The Savage Scorecard series continues with the second installment during which I reveal the films of 2013 which I awarded
four stars but just
did not quite make the final Top Ten list but are all jockeying together at the mythical "Number 11" slot.
As always, all full reviews are still available for you to peruse upon this site and I will inform you where to find them at the conclusion of each entry.
1. "THE GREAT GATSBY" Directed by Baz Luhrmann
As we have already witnessed with his now classic films,
"Strictly Ballroom" (1992), "Romeo + Juliet" (1996) and
"Moulin Rouge!" (2001), Director Baz Luhrmann makes motion pictures that are full-on EXPERIENCES unlike any other, and his visually
and emotionally resplendent adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is no exception as it was one of the most unique films I saw in 2013. Grandiose, dazzling and heroically opulent, "The Great Gatsby" presents a risky and boldly kaleidoscopic carnival of riches that shows just how a filmmaker is able to make special effects truly special, personal, purposeful and entirely individualistic. Baz Luhrmann works his cinematic canvas like a master painter!
(
Originally reviewed May 2013)
2. "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" Directed by Joss Whedon
At the opposite end of the visual spectrum, but just as equally individualistic and resplendent is Joss Whedon's wonderful and effortless adaptation of
William Shakespeare's eternal play. Light, frothy, enormously entertaining, undeniably romantic, completely artful and filled top to bottom with some of the finest words ever conceived, "Much Ado About Nothing" is elegant minimalism that is amorously urgent yet flows as naturally as a languid summer's breeze.
(
Originally reviewed July 2013)
3. "THE SPECTACULAR NOW" Directed by James Ponsoldt
Clearly inspired by the iconic 1980's films of
John Hughes and
Cameron Crowe's "Say Anything..." (1989), as well as strongly standing alongside
Will Gluck's "Easy A" (2010) and
Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" (2012) this film is a leisurely paced, beautifully acted end of high school/on the edge of the future teen love story between a quiet introvert and a popular extrovert and alcoholic. Both
Miles Terrier and
Shailene Woodley elicit luxuriously aching three dimensional and star making performances as the young couple in a film that explores whether we are destined to live inside of a pre-conceived box or are we able to evolve into a potentially new and better existence. Undeniably graceful and more mature than most movie love stories featuring either teenagers
or adults.
(
Originally reviewed September 2013)
4. "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" Directed by J.J. Abrams
The grammatical errors of the title notwithstanding, I still feel that J.J. Abrams fully delivered the goods with his second installment in the newly revamped "Star Trek" film series. Now that all of the secrets of the film are widely known, I feel that I can freely speak to the issues that plagued quite a hefty number of movie-goers, so much so that some felt that this installment was the worst "Star Trek" film to date--a criticism that I cannot take very seriously whatsoever if you
really want me to believe that this film was somehow worse than
"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989).
At any rate, as I said in my original review, I strongly feel that J.J. Abrams weaved a most appropriately dark film which mirrored the very dark political times in which we live in the real world. "Star Trek Into Darkness" was political commentary as well as a war movie, cautionary tale and even a parable about the insidious and dangerous nature of hubris. Most specifically, this film was Abrams' most clever deconstruction of the character of Captain James T. Kirk (
played with riveting swagger by Chris Pine) and how his brashness, impulsiveness and recklessness is ultimately his undoing. This is a film where nearly every single choice Kirk makes is precisely the
wrong choice and how those consequences lead him all the way to the controversial climax which purposefully mirrors the classic
"Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" (1982). This element, in particular, was not a case of Hollywood being creatively bankrupt. It was a purposeful, meaningful choice that fully addressed the alternate time-line concept introduced in Abrams' first film of this new series and also worked conceptually and emotionally in this tale of Kirk's battle against Khan (
Benedict Cumberbatch). Look, if you were truly that bothered by this film, there's nothing I can say that will change your mind. But, I stand firm with my own assessment of this film which left me enthralled, excited, awed, thrilled, challenged and superbly entertained.
(
Originally reviewed May 2013)
5. "THIS IS THE END" Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Without question, this was the most riotously funny film of the year by a long shot. Furthermore, the debut directorial feature from writing partners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, about a collective of famous movie stars (playing exaggerated versions of themselves) facing down a Rapture induced Armageddon, contained more rule breaking inventiveness, more consistently ruthless and gleefully profane hilarity, and more completely defied expectations than any other film of the year. "This Is The End" is unquestionably a film that boldly and proudly exists within its own universe but also comfortably sits confidently alongside cinematic comedic gold mines like
"Monty Python's Life Of Brian" (1979) and
Kevin Smith's "Dogma" (1999), while also mining sharp theological debates and even some honest horror film surprises, shocks and graphic gory violence
. If you somehow merged
"The Exorcist" (1973)," with
"Ghostbusters" (1984) and the current state of "reality" television, you may end up with something like this film...but to its immense credit, there was NOTHING else like it all year long.
(
Originally reviewed July 2013)
6. "THE WORLD'S END" Directed by Edgar Wright
Never did I think that I would ever see
two apocalyptic themed comedies in the same year and that both of them would be uniformly excellent as well as entirely unique experiences; not only from each other but also from most movies released in the same year. The third film in the so-called
"Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy,"--a series which includes
"Shaun Of The Dead" (2004) and
"Hot Fuzz" (2007)--about a collective of middle aged friends attempting to complete the failed 12 bar pub crawl of their youth, only to discover that the end of the world is nigh, was an awesomely vibrant, ferociously fast paced, visually stunning comedy that owed as much to comic book and video game aesthetics as it did to presenting a sharp social critique and deeply perceptive ode to the dangers of living and existing within one's own sense of nostalgia. With its relentless pace, dynamically choreographed fight sequences and head spinning verbal gymnastics, "The World's End" is also a film that very surprisingly contained a dark pathos and existential rage that cuts to the core of arrested development, failure and the pain of growing older. In a year when so many films don't even seem to want to try anymore, "The World's End" was fearlessly creative and so confidently blazed its own path.
(
Originally reviewed August 2013)
COMING SOON...PART THREE..."THE BAD, THE WORSE, AND THE ABSOLUTELY AWFUL"!!!!
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