In A Word… is the years best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one.
The powerfully authentic coming of age film The Spectacular Now and the emotionally powerful Fruitvale Station are both on my list of Best Movies of 2013 – So Far.
My other top recommendations:
- The jaw-dropping documentary The Act of Killing, an exploration of Indonesian genocide from the perpetrators’ point of view, is the most uniquely original film of the year.
- Woody Allen’s very funny Blue Jasmine centers on an Oscar-worthy performance by Cate Blanchett.
- The very well-acted civil rights epic Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
My other recommendations:
- The droll indie comedy Prince Avalanche.
- the British farce The World’s End, which has its moments.
- The rock documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, essential for music fans.
- Another rock doc, A Band Called Death with the story of three African-American brothers in Detroit inventing punk rock before The Ramones and The Sex Pistols – and then dropping out of sight for decades.
- the satisfying shocker The Conjuring.
Also out right now:
- The American porn star biopic Lovelace, more of a soap opera.
- The British porn kingpin biopic The Look of Love.
- The Irish horror comedy Grabbers, which fails to deliver on a great premise.
- The astonishingly bad shocker The Rambler, with its 58 second vomit scene.
I haven’t yet seen the indie criminal-on-the-run story Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, which opens today. You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is the New Zealand cop miniseries Top of the Lake, starring Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss. You can catch Top of the Lake episodes on the Sundance Channel or watch all seven episodes on DVD or streaming from Netflix, and it’s perfect for a Labor Day Weekend marathon.