It's true of course that "best" is a bit of a slippery term. It kind of depends on who you're asking and what standards, personal or otherwise, they're applying. Plus, the year ain't quite over yet and your faithful reporter cannot claim to have seen the second part of The Hobbit yet, so, all bets are hedged on that one.
Jumping the gun on the Hobbit though probably isn't such a leap of faith. Since it was made pretty much simultaneously with part 1, it's pretty safe to assume it will replicate the former's same pros and cons: to be precise, more fresh humor than we'd anticipated, but a bit too much in the action thing. One of the ingredients of LOTR's success was the sure handed balancing of action adventure and introspection (all that soul searching, battling the evil within, stuff). Sadly, the initial installment of the Hobbit strayed too far toward the action end of the spectrum. Who knows, though, perhaps the balance has been restored in the editing room. We will see.
Nevertheless, taking account of those movies that have been released, as well as our secret advance screenings, we are confident declaring our choice for the best movie of 2013! Now, some will say that majority rules. The people have voted with their hard earned dollars. There may be something to be said for that.
The winner in this category would appear to be Iron Man 3, which this morning Box Office Mojo had listed as pushing $410 million Shekels gross. This fact, I confess, blows my mind. Who would have predicted that the star of The Pick-Up Artist and Two Girls and a Guy, or the purveyor of Larry Paul from the Ally McBeal show, would wind up being the superhero star of a megabuck successful action franchise? Not I. That's almost as weird as Tobey Maguire being the superhero star of a megabuck successful action franchise. Almost as weird.
Well, be all that as it may, this movie watchdog is no democracy. We've got our own idiosyncratic ways of choosing the best movies. And behinds-in-seats is not it. I certainly would be sympathetic you anyone who insisted that the delightful and intriguing Sound City in fact deserved the honors. This great documentary reveals the story behind the story, giving us the scoop on one of the best kept secrets in American popular culture. Hidden away in the San Fernando Valley, amid ramshackle warehouses, an extraordinary studio, with amazing technical capacities, became a recording shrine for iconic names among American pop and rock musicians.
From Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young to Nirvana and Metallica, they came to refine their sound. The story is told through the experience many of the iconic musicians that found and benefited from the acoustic magic. No arguing that this film is a great experience. It's highly recommended, but, come on, now. You know we're not so namby-pamby as to declare a documentary as our best movie of the year.
Instead, here at Best Movies of 2013, we're getting ahead of the curve and declaring the soul scorching Le Week-End as the best film of the year. No, it's not a foreign film (that would be as bad as declaring a doc best movie). The Frenchish sounding title denotes the location of the action, set in Paris. There a Brit couple, fantastically portrayed by amazingly still hauntingly beautiful Lindsay Duncan and the almost always compelling Jim Broadbent.
I really don't want to say too much about the story and its exquisite dialogue. It's so full of nuanced and subtle cruelty that it really has to be experienced firsthand to be appreciated. I'll just say, if you enjoyed Richard Linklater's moving Before Sunset series, try to imagine the last days of Jesse and Celine's deteriorating relationship, when all the clever quips and observations have degenerated into passive aggressive jousting. This is really something special.
Also needing special mention is the supporting role provided by Jeff Goldblum, another stellar contribution to his later career forte. This one still hasn't equaled the dark menace of his great contribution to Igby Goes Down, but it's still a pretty great performance. One for which I suspect the tall guy will long be remembered.
And there you go, officially unofficial, that's our story and we're sticking with it. Undoubtedly some other titles have received a well deserved not. Le Week-End, though, is our choice, with its dark, brooding, funny and cruel, dialogue that scorches the soul and maybe wells up a tear or two. That's our choice for the very best movie of 2013. And, if you think we're wrong, well, tell us why.
Jumping the gun on the Hobbit though probably isn't such a leap of faith. Since it was made pretty much simultaneously with part 1, it's pretty safe to assume it will replicate the former's same pros and cons: to be precise, more fresh humor than we'd anticipated, but a bit too much in the action thing. One of the ingredients of LOTR's success was the sure handed balancing of action adventure and introspection (all that soul searching, battling the evil within, stuff). Sadly, the initial installment of the Hobbit strayed too far toward the action end of the spectrum. Who knows, though, perhaps the balance has been restored in the editing room. We will see.
Nevertheless, taking account of those movies that have been released, as well as our secret advance screenings, we are confident declaring our choice for the best movie of 2013! Now, some will say that majority rules. The people have voted with their hard earned dollars. There may be something to be said for that.
The winner in this category would appear to be Iron Man 3, which this morning Box Office Mojo had listed as pushing $410 million Shekels gross. This fact, I confess, blows my mind. Who would have predicted that the star of The Pick-Up Artist and Two Girls and a Guy, or the purveyor of Larry Paul from the Ally McBeal show, would wind up being the superhero star of a megabuck successful action franchise? Not I. That's almost as weird as Tobey Maguire being the superhero star of a megabuck successful action franchise. Almost as weird.
Well, be all that as it may, this movie watchdog is no democracy. We've got our own idiosyncratic ways of choosing the best movies. And behinds-in-seats is not it. I certainly would be sympathetic you anyone who insisted that the delightful and intriguing Sound City in fact deserved the honors. This great documentary reveals the story behind the story, giving us the scoop on one of the best kept secrets in American popular culture. Hidden away in the San Fernando Valley, amid ramshackle warehouses, an extraordinary studio, with amazing technical capacities, became a recording shrine for iconic names among American pop and rock musicians.
From Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young to Nirvana and Metallica, they came to refine their sound. The story is told through the experience many of the iconic musicians that found and benefited from the acoustic magic. No arguing that this film is a great experience. It's highly recommended, but, come on, now. You know we're not so namby-pamby as to declare a documentary as our best movie of the year.
Instead, here at Best Movies of 2013, we're getting ahead of the curve and declaring the soul scorching Le Week-End as the best film of the year. No, it's not a foreign film (that would be as bad as declaring a doc best movie). The Frenchish sounding title denotes the location of the action, set in Paris. There a Brit couple, fantastically portrayed by amazingly still hauntingly beautiful Lindsay Duncan and the almost always compelling Jim Broadbent.
I really don't want to say too much about the story and its exquisite dialogue. It's so full of nuanced and subtle cruelty that it really has to be experienced firsthand to be appreciated. I'll just say, if you enjoyed Richard Linklater's moving Before Sunset series, try to imagine the last days of Jesse and Celine's deteriorating relationship, when all the clever quips and observations have degenerated into passive aggressive jousting. This is really something special.
Also needing special mention is the supporting role provided by Jeff Goldblum, another stellar contribution to his later career forte. This one still hasn't equaled the dark menace of his great contribution to Igby Goes Down, but it's still a pretty great performance. One for which I suspect the tall guy will long be remembered.
And there you go, officially unofficial, that's our story and we're sticking with it. Undoubtedly some other titles have received a well deserved not. Le Week-End, though, is our choice, with its dark, brooding, funny and cruel, dialogue that scorches the soul and maybe wells up a tear or two. That's our choice for the very best movie of 2013. And, if you think we're wrong, well, tell us why.
About the Author:
See Mickey Jhonny's controversial piece on the reasons behind the success of Mad Men, at the Don Draper Haircut site.
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