The Best Movies of 2013 (Flubberghast #1)

With the Academy Awards presenting their prestigious trophies tomorrow, I decided that now would be an awesome time for my first Flubberghast! Welcome to:

The Best Movies of 2013, According to Robert

This will contain all of my personal selections for the major categories of the Oscars, as well as creating a list of my favorite movies from 2013. A TL;DR will be posted at the end of this post for those without the patience to read through the entire thing.

A few disclaimers for my readers: I have not seen every movie that came out, and I did not like every acclaimed movie that came out. This list is limited to what I have seen and enjoyed, but, for perspective, I will list the movies that I have seen and disliked, then the movies that I have not seen. I did not particularly have a Best Animated Film this year because none were Oscar-worthy, but I would choose Despicable Me 2 as my personal favorite, even if it wasn’t amazing. As usual, documentaries and foreign films will be absent from this list since I have not seen any. Enjoy!

Movies That I Saw But Did Not Make the Cut

American Hustle (decent movie but WAY overrated), Captain Phillips (I liked the last 15 minutes of Tom Hanks’ acting), The Wolf of Wall Street (hilarious, but good Lord, since when did pornography become celebrated?), Blue Jasmine, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Iron Man 3, Ender’s Game, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel.

Movies That I Didn’t Get a Chance to See

Philomena, Nebraska, August: Osage County, The Croods, Frozen, Lone Survivor, The Book Thief, Saving Mr. Banks and Inside Llewyn Davis.

And now, on to my favorite films as 2013, as well as who I think should win each Oscar!

Best It’s-The-End-Of-The-World-As-We-Know-It Film: Pacific Rim

As child who grew up on Godzilla movies, and the amazing Godzilla: Destroy All Monster Melee video game (GameCube), I giggled like a schoolgirl when I saw the first trailer for this movie. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, who did Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth? Awesome. No-name cast with an amazing cameo by Ron Perlman? Also awesome. Giant robot dragging an oil tanker down Hong Kong to fight a giant monster? Imax 3D with Real-D glasses? Amazing. I loved this movie, making it an extreme outlier among the others in this list. Decent acting, decent story, action that Transformers wishes it could recreate, and great visual effects made this my favorite disaster / exploitational film.

There were a slew of end-of-the-world movies this year, between Pacific Rim, Ender’s Game, Man of Steel and others. But this was easily tops for me.

Best Screenplay: Her

The first trailer that I saw for this movie made me really skeptical. A man who falls in love with his computer? Gimme a break. But then this movie truly blew me away. I have never seen a film that analyzes love so deeply, enwrapping in its feelings, including the ups and the downs. The emotions are heavy, the story is captivating, and the creativity pops out at every turn, whether it be through cool technological predictions or ironic reflections of our own society’s ties to our smartphones. I tip my hat to the screenwriter and director, Spike Jonze, who gave us such a unique and wonderful film.

This was a tight race between Mud and Her, since I loved Mud’s backwoods adventure a la Mark Twain, but the concrete originality of Her won in the end. Props to the intense and intricate story of Prisoners as well.

Best Ensemble Cast: 12 Years a Slave

I cannot say enough about the stellar casting in this film. This is a beautifully-made movie with wonderful music, scenery, dialogue, and story, but the acting really blew me away. It’s one of the main reasons that the movie draws you into its pre-Civil War era of slavery. Chiwetel Ejiofor performs amazingly as the lead Solomon Northup, a free man sold into slavery through kidnapping. Michael Fassbender turns in the greatest performance of his career as Northup’s second owner, the rambunctious and complex Edwin Epps. Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti and Benedict Cumberpatch all turn in great performances for their respective roles. If there’s one thing that this movie lacks, it’s a bad actor.

Prisoners, Rush and Her all vied for this spot as well, but none were able to match the perfection of 12 Years a Slave. Her would be my close second.

Best Supporting Actress: Alexandra Maria Lara (Rush)

Surprised? Don’t be! Lara performed wonderfully as Marlene Lauda in this intense rivalry racing film. While Chris Hemsworth kills it as the flamboyant James Hunt and Daniel Brühl shocks as the dedicated Niki Lauda, Marlene sits on the side and transforms Niki. The race scenes and story of this movie were amazing, making it easily my favorite racing movie since Gone in 60 Seconds. Just watch Niki Lauda change from a shy yet stubborn man who thinks only of winning races to a devoted husband who loves his wife more than the sport that he has devoted his life to. It moved me and made the movie that much more enjoyable. So I congratulate Lara on winning this unnominated Oscar!

Nyong’o from 12 Years a Slave and Amy Adams from Her both did fantastic in their roles, but I went with this dark horse because I felt that she truly deserved it more.

Best Visual Effects: Gravity

There was no way in hell that this wasn’t going to win Visual Effects. Gravity absolutely enthralled me, becoming my most-watched theater film of the year (three visits). I watched this all three times in 3D, with a final time in Imax where I was captivated. This is about the experience of being in space, and all of the tension and terror that it entails. But beyond the groundbreaking effects (seriously, we’re talking 2001-groundbreaking, complete mastery of the 3D element that Avatar brought to us), the story of a mother and her own self-fulfillment also touched me, making a great movie even greater. Alfonso Cuarón, you have officially created your masterpiece.

Pacific Rim was pretty sweet and Rush had some intense car wrecks, but nothing can compare to the experience of feeling like you are literally in space looking back at Earth.

Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)

Another curveball! I am sure that many of you were expecting Jared Leto or Michael Fassbender here, but my money goes to the young officer of Prisoners, Detective Loki. In a true mystery thriller, filled with dark overtones, red herrings, and Se7en-esque story twists, Gyllenhaal really stood out to me as a great character. The passion for justice, refusal to quit, and dogged perseverance of his emotionally unstable detective all drive his storyline, even as the incredibly spiritual and emotional side of Hugh Jackman’s story plays out. I loved the themes of “How far would you go to save your child?” and “What does it take to break a person’s faith?” that are embodied in Jackman, a man whose child goes missing, but Gyllenhaal takes the cake as the man whose destiny was to find that child, or die trying.

As mentioned above, I easily could have gone with Leto as the surprisingly interesting crossdresser from Dallas Buyers Club or Fassbender as the aforementioned slave owner. Jonah Hill also surprised me quite a bit in The Wolf of Wall Street, but Gyllenhaal put so much emotion and energy into his role that I could not do anything but give him an Oscar, without even being nominated.

Best Sound Effects: The Conjuring

I, just, I had to. I had to. This was the first R-rated horror film that I had ever seen, and for good reason. I hate horror films. H-A-T-E. But this one had a great story that follows a family who moves into a haunted house (typical) and must call upon the help of a married couple of demon hunters. It sounds awfully cheesy, but it honestly had great characters, great acting, terrific music, wonderful cinematography, and some extremely creepy parts. No gore at all, which was a HUGE plus for me. But the reason this gets Best Sound Effects is due to the use of silence, noise, and objects moving throughout the movie. No other movie this year completely dominated your audial senses like this one did.

My next best choice for this spot would be Gravity or Rush, but neither used sounds quite like The Conjuring. And so we have our third Oscar-winner without a nomination.

Best Cinematography: 12 Years a Slave

Have you ever seen a moment in life where you wish you could capture it, but a picture just doesn’t quite do it justice? Steve McQueen, the director of 12 Years a Slave, does exactly that not once, not twice, but three times within this movie. A group of slaves standing in the fields preparing to work, a man searching the woods with his eyes and longing for any sign of hope, and a group of mourners gathered around a freshly-dug grave to sing over their lost friend. This, combined with a number of awesome scenes with beautiful scenery, capture the artistry of McQueen that he has finally manifested on a large-scale after many short art films.

Rush had the best racing cinematography that I have ever seen. Gravity had the most chilling views of space and an awe-inspiring 10 minute shot to start the movie. Her used the camera to portray abstract feelings in a tangible way in unique methods. But 12 Years a Slave is one of those movies that come along every ten years or so that can truly push a film beyond the realm of entertainment and into art.

Best Leading Actress: Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

It’s not very often that I can say that I enjoyed a Sandra Bullock movie. I can name two: Miss Congeniality and The Blind Side. Otherwise, she’s a pretty ordinary actress. But put her on a stage all by herself with a good script and great visual effects, and she becomes a goddess. Her portrayal of Dr. Ryan Stone, a scientist who becomes stranded in space during a mission gone awry, honestly moved me. She has to deal with catastrophic debris, the deaths of her friends, and the constant danger of suffocation or immolation. And yet, the small yet poignant story about her own personal loss and how she comes to reconcile with it became one of the best parts of the movie for me. Sandra, I hope you enjoy this well-deserved Oscar (I think her second, from Blind Side).

Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Samantha in Her was seductive and curious, while Vera Farmiga was intense and intelligent in The Conjuring. But neither of them stood a chance against the Bull-God-ock (hehe).

Best Music: Her

This was close. This was really frickin’ close. Gravity had my vote all year long until this film came out. Her had just beautiful music, including several piano melodies and one of the best ukulele songs since the Hawaiian version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. But what really got me was not only how pretty the music was, but how it really influenced the mood. It showed you how music has tied into our everyday lives now, and its rise and fall reflects our own. Color me impressed by the artistry that went into the composition of this movie’s music.

As I said, Gravity would have been IT if this movie hadn’t come along. Gravity used its music to set the tension to every scene, including a terrifying sequence involving debris flying silently behind Bullock as we hope she notices in time (there is no sound in space). But Her’s originality (once again) and peacefulness won over Gravity’s terror.

Best Director: Jeff Nichols (Mud)

We finally get to the movie that was my favorite of the year for at least six months. Mud follows the story of a preteen boy who must deal with the divorce of his parents while attempting to help an outlaw escape from the law. So many scenes of this film reminded me of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is a great compliment, since that just so happens to be my favorite book of all time. The characters, the story, the Southern landscape, and a powerful message on love, and when to let go of it, made this an instant American classic, and hopefully it will be recognized as such one of these days. But Jeff Nichols wins Best Director here because he not only directed this great movie, but spent almost twelve years working on the script, perfecting it, and then creating his masterpiece from his own sweat-and-blood script. If that doesn’t gain your respect, I truly don’t know what will.

Steve McQueen and Alfonso Cuarón obviously both could have easily been placed in this spot for reasons explained, and Spike Jonze (Her), Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners) and Ron Howard (Rush) also get honorable mentions. It was a year filled with wonderful directors, and this could be considered an off-year without my Big Three directors, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan and David Fincher, releasing any new films! But Nichols will take home our fourth unannounced Oscar nomination because, as a fellow writer, he has earned an extra level of respect in my mind for his devotion.

Best Leading Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

I have Dallas Buyers Club in the caption after his name, but McConaughey could have easily taken home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his roles in Mud or The Wolf of Wall Street. He cameos in The Wolf of Wall Street as a big-shot stockbroker with some eccentricities (which are HILARIOUS) that pushes DiCaprio’s character down his own destructive path. Then he plays the title role of Mud as an outlaw who has been chased across the United States because of his own love (which he clings to although he should let go) for a woman who has become little more than a whore. But this movie became the cherry on top for a terrific year for McConaughey.

In Dallas Buyers Club, he gives a skinny, decrepit man who learns that he has AIDS during the 80’s, which causes him to lose all of his friends (calling him a dirty faggot) and any chance of living (with no cure or treatment during that time, he was given a few weeks). With nowhere else to go, he rounds up as many AIDS victims as he can in order to purchase “illegal goods” with which to treat themselves while the FDA does everything they can to cut them off (and let them die). This film really shows how corrupt even our medical system can be and how horribly we treated homosexuals back then (or even now). Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) goes from a hillbilly who spits on them to a man with a genuine friendship with a crossdresser (portrayed wonderfully by Jared Leto) who would do anything to save or protect his friend. I cannot say enough about the year that Matthew has had without putting off what is rightfully his: the very first Oscar of his, to place alongside his Golden Globe.

As I talked about in Best Ensemble Cast, Chiwetel Ejiofor turned in what will be known as a legendary role as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave, while Leonardo DiCaprio brought an incredible energy to his role as the illustrious Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street. Hugh Jackman was invigorating in Prisoners as a father who will stop at nothing to rescue his daughter, and Joaquin Phoenix had hands-down the best performance of his career in Her. But McConaughey had not one, not two, but THREE great roles this year in acting. That earns you the Oscar in my book.

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

Alright, I guess this one was a bit more predictable than some of my other categories. But so what? I loved this movie. I seriously doubt that I have seen a movie this great in the last ten years since The Dark Knight, which happens to be at the top of my all-time list. And I have already laid out the reasons for this movie’s greatness in the Best Cinematography and Best Ensemble Cast categories, but I will do my best to add to them.

Acting = Cinematography = Story = Directing = Perfect.

I already said how astounding the acting was, how beautiful the cinematography was, and how expertly directed it was. But the story happens to be one of the most interesting parts of the movie. As Solomon Northup plunges from free man to slave, we witness all the horrors of slavery. A man kidnapped from his family and home and forced to perform hard labor under harsh conditions. A woman ripped away from her children as they are each sold off to different owners. A slave forced to whip another because his master cannot do it himself, and yet his wife urges him to do so. Everything tugs at your heart, and when the film finally reaches its conclusion, if you do not have one single tear in your eyes, then you have no soul and should not be reading this blog, because you need to be looking for a priest or a psychologist or something. And then the music fits perfectly with each scene, but did we really expect anything less from the legendary Hans Zimmer? My favorite song was during a funeral ceremony, all the slaves start singing Roll Jordan Roll, with even Solomon joining in for his only singing in the entire film.

I cannot emphasize enough how life-changing this movie was for me. It opens your eyes to just how horrid it was to be a slave, and how horrid it even is today. McQueen expertly crafts a comparable story that we can hold up to the current world and the ongoing sex trade. He even delves into the slave women who must sleep with their masters to be able to have an semblance of a normal life, which I’m sure happens all over the world to women, with or without their permission. If Schindler’s List was one of your favorite films from the 90’s, then this film is for you. If you cry when Bambi’s mom gets shot, then I would say this film is not for you, but I want everyone to see this, so I say toughen up!

Mud and Gravity both held this spot for several months, and Her almost did as well. But in the end, amongst a year of instant classics for generations to come (all three that I just named certainly are), 12 Years a Slave became the classic among classics, and deservedly wins my Oscar for the Best Picture of 2013.

TL;DR

1.      12 Years a Slave (Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Ensemble Cast)

2.      Her (Best Screenplay, Best Music)

3.      Mud (Best Director)

4.      Gravity (Best Leading Actress, Best Visual Effects)

5.      Prisoners (Best Supporting Actor)

6.      Rush (Best Supporting Actress)

7.      Dallas Buyers Club (Best Leading Actor)

8.      Pacific Rim (Best It’s-The-End-Of-The-World-As-We-Know-It Film)

9.      The Conjuring (Best Visual Effects)

I hope you enjoyed reading through all of my many words about movies! Please leave your comments below, voicing good or bad opinions! I always want to know what other people think of movies. 2013 was a phenomenal year for film enthusiasts everywhere, even if most of the blockbuster movies turned out meh.

YOU’VE BEEN FLUBBERGHASTED!