(*Honorable Mentions - American Hustle, Big Bad Wolves, The Conjuring, Dallas Buyer's Club, Escape from Tomorrow, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Nebraska, The Sacrament, We Are What We Are, The Wolf of Wall Street)
5.) All is Lost: You think you've seen enough man-lost-at-sea movies. You remember The Perfect Storm and Life of Pi and (of course) Castaway. You understand the conventions, you expect all the plot points, and you anticipate the inevitable
...yeah, and then there's All is Lost. In a year of over-the-top action movies, this is by far the quietest. It's a movie with a protagonist known simply as "Our Man," who speaks next to nothing, carrying the cruelty of the Indian Ocean on his aching shoulders. He's brought to life by Robert Redford, and I frankly can't imagine anyone else in the role. His craggy face and weathered posture elevates the character - he embodies the archetype, he personifies the tale.
Thankfully, it's a story worth watching. From its jarring beginning to the wrenching finale, you'll be hooked. It's a simple story, sure, but far from timid. This movie has guts and soul to spare, and you'll spend the rest of your day thinking it over. It's unexpected. It lingers. It's a solitary flare, setting fire to the night sky.
4.) Rush: In Ron Howard's Rush we see two men, two opposite poles, play a gruesome game of chess with a devastating outcome. Instead of a chessboard, they have the racetrack. Instead of pawns and knights and rooks, they have Formula One cars. Instead of a cliched sports film, we have something bold and bone-rattling. The racing scenes are spectacular, with Howard using all of his creativity to put you behind the wheel. You'll flinch, your muscles will tense up, and you'll keep reminding yourself that it's just a movie, just images on a screen.
3.) 12 Years A Slave: This horrific true story is a searing, unflinching examination of American slavery in the mid-1800s, and yes - all the adjectives that have been applied to it are completely true. Mesmerizing? Yes. Captivating? Uh-huh. Genius? Undoubtedly. It's certainly one of the year's best films, saturated with arresting imagery and moral complexity. Even better, the performances are some of the best the silver screen has given audiences in years. Lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is miraculous as Solomon Northup, a free African-American kidnapped and sold into slavery. He can speak volumes with merely a glance, a gesture, a song. Equally incredible is Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps, whose self-righteous malice is only rivaled by his mental instability. He's a powerful presence, and every time he saunters on screen you'll be holding your breath. The supporting cast is also terrific, with newcomers like Benedict Cumberbatch and veterans such as Alfre Woodard and Brad Pitt.
Most importantly though, it's a film of stunning artistry. Scenes are characterized by a landscape of profound green, dripping with sunlight, alive with the hum of horseflies and songs of human sorrow. These delicate aesthetics transport you to a time and place you're glad you've never suffered through. It makes you mourn for the past, celebrate the present, and hope for the future.
2.) The World's End: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and director Edgar Wright knocked it out of the park (and perhaps the planet?) with this hilarious sci-fi romp about a group of old friends squaring off against alien invaders in their hometown. Not only is this the best comedy of the year, it's the best comedy in years. The dialogue crackles, the cinematography is superb, the special effects are utterly unique, and the acting is divine. What more can you ask for? The movie cruises at a swift pace, pausing whenever needed to let audiences chuckle at the jokes and marvel at the action sequences. Like I mentioned in my 3 Flavours Cornetto trilogy review, the film also offers up plenty of emotional moments, and the not-so-subtle-yet-completely-realistic characterization will have you laughing as well as crying. It's a super entertaining movie, one that epitomizes contemporary cinema and transcends genre conventions.
So, how can this be better than the three films I listed beforehand, notably critical darling 12 Years A Slave? Well, sometimes cinema is best when it's making you laugh. I love to watch something utterly ridiculous and be swept away by it, and The World's End does just that. It's a movie that buries its hefty philosophical musings beneath pints of beer and hordes of alien-cyborgs. Sometimes it's good to remember that movies can be fun, too. Now, let's Boo-Boo: it's time to see the best film of 2013...1.) Gravity: Yes sir - here I am, just another astonished moviegoer bowing down to the unparalleled awesomeness of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity. But why? Why is it so spectacular? How does it work so goshdarn well?
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...First and foremost, the movie has a beautifully simple premise. Two American astronauts are stranded in space after a terrible accident leaves them without a crew, without a ship, and without hope. So many contemporary movies feel compelled to over-complicate a narrative, to clutter the plot with twists, turns, and surprises. As an audience, we've become too accustomed to this. In the eternal words of Stephen King, "Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke and a story's just a story." In this film, the premise is the plot. How miraculous is that? The story is lean and clean, which lets the characters blossom and gives the whole thing room to breathe. How lovely.
Speaking of characters, our two protagonists are riveting. George Clooney is perfect as the movie's mouth. He explains, he describes, he leads, he talks and talks and talks. In a film with very little sound, he plays an integral role. He keeps us rooted to the situation, with all its grandeur and horror still in tact. Also perfect is Sandra Bullock, who portrays our determined heroine. If Clooney is Gravity's voice, then Bullock is its heart. Her performance is painfully realistic, and the empathy she establishes is overwhelming. You feel everything she feels. You cry, you laugh, you stumble, you fight. It's astonishing.
In the end though, the movie's best attribute is its imagery. The cinematography is unlike anything you've ever seen - honest, immense, intimate. In an age when movies often talk way too much, it's refreshing to be reminded that films are a visual medium. Here, director Alfonso Cuaron lets the camera do the talking. We swoop, we linger, we cut away, we soar, we drown, we survive. I was lucky enough to see the movie in 3D, and it was truly an unforgettable experience. It makes you feel so...so alive, so fresh and reinvigorated.
With all the great cinema of 2013, Gravity comes out on top. Not a doubt in my mind.
