What a fantastic year at the movies. Even as an armchair critic and regular
dispenser of cinematic snark, I had a hard time mustering negativity about this
year’s crop of films and Oscar nominations.
I mean, the Academy actually rewarded the best picture of the year with
the Best Picture Oscar (12 Years a Slave),
gave a slew of technical awards to one of the best recent feats of technical
filmmaking (Gravity), and even gave
the “miss congeniality award” (or as they call it, Best Original Screenplay) to
a wildly original and heartfelt film that didn’t exactly crush the box office (Her).
Of course, AMPAS being AMPAS, several nominations
also went to: (1) a mediocre Scorsese rip off with wigs, wide lapels, and name
brand onscreen talent (American Hustle);
(2) a turgid black and white travelogue with delusions of profundity (Nebraska); (3) an issue drama that only
rises above Lifetime movie status because of the charisma of its lead
performances (Dallas Buyers Club);
(4) a decent enough thriller with unpleasant geo-political overtones (Captain Phillips); (5) and Philomena (sorry, this is the only Best
Picture nominee I missed). But overall,
there just wasn’t much to get worked up about….unless you count Bette Midler’s
musical performance taking the focus away from one of the most brutal “In
Memoriam” lineups in recent memory. So (mostly)
hooray for the Academy…and hooray for the filmmakers that made this an
excellent year at the cinema.
My annual caveat still applies. I am not a film critic and, as such, I can’t
see everything. Some movies I missed
this year that may have made a difference in the final tally include: Bastards, Philomena, Blue Caprice, Like Someone in Love, Beyond the Hills, At Berkeley, and The Great
Gatsby (hahahaha). In addition, some
movies that were well represented on critics’ top-10 lists did not, to the best
of my knowledge, get a DC theatrical release in 2013 and have not yet been
released on Blu Ray/digital download.
These include: A Touch of Sin,
The Wind Rises, and The Stranger by the Lake. I will roll them into my 2014 list if they
pass muster.
Also, consider this a blanket SPOILER ALERT for all
movies discussed.
