Gerald Peary
In “A Touch of Sin,” four depressing stories float into one other, all said to be based on news stories from Chinese papers.
The most unfairly maligned film of the year: Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor.” The most overrated movie of the year, which gave me a mammoth headache: “American Hustle.”
“Inside Llewyn Davis” is a watchable if not particularily compelling tale of the never-ending woes of the protagonist, a walking basket case of self-destruction.
It’s possible to argue with several of Stephen Sondheim’s selections. Are all of these his best achievements? Yet it hardly matters, because the composer’s tales of his artistic life, culled from probably a dozen interviews, are completely fascinating.
The big BSFC winner was “12 Years a Slave,” which beat “The Wolf of Wall Street” for Best Picture, Best Director (Steve McQueen), and Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
“Le Joli Mai” is serious and sober, a bit of a downer, climaxing in a lengthy interview with a dullard union official about why he supports the French Communist Party.
Jennifer Lawrence has blossomed into a charismatic screen presence in her gala return as Katniss, the beloved bow-and-arrow heroine of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”
The first half of “The Broken Circle Breakdown” is directed in the most conventional way. In the better second half, the leads dig deeply into their characters, sing bluegrass wonderfully.
em>Historic footage—from newsreels, TV stations once-live coverage, from several investigating commissions- has been edited, brilliantly into a coherent, important political film.
Film Commentary: A Contrarian View of “12 Years a Slave”
Why haven’t more movies been made about American slavery? Hollywood studio racism is certainly a prime factor; but even for determined anti-racists, there’s also the aesthetic problem of creating a compelling film drama.
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