Count Down 100 Movies from 2013 (Multiple users) Tele page 20

[Michael Gary Scott]

IM3 ahead of Her really

[Jack Nevada]

Here is the list so far: 

 

25. The Selfish Giant

24. Monsters University

23. The Heat

22. Mud

21. Saving Mr. Banks

20. The Hunt

19. Blackfish

18. Behind the Candelabra

17. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

16. Pacific Rim

15. The Conjuring

14. Spring Breakers

13. Blue Jasmine

12. Her

11. This Is The End 

10. Iron Man 3

[4815162342]

Oh Jack, I was hoping for some controversy and here we go

[Plain Old Tele]

Great job, Spaghetti! Yes, tawasal, get on it. And, along similar lines, anyone interested in a Tele Top 25?

[The Stingray]

And, along similar lines, anyone interested in a Tele Top 25?

Yes, as long as Her ain't #1.

[Michael Gary Scott]

IM3 is a good film btw but Her is a masterpiece

[Jack Nevada]

N/A

Edited February 1, 2014 by Jack Nevada

[Jack Nevada]

9. The Past

 

The Past is a masterful low-fi drama from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who won an Oscar for his film A Separation two years ago. A Separation was an astonishing piece of work fully deserving of its praise, but The Past about as good. I was honestly shocked it didn't get nominated for anything at this years awards, even missing out the Best foreign film nomination. 

 

It's a story that starts out simple but only gets more difficult and emotionally complex (but never contrived) as it goes along. The basic premise is that an Iranian man, played by Ali Mossaffa, comes to France to finalize his divorce with Berenice Bejo, who has two daughters from a previous marriage. Bejo is in a relationship with a seemingly thickheaded Algerian laundry owner played by Tahar Rahim, who has a son of his own and, most importantly, a comatose wife. It's a pretty screwed up situation and Bejo's older daughter (played by Pauline Burlet) can't stand his mother's new oafish boyfriend. And then we find out why. Among other things. The story unravels like a thriller but it's a calm, thoughtful piece and all the elements of the increasingly complicated story are beautifully handled by Mr. Farghadi. 

 

All of the actors are flawless. Berenice Bejo has been getting a lot of notice for her role, including a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, and while she is terrific her role is much shoutier and more showy than the rest of the cast, so obviously she's the one people mention first when talking about the performances. Equally good, if not better, is Ali Mossaffa, who I had not seen before this movie. His role is to be the bystander, the one who's trying to make sense of the crazy situation and to keep it all together. He represents the audience, and is by far the most likable character in the whole movie. Not that the rest of the characters are unlikable or black-and-white; I started out hating Tahar Rahim's character but as we found out more about his backstory my feelings got more mixed. Rahim is very good too, but I think overshadowed by the powercouple that is Bejo and Mossaffa. 

 

It's a perfectly made, memorable little movie that you definitely, definitely need to check out. 

[Plain Old Tele]

Yes, as long as Her ain't #1.

[Films]

Im aiming to get mine done in the next two and a half weeks. I've got a lot going on at the moment which is why its taking so long

[Ozymandias]

I'd do a top 25 list but 2013 was a really weak year IMO, unlike 2012 where there were like 15 movies I thought were amazeballs.  The only movie I've seen this year that I really, really loved was The Wolf of Wall Street.  Fortunately, 2014 looks much better.

[4815162342]

Once we get past Valentine's Day weekend I should be ready to go, since All is Lost and Enough Said come out on Netflix on the 11th.

[Sam]

Wouldn't be an interesting list or a Jack-flavored list without controversy.Great read Jack! I need to find and watch The Past. Is it on Netflix?

Edited February 2, 2014 by Sam

[Jack Nevada]

Aaaand we're back! Here's

 

8. Dallas Buyers Club

 

​Dallas Buyers Club is destined to become a classic. It's a movie that in 40 years will be seen as one of the best dramas of it's era, like how we look at Midnight Cowboy today. It is that good. And I honestly can't find many flaws in it. 

 

The true story of a homophobe getting diagnosed with HIV and becoming friends with a transgendered woman could've been turned into dreary awards fodder, but Dallas Buyers Club is rough, crass and honest without any sense of false modesty. The movie starts with Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) fucking a girl (and probably giving her HIV. Yikes), running away from an angry mob of rodeo bettors he just screwed over and punching a cop in the face. Right away we get the idea that Ron Woodrooff is not a typical Hollywood main character. 

 

After getting his diagnosis Ron does some research and finds out that the FDA approved meds the hospital is giving him are pretty much poison. Woodroof, a man of action, goes to Mexico to fetch better, non-approved drugs that actually work and decides to start selling them to other people with HIV and AIDS. He's not exactly a Robin Hood figure because his motives start out as being selfish, and Woodroof is never portrayed as an angel. He's doing good stuff but he's still more or less an asshole. Which was refreshing. 

 

Matthew McConaughey has had an incredible career resurgence since 2011. Ron Woodroof is easily his best performance ever. McConaughey is brilliant. It's a mixture of swagger and frailty, and one of the most charismatic performances of the last few years. He's up for an Academy Award and I would be totally fine with him winning it, even though my personal #1 is further down the list. 

 

The other performance that everyone is talking about is Jared Leto as the HIV positive trans-woman Rayon. If I hadn't known beforehand I would've never guess she was played by Jared Leto. That's how impressive his transformation was. Rayon is a heartbreaking character, played to perfection by Leto. 

 

From a filmmaking standpoint Dallas Buyers Club is top notch. The performances are obviously great, and the writing is smart and convincing and devoid of glamorization or sentimentalism. The movie romps along in a steady pace for two hours with never a moment that doesn't advance the story or isn't funny, sad or insightful. 

 

As I said, this is a movie that will not be forgotten in a few years. Or in 40 years. I loved it.

Edited February 2, 2014 by Jack Nevada

[tawasal]

I will start, but there are 3 that are stuck with their list for a long time. They should be done, before I can start. 

[Jack Nevada]

7. The Act of Killing

 

This movie fucked me up. It's some fucking brutal, soul-destroying stuff, I'm telling you. If you're thinking about having a nice Friday evening, don't watch The Act of Killing. Also don't watch The Act of Killing when depressed or feeling down about the world because you just might end up killing yourself. It is, however, a fearsome masterpiece. And probably the most "essential" movie from 2013. It's about the Indonesian genocide of 1965 to 1966, and the people who did it. The main guy, seen above demonstrating one of his killing methods, had personally killed about 1,000 people. With his own two hands. Think about that. And there he is, smiling, dancing and feeling no remorse about the frankly indeterminable horrors he had committed. 

 

This is where director Joshua Oppenheimer's genius comes in. His gimmick for this documentary is to get these guys, these mass-murderers, rapists, stranglers and crooks, to recreate the atrocities of their youth on camera. Make a movie about them. They are allowed to choose the genre, the costumes and even the makeup. Aaaaaaaaand then it gets fucking bizarre and weird and troubling and awful and oh my god I don't know if I want to watch this anymore but it's powerful and strange and violent and oh god oh fuck just MAKE IT STOP. 

 

Good movie, five stars. 

Edited February 2, 2014 by Jack Nevada

[Jack Nevada]

Phew, now for something a little more light-hearted. It's 

 

6. The Wolf of Wall Street

 

I am a big fan of Martin Scorsese. Aren't we all? But not everyone is a fan of Wolf of Wall Street. It might be Mr. Scorsese's most hotly debated movie since The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. It is impressive that a 71 year old director still has the ability to make a movie this controversial. When you look at Scorsese's last few movies you see a group of good, sometimes very good, films. But they're kinda safe, aren't they? I mean just look at The Aviator and Hugo. 

 

The Wolf of Wall Street isn't safe. The Wolf of Wall Street is Martin Scorsese going all out. It's not a movie directed by an old man. Scorsese has all the vim and vigor of a first time filmmaker. The Wolf of Wall Street is clever, mischievous, energetic, rough-around-the-edges and, most of all, impossibly entertaining. The three hour runtime simply flies by, thanks to master editor Thelma Schoonmaker and the Terence Winter script. The performances are all around great, with Leonardo DiCaprio at his absolute finest. But it's Scorsese who keeps it all together. And boy does he ever. There are few directors as talented as Martin Scorsese, and this is yet another showcase for that. 

[Ezen Baklattan]

I still need to see Dallas Buyers Club...

[baumer]

Jack and Hiccup need to finish theirs.  Frozen is working on his but who knows when that's going to be done, so imo, when Jack and Hiccup are done, two more can go.

[Ezen Baklattan]

After some more thinking about, Frozen may be even higher than my list has it as...