10 best films of 2013: 'American Hustle,' 'All is Lost' lead the list

Source: Tulsa World, Okla.迷你倉Dec. 29--I saw more than 200 movies in 2013, and one of the most exciting trends was seeing more filmmakers and performers taking chances, being inventive and experimenting amongst all of the computer-generated sameness and sequels galore.The result is a best-of list that includes a government-corruption drama that plays like a heist flick, an almost silent movie, a 3-D space opera, a man in a relationship with his computer and a portrait of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family.There's even a list of movies that fell just outside the top 10 that could have made a best-of list in other years. The following is a 10-best list for 2013 that is, as always, something more like my 10 favorite movies of the year.1. American HustleFilmmaker David O. Russell's farcical look at the 1970s Abscam FBI sting operation -- involving con men, fake Arab sheiks and suitcases full of money -- is smart, hilarious and everything you want out of a great movie. Russell has a gift for working with actors to develop a character, and then allowing them to take risks. The result is that each star -- Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner -- delivers a career-defining performance.2. All is LostIf you think a movie with no dialogue has nothing to say, and if you thought Robert Redford had delivered his last great performance years ago, see this classic survival film in which he is the only actor and says almost nothing. The sinking-ship tale is original and thoughtful in surprising ways, and I felt an empathy for Redford's character like I didn't experience in any other film this year. I felt as an audience member that we were all in this together -- and we are in this life, aren't we?3. Blue JasmineWoody Allen combines comedy and tragedy in a way unseen since 1989's "Crimes and Misdemeanors," topped off with the singular great film performance of 2013 by Cate Blanchett as a woman in free-fall, ranging from despair to mental illness as a beloved socialite who becomes an overnight pariah thanks to her husband's financial scheming. She gives us a view of Jasmine French on the verge of a nervous breakdown that is all at once comical, sad and fascinating.4. GravityThe great technological cinema achievement of the year, considering what it took for filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron to create his out-of-this-world science-fiction hit. It literally feels as though the action is taking place in outer space, and few movies can combine sheer terror with such exquisite beauty in a story showing us that, like those tethers metaphorically tying the astronauts in place, we are all connected in this world.5. Her(Opens Jan. 10) As usual with Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich"), his new film works on multiple and unexpected levels. He finds a meaningful, comedic way to talk about our increasing social interaction without personal interaction, and yet this is his most romantic film yet, in a haunting fashion. In his futuristic concept, Joaquin Phoenix is remarkable as a heartbroken man whose routine life is changed when he falls for his computer's new artificially intelligent operating system (Scarlett Johansson in the voice performance of the year).6. PrisonersThe story is every parent's nightmare -- children go outside to play and seemingly vanish -- and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve twists the knife from there. This crackling-good thriller works as both a crafty whodunit and as the most intense movie of the year, delivering "This is why we go to the movies!" feelings. From moral complexities to standout performances, like a twitchy, character-actor turn by Jake Gyllenhaal as a haunted cop, "Prisoners" twists and turns its way to one of the year's great ending shots.7. The EastThis crackling good espionage thriller is the brainchild of star Brit Marling and director Zal Batmanglij, made in the manner of some of the best exposing-the-truth movies, with themes of eco-terrorism and whistle-blowers that make it feel immediate like few recent dramas.Their picture weighing whether an anarchist group's ends justify its means smartly balances idealism and fire-in-the-belly passion with harsh realities.8. The Hunger Games: Catching FireCan one of the most entertaining blockbusters also be one of the great film achievements of the year? You bet it can when it meets and exceeds expectations for the rabid fans of the book series, who now know two things for certain: Director Francis Lawrence extended the quality of an event franchise that may match the "Harry Potter" series in quality, and that such an achievement is made easier when your heroine is portrayed by the most gifted young talent in movies in Jennifer Lawrence.9. The Spectacular NowA warm, wise entry in the canon of the best movies about young people, showing a deep resp文件倉ct for Oklahoma author Tim Tharp's characters including Sutter Keely, the teen drunk at the center of this coming-of-age story who has no plans to come of age, and Aimee, the sweet, innocent girl whom Sutter begins to corrupt. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are brilliant in these respective roles, and you should see these two acting in this indie movie before you see them together again in next spring's blockbuster "Divergent."10. August: Osage County(Opens Jan. 10) It seems that far too many who have seen the Oklahoma-shot picture have concentrated on what it is not -- largely because it's edited to be one hour shorter than Tulsa native Tracy Letts' award-winning play -- rather than focusing on what it achieves: This is a great, big slice of Oklahoma and, at the same time, American life itself, in all of its dysfunction and family ties that bind and constrict, as the holidays are likely reminding a few people. Meryl Streep delivers one of her great performances -- think about that -- and those by Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Julianne Nicholson are absolutely perfect. This is a picture for Oklahomans to take pride in, filled with heaping helpings of "truth-telling," as Streep's acidic mother tells us.I saw more than 200 movies in 2013, and one of the most exciting trends was seeing more filmmakers and performers taking chances, being inventive and experimenting amongst all of the computer-generated sameness and sequels galore.The result is a best-of list that includes a government-corruption drama that plays like a heist flick, an almost silent movie, a 3-D space opera, a man in a relationship with his computer and a portrait of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family.There's even a list of movies that fell just outside the top 10 that could have made a best-of list in other years.The following is a 10-best list for 2013 that is, as always, something more like my 10 favorite movies of the year.Michael Smith 918-581-8479michael.smith@tulsaworld.com10 more movies to check out if you haven't seen them:11. "Fruitvale Station": This dramatization of real events in the death of Oscar Grant in an Oakland subway station is an important film on social understanding, with both personal and universal storytelling.12. "Inside Llewyn Davis": The Coen brothers return with one of their small, thoughtful comedies -- this one about the 1960s Greenwich Village folk-music scene -- that demand a little time to sink in, and then you realize you can't stop thinking about it.13. "Before Midnight": The third film in one of the most unlikely, and welcome, trilogies in film history further illuminates the relationship between Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) from 1995's "Before Sunrise" and 2004's "Before Sunset."14. "Dallas Buyers Club": Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, respectively as a 1980s redneck trying to beat AIDs with a drug-buying scheme and his unlikely business partner (Leto as a transgender woman), deliver two of 2013's most wonderfully complex performances, and they will make you laugh as well as cry.15. "Enough Said": Filmmaker Nicole Holofcener again makes a unique picture populated by mature people who have a lot on their minds, and they have a circle of friends, and we're made to feel like we're a part of the circle. That's easy when Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late, great James Gandolfini play two of the year's most delightfully flawed, normal people in an on-screen romance.16. "Rush": Director Ron Howard returns to his 1970s car-racing roots for this depiction of that era's Formula One rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Great acting and great action, with some of the year's most adrenaline-fueled cinematography.17. "Star Trek Into Darkness": This comes surprisingly close to the perfection of J.J. Abrams' original reboot of the "Star Trek" film series, with Benedict Cumberbatch upping the ante on complex villains in action-movies.18. "12 Years a Slave": Some outstanding performances (including a brief but powerful one by Tulsa's Alfre Woodard) power this drama, a presumed Oscar front-runner based on the true tale of Solomon Northup, a free black man sold into slavery for a dozen years in the pre-Civil War South.19. "Philomena": A marvelous little movie with smart-as-a-whip Judi Dench playing a simple Irish woman searching for the child she was forced to give up 50 years before. A heartwarming drama, based on a true story, with plenty of comedic pathos.20. "Mama": Never underestimate the power of a good idea -- like never underestimating the power of a maternal instinct -- or the power of actress Jessica Chastain to take a horror film to another level.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services存倉