Numbers' Numerical Numbering (A 2013 Top 50)

[4815162342]

And the Top 10 commences.

 

 

 

#10

 

Upstream Color

 

 

Less of a film and more of a sensory experience, Upstream Color is the story of a woman victimized by an elaborate and macabre robbery scheme that leaves her destitute and with lingering mental trauma, and how a chance meeting with another past victim of the same scheme slowly leads her to uncover the truth, even as she battles recurring side effects of her mental injuries. It's a bold, daring film that utilizes vivid imagery to the fullest extent and masterful camerwork and editing to really get us inside the jarring sensations and experiences felt by the main characters. It's a film that may seem inaccessible to many at first blush, but really all that's required is a little time and effort to let everything on screen soak in. Once that does, you're captivated and invested as you watch the characters cope with their traumas and put the tiny pieces together that bring them into a shared mental revelation.

[4815162342]

#9

 

 

Prisoners

 

 

Featuring a large and spectacular ensemble, Prisoners is the story of two young kids gone missing, and the father who embarks on a single-minded quest to uncover the truth, focusing on a suspect the police released with near-lethal vigilantism. Hugh Jackman is superb as the obsessed father of one of the two girls, bringing a brooding and volatile intensity to the role. Equally brilliant is Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead detective on the case, a very intelligent man who is able to make connections and fit seemingly unrelated pieces together, yet also has some personal isolation from his fellow cops. But the real star is Roger Deakins and his cinematography. It's such a downcast, morose, yet oppressive style, it really makes you feel the heavy drama and the slow increase of ominous doom in the movie's plot. The movie is very reminiscent of David Fincher's best works, Se7en and Zodiac, movies the slowly increased the dread and the tension bit by bit as things progressed.

[4815162342]

#8

 

Blue Jasmine

 

 

Blue Jasmine is the latest effort from filmmaking machine Woody Allen and it features a lot of his trademark quirks and humor, but it also has a bit more heft to it in a way since it's him lovingly riffing on the 1950s classic A Streetcar Named Desire. Cate Blanchett gives one of her best performances as Jasmine, a woman who abandoned her career when she hooked a big fish, relationship-wise, and afterwards turned a blind eye as she reaped the material rewards until it all came crashing down. Blue Jasmine is about how she attempts to reinvent herself and her life in a new city, but is ultimately brought down by a mix of two opposing yet co-existing forces: Her compulsive need to be pampered and enjoy the best things in life, and her shame at her past life choices and experiences, which were brought on in part by the first force. Sally Hawkins and Bobby Cavanale give strong supporting turns as her sister and her sister's boyfriend, and Allen's screenplay skills remain as sharp and venomous as ever.

[4815162342]

#7

 

Gravity

 

 

Seeing this in IMAX 3D was quite the treat. It's a wild rollercoaster of a movie, 90 minutes of thrills, terror, and raw emotion. It's a technological marvel, a feat of cinematic wizardry, and a pure rollicking good time at the cinema. Alfonso Cuaron masterfully crafted this film with help from loads of tremendously skilled people and the care and passion he put into this project shows. It's a film about one thing: The drive of humanity to perservere and survive against all odds, in the harshest of environments, with no one to rely upon but yourself. Sandra Bullock does a great job as a complete fish out of water so to speak, a novice with little astronaut training, forced to come up to space because of a necessary technical skill, and having to rely on nothing but herself and her sheer determination...and George Clooney for about half the movie, but the less said about that one big moment of physics fail, the better (7ele has said enough about it). Also deserving of a shoutout is Steven Price's score, which is incredibly visceral and sensory, providing a very unique listening experience.

 

And yes, it is a science fiction film.

[4815162342]

#6

 

Act of Killing

 

 

This is without a doubt one of the most uncomfortable films I have ever sat through. A documentary delving into Indonesia's bloody past, where the military contracted out to criminal gangs and private militias the wholesale torturing and murder of thousands upon thousands of people, Act of Killing interviews a number of people responsible for the atrocities, many of whom are open about their involvement and have celebrated public lives. Instead of confronting them directly, the documentary has convinces the people to tell their side of the story by having them make a film about the events, with many of them playing the victims they tortured and killed. There's so many bizarre sequences, odd decisions, and bewildering choices made, that it almost turns farcical, it's something that like the Matrix, can't be explained by text, only shown to the viewer. If this had been a work of fiction, it would be celebrated as a bleak and dark comedy satirizing the behavior and mentality of crime lords and dictator stooges. But it's all true, and what you watch really happened, which makes it all sick and scary and uncomfortable, and all the more devastating an experience and brilliant a documentary accomplishement.

[4815162342]

#5

 

Her

 

 

Her I believe is a film that you'll either really like, or be unimpressed by, which makes sense since this is a Spike Jonze movie. Her is a film about our technological isolation, but also about what it means to be human. Joaquin Phoenix is great as Theodore Twombly, an introvert whose mounting mental obstacles sabotaged his one major relationship and who feels detached from society save for his conversations with his best friend, Amy Adams, and his work writing emotional letters people then send to friends or loved ones, until the OSs arrive. His developing relationship with Samantha brings to light several themes and questions about the nature of romance and attachment, but it also slowly reveals the true purpose of Jonze's film: a caution against the drive towards the Singularity, as it would result in the loss of humanity and the depreciated meaning of the physical life we experience. The production values for the film are stunning, giving us a colorful and real city that still feels slightly futuristic and foreign. It's also lovingly and beautifully shot.

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

I agree that Wolf had pacing issues, but I found the film did so much else right (from characters to acting to thematic resonance) that I just didn't care enough.

Nice write-ups though.

[4815162342]

#4

 

Side Effects

 

 

Steven Soderbergh is one of my favorite modern directors. He tackles every genre you can think of and almost always makes a compelling, atmospheric cinematic experience. Here he makes a modern Hitchcock psychological thriller, a pharmaceutical whodunit. Jude Law stars as a psychiatrist who gets caught in a web of crime and deception as one of the patsies for a murder. He sheds some of the trademark Jude Law smarm and charm and the result is a very sympathetic character who remains forceful and indignant when need be. Rooney Mara is also brilliant as his patient who murders her husband via an elaborate scheme involving faking a mental illness caused by a drug prescribed by Law's character. It's remarkably paced and incredibly tense as Law's character, who is only doing his best to help his patient, finds his world turned upside down and torn apart and slowly struggles to uncover the root cause of it all. I hope Soderbergh comes back to make more movies. We need him.

[4815162342]

#3

 

Rush

 

 

Read the commentary here: http://forums.boxoffice.com/index.php?/topic/13922-2014-box-office-awards-the-official-ceremony-best-picture-gravity/?p=1262641

[4815162342]

#2

 

All is Lost

 

 

It's easy to say that if you take Gravity, strip away all the frills, set it on the ocean, and switch Sandra Bullock for an old man, you get All is Lost. But the truth is that All is Lost, while telling much of the same story and themes and Gravity, does so in a very different way, and with a very different concluding point. Whereas in Gravity Sandra Bullock is a novice who through sheer pluck wills her way into survival, here we have Robert Redford as someone clearly skilled and ingenuitive at sailing and navigating, whose every attempt to repair damage or improve the situation gets derailed by the next unlucky occurrence the ocean and weather throw at him. If Gravity is about how we as humans can survive on our own against all odds, then All is Lost tells the reverse, that no matter how skilled or knowledgeable we are, there comes a time when the chips completely fall against you and it is impossible to go it alone. Robert Redford gives a tremendous performance that is very scarce in dialogue or vocalizing (compared to Bullock's bursts of LeBeoufing) and a lot more about facial expressions and body language. You see his competence, feel his frustration, and share his desperation and depression. It's a travesty he was not nominated for an Oscar. J.C. Chandor's sophmore effort is just as good as his first, and he is now my most anticipated director of this decade.

[4815162342]

And here it is

 

 

#1

 

 

Nebraska

 

 

Alexander Payne's films certainly carry a similar undertone, a sardonic, slightly dark and mocking view at the particular personal crises we face over the course of our lives. Nebraska is no different in that approach, but it also carries its own personal message of fathers and sons reaffirming their bond and the encroaching pitfalls that beset one as you become elderly. Bruce Dern is wonderful as an old man with the slow approach of dementia seemingly not too far off. He wanders around, has some memory issues, and loses focus at times. But even with all that, he remains fixed and focused on his mistaken belief he has won a million dollars. June Squibb is razor sharp and a riot as his acid-tongued wife, who constantely berates him and casts negative comments on almost every situation, yet still clearly has love and affection for Dern's character and defends him when push comes to shove. But what really surprised me was how damn good Will Forte was in this. He's likeable, dryly humorous, and ultimately good-spirited about what he knows to be a futile exercise. The use of black-and-white cinematography is a nice touch, as it helps to showcase the simple rural life the characters once came from and through which they pass through again on their way to Lincoln, Nebraska to receive the alleged cash prize. Nebraska is a funny, wistful, and ultimately upbeat film that reaffirms a belief that life can work itself through disappointment and setbacks when you have family there to work with you.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4

[MrPink]

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.

 

[Phil in the Blank]

Good list.

 

But thread needed more Dark Knight Rises.

[4815162342]

Good list.

 

But thread needed more Dark Knight Rises.

 

But including a 2012 film in a 2013 list would be

 

 

impossibleh

[Phil in the Blank]

But including a 2012 film in a 2013 list would be

 

 

impossibleh

 

Dark Knight Rises is such a perfect film that it defies such simplistic human ideas such as 'release date'

 

But failing that Nebraska is a decent choice....i guess *mumble mumble*

[Blankments]

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.

 

Nice choice but my film theory class was SNUBBED for a nom

 

Great list! I liked every movie I've actually seen

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Thanks for doing this numbers. It was fun to read.