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A&E, Christian DiMartino

Oscar Watch: Columnist reviews the films of 2013

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By Christian DiMartino

When it came to movies, 2013 started out very slow. With only a slew of special films, including Side Effects, Blue Jasmine, and Behind the Candelabra, 2013 had a weak start, but what a finish it had. Beginning with Prisoners, there was a five week marathon of great movies that included Rush, Gravity, Captain Philips, and lastly, 12 Years a Slave.

I usually like to save my “year in review” stories until around the time of the Oscars, this way it gives me a chance to catch up. So now, I have. 2013 had a lot of great movies, but yet there was plenty of bad, and I feel like the bad should not go unpunished. Here are the best movies of 2013, the worst, and then some.

The Best

10. Prisoners: Speaking of snubbed actors, Hugh Jackman gives the best performance of his career in the darkest thriller in years. Prisoners is a very grim thriller about the lengths that people would go to for justice. There is not a lot of love for it, but it might find its footing someday.

9. Dallas Buyers Club: After being practically re-born with a bunch of good career moves, Matthew McConaughey officially wows in a performance that might send him home with an Oscar. Jared Leto is also amazing (and might also win an Oscar). Dallas Buyers Club is a true story that needed to be told, and I’m glad it was.

8. Nebraska: Alexander Payne does not make good movies; instead, he makes great movies. His latest film, Nebraska, is no exception. Nebraska is a film that is mainly enjoyable if you’re a Payne enthusiast, like myself. It is a fascinating love letter to Payne’s home state and an often hilarious comedy. Bruce Dern gives the performance of a lifetime, and as does his on-screen wife June Squibb. This is not Payne’s best film, but it lives up to the greatness of his others.

7. Side Effects: Am I the only one that remembers this amazing movie, or am I the only one that understood the greatness?   Steven Soderbergh’s final theatrical release begins as a fascinating drama that turns into an even more fascinating thriller. This is a wild, sexy, and constantly entertaining film that always throws surprises at you, and has possibly the best ending of any movie this year. Jude Law and Rooney Mara give their best performances yet, and that says a lot. If this is indeed Soderbergh’s final film, he went out with a bang.

6. American Hustle: Critics claim that David O. Russell’s latest film “out-Scorsese’s Martin Scorsese.” Now, I would not go that far, but I will say that I still loved American Hustle. This is Russell’s best movie yet. It is a funny, sexy, and consistently entertaining film that takes a fantastic cast (Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, and more) and lets them run wild and act with a capital A.

5. Blue Jasmine: Two years after winning his fourth Oscar for Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen has now delivered something even better. Blue Jasmine is his best work since Vicky Cristina Barcelona. This is a darkly funny, fascinating, and overall brilliant look at mental illness. But the movie may not have worked if it was not for Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett (or, should I say, soon to be two-time Oscar winner) in the title role. Blanchett’s performance will irk you, thrill you, and in the end, like the movie itself, leave you mesmerized.

4. Her: Spike Jonze does not make movies very often, but when he does, he usually makes something special. Her, his latest masterpiece, is strangely beautiful and beautifully strange. The romance between a human and an OS sounds ridiculous, but it really only SOUNDS ridiculous. The way that the romance is delivered is way more believable than one might think, and that is the films main success. Her surely is not your typical romance, and that alone makes it special. Theodore (the amazing Joaquin Phoenix) and Samantha (beautifully voiced by Scarlett Johansson) are the best couple in years, believe it or not.

3. The Wolf of Wall Street: Martin Scorsese’s latest masterpiece is his most controversial since The Last Temptation of Christ and his best since The Departed. Like with Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver and Jake LaMotta from Raging Bull, Scorsese has a gift for making terrible people compelling, and he does so once again with the films anti-hero, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). In possibly the performance of his career, DiCaprio is so awesome you almost want this horrendous human being to get away with it. I’ve seen The Wolf of Wall Street twice within the past two months, and could easily see it again. It is the most strange, hilarious, vulgar, and entertaining three hours of the year.

2. Gravity: Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity is filmmaking of the highest quality. Here is a film that looks like it was directed by God. The visual effects and cinematography are so impressive it does not even feel like this was filmed in a studio. In fact, Cuaron and his crew had to invent their own visual effects. Now that is real devotion. Sandra Bullock gives the performance of her career; a performance that makes her Oscar-winning role in The Blind Side look pathetic. Gravity is a gorgeous, thrilling, and undeniably spectacular spectacle that is mainly special in theaters. By some miracle, the 3-D actually helps the film. This is not just a movie that you watch; it is a movie that you experience. It is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a theater. It will leave you talking for light years after it’s over.

1. Getaway: Starring three-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke and Selena “Come and get it” Gomez. I’m joking, by the way. That movie sucks. It is, according to Rotten Tomatoes, the worst reviewed movie of the year. It belongs on a list, but it is not this one.

And the real best movie of the year is…

1. 12 Years a Slave: Like my #2 pick, 12 Years a Slave is not a movie that you watch; it is a movie that you experience, and what an experience it is. 12 Years a Slave is an extraordinary film. It’s a film that reminds us what great movies are. This is such a powerful, heartbreaking, and intense drama that it actually left me shaking long after it was over. Describing the power that this movie has is impossible. Just watch it, and find out. Chiwetel Ejiofor finally gets his big break, and delivers, and as does Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, and Lupita Nyong’o. When watching this film, it is so obvious that director Steve McQueen and crew knew that they were making the best film of the year. How right they were. Bravo.

The Rest of the Best: Captain Philips, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Behind the Candelabra, Philomena, Clear History, Saving Mr. Banks, Rush, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Way Way Back, Spring Breakers, Enough Said, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Great Gatsby

 

The Worst

5. Admission: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Wallace Shawn, and Lily Tomlin are funny in any movie, but that movie is not Admission. Admission is a total misfire. It is a romantic comedy (I think) that is neither funny nor romantic. It is simply boring. Watching Fey and Rudd, two extremely lovable actors, fake chemistry is depressing. In the words of Hannah Montana: Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.

4. Getaway: Speaking of mistakes, Ethan Hawke, who had a very successful year with The Purge and the indie-hit Before Midnight topped off the year with this box office flop. Why didn’t anyone see it? Because it’s awful. Basically, Hawke and Selena Gomez crash cars for 80 of the longest minutes of your life, and they continue doing so until the end, which, by the way, is also terrible.

3. Scary Movie V: This pretty much went without saying, but it still needs to be mentioned. As a fan of the original film, it is sad to realize just how dumb the series has become. It does not even mock scary movies. It mocks a few, but also focuses on Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and there is even a reference to 127 Hours, one of the funnier moments. I laughed at the some of the Black Swan moments, but other than that, this is just painfully stupid.

2. Inappropriate Comedy: Once upon a time, Vince “The Sham-wow guy” Offer was an aspiring actor who made a terrible comedy called The Underground Comedy Movie. Now over a decade later, he is back… unfortunately. Offer’s jokes are so uninspired he even uses jokes from his last movie, and they still aren’t funny. He should just stick to infomercials.

1. The Lords of Salem: Nobody, besides die-hard Rob Zombie fans (and myself) know what this is. But after seeing The Lords of Salem, how can he have any fans left? In the hands of a master like Roman Polanski, this movie might have worked. But instead it is in the hands of Rob Zombie. I was never a fan, and now I’m definitely not a fan. Zombie is a moronic gorilla who lets violence and sexuality (and the two combined) get the better of him. The Lords of Salem is a hideous, stupid, unintentionally hilarious and tedious horror thriller that contains some of the ugliest images ever produced on film. The last half hour makes no sense, and it shouldn’t to anyone with sanity. Inappropriate Comedy is probably the worst movie of the year, but TLOS is the most painful.

The Rest of the Worst: Only God Forgives, After Earth, Jobs, The Host, R.I.P.D., The Canyons, Safe Haven, Movie 43, Gangster Squad

Biggest Surprise- Saving Mr. Banks: There was a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding this movie, and it just didn’t seem right, mainly because it didn’t seem that appealing. However, Saving Mr. Banks is just the opposite. It is a wonderful movie. Emma Thompson gives her best performance in years, and though it probably isn’t completely fact-based, it is still too wonderful to ignore. In the end, it didn’t get much Oscar attention, but it was definitely worthy of something.

Biggest Letdown- The Counselor: Judging from the trailer, The Counselor seemed so promising. A thriller directed by Ridley Scott (Alien,Gladiator), written by Pulitzer-prize winner Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men) and starring Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt. It sounds too good to be true. As it turns out, it is. The Counselor is not the awful movie that it was declared, but it really is a letdown. A lot of the movie, such as Diaz’s performance, is on the right track, but yet the delivery sort of fails. Fassbender plays a character so underwritten that he doesn’t even have an actual name. There is not much to the other characters either. Everyone and everything in this movie, like its trailer, looks great, but isn’t. I had no idea what was going on the majority of the time. Apparently it had something to do with drugs, but none are present. I think the cast of The Wolf of Wall Street took them all. The conversations ramble on for so long that it is easy to lose track of the story. Overall, there is nothing really terrible about it, but yet there is nothing really good about it. This is one of those movies that simply doesn’t live up to its potential.

2013 had a fair share of negatives, but it more than compensated with its positives. It was such a good year for films that films such as Iron Man 3,Frozen, The Conjuring, Before Midnight, Frances Ha, and The Bling Ring, which I had plenty of admiration for, didn’t even make my top 25. A year so impressive that my least favorite of the Best Picture nominees is Captain Philips. That is a good year to me. 2014 has plenty of greatness in store too. Christopher Nolan is going to blow our minds again with Interstellar (Nov. 7), Wes Anderson, the king of quirk, is back with The Grand Budapest Hotel (Mar. 7), Tim Burton is back with a drama starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz called Big Eyes, and sequels galore. I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait.

Christian DiMartino

Columnist critiques movies of summer 2013

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By Christian DiMartino

The summer movie season is wrapping up, and after seeing 20 movies, it is about time for a summary. Yes, there were some that I missed out on, from blockbusters (The Wolverine, Pacific Rim) to indie hits (Blue Jasmine, The Bling Ring). But summer is over, and it is time to move on. Here are the high and low points of summer 2013. *Note* If Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra was considered an actual movie (it was an HBO movie), it would certainly make the list.

The Best

5. Before Midnight: Most probably do not even know what this is, and it is a pity. Richard Linklater’s third chapter in the Before Sunrise trilogy is one of the best written and acted movies of the year so far. This time around, it has become more obvious that Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have developed into bona fide actors. Yes, the movie is a talk fest, but it is worth it.

4. The Conjuring: The Conjuring is a movie that has been done before, but not much better. It is a good old fashioned haunted house movie that takes its time delivering the chills, rather than constantly making the audience jump. It also helps when actors as good as Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, and Lili Taylor are involved. It is not the scariest movie, but it is among the best of its kind.

3. Iron Man 3: Iron Man 3, the first movie of the summer, kicked the summer off right. Often hilarious, with Robert Downey, Jr. doing what he does best, making people laugh, not to mention the  special effects, Iron Man 3 is a total blast.

2. The Great Gatsby: Ignore the critics. Baz Luhrman’s latest film is a visual marvel that captures the era and the essence of the novel well. Gorgeous and well acted, The Great Gatsby is as enchanting as movies get. Leonardo DiCaprio and crew could not have done better. Great job, old sport.

1. Star Trek Into Darkness:  J.J. Abrams’ previous Star Trek movie found a new fan (guess who?). After waiting four long years , the sequel finally came along, and it was well worth the wait. Star Trek Into Darkness puts the word “spectacle” into “spectacular.” The visual effects are marvelous and there are some nice references to previous movies. But what the crew really nails is letting the audience know these characters better, especially Spock (the terrific Zachary Quinto). Besides Quinto, the best actor involved is Benedict Cumberbatch, who steals the show as the villain. Star Trek 3 can’t come sooner.

Honorable Mentions: This is the End, Man of Steel, Monsters University

The Worst

After Earth: Of 20 movies, none of them deserved annihilation as much as this one. M Night Shamylan’s latest disaster is a 100-minute talk fest rather than a cool sci-fi movie. It is incredibly dull, and if Will Smith does not look interested, the movie is doomed from the start. The saddest thing about it is that it is not even Shamylan’s worst (Reigning champion: The Last Airbender).

Most Surprising

Tie: Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III: After giving up on both franchises, it is nice to say that both movies were pleasantly surprising. The well-reviewed Fast & Furious 6 is dumb fun, and proud of it. The poorly reviewed Hangover Part III is a bit different from its predecessors, and it is for the best. It is not as wild, but it is still funny and it ties the trilogy together well. Neither movie is amazing, but both are better than expected.

Most Disappointing

Kick Ass 2: It is sad to say that The Lone Ranger, which was torn apart by the world, was better than Kick Ass 2. The first hour of it lives up to the original. It is funny and fun, and Chloe Grace Moretz steals the show once again as the foul mouthed Hit Girl. But the sequel takes a wrong turn in the last 40 minutes, and it is a turn for the worst. It is also a waste of what could have been a great Jim Carrey performance. At the end of the day, it is a wasted opportunity.

Well, there it is. This summer was not the best. But it was a decent one. There were only two bad movies the entire summer, and some were borderline bad but shamefully enjoyable (White House Down, The Lone Ranger). It was also a good summer for comedies, such as This is the End, The Heat, and We’re the Millers. All this summer needed was another Batman movie and it could have been perfect. If the summer didn’t meet expectations, there is still a lot to look forward to in the rest of the year, such as The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Gravity, and Her. Count me in.

A&E, Christian DiMartino

Films that Got Away: Magnolia

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By Christian DiMartino

Title: Magnolia

Genre: Drama

Release Date: December 17, 1999

Film Rating: R

Leads: Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly

Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

In the opening sequence of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, the narrator (Ricky Jay) tells three very bizarre tales of murder. At the end of this scene, the narrator leaves the audience with a question: Does fate really exist, or does everything happen out of coincidence? This is actually the film’s main theme, and it leaves the viewer with this thought the entire way through.

Magnolia revolves around a group of people living in San Fernando Valley, California. On one very rainy day, each of the character’s lives is changed, for better or for worse. Some are seeking happiness, some are seeking forgiveness, and some, simply, are dying. Even though the characters have already been classified, they can be more specifically surmised.

The characters are thrown into three main classes: the do-gooders (John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman), the evil-doers (Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Jason Robards), and those traumatized as children (Melora Walters, William H. Macy, Tom Cruise, Jeremy Blackman). Each of these characters is connected in some way, and all of it is leading up to a climax that will leave you saying, ”Huh?”

Let’s start off by saying that Magnolia is an amazing movie.  Each of these stories and characters is more fascinating than the next. Jon Brion and Aimee Mann’s constant tunes help these three hours flow by gracefully. There is not a boring second in this contraption. Each scene is funny, very powerful, or very sad. It is difficult choosing which scene is the best.

The three hour length may be off-putting to some, but I have watched Magnolia almost religiously for months. That said, some things still do not quite add up (The story involving “the worm”; the climax, which will only make sense if it is Googled) and it is a little long. But even with its flaws, Magnolia is one big, ambitious masterpiece. It is Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece. I love his other films too, but none of his previous films (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights) or later (Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master) have quite matched this level of perfection. Anderson is arguably one of the greatest living directors, and even he agrees that Magnolia is the best of his work.

It is also an achievement for some of its actors. The acting alone in this movie adds to its perfection, but there is mainly one actor of the bunch that truly stands out: his name is Tom Cruise. Before seeing this movie, I was not a believer of Tom Cruise. He seemed a little wacko (still sort of does). But after seeing this movie, he has developed a fan.

He plays a guru named Frank T. J. Mackey, and basically his expertise is teaching guys how to seduce women. He is amazing in this movie. It is, without a doubt, his best work. It does not take very long to be convinced. Within a minute of Cruise’s presence on screen, it will leave you floored. The same goes for the rest of his scenes. It is bizarre how here he is in a supporting role and does better work here than ever before and after.

Cruise won a Golden Globe for his work here. He was also nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Michael Caine in The Cider House Rules, probably because, well, Michael Caine is Michael Caine.
Caine is great, but in other movies. Cruise should have won. Deep down, it is obviously true.

It also got two other Oscar nominations, for Original Screenplay (Anderson) and Original Song (Mann). That is it. Really? There is so much to admire here. It should have been nominated for Best Picture, Director, Editing, and probably a few acting nominations. I understand it not winning screenplay (American Beauty won). But the Best Picture (American Beauty won that too) snub is the most outrageous, considering it blows some of the nominees of that year away (The Cider House Rules is dull, The Sixth Sense is special for nothing more than a good twist).

Magnolia is the best movie of 1999. I will even go as far as to say that it is the best movie of the 1990s. Obviously, not many will agree, and that is fine. It is a beautiful, thought-provoking, powerful piece of work. One that only got three Oscar nominations, and that is why it is a film that got away.

A&E, Christian DiMartino

Columnist anticipates upcoming summer releases

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Summer is the season that I wait for year after year. Not just because school is out. I am talking about the movies. Most of the big blockbusters come out in the summer, and it is drawing near. To get in the spirit, here are the five movies I am dying to see this summer.

5. Man of Steel (June 14, PG-13)

I have honestly never been a fan of Superman, but I am open for surprises. Man of Steel is produced by a master, Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception) and judging from the trailer, it seems like he has brought some of that Dark Knight-ness to this movie. If Nolan is involved, I am there.  

4. World War Z (June 21, PG-13)

After nearly six years in development, World War Z is finally coming to the big screen. I honestly do not know anything about this movie other than that it is about zombies. On another note, this is bound to be one of the more ambitious movies of the summer, so for that I am interested to see Brad Pitt and director Marc Forester (Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace) pull it off.

3. Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17, Not Yet Rated)

After being pleasantly surprised by director J.J. Abrams previous Star Trek movie (I was a non-believer , and ashamed), I have been patiently waiting for the sequel. Well, it is coming very soon to a theater near me, and I cannot wait. I am interested to see Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch go really bad.  I like my movies with a bit of darkness in it, and judging from the title and the trailer, I doubt that Star Trek Into Darkness will disappoint.

2. Iron Man 3 (May 3, Not Yet Rated)

The first two Iron Man movies were pretty light, but it seems like Iron man is in real trouble this time, and that is just what I like. What a better way to kick off the summer movie season than with a movie that looks as stunning as this. With Robert Downey Jr. in it, it may not be as dark as it seems. But hopefully it is the perfect blend of light and dark. This might be The Dark Knight of the series. But let’s not go that far.

1. The Great Gatsby (May 10, Not Yet Rated)

Summer is the time for big budget blockbusters, but yet Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby looks better than all of the big blockbusters combined. The trailer is so dreamy and enchanting I am mainly curious to see just how Luhrmann pulls it off. Luhrmann, who also directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, is a visionary, and is the perfect choice to direct this.   Initially meant for release last Christmas, Warner Bros. pushed it back mainly to avoid the clutter of Oscar season (Les Miserables, Django Unchained, and Zero Dark Thirty were all released around that time), because they felt it was worthy. That alone is a sign of greatness. DiCaprio seems perfect for this role also. By the end of the summer, The Great Gatsby will probably not be the most successful. But it will be one of few with purpose.

This summer seems like a promising ones. Sure, there are a few that the world could do without ( Is Fast and the Furious 6 and The Smurfs 2 really necessary?), but then again there are some that did not even make the cut(the apocalypse comedy This is the End and Johnny Depp doing his thing in The Lone Ranger.) Summer could not get here faster. 

A&E, Christian DiMartino

Columnist proposes dreary Spring Break movie solutions

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By Christian DiMartino

Hopefully, just hopefully, Spring Break will be nice and fun, but hopefully not too much fun if you know what I mean. But the weather has been dreadful lately, and what is there left to do on such long, miserable days? Watch a movie. Or two. Or three. Maybe five will do. Here are five movies guaranteed to make your rainy day a better one.

5. Die Hard (1988) – Nobody knows about being trapped in a boring building for a day better than NY cop John McLane (Bruce Willis). But try being stuck in a building with a group of German terrorists taking hostages. Die Hard is basically a guy playing cat-and-mouse with a lunatic for two hours. But those two hours are quite an adventure. The presence of Willis and Alan Rickman (the bad guy) is key.

4. Airplane (1980) – Airplane is a comedy that simply never grows up, and that is what is awesome about it. Even with repeated viewings, it always remains consistently entertaining and hilarious. So why should a rainy day be an exception? It is dumb, possibly the dumbest movie of all. But it is guaranteed to slap a smile.

3. Back to the Future (1985) – This is the epitome of a rainy day movie. Back to the Future will be entertaining whether it is on an airplane, in a house, or in a Delorean, It is a smart, fun, and sort of creepy (the main character’s mom falls in love with him). But it is funny in the way that it is creepy. All it takes is a Huey Lewis song, and the mood to watch this movie will suddenly increase.

2. Titanic (1997) – Rainy days feel like the longest days. So it seems like the perfect time to commit to James Cameron’s big, romantic, three hour disaster epic. It is amazing how this film still has such an influence on us today. Cameron went on to make Avatar 12 years later, but that is not this movie. Titanic is groundbreaking for its time. It is big, it is adventurous, and it will and has left people talking for years. Titanic, we will never let go.

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Imagine the adventure that can happen on a sunny day. Well, it is supposed to be a rainy day, so that option is out. But instead, join Indiana Jones on his first and best adventure, which is arguably the best adventure of all. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the definition of adventure, and since this is a list of rainy day movies, no adventure will entertain more than this one. It is a sure thing.