‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’: A film full of promise
(2013 – Director: David Lowery Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster)
On its surface, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is a conventional crime thriller/romance. It’s acting, imagery, and tone is what keeps it from becoming dull.
Pod, James Pod Podcast: Episode 005 – ‘You Only Live Twice’
Pod, James Pod Podcast is ringing in the new year with a new episode covering You Only Live Twice. We really get into the nitty-gritty of the film and talk about what it would be like to turn Japanese, and how Gravity stole this movie’s plot, but not before we pick not-so-pretend dodgeball teams made up of Bond characters. Let us know which team you think would win!
You can listen using the player below or on iTunes or Stitcher.
Top Ten Movies of 2013
Boy has this been a good year for movies. I didn’t get to see them all, but I feel like I got to see some of the best. Of course, I will update this list periodically.
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10. Frances Ha
For any 20-something this movie is so true, it hurts. It could be considered a thematic counterpart to HBO’s Girls, but the character of Frances allows this movie to jump, dance, skip, and fall on its own.
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9. Prisoners
This chilling crime thriller steers far deeper than the everyday-tv-cop-show level of drama. It’s writing might not be the most original, but its direction and acting (Hugh Jackman gives us some of his best work) loft this film among 2013’s best.
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J.J. Abrams continues to deliver these quality big movies. I don’t pretend to be a Trek connoisseur, but it’s not hard to appreciate how the new Star Trek universe is flipping characters and story lines on their heads and making it work.
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Paul Greengrass and Tom Hanks deliver some of the best work of their careers.
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6. Blue Jasmine
Woody Allen continues to surprise at the ripe old age of 78. Jasmine is perhaps his most timely movie and it may be Blanchett’s best.
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What makes this film special is its subtlety and lack of heavy-handedness when it came to what could have been sappy horror stories about at-risk children. Instead, it rounds each character out with grace and depth. The visual style – Brie Larson and John Gallagher Jr. knocking their roles out of the park – and the witty writing create a cinematic experience that you can’t forget.
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4. Nebraska
Yes, there’s a lot to be said about this movie, but let’s not forget how darn funny it is. Nebraska is cinema gold and will linger in my mind for years to come.
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It’s hard to describe how a trilogy of movies about two talkative people falling in love is so good to people who haven’t seen them. But once you see the Before movies, you’ll know. You’ll know why the acting, writing and relationship tugs your heart all over the place. This movie is a must-see for watching one of the greatest cinematic relationships ever cap off one of the best trilogies ever.
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An absolute stunner of a movie that will leave you shaken to your core. Steve McQueen has done nothing but make great movies, but his third effort will surely live on as a classic. If there’s any movie this year that I plead for people to go see, it’s this one.
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1. Gravity
Although I feel like 12 Years a Slave was 2013’s most important film, Gravity still finds its way to #1 in my heart. It’s simply cinema in it’s purest form. It’s the perfect combination of visual awe, character intimacy, and tonal direction. People like to complain about the script in this movie. Umm, there was a script? I was too busy in Sandra Bullock’s helmet gasping for my own air while in my theatre seat. This is a director’s and actor’s film, not a writer’s movie. And that’s a rare thing, especially for a big budget film. The fact that there was little to no knowledge about these characters or circumstances made the experience even more personal. Any plot point or logical explanation would have taken me away from Bullock’s immediate emotional swings. This movie was never about logic or backstory. It’s about the audience’s desire to breathe. Gravity is flawless in my eyes and will stand as the greatest theatre experience I have ever had.
Honorable Mentions: The World’s End, Philomena, The Place Beyond the Pines, Upstream Color, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Her, Saving Mr. Banks, American Hustle, To The Wonder, Enough Said, Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Monsters University, Oblivion
Holiday Mini-Reviews
The Lone Ranger (2013)
What a strange movie. Johnny Depp as Tonto? Really? A main character that’s impossible to relate to, accompanied by a script that just kept going and going to try and salvage something, made this one of the year’s biggest head-scratchers. I do agree with Quentin Tarantino on the excitement and brilliance of that last train scene though. In fact, if you haven’t seen this movie, just skip to the last 20 minutes. That’s all anyone wants to see anyway.
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Frances Ha (2013)
A mix between French New Wave and Woody Allen, Frances Ha is a fun movie about failing to grow up. One of the year’s best.
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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
I never should have doubted that Anchorman 2 would be the weirdest movie I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t quite have the effect the first one had, but it’s always good to see Ron Burgundy again.
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American Hustle (2013)
This is a movie I was supposed to love. American Hustle had everything it needed to be a great movie. It had the cast, the acting, the direction, the script, and the design. It’s some of O. Russell’s best work, no doubt. But the results proved to be nothing more than forgettable. It’s a really well-made movie, but nothing tugged at me; nothing wowed me. It’s like David O. Russell watched one too many Scorsese pictures, mixed in a little Ocean’s 11 and put his own directorial touch on it. I like his pictures because they always seem so personal. You could feel the heart of the characters in every single scene in both The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, but maybe got that feeling once with American Hustle. Maybe I just got conned by a movie about con artists wearing way too much makeup and wild outfits? I’ll assume that’s what happened.
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Days of Heaven (1978)
Early strokes of Terence Malick’s genius. As usual, he’s a master of setting and tone.
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Elysium (2013)
District 9 was such a breath of fresh air when it released back in 2009. Blomkamp’s sophomore effort had loads of potential, but succumbed to a typical, generic big budget movie story. A lackluster villain, rushed backstory, and some awkward action scenes ruined what could have been a good movie with a good message.
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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Smaug rightfully picked up right where its predecessor left off (except for throwing away the fact that Thorin learned to respect Bilbo by the end of Unexpected Journey). From then on it’s action, action and some more action. In fact, there’s so much action I’m not even sure I saw more than five lines from the title character. Again, it seemed like Jackson elongated the book and added action sequences to fulfill a trilogy. There are all new characters, love triangles, a female elf that doesn’t whisper every single damn line, and of course, Smaug. Meeting Smaug was well worth the wait as he sent chills up my spine every time he spoke. He’s the reason this movie gets an extra half star.
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Monsters University (2013)
My worries about making a prequel of one of my favorite Pixar films were set aside as this movie creates a world of its own. Although it’s lacking some of the heart Monsters Inc. had, it makes for a solid film.
Movie Hodgepodge 