2013 "Cinema & Stadium" Movie Awards
Last year, I went back through the movies I had seen in 2012 and picked out my own "awards" like the Oscars. I'm doing it again this year, for movies I saw in 2013, organized a little differently. I have another post where I just focus on the movies themselves (top 10, miscellaneous awards, Netflix recap) but this week is about specific elements of film - acting, directing, visual effects, and so on. I hope to be able to see many of the Oscar nominated films before the ceremony in early March, but I have some catching up to do. I'll post who I think should win based on those nominees, a week or two before the ceremony itself. For now, presenting various awards on the achievements and performances in 2013 films I saw (theater and Netflix; winners in bold, runners-up underlined):
Acting Awards:
Best Actor
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Hugh Jackman (Prisoners)
Simon Pegg (The World's End)
Forest Whitaker (The Butler)
A very strong selection to choose from this year, although many not quite as good as last year's absolutely bonkers line up (Day Lincoln, Denzel, etc.). DiCaprio earns two spots, both wealthy New Yorkers with problems abiding the law; Leo is the (flawed) heart and soul of both his films. Bale is physically reserved (but amusing) as a con-man, while expressing both the mind of a genius and the heart of an average Joe. Hugh Jackman emotion and agony is so powerful it spills through the screen at you, whether in intensely quiet or startlingly violent moments. Simon Pegg gives one of the best comedic performances in years, while somehow also making his alcoholic loser deeply sympathetic.
But it was Forest Whitaker as White House butler Cecil Gaines who topped them all. Giving a masterfully subtle performance, Whitaker played the subdued butler (polar opposite of a glamorous, showy Hollywood role) perfectly. Through him we felt both humility and pride in duty, joy and sorrow in family. We wanted to yell at him (as some characters did) at times and bow to his quiet dignity at others. Forest Whitaker was the Best Actor of 2013.
Best Actress
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
Rooney Mara (Side Effects)
Melissa McCarthy (The Heat)
Once again, the combination of Hollywood not making many female-centered films and my not going to see many of them made for a rather small selection - but among them were great performances. Amy Adams hypnotized us - with her cunning intelligence, irresistible seduction and fierce defensiveness - then effortlessly turned it upside down in moments of poignance and vulnerability. Bullock brought us into bleak, unforgiving space with her, but her strength and courage kept the film - and audience - positive. Jennifer Lawrence may need more time to grow, but she already has a commanding presence on screen and is a natural heroine. Rooney gave us a sympathetic victim to the huge, invincible pharma industry - and then flipped the script with scandalous glee. And Melissa McCarthy cemented her spot on top of the comedic acting world with her no-nonsense, potty-mouthed yet warm cop.
Number one among all the actresses, though, was Jessica Chastain, portraying the bin Laden hunter, Maya. Absolutely honed into her character - just as Maya was to her mission - Chastain was more CIA analyst then actress on the screen. While the script gave us all kinds of juicy twists and turns in the hunt for Osama, if it weren't for Maya's compelling development from hesitant, quiet analyst to determined, courageous heroine, the film wouldn't have touched the heart. But Chastain pulls it off, and she's the best actress of 2013.
Best Supporting Actor
Paul Dano (Prisoners)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)
Tom Hiddleston (Thor 2 The Dark World)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Sam Rockwell (The Way, Way Back)
There is typically an abundance of savory roles for actors each year, and 2013 proved to be no aberration. A few actors separated themselves from the pack, though. Paul Dano was both very, very creepy as well as incredibly pitiful as the mentally-handicapped subject of abuse. His costar, Gyllenhaal, was also great as a proficient cop who is nonetheless tested by a dead-end case and extreme emotional pressure - spot on. Tom Hiddleston did his best to seize the "best comic book villain" crown from the late Heath Ledger as he continues to develop as the charismatic, forgotten son, evil-to-the-core Loki. Jonah Hill proved once again that, given a nice dramatic role, he can not only pull it off but be much funnier than he is in his traditional comedies. And Sam Rockwell, one of the most expressive, malleable actors working today, gave an incredibly warm and funny performance in a - compared to his other characters - standard role.
There's little question, though, that the year's best supporting actor was Michael Fassbender as the brutal, damaged slave owner, Epps. Even by the standards of a slave owner, Epps does horrible, horrible things in the film - Fassbender could easily have just been Evil and been done with it. But Michael makes Epp human: we gradually realize that he is mentally handicapped to some degree, and does what he does more from habit, from breeding, than by choice. Fassbender doesn't allow us to forgive him for his actions, but he makes us think of him as a person.
Best Supporting Actress
Sandra Bullock (The Heat)
Scarlett Johansson (Don Jon)
Julianne Moore (Don Jon)
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave)
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)
While I didn't see many films featuring a female character, there were plenty of intriguing smaller roles for actresses, including a few dynamic duos. Sandra Bullock's comedic role this year as McCarthy's partner showed that she is capable of simultaneously backing out of the spotlight while creating a well-developed character. Oprah Winfrey was great as Cecil's wife, Gloria; it is not easy to show the arc of a life-long relationship in a little more than two hours, but she hits the mark all along. Moore has to be the voice of reason, while playing a strange, middle-aged widow; with little screen time, she does so. Sarah Paulson is married to Fassbender's Epps in 12 Years a Slave, and produces perhaps even more venomous evil than her husband; thanks to circumstances, it's personal for her, and scary for us.
I couldn't decide on just one winner, so I'm giving a tie to two very different supporting roles. Lupita Nyong'o, in her first feature film appearance, delivers a devastating performance as brutalized slave Patsey. She carries the full weight of slavery's hell on her small shoulders, and it's one of the most lasting impressions in a film full of powerful imagery. On the other side we have Scarlett Johansson, who pulls off the exceedingly tricky task of realistically portraying a truly empty, superficial airhead. Many actors make their mark by showing how their characters change - Scarlett does by not changing. Both actresses deserve heaps of praise for their disparate roles.
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Lee Daniels (The Butler)
Paul Feig (The Heat)
Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners)
Edgar Wright (The World's End)
As I'm not sure precisely what tangible effect the director has on a film apart from others' work (actors, writers, artists, etc.), I consider excellence in this category to be those that succeed despite a high degree of difficulty, or those that make the most of the work of others (actors, writers, etc.). Thus, Bigelow makes the grade for turning a relatively confrontation- and dialogue-light investigative film into a thrilling epic; focusing on Maya was brilliant, and the tone and pace are brilliant. Lee Daniels takes a script that covers a man's entire life - who, by the way, worked in the White House! - and his family, along with some occasionally corny and/or melodramatic writing into a powerful, moving and sweet film. Paul Feig realized that he had an incredible duo in McCarthy and Bullock and just let them go to work; nothing felt forced ("we have to have A, B, and C in there!") and it glides to tremendous success. Villeneuve takes a fairly simple premise (disappearance of a child), molds the perfect tone around it and guides the performances into realistic and unsettling territory. Wright's The World's End is just as funny as The Heat, but he seems to take a more choreographed approach - amazing, considering how bonkers the film is.
The best director of 2013, though, is Alfonso Cuaron, for his work on Gravity. Forget Avatar - if you want game-changing cinema, this is what we're talking about. The degree of difficulty was enormous: no dialogue after the first ten or fifteen minutes; there's just one character for most of the film; and the whole thing takes place in space (Star Trek doesn't count - they can walk). There is no "bad guy" - the danger isn't some awe-inspiring disaster, it's the simple black, cold of space. But Cuaron - especially in the first half of Gravity - makes it into one of the most visually spectacular and scary/thrilling movies in years. Bravo, Mr. Cuaron.
Best Screenplay
Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty)
Mark Bomback, Scott Frank (The Wolverine)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon)
Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners)
Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg (The World's End)
A great screenplay goes a long way toward making a great film; these screenplays all prove that. Bomback and Frank had a big challenge: come up with yet another solo mission for the Wolverine, the most popular X-Men character yet one dragged down by his 2008 "origin" flop. By setting it in Japan, lowering the stakes and raising the personal aspects, they succeeded brilliantly. Joseph Gordon-Levitt not only directed and starred in Don Jon - he also wrote it. While it's not especially complex, it's structurally very solid and puts forth its intriguing questions thoughtfully and humorously. Guzikowski may have benefitted from having some great actors play out his script, but he did a wonderful job setting the stage for them with realistic dialogue and slow-boil suspense. Terence Winter took the story of a Wall Street crook and played it out just like the memoir it's based on - all the highs are really high, the lows really low, and the three hour film moves along at a nice pace with great humor. Wright and actor Pegg started out with a pretty ordinary story: old friends reunited, trying to bring back memories that just aren't the same. And then all the shit hits the fan, yet they don't lose us in silliness, rather keep the laughs coming and the human themes as strong as ever.
The best screenplay of the year was written by Mark Boal, for Zero Dark Thirty. He manages to accomplish so much in the script: riveting trackdown of bin Laden; personal focus and development on the fascinating character, Maya; and a look at the front lines of the modern day "battlefield". Boal starts the film by shocking us with the torture scene; Maya is as shaken as we are, and must choose - as we as citizens must do - what we are prepared to do to stop the bad guys lurking in the shadows. With that question presented, the focus shifts to Maya and her amazing journey to catch the most wanted man in the world. Think it's all mind games and theory? Boal serves up a final surprise, an extended re-enactment of the SEAL team that got bin Laden. An entertaining, challenging and exhilarating film, thanks largely to Boal's efforts.
Best Visual Effects
Gravity
Star Trek Into Darkness
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Pacific Rim
Oblivion
Man of Steel
Good special effects have become so common today that you need to either come up with something really amazing (Pacific Rim, Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel) or use the effects to further the story - or even be part of the story (Gravity, Oblivion, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug). For its pioneering work and amazing 3D experience, Gravity wins the award.
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