With the Oscars coming up fairly soon, and having seen the films from 2013 that I really wanted to see, I figured it was time to make a top ten list. These are my favourite films from the past year, and had some connection with me. Yeah, I'll probably highlight the performances in most of them, but whatever. I did the first half of the list ( Here's my top five from 2013. Enjoy, bitches.
5. The World's End
Any time a movie attempts to go for big laughs and can succeed, not just with well written jokes, but with fucking amazing physical comedy, then that's a movie I will love. It doesn't hurt that I could describe Edgar Wright's entire filmography that way. The thing that The World's End does better than any of his previous films, however, is that it combines all the best aspects of his previous films into one great piece of cinema. Written by Wright, along with star Simon Pegg, the film features some of the best laugh out loud moments of the year, with all five lead actors getting a chance to showcase their range.
And it certainly helps that Wright may be the best action director in Hollywood right now. The way that he choreographs his action, whether it's parodying the Bad Boys movies in Hot Fuzz, or giving us video game style action in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Wright knows how to shoot it. This is no exception, as he seemlessly weaves comedy and action into a lot of the scenes. Nick Frost, in particular, is given some truly badass moments, including delivering a Bane-esque backbreaker to a Blank, and delivering the People's Elbow as well.
I think that this movie also showcases the most fully formed characters in the Cornetto Trilogy, as each character has a distinct story that adds a believableness to their friendships and fallings out. Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Rosamund Pike are all fantastic throughout the story, and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are as brilliant as ever, giving some of the best drunk performances seen on film. I want to give special notice to Eddie Marsan though, because, not only is he great here, but he is by far the best part of the show Ray Donovan. Any time a British actor has a more convincing Boston accent than Liev Schrieber or Jon Voight, you take notice. Anyways, all these characters are simultaneously hilarious, real, honest and heartbreaking, making The World's End a fitting end to a perfect trilogy.
4. 12 Years A Slave
Of all the movies on this list, 12 Years A Slave is easily the hardest film to get through. Not because it's any kind of a bad film, but because it's a film that deals with subject matter that will make you very uncomfortable. Watching the brutality that takes places here is much harder to watch than any Saw or torture porn movie because these things actually happened. We see Solomon tortured and beaten and degraded beyond belief, as he is treated as human garbage.
I don't often try to champion movies as being "important" because, at the end of the day, they are meant to entertain. But 12 Years A Slave pushes beyond that and will force you to confront the fact that these awful things happened. It's not hard to feel awful watching this, and I think that's the intention, because we shouldn't be okay with watching what used to happen to so many people. A lot of credit has to go to director Steve McQueen, a master of the uncomfortable film with Hunger and Shame under his belt, and writer John Ridley for crafting this riveting film from Solomon Northup's story.
The one thing that all Steve McQueen's movies have in common is that the acting is phenomenal, and this is no exception. The ensemble, featuring strong supporting performances from Scoot McNairy, Michael K. Williams, Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard and Brad Pitt. Even though a lot of those actors are relegated to a scene or two, they are great. To a larger extent, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch also do very strong work in expanded roles. But the best performances come from Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o and, of course, Chiwetel Ejiofor. Fassbender is the embodiment of evil, conflicted with his attraction to Patty, while maintaining his beliefs, and Nyong'o is truly heartbreaking as Patty. But the film is balanced on the shoulders of Ejiofor, and he carries the film throughout, giving one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen. People really need to see this film.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street
Holy fucking fuck fucks, is this a great fucking movie or fucking what? Did I break their f-word record yet? What? 570 to go? Fuck it. Man, this movie is completely bat shit insane and I loved every second of it. And not because I thought Jordan Belfort or his cronies were cool. On the contrary, I thought they were pompous assholes who got off by ruining peoples lives. The reason I loved this movie was because it was satire at its finest. If you walk out of The Wolf of Wall Street thinking that any of these characters was cool, or that their lives seemed awesome, then I have news for you: you might be a garbage human being.
Martin Scorsese crafts a movie, that I think, people will hold among some of his best work. There's a real energy that never makes it feel like you're sitting and watching a three hour movie. The pace is break neck fast, and the script is fantastic. Terrence Winter gives you a real sense of what some of these people must have been like. Also, why are people surprised there's a lot of swearing and nudity in this? Winter is also the head writer and show runner of Boardwalk Empire. Of course, a Scorsese film is never complete without a ton of wonderful actors in supporting roles, and there's no exception here. From Rob Reiner, to Kyle Chandler (Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!), to Jean Dujardin to Jon Beranthal, to Matthew McConaughey, in possibly my favourte scene all year, the supporting cast is great.
This movie should also launch the career of Margot Robbie, who is fantastic as Belfort's wife, giving a fearless performance. And we have to look at Jonah Hill, because this is the best performance of his career, and proves that he's ready to be considered a real dramatic actor. However, the whole film wouldn't work without Leonardo DiCaprio giving the best performance of his career, and, what I consider to be, one of the best comedic performances of the last five years. The movie hinges on him going for it, and he does all the way. Now let's all go snort cocaine, jerk off and beat our chests while humming. Or maybe just the last two.
2. Her
So, I remember when I saw the trailer for Her and thought I'd rather not see a movie about a guy falling in love with his phone. I've seen the Terminator. This is how it starts. YOU WON'T TAKE ME ALIVE SKYNET. But then I sat down to watch this film, and was blown away. I could have honestly made this my top film and had no regrets about it, because it's truly wonderful. I'm not crazy about Spike Jonze like a lot of film people are, and I really disliked Where The Wild Things Are, so I was hesitant. However, I was wrong. It's an honest look at a real person. An introverted, down-on-his-luck romantic who connects to someone who understands him and makes him happy.
A lot of kudos have to go to Spike Jonze for creating a slightly futuristic world that seems real, and for a script that absolutely nails what loving someone is about. The supporting cast is fantastic, with Chris Pratt, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde showing up for, what are essentially, fantastic extended cameos, and Amy Adams giving a strong performance as the main characters best friend. However, it's the completely believable relationship between Joaquin Phoenix's Theodore Twombly and Scarlett Johansson's Samantha that carries this film.
For all those people who bag on Scarlett for just being a bombshell, watch her performances this year and tell me she isn't an incredibly talented actress, because she plays Samantha so perfectly that we understand how Theodore falls in love with her. And credit Phoenix for giving a performance unlike his usual, because Theodore is kind, sweet and soft spoken and we just want him to be happy. Don't cry damn it. Just hold it together two more.. fuck it, I'm a man, I'll cry if I want to.
1. Inside Llewyn Davis
A Coen Brothers film is my favourite film of 2013, what a surprise right? In all honesty, it was to me a little bit, not because I didn't think I'd like it though. Far from that, actually; I expected I would like it. I didn't realize how much I'd love it. There's something so whimsical yet harshly somber about Llewyn's life and the world he lives in. There is a revolving door of faces in his life, most notably played to note perfection by Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Adam Driver, F. Murray Abraham and Carey Mulligan. They're all great in small roles, but let's forget those potato faces and focus on the real stars of the film: The Coens and Oscar Isaac.
Whenever you go into a Coen Brothers movie, you expect a level excellence, and they deliver some of their finest work here. The script and dialogue crackle, the characters are interesting and hold our attention and, most importantly, they all feel real. This is, in large part, due to the phenomenal performance from Oscar Isaac. So basically he's a fantastic actor, he's got old school good looks, and he's a great singer too? Well fuck you too, this is why I can't have nice things. It's a testament to how good the films and performances were in 2013 that this won't be cleaning up at the Oscars. Any other year, we'd be looking at Oscar winner Oscar Isaac.
But we can't talk about Inside Llewyn Davis without discussing how great all the songs in the film are. The songs help to tell Llewyn's story, and his journey, as well as allowing the audiences moments of comfort through the songs, without ever copping out and offering some kind of cathartic moment. Llewyn lives a difficult life, and they never shy away from showing you that greatness is not possible for everyone, despite a glimmer of hope every so often.
There we go. There's the top ten of 2013. That was fun. I wrote way too fucking much. Whatever. How did you like that? Just okay? Yup, that's about right.
First "Henry"
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