Films and more films

I did a semi decent job staying on top of movies this year. I haven't seen Her yet because somehow I perceive it to be a chore. I'm sure I'll like it, but I just don't feel like seeing it. Haven't seen Nebraska yet. I want to see that slightly more than Her. Otherwise, saw a few major ones: 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Gravity. Saw some smaller critical favorites: The Act of Killing, Inside Llewyn Davis, Frances Ha. Saw some of the way smaller critical favorites: The Spectacular Now, Short Term 12, Drinking Buddies, The Way Way Back. 

If I had to pick my absolute favorites in order it would go like this:

1. Inside Llewyn Davis
2. 12 Years a Slave
3. Frances Ha
4. The Act of Killing
5. American Hustle

To name five. 

Inside Llewyn Davis in my humble, is a masterpiece. It was the film I needed to see. Unlike most movies, the arc of the story is really just a straight line. There is no real fantasy in this film, no romance in the story, no improbable scenario that saves the protagonist. It is just someone's life, an artist's hard life, and that was enough to engross me for two hours. Do you know how hard it is to do that? Do you realize how masterful a production it has to be? I don't even know if I do.





12 Years a Slave is also a masterpiece for different reasons. The performances were amazing and the depiction of slavery felt true. If I'm to be so bold, I think I began to scratch the surface of understanding what that era was actually like. 
That said, it's not to say that there haven't been other good movies on slavery. Something I understood better with this one was the dependency on slavery to sustain an economy and livelihood. The film depicted it with more nuance, the psychological effects of this system on both slave owners and slaves. And as soon as Fassbender comes on screen, the quality of the film is elevated to another level. He should get an award but probably won't.




I loved Frances Ha. I'm a fan of most Noah Baumbach movies and I love Greta Gerwig. Even Baumbach's lesser successes, like Greenberg, are still superior to most movies of that ilk. I think it's because of Baumbach's writing; he somehow cuts through... I want to say something smart here, but the only word that comes to mind is bullshit. Sorry. I'm not an actual film critic in case you were wondering. 




The Act of Killing is a documentary that comes around once in maybe 10 years. Shoah is another (to put it in some kind of context). When a filmmaker is successful at exposing the darkest aspects of human nature, my reaction is visceral. My partner in documentaries, Michele, and I needed a drink (or five) after seeing it, and that wasn't even the director's cut.





American Hustle was hugely entertaining, great writing, great acting. Christian Bale gave my favorite performance of the film. It doesn't get to the level of say, a Casino, but still it's that kind of movie and it does a damn fine job. 




 When it comes to the "way smaller" movies, they all had their moments but fell a bit short. I know how hard it is to make a film, let alone a good one, so I'm not really criticizing here. Some of my issues had to with what I felt were improbable scenarios. It's not that I don't like fantasy or good classic storytelling, but I was a bit unsatisfied by how quickly and easily most of the characters bounced back from hard stuff. I wonder if some of the stories were biting off more than they could chew and then had to quickly resolve because the movie had to end.