I can’t believe I haven’t written this yet! 2013 came on so fast, and last year just wasn’t that exciting film-wise. I could only come up with four films I truly liked for goodness sake! Oh well, here goes…
1. Les Miserables
Directed by Tom Hooper
Critics and filmgoers alike didn’t know what to think about this film. Defying all expectation, director Tom Hooper went for a close, intimate rendition of an epic stage musical. All the close-ups, shaky wide-angle shots and cramped sets just confused people, especially as they were set to grand, soaring music. If this film was made in the 50s, it would have been massive, with a cast of thousands. Instead, Hooper uses about the same number of cast members as the original Broadway musical employs, and shoots on sets that could probably fit on a large Broadway stage. The effect is like a night at the opera, standing directly in front of the performer’s faces. It’s unnerving, but it gives the actors a powerful palette for emoting, something that simply couldn’t be achieved on a stage where the actor is forced to play to the back row as well as the front. Hooper’s Les Miserables is an unexpected mixing of mediums, of film and stagecraft, and it actually works wonders, creating a powerful, touching experience, one of the best I had at cinemas last year.
2. The Dark Knight Rises
Directed by Christopher Nolan
When Batman is done right, it’s a joy to watch. I loved Christopher Nolan’s first Batman film, Batman Begins. It struck the tone perfectly between dark and scary and thrilling and fun. The Dark Knight was just dark, and intentionally a raw mess. In The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan deftly combines the tones of both previous films into a thrilling and extremely satisfying conclusion to his Batman trilogy. Rises is consistently surprising. It goes places I never dreamed a comic book film would go, and weaves a tale that’s as moving as it is wickedly ingenious. Christopher Nolan has consistently made big budget studio films with brain as well as heart, and I applaud his work.
3. The Master
Directed by P. T. Anderson
The Master is a problematic film for me. It’s plagued with a couple scenes of nudity that I, as a follower of Christ, cannot accept. Apart from these few brief scenes, The Master is a haunting and powerful look at the force that is the modern cult, and it frankly took my breath away. Joaquin Phoenix returns from a long stint of genius performance art as a drunken and violent outcast ex-soldier who’s taken in by the seeming kindness and caring of a famed cult leader played with power and subtly by the great Philip Seymour Hoffman. Phoenix’s character quickly becomes Hoffman’s self-proclaimed bodyguard and the cult’s most zealous disciple, much to the chagrin and half-veiled pride of the master himself. It’s clear that these men love each other. It’s unclear whether their actions are right, and the film never directly takes a stand either way. It shows the love and generosity of the cult as it show the severe effects of the brainwashing techniques the cult employs, and the emotional fallout of their faintly defined and ever-shifting belief system. It is this poor definition that leads Phoenix’s character spiraling slowly back into the anger and sorrow he came from as his faith in the cult fades. Hoffman alternates between rage and pity as he watches this transformation and faces his own challenges as the cults’ master. There’s a lot of subtle character stuff going on here, and I think I missed some of it after only one viewing. One thing that really interested me was the film’s score. Rather than keeping with the indifference of the director, the music sides with the cult, soaring in beauty and wonder, never once doubting its authenticity. It’s a strange choice that lends an extra level of haunting beauty to the film’s sad proceedings.
4. The Avengers
Directed by Josh Whedon
No matter how pretentious I may seem, I couldn’t keep The Avengers off my list. Going to see this film was some of the most fun I had in the cinema last year. Marvel and Disney have accomplished something amazing. They’ve created a self-sustaining film world, a cast of characters that star in their own franchises as well as in each others, a world built entirely of summerblockbusters. Somehow Marvel and Disney have figured out a way to harness the world of comic book super-heroes and put it on the big screen, and they’ve struck it rich. In The Avengers, Iron Man and Captain America and Thor and the Hulk and Hawkeye and Black Widow fight monsters in New York, which is fine, but it’s the setup that’s the most fun: Captain America and Iron Man bicker like children, Iron Man and Hulk nerd out till they annoy the rest of the team, Iron Man makes fun of Thor’s cape and Captain America perks up when the Wizard of Oz is mentioned. Etc. Part of me can’t believe this film exists. We all know big studios don’t know what comic book fans want. But somehow last year we got the incredible image of half a dozen super heroes who have battled evil solo on the big screen for years quietly easting shawarma together. There’s nothing quite so epic as that.
Honorable Mentions:Lincoln/Looper/Moonrise Kindom
All three of these almost made the list, but on second thought they all just seemed a bit too mediocre. Lincoln was a good historical film with some inspiring acting bits, Looper had a decent high concept sci-fi concept with a heart and Moonrise Kingdom was more of the same from Wes Anderson, if a tad stiffer and less tasteful. I have yet to see Argo or Life of Pi. I apologize. Truly. I did see Django Unchained. More on that experience someday.
Dishonorable Mentions
Prometheus
Let’s all go to space and get dismembered! Unlike Alien Ridley Scott’s not-Alien-prequel is gross sci-fi horror exploitation with a nasty streak of sadism and a dull and pointless plot. My brother and I went to see this and then went out for Italian food. Not the best idea.
The Amazing Spider-Man
This wouldn’t be such a bad film if it wasn’t a completely derivative version of Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man. There’s also way too much computer animation going on. Aside from a few fresh ideas, it’s just derivative junk.
Brave
Could a Pixar film ever be bad? Yes. It’s called Brave. This film is such a dull, boring mess I can’t even remember the plot. Something about bears trashing a castle for a couple of hours and ugly viking people screaming and throwing things. Everyone’s always hating on Cars. Brave is worse. Much, much worse.
Children Killing Each Other For Entertainment
Hunger Games. Enough said.