3. Captain Phillips (Sony Pictures). A harrowing true story of a modern-day pirate hijacking, with Tom Hanks giving one of his best performances as the title skipper trying to protect his crew. Director Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Ultimatum) directs with his usual you-are-there flair, which works particularly well here in the isolated middle of the sea.
4.American Hustle (Columbia/Sony Pictures). Da- vid O. Russell’s zesty, funny take on the 1970s Abscam scandal boasts a terrific cast, especially the two best younger actresses working today: Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Factor in the groovy period fash- ions, hairstyles and an abundance of “sweet and sour” nail polish and it becomes an even more amusing yet often poignant survival story for the over-40 crowd. 5. Blue is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects) and Aftermath (Menemsha Films). The two best foreign language films of the year are these über- dramatic coming-of-age tales, the first a three-hour take on a young French woman’s sexual awakening while the second is about grown brothers who un- cover the horrific Nazi-era truth behind their Polish farming community. Both proved dramatic behind the scenes as well, once Blue’s lead actresses began feuding publicly with the director and Aftermath’s lead actor received death threats over his participa- tion in the film. Apparently, historical truth is still too uncomfortable for some to accept. 6. Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features). Matthew McConaughey is stunning as Ron Woodroof, a big- oted straight man infected with HIV in the early 1980s who became Texas’s greatest crusader for life-saving medical care of both gay and straight patients alike. Jared Leto gives a similarly courageous performance as Woodroof’s transgender “partner in crime.” 7. Call Me Kuchu (Cinedigm) and God Loves Uganda (Full Credit Productions/Variance). A pair of great, if disturbing, documentaries dealing with the destruction wrought by anti-gay American evan- gelists spreading their gospel of hate in Africa. God Loves Uganda is one of the final ten or so documen- taries eligible for Academy Award consideration. It will send a powerful message if the film is not only nominated but ultimately wins the Oscar. 8. The Great Gatsby (Warner Bros.). Critics were divided over Australian director Baz Luhrmann’s typically flamboyant adaptation—in 3D no less—of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literary classic. I found it to be both dramatically and visually engrossing, indeed the first accessible movie version of the book. Thanks to this and its Jay Z-supervised soundtrack, high school English students will actually want to watch Luhrmann’s film for years to come.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Movies that rated a B+ or higher in my critic’s log in no particular order.
Yossi, Koch, The Square, Beyond the Hills, I Am Divine, Room 237, Iron Man 3, The Hot Flashes, Star Trek Into Darkness, Laurence Anyways, World War Z, Unfinished Song, This Is the End, Pacific Rim, Fruitvale Station, Drinking Buddies, Upstream Color, Sal, Thanks for Sharing, Prison- ers, After Tiller, All is Lost, Short Term 12, The Kings of Summer
AT THE OPPOSITE, LESSER END OF MY REVIEW SCALE: The following 2013 releases in no par- ticular order of dishonor.
9. Austenland (Sony Pictures Classics). I adored this satire of all things Jane Austen-related and consider it the most purely pleasurable film I saw all year. I even paid to see it a second time, something I haven’t done in a long time. Besides, how can anyone not love a movie in which the always-hilarious Jen- nifer Coolidge plays the prim and proper title resort’s sauciest guest? 10. Out in the Dark (Breaking Glass Pictures). The best gay-themed film of 2013 out of a very strong pack of contenders. Here, forces both familial and political test the love between an Israeli lawyer and Palestinian student. Dubbed “the Brokeback Moun- tain of Israeli film,” it is an impressive feature debut by director and co-writer Michael Mayer.
1. Stoker (Fox Searchlight). A dreary Southern Gothic tale, written by recently-out Wentworth Miller, that largely wastes a talented cast including Nicole Kidman. 2. Bridegroom(Virgil Films). The tragic death of a young gay man, Tom Bridegroom, is given a mawk- ishly sentimental, one-sided recounting by his surviving boyfriend and TV writer-producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. 3. Insidious: Chapter 2 (Film District). This unnec- essary sequel to 2011’s superior ghost story should have been more accurately titled Insipid. 4. Adore (Gaumont). A gorgeous-looking movie about gorgeous longtime friends, played by Naomi Watts and Robin Wright, who improbably have lengthy romantic and sexual relationships with one another’s barely-adult sons. Just plain tacky. 5. To the Wonder (Magnolia Pictures). Auteur Ter- rence Malick’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Tree of Life is less focused, even more confounding and seemingly endless, with a wooden perfor- mance by male lead Ben Affleck.
JANUARY 2014 JANUARY 2014 | | RAGE monthly monthly 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64