FAVORITE MOVIES:
-BEFORE MIDNIGHT
✭✭✭✭✭
After the warm-up of BEFORE SUNRISE (1995) and BEFORE SUNSET (2004), this brave film bristles with a bold maturity that is wondrous, bruising, and deep.
-BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (France)
✭✭✭✭✭
One of the most resonant and engaging romance stories that I've ever seen.
-HER
I didn't think this would work, but it is excellent and inspired at every turn.
-12 YEARS A SLAVE
✭✭✭✭✭
THE movie, of any year.
Required viewing for anyone with a brain and soul.
-KILL YOUR DARLINGS
The true story of the murder that brought Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs together.
-THE EAST
Brit Marling scores again; the star/co-writer/co-producer (ANOTHER EARTH, SOUND OF MY VOICE) fights the power with this smart thriller.
-DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Harrowing true story of a man's battle against AIDS,
and the corrupt government and drug companies that let it run rampant for profit.
-THE FIFTH ESTATE
An interesting, generally well-rounded drama about Wikileaks.
Benedict Cumberbatch.
{see also documentary, "We Steal Secrets" (2013)}
-MANDELA: Long Walk To Freedom
Idris Elba and Naomie Harris.
A fast-paced highlight reel of an important life, with just enough character.
-THE BUTLER
Broad strokes overview of the Civil Rights struggle told through one man's family, with strong moments.
-MUHAMMAD ALI'S GREATEST FIGHT
The behind-the-scenes story of how The Greatest's conscientious objection to the Vietnam War nearly tore up the Supreme Court.
-FRUITVALE STATION
✭✭✭✭✭
An excellent film, devastating.
The true story of a struggling young man in Oakland and what the Law did to him.
-TO THE WONDER
No to defeatist existentialism.
Yes to epic visuals, a majestic score, and a truly wondrous Olga Kurylenko.
-MUD
A coming-of-age thriller in the Southern swamps. Great cast.
-CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
Gripping, intense, multi-sided.
-A HIJACKING (Denmark)
A Danish parallel to CAPTAIN PHILLIPS;
Instead of action, this focuses on the Corporate nickel-and-diming of the hostages' lives, and its toll.
-ALL IS LOST
Redford; the elder man and the sea, or, The Naturalist vs. Nature.
-WADJDA (Saudi Arabian)
✭✭✭✭✭
A must-see. A young Saudi girl is determined to get a bike, even though only boys can have them.
Youthful hope vs. the stranglehold of religious sexism in Saudi Arabia, by female director Haifaa al-Mansour.
-THE GRANDMASTER (Hong Kong)
A Wong Kar-wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) epic with Tony Leung and goddess Zhang Ziyi.
Gorgeous martial arts epic interlaced with war, revenge, and heartbreak.
-MUSEUM HOURS (Austria)
Understated story of new friends bonding over discussions of life and culture in an art museum.
-THE SELFISH GIANT (U.K.)
Brutal dramedy about two hardscrabble boys doing all the wrong moves to survive.
-THE LAST MATCH, a.k.a., 'La Partida' (Cuba/Spain)
Two young Cuban men discover their attraction to each other, and the dangers of others' reactions.
-THE PAST, a.k.a., 'Le Passe' (France/Iran)
✭✭✭✭✭
The director of A SEPARATION scores again.
An effortlessly complex human drama more gripping and surprising than any suspense thriller.
-IN A WORLD
Lake Bell (writer/director/star) wants to be the first great female Movie Trailer narrator.
-SAVING MR. BANKS
Emma Thompson, practically perfect in every way!
-INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
Coen Brothers; a shaggy dog story with left-field moments and stunning music by star Oscar Isaac.
-THE WORLD'S END (U.K.)
Never watching spoiling trailers has served me well again!
This seemed like a routine buddy comedy, until 30 minutes in when everything suddenly went... insane.
-THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Or, 'A$$hole Chic (A Satire)'.
The most fiercely absurdist Scorsese has been since his cult flick AFTER HOURS.
-GIMME THE LOOT
A couple of graffiti artists need money and manage to goof up everything they touch.
Interesting cast, odd turns, and zany moments.
-GRAVITY
✭✭✭✭✭
A quantuum leap forward in cinema, as seismic as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and STAR WARS.
And a beautiful rebirth parable underneath.
-STAR TREK: Into Darkness
Excellent. I love this movie.
Naysayers are fools.
-THOR 2: The Dark World
The only Superman film done right this year.
-ELYSIUM
This is how most of us live right now; mass poverty with no healthcare, overlorded by The Rich on high.
This is real life.
-PIERCING BRIGHTNESS (UK)
Experimental indie; thin story with good craft.
-PACIFIC RIM
I haven't been a Kaiju movie afficianado, but this Del Toro film is magnificent!
-THE HOBBIT: The Desolation of Smuag
Tauriel!
Underrated, Dept.:
-OBLIVION
Like reading a good SciFi short story. I enjoyed all the homages to certain SF film classics.
-AFTER EARTH
Some wonkiness, but in general I enjoyed it well enough.
-UPSTREAM COLOR
✭✭✭✭✭
The creator of PRIMER returns with a sharp film that demands every moment of your concentration and imagination.
Excellent craft, mindbending smarts, and the ever-versatile Amy Seimetz.
-EUROPA REPORT
"All these worlds are yours except Europa. Attempt no landing there."
-Arthur C. Clarke, "2010: ODYSSEY TWO"
-CARRIE
There are two films interpreting Stephen King's book; both are worth your time.
Director Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON'T CRY) skips DePalma's Hitchcock stylings in favor of focusing new nuance to characters and actions in every scene.
-THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL
Thoughtful, twisty psychological Indie by writer/director Francesca Gregorini.
-SIDE EFFECTS
Soderbergh's quietly subversive homage to a particular Hitchcock film, with merit all its own.
-STRANGER BY THE LAKE (France)
At an isolated cruisers beach, a man sees the guy he cares for murder someone.
-BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (France)
✭✭✭✭✭
This brilliant film is based on Julie Maroh's graphic novel, "Le Bleu est une Couleur Chaude (a.k.a., Blue Angel)".
-IRON MAN 3
Fun but uneven mix of IRON MAN and KISS KISS BANG BANG.
Shifting character time from Gwyneth to the kid was a stupid mistake.
-THOR 2: The Dark World
An antidote to MAN OF KILL.
-AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
The best DOLLHOUSE writers combine the better parts of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and ALIAS with the Marvel mythos.
-STEVEN UNIVERSE
Pop zaniness!
-TOY STORY HALLOWEEN (TV special)
Every time they sequel TOY STORY, it only improves!
-MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
Pixar makes films for adults who remember the wonder of being a kid.
-FROM UP ON POPPY HILL
Studio Ghibli. Nuff said.
-ERNEST AND CELESTINE (France)
Exquisite watercolor film that warms you like a splendid meal.
FAVORITE DOCUMENTARIES:
-THE AFRICAN AMERICANS (PBS mini-series)
✭✭✭✭✭
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. gives an excellent and always timely overview of the crucial history and contributions of Africans in the United States.
-WE STEAL SECRETS: The Story of WikiLeaks
An admirable journalistic attempt to show all sides of the Julian Assange and Bradley Manning controversies.
-INEQUALITY FOR ALL
-ROOM 237
We bring our own meanings to everything;
revel in these unique interpretations of Kubrick's THE SHINING (1980).
-MUSCLE SHOALS
Rival to Motown and Stax, the Muscle Shoals studio made many of the greatest Rock and Soul songs ever.
-SOUND CITY
A seedy studio, a magic mixing board, and a history of great music.
FAVORITE TV:
(The season number follows each title.)
-RECTIFY 1
✭✭✭✭✭
The Best.
Has a zen understanding of human joy and pain that is often breathtaking.
-MASTERS OF SEX 1
✭✭✭✭✭
How Masters & Johnson liberated the libido! Lizzy Caplan.
-BREAKING BAD 5
✭✭✭✭✭
A shattering and elegant close for one of Television's greatest shows.
-THE KILLING 3
Grim, ambitious, fearless performances, Amy Seimetz.
-LOW WINTER SUN 1
Mark Strong.
-THE BLACKLIST 1
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS meets ALIAS. James Spader.
-MAD MEN 6
-BATES MOTEL 1
The co-runner of LOST remakes PSYCHO as TWIN PEAKS. Works for me.
-TOP OF THE LAKE (mini-series)
Jane Campion does TWIN PEAKS in New Zealand.
-HANNIBAL 1
At last, the spotlight shifts from Hannibal Lecter to the game-changing and very first empathic investigator, Will Graham (RED DRAGON, 1981)!
Now Moriarty has the Holmes that disappeared from the subsequent books.
-THE RETURNED (a.k.a., Les Revenents/ They Come Back) 1 (France)
Parallels the spirit of Stephen King in poetic depths that the bubble-dum UNDER THE DOME never will.
-GAME OF THRONES 3
Brutal.
-AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 1
It'll never beat Kirby or Steranko, but I like it.
-ALMOST HUMAN 1
Formulaic, but good leads.
-SLEEPY HOLLOW 1
Crazed fun.
With more retcon backstory than Supergirl.
-ORPHAN BLACK (Canada/BBC)
✭✭✭✭✭
Tatiana Maslaney.
-DOCTOR WHO 7
Matt Smith was a blast.
-MISFITS 5
Final season. The first two mattered most.
-THE FALL 1
Gillian Anderson.
-BROADCHURCH 1
David Tennant.
-RIPPER STREET 2
COPPER is good, but RIPPER STREET is great.
-BLACK MIRROR 2
The acidic anthology 'five minutes in the future' tops itself with another trio of brutal, cautionary speculative fictions.
-"DOCTOR WHO: An Adventure in Space and Time"
A splendid take on the making of the original First Doctor serials (1963-'66).
David Bradley is marvelous as Willam Hartnell.
-ENLIGHTENED 2
Destroy evil corporations. Save your soul.
-ELEMENTARY 2
The fine American parallel to SHERLOCK hits its stride, with more mythos and exponential depth.
-ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT 4
From wobble to stand to jog to sprint; an odd season that regains its original glory full-on by the end.
-STEVEN UNIVERSE 1
Always have fun!
Hey, who has time to see everything?
(Drama)
-NO (Chile)
-THE HUNT (Denmark)
-BIG BAD WOLVES (Israel)
-RENOIR (French)
-WAR WITCH (Canada/Congo)
-MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
-GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY
(Comedy)
-THE SEARCH FOR SIMON (U.K.)
-R100 (Japan)
(Documentary)
-PERVERT'S GUIDE TO THEOLOGY
-FIRE IN THE BLOOD
-FAR OUT ISN'T FAR ENOUGH
-STORIES WE TELL
(Animation)
-RIO 2096: A Story of Love and Fury (Brazil)
-A LETTER TO MOMO (Japan)
(TV)
-ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK 1
-AKTA MANNISKOR 2 (Sweden)
See also:
BEST MUSIC: 2013
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012
BEST MUSIC: 2012
BEST COMIX: 2012
BEST MOVIES & TV: 2011
BEST MUSIC: 2011
BEST COMIX: 2011
BEST MOVIES: 2000-2010
BEST COMIX: 2000-2010
BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
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