December 12, 2013

Top 10 Films of 2013

1. "La Grande Bellezza" (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)

2. "Gravity" (Alfonso Cuaron, USA)

3. "Wetlands" (David Wnendt, Germany)

4. "La Vie d'Adèle" (Abdellatif Kechiche, France)

5. "12 Years A Slave" (Steve McQueen, USA)

6. "American Hustle" (David O. Russell, USA)

7. "Heli" (Amat Escalante, Mexico)

8. "Before Midnight" (Richard Linklater, USA)

9. "La Fille du 14 Juillet" (Antonin Peretjatko, France)

10. "L'Image manquante" (Rithy Panh, Cambodia)


Other great films:

Alone With You (Argentina)
Borgman (Holland)
Catimini (Canada)
Chce sie zyc (Poland)
Cyanure (Switzerland)
The Don Juans (Czech Republic)
Elle s'en va (France)
Gloria (Chile)
The Great Gatsby (Australia)
Harmony Lessons (Kazakhstan)
Ilo Ilo (Singapore)
Les Interdits (France)
Moebius (South Korea)
The Notebook (Hungary)
Omar (Palestine)
The Patience Stone (Afghanistan)
Pelo malo (Venezuela)
Philomena (UK)
Puppylove (France)
La Religieuse (France)
Renoir (France)
Ressac (Canada)
Suzanne (France)
Sweet Whip (Japan)
Violette (France)
Voyage (Hong Kong)
Wadjda (Saudi Arabia)
Wakolda (Argentina)
Watermark (Canada)
Workers (Mexico)

Short Top 3:

1. "That Wasn't Me" (Esteban Crespo, Spain)

2. "Avant que de tout perdre" (Xavier Legrand, France)

3. "Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life" (Malcolm Clarke, USA)


Other great shorts:

CaveDigger
Les Lézards (France)
Noah (Canada)
Pola (France)
Quelqu'un d'extraordinaire (Canada)

Top 3 Music Videos:

1. "Blurred Lines" (Diane Martel, Robin Thicke)

2. "Wrecking Ball" (Terry Richardson, Miley Cyrus)

3. "Nage" (Tomas Navarro, Boreals)


Other great music videos:


Top Commercial:

"Epic Split" (Andreas Nilsson, Volvo)


TV Top 5:

1. "Game Of Thrones: Season 3" (HBO)



4. "The Vikings: Season 1" (History Channel, Canada)



Other great TV shows:

Breaking Bad: Season 6
Downton Abbey: Season 4
Ray Donovan: Season 1
The Walking Dead: Season 4

Cartoon Top 3:

1. "Get A Horse!" (Lauren MacMullan, Disney)

2. "Possessions" (Shuhei Morita, Japan)

3. "Room On The Broom" (Max Lang, Jan Lachauer, UK)


Other great cartoons:

Errance (Canada)
Gloria Victoria (Canada)
Hollow Land
Impromptu (Canada)
Le Jour nous ecoute (Canada)
Mr Hublot (Luxembourg)
Chi (Canada)
The Colony
Cottage Country (Canada)
Diego Star (Canada)
The Dirties (Canada)
Dirty Weekend (UK)
Lac Mystère (Canada)
La Legende de Sarila (Canada)
The Liability (UK)
The Lone Ranger
Long Gone Day (Canada)
Louis Cyr (Canada)
Love Me (Ukraine)
Maïna (Canada)
Mama
Le Meteore (Canada)
Rouge sang (Canada)
Run And Jump (Ireland)
Saving Mr Banks
Siddharth (India)
Soongava (Nepal)
The Square (Egypt)
Stay (Canada)
The Summer House (Sweden)
Tom a la ferme (Canada)
Triptyque (Canada)
Upside Down
Vanishing Point (Canada)
Viaggio sola (Italy)
La Vie domestique (France)
Whitewash (Canada)
The Wind Rises (Japan)
Woyzeck (Germany)
The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet

Weak shorts:

A pas de loup
Bar None
Blankets
Callback
Cell From Hell Episode 1 One Helluva Night
Creative Masturbation
Do I Have To Take Care Of Everything?
La Fugue
Gaspé Copper
A Grand Canal
Helium
I Love YU
I Missed My Mother's Funeral
Ina Litovski
Inertia
Just As I Remember
Mr Spontaneous
My Guide
Nous avions
Penelope
The Pick Up
Prison Terminal; The Last Days Of Private Jack Hall
Red Light And Green Wine
Truths And Liars
The Voorman Problem

Weak TV shows:

Top Musical of 2013

"One Chance" (David Frankel, UK)


November 11, 2013

Gravity (2013) *****


One of the best science-fiction films of all times, a tense and hyperrealistic story of an astronaut woman (Sandra Bullock) stranded in space and forced to make her way home. Unique and unforgettable.

Wetlands (2013) *****

La Vie d'Adèle (2013) *****

La Grande Bellezza (2013) *****

A great masterpiece of Italian cinema, a worthy companion piece to "La Dolce Vita". Rome has never looked better.

October 10, 2013

Prisoners (2013) ****

Superb thriller in the mold of "The Silence Of The Lambs".

Nebraska (2013) ****

Another excellent film from Alexander Payne, sublime from start to finish.

Frozen (2013) ****

A very cold Disney animated pic. Songs:

"Let It Go"

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) ****


L'Image manquante (2013) ****

Powerful film about the Khmer Rouge genocide.

The Act Of Killing (2013) ****

Rhymes For Young Ghouls (2013) ****

The Right Kind Of Wrong (2013) ****

12 Years A Slave (2013) ****

American Hustle (2013) ****

Heli (2013) ****

Before Midnight (2013) ****

La Fille du 14 Juillet (2013) ****

September 9, 2013

Wadjda (2013) ***

While not the first feature film from Saudi Arabia (that would be 2006's "Shadow Of Silence"), it is definitely the best film ever made in that country. And the first directed by a woman.

Lone Survivor (2013) ***

Dirty Wars (2013) ***

An eye-opening documentary about the War on Terror and its unintended consequences.

Blue Jasmine (2013) ***

Surprising film from Woody Allen, a mix of "The Wolf Of Wall Street" and "A Streetcar Named Desire".

Philomena (2013) ***

Surprising film about a elderly woman looking for her son.

Ender's Game (2013) ***

Fine adaptation of Orson Scott Card's bestselling novel about a genocidal war against ant-like alien creatures. Excellent special effects.

Trance (2013) ***


This Is The End (2013) ***

Spring Breakers (2013) ***