I’m self-indulgently posting a short series on the entertainment that’s fed, stimulated and enhanced my 2013. I’m making this up as I go along, as it’s my game and my rules. This is the last in the series, and it’s the films that have stayed with me. I’ll stick with films I saw at the cinema in 2013. I’m in South Africa, so we don’t get all the same films or release dates as the rest of you … there’s a lot I miss or catch up on at a later date on TV or DVD or planes.To read my full review of each film, click on the movie title.
Silver Linings Playbook On the face of it a straightforward romantic comedy, this had layers within layers, good performances (even, and this has been a rarity for a while) from Robert De Niro, a healthy and helpful perspective on mental health issues, and was another feather-in-the-cap of the increasingly likeable Jennifer Lawrence. Deserved the recognition it got, and is better than you expect.
Gravity There are faults in this film, but it’s a great ride and is the film that to date has made the best use of 3D to propel a story and enhance the cinematic experience. It’s not the best film of the year but it may well be the most significant, representing a change in the way films are made. Only the future will tell us, but this film looked and sounded like that future.
Argo It seems a long time ago, but this nerve-shreddingly tense true-story directed by Ben Affleck came out on top in an Oscars race that could justifiably have been won by any of several films. With much to say and show about courage, humility and fake movies, it’s one you shouldn’t miss.
The Great Gatsby I’d rather watch director Baz Luhrmann fall short than other less ambitious folk get everything they want done just so; inevitably a little mad, inevitably unable to capture the full magic of the book, there’s still whole segments of this film seared onto my memory. The film industry is better off with Luhrmann free to run a very colourful riot.
Zero Dark Thirty With so much controversy blazing ahead of the film’s release, there was a moment when I thought I’d seen a different film to everyone else. What offended people so deeply, it seems, was being presented with one take on the truth and being invited to make moral decisions for yourself as opposed to have them made for you. An adult, intelligent, exciting film about one of the era’s defining issues pulled off the same trick as Argo and Captain Phillips: making a true story with an ending we all know gripping and engaging.
Pacific Rim Director Guillermo Del Toro looked like he was letting his not inconsiderable intelligence have some fun here; the end result was the most outright enjoyable film of the year. My wife and I spent the whole film grinning and continued to do so for hours to come; and still do whenever it comes up in conversation. Deliriously enjoyable entertainment with wit, heart and soul.
Les Miserables Irresistable, frankly. There are faults here, but the film doesn’t lack for courage; taking a high-wire approach of recording all the singing live and a director who found a way to make the cinematic theatrical without losing its essence. Anne Hathaway stole headlines, and justifiably, but there was much else to admire too. Once seen, never forgotten.
Captain Phillips A true-story thriller with political awareness and things to say about globalisation; two brilliant central performances and tension that grips like a vice and doesn’t let go. If I had to pick a film of the year, this would probably be it; it deserves awards recognition and it will be interesting to see if a film like this proves tempting to awards voters. If it does so, it will deserve every plaudit it gets.
The rest of this series …
The Blog of David Meldrum 