Wolf of Wall Street

Rating: 8

The Departed is still my favorite Scorsese film and this one almost measures up...but not quite.  Having said that, it's a zippy wild ride and captivating for the full three hours.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Rating: 6

The movie was enjoyable but I wish it had delved a little deeper into the idea of an inner life.  To me it's a fascinating topic that hasn't been explored enough in cinema.

American Hustle

Rating: 9

When you go into a movie expecting to love it, you're usually disappointed. What is the opposite of disappointment? Satisfied doesn't cover it. Love love LOVED this movie.  Every actor is so amazingly good.  The screenplay, good. David O. Russell  keeps getting better every time. The first David O. Russell movie I saw was called Spanking the Monkey. Bad.  Then he did a shitty movie called Flirting With Disaster.  But THEN Three Kings happened. And then some other stuff, and then The Fighter, and then Silver Linings Playbook which wasn't as good as The Fighter but still pretty good, and then THIS. I hope he stays on this trajectory.

Blue is The Warmest Color

Rating: 2

Oh, French movies.  You are so bad and so good.  In the case of Blue is The Warmest Color, bad.
Very bad.  The subject matter and actresses are fantastic but why so boring and three hours long?  The movie is getting tons of press and being banned (in Idaho) for the sex scenes.  At Cannes it won the palme d'or.  I have heard that this award is notorious for recognizing mediocre movies so I checked and the list contains Pulp Fiction, Paris TX and Taxi Driver, among many other greats. So it's a way better measure of good than the Oscars by a long shot. So I forgive you, Cannes, and thanks for keeping it real.

Note to filmmakers of BiTWC: put the same sex scenes in a good movie and people will go nuts for it.

Note to Idaho:  If you have to ban it, do so because it's boring, not for the lady-love.  I'm kidding.  Don't ban movies, douches.

Philomena

Rating: 8

If the story weren't completely true I would have found it ridiculous but it's pretty amazing and, of course, Judi Dench. Say no more.

Playing catch up in 2013 - in 2014 I pledge to be back to regular reviews

MY TOP 13 OF 2013 (in no particular order since I don't feel like ranking them:)

Prisoners: Jake Gyllenhaal in a gripping thriller.
12 Years A Slave: Difficult to watch but phenomenal.
The Counselor: With Michael Fassbender & Brad Pitt, who were also both in 12 Years A Slave, playing very different characters. The movie was accused of being too talky but that's why I loved it.
Dallas Buyer's Club: Brilliant acting, excellent screenplay.
Out of the Furnace: Explosive yet quiet (like a furnace? Is that what the title means? Hmmmm.)
Don Jon: This came as a surprise but I was blown away by it. You go, Joseph Gordon-Levitt!
All Is Lost: I can't believe such a captivating story could be told with virtually no dialogue or character background.
Blue Jasmine: Most people loved this and so did I.
Fruitvale Station: Here I discovered Michael B. Jordan. Can't wait for more of him.
Upstream Color: Experimental film. Sometimes they get it just right.
Blackfish: OMG will you please just let those whales go free? Like, NOW? The movie made me want to join PETA.
Cutie & The Boxer: Documentary about a couple of Japanese artists living in New York. Both are supremely talented and somewhat well-known, yet still struggling to get by.
Stories We Tell: If I can convince anyone to seek out a movie they might not normally see, this would be it. It's a documentary about an unsolved family mystery but it's more than that. Sarah Polley continues to prove herself as a remarkable and accomplished filmmaker, actor and person.


2013 MOVIES I HAVE YET TO SEE:

Oldboy
American Hustle
Wolf of Wall St.
Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Labor Day
Kill Your Darlings
August, Osage County
Parkland
Inside Llewin Davis
Her
Invisible Woman
Blue is the Warmest Color

HERE'S EVERYTHING I SAW IN 2013:

Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Thor 2
We're the Millers
Gravity
Prisoners
Elysium
Carrie
Man of Steel
12 Years a Slave
Pacific Rim
Captain Phillips
The Conjuring
This is The End
World's End
The Counselor
Dallas Buyer's Club
The Heat
Out of The Furnace
The Way Way Back
Bad Grandpa
Don Jon
About Time
World War Z
Philomena
Star Trek Into Darkness
Oz the Great and Powerful
Iron Man 3
Identity Thief
Mama
Oblivion
Rush
Epic
Warm Bodies
All Is Lost
Side Effects
Bling Ring
Hangover 3
Blue Jasmine
Kings of Summer
Stoker
The East
Spectacular Now
Enough Said
Jack the Giant Slayer
Trance
Fruitvale Station
Ain't Them Bodies Saints
Upstream Color
In A World
Blackfish
Inequality for All
Cutie & The Boxer
Stories We Tell