Of course, most years the
vast majority of movies fall somewhere in the B-to-C range, but that feels
especially true this year. My socks have not really been blown off at all this
year, and on the other end of the spectrum only a couple times have I ever
walked out of the theater feeling like I had survived an ordeal. However,
certain movies have been able to separate themselves from the pack, and now I
am here to write them at you. After all, what else is the Internet for? Let us
begin.
The Best (So Far)

In such an ordinary year,
something as nuts as Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color can’t help but feel like a shot of creative
adrenaline. His long awaited follow up to the time travel film Primer is equally as confounding, but in
a completely different way. That film presented an incredibly complex puzzle
and expected the audience to keep up. Upstream
Color is less a puzzle than an experimental examination of all that
connects human beings to each other and the world around them. Or whatever.
It’s impossible to tell exactly what Carruth is going for after one viewing,
and it may be just as impossible to tell after 15 viewings. However, the one
thing this film has over Primer is a
sense of emotion in every beat. Despite its abstract nature, Upstream Color is a film about people. Primer is all form. That is not the case
here.
Honorable mentions:
- With Before Midnight, Richard
Linklater and company did away with much of the romanticism seen in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. The result is a bit heartbreaking, but just as
gripping as anything that came before in this superb series.
- Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha may not be the most
thematically rich film ever made, but it’s a thoroughly winning comedy about a
woman who refuses to take the next step into adulthood. Greta Gerwig is
amazing.
- Much may seem typical about The Kings of Summer, but
a terrific child cast and assured direction by first timer Jordan Vogt-Roberts
turn it into a wise and funny coming-of-age tale that uses its Ohio setting to
its full extent.
- The film Gimme the Loot may also seems a bit
slight, but it’s also a fine example of a filmmaker using a setting well,
creating some engaging characters, and coming up with a really fun movie.
The Worst (So Far)

Ah, the sketch film. Rarely
is this a good idea, and it becomes even less of a good idea when the sketches are
as low-brow and witless as those in Movie 43. Each sketch exists to get
to the next joke about oral sex and bodily fluids, and it’s performed by a
bunch of celebrities who seem like they were promised something other than
this. It’s a joyless slog of an experience, but it’s hardly a surprise
considering the absolute lack of promotion and buzz surround the project when
it was released. Talented people worked on this thing, but none of them are
able ever to justify the existence of this comedic black hole.
Honorable Mentions:
- The Die Hard franchise had actually been relatively consistent through
four installments, but A Good Day to Die Hard is a
shockingly terrible fifth installment. Maybe before making another Die Hard movie, the filmmakers should
actually recognize what made the original so fun.
- The recently released White
House Down is a White House invasion movie that works as dumb fun. This
year’s other White House invasion film Olympus Has Fallen certainly gets
the “dumb” part right, but it leaves the fun at the door.
- The directorial debut of Hangover writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, 21 and Over is a lame
college comedy that never met a cliché or stereotype it didn’t like.
- Remember how fresh and energetic The Hangover felt when it came out in 2009? There is no sense of
fun or discovery to be found in its second sequel The Hangover: Part III, a
movie that feels less like a creative endeavor and more like a contractual
obligation.
Early Rejects of 2013

- When I left After
Earth, I thought I had just seen a pretty entertaining sci-fi thriller
that suggested M. Night Shyamalan still had some gas left in the tank. Everyone
else disagreed.
- To date, the ensemble Internet drama Disconnect hasn’t even
made $1.5 million, which means a lot of people are missing a terrific Jason
Bateman performance. The movie itself is strong as well.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to leading roles with Kim
Ji-woon’s The Last Stand, and the result is a wonderfully bonkers ride
that makes no sense but also doesn’t need to.
- Not long ago Danny Boyle won the Oscar. This year, his
solid film Trance barely even registered on the cinematic radar.
- There’s nothing terribly original about Jack
the Giant Slayer, but it’s still a light and fun experience that didn't deserve the treatment it got.
- Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder is as slight a film as
he’s ever made, and we’re never given any reason to really care about his
characters. Luckily, it’s still gorgeous to behold.
Looking Ahead

I shall now conclude this
mid-year report with a look ahead at what the second half of 2013 has to offer.
It’s not quite the promising batch that we saw last year, but as always there’s
still plenty to look forward to. Whenever there’s a new Martin Scorsese movie
on the horizon, things can’t be all bad. Here are the highlights:
- There’s a ton of positive
buzz surrounding Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, and I cannot wait to
finally check it out.
- Fruitvale Station was all
the rage at Sundance this year, though some reviews since haven’t been quite as
glowing. It has Michael B. Jordan in it, so that is a good thing.
- Longtime horror director
James Wan’s next piece of nightmare fuel is The Conjuring, and those
who have seen it are hinting that it’s all kinds of horrifying.
- Nicolas Winding Refn and
Ryan Gosling team up again for Only God Forgives, and the reaction
from Cannes was… interesting. I’m fascinated to see whether it is the
abomination some claim it is, or the hyper-violent piece of genius others have
suggested.
- I cannot bring myself to be
terribly excited for The Wolverine, but it’s a superhero
movie, so I’ll probably have to see it.
- Aubrey Plaza gets a
starring role in The To Do List, and it seems like a film that could really take
advantage of her considerable talent.
- Woody Allen returns to
North America with Blue Jasmine, and he’s made a film that stars Cate Blanchett,
Alex Baldwin, and uh… Andrew Dice Clay? Admittedly, I might have skipped a few names,
but hickory dickory dock, baby.
- Another festival hit has
been James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, which
immediately has my support since it gets Miles Teller as far away from the likes of 21 and Over and Project X as possible.
- Another sci-fi project with
a lot of good buzz is Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium, which will hopefully prove that all the hype surrounding District
9 was justified.
- Not too many people
expected a Kick-Ass 2, but here it is, and it’s brought along Jim Carrey.
He’s made headlines by publicly pulling his support from the film due to the
violence, but let’s hope the film itself ultimately becomes the story.
- I am really excited for
David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche, and that’s mostly
because it doesn’t look like another The
Sitter or Your Highness.
- Rooney Mara looks to
continue her reign of terror with Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, David
Lowery’s indie film that’s been getting good buzz at the festivals.
- Edgar Wright completes his
“Cornetto trilogy” with The World’s End, which looks to
recapture the unique, bonkers energy of Shaun
of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
- Wong Kar-wai’s The
Grandmaster. What do you need, a road map?
- Ron Howard’s Rush
is his first film since the puzzling The
Dilemma, and it features Chris Hemsworth as a hard-partyin’ Formula 1
racer.
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s
directorial debut Don Jon has gotten mixed reactions, but I’m excited to see what
he brings to the table as a filmmaker. Word has it he has a surprisingly unique
voice.
- Alfonso Cuarón is one of
those filmmakers that makes nothing but
interesting choices, and Gravity has him sending George
Clooney and Sandra Bullock out to drift through space. Non-hilarity ensues.
- Paul Greengrass and Tom
Hanks team up for the thriller Captain Phillips, and it looks as
tense as you could possibly imagine.
- Here
is a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch playing Julian Assange in The
Fifth Estate. I’m in.
- Bad news: there’s an
American remake of Oldboy. Good news: it’s directed by Spike Lee and it stars
Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley and more.
- Ridley Scott and Cormac
McCarthy team up for The Counselor, which has a glorious
cast and seems destined to be right in my wheelhouse.
- I’d be lying if I said I
was too pumped about Gavin Hood’s adaptation of Ender’s Game. Seems like
a good book that was born to be turned into a disappointing movie.
- Oh yeah, there’s a Thor
movie coming out this year. Surely someone is excited about that, right?
Hopefully this one has stakes!
- Martin Scorsese’s The
Wolf of Wall Street. I mean, come on. Not convinced? Here.
How about now?
- I’m weirdly interested in
seeing how The Hunger Games: Catching Fire turns out. It’s a series with a
ton of potential, and I’m glad to see a new director taking the wheel from Gary Ross.
- Coming off the success of The Descendants, Alexander Payne goes
black-and-white with Nebraska, and the early buzz is
positive.
- I’m a huge Spike Jonze fan,
and Her
sounds like a fine example of Jonze being his usual oddball self.
- By the time The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug comes out, I might be more excited than
I am right now. But we’ll see.
- David O. Russell has
suddenly become Mr. Prolific, and he looks to capitalize on his Silver Linings Playbook momentum with American
Hustle.
- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.
It’s kind of a big deal.
- Ben Stiller’s directorial follow-up to the great Tropic Thunder is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is getting a nice Christmas release. No pressure.
- Ben Stiller’s directorial follow-up to the great Tropic Thunder is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is getting a nice Christmas release. No pressure.
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