The film is up for four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Actress. In profound fashion, it deserves every single one of those nominations in each respective category. "Philomena" may be a smaller British film, but it is a touching story that deserves to be seen by larger audiences.
Read MoreIt was Oscar Wilde that famously said "life imitates art more than art imitates life." When that mantra gets applied to cinema, we commonly talk about how we, as audiences, live vicariously through the imagination and fantasies that films create for us. The first part of that quote gets talked about all the time in that way. It's not too often that the second half of that quote comes true, but I feel that Ethan and Joel Coen have achieved just that with their latest feature film, Inside Llewyn Davis. As a fictional documentation and internal look at a crucial week-long journey in the life of an aspiring folk singer in 1961 Greenwich Village within New York City, Inside Llewyn Davis uniquely feels more like a film taking on real life than one pretending the other way around, as is so often the case with movies. While unique, I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. Let me explain.
Read MoreDuring the seemingly long Oscar season each year, studios save some of their best and brightest films for the end of the year so that voters with short memories will remember them most when its time to fill out a ballot for awards nominations. It's incredibly rare to see a Best Picture Academy Award winner from a month earlier than October. The term that gets used a great deal is "Oscar bait." This creates a very flooded market in December of memorable film after memorable film. These studios pull out all of the marketing stops and want that "Nominated for..." and "Winner of..." sound byte or graphic on their print advertisements, posters, trailers and TV spots. They long to be showered with praise and are cradled by the powers-that-be to grab that spotlight. They want you to pay your money and join in that praise, hence the term "Oscar bait."
Read MoreDirecting his fifth film and first since the purposely over-the-top Tropic Thunder from 2008, Ben Stiller turns the macho dial way down and takes his shot at loosely adapting the famous 1939 James Thurber short story that was previously made into a film starring funnyman Danny Kaye in 1947.
Read MoreWhile it's not quite as good or instantly quotable as the first film, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a hilarious follow-up to make this already funny world even bigger while poking great fun at our modern news. I'm in the camp that loves this sort of thing and it's arguably the funniest movie of the year.
Read MoreLike a great middle chapter should, this film escalates the tension, danger, and risk towards an as-yet-unseen climax that is sure to blow our socks off. Are the producers still milking us for three movies that could have fit into one? Probably, but, once again, I, for one, have the patience to respect what these filmmakers are up to and value what others might call tedious.
Read MoreThor: The Dark World, the next chapter in the God of Thunder's journey, is Marvel's "spaciest" movie yet, diving in and out of several worlds and exotic settings. In going full fantasy, Thor: The Dark World has plenty to entertain the masses, but loses a little of the coherence we enjoyed from other better Marvel films.
Read MoreStrong work equals strong results, which is the catalyst to examine Ender's Game, the latest 2013 science fiction blockbuster-to-be. Ender's Game is based on one of the more illustrious pieces of science fiction written in the last half century. Originating as a 1977 short story, author Orson Scott Card's 1985 Cold War-era and Hugo Award-winning military science fiction novel has long been a required reading staple of high school literature classes, college courses, and even our own U.S. Marine Corps.
Read MoreAugust: Osage County brings an outstanding story peppered with howling laughs and poignant family drama that blend tremendously better than expected. The film is fantastically acted to make this popular story very absorbing. This film is tailor-made as a holiday hit-to-be upon its upcoming Christmas weekend release and a sure-fire Oscar contender in many categories come next year. It is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2013 and will be among this website's "10 Best" of the year.
Read MoreMany who will see The Spectacular Now are going to look on paper and see a 2013 Say Anything... That's great company for Ponsoldt's film to be mentioned in, but the comparisons are fair and unfair at the same time. Both films offer excellent high school romances that resonate and matter. There's no doubt about that, but the two movies couldn't be more different in time, purpose, and intention.
Read MoreIf old-school, methodical, and intelligent science fiction like Alien and Moon are up your alley more than those blockbusters, Europa Report is a movie you need to seek out. You probably haven't even heard of it.
Read MoreOnly God Forgives is everything Drive was only slower, quieter, dumber, and more incoherent in every methodical way possible. It's yet another case of something that is all style and no substance or point.
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