TOP TWENTY BEST FILMS OF 2013
20. DJANGO UNCHAINED
Just
scraping in the countdown is Quentin Tarantino’s latest film “Django
Unchained”, which saw the director tackle a Western for the first time and
unsurprisingly he did a marvelous job with it.
While I am not as ga-ga about the film as most people (I much prefer
Tarantino’s previous film “Inglourious Basterds”), what is undeniable is just
how great Christoph Waltz is in the role of Dr. King Schultz; a former dentist
now working as a bounty hunter. Also
fantastic is Leonardo DiCaprio who is gloriously over the top playing villain
Calvin Candie. While the titular
character is, of course, Django, he is also the least interesting character in
the film and Jamie Foxx gives a fairly one note performance as the former slave
searching for his kidnapped wife. As
usual for Tarantino, revenge enters the picture towards the end and it ultimately
becomes a more generic film for it, but overall this is an entertaining and
very well made picture but Tarantino has got to learn to that he is not a
quality enough actor to be in his own films and his horrible Australian accent
in “Django Unchained” almost destroys this great flick.
19. ANNA
KARENINA
It’s
hard to believe that “Anna Karenina” actually came out in Australia in 2013
because it feels like ages since I saw it.
That said, the film still remains with me as I was bowled over by director
Joe Wright’s bold and “theatrical” approach to this classic story. It is stunningly gorgeous to look at too as
Wright’s regular team of production designer Sarah Greenwood and
cinematographer Seamus McGarvey work wonders in creating an organic and real
feel to the theatrical setting. Dario
Marianelli also returns with another fabulous score for Wright that rivals (but
doesn’t quite beat) the genius of his work he did for “Atonement”. One of the greatest aspects of this film is
seeing Jude Law playing a role he never has before with the rigid and stoic
Russian aristocrat, Karenin. Law is
unrecognizable and does a stunning job in bringing this man to life, and Keira
Knightly (who plays the title character) has never been more beautiful. Due to the extreme lengths with the
stylization Wright took in making “Anna Karenina”, it is a film that could
alienate its audience just as much as it could spellbind them. I am obviously in the latter camp and believe
this is yet another feather in Joe Wright’s cap; this guy just does not make
bad films. I look forward to his
adaptation of “Peter Pan” to hit the big
screen next year.
18. UPSTREAM
COLOR
I
absolutely hated Shane Carruth’s directorial debut “Primer” with a
passion. It went totally over my head, I
just did not get it, and as such found the entire thing excruciating to
watch. It goes without saying that I was
not sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for a new film from Carruth. However, when the trailer for this film came
out, I was instantly intrigued by its images, I didn’t understand them, but
there was a beauty to them. I felt the
same way when I eventually saw the film; I cannot explain what is going on
exactly but I was totally drawn into the whole thing and found it so beautiful
and moving. While I am sure there is a
plot, it involves a cycle or lifecycle of something, at its heart “Upstream
Color” is a film that you feel. In a way
it is stylistically similar to “The Tree of Life” where we are witness to tiny
fragments of our characters life without any context and yet when the film ends
you feel as though the story is told complete.
I do not think that I am making any sense in regards to this film, so I
must reiterate that this is a film you feel more than you understand, at least
in the moment. Because it is so rich, it
infests your mind and you continually think about it, until you want to rewatch
it again to unlock more of its secrets. “Upstream
Color” is a great film but not for all tastes.
17. SILVER
LININGS PLAYBOOK
The
first of two films directed by David O. Russell that hit Australian shores in
2013, “Silver Linings Playbook” could almost be described as a romantic comedy,
but it is much deeper and darker than what you would normally think of a film
with that description. “Silver Linings
Playbook” is the story of two damaged people who ultimately find each other and
learn to live their lives again whilst falling in love. Bradley Cooper has never been better playing
a guy recovering from a nervous breakdown after his marriage has fallen apart,
whilst Jennifer Lawrence continues to show why she is the best young actress of
her generation, playing a sexually liberated widow still trying to come to
terms with her husband’s death. Both
characters call a spade a spade, and have little time for games. You are never in any doubt how they feel
about a certain situation and it is in these very blunt conversations that a
lot of the humour of the film comes from.
The two characters start to grow, and in Bradley Cooper’s case start to
get well again, when they enter a dance competition which gives the couple
discipline and a routine. What makes
“Silver Linings Playbook” so good is the chemistry between the two leads, and
even though the film is a comedy, it never takes our characters problems
(particularly mental illness) lightly.
Russell respects that these are real life issues and never trivializes
them (Russell’s son actually has the same illness as Cooper’s character making
the project a very personal one for the director). Whilst the finale of the film is its weakest
point (it just doesn’t ring true), at the end of the day, “Silver Linings
Playbook” is a feel-good film and you end up liking these characters so much
that you want to see them happy.
16. THE
GRANDMASTER
When you
take over five years to make a single film, the resulting film needs to be
something special, which thankfully “The Grandmaster” has turned out to be. Wong Kar-Wai’s latest film is about kung-fu
grandmaster Ip Man and to give an indication just how long he took in making
the picture, when he announced the film it was the only film about Ip Man to go
into production and yet by the time the film made it out into cinemas, a total
of four Ip Man films had been made. You
would think that taking so long would have cost Wong Kar-Wai seeing as
audiences were now well aware of the character and his story no longer
fresh. However this is a Wong Kar-Wai
film and unlike any of the Ip Man films before it, as the director has created
a gloriously beautiful martial arts film that focuses just as much time on the
philosophy and disciplines of kung-fu, as it does on the fight scenes. Being a Wong Kar-Wai film, there is also a
tale of unrealized love that is weaved into the narrative as well. While Ip Man is an integral part of the
film, Wong Kar-Wai has opened up his vision to make the film be about a number
of Kung Fu grandmasters, and as great as Tony Leung is as Ip Man, it is Zhang Ziyi’s
turn as grandmaster Gong Er that steals the show, and gives “The Grandmaster”
its heart. She is stunning and
heartbreaking all in one, and she equips herself magnificently in her fight
scenes particularly a very impressive fight at a train station next to a moving
train. Speaking of the fight scenes, as
you would expect from Yuen Woo-Ping they are brilliant and intricate, but a lot
more stylized (no doubt due to Wong Kar-Wai’s influence) than what you would see
from his choreography. As usual for a
Wong Kar-Wai film, “The Grandmaster” is stunningly beautiful to look at, the
director working with Philippe Le Sourd as cinematographer for the first time
on a feature (the two have collaborated on two shorts together), but losing
none of his visual flair. While the
final film is great, it does feel that it is truncated from a version longer
than presented because certain characters that appear very important when
introduced end up having very little screen time (particularly Chang Chen’s
“Razor”). I should mention that the
version of the film that I have seen is the 130 minute Hong Kong version, and
not the shortened 108 minute U.S version, so I cannot comment on the shortened
version, but in terms of the Hong Kong version of “The Grandmaster”, it is
another great achievement from Wong Kar-Wai (I just hope we do not have to wait
another five years for a new film from him again).
15. THE BEST
OFFER
As much
as I enjoy his nostalgia pieces, after “The Unknown Woman” and now, “The Best
Offer”, I think it is safe to say that I love it when Giuseppe Tornatore goes
genre. Tornatore’s latest is a mystery /
thriller in the Hitchcock mode that has a fantastic (and melancholic) central
performance by Geoffrey Rush. Rush plays Virgil, an auctioneer dealing only in
the rarest of pieces, that finds himself falling in love and becoming obsessed
with a reclusive young woman suffering from agoraphobia, when she asks him to
come to her mansion to valuate her collection of fine arts. Immediately intrigued that the young woman
conceals herself in a secret room during all their meetings, Virgil is slowly drawn
into her life as he attempts to draw her out so she can be a part of his. However the deeper he gets, the more blind he
becomes to the fact that he may be the victim of a serious heist. This is an amazingly fun film, but also an
incredibly sad one. Unfortunately, “The
Best Offer” is a hard film to talk about because its success relies on the
twisty turning plot and knowing as little as possible about it when watching
the film. I have always been a fan of
Tornatore’s visual style; it really suits genre films particularly, and with
this film there really is a Hitchcock vibe to it that I attribute mostly to the
camerawork. Ennio Morricone produces
another memorable score for a Tornatore film, this time closer in style to the
work Bernard Herrmann created for Hitchcock.
Similar to “Shutter Island”, when you really sit back and think about
the intricacies within the plot of “The Best Offer”, I may suddenly fall apart
due to the complete lack of realism behind making it all work, but in the
moment of watching the film, you just do not care. “The Best Offer” is fun, entertaining,
enthralling, suspenseful and just a hell of a good time at the movies.
14. THE LORDS
OF SALEM
Rob
Zombie returned this year with his best film since his 2005 masterpiece “The
Devil’s Rejects”. With “The Lords Of
Salem” Zombie proved to the world that he wasn’t a one trick pony. Stylistically he has turned 180 degrees as he
replaced his trademark rough and violent images with beautifully composed and
symmetrical shots that exude class. All
of Rob Zombie’s films previous have had an immediacy to them; they all felt in
the moment and are briskly paced, whereas his latest film is again the complete
opposite. Zombie takes his time setting
up his story and creating an atmosphere before carefully ratcheting up the suspense
until the film explodes into madness towards the end. As usual Zombie has cast his wife, Sheri
Moon, this time in the leading role of Heidi and she does a fantastic job with
the role; it is easily her largest role to date and her most successful. Heidi is a DJ at a local (the film is set in
Salem, Massachusetts) radio station who, one night after her show, receives a
mysterious package by someone known only as “The Lords”. When she opens it she finds the contents
within to be a strange record which she ends up playing once she gets
home. As soon as the needle hits the
vinyl, a strange and ominous (not to mention disturbing) tune is played that
sends Heidi into some sort of trance as she is bombarded with images from the
past of the infamous “witches” who were burned at the stake back in the 16th
century. From the moment Heidi hears
this song, she starts hallucinating and dreaming strange things; is she going
insane or have the witches returned to take their revenge on modern day Salem? As I have just mentioned, “The Lords Of
Salem” is a slow burn horror film, that explodes into the most bizarre images
you are ever likely to see for its finale; images that could only come from
Zombie. The whole film is just gorgeous
to look at, it is easily Zombie’s best looking film to date, and the whole
thing just has a grandness to it.
Probably the thing that becomes obvious thanks to “The Lords Of Salem”
is if you leave Rob Zombie alone to make his own film, the way he wants to make
it, the results are going to be great.
This is the first time since “The Devil’s Rejects” he has suffered no
interference from producers and he had final cut. While the film definitely isn’t for everyone,
I loved it and have already watched it four times. Click here to read my original review.
13. BIG SUR
“Big
Sur” was one of the best surprises of the year and it was a film I knew nothing
of until just before I saw it, so I went into the film with no expectations at
all. After really enjoying last year’s
beatnik tale “On The Road”, I became immediately interested in “Big Sur” when I
found out that it was about the author of that tale, Jack Kerouac, and his
group of friends much later in their life.
Then I realized that the film was directed by Michael Polish who I used
to be a big fan of (but hadn’t followed his work of late). The film immediately made an impact on me; it
just connected with me on an emotional level and I ended up loving “Big
Sur”. This picture is much different
than “On The Road” because here Kerouac is a lot more jaded with life, he is
struggling with his sudden fame (after his hit book “On The Road” is published)
and the fact that he feels like a sham particularly due to the fact that his
fans think he is this twenty something kid travelling the world on foot, where
the reality is he is a forty something drunk struggling to come up with a
follow up book. He no longer believes in
what he is doing and decides to head out to Big Sur and stay at the cabin there
owned by his poet friend, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He binges on drugs and alcohol whilst
attempting to find himself again and his love of the world and the written
word. Like “On The Road”, “Big Sur” is a
stunningly beautiful film to look at with the location photography absolutely
jaw dropping. As opposed to the earlier
film, “Big Sur” is not a road picture, instead it is more of an internal and
emotional journey as our lead character tries to find himself. Because a large portion of the film takes
place in Kerouac’s head, dialogue is limited but the film is narrated
throughout in the words of Kerouac himself, as portions of his book “Big Sur”
are read over the images to describe his state of mind. Narration is such a tricky thing, but I
thought its use here was beautiful; I just loved the poetry of the words, and
it really gave an insight into Kerouac’s soul at this time in his life. In terms of acting, I thought Jean-Marc
Barr’s internal performance was magnificent, and completely different than Sam
Riley’s wide eyed performance in “On The Road”.
I much prefer Barr’s performance, it has much more weight to it, as we
witness a man disillusioned with the world and his own role within it. There are also fine supporting turns from
Josh Lucas, Anthony Edwards and particularly Kate Bosworth, who play Kerouac’s
friends and lovers. “Big Sur” is a
fantastic film that needs to be recognized for its greatness and I hope that
more people get a chance to see it.
12. MUD
Just
three features into his career and it is safe to say that Jeff Nicols is the
best and most important new director to come out of America in the past decade. He is someone who understands the human
spirit and what makes us tick, and all three of his films have been about
family dynamics and all three are dynamite.
“Mud” is his latest film and is basically a coming of age tale, with a
lot of heart. The film is about two
young boys, Ellis and Neckbone, who after finding an abandoned boat stuck high
in a tree which they claim as their cubby-house, meet a wanted fugitive named Mud. The outlaw is living on the island whilst
waiting for his girlfriend to arrive and at the same time hiding from the law
and dodging bounty hunters intent on collecting for his arrest. The two boys strike up a friendship with Mud,
particularly Ellis who looks at him as a kind of father figure, and decide to
help him in his quest to reunite with his girlfriend. What I love about Jeff Nicols’s films is that
he gives a real sense of place, the locations the story is set become as
important to the story as the characters themselves. In “Mud” (like his first film “Shotgun
Stories”) he really brings Arkansas to life, there is a texture to it and to
the lives of the people living there.
Matthew McConaughey continues his streak of incredible performances as
the title character infusing the outlaw with a kindness and a sense of mystery
to him, as well as a selfishness in the fact that he is willing to manipulate
people to get what he wants. Tye
Sheridan is amazing as the young Ellis, a boy who looks up to this questionable
man and there is a fantastic scene between Sheridan and McConaughey when Ellis
finally realizes that the man he has built up in his mind, is not what Mud
really is. Ellis has looked up to this
guy to the point that he sees him almost as a hero, but when he finds out that
Mud is simply just a man who has made some mistakes (most of his own doing), it
devastates the boy. It is a powerfully
emotional scene and rings so true because it is reminiscent of a moment every
child goes through in their lives in regards to their parents. Reese Witherspoon has a small role in the
film as Mud’s “girlfriend” and it is a role quite different then we are used to
seeing from her. She is not America’s
sweetheart here, there is a lot more darkness to her in this role, and she
really pulls it off. Nicols’s muse or
good luck charm Michael Shannon also has a brief role in “Mud” and as I have
mentioned numerous times he is an actor I rarely respond to, except when he
works with Nicols who always brings out the best in him. While I wouldn’t rate “Mud” above “Take
Shelter” (Nicols’s second film), it is still an amazing achievement and I look
forward to Nicols’s next project, the science fiction / romance “Midnight Special” which will probably see the light of day in 2015.
11. PASSION
This will
be the third time I have written about Brian De Palma’s “Passion” so I do not
know what more I can say other than I love it.
What I will also say is that this is a film that gets better with each
viewing, which I think says a lot about it.
This is De Palma at his most fun since 1992’s “Raising Cain” and the
whole thing is worth seeing alone for its final scene. “Passion” is a great thriller that also doesn’t
take itself too seriously. Click here to read my original review.
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