Best Directors 2013

During the month of January, I will be counting down what I think was the best in 2013 - Supporting Actor and Actress, Lead Actor and Actress and, of course, Best Films. Today I'm starting with Best Directors.

05. Noah Baumbach, Frances Ha - I've always liked Baumbach, although there has been something lacking in his earlier works (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding). Perhaps that "something" was a woman's voice. Because on Frances Ha, he collaborated with actress / co-writer Greta Gerwig and the two together made something truly special. Frances Ha is fundamentally sweet, and manages to stay away from becoming just another quirky, hipster fad (which is the problem with The Squid and the Whale). The script manages to turn Frances into a real, fleshed out person and Baumbach directs this movie as if it were something from a different era. It's not only because it's black and white does this movie feel like its from a different, less complicated time. This is Baumbach's Manhattan moment.

04. Derek Cianfrance, The Place Beyond the Pines - Cianfrance already made a beautifully tragic and intimate movie starring Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), so with this movie he tried to go epic. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. The fact is Cianfrance swings for the fences with The Place Beyond the Pines, and if he doesn't quite hit it out of the park, well, it's still a great shot. From that opening no-cut moment at the Carnival to a motorbike bank robbery to the dizzying chase through a house, this movie is an imperfect masterpiece. One thing is for sure, I can't wait to see what Cianfrance does next (rumor is: an adaptation of The Light Between Oceans, one of the best books I read last year).

03. Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity - Gravity, as a story, didn't quite do it for me. What the story lacked in... well, anything happening AT ALL, it more than made up for with its special effects and out of this world (pun intended) filmmaking. Cuaron literally makes us feel like we are in space. (Side note: I find the idea of going to space terrifying, and I have no idea why anyone would want to do it. I think you are all cray. End aside). The opening shot alone is magnificent, nearly twenty minutes of swirling, space action, larger than life, like literally nothing you've ever seen before. While the first twenty minutes is sort of the best part of the movie, story wise, the filmmaking and special effects only get better from there. Gravity is one of the few movies you needed to see in 3D, to get the full experience.

02. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave - This is the year of directors making almost-masterpieces. First, Cianfrance, and then, McQueen. McQueen is the one getting all the awards attention though, and deservedly. 12 Years a Slave is a beautiful film. While the subject matter is horrifying, to say the least, the movie itself is a gorgeous love letter to the South. The shots in this film are simply amazing, and I hope McQueen wins the Oscar for Best Director, because he deserves it. My only problem with the movie was it got a bit too pretentious at times. Perhaps if someone had reigned him in a bit more, this would have been a perfect film. Regardless, it's still the years most engrossing filmmaking wise.

01. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street - Then there is Martin Scorsese. 71 years old. Has already made Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, The Departed, Hugo. I could go on. The list of his masterpieces seems never ending, right? Well, add The Wolf of Wall Street to that list, because Scorsese is still making movies like he cares about them (which he does, obviously). He's still making movies like he's got something to prove (even though he doesn't, he hasn't in decades). He is still making movies that are the most energetic, the wildest, the most outlandish, the craziest. The Wolf of Wall Street is just another crowning achievement for, probably, the greatest living director. In my book, Scorsese could do no wrong, and with every movie, he just continues to prove my point.

Precious / Fantastic Mr. Fox

Precious - In a word: devastating. Half of Precious is really as good as everyone is saying it is. The other half, well, we'll talk about that later. The story follows an illiterate overweight Harlem high school girl named Precious. She's currently pregnant with her second child, both fathered by her dad. Her mom is abusive, to say the least. She daydreams of being a blonde girl and starring in rap videos. The story itself is half gritty street tale and half lifetime movie. The movie, for me, lives and dies by the performance of Mo' Nique. Mo' Nique, Mo' Nique, Mo' Nique. My Lord, she is amazing. Even without that last knockdown dragout scene in Mariah Carey's office, her performance is amazing. But when she adds those layers onto her abusive character, well, it's really Oscar gold. If she doesn't win come March, it'll be a crying shame. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is solid as Precious as well. She has a level of honesty and realism that is refreshing and welcoming. Paula Patton as a sweet, caring teacher is a revelation as well. She just exudes warmth. Then there's Carey. Everyone is all a-twitter about how she uglied herself up (or down) for the role. She impresses with her small role as a social worker but she's really just there to play opposite the single best scene in the entire movie. Precious is depressing as hell but it's also strangely uplifting. Like I said, though, only half of the time. When I wasn't feeling emotionally wrecked, I was feeling like I was watching a made for TV lifetime movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing but when half of your movie is so damn good, the other half shouldn't feel like it's so inferior. Still, Precious is definitely worth watching if only for Mo' Nique's AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING performance. I can't sing her praises enough.
Grade: B / B+

Fantastic Mr. Fox - I'm finding Fantastic Mr. Fox to be a difficult movie to review. Everything I've heard about it has been so blaringly positive that I feel if I say anything negative about the movie it would be taken as treason. I am, indeed, a Wes Anderson fan (although I admit I'm a bigger fan of co-writer Noah Baumbach's work). I love his quirky, offbeat sensabilities. I think The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore are two of the most brilliant movies in recent years. Still, there's something about Fantastic Mr. Fox that didn't quite gel with me and I can't exactly place my finger on it. I mean, clearly this movie was made for Anderson fans. I can't imagine who else would go see it. It's too dark for children and too offbeat for most adults. As an Anderson fan, I think the movie is great - charming, witty, full of likeable yet terribly flawed main characters (voiced by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe etc.). Visually, it's simply stunning. I've actually never read the book so I can't compare the two but I feel Anderson probably took some liberties and I hope he didn't take anything away from the original work. As a fan of movies, however, there was something lacking in the haphazard story telling and the painfully slow second act. Also, the whole wolf-phobia side plot thing just totally didn't work at all. Still, the movie was enjoyable and I definitely recommend it for fans of Anderson's other works. As cliched as this sounds, it was a little short of fantastic for me.
Grade: B-

Wednesday - Top Ten Best Supporting Actresses of the Decade!