Top 10 best movies 2013

Notes: Even though I heard it would be a tough watch, it still ended up being a massively depressing movie to watch. Of course, the horror displayed was tremendous but, above all, I thought this movie had a terrible mirror effect. Indeed, even though I’m somewhat optimistic and believe that men are usually good, this movie reminds you that men can be evil, especially to one another. So, I felt pretty bad afterwards but movies are not always about entertainment, certainly not. Sometimes, it is there to remind you about the awful things that happened and/or are still happening and, therefore, this movie is incredibly valuable.

Notes: After seven long years, Alfonso Cuaron finally came up with a new directing effort and, boy, it was definitely worth the wait. Indeed, what a spectacle! Basically, from a visual point of view, it was quite mind-blowing. Nowadays, almost all the blockbusters are released in 3D but it is actually a worthless gimmick used just to make you purchase an even more expensive ticket. Not here though. With ‘Avatar’, it must be the only movie which properly used the 3D and it looked really terrific. Concerning the actors, I was rather surprised that they picked up Sandra Bullock but she did a great job, providing easily the best performance of her career. George Clooney didn’t have much screen time but he gave a solid performance as well. So, it was a thrilling story in outer space, 10 times more impressive and interesting than ‘Apollo 13’ and it fell not far from greatness.

Notes: I thought it was a really entertaining and actually a downright hilarious feature which wasn’t something I really expected. During some scenes, especially when DiCaprio was heavily intoxicated, he gave some us some real slapstick and it actually worked like a charm. I mean, even though there was a really solid supporting cast, the focus was put on Jordan Belfort and as a result, DiCaprio had basically to carry the whole thing on his shoulder. He did a fine job, supported by the fine directing provided by Martin Scorsese, but honestly, by now, we know pretty well that he can play the talented but very neurotic characters like no one else and it would be nice if he tried something else for once. Furthermore, the other characters were not very well developed since they didn’t get much space in my opinion which is rather surprising since the movie lasted 3 hours. Still, even though it might not be one of the best movies made by the duo Scorsese-DiCaptio, it was terribly entertaining and the most hilarious film from 2013 that I have seen so far.

Notes: Ater being literally lost for so many years making 'Where the Wild Things Are', Spike Jonze was finally back and the end-result was once again pretty terrific. Indeed, he basically made a fascinating movie which worked on so many levels. Sure, I really liked the minimalistic style and the whole thing was visually really appealing but it went way beyond that. For example, it might sound crazy to have the main character fall in love with his operating system but in a world where we barely speak to our next-door neighbours but yet manage to have 3000 friends on Facebook or having a deep relationship with someone leaving at the other side of the globe, are we really so far from this reality? Talking about reality, is the physical world much more significant than any virtual world? And what is the foundation of our relationships? Is it something really physical or is it in fact the interactions that we have we one and another? This movie goes really deep into those questions without of course giving any answers but the process displayed was just mesmerizing.

Notes: At last, Jesse and Céline were finally together and, in fact, when the film starts, they have actually been together for almost a decade and they even have 2 cute twin girls. So, you could think that all is well but, eventually, most of the romance is now gone and they spend maybe half of the movie arguing about various subjects. I know, it might sound disappointing for everyone who just wants to see some spotless eternal love in their movies but, if you, like me, are craving for something more down-to-earth and realistic, then you will definitely love this flick. Indeed, by now, those characters have been so well developed (after all, we have spent 2 decades following their evolution as individuals and as a couple) and they are still fascinating to behold. On top of that, most of their thoughts and feelings are so relatable, especially if you are yourself in a long-term relationship with kids, and it made the whole thing even more meaningful to me.

Notes: I was quite blown away by the whole thing and, in my opinion, it was one of the most beautiful and intense love stories I have ever seen. Rightfully, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos were heralded for their performances and they were both just mesmerizing to behold. Seriously, I saw the movie yesterday and I still can’t stop thinking about their relationship which was so raw and realistic. This is basically the kind of relationship we all dream to have once in our lifetime. To be honest, I have to admit that no everything did work though. Of course, there is the matter of those very explicit sex scenes. Indeed, on one hand, it felt really voyeuristic and it seemed to be a very masculine point of view on lesbian love. You might wonder if those scenes really added something valuable to the story but, on the other hand, you might argue that they matched the intensity of their feelings for each other.

Notes: It was once again time for our mighty filmclub, and this time again, I didn’t know anything about it, which is the best way to watch a movie. After ’12 years A Slave’, it was yet again a really heatbreaking but powerful story with some solid directing and some impressive acting by some teenagers with no prior acting experience. In fact, it was the directing debut of Diego Quemada-Díez, a Spanish guy, who has worked before mostly as a camera operator. Anyway, even though you have heard the stories, read the news about it, I have even seen a couple of movies about the subject (‘Welcome’, ‘In this World’), it was still really a tough watch. Even though it is not an easy watch, it is a really strong and actually quite a beautiful drama.

Notes: Well, I wasn't disappointed as the whole thing turned out to be a fascinating documentary about a potential masterpiece that was actually never made. Of course, it was equally frustrating to see such a visionary director gathering all these great talents together when in fact we will never have the opportunity to see the damned thing. Still, while watching this movie, I was wondering actually how it actually all ended and, to be honest, I'm rather surprised that those guys thought that they could to go to Hollywood with their ambitious but also really insane project and expect that they would been given at least 15 millions dollars which was a huge sum at the time. Why didn't they try in Europe or why didn't they try to finance it independently? Anyway, eventually, Jodorowsky would turn to comic-books, a much more flexible Art form in which money doesn't play such a huge part like in the movie business, creating some amazing masterpieces like 'L'Incal' which is my all-time favorite comic-book.

Notes: At first, it started out as a rather standard teenage romantic-comedy, very soon, it was clear that the whole thing was actually really much more than that. First of all, some people argued that it was rather unbelievable that such a girl would fall in love with such a mess but I don’t agree at all. Indeed, in spite of his drinking problem, the main character was actually a popular guy who was nice with everyone and, since she never had a boyfriend, she idealized him like we all did with our first girlfriend/boyfriend (indeed, I still think that my first girlfriend was an actual goddess). Still, to be honest, I was not so sure about the drinking. I mean, it’s not that the main character was drinking a lot, in fact, the guy was actually constantly drinking (I think he had a drink in 95% of the scenes). It was an interesting look on a very young alcoholic but I still think it was strange that not one of his friends or his sister or his mother would ever actually mention it at any moment. Anyway, I thought that both characters were fascinating thanks to some strong performances by Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. Eventually, it was one of the best teenage romantic dramas I have seen, in fact, I think it might be even better than ‘The Perks of Being a Walflower'.

Notes: Well, eventually, I was seriously impressed by the damned thing and I'm not surprised that it gave Brie Larson's deserved breakthrough. The first thing I enjoyed was the fact they didn't give a tedious introduction to make sure that the viewers understood what was going on. Sure, Rami Malek was playing a new employee on his first day so they gave him a few tips, obviously, to still informed somehow the viewers but, fortunately, they didn't focus too much on his character. Anyway, the way they presented this foster-care facility felt so realitisc and, very often, it felt like watching a fascinating documentary. I have to admit that I did struggle a little bit with how much time they spent on the private life of the co-workers and, to be honest, I don't think that someone with some much personal baggage like the main character was actually really suited for this kind of job. On the other hand, it was really interesting to see someone so damaged who has decided to help such kids in need getting to the point that she can't handle anymore the pressure because it reminds her that she should also face her own demons.