2013 at the movies: For better or worse and sometimes both

Here at last are our picks for the ten best films of the year — and they’re sure to be the cause for much wailing and gnashing of teeth. One notable omission is sure to raise eyebrows and even hackles. I mean everybody is supposed to have 12 Years a Slave on his or her list, right? Here’s the thing (and I think I can speak for Mr. Souther, too), I have the utmost respect and admiration for the film. I think it is brilliant. I am cheering for Chiwetel Ejiofor to win that Best Actor Oscar, and I’ll be cool with it if 12 Years a Slave takes Best Picture. I think it’s a fine film and a powerful one, but something about the film feels just a little at arm’s length and keeps it from engaging me fully on an emotional level. That aside, here are the lists.

Ken Hanke’s Lists

To be honest, I’m not happy with a Top Ten. I could easily do a Top 20 this year, which is kind of funny because I hadn’t originally thought the year was that strong until I started sifting back through it. As a result, I’m splitting the difference and going with a Top 15 (at least online). You may expect a significant list of honorable mentions, too.

Without a doubt, 2013 seemed to attempt to corner the market on movies about conspicuous consumption and excessive people — and filmmakers — flaunting their excesses. They ran the gamut from the wayward romantic desperation of The Great Gatsby to the decadent desperation of The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) to the tacky excesses of American Hustle to the horrifying ones of The Wolf of Wall Street. Fortunately for everyone, Martin Scorsese, David O. Russell, Paolo Sorrentino and, especially, Baz Luhrmann know from excess. (Not like that rank amateur Harmony Korine with his obnoxious Spring Breakers, but I’ll turn my attention to that in the second list.)

It was also good year for horror, though, of course, there were also the usual horror crapfests — something to be expected with the genre, which is exactly why it continues to be ghetto-ized. Only two of them (and one is a borderline case) made my list, but I’ll give them a little section of their own.

The Best

1. The Great Gatsby. Anyone who is surprised by Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby in the top slot just hasn’t been paying attention. I’ve said it wass the film to beat for months — and no one did, though some came close. In a year of movies about conspicuous consumption — depicted with conspicuous excess — I think this did it best. Better still, it made the topic understandable, even romantic. Unlike every other attempt to translate Fitzgerald’s novel to the screen, Luhrmann captures the authentic sense of desperation that underlies the “roaring ‘20s.” It also — with the help of Leonardo DiCaprio — manages to suggest that part of what dooms his love is that — like the parties he throws and the house he lives in and the clothes he wears and the cars he drives — it’s just too much. There’s no way to make Daisy a likable character, but the film does make you understand why Gatsby is just too overwhelming for another human being to bear. In the end, for all his swagger and bluster, Gatsby remains a tragic innocent.

2. In the House. Fracois Ozon’s film is probably the cleverest, slyest, most literate and most playful film of the year. A richly rewarding experience unlike anything else. Beautifully made and acted and as near to perfect as you’re going to get. This is one of those films that came absolutely out of nowhere for me. I wasn’t expecting it, and suddenly it just appeared. (That it has not shown up on many lists suggests to me that it wasn’t much seen — and that Ozon is not taken as seriously as he should be by English language critics.)

3. The Wolf of Wall Street. Yeah, it’s nasty, but it’s also grotesquely funny — and terrifying. And as filmmaking, really, it’s hard to beat. Scorsese at his best? No, maybe not, but the wow factor is undeniable in his craftsmanship and artistry. I have to admit that I was surprised — and I oughtn’t have been — by the controversy that the film “glorifies” its characters and their behavior. That never occurred to me. It still strikes me as a foolish stance

4. The Lone Ranger. Yeah, what about it? Gore Verbinski’s film was unfairly dismissed and trashed before it was even seen. Apart from everything else, it was the best action film of the year — and whoa — it was even about something. A few years from now, it will get a fair reassessment. The funny thing is that I know a surprising number of people — even critics — who champion the film. Personally, I think you have to be pretty humorless not to like it and pretty determined to attack it without recognizing its deeper themes. The whole anti-Lone Ranger campaign (and the whole anti-Johnny Depp sentiment, for that matter) just plain puzzles me.

5. Inside Llewyn Davis. Perhaps the bleakest film the Coen brothers ever made. It’s also one of the most darkly funny with an atmosphere of time and place that is second to none. It’s only now opening locally, and I’ll be curious to see how that goes. As I said in the review, it’s not an easy film to like, but it’s a hard one to ignore. 

6. Byzantium This is a rarity because Byzantium didn’t even play here, but it should have. Here is where the always underrated Neil Jordan rescued — and slightly reinvented — the vampire movie from the abyss of Twilight. And he made a beautiful, longing, painfully romantic film in the bargain. There are few more lyrical horror films than this. Yet, Jordan never forgets that it is a horror film, which probably made it hard to market — too classy for the horror crowd and too bloody for the art crowd. If you haven’t caught this, you really should.

7. Stoker. Chan-wook Park’s Stoker got lost in the shuffle and came too early in the year to get much chance for reassessment. But then this elegantly-paced thriller — almost a horror picture — was never destined to be a crowd-pleaser. It’s too mannered, too stylized and ultimately too disturbing to have a broad appeal, but it really is a terrific movie.

8. The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza). I’m glad I caught Paolo Sorrentino’s amazing film in time for this list. It was supposed to open this week, but got moved back, which means there’s a wonderful banquet of a movie to look forward to. In a way, I’m glad to see it moved, so that it doesn’t get lost in an already crowded week. There really is nothing even remotely like it out there, Even if you hate subtitles, this is a movie to go out of your way to see.

9. American Hustle. Another of the year’s exercises in excess — and probably the most inherently appealing in a broad sense. I don’t think I’m supposed to like both it and Wolf of Wall Street, but there’s nothing you can do about it. And that soundtrack is killer. Deep? Not in the least, but so entertaining and so pleased with its own playful lack of morality that it’s pretty hard to resist.

10. About Time.  Richard Curtis’ supposedly final film (hopefully, he’ll rethink that) isn’t as grandiose as his other two films — Love Actually and Pirate Radio — but it comes close to making up for it in charm and cleverness. If this is to be his last movie, it’s a fitting climax to Curtis’ all-too-brief directorial career.

11. Trance. I had liked Danny Boyle’s Trance when I first saw it, but then it kind of drifted away as movies sometimes will. However, I was interested enough to give it another look — and it blew me away even more than it did the first time. It’s really not possible to fully appreciate its complexity and overwhelming stylishness in one sitting.

12. Dallas Buyers Club.  This made the Top 10 part once. Maybe twice. It has two great performances from Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. It’s magnificently effective. I even liked Jennifer Garner in it. Plus — as Mr. Souther notes below — all that T. Rex is a good point.

13. Frances Ha. This has been on the Top 10, too, and I really like the film. I like its look and its vibe and its soundtrack, especially, the way it employed Hot Chocolate’s “Every 1’s a Winner,” not to mention those Georges Delerue pieces. What I can’t get out of my mind is the question of how much my fondness for the film is colored by how much I enjoyed my interview with Greta Gerwig.

14. The Place Beyond the Pines. Another one I’ve waffled on. This was a movie I had little interest in seeing, because I hadn’t liked Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine (2011) at all. I’d grudgingly admired it, but even that faded in time. This was a different proposition altogether. I’m one of the few people, it seemed at the time, who actually liked the final third. In fact, it’s the final third that sold me on the movie.

15. I’m So Excited. No, Pedro Almodovar’s latest film is not among his best works, but it’s so goofy and pleasant and so utterly unconcerned with traditional notions of morality that it edged its way into this final slot.

There were other good films this year that I enjoyed a lot — to varying degrees and for various reasons. The Spanish silent film (since it’s silent it hardly mattered that it was Spanish) of “Snow White” entitled (aptly) Blancanieves was actually a contender. If the first third had been as good as the last two-thirds, it would’ve made it. And the French Renoir was another close call — if the film had quite lived up to what it looked like — and it almost did. The Danish film, The Hunt was good, too, but certain aspects struck me as forced and cliched. I liked Warm Bodies, too, and that failed attempt at a new tween franchise Beautiful Creatures I found very pleasant indeed. Unfortunately, no one else much seemed to. And then, there’s the other side of the coin …

The Worst

1. Spring Breakers. Generally, I don’t hate movies. Hate is just too much emotion to invest in a crappy movie. It’s too much work, but I genuinely hate Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers — with the kind of passion I usually reserve for Fox News pundits. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because I hate his Gummo (1997), too. This is a vile, stupid, pointless movie with all the profundity and taste of a Girls Gone Wild video — and about the same level of production values.

2. Carrie. There’s this theory that TV has somehow — thanks to crime and zombie soap operas — elevated itself to the level of the movies. This drab remake of Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) suggests that perhaps the movies have fallen to the level of TV shows. Chloë Grace Moretz — looking for all the world like Dane DeHaan in drag — is completely miscast in the title role, and everything that could go wrong did. The idea that this was a new interpretation of the novel was a joke. They hewed so closely to the original script that it’s credited. If anything, this rehash is about one exploding gas station away from being even less faithful to Stephen King’s novel.

3. Olympus Has Fallen. This appalling right wing fantasy for armchair warriors about renegade North Koreans taking over the White House is bad on every possible level. It does get bonus idiocy points, though, for have Melissa Leo dragged around by her hair while she screams “The Pledge of Allegiance.”

4. Scary Movie 5. What is there to be said about another of these?

5. Dark Skies Half-assed attempt at mixing the alien abduction sub-genre with the Paranormal Stupidity sub-sub-genre. The moral is that if a bunch of birds commit mass suicide by crashing into your house, someone is going to get taken away by proctologists from outer space.

6. The Purge. Bad horror films are a dime a dozen. Bad home invasion thrillers aren’t far behind. But when you get both in one movie that honestly seems to believe it has something important to say, you achieve a special kind of moviegoing hell.

7. Kick-Ass 2. I didn’t see the first Kick-Ass movie. Seeing the sequel guarantees that I never will.

8. Romeo & Juliet. Miscast, poorly conceived, flatly directed, and in short the worst version of Shakespeare’s overfilmed tale ever.

9. Identity Thief. Melissa McCarthy ruins Jason Bateman’s life and it’s supposed to be hilarious and heartwarming. The moral here? Sociopaths are cute and cuddly.

10. You’re Next. I went kind of easy on this when it came out, but the further away I got from yet-another-home-invasion-horror-picture that was mistaken for clever because it had a plot twist, the more I realized it was actually pretty awful.

Before closing out 2013 and turning this over to Mr. Souther, I do want to pause to follow up on my comment that this was actually — despite some evidence to the contrary — a surprisingly good year for horror movies. Not only did we get Byzantium and Stoker, but there was Rob Zombie’s very strange, very atmospheric art house horror picture Lords of Salem. I actually toyed with putting it on my list just for its mesmerizing perversity — and my desire for some Georges Melies wallpaper of my own. Plus, I was impressed by what a strangely touching performance Sherri Moon Zombie gave in the film. It may not exactly hold together — well, that happens when you evoke Dario Argento, you know — but it’s a film that intrigues me, and one I find myself returning to more often than I should.

It didn’t end there. While I cooled on James Wan’s The Conjuring pretty fast, I loved his Insidious: Chapter 2 — one of the best (and cleverest) sequels I’ve ever seen. Hell, it even leads up to an ending that suggests a perfectly logical third film. That Wan has supposedly sworn off the horror genre probably rules that out. Hopefully, it rules that out, if the answer is to turn that possible film over to some hack just to milk the franchise.

Also noteworthy, though perhaps not as much as it means to be, is Jim Mickle’s We Are What What We Are. I’m not sure that it has any repeat-viewing value for me, though. A film that does have repeat value, however, is Don Mancini’s Curse of Chucky, which I’ve seen three times already. Yes, I’m friends with the filmmaker, but since it’s a friendship that grew out of my review for his Seed of Chucky (2004), I was already an admirer. I think it unfortunate — and wrongheaded in light of the awards and praise Curse has picked up — that the film wasn’t given a theatrical release. It certainly warranted one. The great thing about Curse of Chucky — apart from its incredible stylishness and gorgeous production design — is that the film manages to create a straight and very effective horror film and then turns around to be at one with the more comedic Seed of Chucky. It’s a feat of cinematic legerdemain that I didn’t see coming — and one that thoroughly delighted me.

Justin Souther’s Lists

I spent most of 2013 feeling an overwhelming sense of mediocrity. It was not so much a year filled with terrible films, but one full of disappointments and forgetable nonsense. So it was a surprise when I sat down to write my Ten Best list that I had to — for the first time in a few years — make some tough decisions regarding what made the cut. I wanted to (and still want to, to be honest) add Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem — a trashy, often inherently goofy horror flick that I probably love more than anyone else on this earth. I also had to cut (at the last minute) Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color, a unique, confounding little sci-fi movie that unfortunately never played Asheville, and that I adored for most of the year (it wasn’t till I started understanding what was going on in the film when — much like a David Lynch movie — much of its mystery and appeal faded). That being said, I should point out that my list still contains quite a few movies that I’m including now, but that I might regret in a few months. At this point, I feel comfortable with my top three (they’re the only movies here that touch on a kind of greatness). I already feel I’ve put The Lone Ranger too low and am still clueless as to where The World’s End truly fits in here. But these are the dangers of Top 10 lists, the pitfalls of awards season and the naturally silly idea of quantifying entertainment. Nonetheless, here are the ten movies I probably liked the most this year, followed by some I couldn’t stand.

The Best

1. Inside Llewyn Davis. The Coen Brothers’ portrait of New York’s ‘60s folk music scene is a bleak, funny, occasionally touching and often complex character study, like Charles Portis butting heads with Samuel Beckett. A fascinating film either by itself or within the context of the Coens’ canon.

2. Frances Ha. As much star/co-writer Greta Gerwig’s film as it is director Noah Baumbach’s, Frances Ha mixes the former’s usual bitterness with the latter’s sweetness. The result is a touching little movie about growing into adulthood, and the losses and gains that come with it.

3. In the House. Structured like a thriller, Francois Ozon’s In the House is a small-scale journey into the depths of the human heart. A refreshingly literate, wonderfully intelligent film that’s simply a fantastic piece of filmmaking.

4. The Place Beyond the Pines. In a year defined by tales of the American Dream gone awry, The Place Beyond the Pines has been mostly overlooked. Perhaps there’s a reason — I really shouldn’t like this movie, and I definitely shouldn’t like it as much as I do, but here I am. A towering, ambitious film — filled with motifs and symbolism — that should fall apart, but manages to hold itself together by sheer force of will.

5. Mud. This journey into the modern South might’ve been exploitative in the hands of many, but Jeff Nichols creates a tale — grand in its scope — of looking for love in all the wrong places, but with a welcome sense of heart, humanity and dignity.

6. The Lone Ranger. Lambasted by critics and shunned by most moviegoers, Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger is a flashy, gigantic film that reminds me why I fell for the movies in the first place. A true event that will age better than the reputation that precedes it.

7. American Hustle. A cross between ‘70s crime flick and David O. Russell’s usual meditations on dysfunction, American Hustle is both funny and surprisingly human. It also contains the year’s best collection of performances. Plus, that soundtrack’s spot on.

8. Dallas Buyers Club. A film that easily could’ve been gimmicky Oscar-bait transcends this thanks to Matthew McConaughey’s ongoing career renaissance, a surprisingly excellent turn from Jared Leto and a whole lot of T. Rex songs.

9. The World’s End. If there’s anything working against Edgar Wright’s The World’s End is that it’s maybe too complex -— at least on one watch. A funny, layered look at friendship, addiction and arrested development, all wrapped up in a sci-fi flick.

10. The Wolf of Wall Street. A depraved, nasty, over-the-top look at greed and success — and how we all want it no matter what. Stylish, clever and bitterly funny.

The Worst

1. The Purge. The mere attempt of subversion does not make a good movie. The Purge thought it could tack on some social commentary to its junky home invasion premise and that alone would make it a good movie. The only thing lazier than its languid pace, dull execution and myriad contrivances are its ideas.

2. Salinger. An intellectually dishonest look at the famous writer that wants to be both biography and expose — and the definitive document on the man. It turns out to be none of these things. Instead, it’s long, boring and surprisingly incoherent. There’s a reason his mystique was one of the few appealing things about him.

3. This Is the End. This barely even qualifies as a movie. Thirty minutes of high concept is spread out over a barely coherent 100 minutes. And of course it ends up grossing $100 million.

4. Getaway. Making the much praised Before Midnight as well as The Purge and Getaway seems like the most Ethan Hawke-ish thing Ethan Hawke could have done. An entire movie predicated on exploding cars and Hawke’s mouth-breathing.

5. Grown Ups 2. Yeah, obviously Grown Ups 2 was going to be bad. It’s so bad it was destined to end up here. It’s so bad, I feel a bit guilty; it’s almost too easy putting it here. But yet, here it sits …

6. Paranoia. Perhaps the worst thing about these lists is going back through my reviews and being reminded of garbage movies I’d completely forgotten I’d watched.

7. Jobs. Makes the list thanks to Ashton Kutcher’s gross beard and need to be taken seriously.

8. Bullet to the Head. Consider this some sort of participation trophy for all the bad movies Sylvester Stallone was in this year. Why does this one get the nod then? Well, it did have Christian Slater in it, which is enough for me.

9. Thor: The Dark World. I guess there were worse movies to come out this year, but Thor: The Dark World gets included for what it represents, as the billions of Marvel movies we have to endure over the next hundred years get progressively more boring. You’ve got a giant Viking with a magic hammer fighting space elves and you still put me to sleep.

10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation. I realize this movie’s awful and everything, but I just realized that The Rock is a few years away from looking exactly like Abobo from Double Dragon.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

119 thoughts on “2013 at the movies: For better or worse and sometimes both

  1. Steven

    Did the [i]Wolf of Wall Street[/i] finally compel you to see [i]Goodfellas[/i]? Or is Joe Pesci’s presence still just too much.

  2. Orbit DVD

    Spring Breakers is my #3 favorite movie this year.

    Let’s talk about FRANCES HA. Great movie, in my top 20 as well, but it’s been a HARD sell for me. B&W perhaps, or maybe mumblecore fatigue?

  3. Jeremy Dylan

    Both of these lists feature a distressing amount of films that either haven’t played in Australia yet, or were here so briefly that I missed them.

    I look forward to catching up with In The House, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inside Llewyn Davis, Stoker, The Great Beauty, Dallas Buyers Club, Frances Ha, I’m So Excited, Mud.

  4. Steven

    Also, I know it’s not exactly your cup of tea, but did you ever end up seeing [i]The Act of Killing[/i]? I’d put it somewhere on my list, although it’s something I’d be fine with never seeing again.

  5. Ken Hanke

    Or is Joe Pesci’s presence still just too much.

    Bingo!

    Also, I know it’s not exactly your cup of tea, but did you ever end up seeing The Act of Killing? I’d put it somewhere on my list, although it’s something I’d be fine with never seeing again.

    I saw it. It’s peculiar and disurbing, but I can’t say I liked it.

  6. Ken Hanke

    Sorry. I just can’t jump on the Baz bandwagon with you.

    You never did before, so I wasn’t expecting you to now.

  7. Ken Hanke

    Spring Breakers is my #3 favorite movie this year.

    Yes, well…

    Let’s talk about FRANCES HA. Great movie, in my top 20 as well, but it’s been a HARD sell for me. B&W perhaps, or maybe mumblecore fatigue?

    I wouldn’t really call it mumblecore. You still know people who won’t watch B&W? That startles me.

  8. Steven

    [b]Bingo!
    [/b]

    But that didn’t stop you from watching [i]Raging Bul[/i]! You know you want to.

  9. Xanadon't

    I’m one of the few people, it seemed at the time, who actually liked the final third. In fact, it’s the final third that sold me on the movie.

    Really? It’s the second third that keeps Pines in the Runners Up column for me. And it’s only because of the final third is as strong as it is that it makes it that far with me.

    I’ve seen the vast majority of both Best Lists and my personal favorites for the year aren’t terribly far off. A major point of difference is that American Hustle wouldn’t come any where near my list. I simply don’t understand how it’s so widely loved. “So pleased with its own playful lack of morality” is accurate, but for me it comes of as just pleased with itself in general and in a somewhat obnoxious way. Plus, I suppose I simply didn’t feel compelled to spend much more time with any of the characters by about the half-way point. Ah well.

    I’m rather surprised that Mud didn’t make your list, Ken. I need to give it another look, but as it stands it would fall into my top 3. And I half expected Only God Forgives to sneak in, though I’m happier without it.

    I’m surprised and ashamed to discover that I’ve seen 4 of the Worst films… but really This is the End is the only “what was I thinking?!” moment of the lot. Salinger was inevitable, and to a certain extent so was You’re Next (not that this makes it any less awful) and far as I’m concerned the Thor sequel was pretty good as far as those things go.

    Very good year in movies and I still haven’t seen I’m so Excited!, or Llewyn Davis, Her, and The Great Beauty, naturally. Oh, and thanks for reminding me that I need to watch Blancanieves. Gosh, I could wind up with 4 Black and Whites in my top 15.

    Will someone please put a copy of Goodfellas in Ken’s hands?

  10. Ken Hanke

    I look forward to catching up with In The House, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inside Llewyn Davis, Stoker, The Great Beauty, Dallas Buyers Club, Frances Ha, I’m So Excited, Mud.

    You realize that three of those are…subtitled?

  11. Ken Hanke

    But that didn’t stop you from watching Raging Bul! You know you want to

    But the best I can say about Raging Bul (or Bull) is, yeah, it’s brilliantly made, but I just don’t give a shit about this guy. I guess you could say that’s true of Wolf, too, but it amused me more — and Paul Schrader didn’t write it.

  12. Me

    “Sorry. I just can’t jump on the Baz bandwagon with you.”

    Ken did you ever make it to the last couple of episodes of The Story of Film, he delves into Baz Lurhmann a little bit.

  13. Me

    “You still know people who won’t watch B&W? That startles me.”

    Some of my favorite films from the last two years have been black and white, Frances Ha, The Color Wheel, Computer Chess, and Tabu.

  14. Me

    Wait i always thought Ken didn’t like early Scorcese just because he disliked the films, you’re saying he’s never seen Raging Bull, surely not?

  15. Ken Hanke

    Really? It’s the second third that keeps Pines in the Runners Up column for me. And it’s only because of the final third is as strong as it is that it makes it that far with me.

    For me, the first two stories aren’t worth telling without that third.

    I’m rather surprised that Mud didn’t make your list, Ken. I need to give it another look, but as it stands it would fall into my top 3. And I half expected Only God Forgives to sneak in, though I’m happier without it.

    I liked Mud — a lot and it ought to have at least rated a mention. But something about it doesn’t quite linger in the mind. (Now, you may rightly ask if that mayn’t be true of the films I only saw recently after a few months. I can’t answer that, but at no point did I feel a desire to see Mud a second time. I’ve already seen all the other recent additions more than once, except for Wolf.) Only God Forgives mostly just intrigued me — in part because I was fascinated by the people who had loved Drive trashing it. I thought it was easily as good, but then I never really got the fuss over Drive. (This year I don’t get the fuss over The Spectacular Now or Upstream Color, especially the latter.)

    Gosh, I could wind up with 4 Black and Whites in my top 15.

    Nothing wrong with that.

    Will someone please put a copy of Goodfellas in Ken’s hands?

    Ah, someone who knows me well enough to know what it’s gonna take!

  16. Jeremy Dylan

    You realize that three of those are…subtitled?

    Yes. I will be tracking those down with significantly less urgency.

    We’ve got SAVING MR. BANKS opening this weekend, which I’m still keen to see despite it’s omission from both lists here.

    I’m disappointed to see that the “Off The Hook Good Award for Cinematic Excellence” has once again failed to be awarded.

  17. Ken Hanke

    Don’t misconstrue, I really enjoyed Saving Mr. Banks, but it’s not Top Ten or even Top 15 material to me,

  18. Jeremy Dylan

    I am sitting down to finally watch MARY POPPINS tomorrow night in preparation.

  19. Ken Hanke

    Ken did you ever make it to the last couple of episodes of The Story of Film, he delves into Baz Lurhmann a little bit.

    Yes, that’s part of what intrigued me about the series. He and I have a mutual friend who told me that Mark would agree with my notion that 21st century film begins with Moulin Rouge!, so I was intrigued.

    Some of my favorite films from the last two years have been black and white, Frances Ha, The Color Wheel, Computer Chess, and Tabu.

    I’ve only seen two of those — one of which I like. Thing is I have such a grounding in “classic” film that I’ve certainly seen more black-and-white than color films. Plus, I’m old enough that I remember when 99% of all TVs were black and white. The idea of avoiding a movie because it’s in black and white seems pretty fucked up to me.

  20. Ken Hanke

    I am sitting down to finally watch MARY POPPINS tomorrow night in preparation.

    I am not responsible for this rash decision.

  21. Michael D Walker

    Hi Ken,

    Great summary of your Top 15 films for 2013. Very pleasantly surprised to see you include STOKER, which I thought was a very creative, artful film.

    Wolf of Wall Street was fun to look at but so many scenes went on far too long for my taste (I actually got bored somewhere around 1/2 of the way through it) that it over emphasized how there was no one to give a rat’s ass about. DiCaprio was great but the decision to have him break the 4th wall frequently to deliver his Andrew Dice Clay routine felt like Adam Sandler had wrested control from Scorsese for those moments.

    Glad to see ABOUT TIME and TRANCE make the cut too as I’ve had both on my list to go see.

    And thanks to Justin for giving me pause to consider whether wasting time on SALINGER.

    Cheers!

    Michael

  22. Xanadon't

    No 12 Years a Slave OR Gravity on either list?? You guys do realize, don’t you, that if there was a National Film Critics’ Cafeteria you’d have to sit at your own table.

  23. Ken Hanke

    You oughta see where I’d make anyone who has Sprang Break Fo’evah, Bitches on his or her list sit…

    Thing is I explained why 12 Years a Slave isn’t on here and I understand why it’s on most lists, but Gravity is another matter. It’s totally a one time viewing for me, and it was fine for that purpose. It’s not mind-blowing or profound and sure as hell ain’t no 2001. The biggest thing for me it isn’t though is it isn’t worth seven years of Alfonso Cuaron’s time. I also can’t keep from thinking that all these people enthusing over its cinematography are confusing effects work with cinematography.

  24. Jason

    I really loved Muscle Shoals. After reading Ken’s review I knew I had to catch it while it was still here. It kept me engrossed the whole time.

  25. Mr.Orpheus

    Take away the things I haven’t seen (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, THE GREAT BEAUTY, BYZANTIUM, AMERICAN HUSTLE, I’M SO EXCITED, and THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES) and add THE WORLD’S END, and your list pretty much becomes my list, albeit with an altered order mostly revolving around an inability to stifle my somewhat irrational love of ABOUT TIME long enough to avoid putting it in the top position. I do feel that by the time I see LLEWYN DAVIS, THE GREAT BEAUTY, and the other things I haven’t caught up to yet, the idea of putting together a top ten will seem pretty untenable, but that’s probably not a bad thing.

  26. Lisa Watters

    I think the only one I don’t agree on is Wolf of Wall Street (and if we all agreed on everything how boring that would be!) The first forty minutes or so were good and then it just got BORING; I kept looking at the time wondering when it would finally be over. I would have been happy if it had been cut an hour though not the DiCaprio strung-out-on-quaaludes-trying- to-get-home scene; that was great.

  27. Steven

    The one film I remain perplexed on this year is [i]American Hustle[/i]. It had some fine performances, but good lord was that a chore to sit through. I even thought the song choices were entirely obvious for the kind of film is. Maybe it’s because I watched [i]Wolf[/i] recently, but it just felt like a knock-off Scorsese.

    Maybe it’s just me.

    Keep in mind that I haven’t seen [i]Spring Breakers[/i]. Ken’s word is enough for me to stay away from it, even with all of the “it’s misunderstood! masterpiece!” chanting from the corner. Actually, Korine’s name is enough for me to stay away from it.

  28. Ken Hanke

    I really loved Muscle Shoals. After reading Ken’s review I knew I had to catch it while it was still here. It kept me engrossed the whole time.

    It’s a terrific documentary, but it is a documentary, and I don’t even consider those as candidates for these lists. It is such a different animal — and it’s one that is strictly a one-viewing thing for me except for The Times of Harvey Milk, or if you consider Let It Be a documentary.

  29. Ken Hanke

    Take away the things I haven’t seen (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, THE GREAT BEAUTY, BYZANTIUM, AMERICAN HUSTLE, I’M SO EXCITED, and THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES) and add THE WORLD’S END, and your list pretty much becomes my list, albeit with an altered order mostly revolving around an inability to stifle my somewhat irrational love of ABOUT TIME long enough to avoid putting it in the top position.

    I’m not against the idea of adding The World’s End (I was glad it was on Justin’s list), and I don’t honestly see anythin wrong with having About Time as your no. 1.

  30. Ken Hanke

    I think the only one I don’t agree on is Wolf of Wall Street (and if we all agreed on everything how boring that would be!) The first forty minutes or so were good and then it just got BORING

    That’s how subjective these things are. I thought it was perhaps the fastest moving three hour movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t, in general, like three hour movies either. I think the only one I own is Lindsay Anderson’s O Lucky Man! and it feels like three hours, but it has to.

  31. Ken Hanke

    The one film I remain perplexed on this year is American Hustle. It had some fine performances, but good lord was that a chore to sit through. I even thought the song choices were entirely obvious for the kind of film is. Maybe it’s because I watched Wolf recently, but it just felt like a knock-off Scorsese.

    I really don’t find it like Scorsese. The tone and viewpoint seems strictly David O. Russell to me — more so than Silver Linings Playbook and certainly more than The Fighter. As for the soundtrack…well, I’d hardly call the Electric Light Orchestra’s “10538 Overture” an obvious choice, nor Bowie’s “Jean Genie,” neither are exactly top of the pops stuff. That said, if you want to evoke a time you kinda have to use music that evokes that time, which is going to make some choices obvious or, shall we say, natural. I don’t even especially like all the choices, but I think they work in context. (Frankly, while it amuses me, I find “Live and Let Die” one of Sir Paul’s most ludicrous post-Beatles creations. Any time Linda…er…sings you’re courting disaster.)

    Actually, Korine’s name is enough for me to stay away from it

    A man of great perspicacity.

  32. Mike

    Unless Her or Llewyn Davis really knock my socks off About Time will be my favorite film of the year as well. Fantastic movie that made me completely re-evaluate Richard Curtis’ work. Some of it compulsively.

    Surprised to see no mention of Blue Jasmine, which for my money is the best film of the year to comment on “conspicuous consumption and excessive people.”

    And while I’m not quite as enthusiastic about Lone Ranger as you two it’s still way better than its reputation suggests. Wish I’d heeded your enthusiasm in July and ignored the critical pile-on, as this would have been great to catch on the big screen. Still not too bad on a TV, though.

  33. Ken Hanke

    If About Time is your favorite so far, I find it highly unlikely that Her or Llewyn Davis will change that.

    Blue Jasmine was good and it might have made my list if Sony Pictures Classics deemed SEFCA voters worth sending screeners to. A second look might have tipped the scales.

  34. Jeremy Dylan

    I really don’t find it like Scorsese.

    I expect that will change once you’ve seen GOODFELLAS. I think the charge that it’s a Scorsese ripoff is unfair, but the influence of GOODFELLAS hangs over it pretty strongly, just in service of different types of characters.

  35. Ken Hanke

    Actually, I doubt it. When I say I’ve never seen Goodfellas, I mean in any serious way. I did see it on cable (pay channel, uncut, but pan and scan) and I only kind of paid much attention to it. I did, however, pay enough attention to find the tone of it and this to be very unalike.

  36. Big Al

    I am glad to say that I did not even attempt to see any of the films on either of your “worst of” lists, so I feel validated.

    I saw 5 of Justin’s top 10 and only disagree on “Place Beyond the Pines” (although I see it’s potential, I think it fell flat in the third act.)

    I saw 5 of Ken’s and agree with all of them. That number may rise to 7 after “Inside Lleywn Davis” next week, and “About Time”, which I plan to catch either at a second-run theater or on DVD.

    I am very surprised that a mainstream film like “Gatsby” was #1 on Ken’s list. I always assumed that his first pick would be an independent, or at least a less mainstream, release. It was a good film, though.

    Regarding “Inside Llewyn Davis”, I am very curious to see Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan together again, as I just saw “Drive” for the first time and loved it, especially the score.

  37. Me

    “I’ve only seen two of those”

    Im guessing of course Frances Ha and maybe Computer Chess?

    You should check out Tabu its streaming on Netflix.

  38. Ken Hanke

    I saw 5 of Justin’s top 10 and only disagree on “Place Beyond the Pines” (although I see it’s potential, I think it fell flat in the third act.)

    See that absolutely mystifies me. As I said higher up, I don’t see that the first two stories are worth telling without that third part.

    That number may rise to 7 after “Inside Lleywn Davis” next week, and “About Time”, which I plan to catch either at a second-run theater or on DVD.

    About Time hits DVD on Feb. 4. Don’t know if Mike’s planning on booking it Asheville Pizza.

    I am very surprised that a mainstream film like “Gatsby” was #1 on Ken’s list. I always assumed that his first pick would be an independent, or at least a less mainstream, release. It was a good film, though.

    As I said, if this comes as a surprise to you, you haven’t been paying attention. And it’s what I’d call “mainstream art.” It’s certainly not typical mainstream. I’m more interested in a film being personal than whether it’s an indie or a big production.

  39. Ken Hanke

    Im guessing of course Frances Ha and maybe Computer Chess?

    Yes. And I hated the latter.

    You should check out Tabu its streaming on Netflix

    I’ll…consider it.

  40. Xanadon't

    For the record, Computer Chess is not one of the three Black and Whites I referred to earlier.

  41. Ken Hanke

    Few years have a Holy Motors or a Last Circus. Pity, that.

    And here’s a shocker…I watched Tabu (which probably works better if you’re familiar with the 1931 Murnau film) — and it’s really good. Probably the best-looking B/W film in ages (I need to look at BLANCANIEVES again to be sure). I like how digital cinema allows filmmakers to use the 1.37:1 ratio and have it all end up on the screen. But while I enthuse over digital projection (the 35mm cult annoys me), I can’t help but wonder if the reason this looks so good is because it was shot on film.

  42. T.rex

    Great list guys. Thanks for giving some love to Trance and Place beyond the Pines. Ken, I am very surprised you didn’t include JOHN DIES AT THE END.

  43. Ken Hanke

    John Dies at the End ought to have been in the also-rans and/or the list of good horror pictures. Some things probably got overlooked because I changed computers in December and all my easy-to-go-through files were inaccessible.

  44. Big Al

    “…I don’t see that the first two stories are worth telling without that third part.”

    I agree. I just think the third act felt too slow and drawn out. Actually, several slow, quiet parts of all three acts could have been edited out without being missed, or sped up (i.e. filmed better) and the entire film would have benefited from a shorter run time, but the first two acts were good enough that I did not notice this effect until I was suffering through the third act. I was literally begging for the film to end by the middle of the third act. As I said, this film’s concept had great potential, but by the time it was over, I was almost sorry that I had come to see it.

    I had a similar reaction to “Nebraska”, but was fortunate that it ended shortly after my frustration began. It only would have made #10 on my list, if at all.

  45. Me

    I vote for Tabu as “Damnedest Thing I Saw”, since i suggested it and you actually liked it.

  46. Edwin Arnaudin

    A major point of difference is that American Hustle wouldn’t come any where near my list. I simply don’t understand how it’s so widely loved. “So pleased with its own playful lack of morality” is accurate, but for me it comes of as just pleased with itself in general and in a somewhat obnoxious way.

    At last! Another sane one! Welcome, my friend.

    Plus, I suppose I simply didn’t feel compelled to spend much more time with any of the characters by about the half-way point.

    That’s about the time the story starts doing somersaults, stops going places, and lets the Jennifer Lawrence Show take over. It needs that final sting or else it’d still be out there spinning around.

  47. Edwin Arnaudin

    The one film I remain perplexed on this year is American Hustle. It had some fine performances, but good lord was that a chore to sit through. I even thought the song choices were entirely obvious for the kind of film is.

    The sanity wagon rolls on!

  48. Xanadon't

    At last! Another sane one! Welcome, my friend.

    Why thank you. Happy to be here.

    That’s about the time the story starts doing somersaults, stops going places, and lets the Jennifer Lawrence Show take over.

    Yep– this, along with your take on her “unhinged housewife” routine as you describe it in your review (apparently I missed my window of opportunity to address this at ashevegas) captures some of my disappointment with the film. I’ve never so vehemently wished that I was instead watching Sharon Stone in Casino.

  49. Xanadon't

    And here’s a shocker…I watched Tabu (which probably works better if you’re familiar with the 1931 Murnau film) — and it’s really good.

    I’ll add it to my double-feature to-do list just beneath 8 1/2 and Nine.

  50. Ken Hanke

    At last! Another sane one! Welcome, my friend.

    Edwin, you have Upstream Color and The Craptacular Now on your list. You are in no position to talk about sanity. Plus, leave us face it, you simply don’t like Jennifer Lawrence.

  51. Ken Hanke

    Yep– this, along with your take on her “unhinged housewife” routine as you describe it in your review (apparently I missed my window of opportunity to address this at ashevegas) captures some of my disappointment with the film. I’ve never so vehemently wished that I was instead watching Sharon Stone in Casino.

    Pfui.

  52. Ken Hanke

    I’ll add it to my double-feature to-do list just beneath 8 1/2 and Nine

    Don’t know that I’d be going out of my way to watch Nine

  53. Ken Hanke

    I absolutely do not get its appeal on any level. It looks and plays like a low to medium film festival entry to me.

  54. Ken Hanke

    I vote for Tabu as “Damnedest Thing I Saw”, since i suggested it and you actually liked it.

    I think you’re being more swayed by the occurence than the film itself. John Dies at the End is probably nearer the mark for damndest thing I saw.

  55. Edwin Arnaudin

    Yep– this, along with your take on her “unhinged housewife” routine as you describe it in your review (apparently I missed my window of opportunity to address this at ashevegas) captures some of my disappointment with the film.

    Russell lets her run wild and she doesn’t have the chops to make it work.

    Here’s the link: http://www.ashvegas.com/ashvegas-movie-review-american-hustle You can always Google the review or click on my name on any review and it’ll take you to my chronological author’s page.

    I’ve never so vehemently wished that I was instead watching Sharon Stone in Casino.

  56. Edwin Arnaudin

    Edwin, you have Upstream Color and The Craptacular Now on your list. You are in no position to talk about sanity.

    I stand by these decisions, though now wonder if I’ve underrated Her

    Plus, leave us face it, you simply don’t like Jennifer Lawrence.

    I don’t dislike her, but I think the praise heaped upon her pretty skimpy resum

  57. Edwin Arnaudin

    I’ve never so vehemently wished that I was instead watching Sharon Stone in Casino.

    Whoops! Meant to say that I watched this one for the first time since a double VHS in high school. Thought it felt like a 6-hour movie then and think it feels like a 6-hour movie now. There’s a lot of craftsmanship going on, but for me this ushered in Scorsese’s decade of bloated films, which were almost single-handedly saved by Daniel Day-Lewis’ towering performance in Gangs of New York but officially came to an end with The Departed.

  58. Ken Hanke

    I stand by these decisions, though now wonder if I’ve underrated Her…

    I hardly expected you to recant, but I see no reason you should gild the lily with such a rash consideration.

  59. Xanadon't

    Here’s the link: http://www.ashvegas.com/ashvegas-movie-review-american-hustle You can always Google the review or click on my name on any review and it’ll take you to my chronological author’s page.

    Thanks, I’m seeing that. It’s just that the “Comment are closed” in regard to that particular review for whatever reason.

    But I was able to drop by your 10 Best list under my alternate assumed identity. Somehow I had missed those lists when they went up.

  60. Xanadon't

    Don’t know that I’d be going out of my way to watch Nine…

    Well, it wouldn’t take me too far out of my way, since it’s available on Netflix Instant. I’d been curious about it since it released, but still haven’t caught up with Fellini’s opus.

  61. Edwin Arnaudin

    Thanks, I’m seeing that. It’s just that the “Comment are closed” in regard to that particular review for whatever reason.

    I apologize for interpreting your words as you being unable to find a review.

    That’s the first time I’ve seen “comments are closed,” but it’s fixed now.

  62. Ken Hanke

    Well, it wouldn’t take me too far out of my way, since it’s available on Netflix Instant. I’d been curious about it since it released, but still haven’t caught up with Fellini’s opus.

    Not catching up with the real McFederico is unacceptable.

  63. Jeremy Dylan

    Don’t know that I’d be going out of my way to watch Nine

    If there was a director’s cut that removed the songs, I’d watch it again in a heartbeat.

    But I agree with Ken that you should probably watch the Fellini version first.

  64. Jeremy Dylan

    I am sitting down to finally watch MARY POPPINS tomorrow night in preparation.

    I am not responsible for this rash decision

    I almost wish you were. Then there would be someone I could direct my rage at.

    About seven hours into the cartoon penguins sequence, I started devising creative methods of torture for the production team.

    Ye gods.

  65. Me

    Edwin, how could you underrate Her at an A rating? If anything its the most overrated film of the year, I would probably give it a C or B.

  66. Ken Hanke

    About seven hours into the cartoon penguins sequence, I started devising creative methods of torture for the production team.

    About three utterances from Dick Van Dyke and I was ready to hurt someone — and this was when I first saw it at the age of 9 or 10. Then there’s the mechanical robin and Ed Wynn and…

    • Ben

      >Then there’s the mechanical robin and Ed Wynn and…
      And it’s not even a British robin, it’s an American robin.

  67. Ken Hanke

    Edwin, how could you underrate Her at an A rating? If anything its the most overrated film of the year, I would probably give it a C or B.

    Goddamnit, Chris, don’t make me agree with you! (Though I did give it a B.)

  68. Steven

    The real question is, how has Malick’s [i]The the Wonder[/i] settled with everyone?

  69. Edwin Arnaudin

    Edwin, how could you underrate Her at an A rating? If anything its the most overrated film of the year, I would probably give it a C or B.

    I saw it on a screener at home and liked it a lot, but didn’t think it was Top 10 quality. Over the next 6 or so weeks it stuck with me and seeing it on the big screen sealed it for me.

  70. Edwin Arnaudin

    The real question is, how has Malick’s The the Wonder settled with everyone?

    Well, but I like all Malick besides Badlands.

  71. Ken Hanke

    The the Wonder or To the Wonder as some call it…well, I wasn’t reviewing it so I felt perfectly comfortable giving up on it after about 30 minutes. Maybe one day I’ll force myself to sit through all of it and it will turn out to be magnificent. Based on what I saw and my (at best) ambivalent feelings on Malick, that seems improbable, but not having seen all of it, I can only weigh in on my initial reaction.

  72. Steven

    [b]Well, but I like all Malick besides Badlands.
    [/b]

    I’m always puzzled when people say [i]Badlands[/i] is his best.

    [i]To the Wonder[/i] is a pretty big step down from [i]The Tree of Life[/i] – at least for me. The latter is his greatest film, I think, and has stayed with me ever since I left the theater. The former doesn’t do much for me, really, but I get this urge to watch it every now and then. I don’t think it flows as well as Malick’s other films, and I question whether a better film was left on the editing room floor.

  73. Edwin Arnaudin

    I’m always puzzled when people say Badlands is his best.

    Likewise. The music and cinematography are excellent, but the rest…

    I agree that Tree of Life is his best film, followed by Days of Heaven. Even though I didn’t get as much out of To the Wonder, the imagery, music, and sense of character were still moving. Shots of water washing over the sand, Affleck and McAdams among the buffalo, and the town’s more poverty-stricken areas were the most effective ones for me.

  74. Ken Hanke

    Well, I seem to recall it had shots of people running through the weeds, so it’s clearly the real McMalick.

  75. DrSerizawa

    I love the irony of THE industry that is the most excessive and the most uncaring of its employees making movies about uncaring, excessiveness.

  76. Ken Hanke

    I love the irony of THE industry that is the most excessive and the most uncaring of its employees making movies about uncaring, excessiveness.

    Most excessive? I doubt it. Most uncaring? How did you arrive at that?

  77. Ken Hanke

    And it’s not even a British robin, it’s an American robin.

    In this movie, you’re gonna carp about that? (By the way, this almost got lost. Please do not use the “reply” function, just copy the relevant part of the post you’re commenting on and post at the bottom of the comments. When this goes strictly archival, it will do that anyway.)

  78. Big Al

    Ditto, Dr. S!

    How about the irony of being preached to about ANYTHING resembling humility, wisdom or grace by the most self-absorbed, self-important and pseudo-intellectual class of beings in America?

  79. Ken Hanke

    If that’s how you feel, one wonders why you go to the movies at all and help support that “self-absorbed, self-important and pseudo-intellectual class of beings in America.” (Waiting for a certain phrase to come into play here…)

  80. Ken Hanke

    Oh, thank Clapton! Signs of normalcy are returning. (Though your punctuation-challenged post is tempting me to start calling Edwin, “Amazing Edwin.”)

  81. Ben

    In this movie, you’re gonna carp about that?

    The penguins weren’t British either.

  82. Ken Hanke

    Well, they could be from the Edinburgh Zoo. That place is lousy with penguins.

  83. Big Al

    “(Waiting for a certain phrase to come into play here…)”

    I have no idea what this means.

    As for supporting Hollywood, I have no problems paying them when they do what they are paid to do, which is entertain me, but when the preaching (and the hypocrisy) starts, my wallet shuts.

  84. Ken Hanke

    How do you define hypocrisy? Or preaching, for that matter? I know you hate liberal documentaries, but that’s really got little to do with Hollywood in any realistic sense.

  85. Edwin Arnaudin

    (Though your punctuation-challenged post is tempting me to start calling Edwin, “Amazing Edwin.”)

    If Badlands is amazing Edwin and amazing Edwin is me, am I Badlands?

  86. Ken Hanke

    If Badlands is amazing Edwin and amazing Edwin is me, am I Badlands?

    It’s way too near my naptime for such existential considerations.

  87. Edwin Arnaudin

    It’s way too near my naptime for such existential considerations.

    That’s only appropriate, seeing as Badlands is a fine sedative.

  88. Edwin Arnaudin

    I remember a friend nodding off during a group presentation I was part of in grad school.

  89. Big Al

    “…I know you hate liberal documentaries…”

    Why do you say this? I have never commented on documentaries, liberal or conservative.

    The fact is, I don’t go to see them at the theater because I am going for entertainment. I do occasionally check them out of the library and do so based on my interest in the subject, not the political leanings.

    I will say that if the narrator or subject is an obvious lefty or ditto-head (like Robert Reisch and Ben Stein) I am equally turned off.

    The hypocrisy and preachiness I refer to usually involves films in which millionaire actors and directors tell us that we (or anyone) make too much money or give too little to charity, as if that is any of their business, and have thinly-veiled agendas of wealth redistribution and the destruction of the free market, through which they ironically made their millions.

    • bsummers

      The “free market” is a myth. When the concept of Too-Big-To-Fail went from a pejorative to the acknowledged status quo, all the veils are gone.

  90. Ken Hanke

    Oh, please. I’ve seen you kvetch about these playing at the Fine Arts. (Granted, they wouldn’t touch a right wing documentary with a stick, so maybe you just don’t like them running documentaries.) You’re going to have a hard time selling me on this lack of political leanings have nothing to do with this when you go on to talk about “thinly-veiled agendas of wealth redistribution and the destruction of the free market.” I would, however, love to see some titles of movies you’ve seen — actually seen, not presumed — that have illustrated these agendas.

  91. Big Al

    Yes, I have complained, but not because of the content, liberal or otherwise, but because they take up screen time that would better be used for more entertaining movies. I suppose I should just accept that this is the nature of the beast, but it is very frustrating when a documentary delays a much better film for two weeks or more. But hey, that’s part of the free market, give the folks what they want, even the BoBos and hipsters of Asheville.

  92. Ken Hanke

    Yes, well…even setting aside that I have no idea what a BoBo is, nor have I ever seen hipster clearly defined, I guess you’re not going to tell me what any of those evil preachy, anti-free-market movies are.

    • bsummers

      Bourgeois Bohemian”. BoBo is a fairly new rightwing slur for people with money who also have leftist politics. It replaces the term “yuppie”, but also implies a certain immaturity and hypocrisy.

      The entomology of rightwing insults would make a good documentary. I hope someone makes it, and that it shoves “The Ted Cruz Story” off of Asheville movie screens.

  93. Me

    Im not gaslighting you Ken, here is one for you Touchy Feely might be the best Lynn Shelton film ive seen.

  94. Ken Hanke

    This may just be craftiness on your part. Then again, I didn’t bother with Touchy Feely after Edwin — who is far more sympathetic to indie stuff thanI am — didn’t like it.

  95. Edwin Arnaudin

    The whole time I wished I was watching Your Sister’s Sister…or even Humpday.

  96. Ken Hanke

    I can conceive of nothing — not even Devil’s Due — that would make me wish I was watching Humpday.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.