AtClubSilencio's Year in Film (reviews and ratings)

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True, the ending to mama was, for lack of a better term, rather lame. But I enjoyed everything that came before it. And yes, The Conjuring was must better, I loved its old-fashioned style. Like something out of the 70s. And Vera Farmiga deserves an oscar nod.
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Last Films Seen (out of 4)
The Thin Red Line (3rd) 4/4---Notes On A Scandal=3/4
GRAVITY- 4/4--- Star Trek Into Darkness- 3.5/4




A lot of my fellow film lovers, as well as people on other forums, have had nothing good to say about Trance. This completely baffles me. I'm not sure what they were expecting, but this is one of Danny Boyle's greatest, visually dazzling, and flat out mind blowing films he's ever made. In my opinion, it's his best film since 28 Days Later. While the entire cast is good, the real treasure here is Rosario Dawson who is absolutely illuminating. In a perfect world she'd get an Oscar for best supporting actress. She owns every scene she is in, especially in a scene near the end taking place in the back seat of a car. She's simply dazzling, and staggeringly beautiful. It's the best performance of her career. As for the movie, you never know where its going, or once you think you do, it pulls the rug from beneath you. Featuring a smashing soundtrack, and mesmerizing lensing, Trance is a trip and a half worth taking. Definitely in my top 5 of 2013. P.S. Don't investigate what the film is about, go in blindly, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.






Lindsay Lohan, porn star James Deen, screenplay by Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, The Rules of Attraction, and director Paul Schrader, add a $250,000 budget, throw it in a blender and you've got The Canyons. I'm not ashamed to say that I am a fan of Lohan despite her trainwreckage of a life. But it's undeniable that she is a talented actress, and The Canyons is further proof of this, as she gives one of the best performances of her career. As for Bret Easton Ellis' screen play, well what could one expect, the film is filled with horrible people doing terrible things to one another, and yet it's awfully entertaining. The Canyons got trashed by critics, I for one think that's a bit unfair. It's actually not a bad film at all. Considering the budget, you'd never be able to tell that it was only made for 250,000 bucks (thanks to kickstarter.) The cinematography is striking. And despite the fact that it has James Deen, the film is surprisingly non-pornographic. Yes there is plenty of sex and drugs, including a laser light show foursome, but the sex is never gratuitous. The biggest issue is the pacing, supposedly Soderbergh offered to edit the film for Schrader, but he denied. That was his biggest mistake, as I feel if Steven Soderbergh had edited it it would have improved the film ten fold. As it stands now, however, The Canyons is my personal ultimate guilty pleasure of the year. Some may call it trash, but in my opinion it wasn't trashy enough. And again, Lohan is great here.





It should be said that I'm a huge Rob Zombie fan, well, at least when it comes to his films. From his phantasmagorical, hugely underrated HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, to the devilishly funny/brutally disturbing The Devil's Rejects. Zombie knows how to make original, old fashioned, and stylish horror films. With Lords of Salem he continues to expand on his artistry as his film makers. Filling each scene with dazzling shot compositions and macabre visuals. Unfortunately, the story doesn't live up to the eye candy. Sheri Moon Zombie, an actress I would go straight for, is given a character so weak and passive that it becomes rather frustrating. I would hope that Zombie write her a strong female character, but this is not the case. The film works in fits and starts, but unfortunately the negative outweighs the positive, making Lords of Salem one of the more crushing disappointments of the year. Is it worth watching? Yes, at least once, as again, the visuals are astounding. It's just the plot and character flaws that bog it down and keep it from being what could have been Zombie's crowning artistic achievement.





A fresh, fun, funny, tense, take on the home invasion horror sub-genre that proves that you don't always have to be nihilistic to be effective. It's a shame You're Next took so long to be released, and was so over looked. Part The Strangers, part Home Alone with deadlier booby traps. You're Next doesn't take long to get going, and introduces quite the strong heroin, which is right up my ally as I long strong female characters. Is You're Next terrifying? Not so much. But it's a ton of fun, gory, suspensful, and filled with twists. The horror genre is my favorite, and You're Next is one of the best of the year. It's a horror fans delight.




Finished here. It's been fun.
You're Next I really enjoyed. Excellent horror flick.



the conjuring, europa report, mama, oz, the canyons

So here we have it so far:
Spring Breakers

Upstream Color

Trance

Prisoners

The Act of Killing

Blue Jasmine

You're Next

The Conjuring

Mama

The Canyons

Europa Report

Lords of Salem

Oz The Great and Powerful






The long awaited follow uo to Alfonzo Cuaron's equally masterful Children of Men was more than worth the weight. Featuring astonishing visual effects and some of the greatest cinematography you'll see all year. Cuaron takes on the feat of taking a story that could have been summed up in 45 minutes and successfully expanding it to an hour in a half. This is mostly due to the completely immersiveness of the whole experience. Walking from the theater I had never been happier to have my feet planted on the ground. Bullock deserves an Oscar nom for her wonderful performance, equal parts physically demanding, heartbreaking, and strong, to say the least. Clooney is good too, but this is Bullock's film all the way and she carries every second without fault. Gravity is made to be seen in the theater, and if you don't you'll be missing out. Intense, breathtaking, cathartic, Gravity is yet another masterpiece from Alfonzo Cuaron.





Hope everyone is enjoying this and/or discovering films they haven't heard of yet. I have a few obscure ones coming up and buckets of horror.



Did they mop this floor with Dr. Pepper?!
I thought I was going to hate Spring Breakers, but I ended up really liking it. It put James Franco on the map for me.





If one were to find themselves wandering an as yet to be explored forest and came across an old journal, and then adapted said journal into a film it may turn out to be something like Jug Face. A genre transcending film that is best going in the less you know about it. All I can say is that it's one of the most strange, unique, and original independent curiousities to come out in a long while. You never know quite where it's going, and even when things begin to fall into place, it remains unpredictable all the way up to the rather disappointing finale. While the ending may be suitable to the story, I would have liked it to go in a different direction. As it is stands though, Jug Face features haunting and horrific imagery, great performances from all involved, and unexpected shocks and twists. It may be labeled as Horror, but it's so much more. It's too strange to categorize into any genre. It's simply Jug Face.






Extremely hard to watch and infuriating at times, as it should be. 12 Years A Slave is more proof that Steve McQueen is one of the best film makers working today. The cast is uniformally brilliant, and this one is sure to possibly sweep the oscars. Beautifully made with some of the best cinematography and editing of the year. 12 Years A Slave is one of the very great films of the year.