Top Ten Films 2013

10. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - A lonely day dreamer finally escapes his dull life and enters on the adventure of a lifetime while trying to find a missing photograph negative. That's Walter Mitty in a nutshell and the film is a great experience filled with laughs, action and the most beautiful scenery. It's visual overload with volcanoes erupting and boats at sea. Walter Mitty is a sweet movie for the daydreamer in all of us.

09. Captain Phillips - If you like your movies intense, than Captain Phillips is for you. The true story of a cargo ship boarded by Somali pirates, Captain Phillips is the most intense film of the year. Tom Hanks is charming and heroic. Newcomer Barkhad Abdi makes his presence felt as the empathetic villain. But it's the hand held camera work and gut-wrenching emotion that makes this one of the year's best. And once you see Tom Hanks last ten minutes on film, you'll wonder why he was snubbed by Oscar this year. It may be the best ten minutes in all of movies this year.

08. Disconnect - Interwoven stories tell the tale of how we are all so dependent on technology for connection, and really, how lonely and disconnected we all feel on a day to day basis. Disconnect is a little, indie movie that I happened upon that ended up being so much better than I ever could have imagined. It's got a great ensemble featuring the likes of Jason Bateman, Paula Patton and Alexander Skarsgaard. But, mostly it's the story that you can relate to se easily. If you have ever been lonely, or bullied, or made mistakes, or wanted to escape your life... than there is something in this movie for you.

07. The Spectacular Now - This past year has been a remarkable year for coming of age stories and The Spectacular Now is the best of the bunch. It's the story of the most popular guy in school (Miles Teller) who falls for a smart and sad outcast (Shailene Woodley). And while that may sound cliche, this movie manages to avoid feeling like something you've seen a million times before. Perhaps it's the chemistry of the stars, or the fact that everything just feels real. This is a great movie about two teenagers on the cusp of becoming adults, with great performances, especially by a scene stealing Kyle Chandler.

06. Inside Llewyn Davis - The Coen Brothers have always loved unlikable men, and the folk musician at the center of Inside Llewyn Davis is no different. He's, more or less, a self-destructive asshole who angers and upsets just about everyone he comes in contact with. The fact that we can root for Llewyn at all says a lot about the amazing performance of Oscar Issac. Inside Llewyn Davis is yet ANOTHER Coen Brothers masterpiece, and this time, it's got a great, sing-along soundtrack as well.

05. 12 Years a Slave - I still believe that 12 Years a Slave has its flaws, but it's so close to being a masterpiece that it barely even matters. Not only is it an Important Movie (with capital letters!), but also it is a beautiful one. Never has something so ugly looked so pretty. The cinematography, the acting, the directing, the script: it's all wonderful. My only hesitation with it initially was thinking it was a little too pretentious. But that's nearly an afterthought now. Years from now, when people talk about the year 2013 in film, they will be talking about 12 Years a Slave.

04. The Place Beyond the Pines - Another flawed epic of a movie, The Place Beyond the Pines follows the lives of two men whose lives intersect and then, years later, their sons whose lives intersect as well. The Place Beyond the Pines is a refreshing sort of movie that is absolutely mesmerizing from start to finish. It's also unpredictable, and while the female characters seem like a sort of afterthought, the movie itself is a breath of fresh air in this day and age of remakes and sequels and unoriginality.

03. The Wolf of Wall Street - The most brazen, ballsy, out of control movie of the year is also won of the best. Martin Scorsese is still making movies like he's in his twenties with something to prove and star Leonardo DiCaprio has never been so free, completely letting go of his inhibitions to give one of the best performances of the year. The Wolf of Wall Street is an absolute masterpiece of greed and debauchery. The men at the center of the film are awful people, but that doesn't make watching them any less enjoyable.

02. Frances Ha - I don't know exactly what it is about this little black and white movie that struck me so much. Perhaps it's just how much I seem to relate to Frances (Greta Gerwig). Frances is a lonely girl living in New York City with big dreams, and although she has ambition, nothing ever quite works out for her. It's the story of struggling through life when all your friends seem to have their shit together but you can barely get out of bed some days. But mostly it's the story of a girl who is just trying to get her life straightened out. Frances says it's okay to have no idea what you're doing on a daily basis, and I thank her for it.

01. Her - The newest love story from Spike Jonze follows the story of a lonely writer desperate to make a connection (just like so many films I loved this year). He ends up falling in love with the new operating system for his computer. Her is just about everything a movie should be: smart, funny, intimate, quirky, original, sweet, and sad. This is the sort of lovely, wonderful movie that will have you crying one moment and laughing the next. Anchored by the joyful performance of Joaquin Phoenix and featuring the best screenplay of the year, Her is an absolute little gem of a movie.

The Brothers Bloom and Where the Wild Things Are

The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson had a lot to live up to for me. His debut film, the unbelievably brilliant Brick, is one of my favorite movies of all time. How can one person possibly surpass that or even live up to it? I don't think The Brothers Bloom surpasses Brick, but it sure doesn't disappoint. Johnson's second film - still clever, still smart as hell, still funny and strange and unique - follows two brothers (Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) who are con men about to embark on their final mark. Said mark is Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), an eccentric multi-millionaire hermit who collects hobbies and can do everything from break dance to ride a unicycle while juggling chainsaws. Penelope's entrance in the film is probably one of the best character entrances in recent memory. Along for the ride is Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) who barely says a word but conveys so much with so little dialogue. This movie is spectacular and not at all disappointing to Brick fans (check out cameos from Brick stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Noah Segan and Nora Zehetner). Johnson has so many great shots in this movie and style too spare. One of my very few complaints may be that the movie almost has too much style but that's hardly something I'm going to dwell on. It's definitely not a case of style over substance, that's too be sure. The substance is most definitely there as well. There are so many con-man movie plot twists and you can tell Johnson is paying homage to the classics. While doing this, and creating a completely original, unique film, he makes his own instant classic. The characters are charming, the actors are all superb, the sets and locations are beautiful and most importantly? Johnson doesn't look down at his audience. He respects the intelligence of the audience and while doing so makes a classy, well told story that manages to entertain from beginning to end. Kudos to Johnson, one of the most interesting and exciting young directors around today.
Grade: A-

Where the Wild Things Are - I had my doubts. How can you possibly take, arguably, the greatest children's book of all time, something that has only a handful of sentences and turn it into a feature length film that can stand on its own while still staying true to the Maurice Sendak book? Well if anyone can do it, it's Spike Jonze. And he pulls it off. The whole movie is pretty damn great but the first five minutes (leading up to the title card) are damn near perfection. We're introduced to our protagonist Max (Max Records, who sets some kind of new bar for child actors with his incredibly moving performance) wearing the wolf costume chasing his dog with a fork. It's chaotic, it's hilarious, it's perfectly done. Max is lonely, of course. He has no friends, no one to play with. After having a fight with his mom (the always enchanting Catherine Keener), he runs away (there are some differences from the book here, but I enjoyed the changes), finds a boat and sails to a far away island inhabited by the wild things. The wild things are voiced by James Gandolfini (temperamental Carol), Catherine O'Hara (sassy Judith), Lauren Ambrose (sweet loner KW), Paul Dano (hilarious Alexander), Forest Whitaker (Judith's love Ira) and Chris Cooper (dependable Douglas) and all of those actors do wonders with the job they have to do. Max becomes king of the wild things and thinks all of his problems are fixed. They aren't, of course, because Where the Wild Things Are is largely a story about being independent and finding a way to fix your faults and grow up. The film is just plain beautiful and a joy to watch. It's funny and touching and fun and sweet and just great. The locations are gorgeous, the hand held camera work is fantastic, the songs from Karen O are just right for the film. Jonze does a great job creating the complex relationships between these people and wild things and that's no small task when half of your cast are nine foot tall muppets. It's refreshing to see a movie that doesn't condescend to children but instead is intelligent and witty. I highly recommend the film and in the words of Max, "Let the wild rumpus start!"
Grade: B+