The Top Films of 2013

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  • #61
    Re: The Top Films of 2013

    Originally posted by polfilmblog View Post
    So far 12 Years a Slave and Wolf of Wall Street have the top slots. I doubt most of the others mentioned are going to top those. I will say that Spring Breakers can sit comfortably on my worst of the year list. And I have no idea why Drinking Buddies had a spot on here either.

    Looking forward to:

    American Hustle
    Gravity
    Dallas Buyers Club
    Blue Jasmine

    I guess I'll have a look at:

    Prisoners
    Rush

    And someone seriously said The Internship? For that raped by Google Corp. warm fuzzy feeling I guess...
    Haha... yup. That was me that said The Internship! Clearly I'm in the minority here and I was really expecting to hate it but...ended up becoming one of my favorites of 2013. Just goes to show: there's no accounting for taste
    Last edited by grumpywriter; 03-17-2014, 09:39 AM.

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    • #62
      Re: The Top Films of 2013

      Originally posted by ATB View Post
      It's sad that people bought a ticket expecting that.

      Who cares about brutality. It's an unflinching portrayal of one man's life story. And it was brutal. Maybe not fiction-brutal. But real-life brutal?

      Really should not have been judged on those merits. "I watched this film about slavery but it wasn't brutal enough." I mean...
      See, that's the thing: unflinching. It implies that the content being viewed will be difficult to watch, which is what I wanted. I don't want to see a movie about slavery that portrays it with a keen gloss. The rape scene, obviously, was disturbing in its own. Other than that, most of the hardships endured were relatively minimal to other real-life stories of slavery.

      I'm not saying I went into it like a torture-porn fan goes to see an Eli Roth film. But I don't want to see something that makes me comfortable (never really felt like Northrup was in danger - even the other slaves went about their lives with relative impunity, as long as they could take a few lashings), especially when the topic discussed is one so morally shameful.

      Perhaps it's that Generation Y cynicism at play. Or perhaps my expectations were just different from others - considering the film's PR campaign was slugging the "unflinching" bit throughout the trades.

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      • #63
        Re: The Top Films of 2013

        Originally posted by Eric Boellner View Post
        I'm not saying I went into it like a torture-porn fan goes to see an Eli Roth film. But I don't want to see something that makes me comfortable (never really felt like Northrup was in danger - even the other slaves went about their lives with relative impunity, as long as they could take a few lashings), especially when the topic discussed is one so morally shameful.

        Perhaps it's that Generation Y cynicism at play. Or perhaps my expectations were just different from others - considering the film's PR campaign was slugging the "unflinching" bit throughout the trades.
        I think you went into the film with the wrong expectations. It wasn't supposed to be about a slave experiencing increasing levels of "danger" -- it's not a thriller. The word "unflinching" applies to human drama -- and the increasing levels of dehumanization that Solomon is forced to witness and be a part of. It's about what he sees as much as what happens to him.

        [Spoilers]

        Solomon is a proud man at the start of the movie. After he is kidnapped, we see him trying to tell people that he doesn't belong there. Then he accepts that no one will listen and he starts accepting a subservient nature. The plantation has a (relatively) non-evil master, but Solomon sees pain primarily by observing the mother who bemoans the fact that she's been separated from her children. Then at the next plantation, where slaves are treated much worse, he witnesses terrible things happening to other slaves -- a man whipped because he didn't pick enough cotton; a woman hit in the head with a decanter. It gets to the point that the woman asks him to kill her. He refuses, as the humane part of him will not allow it. But by the near-end of the movie, he is whipping that same woman until she almost dies. So there we have it -- he has gone from a strong husband and father completely foreign to slavery to someone whipping the very slave woman who he refused to help. The toll has been taken.

        So I think the movie was effective in conveying the destructive effects of slavery not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; it's made more effective by the fact that we see this through the eyes of someone who was previously a free man.

        That said, I don't think the movie is perfect -- it has some issues with characterization, making the character of Solomon less effective than he should have been:

        1) The first 5 minutes don't really convey how much Solomon's family means to him. It shows him putting his kids to bed and talking to his wife about money, but there are no extended loving stares or no professions of "I don't know what I'd do without you". He is viewed primarily in functional terms -- as a strong father and a husband, not as a happy and doting family man. This makes it harder to view his separation from his family in as devastating terms as it could have been. It also makes his character less emotionally involving. Incidentally, in the script Ridley spends a lot more time showing Solomon's family dynamic at the beginning, so I think this was a directorial issue.

        2) Going along with the above, we see very few references to Solomon's family throughout the film. That is supposed to be the main part of his devastation -- that he was separated from them; yet there are few flashbacks, and he barely even talks about them. It's hard enough to go one year without your family; but 12 years? I think this was a huge mistake on the filmmakers' part, as it causes the film to lack an emotional through-line. So much so that when Solomon is finally reunited with his family at the end, the payoff is not as powerful or effective as it could have been.

        Despite the issues I have with the movie, I think that overall it was powerfully acted, with many visually striking moments, and an important story to be told. I support its winning of Best Picture.
        Last edited by UpandComing; 03-18-2014, 09:50 AM.
        "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

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        • #64
          Re: The Top Films of 2013

          Originally posted by UpandComing View Post
          I think you went into the film with the wrong expectations. It wasn't supposed to be about a slave experiencing increasing levels of "danger" -- it's not a thriller. The word "unflinching" applies to human drama -- and the increasing levels of dehumanization that Solomon is forced to witness and be a part of. It's about what he sees as much as what happens to him.

          [Spoilers]

          Solomon is a proud man at the start of the movie. After he is kidnapped, we see him trying to tell people that he doesn't belong there. Then he accepts that no one will listen and he starts accepting a subservient nature. The plantation has a (relatively) non-evil master, but Solomon sees pain primarily by observing the mother who bemoans the fact that she's been separated from her children. Then at the next plantation, where slaves are treated much worse, he witnesses terrible things happening to other slaves -- a man whipped because he didn't pick enough cotton; a woman hit in the head with a decanter. It gets to the point that the woman asks him to kill her. He refuses, as the humane part of him will not allow it. But by the near-end of the movie, he is whipping that same woman until she almost dies. So there we have it -- he has gone from a strong husband and father completely foreign to slavery to someone whipping the very slave woman who he refused to help. The toll has been taken.

          So I think the movie was effective in conveying the destructive effects of slavery not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; it's made more effective by the fact that we see this through the eyes of someone who was previously a free man.

          That said, I don't think the movie is perfect -- it has some issues with characterization, making the character of Solomon less effective than he should have been:

          1) The first 5 minutes don't really convey how much Solomon's family means to him. It shows him putting his kids to bed and talking to his wife about money, but there are no extended loving stares or no professions of "I don't know what I'd do without you". He is viewed primarily in functional terms -- as a strong father and a husband, not as a happy and doting family man. This makes it harder to view his separation from his family in as devastating terms as it could have been. It also makes his character less emotionally involving. Incidentally, in the script Ridley spends a lot more time showing Solomon's family dynamic at the beginning, so I think this was a directorial issue.

          2) Going along with the above, we see very few references to Solomon's family throughout the film. That is supposed to be the main part of his devastation -- that he was separated from them; yet there are few flashbacks, and he barely even talks about them. It's hard enough to go one year without your family; but 12 years? I think this was a huge mistake on the filmmakers' part, as it causes the film to lack an emotional through-line. So much so that when Solomon is finally reunited with his family at the end, the payoff is not as powerful or effective as it could have been.

          Despite the issues I have with the movie, I think that overall it was powerfully acted, with many visually striking moments, and an important story to be told. I support its winning of Best Picture.
          Well said. Maybe I'll watch it again someday and find it more compelling. Until then, I can't say I agreed with its win.

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: The Top Films of 2013

            I`ve got a couple of questions about 12 Years

            1. Did anyone else find it episodic?
            2. What did you think of Salomon as a character?

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            • #66
              Re: The Top Films of 2013

              Originally posted by miktal-1 View Post
              I`ve got a couple of questions about 12 Years

              1. Did anyone else find it episodic?
              2. What did you think of Salomon as a character?
              I think it felt a bit episodic because it was more character-driven than plot-driven. It's not like Django, where the protagonist had a clear mission throughout the story (finding his wife). Solomon doesn't have a clear mission of trying to escape, because the point is that trying to do so was pretty much hopeless. The movie is meant to be more of a character study - it moves forward in the sense that Solomon witnesses worse and worse acts of slavery and becomes more dehumanized in the process.

              I wrote what I thought of Solomon's character a few posts above -- I thought a few things could have been done to make him more empathetic as a character, which I never thought I'd say for a movie about a slave. Django's character (in Django Unchained) is more empathetic because the audience is reminded throughout the story how much he desires to see his wife (that's the emotional through-line). This is despite the fact that Django is a less realistic look at the horrors of slavery (and more of a cartoonish action movie).

              Beyond all this analysis, I just find it amazing that we have two major feature films about slavery that we can compare and contrast like this. Hollywood really is changing in some ways...
              "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

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              • #67
                Re: The Top Films of 2013

                His goal throughout was to get a letter to his wife. Clear and simple.

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                • #68
                  Re: The Top Films of 2013

                  Originally posted by ATB View Post
                  His goal throughout was to get a letter to his wife. Clear and simple.
                  I don't think that was his goal throughout the movie. That didn't really come up as a plan until about halfway through. His goal for the first half was just to survive/adapt to his new surroundings.
                  "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

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                  • #69
                    Re: The Top Films of 2013

                    If we're looking at it chronologically, yes. But what do we think was the purpose of the opening scene featuring Solomon attempting to write a letter with crushed blackberries?

                    His goal is established the first time we see him.

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                    • #70
                      Re: The Top Films of 2013

                      Originally posted by ATB View Post
                      If we're looking at it chronologically, yes. But what do we think was the purpose of the opening scene featuring Solomon attempting to write a letter with crushed blackberries?

                      His goal is established the first time we see him.
                      That wasn't meant to establish his goal for the entirety of the movie. That was just a flashforward. A stylistic device meant to grab our attention at the beginning of the film.
                      "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

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                      • #71
                        Re: The Top Films of 2013

                        I know it's a flash-forward. And yes, many times this narrative device is used simply to "grab our attention."

                        This was not one of those times.

                        If so, why not flash-forward to any number of other more suspenseful moments we find in the latter half of the film?

                        ... because this moment better establishes the protagonist's goal.

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                        • #72
                          Re: The Top Films of 2013

                          Originally posted by ATB View Post
                          I know it's a flash-forward. And yes, many times this narrative device is used simply to "grab our attention."

                          This was not one of those times.

                          If so, why not flash-forward to any number of other more suspenseful moments we find in the latter half of the film?

                          ... because this moment better establishes the protagonist's goal.
                          Okay, fine -- I'll agree that the flash-forward identifies his goal of getting the letter to his wife. But as I said previously, after the flash-forward, this goal is not even hinted at until halfway through the story. As such, it feels less compelling and urgent than Django's (whose goal is impressed upon us in every frame of the story) and thus has the effect of making Solomon's character less empathetic.
                          "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            Re: The Top Films of 2013

                            For me, that letter writing scene was great. Not for what I thought it meant, but
                            for the emotion I felt the second time seeing it -- only then fully aware of how high the stakes were.

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                            • #74
                              Re: The Top Films of 2013

                              Originally posted by canela View Post
                              For me, that letter writing scene was great. Not for what I thought it meant, but
                              for the emotion I felt the second time seeing it -- only then fully aware of how high the stakes were.
                              Yeah, it was a powerful scene. McQueen is adept at creating visually striking moments. I've heard a number of critics say that the hanging scene was a weird juxtaposition of a horrific event with a beautiful visual shot.
                              "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                Re: The Top Films of 2013

                                Originally posted by UpandComing View Post
                                Yeah, it was a powerful scene. McQueen is adept at creating visually striking moments. I've heard a number of critics say that the hanging scene was a weird juxtaposition of a horrific event with a beautiful visual shot.
                                Yes. That was another brilliant moment. Sooo uncomfortably loooooong (some might say unflinching). As an audience member, I'm used to more prompt relief of something that awful. This film engaged the audience -- made us complicit, perhaps -- in a way not often done. At least, not well.

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