is a stylized simple story. There are many opportunities in the film to make it bigger, to expand its credentials beyond what it can take, but the movie never falls prey to these trappings. Bruce Dern given his best performance of his career as a doddering old fool. It is difficult to portray dementia and still maintain humor both as a film and as a character but Dern manages to use this disability for the overall film's benefit. In a year filled with solo performance movies, Dern captures sensitivity and style without proving detrimental to the rest of the cast. This is a bit of a polarizing movie in the sense that some may find it quite boring. However as a midwesterner, I was able to relate in great detail to this film. Although I have never lived in Hawthorne, all small town midwesterners have lived in a different version of the same town. The film also does a good job of creating believability within the family unit. Dern and Squibb are excellent together as well as Forte and even Odenkirk and Forte feel like natural brothers. This was a joy and of the movies nominated for best picture I would like to see this win the most.
5. Gravity Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris' voice
This is not the perfect scripted movie, the plot has some holes, but this might be the best shot film I've ever seen. At the Oscars when they give the Cinematography award they should all give a standing ovation to Alfonso Cuaron. In terms of camera work this is nothing short of a masterpiece. It takes great bravery to write a script and plot knowing that the camera work has yet to be invented. Then to go ahead and invent it. At first I liked this movie because of all the jokes made about it. If you haven't heard the joke at the golden globes go watch the opening monologue. But I realized I liked this film not just from a technical standpoint but from a plot standpoint. Sure some of it isn't correct, scientifically speaking, but for such a simple story, which when you get down to the basics it is a simple story, it packs a real punch and the ending is breathtaking. As a whole this is as complete a film as any of the nine Oscar movies. The script is exposition central but if you can get through that, it is an extraordinary watch.
4. Mud Stars: Tye Sheridan, Matthew McConaughey, Sam Shepard
All the movie sites I visit and the podcasts I listen to said that I needed to watch this film. It was the last movie I saw of the year completing it last night. I loved this film and along with the film I have at Number 1 and It's a Disaster I will be buying it immediately. Out of the rest of the films of the year it best compares to The Hunt in that it allows the plot to tell the story rather than trappings and cliches of the industry. It does what I believe 12 Years a Slave fails to do, it is allowed to breath. McConaughey has completely brought his career back and is rather good in this film but the bulk of the work falls on the shoulders of newcomer Tye Sheridan in his second major film along with The Tree of Life. Sheridan is something else in the role of Ellis who along with his best friend, Neckbone, discover Mud, (McConaughey) a fugitive living on a deserted island on the run from both the police and bounty hunters. Much like The Way Way Back, both coming of age stories focus on unlikely father figures, but in the case of Mud, the ending is fuller because the relationship we thought was central might turn out to be three fold. Highly evocative, steeped in southern country folklore, bordering on realistic fairly tale, Jeff Nichols adds Mud, along with Take Shelter, and Shotgun Stories as diamonds in the rough.
3. Inside Llewyn Davis Stars: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman
Among the movies that were strongly considered the best of the year, perhaps the stand out was left standing in the cold with only two Academy nods. This is by no means a happy film. Upon first viewing I found it rather depressing, especially for someone who works in the arts. Oscar Isaac plays a very likable Davis, whose fuck ups make him into a detestable annoyance. I know that many people love the Coen Brothers and that both O Brother Where Art Thou & No Country for Old Men are considered classics, some would include their True Grit & and Fargo in that category as well. I have never been a die hard fan of theirs. I really like O Brother and No Country but don't swear by them and True Grit was good, not great in my estimation. Therefore I went into this movie knowing their talent but never fully appreciating it. Until now. I think this is a masterpiece. Despite its poor showing at the box office, I predict this movie to attract a cult following. My top three films I found so good that all three could be interchangeable. Davis is an atmospheric film that takes you on a ride through a life that hasn't ever been fully lived. There has been a lot of criticism for the film. Suzanne Vega is quoted on the topic of the 60s village folk scene, "I feel the took a vibrant, crackling, competitive, romantic, communal, crazy, drunken, brawling scene and crumpled it into a slow brown sad movie." I am personally a big fan of Vega for her music but this quote shows that she missed the point. My response to her quote would be, "Exactly." There are plenty of films that look at the village and Gaslight scene in its heyday with kind and considerate eyes, but the focus of those films are on successful artists. The purpose of this movie is not to look at success. I loved this movie so very much. Isaac is simply amazing. The music is fantastic and Isaac does a wonderful job of acting through his singing, especially in Fare Thee Well and Hang Me, Oh Hang Me. This is a difficult movie and would take many viewings to really understand it, but for me, although O Brother is a modern interpretation of The Odyssey, this movie is the true Odyssey.
2. Short Term 12 Stars: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr.
Brie Larson works at a center for at-risk teens along with her boyfriend, Gallagher Jr. Her dedication to her work is unmatched and it is through this that we see the heart of this film. It is moving, funny, emotional, gut-wrenching, and any other adjective you think might fit. At first it appears to be a standard Indie film that follows one mid twenties supervisor through the tumult of both her job and her life but it quickly becomes a compelling character study that focuses in on the intricacies of pain and love as part of the larger spectrum of human drama. Through Larson we see a world that is both loving and gorgeous at the same time as isolating and unknowing. One reviewer called it, "A monumental work of compassion," which I think best sums up the film in a sentence. Larson is absolutely breathtaking as we see not just through her eyes but through her soul the ways in which we, as human beings, control and destroy as well as build and envelop each other in our lives. For me, this is a film that is unbridled in its passion for life. There is one character, one of the children of the facility that resonated so strongly with me that I had to stop the movie because I was so upset. It reminded me of all the times when I was isolated even in a world of people. The ending of this movie is upsetting as much as it is heartwarming, but so often is the life that we make for ourselves. Immediately upon viewing, this is a classic.
1. The Spectacular Now Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley
If you couldn't tell from the above two films it would have to take something special for me to put a film on top of them. In early October of this past year, The Spectacular Now finally came to a local theatre in Richmond and I eagerly went out to see it. Since hearing about it on a podcast with the director James Ponsoldt, I was pretty sold on seeing it in the theatre. I loved the trailer and I wondered if it would live up to my expectations. Not only did it surpass them but it did so without actually being anything like the trailer. The film flows Sutter Keely (Teller) a high school partier who goes through a break up with girlfriend (Brie Larson again) and ends up falling for the "good girl" Aimee (Woodley). The movie then uses this relationship to take a cold, hard look at the confusions and passions of being young. However, through the issues dealt with through the trials and tribulations of hormones run rampant, we see the best look at alcoholism that I have ever seen in a movie. Those who saw Flight and thought that was powerful should look at the demise within Now. Some would look at this film and say that it is a typical look at how kids today party but that is merely a surface reading of a rather spectacular film. The films title is as much an aphorism to aspire to as a cautionary tale of neglect. The way in which Ponsoldt shoots love in this film are three fold, equally disturbing, beautiful, and breathtaking. Some called this a modern Say Anything but this is so much more than a romantic comedy. It is snapshot into modern youth growing up without guidelines and turning to each other when solace is all that can be offered and is usually without foundation. Although there were many films that attracted our imagination, inspired us, depressed us, and consumed us this year, both Short Term 12 and The Spectacular Now stand alone atop them all. They are all-encompassing.
