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David Mumpower: The best movie I’ve watched recently as well as a title that finished in my top five for 2013 is Rush. The marketing understandably focused upon handsome Chris Hemsworth, wielder of the almighty Mjolnir. The man who carries the movie is Daniel Brühl, and he is revelation as a precise Austrian driver who discovers how far he is willing to go in order to beat a rival. From the moment Hemsworth’s character, James Hunt, is introduced to the humorless Niki Lauda, the actors elevate one another. The odd part is that the real Niki Lauda is a very funny man, and that is the way that his accident changed him. That message is left understated in Rush, a subtle storytelling decision that pays dividends during a sublime third act. It is further proof that truth is stranger than fiction as if these events had been invented rather than recreated, nobody would find them plausible. Rush is an instant classic sports movie and a true masterpiece of cinema.

Saving Mr. Banks is also a wonderful movie that may whitewash the history of Walt Disney a bit too much for some. Personally, I am not a huge fan of Mary Poppins because I am a dude. So a lot of what transpires in the film is going to be more original to me than to some. Acknowledging that, what surprised and impressed me about Saving Mr. Banks is that it is a bit of a spiritual successor to Finding Neverland, one of my favorite films of the 2000s. John Lee Hancock is one of my favorite directors, and I can honestly say that all is forgiven for that Snow White and the Huntsman script.

The Way, Way Back is no The Spectacular Now, but it is still very good. While it does feel a bit like an Adventureland redux, I happen to be a huge fan of that film so another take on the same premise works for me. The one aspect I did not enjoy is that Steve Carell is a jerk in this film, which reminded me why I never really cared for The Office. I believe that in order to “act” annoying or mean, he has to go too far outside his natural personality. Carell is meant to be a Jimmy Stewart type, the winning everyman who can save the day in Get Smart, get the girl in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, and evolve into the best possible single parent in Dan in Real Life. Making him portray a cheating jerk that is mean to kids is simply not good casting. Conversely, this is one of Sam Rockwell’s best performances. Because he exudes cool in everything he does, even a self-destructive loser character would still be an enticing mentor to a struggling teen. Rockwell embraces that union, and mentors perfectly, even as his own life implodes. That showdown moment between Carell and Rockwell is brief but pure, and I love the movie for it. The Way, Way Back is imperfect but its high points are as good as movies can be.

As comes up from time to time, I may be Paul Greengrass’ most ardent admirer. I am the person who recommends Green Zone to friends. I have watched United 93 over 25 times. And my voting record on The Bourne franchise speaks for itself. Greengrass movies energize me with their exhaustive evaluations of how the sausage gets made. Captain Phillips is probably the least of his last five films, which means it is “only” an 85 on a 100 point scale for me. For other directors, that type of number could stand as their best feature (I’m looking at you, Quentin Tarantino). For Greengrass, it means that I enjoyed watching the mechanics of the nuanced negotiations and political ramifications of piracy and kidnapping in an indigent area. I found the ending a bit overwrought, my same criticism of Argo. Also, I really only liked two characters, the titular protagonist and the willful bandit. Everyone else was nondescript. Captain Phillips is very good but it isn’t great the way that United 93 and The Bourne Supremacy are.

August: Osage County is one of those movies that become respected due to herd mentality and little else. This movie made me want to pour battery acid in my eyes in order to end my visual suffering. The whole cast is varying degrees of terrible. Meryl Streep was nominated for an Academy Award for this role. That is how history will remember it. I will go so far as to say that this is her worst performance since Death Becomes Her. And my beloved Margo Martindale (Mags Bennett 4eva!) is somehow even worse as this deplorable human being whose only purpose in life seems to be causing suffering in others. I suspect that the play version of this story is better but then again, it pretty much has to be. I watched about 145 2013 releases. By my count, August: Osage County is in the 14th percentile. Here are a few titles I swear that I enjoyed more: After Earth, The Big Wedding, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Bullet to the Head and Battle of the Year. You get the point. I believe it is a total disgrace that August: Osage County has received any awards consideration at all, much less Academy Awards nominations in a pair of acting categories.

Finally, Upside Down is in a lot of ways the latest iteration of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. The visuals are absolutely breathtaking. A few of the effects literally took my breath away. The problem is the story, which makes Sky Captain look like Inception. It is a lazy science-fiction structure, which is all the more maddening because the start of the film precisely defines the laws of this society. After the first three minutes of Harlan Ellison-level ideas, everything falls apart. It is the movie equivalent of dating a daft lingerie model. As long as looks are all that matters to you, you’re fine. If you want to stimulate your brain, Upside Down fails on a Doom-ish level.

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