Philomena is a fine little movie that has somehow been classified as a great movie worthy of Best Picture and Best Actress (Judy Dench – Notes on a Scandal, Shakespeare In Love) nominations. In my opinion, neither are deserving. This movie, though only 1 hour 38 minutes, never felt super slow, but it still did feel long. I think that had to do with the story not winning me over. In a year where there were many decent movies but not many great ones, Philomena will not be remembered. I think when people go back and remember 2013, the list isn’t very deep. People will remember 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, and possibly Frozen (I’m not an animated movie type of guy, so I won’t see this movie, but I understand how great others think it is).
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Category Archives: Year of Release
The Spectacular Now (2013)
The Spectacular Now was one of those movies that, before watching it, I thought I was going to be stupid, then I thought I would love it, and ultimately wouldn’t know how I would feel about it until its conclusion. This was based on the movie’s trailer. Then as I began watching the movie, I thought the same things. Had I seen this exact movie before? Probably. Was it going to be filled with cliche after cliche after cliche? Most definitely. Was there going to be some sort of twist or reaction to an event that would separate it from the other movies in this genre that I had seen before? I hoped so. Was the acting good enough and the characters believable for me to think I was part of a real story and not just watching a melodrama played on the screen? Probably not. With all of those things said, it’s a cute little film that I recommend watching, especially if you are in the 17-22-year-old range.
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Blue Jasmine (2013)
Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris) has done more than enough in his latest venture to interest me in checking out some of his past films that I have yet to see. Blue Jasmine is a terrific little movie about crushed dreams, deception, and trying your best to accept the life you have, regardless if it is the life that you want. It stars Cate Blanchett (The Aviator, Notes on a Scandal) as the title character, a woman whose life is turned completely upside down when her life of luxury is uprooted as a result of her husband Hal’s (Alec Baldwin – The Cooler, The Departed) poor personal and professional decision-making. Instead of continuing to live her posh lifestyle in New York City with (what she thought) was her perfect husband, she is forced to move in with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky, Submarine) and her two sons in a rundown San Francisco apartment because she has nowhere else to go. Blanchett (Best Actress), Hawkins (Best Supporting Actress), and Allen (Best Original Screenplay) were all nominated for Academy Awards. While Blanchett and Allen were most deserving, I didn’t think Hawkins was great. It furthers the argument that the award is likely a two-person race between Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), who should win, and Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle). Blanchett has a small chance to unseat the favorite Sandra Bullock (Gravity), but I just don’t see it happening. Bullock carried a Best Picture nominee by herself for more than an hour. Even if Blue Jasmine had been nominated for Best Picture, it would still have been hard for her to defeat Bullock.
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August: Osage County (2013)
Primarily known for his work as executive director of some of the best television shows of the last 20 years (ER, The West Wing, Third Watch, Southland), John Wells is a newcomer in directing a feature film. Before August: Osage County, he has just one movie credit to his name (2010’s slightly disappointing The Company Men…a movie whose trailer made it seem like it was going to be a contender for movie of the year). But when it comes to assembling casts, I’m not sure a director can do any better. For his first film, he reeled in Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Mario Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Craig T. Nelson. Not bad. But even the cast of The Company Men has nothing on August: Osage County. For this effort, with apologies to American Hustle, Wells has assembled the best cast ensemble you will see in all of 2013. American Hustle got five of the best actors and actresses on the planet, but August: Osage County got eight or nine great ones.
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Nebraska (2013)
Alexander Payne’s (The Descendants, About Schmidt) Nebraska is a very likable movie that has someone convinced the critics that it is a fantastic movie worthy of Best Picture discussion. I can see how a case could be made for the acting nominations (Best Actor – Bruce Dern & Best Supporting Actress June Squibb), much more so than I can the case for Best Picture or Best Director. While 2013 was not a great movie year, there were quite a few very, very good movies To me, Nebraska was a notch below these higher-tiered movies, And, to me, it didn’t feel like directing this movie was as challenging to produce as some of the better movies that did not have a nomination for Best Director So while the storytelling was great, and this was a delightful film to watch, the fact that is in the talk for best movie of the year is a little absurd. Of the five total Oscars (Cinematography was the fifth category) it received, I see it coming home empty on the big night. Continue reading Nebraska (2013)