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)
Category Archives: Year of Release
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
For every one of their blockbusters (True Grit, No Country For Old Men) or every one of their movies with grandiose, almost absurd plots (Fargo, Miller’s Crossing), there are the more subtle, lesser-watched but still critically acclaimed movies (A Serious Man, The Man Who Wasn’t There) by director brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. In the mold of this last type of genre comes their first effort in three years, the simple yet thought-provoking Inside Llewyn Davis, a film that stars Oscar Isaac (Drive, Robin Hood) in, perhaps, the surprise performance of the year and the role that will land this talented young actor many more opportunities.
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American Hustle (2013)
My review of David O. Russell’s (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter) American Hustle will be much quicker than some of my other recent reviews. This movie isn’t exactly flying under anyone’s radar. As of this post, it most likely will earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director (though it probably will win neither) and has a chance to land nominations for four of its actors, though the only one that seems certain is Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, Catching Fire) for Best Supporting Actress. There are many critics out there (currently rated as 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. who will rave about this movie, including Richard Roeper, who listed this as his best movie of 2013. I am, therefore, in the minority. Perhaps the expectations were so astronomically high going into this movie, perhaps it was I had watched The Wolf of Wall Street just two days prior (a movie that dwarfed this one), or perhaps it was that I was just bored. Still, for whatever reason, I was very, very, very underwhelmed.
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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street is the fifth collaboration between Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver) and leading Hollywood man Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, Revolutionary Road). With apologies to Gangs of New York, this is arguably their most daring work together. I would rank this as the third-best movie the duo has combined for. 2010’s Shutter Island is in my all-time top 15. This movie was magnificent in its storytelling and captivating ability to draw you in and keep you hooked for its duration. I think Shutter Island is Scorsese’s best work and, arguably, DiCaprio’s too. I know I am in the minority, and many people laugh at this notion, claiming that Shutter Island doesn’t even come close to cracking Scorsese’s all-time top five. I would rank The Wolf of Wall Street slightly below the departed and slightly above Gangs of New York. In my opinion, The Aviator is the worst of the bunch. Scorcese has eight Best Director Oscar nominations and one win (2006’s The Departed). The Wolf of Wall Street could earn him a ninth nomination, but it will not earn him a second win.
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All Is Lost (2013)
The trailer for J.C. Chandor’s (Margin Call, A Most Violent Year) All Is Lost was incredible. It shows a man Robert Redford (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), sailing his yacht in the middle of the sea. He has a smile on his face. The sun is shining brightly. The wind is blowing lightly through his hair. The shots of him are broken up by black frame credits that say “Alone at Sea,” “A Man Has Only Himself,” and “His Will To Survive.” And then we go to a shot of him sleeping in his cabin. Seconds later, water comes gushing in, and it’s obvious he has crashed into something. Then we see all hell breaking loose, including high waves, heavy rain, his belongings hitting off the walls as a result of the yacht rocking back and forth, his yacht capsizing, him saying goodbye to his craft from a raft, unsuccessful attempts at making S.O.S. calls, and flare guns shot into the night sky. Critical praise is flashed on the screen, making it seem like this movie might be the most suspenseful movie ever made. Of course, it’s not, but the trailer makes it look that way.
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