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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.

A&E

Columnist gives his Oscar predictions

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By Isaac Mathewson
It has been two weeks since the 2013 Academy Awards were announced and while I think it is a good list (with a few snubs like Tom Hanks for not getting a Best Actor nomination for either Captain Phillips or Saving Mr. Banks) it is difficult to decide who will win. Here are my predictions for this year’s Oscars judging by critical statistics, previous award ceremonies, and my own perspective, but only in the major categories.
Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins- Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence- American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o- 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts- August: Osage County
June Squibb- Nebraska
All of these actresses are fantastic in their roles. How do we narrow down who will win? Although Squibb and Nyong’o are great, they are not household names and their roles are not memorable enough to secure a win. Hawkins is very good in her role as Cate Blanchet’s sister in Blue Jasmine but not much has been said about her performance from other critics. Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence are the highest contenders from this year and the most famous. While Roberts gives one of her best performances in years, the Oscar will probably go to Lawrence judging by her popularity and the acclaim the film and her performance have received.
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi- Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper- American Hustle
Michael Fassbender- 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill- The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto- Dallas Buyer’s Club
You couldn’t ask for a better list this year. While Abdi has received great acclaim for his performance, the film that was originally considered one of the year’s top Oscar contenders has sort of deteriorated in popularity in the months since it was released. Hill is great, but does not have the acclaim that the other actors have. Fassbender gives a ruthless performance in 12 Years a Slave and Bradley Cooper gives a funny and electric performance in American Hustle. However, the Academy just can’t overlook Leto as the transvestite roommate of Matthew McConaughey.
Best Actress
Amy Adams- American Hustle
Cate Blanchett- Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock- Gravity
Judi Dench- Philomena
Meryl Streep- August: Osage County
All great choices, who will take home the big one? Judi Dench is a fantastic veteran actress and gives a powerful performance in her film, but there is just no love for it. Bullock doesn’t have much of a chance because the Academy never gives Oscars to actors in science fiction movies. Adams had a major chance with her role, but her chances seem slim going up against Streep, one of the greatest actresses in history. However, even she is in steady competition against Blanchett, who gave one of the best performances of her career in her film. While it is a tough choice, it will probably go to Blanchett, because I’m sure by now even the Academy is tired of nominating Streep over and over again.
Best Actor
Christian Bale- American Hustle
Bruce Dern- Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio- The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetal Ejiofor- 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey- Dallas Buyers Club
This is perhaps the best selection this year, as well as the hardest. While Dern is a veteran actor, and is fantastic in his role, there is not enough love for the film to secure the win. Ejiofer has no doubt received much acclaim for his performance, but the Academy usually does not give Oscars to foreign actors. DiCaprio is very memorable and so is Bale, but even their performances cannot top that of McConaughey, who just won the Golden Globe in the film in which he plays an AIDS patient, who illegally sells pain relievers to other patients.
Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle- David O’ Russell
Blue Jasmine- Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club- Craig Borten
Her– Spike Jonze
Nebraska- Alexander Payne
While all great choices, it’s difficult to narrow them down. Perhaps the two biggest candidates are Her and American Hustle. While Her won the Golden Globe, it should not be a surprise if American Hustle takes home the Oscar for its electric dialogue and story.
Best Adapted Screenplay
12 Years a Slave– John Ridley
Before Midnight- Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips– Billy Ray
Philomena– Steve Coogan
The Wolf of Wall Street– Terence Winter
Again, all great choices. While all of them are memorable films and have great dialogue, it will most likely go to 12 Years a Slave because of the buzz it has been getting.
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron- Gravity
Steve McQueen- 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne- Nebraska
David O. Russell- American Hustle
Martin Scorsese- The Wolf of Wall Street
While every director made a fantastic film, the Oscar this year will probably go to Cuaron, because of how influential his filmmaking is in Gravity.
Best Picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyer’s Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Most of these films don’t have a chance at winning. The two biggest candidates are 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. Although the former is very powerful, the big one will go to American Hustle for its powerhouse writing and performances.
The 86th Academy Awards will take place on March 2, 2014. Judging by the nominees, it should be a good show.
A&E

Student provides news for upcoming movies this holiday season

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by Isaac Mathewson
As the year comes close to its end, many have been wondering what to expect from the world of cinema this holiday season.
As it is Oscar season, many have been making early predictions for this year’s Academy Awards and its Golden Globes. Before going that far, however, it is best to first start with what is being released.
1. American Hustle: With last year’s release of Silver Linings Playbook, it was only necessary that David O. Russell reunites the same cast from both it and The Fighter, in a film about a con man who is forced to work with an FBI agent. With Russell’s direction and first rate cast that includes Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence, this is sure to garner many Oscar nominations.
2. Saving Mr. Banks: It’s hard to say whether or not Tom Hanks will receive an Oscar nomination for his portrayal as a captain held hostage by Somali pirates in Captain Phillips, or as the man behind the mouse himself Walt Disney. Even if the answer is the former, it would not be surprising if Emma Thompson receives a nomination for her role as P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, who is not pleased with the changes made to her story.
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: No doubt this film will bring in huge amounts of cash at the box office and will please fans of the Middle Earth series. More to the point, however, is that this film, which is part two of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, is bigger than its predecessor and will feature Oscar worthy effects and it will introduce us to new characters, and even reintroduce us to a few old. Hello Legolas.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street: After stepping out of his realm with the family film Hugo, Martin Scorsese returns to the big screen alongside his frequent collaborator Leonardo Dicaprio in the film that tells the true story(with a dark comedic twist to it) of the rise and fall of stockbroker Jordan Belfort. With a cast that includes Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, and Rob Reiner, and a plot eerily similar to classic Scorsese films, this is sure to be one of Scorsese’s most entertaining films.
5. Lone Survivor: If the trailer’s calculations are correct, Peter Berg will redeem himself from the disastrous Battleship, with the story of one of the most significant operations during the War in Afghanistan. With a cast including Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, and Emile Hirsch, this film may not earn the accolades of the previously listed films, but will hopefully give us an accurate depiction of the war and give emotional depth to the story.
While not as exciting as last year, these films will hopefully live up to the expectations of every film buff and bring about a decent competition for this year’s Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
A&E, Christian DiMartino

Columnist previews the final film releases of 2013

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By Christian DiMartino

2013 has had a fair amount of good movies (Side Effects, Disconnect), but an overpopulation of bad movies (Scary Movie V, Getaway). However, there is still hope. The year is wrapping up, and Oscar season is around the corner. Translation: Movies are going to get good again. Here is what to look forward to the rest of 2013. Sure, not all of them are going home with awards, but some of them are kind of a big deal (wink).

5. Gravity (Oct. 4, PG-13): Oscar winner Sandra Bullock is getting rave reviews (the movie is also) for her role as an astronaut stranded in outer space. How can a movie like this work? Not sure. According to early reviews, director Alfonso Cuaron’s film supposedly does work, and very well. Consider it a done deal.

4. American Hustle (Dec. 25, Not Yet Rated): David O’Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter) is on a role, and this just may be the one that sends him home with the gold. The first trailer looks terrific, and plus it brings back O’Russell’s finest alumni (Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and Jennifer Lawrence), so how can it go wrong?

3. Her (Dec. 18, Not Yet Rated): Here is a film that will receive plenty of judgment and controversy, and that alone is exciting. Joaquin Phoenix, after doing an amazing job as a psychotic drifter in The Master, plays a lonely guy who buys a talking computer and… falls in love with it. Strange? Oh yeah. But it is nice to see a daring movie every once in a while. Also, director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) is the king of strange movies, so it must be perfect. This is going to be the strangest movie of the year, possibly even the next 10, but I guarantee it will leave people talking for a while.

2. Anchorman: The Legend Continues (Dec. 20, Not Yet Rated): After many years of trying to get this movie made, Will Ferrell and co. have finally done it. Finally. Anchorman is one of the funniest movies ever, so the sequel better be worth the wait. The plot is unknown, but what is known is that numerous cameos (Tiny Fey, Meryl Streep, Kanye West, and more) are on the lineup. So, be there for Ron Bergundy this holiday season. He is kind of a big deal.

1. The Wolf of Wall Street (Nov. 15, Not Yet Rated): Wall Street movies are boring, but hopefully this one is far from it. Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest directors alive, rarely makes a bad movie. Same goes for Leonardo DiCaprio, who (fingers crossed) may finally get that fourth Oscar nomination. The trailer is fantastic, and it helps that Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead” is blaring throughout. This could either be a Scorsese masterpiece, or a Scorsese letdown. I truly hope it is the first.

There are plenty of other films, including Nebraska, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Carrie, Thor: The Dark World, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, that did not quite make the cut. Hopefully, with these movies mentioned and whatever other Oscar hopefuls are out there, 2013 ends better than it began.