Best Picture 2013

I've noticed that the last 2 years or so have all included films that I, for the most part, have really liked. There may be some that I'm not so keen on, but nothing that I outright hate. That's a good thing obviously and will stay mostly that way for 2014 (minus one film). I'm not sure if that means I'm warming up to more Oscar-type films or if Oscar is just meeting my tastes more in the recent years, but I like it! Maybe it's a shift in what Hollywood is putting out, and if so, I hope it continues because it's nice to root for favorites instead of against bad films. I suspect increasing the BP field to 5-10 helps and I hope they never go back to just 5. Anyway, let's finish up this year!

2013 Best Picture

12 Years a Slave

Wow. This is a tremendously powerful film and such a beautiful one at that. Director Steve McQueen has such an eye for insanely beautiful shots and some really inventive ones, too. The thing about those shots is that they don't stick out in a bad way or detract from the story. They serve to enhance and feel natural within the frame of the film, McQueen just has a great eye for aesthetics. Besides the landscape and scenes looking gorgeous, the acting is top notch with an incredibly moving performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Couple that with some wonderful supporting turns from Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o and you can understand why the film is so good. Unfortunately Brad Pitt has a small part that is pretty bad and feels too much like a glorified cameo, plus it seems like he didn't really try with the whole Canadian accent thing. The music is also a nice little component to the film. It's both memorable and unobtrusive, everything a good score should be. I'd say my biggest complaint about 12 Years is the dialogue. I find it hard to believe that people talked in such a very proper manner as to almost be Shakespearean. It's a little jarring and can kinda take me out of the film at it's most awkward sounding terms. That's really just a minor quibble because the rest of the film is damn good. The direction is phenomenal and really deserved a Best Director win for McQueen even if Alfonso Cuaron was also pretty great. There's a scene halfway through the film where Northup is hanging from a tree with his toes just barely touching the ground and you see the rest of the slaves in the background proceeding with business as usual not even looking at Northup while we hear the cacophony of cicadas as the only sounds. McQueen lingers on that scene for a bit and it's just so evocative and powerful that it won me over right there.There are a few of those kind of scenes in this film and they are all amazing and worth the watch alone. I'm also really happy that the Academy got this year so right. There was some wavering on who was the front runner and who might end up winning but 12 Years a Slave is the obvious choice to me and I'm glad it won because it offers up the best of filmmaking and the Oscars.

American Hustle

I think the most obvious thing about American Hustle is that it's like an imitation Scorsese film but nowhere near as good. Which is funny that a Scorsese film with a similar vibe was also up for Best Picture this year. This film was a front runner or at least neck and neck for a good portion of the Oscar race that year. I didn't understand the hype then and I only kinda get it now. David O. Russell made a recent period piece that had a bunch of big, recognizable names and it mixed pop culture and comedy and drama all together in this big salad bowl of a film. You eat a big salad with a bunch of toppings on it and think it's healthy but in reality it has the same amount of calories as a burger. That's American Hustle. It's not really high cinema; it's just a fun, entertaining film that appeals to adults. That's definitely what AH has going for it is that it's fun and ridiculous and at times looks like a bunch of friends making a movie together. The acting is uneven but has it's hilarious moments. Individually the performances can be really good, sadly just not the women in this one. The songs can feel shoehorned in or even completely out of place (looking at you Live and Let Die sequence) but also offer up some of that classic Scorsese feel. The looks are absurd but funny and authentic. The plot, even if it's based on true events, is insane and all over the place. Which is a gripe for the film as a whole. It's like it meanders from skit to skit, showing off that 70s and 80s flair. Russell seems more intent on purely entertaining us rather than crafting a great film and honestly there's nothing wrong with that but it does open it up to nitpicks. There's a lot of things that don't work for me in this film but then it's humor and absurdity comes in and saves it. So while I didn't buy into the hype of it being a front runner, it's still a wildly entertaining flick that I probably wouldn't turn off on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Not exactly the highest of praise, I know, but it's worth a watch for sure.

Captain Phillips

I've discovered that I really, really like Paul Greengrass films. A couple Bourne movies and United 93 which is incredibly intense and it's no wonder he'd make a great film like Captain Phillips. And intense certainly describes this one. I like that Greengrass wastes no time on any superfluous shit. He keeps the wife thing to a 3 minute minimum and Cpt Phillips is well on his way to boarding the ship. It's the same way in his other films, he gets straight to the point and we get straight on his intense and crazy ride. So obviously, this film is about the hijacking of the container ship Maersk Alabama which from what I understand was the first American ship hijacked in 200 years! If true, that's amazing and impressive. So in turn we get an amazing and impressive film buoyed by an amazing and impressive Tom Hanks performance. Like seriously, I have no idea how Tom Hanks did not make the Best Actor nominees for this role. He is beyond terrific. He's indescribably perfect for this role and my god, his portrayal of the Cpt at the end while in shock is unbelievable. The most accurate portrayal of shock on film probably. Throughout, Greengrass gives us only what we need and that's why I love him as a director. The high jacking is intense, the Navy rescue is even more intense. Intense, intense, intense. That's how Greengrass operates. The other thing about his films is that he doesn't vilify the terrorists or bad guys. He presents them as is. We even see the Somalis from their town all the way to the end in this and it serves to give them an equal voice almost. Barkhad Abdi also allows the humanity of the hijackers to be presented and we definitely take note since his performance is really good. This is a film that I feel doesn't get enough love and gets overlooked way too much when we talk about great recent films. Captain Phillips is no doubt a great recent film.

Dallas Buyers Club

How did no one tell me for years that I failed to write a review for this film? Or at least failed to copy it over correctly or something. Damn, I guess no one actually reads this. I enjoyed the film a bunch because it touches on a subject that I bet most Texans would like to plug their ears for and pretend it doesn't exist. Even in 2022, you know there are people who wish the AIDS pandemic and HIV and whatever else disease would just go away by pretending it doesn't exist or that they prayed it away. Yet we had straight males figuring out how to get treatment so they could cure themselves or at least figure out how to do so. The courage of McConaughey's character to try and enact a solution is what makes this film so amazing. Forced into an impossible situation, he tries to make the most of it and help as many people as he can get the meds and medical attention they need. He fights the Feds to get those meds and get better. It's sad that this is the 80s and he is knocked down at every turn and can't get the meds he needs until the FDA approves of it which is too late. Just a sad film about how AIDS victims were so motivated to fight for their lives and their health and got shit for it at every turn. A film I love for being so truthful and modern.

Gravity

Gravity is an experience. One that is absolutely better watched in a big movie theater with a big screen and big sound with a big soda and popcorn. I'm not one to usually say the theater experience is better because usually it doesn't matter to me, but this is one of those exceptions. Gravity is intense right from the beginning and never let's you go for all of it's hour and a half. It has some of the best, if not the best, CGI I've ever seen. It's to the point where if someone told you this was filmed in space you'd probably believe them - it's that amazing. And this is one of the few films that can survive on pure spectacle alone. If there was no dialogue at all, I'd still be glued to the screen for the entirety of the film because it is so engrossing and mesmerizing. The story itself is bare bones and a bit far fetched but it does have a great leading female performance from Sandra Bullock and how many films these days on the level of Gravity can say that? I get that the story does veer into the absurd with the whole avoiding debris on the space walk then somehow managing to fly to two different space stations in the nick of time and continue surviving. It is absurd but I look at it like a science fiction film rather than any true life portrayal, this could really happen situational type thing. When I saw this in theaters, however, I did get frustrated at what I thought was a couple fake endings - or at least what felt like fake outs with Bullock seeming to give up only to keep going at the last second. I wondered if she had failed on reaching the Chinese space station or while piloting the Russian one, would it have made for a bad film? I think it would have been different but not bad. I don't think Bullock making it to Earth really made the difference honestly. It did create some symbolism with a creature emerging out of the water like it's an evolutionary thing (or rebirth) and the fetal position once Bullock reached the first airlock being like she was in the womb and a throw back to older science fiction films. Thinking about it more makes the ending fit a lot better to me but at the time I was kind of annoyed at what I thought were some cheesy fake outs. Anyway, run ons aside, Alfonso Cuaron crafted one heck of a film and one that fully deserves to be here.

Her

Her is a really interesting film. On the surface, it just looks like it's going to be another meet cute type film but with a little twist. But when you scratch the surface and look deeper, there's a lot more going on and a lot more it has to say about the world around us. There's also a lot to love about Her starting with the visual style which is calming yet engaging. The color palette suits the film so well and suits the near future technology obsessed society well, also. The best thing about Her, however, is Scarlett Johansson as the voice of the personal operating system thingy. I mean, she absolutely kills it in her role and does much more than be a kind of narrator or disembodied voice. She brings life to a character we never get see through her inflections and tone and style of talking. It's an amazing feat that an actress can establish her presence in a film with just her voice. It leaves everything up to our imagination so that we can create whatever version of her that we want almost like Phoenix's character can. Speaking of Phoenix, he does another masterful job with his performance capturing the charmingly nerdy yet sad hipster character to a tee. Compare this performance with his role in The Master the year before and you really start to understand the amount of talent the man has. Both men are loners to some degree but are portrayed in such opposite ways that you can't believe that both come from the same actor. The two actors also have great chemistry but are never on screen at the same time and from what I understand Scarlett's role was actually first completed by Samantha Morton before being scrapped which makes it even more amazing that the chemistry is so tangible. It feels lame to describe this film as sweet and gentle but Her really does evoke those adjectives while watching. It's a sensitive film that will appeal greatly to those in touch with their emotions and that's not a bad thing! It will make you think about lost loves and wish you had an entity to talk to whenever that would talk back and help analyze everything you're going through. Which sounds oddly like a best friend or significant other but I think my point is understood. Her is a devastatingly emotional film that will make you cherish your friendships. Her is simply a fantastic film about what could possibly be soon.

Nebraska

It is no secret that the Academy loves it some Alexander Payne. At first I'm always a bit wary or incredulous because every time I watch one of his films, I initially don't like it or am very ambivalent towards it. Then all of the sudden I keep thinking about it and it creeps into my mind and I suddenly find an appreciation for them and realize he's a pretty good director who makes films that offer up a bit more of a cerebral take on adult life. Nebraska was/is no different. First watched it and was a bit underwhelmed at the beginning but actually towards the end of watching the film I already started to make my usual turn in favor of it. You read the synopsis and it doesn't sound like it's going to be all that amazing and then you learn it's in black and white and you go oh, man this is going to be pretentious. Neither are accurate. The black and white aspect is magnificently shot and brings a wistful sense of days gone by. I think it's a good choice to capture that small town feel that the film has. It makes it intimate and cozy in a strange way. Payne is great at coaxing out great performances from his actors and this film is no different. June Squibb and Bruce Dern were both nominated but I thought Will Forte was excellent as the son and even Bob Odenkirk as the other son was wonderful. It's a road trip movie at it's heart but it's also about remembering the past and learning about your history. It has a very sad and melancholic feel at times, especially when the family visits Dern's boyhood home. It's a very tender moment that makes you think about your own family and your own past and makes you feel all the feels. I think Nebraska perfectly captures a lot of families in America who pounce on those who strike it rich and who gossip about each other and talk without saying anything of substance and who don't know that their dad was in a war and who bicker more than anything with each other. It encapsulates what is the heartland of America on film, which is a truly remarkable thing. And it's done in a very realistic way, almost has a documentary feel. I think I just like it because it does remind me so much of the past and about being close to family, and deep down that's what it's about - family. I'm eager to see what Payne does next.

Philomena

So this film fills the spot of random British film that no one saw yet somehow made it's way into the Oscar race and secured a bunch of nominations. And oh look, it's a Judi Dench film, joy! Except no, not joy, this is a film that upon second watch doesn't hold up despite it's tear jerker ending that's designed to persuade you it's actually a legit good film derrrr. If I sound a little bitter, it's because I'm tired of Dench in the Oscar reviews and I'm tired of middling films that pretend they are more important than they really are gaining a foothold among the Academy because they are British or by a certain director or feature a certain actor. Philomena fits because it's the British entry and while I can kinda understand it's inclusion, at this moment in time I'm fed the fuck up with it all. Maybe if I reviewed this tomorrow I'd be writing a more tame review but right now I just don't care. So Philomena is about an old Irish woman (Dench) who gets in contact with a journalist to find out where her son is. But she had the son in a nunnery where they made her work to pay off her debt and then sold her son to American parents in an adoption scheme because nothing good comes from nuns ever and it becomes a bit of an issue. I hate the religious types and certainly a film where the idiot Catholics sell babies to make money and then later stonewall the mother in locating where her son is is right up my alley but while it does wind up in that direction of being anti Church, the actual Philomena forgives the nuns and basically everyone ever and lives this ridiculous daft life where things seemingly don't have consequences because God or something. I hate the notion and I vehemently side with Steve Coogan's character who is the journalist and who is legitimately angry and tries to make the old nun answer to her sins and chides the current nunnery staff about how wrong they are. Steve Coogan is great in this and gives the film it's soul. The film itself is the basic British film that always finds its way over year after year so just imagine that and you've got this one. This film was done by the guy who did The Queen so it's a very matter of fact style with a bit over melodrama thrown in for good measure. Anyway, I think I'm just in a mood, but my dislike for this film is legit. Watch it twice so you don't get hoodwinked.

The Wolf of Wall Street

In many ways, this is the typical Martin Scorsese film of recent years: big, flashy, entertaining, great performances. Which of course sounds like the Martin Scorsese films of yesteryear, too. Point being his newer films feel a bit more fresh and flashy to me. And that's kinda what The Wolf of Wall Street is all about: sex, drugs, money, power, excess. I know it was meant to be a satirical take on that kind of lifestyle, about how absurd and insane and destructive it all is but I can understand those that say it glorifies all that excess, too. Because it absolutely does. It's a hilarious look into that lifestyle but when you're laughing and watching these guys have fun and bang lots of chicks and make money, you can't help but think that it's pretty cool and that man, I kinda wish my life was that fun and crazy. But you also have to be intelligent enough to understand that's Hollywood on the screen and while that might look fun would kill you quick or send you to jail even quicker. That was the big controversy surrounding this film and I just wanted to give my two cents in as well. The rest of the film is pure Scorsese with a great musical selection that doesn't overpower like in some other of his films. Great performances as per usual and maybe the best collaboration with DiCaprio so far. The story is pretty interesting even though it does follow a bunch of assholes as they get high and steal money, essentially. My big complaint is the same for most every Scorsese film I've seen: they are too damn long! With some more economical editing, his films might be even better. If they were a bit more focused or tighter and if the fat were trimmed, maybe he'd have another win at some point. But as they are now, they are too long which means parts of the film sags and some parts are boring and some parts are repetitive, which is all true in this film. Scorsese is so on top of his game, however, that he can survive things like that and still make a pretty awesome film that stands up to rest of his oeuvre. All in all, The Wolf of Wall Street is a wild, fun ride to enjoy.

 

This might be the best more than 5 nominee year I've seen so far. This year is very top end heavy which means I really like a couple of these films. That's all I ever want year to year is to like all the films and to find new favorites. 12 Years a Slave is a new favorite and a great flipping film. I fully believe it will be considered a modern classic very, very soon and possibly be on all those best of all time lists. I can't say enough great things about it and I kinda want to watch Chiwetel Ejiofor again right now. Next up would be Captain Phillips which is my underrated film of the last couple years because it's so, so good yet no one really talks about it yet everyone agrees it's good. Paul Greengrass has become a favorite of mine for his absolute honesty in his films and that's what sets Captain Phillips apart. I think I underrated Dallas Buyers Club and forgot how powerful it actually is. Obviously it has some great acting and was deservedly rewarded for that. Next is Gravity but that might change if I last saw it on a huge screen. It makes a difference but is still a strong film. Then it's kind of a toss up between Nebraska and Her which are both visually compelling with great performances. But I just kinda like the family dynamic of Nebraska just a bit more. Then we come to the fun craziness of Wolf of Wall Street. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. Finally we get to the two that I don't really have a ton of love for. Philomena is buoyed by Steve Coogan and American Hustle is more like everyone got together after Silver Linings Playbook and decided to make a 70s-80s movie real quick. Both have some good performances but are lesser than the sum of their parts. A hell of a year though! One I'll probably come back to again and again to watch some good films.

Oscar Winner: 12 Years a Slave
My Winner:  12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Nebraska
Her
The Wolf of Wall Street
Philomena
American Hustle