ODDS & ENDS: 2013 MOVIE LIST

Not my top Movies of the year that is coming but a lead up of some movie lists and awards.

WTF MOVIE AWARDS

Only God Forgives
S-V/H/S
Trance
Upstream Color


SEX SYMBOLS OF THE YEAR

Jake Gylenhaal - Prisoners
Mati Diop - Simon Killer
Rosario Dawson - Trance
Rikki Lindhomme - Hell Baby
Margot Robbie –The Wolf Of Wall Street

WINNER - Scarlett Johanssen making us fall in love in one film (HER) and total lust in another (DON JON)

BEST SURPRISE COMEBACK

Andrew Dice Clay - Blue Jasmine


OVERRATED FILMS

Prisoners
Ain't Them Bodies Saints
Mud
The Butler

UNDERRATED FILMS

Rush
Side Effects
Starlet
You're Next
S-V/H/S
We Are What We Are
Somebody Up There Likes Me
Simon Killer
The Way Way Back

BEST SCORE

Man Of Steel
Short Term 12
The Spectacular Now

BEST SONG/SOUNDTRACK

I Am Not A Hipster
Her
Short Term 12
The Spectacular Now

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Her
Before Midnight

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Wolf of Wall Street
The Spectacular Now
American Hustle

 BEST DIRECTOR

Steve McQueen - 12 Years A Slave
Ron Howard - Rush
Richard Linklater - Before Midnight
Alfonso Cauron - Gravity
Noah Baumbach - Frances Ha
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf Of Wall Street
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Spike Jonze - Her

 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Roger Deakins - Prisoners
Christos Voundouris - Before Midnight
Harris Savides & Christopher Blauvelt - The Bling Ring
Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity
Hoyte Van Hoytema - Her
Simon Duggan - The Great Gatsby
Philippe Le Sourd - The Grandmaster
Sam Levy - Frances Ha
Chung-Hoon Chung - Stoker
Benoit Debie - Spring Breakers
Sean Bobbitt - The Place Beyond The Pines
Emmanuel Lubezki - To The Wonder

PRODUCTION DESIGN
 Stoker
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
Gravity

 BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

 Jonah Hill – The Wolf Of Wall Street

I have to say him and Leonardo Dicaprio are dynamite and are a great comedic team this side of Laurel & Hardy. Better chemistry then he had with Brad Pitt in MONEYBALL. Now while Hill has a prop to fall back on for humor or define the character. He doesn’t let it take over and lets the prop be just a minor tool in the characterization. More of a sight gag to go with the substance he brings to the role.

Michael Fassbender - 12 Years A Slave

Out and out evil, using the words of the bible for his own needs and scarily believing it. Feeling he has a right to torture. Then falls in love with what he is supposed to hate tears him up inside, That he feels he must systematically kill it. Little by little with torture that he must administer.

Jared Leto - The Dallas Buyers Club

Easily could have been a showboat role, but shows dedication to the character. Dropping weight scarily and giving his character a quiet dignity through it all. also being quite fetching as a female impersonator

Daniel Bruhl - Rush

A performance that comes out of nowhere and really helps make the film so interesting


James Franco - Spring Breakers

Though can be seen as comedic, his dedication to the character is mesmerizing

Keith Stanfield - Short Term 12

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Octavia Spencer - Fruitvale Station

 She makes you really feel the emotions of a mother who loves her son and wants him to be the man she tried to raise him to be. As well as feeling guilt at her suggestion that ultimately leads to his death

Oprah Winfrey - The Butler
Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years A Slave
Scarlett Johanssen - Her
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Nicole Kidman - Stoker

BEST ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

His loosest performance and one of his first intentional comedic performances.

Michael Douglas - Behind The Candlebra

One of the few times the actor has really stretched

 Ethan Hawke - Before Midnight

Chiwetel Ejofer - 12 Years A Slave

The reason I believe he isn’t as lauded as others in this category, Is that he has to keep his emotions internal as to not know he has been broken or is breaking. The film never let’s him release his pain as in other films the lead characters are allowed to and the audience get’s a chance also to see that they survived and feel comfort and satisfied . They get a release as he does. Here while he is freed, The story of what is happening at the time, Slavery is nowhere near ending. nor is it’s reaches and symptoms of It’s victims ever truly relieved. Then also finding out he will never be vindicated only comforted.

Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips

While he is good as always playing the proud all American regular guy, We all wish we could be a good moral standing with a sense of humor. He is basically the movie version of Bruce Springsteen and his music. It really boils down to the last 5 minutes of the film that is where the magic happens

Christian Bale - American Hustle

Joaquin Phoenix – HER

He is slowly becoming the best new/old American actor he just transforms into his characters and roles and never plays the same role twice and really disappears into the roles

Matthew McCognahey - The Dallas Buyers Club

He is just really resurrecting his career in becoming the actor so many hoped he would be before he fell into romantic comedies. Showing a real dedication to the craft and inhabiting his characters

Michael B. Jordan - Fruitvale Station

Not a debut performance but one of the first leads and he just truly amazes in his role that makes you truly feel like you are watching a friend or really know him as a person

Robert Redford -All Is Lost

This is more of a physical performance. We are with him every minute of the film never leaving his side and what he is put through is brutal .As witness we feel tortured so you can only imagine how he feels in this life or death struggle, Where he can really not control anything and is left with only faith and hope.

BEST ACTRESS

Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
Shailene Woodley - The Spectacular Now
Brie Larson - Short Term 12
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
Margarete Tiesel - Paradise: Love

HORROR FILMS OF THE YEAR

I can deal with killers in films that are driven out of a mental defect or by a screenwriters imagination. True real life horror is disturbing and disgusting. Where the killers don’t see anything wrong and walk amongst us in plain sight with no punishment for their crimes that is real horror. When it comes to this film, while this is only a single simple story the fact that this is a story that is repeated many times each year is the truly scary part, and the fact that it is seen as innocent fun by the participants is truly horrifying.

Paradise: Love
The Act Of Killing

BEST DOCUMENTARY

THE ACT OF KILLING
20 Feet From Stardom
Blackfish
A Band Called Death
Stories We Tell