Her (2013)

Went on just a tad too long, but what a fantastic movie.

I truly cannot believe that Phoenix wasn’t nominated for his work, but I'm so glad that the writing was. It’s smart and not too far-fetched in its vision of where we’re heading as a race. Gary and I discussed it heavily afterward -- it’s the kind of movie that invites study and theorizing. We both loved it.

A-

Blue Jasmine (2013)

I can’t point to anything that's definitely wrong here, but it was just tedious.

Jasmine (Blanchett) has come down in the world and has to rely on the kindness of her sister -- the sister she all but shunned when she was living the high life. The character of Jasmine is beyond unrelatable: both delusional (possibly willfully so) and patronizing.  In a word: blech.  In more words: Allen disappoints again.

C+

Philomena (2013)

This looked like it was going to be precious and feel-good, but it was just so much better than that.

First, we've got a simple, religious, romance novel-loving very nice lady. Then we pair the lady with a cynical, recently-sacked, atheist journalist stooping to do a “human interest” piece.  If we just had her? Too saccharine. Just him? Too mean. Together? Just right and so powerful.

This covers what came after for the "Magdalene Sisters" and it’s every bit as tragic as the during.

B+

Before Midnight (2013)

Probably my favorite of the trio of movies about Jesse and Celine -- and that’s pretty high praise as I've been a fan of them all. The emotions and conversations were both engrossing extremely well-done. I’m happy that it’s nominated for writing, because that’s where it really shone.

Gary and I paused several times to remark on the way their arguments echoed some of our own...and because of that, I knew they’d work it out.

B+

Captain Phillips (2013)

No-frills telling of the true life freight ship being boarded/taken over by Somali pirates. There’s very little back story and the exposition is nearly non-existent -- we simply watch what's happening. It’s tight but fairly unmoving.

B-

Nebraska (2013)

The first 10 minutes or so were just terrible. The acting, especially, was so stiff that I had to lean over to Gary and confirm it because I was sure it couldn’t be as bad as I thought...but he concurred. After a while, I think I just got used to it (like you get used to the smell at the circus), but I’m pretty sure it never got any better. The whole thing just felt thrown together and the mood felt petty. I just don’t get why this is getting any measure of love.

C-

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

A movie about excess performed to excess. Way too long, but brilliant even so. If ever someone earned an Oscar, it's Leo in the lead here.

B+

August: Osage County (2013)

In the first five minutes or so, I thought “I’m gonna LOVE this movie.” Unfortunately, the thing I was loving (namely, Sam Shepard) is quickly dispatched and I was left with a family I didn’t much want to visit.

Julia Roberts worked her lips into a duck bill so often I started to think of them as the equivalent of Keira Knightley’s chin.

B-

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Even the smaller/crappier theater at the Moxie couldn’t dampen my enjoyment of this movie.

McConaughey is terrific as the womanizing, homophobic, redneck hustler who finds out he has AIDS. To save himself, he must quickly get over his prejudices and come up with a plan since western medical regulations move too slowly to do him any good. There were moments of melancholy, but the film didn’t wallow there, which was much appreciated.

My one complaint would probably be that it went on about 20 minutes longer than it should’ve.

B+

American Hustle (2013)

The movie took so long to pick up steam that Gary nodded off like we were at church. But then Jennifer Lawrence appeared on-screen and the joint simply lit up -- she was just magic.  You know, come to think of it, there wasn’t a bad performance in the bunch. Bale, Adams, and Cooper all delivered.

Even though I admire the effort, I still just didn't really care about whether or not anyone got caught or succeeded in their caper or whatever.  The only things I found memorable were small, like Lawrence calling the microwave a "science oven" and Cooper imitating his sad sack co-worker.

B-