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Kim Hollis: I've been on a huge binge as I catch up on all the 2013 releases I've meant to see. Here's a sampling:

Her - I'm always a little apprehensive when I watch Spike Jonze films. As much as I enjoyed Being John Malkovich, I despised Adaptation. and was disappointed by Where the Wild Things Are (though I like it more in retrospect than I did on first viewing). I was not necessarily expecting big things from Her. I found it to be quite a pleasant surprise. It was a singular love story that was extraordinarily well acted. I found the future it imagined to be believable (even if the clothes were silly). A lovely little film.

Inside Llewyn Davis - This movie has stayed with me, so much so that I find it hard to imagine it won't be in my top five for 2013. It's a wistful tale with a mesmerizing performance from Oscar Issac. The Coens can be hit and miss for me, but this one was a beautiful story.

12 Years a Slave - I wanted to like it more than I did, mainly because I like Chiwetel Ejiofor so much. It was a pretty overwrought film and kind of a miserable viewing experience overall.

The Wolf of Wall Street - While I think Leonardo DiCaprio is terrific in the film, man is this an oppressive movie to watch. The characters are all so awful and you just sit there thinking how terrible they are and the story keeps going on and on and on and they keep doing terrible things. I've seen people say that this is a spiritual sequel to Goodfellas, and I think that's true, but Goodfellas had some restraint.

Dallas Buyers Club - Here's the second of three Matthew McConaughey movies I watched (though his role in Wolf was small). I enjoyed the film a great deal, and I think it's interesting that Jared Leto seems to be the slam dunk acting winner, because I liked McConaughey's performance significantly more. And I'm probably McConaughey's biggest detractor. He's truly great in this movie.

Mud - He's great in this one, too, albeit in a supporting role. I enjoyed how this film was crafted and the two lead kids in the film were perfect for their roles. It took some unexpected turns, and since I really didn't go into the film knowing anything about it, that's pretty impressive.

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