The Top Ten Performances of 2013
Just because a movie isn’t great doesn’t mean that the performances in it aren’t. Six of the performances below weren’t in movie that I put on my best of the year list. Some might receive honorable mentions but they’ll mostly be carried there by the impact of these actors. And for the great performances in great films? Well, we can only hope for classic territory. 10. Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines in The Butler The Butler and Oprah are pretty much forgotten at this point, and even though I loved the film, it’s not making my Top 10 list this year. But credit where credit is due: Oprah Winfrey is phenomenal in this movie. Lee Daniels has a history of getting great performances out of his supporting female cast members, and Oprah’s here is no exception. The characters just...
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The Top Ten Movies of 2013
As is annual tradition, my best of 2013 list is about a month overdue. Life, ya know. Part of that life has been seeing more old movies in theaters than new movies now that I live in Austin, Texas. More on that some other time. For now, let’s just jump right into the top ten movies of 2013. 10. Laurence Anyways (dir. Xavier Dolan) I caught Laurence Anyways at the Cleveland International Film Festival and at the time I was sure it would be my favorite movie of the year. In many ways it still is. This rapturous, epic drama that follows a male-to-female transgender-ed person and her one-time girlfriend through a decade in their relationship is Dolan’s best film yet. Watching this film, there are shades of Scorsese, Almodovar, Tarantino and Anderson, but all the while he makes...
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The Most Anticipated Movies of Winter 2013
December is always an exciting time for movies; you have your Oscar bait trying to wriggle into theaters just in time for awards season, and therefore a whole slew of American cinema’s best and brightest, or so the marketing will lead audiences to believe. Then, you have your Christmas releases, which are usually some mixture of the award favorites and straightforward fun fare. Then we get to January, where movie choices are usually oddly limited, as if Hollywood and moviegoers feel winded from everything I’ve just mentioned and need a month break. Maybe this is just my skewed perspective, but it cannot just be a matter of coincidence or imagination that my late-January birthday was always spent wishing there was something better in the movies to see with friends for the occasion than Underworld: Evolution or No Strings Attached....
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The 5 Most Iconic Campervans In TV & Film
There are few more diverse symbols of Americana than the campervan. From static trailers filled with gin-soaked dreams to pimped-out, king-of-the-hill RVs larger than most flats in London. From the technicolor paintjobs of smoke-filled hippie wagons to drunk jock-filled, spring break destined party wagons, they bring together two of cinema’s greatest ingredients: The open road, and a cramped environment. Here’s a rundown of the most memorable RVs of the big and small screen: 1. Breaking Bad’s RV Meth Lab Breaking Bad reached some dizzying heights in its 5 season run. Along the way, its twisting, dramatic storylines touch on multi-conglomerate conspiracies, Mexican cartels, and remote New Hampshire cabins, so you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the first season was almost entirely focused on Walt and Jesse’s adventures in their mobile meth lab. It was in the desolate confines of...
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6 Performances That Prove Matthew McConaughey Is The Best Actor Of This Year… And Last
While we wait for Matthew McConaughey‘s performance in The Wolf of Wall Street to make its debut on Christmas Day, it’s easy to see that the 44-year-old actor is at the top of his game from everything else he’s been in recently. Rarely has an actor had a streak of undeniably brilliant performances like McConaughey has in the last two years. And as Oscar approaches, we have to wonder, why is McConaughey not considered a top contender in any acting category, lead or supporting, especially after being so blatantly snubbed last year. Well regardless of what the Academy and the other awards bodies think, here are six absolutely brilliant performances from Mr. McConaughey that should resoundingly prove he’s the best actor of this year… and last: 1. Mud (2013) In Mud, McConaughey gives what is arguably the best performance in his entire...
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