Thankfully, things started to get substantially better after August, so much so I found myself having trouble keeping up with all the titles I wanted to see.
Yes, 2013 may have started poorly, but fueled by a late-inning bevy of unique films and outstanding performances, it closed as one of the more satisfactory movie years in recent memory. Below are my five favorite releases.
1. 12 Years A Slave: Steve McQueen's fact-based period tale of a free man kidnapped and forced into slavery for a dozen years is a harrowing, unflinching masterwork of human survival and features career-defining performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o. This is the type of film that deserves a timeless place in Oscar's hallowed halls.
2. Dallas Buyers Club: This true account of Texas hustler Ron Woodroof, who when diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 began smuggling and then selling non-approved, life-prolonging drugs to others stricken with the illness, is not just a professional triumph for actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto but a glowing testament on how films with socially taboo subject matters can actually entertain audiences just as effectively as they can enlighten them.
3. Nebraska: Alexander Payne's rural family comedy is a hoot from start to finish, an incredibly poignant, wonderfully acted ode to fathers and sons and how that bond, while often muddled and trying at times, still counts for something.
4. Captain Phillips: Paul Greengrass' real-life account of a cargo-ship captain captured by Somali pirates is a taut, exceptionally crafted thriller and reminds us that Tom Hanks can still deliver the kind of powerhouse performance that won him consecutive Oscar trophies nearly twenty years ago.
5. Gravity: Alfonso Cuaron's 2001-esque space drama is an immersive, superbly acted visual triumph, a film that not only proves 3D can be a worthy upgrade but that darkened movie theaters are still capable of delivering magical experiences.
If I Could Choose Five More: 6. The Way Way Back 7. Blue Jasmine 8. Go For Sisters 9. The Wolf of Wall Street 10. Prisoners
Most Overrated Film of 2013: All Is Lost - A lot has been made of Robert Redford's nearly wordless performance of a man lost at sea. However, with virtually no discernible plot or characterization to drive the story, the film is really nothing more than watching a legendary star fumble around a boat for 100 minutes. A good reality-show, maybe. An engaging movie, not so much.
Most Underrated Film of 2013: 42 - Brian Helgeland's look at Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball arrived in April to good reviews and grossed nearly $100 million but seemed unjustly forgotten by year's end. It's actually an extremely moving, well-acted profile of courage and resolve that contains scenes just as brutal and unsettling as any found in 12 Years A Slave.
Happy New Year!
