Top Ten Films Of 2013

               Here it is---the creme de la creme, the pinnacle of my 2013 film going year. I knew 2013 was a good year when I had to leave such great films as Mud, Fruitvale Station, Philomena, Dallas Buyers Club and Before Midnight off the list entirely. Regardless, here are my personal picks for the ten best films of 2013.

(10) This Is The End 

                 Last year it was 21 Jump Street...this year it's This Is The End. It seems every year audiences and critics alike are getting treated to a truly hysterical summer comedy. This film is also definitive proof that really good friends can make a comedy together without it being too self indulgent or too much of an inside joke. Take note Adam Sandler.

(9) Captain Phillips

            With a stunning leading performance from the always excellent Tom Hanks and an impressive first time performance from Barkhad Abdi...this based on a true story film about modern day Somali pirates who kidnap the captain of a ship is both incredibly intense and very sad.

(8) 12 Years A Slave

              Arguably the most powerful and hardest to watch film on this list....12 Years A Slave proves to be a terrific film due to its surprisingly important and incredibly relevant subject matter and excellent performances from everyone involved as well as intense direction from Steve McQueen...a man who is no stranger to tough subject matter.

(7) Prisoners 

                 An incredible and powerful kidnapping thriller....Prisoners feeds on the question "what would you do if this happened to your kids?" Even as someone without kids...I was still consistently asking this question during the film. With a script and direction that keeps you guessing up until the last few seconds and a career high performance from Hugh Jackman as well as excellent supporting work from Paul Dano, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Jake Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis...this is a damn near perfect film.

(6) The Spectacular Now 

             With excellent chemistry from stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, both of whom have proven to be extremely talented young actors elsewhere and a script reminiscent of the days of John Hughes and Chris Columbus...The Spectacular Now is the sweetest teen love story this side of Say Anything... and is destined to become just as classic and timeless as that film.

(5) The Way Way Back 

             Yet another home run for the directing and writing team of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash who claimed Oscar gold for their script of The Descendants...The Way Way Back is a coming of age story about an awkward teenager finding himself as a water park employee that is in equal parts drop dead funny and extremely touching. Liam James as the teenager proves to be a young actor worth looking out for and the always superb Sam Rockwell gives his best work yet as his wisecracking boss. 

(4) You're Next 

           Who knew a horror film nowadays could be this inventive, invigorating and downright scary? With its darkly funny script and cast of talented actors...You're Next gives generic home invasion films such as The Purge and The Strangers a very, very bad name.

(3) American Hustle

          With its Martin Scorsese Mean Streets/Goodfellas vibe and an incredibly gifted cast that will blow the whole audience away....American Hustle is a down and dirty dark crime comedy that proves yet again that David O Russell can do no wrong and that Jennifer Lawrence is the most important thing in any film that she's in.

(2) The Wolf Of Wall Street

            Not only does it have a completely unrestrained performance that only Leonardo DiCaprio could pull off...it's also a three hour film about some of the most reprehensible people in the history of cinema that left me wanting more. That's something that only director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Terrence Winter (creator of "Boardwalk Empire" and long time writer of "The Sopranos) could pull off. This is a dark comedy making fun of people who caused real pain and suffering to others that actually worked brilliantly unlike Michael Bay's Pain And Gain.

(1) Nebraska 

          With career high performances from excellent performers such as Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb and Will Forte...this total gem of a black and white film is something truly special. First time writer Bob Nelson proves a force to be reckoned with and director Alexander Payne continues to show why he's the master at making films about mid life crises. Come Oscar night I'll be rooting for Dern. His performance as an old man who believes he's won a million dollars via the internet will surely take anybody's breath away. It is a truly awe inspiring performance and film. 

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Review

Daydream believer----Ben Stiller as an employee at Life Magazine who must track down a renowned photographer (Sean Penn) in The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
                                                  The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty is an extremely frustrating film to review. It's a film that as I sit here typing, I realize made me more mad than any other film of the 21st century thus far. This may make me sound like I completely hated it. On the contrary, it's so frustrating because I could not quite reach the level of hating it. This is due to the fact that there are two or three incredibly profound moments spread wildly throughout the film that made me think "why can't the whole film be like this?" This is made all the more maddening by the fact that director and star Ben Stiller along with screenwriter Steve Conrad who did the excellent The Weather Man and the grossly overlooked The Promotion are obviously trying as hard as they can to make a great film. From the start---one can even see the strain in Stiller's face to make a truly remarkable film. Unfortunately, the film he has made is anything but.

                                                  The film stars Stiller as Walter Mitty, who works in the photo department at Life Magazine. When news breaks that Life Magazine is publishing their last print issue...Walter must track down photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) to find the cover page for the last issue.

                                                  This is a film that insists on doing the same idea over and over again not realizing that its ideas are cool the first couple of times they are shown but wear out quickly after. The main idea of the film is that Walter daydreams and has outrageous fantasies of the woman he works with and pines for (Kristen Wiig) falling madly in love with him or telling off his reprehensible and condescending new boss (Adam Scott.) However, the fantasy sequences can only be interesting for so long. After the second fantasy sequence...those overstay their welcome and just become tedious. Also, Walter sets up an E-Harmony account and consistently receives calls from Todd (Patton Oswalt)...a representative he talks to about issues the site has been giving him. This plot feels so incredibly jammed in to the point that it becomes uninteresting almost immediately. However, the biggest sin that the film commits is that it doesn't present the audience with any stakes or reason to care. Walter's a guy who daydreams a lot and he needs to find this picture to finish off the final print of a magazine---so what? The whole adventure feels like it was for no reason especially considering that there was no guarantee that the magazine was going to end up using THAT picture for the final cover.

                                                    I'll admit it---that may have been overly nit picky. However, my point is that this film, which is a remake of a far superior Danny Kaye film from 1947 is really bad. Ben Stiller has proven time and time again to be a very competent director (Reality Bites, The Cable Guy, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder) and is obviously an incredible talent in the acting world. I think Stiller is an excellent and charismatic actor and director who can make great films if he just puts his mind to it. I'm hoping that The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty is just a very bad misstep in an otherwise great continuing film career.
(1 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG for some crude comments, language and action violence)

Led Zeppelin Played Here: 2014 Showings And Why You Should See It!

        About half a year back, I wrote a review for an excellent documentary called Led Zeppelin Played Here. I had seen it three times previous to publishing that review because I loved it so much so now I have decided to promote it even more. I want people to know the reasoning behind why this documentary should be seen by everyone and this time---I even got to talk to director Jeff Krulik and have him give his take on the film.

           I have certainly learned a lot about the music industry and the history of rock concerts from this documentary. It is extremely informative about the way that concerts have emerged over the years into a larger whole. However, I wanted to know what the director hoped people would take away from their viewing experience. Krulik says "What I hope people take away from the film is an appreciation of how the rock concert industry emerged from this wide open frontier where things were being made up as they went along," adding that "...it's not a film about Led Zeppelin, it's about a time and a place in our culture that is being taken for granted, even if it's not remembered at all." Krulik is happy with the project's hook, however. He tells me that "...Led Zeppelin is a strong hook in title and in content so no complaints on my end." Krulik has made a fascinating point here that I think a lot of people who see this film overlook. He talks about how it is not really a film about Led Zeppelin in and of itself. Upon first viewing---I discovered that this was the case. The film goes into deeper questions about the rock music industry and a time that doesn't seem to be talked about much anymore.

I most definitely hope that this excellent documentary will soon become a hit outside of the local areas despite its subject matter. Due to my curiosity about whether or not this is a surefire hit or whether this film is just a drop in the bucket for Krulik's career.....I asked him about his thoughts on whether or not this will expand. Krulik wrote back to me saying "I think the verdict is out on whether the film will reach a wide/wider audience," adding "I haven't even secured a Virginia screening yet." However, he adds "I'm entering it into some national film festivals and I've got my fingers crossed." Krulik agrees with me that "...the subject has universal appear so it shouldn't matter whether you're from the area or not." I think that audiences across the globe will acknowledge this as a well made, fun documentary and I certainly have hope that Krulik's fan base will only grow from here.

One thing that I also ask myself when watching a film is "what inspired the director to tackle this project?" This question was especially prominent during Led Zeppelin Played Here because Krulik obviously has an affection for the subject at hand so I decided what he had to say about my probing question. Krulik wrote back with an attachment to the "Krulik Rock And Roll Trilogy" in which he writes "I've been fascinated with the history of the rock concert industry for as long as I can remember. I've always been curious about the personalities and machinery behind the industry and how the modern concert industry emerged from the amorphous blank slate of the 1960s." Krulik, showing his deep passion for this subject ends this statement by saying "...this is part of my ongoing effort to chronicle the emerging cultural landscape of my hometown, which in many ways, could be anyone's hometown."

Another probing question I had was whether or not Krulik has had a tough time editing the film whether that be making additions to the film or taking certain scenes out. I wonder this because each time I watch it the film is different and it's always fascinating to see the different placement of scenes and what scenes Krulik seems to have a dedication to and what scenes Krulik seems to not need. Krulik writes back saying "It's been harder working on the latest cut, then getting the film ready in the first place, and that's just trimming a few scenes here or there, or add a soundbite or some imagery." Krulik then adds "So far, every version that's been screened has been received positively but I'm my own worst critic." This is further justification that Krulik has a lot of passion for this project as well as a lot of determination to make it the best that he can and it shows upon viewing the film.

Lastly---I wanted to know Krulik's plans for the film's distribution now that it's reached a fair sized audience. He writes back saying that "I pretty much just want to finalize the cut, then circulate it as best I can via film festivals and circulated screenings, then try and get it on regional public television, then get it online." Krulik adds "I don't ever see it being a commercial property due to rights issues but you never know."

Led Zeppelin Played Here is an excellent film that should be seen by all. Although it currently does not have any confirmed 2014 screenings, Krulik says he's going to try to bring it back to the AFI Silver in downtown Silver Spring as well as at other screenings in the Washington, DC, Maryland and maybe even the Virginia area. I encourage everyone to see this film as it is fascinating and extremely entertaining. I can only hope that Jeff Krulik has a long, great career ahead of him...he's a force to be reckoned with.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Review

A news beginning----Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, David Koechner and Steve Carrell return as the beloved news team in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
                                Despite not doing well upon its initial theatrical release, Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy became an incredible hit on DVD and continues to have a growing cult following even today. It's no wonder why a sequel with a larger budget and a bigger scope is now taking up an auditorium or two in your local multiplex. However, it took a while for the cast to get to this point. In fact, most of the people involved in making this film were totally unaware it was even happening until Will Ferrell announced it randomly on "Conan." It's here now and while it may not be as refreshing as the original, it's just as funny.

                                   The film follows beloved news anchor Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) who loses his job to his wife Veronica (Christina Applegate) and decides to take up a job at the Global News Network, a revolutionary 24 hours news channel being promoted by Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker.) Ron gets Brian (Paul Rudd), Champ (David Koechner) and Brick (Steve Carrell) back together and soon they're faced with many challenges including the racial tension between them and African American boss Linda Jackson (Meagan Good.) However, Ron's main problem is Jack Lime (James Marsden)...a dreamy newscaster who starts a ratings war with Ron.

                                    What this film does best is prove why Ferrell, Rudd, Koechner and Carrell are all so funny. That reason is that none of these four men are afraid to look absolutely ridiculous. In fact---all four of these men will actually go so far as to look like complete idiots if it means making someone, anyone laugh. I'd be lying if I said they didn't make me laugh extremely consistently. However, it's not just the pristine comic performances that hold this film up. The script by Ferrell and long time partner Adam McKay is incredibly clever in the way it presents ideas we all view as norms today (24 hour news, racial assimilation, ETC) and places the audience in a time in which these things did not exist.

                                      While I laughed throughout this film's entire run, I did have a few problems. Let me preface my complaints by explaining that all of these complaints are forgiven because it's a comedy and I laughed out loud around a dozen times so it did its job well. The last half an hour, while being funny essentially turns into the most unrealistic  "Family Guy" episode. Without giving anything away---all logic is thrown out the window and it settles for really low brow humor. Also---there is a plot that is introduced late in the film in which something happens to Ron and it just feels out of place. I laughed at this plot fairly hard but if it was cut out of the film it wouldn't have made any difference. That brings me to my final complaint. The film is way too long. If I were to study this film...I could have easily found 30 minutes that should have been cut out. For example--the plot that involves something happening to Ron that I just mentioned took up about 20 minutes of the film and easily could had been 10 minutes.

                                         Like I said...all of these complaints are very much forgiven because there was hardly a second in the entire two hour running time in which I wasn't laughing. Although the film relies a lot on dumb, broad humor, the writing is still incredibly sharp and the performances are as top notch as they were in the first one from both returning actors and newcomers alike. I can't guarantee that everyone will love Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (the jokes may be too broad or dated for some) but I can say that I laughed harder at this film than most comedies of 2013 combined.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, drug use, language and comic violence)

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Review

Here we go again----Andrew Jacobs and Gabrielle Walsh as a possessed teenager and his sister in Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
                                              The Unborn, Texas Chainsaw, One Missed Call and now Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones all have something in common. Every one of these films is an incredibly dumb and unbelievably dull horror film that has been spit out by their distributors during the first weekend of January. Distributors do this throughout January if they have absolutely no confidence in their film (take a look at last year's Mama, A Haunted House and Movie 43) with the hopes that no one will be at the theater in January. However, the first week of this oh so awful movie going month is always reserved for that one horror film that the studios, writers and directors have no confidence in whatsoever. This year, the film comes from Paramount Studios and writer-director Christopher Landon who continue the annual tradition of being justified in having no faith in their film. However, this may be the best first week January horror film yet. It's sad to say this because this film was horrid but I also know that it's 99.9% because this is not as much of an obvious cash grab as the previous entries in this series.

                                               The film follows Jesse (Andrew Jacobs), his friend Hector (Jorge Diaz) and Jesse's sister Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh.) Jesse and Hector decide to sneak into the house of an old woman who lives below Jesse directly after she is mysteriously killed. However, what they don't realize is that this woman was a witch and will now possess Jesse and everyone knows where this is going.

                                                This is not a good film at all. However, since it has the Paranormal Activity name attached to it and does relate back to the four previous films...I couldn't help but hold it up to the light and compare it to the other installments. Generally when I watch a film I force myself to watch it on its own terms. However, I had to compare and contrast this one. What I found was that this installment, as with the previous ones relies way too much on someone jumping out from behind a curtain or someone being behind someone else. However, unlike the previous installments I found that this one does not rely too heavily on loud noises after long stretches of no sound and has genuine effort being put into it. While this is still a shameless cash grab, the actors do try and Landon (the writer of the previous three) does try to create genuine tension. Landon succeeds well enough for his first time actually directing one of these films and the actors are actually not terrible. First timers Jacobs and Walsh are both effectively creepy and intense and Diaz who has been in previous films makes his performance work well enough.

                                                  It may sound like I'm giving this film a lot of praise but I haven't gotten to the huge problem yet. The flaw that is totally detrimental to this film is that nothing and I mean nothing happens until the last five minutes. Watching three actors give decent performances isn't enough to make up for the fact that the first 75 minutes of this film has literally nothing happening in it. Simply put...it's not worth it.

                                                  I was honestly bored out of my skull for 99% of this film. It's dull as ditchwater and only takes off in the last couple of minutes. The only way I can recommend this film is to say watch the last five minutes when they make it to Youtube in a week. Needless to say...this series of "films" has totally run its course.
(1 out of 5 Stas, The film is rated R for pervasive language, some violence, graphic nudity and some drug use)