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Thứ Bảy, 28 tháng 12, 2013

The Best Of The Best Movies Of 2013, We Declare

By Mickey Jhonny


It's true of course that "best" is a bit of a slippery term. It kind of depends on who you're asking and what standards, personal or otherwise, they're applying. Plus, the year ain't quite over yet and your faithful reporter cannot claim to have seen the second part of The Hobbit yet, so, all bets are hedged on that one.

Jumping the gun on the Hobbit though probably isn't such a leap of faith. Since it was made pretty much simultaneously with part 1, it's pretty safe to assume it will replicate the former's same pros and cons: to be precise, more fresh humor than we'd anticipated, but a bit too much in the action thing. One of the ingredients of LOTR's success was the sure handed balancing of action adventure and introspection (all that soul searching, battling the evil within, stuff). Sadly, the initial installment of the Hobbit strayed too far toward the action end of the spectrum. Who knows, though, perhaps the balance has been restored in the editing room. We will see.

Nevertheless, taking account of those movies that have been released, as well as our secret advance screenings, we are confident declaring our choice for the best movie of 2013! Now, some will say that majority rules. The people have voted with their hard earned dollars. There may be something to be said for that.

The winner in this category would appear to be Iron Man 3, which this morning Box Office Mojo had listed as pushing $410 million Shekels gross. This fact, I confess, blows my mind. Who would have predicted that the star of The Pick-Up Artist and Two Girls and a Guy, or the purveyor of Larry Paul from the Ally McBeal show, would wind up being the superhero star of a megabuck successful action franchise? Not I. That's almost as weird as Tobey Maguire being the superhero star of a megabuck successful action franchise. Almost as weird.

But, no, this is no democracy here at The Best Movies of 2013. We're going to evaluate on something more than merely bums in seats. It's quite possible that the best movie of the year actually was the delightful and intriguing Sound City. This documentary tells the story of one of the best kept secrets of both American rock and the San Fernando Valley. Tucked away discreetly amid rows of ramshackle warehouses, this extraordinary studio, on the strength of its technical excellence would win its way into a legendary place within the subculture of American pop and rock stars.

From Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young to Nirvana and Metallica, they came to refine their sound. The story is told through the experience many of the iconic musicians that found and benefited from the acoustic magic. No arguing that this film is a great experience. It's highly recommended, but, come on, now. You know we're not so namby-pamby as to declare a documentary as our best movie of the year.

Instead, here at Best Movies of 2013, we're getting ahead of the curve and declaring the soul scorching Le Week-End as the best film of the year. No, it's not a foreign film (that would be as bad as declaring a doc best movie). The Frenchish sounding title denotes the location of the action, set in Paris. There a Brit couple, fantastically portrayed by amazingly still hauntingly beautiful Lindsay Duncan and the almost always compelling Jim Broadbent.

We don't want to give too much away, the dialogue is too rich and delicious to spoil, but if you're a fan of Richard Linklater's great Before Sunset series, imagine Jesse and Celine right at the end of their relationship, where cleverness has been reduced to passive aggressive cruelty. It really is though more fun than that makes it sound.

Also in need of special recognition is the magnificent supporting performance of Jeff Goldblum. In the twilight of his career he has become something of a master at there richly textured, ambiguous character roles. The one in Le Week-End doesn't rival his darkly menacing portrayal in Igby Goes Down, but it's a memorable performance. Indeed, I suspect it is one we'll all look back upon fondly when reflecting on the tall guy's great career.

So, that's our story and we're sticking with it. There were some other really good movies in 2013, which have received a well deserved not. It is though Le Week-End, dark and brooding, funny and cruel, scorching the soul and maybe welling up just a tear or two, which is our pick for the very best movie of 2013. And, if you think we're wrong, well, tell us why.




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