Numbers' Numerical Numbering (A 2013 Top 50)

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#24

 

Pain and Gain

 

 

Speaking of the Coen Brothers, Pain and Gain is what you get when Michael Bay decides to make a movie like the Coen Brothers. Funny, bloody, and nihilistic, it's about as far from your typical Michael Bay offering as you can get, which made it all the pleasant surprise. It takes a lot to make a person be invested in a movie full of nothing but unlikeable characters and Pain and Gain does what it needs to and more, presenting a compelling tale of modern American greed that sucks you in as you watch despicable people give it their all to strike it rich. The fact that they get away with it for so long despite being fairly incompetent makes the movie all the more involving and darkly humorous. The Rock is brilliant as an ex-con trying to live a straight life with religion as his guide, only to fall completely off the deep end into drug-infused crazy. I wish Michael  Bay would stop with Trans4mers and make more movies like this.

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#23

 

Fruitvale Station

 

 

Fruitvale Station is a look into the final 24 hours of the life of a young African-American man before he is accosted and shot by a police officer who completely loses his cool and training. The film doesn't portray its main character as a saint, in fact it goes into some detail about how he was a flawed, troubled person like many people are, wanting to do right by his family but sidetracked by his personal flaws and demons. It's a film that builds tension by simply being based on a true story, as anyone familiar with the incident at Fruitvale Station would become more and more tense and nervous as the clock and events approach that moment, even as the film itself is simply showing what is otherwise an unremarkable day in the life of a man. Michael B. Jordan deservedly has broken out in his leading role and as mentioned earlier, Octavia Spencer surprisingly impresses in her role as his mother.

[4815162342]

#22

 

American Hustle

 

 

Yes. I think American Hustle is better than Wolf of Wall Street. I've mentioned this many times since Christmas so there's no need to get into it further. This is a film that in many ways is David O. Russell making his "Scorsese" flick, down to the 70s flair, the character narrations, and the overall tone of the movie. What may have caught people off-guard is that it's not a film about plot so much as it is about characters and their relationships, how they're forced to betray one another and how they work together when necessary. Christian Bale and Amy Adams are great in the lead roles, with the handful of BOF people bitching about Adams' British accent completely missing the entire point of it. Bradley Cooper is good as a manic douchebag, though he comes close to going off the rails and cliff a couple times. Jeremy Renner quietly impresses as the most honorable major character in the movie (and tellingly the one who suffers the worst consequences). The weak link is Jennifer Lawrence, who is very miscast in a role that is all jokes and flash and no substance.

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#21

 

Much Ado About Nothing

 

 

I have a bit of a soft spot for this movie because it's where Wesley and Fred from Angel finally get their happy ending. Still, this is a movie that is simply a delight to watch. It's Joss Whedon and a bunch of his friends having a great time making a movie at his house and the good mood and happy feelings from the production overflow into the film, giving it a vibrant energy that never lets up. Anyone who's seen a Whedon TV series will recognize faces as the characters tear into Shakespeare's material with relish and gusto and the insider information known by the Whedon fans only serves to heighten the experience. Sure, it brings nothing new to the table, but it doesn't have to either, it just has to work, and work it does, very well.

[4815162342]

countdown done for today, now for the next award

 

 

Best Action Setpiece of 2013

 

 

the nominees:

 

Captain Phillips - Three Green

 

Gravity - The First Wave of Debris

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Barrels Out of Bond

 

The Lone Ranger - The Train Finale

 

The Wolverine - The Bullet Train

 

 

and the winner is:

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYmFwJkO1G0

 

Gravity and Smaug contributed two of the most technically amazing action setpieces of all time, with incredible composition of visual effects and staging of Point A to B action and flow. But the sniper finale to Captain Phillips is one of the best examples of building tension I have ever seen, culminating in a very brief, but incredibly emotional and gut-punching flash of action. There's no fancy tricks or techniques, it's standard filmmaking, executed perfectly. A little bit of action can go a long way, and Captain Phillips' climax masters that approach.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Nice inclusions of Inside Llewyn Davis and great action choice.

[4815162342]

#20

 

Stories We Tell

 

 

A quasi-biographical documentary, Stories We Tell is a movie that examines the past of the director's family, particularly her mother and her relationships, and how that past is related to younger generations from the stories told by the elders, and how the stories change based on someone's personal perspective. It's a fascinating true-life character study done by the talented Sarah Polley and we're captivated as she slowly pulls back layer after layer of her family's past, revealing how she discovered truths about her nearly being aborted, her mother's infidelity and her father's struggle to provide a caring spousal relationship, and finally the real nature of her parentage. It's a very quiet, mellow documentary, and this doesn't dull the personal revelations or discoveries any bit. It was shamefully omitted from the Academy's nominee list.

 

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#19

 

Dead Man Down

 

 

A bit of a guilty pleasure for me I suppose, I really clicked with the mood and atmosphere of this crime thriller. Most of the movie (aside from the bit over the top action shootout climax) feels like it's been drawn from the same birthing canal that generated moody, atmospheric crime classics from the late 60s and early 70s such as Point Blank and Get Carter. Colin Farrell gives a solid leading turn as a mid-level gunman for a NYC mobster who's in the middle of an elaborate plan of revenge that gets complicated by the insertion into his life of a sad woman with her own agenda, played very well by Noomi Rapace. The film sometimes risks getting a bit too complex and convoluted for its own good with lots of plot curveballs and twists, but it ably succeeds and provides a thrilling two-hour ride.

[4815162342]

#18

 

The Hunt

 

 

I haven't seen any of the other contenders for Best Foreign Language feature, but The Hunt is certainly a film that is very deserving of the award. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a teacher at what seems like the Danish equivalent of Pre-K or Kindergarten who becomes the target of mob justice and paranoia when a young girl in a brief flash of anger semi-accuses him of child molestation, even though it's pretty clear to the viewer that she doesn't mean it, let alone really understand what the adults take her words to mean. The scene where the school administrator and a social worker essentially twist and push the girl into saying what they want to hear is remarkably uncomfortable. Mikkelsen gives a terrific performance that is for the most part cautious and understated, it's easy to see why he won Best Actor at Cannes and kinda sad that he never got serious consideration for an Oscar nomination here.

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#17

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

 

When the first Hobbit film came out, a bunch of people castigated it for moving too slowly and having too much exposition compared to adventure and action. Desolation of Smaug is the response to those complaints, jumping into the pursuit and flow from the get-go and very rarely stopping to catch its breath. Covering the middle of Tolkien's work, the film introduces the Woodland Elves and Laketown to the story presenting them not as fantasy archetypes but drawn from a deeper literary cloth (Laketown in particular being something out of a Charles Dickens work). We also have a return of a LOTR favorite in Legolas (whose presence makes narrative sense) and the creation of a wholly new Elf in Tauriel, played with feisty confidence and idealism by Evangeline Lilly. The movie features an unforgettable action setpiece involving barrels, river rapids, a host of chasing Orcs, and Elf acrobatics and cranks things up even further in the final action beat where our Dwarves take on Smaug the Golden. Speaking of Smaug, Benedict Cumberbatch is terrific voicing the dragon, providing aristocratic elegance and volatile eloquence to the beast. The film is guilty of being too stuffed yet too short at the same time, as some of its beats are dragged out a bit too long, while at the same time it gives certain subplots little time to develop and stops a good 10-15 minutes or so too short, leaving us with a jarring cliffhanger ending. Still, it's a blast of a time and an improvement over the first outing by a good degree.

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#16

 

Short Term 12

 

 

Short Term 12 is an incisive and caring look into how we try to care for youths without good homes and try to guide them along the right path. Starring Brie Larson and The One Character From The Newsroom Who Isn't A Complete Basketcase, it follows a few social workers as they try to connect with new arrivals to their residential facility as well as help those reconcile their impending departure, principally centering on Larson's character. Tough, smart, but also internally conflicted and unsure, she identifies with a new girl and slowly builds a bond with her while struggling to get to the root of the girl's problems. Larson's performance is great, displaying how someone who presents one face to the professional world can still be wrestling with her own problems and fears in private. This is a film that got a sudden and remarkable burst of love from the forum and after seeing it it's not hard to understand why. It's a smart, tight film that cares and wears its emotions on its sleeve, yet doesn't wallow in them, instead using them to spark character changes and reactions.

[4815162342]

Most Overrated 2013 Movie by BOF

 

 

 

 

Treated by many on BOF like the Second Messiah (the first Messiah being Chris Nolan), it's merely a good, darkly fun film that has a few major flaws, particularly in its pacing.

 

 

Countdown with 5 more tonight

Edited March 17, 2014 by 4815162342

[ChD]

Which movie is it? I can't see the picture

[4815162342]

Wolf

[4815162342]

#15

 

The World's End

 

 

The final installment in Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy, The World's End is, like all of his films, a movie about friendship. It's also the most downbeat of the three movies, showing the disillusionment and shattering of dreams that comes when many people become adults, as well as an epilogue that shows the world we know literally gone and the human race having to pick up the pieces like it's old Medieval Times. Simon Pegg amazes in his lead turn, playing three incredibly different characters across the trilogy. Here, he's a somewhat unlikeable asshole who takes advantage of anyone he can to further his own interests and his semi-understanding that he has to re-evaluate his life and change plays a major role in pushing the film ahead. The rest of the main cast is strong and there's lots of buddy camaraderie and dramatic tension as they persist in bickering and sniping even as the dark secrets of their old hometown are revealed to them. Plus, the film contains one of the best choreographed fight scenes in recent years. It's no Raid, but it's still hella fun.

[4815162342]

#14

 

12 Years a Slave

 

 

12 Years a Slave is one of the most powerful and emotional films of the year, depicting the near-desolation of an innocent man thrust into near Hell on Earth. Chiwetel Ejiofor is stunning as Solomon Northrup, showing us the slow demolition of a free man by the weight of forced servitude until a desperate last chance for salvation materializes. Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o both turn in great supporting performances as well, though the whole ensemble is great too...except for Aldo Raine showing up with a fake beard. That just didn't work. Not nearly as brutal as the early word and industry buzz said it was, the film is much more about emotional trauma and psychological injury than actual brutality or violence. And it's better that way, because this is a film about the human spirit and it would not have had the same impact if it traded some of its slow burn for some extra scenes of violence.

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#13

 

Before Midnight

 

 

The third and maybe final, maybe not, installment in Richard Linklater's series revisiting a couple every ten years, Before Midnight is without a doubt the most mature of the three films and the first to shed the idealism and pure romantic gusto the previous two outings had in spades. Now together and with kids of their own, the question the film poses is not whether the relationship can even go somewhere, it's whether the relationship can survive the fading of the initial passion and lust. The quirks and flaws of the main characters, only hinted at and brushed in the previous films, are now fodder for their snipes and barrages upon on another as they vent their frustrations and anger over the other's failings or mistakes. The film takes a little bit to get going, but when they reach the hotel room...holy shit do things explode. It's no holds barred truth-baring and it's as ugly as it is fascinating and excellently done.

[4815162342]

#12

 

Captain Phillips

 

 

Based on the true story of a hijacked cargo container ship by Somali pirates and their brief taking of its captain as a hostage, Captain Phillips is a movie about one thing: building tension. After the necessary character introductions, the film begins its task of making the audience as tense as possible, by proceeding through the series of escalating events with a very personal perspective, shoving the camera up close and using masterful editing to keep us riveted on the screen and trying to process how events have gone. Tom Hanks gives his best performance in a number of years as the titular character, a tough and savvy guy who does his best to keep his crew safe and maintain his cool, though we see the cracks slowly form as the ordeal drags on longer and longer and his safety becomes more and more in doubt. Going toe-to-toe with him is Barkhad Abdi, whose story of going from limo driver to Oscar nominee is now famous. Abdi is brilliant as lead hijacker Muse, presenting a complicated individual who doesn't want to do what he does, but does it because there's no other real viable option for him to make a living. The film does a great job at showing the nuance of the situation and showing that while the hijackers are criminals, they're not necessarily bad or despicable people (well, that one crazy/angry one is). The final 10-15 minutes of the movie is a gigantic explosion of tension and emotion.

[4815162342]

#11

 

Mud

 

 

Mud is Jeff Nichols' follow-up to his indie hit Take Shelter and is a modern take on the classic American youth stories of the 19th Century, following two boys discovering a fugitive on a remote swamp island in the river and their attempts to help him get free with the love of his life. It's also one of the big steps of the now-legendary McConaissance, with Matthew McConaughey delivering excellent acting in his supporting role as the title character. The true standout though is Tye Sheridan as our protagonist, a kid entering his teens with an idealistic view of the world and love who embraces helping Mud as a way to brighten his own life due to his family being broken. Mud is paced very well and builds up its characters with great care, slowly revealing its cards one by one to shed a bit more light on the true situation with each one. It's a film that takes its time, relishing its setting and its characters and giving them the time they need to blossom.

[4815162342]

That's all for tonight, the Top 10 will be revealed tomorrow!!!!

 

 

But before I go, The Best Running Gag of the BOF Forum in 2013

 

The nominees are:

 

 

#ED and his inches

 

Banderasing

 

The Rant Generator

 

Movieman and his 239057 alts

 

Telemachos Jones and the Quest For All the Likes

 

 

and the winner is:

 

 

I realize that everyone is entitled to his opinion, and I respect this. I also hope that you will all respect mine as you read this letter. Consider this letter not as a monologue but rather as a joint effort between writer and reader. Together we shall challenge Rant Generator's daft assumptions about merit. Together we shall help people see Generator's furciferous, self-deceiving crusades for what they are. And together we shall wage war on defeatism.

The tone of Generator's zingers is eerily reminiscent of that of rummy-to-the-core ditzes of the late 1940s in the sense that Generator and I are as different as chalk and cheese. He, for instance, wants to flush all my hopes and dreams down the toilet. I, on the other hand, want to address the legitimate anger, fear, and alienation of people who have been mobilized by Generator because they saw no other options for change. That's why I need to tell you that if there's an untold story here, it's that he claims that the betterment of society depends upon his funding, assembling, and training duplicitous sociopaths to foment a radical realignment of industrialized economies. I, for one, have my told-you-so's primed and ready to go as soon as people start noticing that by letting Generator do something as catty as that, we are forgetting that he takes things out of context, twists them around, and then neglects to provide decent referencing so the reader can check up on him. Generator also ignores all of the evidence that doesn't support (or in many cases directly contradicts) his position. Generator's methods are much subtler now than ever before. Generator is more adept at hidden mind control, and his techniques of social brainwash are much more appealingly streamlined and homogenized.

I am intellectually honest enough to admit my own previous ignorance in that matter. I wish only that Generator had the same intellectual honesty. Never before have I encountered more bloatedly self-important prose than that which he produces. His antisocial, sordid cultists, who are legion, like to shout, “Let's make nosism socially acceptable. That'll be wonderful. Hooray, hooray!” But that won't be wonderful. Rather, it'll con us into sawing off the very tree limbs upon which we're sitting.

I, speaking as someone who is not a savage, yellow-bellied sybarite, sincerely think that Generator is a wishy-washy, contemptuous skinhead. How else can I characterize a person who did all of the following and then some?

[*]Force his moral code on the rest of us [*]Bury our heritage, our traditions, and our culture [*]Jump on everything that is written, said, or even implied and label it as either spineless or nocuous

I could lengthen this list, but I shall rest my case. The point is that I don't know how to deal with venom-spouting ninnies. To top that off, if Generator hadn't been breaking down our communities, it simply would not have occurred to me to write the letter you now are reading. Why, I might have taken the day off altogether. Or maybe I would have been out maintaining the great principles of virtue, truth, right, and honor. In any case, if I want to run for cover, that should be my prerogative. I undeniably don't need Generator forcing me to.

You'd think that someone would have done something by now to thwart Generator's plans to crucify us on the cross of sexism. Unfortunately, most people are quite happy to “go along to get along” and are rather reluctant to demonstrate conclusively that his values are so inverted, they would make Lewis Carroll blush. It is imperative that we inform such people that while Generator is out putting the gods of heaven into the corner as obsolete and outmoded and, in their stead, burning incense to the idol Mammon, the general public is shouldering the bill. Sadly, this is a bill of shattered minds, broken hearts and homes, depression and all its attendant miseries, and a despondency about Generator's attempts to legitimize the fear and hatred of the privileged for the oppressed. The facts are in: Rant Generator seems to be playing the “I'm more subversive than you” game.