Best films of the year

nyarlothothep

Here's my list
I haven't seen Desolation of Smaug yet so this list will probably be revised.

1. This is the End, This film blew me away, I had no idea what it was going to be about, I hadn't seen the trailer, I thought it would be Seth Rogan et al in a room smoking weed and saying funny stuff, This is the End referring to the idea that they were out of ideas and so decided to make a self reflexive comedy on bottom of the barrel scraping whilst still being incredibly funny. I was mindblown when they introduced demons and the apocalypse. It's the most successful fusion of comedy and blockbuster aesthetics sinces Ghostbusters. A triumph.

2. Rush, great film brilliant characters and imagery, really conveys the heroism of formula one.

3. Chastity Bites, excellent comedy horror film that continues the Buffy tradition, it lags towards the end though but I always appreciate successfully realised Whedon-esque films.

4. Whitehouse Down, a masterpiece of cheese, it's completely unique in that it walks the tightrope between straight faced action and ironic parody without really being upfront about being an ironic parody and that's what I like about it, it's earnest in being a homage and continuation of the steroidal action flick yet it doesn't take itself seriously. This could easily have been a film that was upfront in being a skit on action films and the fact that it wasn't entirely made me enjoy it as I dislike 'knowing' films that aren't as smart as they think they are. Some great quotes and subtle humour, eg James Woods being a dinosaur who slowly works his way through that missile launching computer, his slight look of puzzlement conveys this.

5. Django, Very well made film, I always leave Tarantino films feeling I've got my money's worth only to think a few months later that they're not so great and this film was no exception. Yes it's visually beautiful, the performances from Waltz, Di Capio and Jackson are exemplary but I'm getting p1ssed off with Tarantino's obsession with revenge flicks and oblique references to 70s films. It's been 10 years of this and it's getting annoying. Also Foxx was woefully miscast as Django.

6. Gravity, I was primed to hate this film but I actually really enjoyed it, Clooney adds comedy value to the film with his out of context smug suaveness, Sandra Bullock isn't annoying, the film sh1ts all over science but so what, it's visually beautiful and entertaining.

7. Dark Skies, I thought this film was excellent in being so unnerving, the aliens are just major trolls or completely unempathetic and therefore 'alien' scientists treating humans as no more than labrats. It raises some questions about the ethics of experimentation on animals and humans alike.

8. Pacific Rim, superb cheesy sci fi action with cliched Top Gun dialogue, my only criticism is that the german stereotypes were underused. Apart from that visually extraordinary, I thoroughly enjoyed the Japanese aspect to it.

9. Elysium, ridiculous plot but entertaining nonetheless, the beardy dude steals the show, visually amazing, the themes are fine and I appreciate their inclusion in a film which is basically about gross inequality, but they're are unsuccessfully realised due to a faulty narrative.

10. The Bling Ring, I quite enjoyed this just in terms of its exploration of vacuity, there was a nice shot of an house where you see them stealing items.

And the worst

1. The Internship, I felt robbed of my money sitting through a 2 hour commercial for google, films like this are an affront to the art of film making, not funny either.

2. Jack Reacher, utterly unimaginative and boring, I couldn't identify/relate to anything in this film.

3. Evil Dead, systematically ruined everything that was great about the original, forcing it to conform to the lamentable horror conventions of 21st century culture.

4. Gangster Squad, January seems to be a sh1t month for films, this film got a lot of hype, I went in expecting something like LA Confidential and instead watched a farce. Completely lightweight and stupid.

Vinz Mesrine

Sorry if I sound like an arse but do yourself a favour and watch more movies.

e_e

My top 50 of the year: http://boxd.it/9km6

Been a great year of cinema for me, watched close to 100 new movies and the majority of which have been very worthwhile. With a select few being worthy of all-time favorite status.

e_e

re: The OP. Elysium and White House Down would be in my bottom 10 but still I know people here who'd say the same about one of my top 3! :P

nyarlothothep

e_e wrote: »

re: The OP. Elysium and White House Down would be in my bottom 10 but still I know people here who'd say the same about one of my top 3! :P

Exactly, this shouldn't devolve into a who has the better 'taste' films thread as it's pretty subjective. I could have included a film like Strange Colour, but while it was technically impressive, those types of films just don't do it for me, they almost follow the same assembly pattern as a ready made Oscar film, that's my opinion of course.

Hmm, must check out Much Ado About Nothing.

pagangardener

e_e wrote: »

My top 50 of the year: http://boxd.it/9km6

Been a great year of cinema for me, watched close to 100 new movies and the majority of which have been very worthwhile. With a select few being worthy of all-time favorite status.

200 movies long time to be sitting on ones arse

e_e

Not 200! Between 80 and 90, just 1 or 2 a week to put it in context.

e_e

nyarlothothep wrote: »

they almost follow the same assembly pattern as a ready made Oscar film, that's my opinion of course.

Are you talking about Strange Colour? It's the opposite if anything. I don't go for Oscar bait movies either.

FlashD

I have seen some good films this year but..... IMO the very best films are always the ones that I effortlessly come back to time and time again.

Did I see anything this year that I would want to come back to a second time or re-watch years down the line on TV? No.

nyarlothothep

e_e wrote: »

Are you talking about Strange Colour? It's the opposite if anything. I don't go for Oscar bait movies either.

It is the opposite but at the same time it's the same in that it feels like it's following an art house by numbers pattern: incomprehensible, broken up narrative, check, weird shot angles, check, gratuituous nudity, check, limited dialogue, check. I appreciate it for it's technicality but it didn't say anything to me, not to say I didn't get the theme of the film but it didn't provoke any major reaction other than well made but meh.

Warper

Hunger Games Catching Fire and Nebraska

Prob cause my brain doesnt go back further anymore

LuckyLloyd

Probably:

The Place Beyond the Pines
Frances Ha
Gravity
Blue is the Warmest Colour
Drinking Buddies
Before Midnight

Were the films I was most affected by.

e_e

nyarlothothep wrote: »

It is the opposite but at the same time it's the same in that it feels like it's following an art house by numbers pattern: incomprehensible, broken up narrative, check, weird shot angles, check, gratuituous nudity, check, limited dialogue, check. I appreciate it for it's technicality but it didn't say anything to me, not to say I didn't get the theme of the film but it didn't provoke any major reaction other than well made but meh.

I don't think it follows an "arthouse by numbers" pattern at all. It's completely wild and not giving into narrative convention I'll give you that but it is unlike anything I've seen all year. It doesn't need to fall under such a tag, you might as well call everything that tries to do something different "arthouse by numbers" too.

longshotvalue

I just watched The Spectacular Now, and its going to be up there.

Starts out looking like a harmless looking teen romance thing, and just gets better and better..

Amirani

Frances Ha and Blue Is The Warmest Colour are the two stand-outs for me.

rossc007

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Prisoners

Great year for movies

johnny_ultimate

A particularly strong year for independent American cinema and documentary filmmaking:

All alphabetical:
Top Three

The Act of Killing - jaw-droppingly raw, provocative filmmaking. A brilliant subversion of documentary form, using cinema itself to achieve insight and radical historical catharsis. Unforgettable.

Upstream Colour - Shane Carruth’s sophomore feature is a cinematic tour de force: a breathtaking achievement in cinematography, editing, sound design and narrative design. No film this year showed as much trust in the audience’s intelligence, and no film offered as many rewards.

Wolf Children - pure joy, distilled into an immensely warm-hearted, compassionate and accessible film about the complexities of parenthood and growing up. Wolf Children confirms Mamoru Hosoda’s status as perhaps the most masterly director of animation working today, and only the stoniest heart could resist its emotional peaks and valleys.

(Rest of) Top ten

Before Midnight / Frances Ha - don’t make me choose! They’re two wonderfully energetic and involving films about fascinating people. The former was worth the wait as the latest chapter in a truly unique, long-running relationship story. The latter sees Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig finally live up their respective potentials, creating a film and character simply overflowing with energy and humour.

Computer Chess - I’ve always been a fan of Andrew Bujalski and Computer Chess is a thrillingly radical departure for him. Bizarre, intelligent and - most importantly - absolutely hilarious, with the old-school cameras an inspired choice to recount this strange, strange tale of a computer chess tournament.

Leviathan - shot on low quality digital cameras, the rough visuals and sound ultimately prove the key ingredient in this memorable and experimental portrayal of fishing trawlers. As much visual poem as documentary, there’s as much beauty as terror in these wild seas, those rolling waves a key part of the film’s unique rhythm.

Like Father, Like Son - Hirokazu Kore-eda once again makes his storytelling and formal mastery look almost effortless, truly earning those common Ozu comparisons. The director’s lightness of touch and complete lack of pretension allow what could have been a straightforward family melodrama come to vivid life, populated with lovable and compelling characters.

Like Someone in Love - Abbas Kiarostami once again conjures up a magical cinematic dreamscape. Equally elusive and rewarding, this strange Tokyo story is captivating in its mysteriousness and hypnotic in its rich themes & characters.

The Great Beauty - one of grandest big screen treats of the year, Paolo Sorrentino course corrects for a love letter to Rome and an extraordinary character study. Toni Servillo proves more than a match for the aesthetic richness.

This is Not a Film - cheating here a bit, but a delayed home release date meant I only got around to seeing it this year. Passionate filmmaking (or is it?) from house arrested Iranian director Jafar Panahi and his accomplice Mojtaba Mirtahmasb. A fascinating rumination on the nature of cinema itself, as well as serving as a brave protest.

And the others particularly worth mentioning:
Blue is the Warmest Colour - a beautifully honest, striking love story. Forget the controversy, the film’s most notable aspects were its striking use of close-ups and a dominating performance from Adèle Exarchopoulos. A timeless tale of all-consuming passion and first love.
Captain Phillips / A Hijacking - two superb takes on similar subject matter. No point getting weighed down on the pointless question of which is better: they're both unique ways of representing their respective stories, and we're richer with both of them.
Drug War - Johnnie To’s wild crime drama is perhaps the most fun film here. While the thriller and action setpieces are consistently among the year’s best, the way it serves as a damning but intelligent indictment of Chinese authorities’ attempts to tackle the country’s drug problems by using brute force. Brawn and brains a plenty here.
A Field in England - ‘what the ****?’, in the nicest possible way
Gravity - A most thrilling combination of effects work and traditional cinematography that marks a tentatively promising future for blockbuster form. I didn’t think it was as compelling a whole as I’d have liked, but it’s without doubt a stunning technical and artistic achievement that truly needs a big screen.
Land of Hope / Story of Yonosuke - two excellent contemporary Japanese directors present two ambitious films here: both a tad uneven, but also manage to work wonders with their grand thematic canvases and their emotionally generous world-building.
Nobody’s Daughter Haewon - the first Hong Sangsoo film I’ve seen (and the first theatrically released in the UK / Ireland, I believe) this is a poetic and strange film that is completely compelling from beginning to end, even when it’s difficult to explain exactly why. Jung Eunchae is superb in the lead role.
The Selfish Giant - Initially appearing to be another drab British social drama, it slowly builds up to become truly devastating. The final act is the kind that has you leaving the cinema shellshocked.
Spring Breakers - Cribs meets Girls Gone Wild meets Gasper Noe meets Terence Malick meets all manner of things that should by rights have never met. Thank **** they did. The cinematography is possibly the year’s best, and the ridiculous narrative manages to achieve a deeply peculiar sort of transcendence.
Stoker - perhaps not as complete as his early work due to an uneven script, Stoker nonetheless sees Park Chan-wook burst on to the English language scene with a visually inventive and extraordinarily atmospheric slice of twisted gothic melodrama.
Zero Dark Thirty - A rigorous, thought-provoking act of very recent historical recreation. Unfairly demonised before release, it transpired to be a moral tale of surprising depth and shades of grey.

e_e

Edgar Wright's top 10:

http://www.slashfilm.com/video-edgar-wrights-top-10-favorite-films-of-2013/#more-208293

Tipsy McSwagger

Behind the Candelabra
Blue Jasmine
The Central Park Five

krudler

Zero Dark Thirty was pretty excellent, it could have easily turned into a live action Team America but it stayed the right side of jingoism. The finale was seriously tense stuff as well even you already knew the outcome.

Film I thought was the most surprisingly good that I didn't expect to be was The Lone Ranger. While it's overlong and suffers from the same plot convolutions as the Pirates sequels where unnecessary characters and subplots are to the film's detriment, it's probably the most gorgeous looking blockbuster of the year with some stunning looking location shots and visual nods to other classic westerns, including a none too subtle nod to Once Upon A Time In The West. The score is great, it's got some brilliant action beats and the finale was the setpiece of the summer. If it was 45 mins shorter it might have done much better.

Warper

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Behind the Candelabra
Blue Jasmine
The Central Park Five

Good shout with Blue Jasmine, great film

Surprised to see people mention Capt Phillips as Tom Hanks has to be the worst actor of all time, he has the power to make a good film bad

don ramo

Django Unchained
Rush
Prisoners

all 3 will be films i feel i would watch 4-5 more times over the next few years, and probably get more out of each one, there are a good few films ill probably rewatch for sheer enjoyment, but these 3 i feel will offer more on the rewatch,

White House Down was tremendous fun. It was pretty much everything Olympus Has Fallen was not.

krudler

I must check out WHD over christmas, seems like stupid fun perfect hangover/meat sweats flick.

don ramo

Deleted User wrote: »

White House Down was tremendous fun. It was pretty much everything Olympus Has Fallen was not.

they were both decent enough films i thought, for what they are, i suppose OHF was more balls to the walls action and crazy destruction, and then WHD was a bit more humorous, but the action i thought was more contained,

i enjoyed both thoroughly and look forward to rewatching both at some point,

Sad Professor

This is still a work in progress. I've several films to catch up on (most notably The Act of Killing) and a few re-watches may be in order, but as it currently stands my top 10 (in alphabetical order) is:

Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Frances Ha, Lore, Like Someone in Love, Only God Forgives, Stoker, Spring Breakers, To the Wonder, Upstream Colour.

It's amazing how quickly the Oscar contenders from January/February fade from memory by the end of the year. As much as I enjoyed them, I'm not sure Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty and Django will even get an honorable mention on my final list. But it was a pretty great year in fairness.

ziedth

I really enjoyed captain Philips. Hanks really was on top of his games and I really enjoyed the couple of action sequences at tye beginning and the tension throught the last third.

Django is also a good shout. I'm no lover of Jamie Foxx but I could easily get past it.

saintsaltynuts

Gravity.
Prisoners.
Blue Is The Warmest Color.
Place Beyond The Pines.
Don Jon.
Man Of Steel.

kevohmsford

Star Trek Into Darkness for me. Really enjoyed that movie.

hedgehog2

e_e wrote: »

My top 50 of the year: http://boxd.it/9km6

Been a great year of cinema for me, watched close to 100 new movies and the majority of which have been very worthwhile. With a select few being worthy of all-time favorite status.

There are dome serious siht films in that top ten number 3 and 7 were awful movies.

dark crystal

Top seven films of the year for me:

The Way Way Back:
Charming, simple, heartwarming. Love when a little gem like this comes along out of nowhere and surprises you.

Before Midnight:
The 9 year wait was worth it. More caustic and weary than it's two predecessors, but these characters never fail to keep us interested in the story of their life.

Prisoners:
Powerful and absorbing, Hugh Jackman gives an unforgettable performance as a father driven to the edge of sanity. Gives me hope to see films like this this do well at the box office, too.

What Maisie Knew:
This story, told through the eyes of a child, was both beguiling and harrowing to watch. Great performances from Alexander Skarsgard, Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan and little Onata Aprile as the titular character.

Behind The Candelabra:
Michael Douglas and Matt Damon do a brilliant job in Soderburgh's take on Liberace's closeted love affair with Scott Thorson. A wonderfully camp swansong for Soderburgh, who will be much missed.

Gravity:
Claustrophobic, tense and technically brilliant, this film had it all. If only that slightly annoying Hollywood ending hadn't ruined the last ten minutes, it may have been higher than number five on my list.


The Call:
I do love a good, dramatic thriller and there are a scarcity of them made in Hollywood these days. This year, both Prisoners, Gravity and this underrated film had me gripped from start to (almost) finish. Yes, again, the ending was slightly dubious, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.


I have yet to see Blue Jasmine, Rush, Stoker, All Is Lost and Captain Phillips, so there's a chance one or more of them could be added to the list! Also, Django Unchained was released in 2012, which is why I didn't include it in my list.

All in all, not a bad year for film at all.

e_e

hedgehog2 wrote: »

There are dome serious siht films in that top ten number 3 and 7 were awful movies.

I saw them both in the cinema twice and was greatly rewarded. OGF is the most unfairly maligned film of the year, just rewatched on blu-ray this morning and was in awe of it all over again.

What are some of your favorites? Chances are there are a few films I don't like but I wouldn't completely write off your opinion for it.

don ramo

dark crystal wrote: »

Also, Django Unchained was released in 2012, which is why I didn't include it in my list.

18th of january 2013 it was released here,

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ov_inf

dark crystal

don ramo wrote: »

18th of january 2013 it was released here,

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ov_inf

Ah fair enough. I saw it in 2012, though.

tupac_healy

Most enjoyable movie for me this year was Pain & Gain!

Its all got to do with the fact its based on a true story, worrying times for humanity

gimli2112

oooooooooo you think darkness is your ally
you merely adopted the dark I was born in it
moulded by it






sorry fits my psyche

LuckyLloyd

Forgot about The Way Way Back, thought it was charming.

don ramo

dark crystal wrote: »

Ah fair enough. I saw it in 2012, though.

me too, i left it out on another thread, thinking the same:)

Balaclava1991

Rush - Best Drama. The movie is about male rivalry, chivalry, heroism and friendship and of course motor sport.
A Good Day To Die Hard - Best Action Movie. The tough love between father and son has not been portrayed better since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Frozen - Best Animation. Mind blowing 3D and wonderful Disney fairy tale storytelling.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - Best Comedy. Sidesplittingly weird fun with classic Jim Carrey lunacy.
Before Midnight - Best Romance. Excellent third installment in the long running series.
The Frozen Ground - Best Thriller. John Cusack is an absolutely chilling villain and an atmosphere of dread permeates.

hedgehog2

e_e wrote: »

I saw them both in the cinema twice and was greatly rewarded. OGF is the most unfairly maligned film of the year, just rewatched on blu-ray this morning and was in awe of it all over again.

What are some of your favorites? Chances are there are a few films I don't like but I wouldn't completely write off your opinion for it.

Recently watched Out of the Furnace,Gravity,The Hobbit,prisoners,world war z and on frozen ground.
All these were good movies,I just find Ryan gosling is the most overrated actor and only God Forgives was a disaster of a movie unwatchable in fact.

e_e

hedgehog2 wrote: »

Recently watched Out of the Furnace,Gravity,The Hobbit,prisoners,world war z and on frozen ground.
All these were good movies,I just find Ryan gosling is the most overrated actor and only God Forgives was a disaster of a movie unwatchable in fact.

Were you not at least happy that

Ryan died a third of the way through Pines?

OGF isn't his best performance but then again it doesn't require charm, charisma and dynamism. He is playing an emotionally crippled, weak, impotent and somewhat pathetic man in that film and I think it works well given how it's about him getting redemption. I genuinely think that the sole reason some people didn't warm to the film was because he wasn't there to save the day over a cool synth-pop score.

hedgehog2

e_e wrote: »

Were you not at least happy that

Ryan died a third of the way through Pines?

OGF isn't his best performance but then again it doesn't require charm, charisma and dynamism. He is playing an emotionally crippled, weak, impotent and somewhat pathetic man in that film and I think it works well given how it's about him getting redemption. I genuinely think that the sole reason some people didn't warm to the film was because he wasn't there to save the day over a cool synth-pop score.

I genuinely feel people did not warm to the movie because it was rubbish and his moody posing acting style just added to the film trying to be cool but failing miserably.
They had so much potential to make a goid film in bangers but fcuked it up.
I actually stopped watching pines after 40 mins it was that bad but not as bad as ogf which god most certainly wont forgive.

COYVB

Best: Dallas Buyers Club
Worst: Desolation of Smaug
Most Overrated: Gravity

Little Italy

Only God Forgives was an absolute work of art and it should have been longer.

CL7

Django Unchained: Tarantino will never let you down .

Stoker: One of Chan-wook Park's weakest but not bad for his first English language film. Hope he kicks on from here.

Zero Dark Thirty: Really tense from start to finish, the ending in particular was amazing. .

Captain Phillips: Give that man another oscar.

The Way Way Back: Sweet film and Sam Rockwell was great as usual.

Oblivion: Derivative but I still enjoyed it.

Prisoners: Powerful Stuff.

audidiesel

rush was my favourite film this year.


a few others I liked aswell: pacific rim, oblivion, worlds end, this is the end, fast and furious 6, star trek into darkness.


the films i disliked were only god forgives or die hard. really disappointed with man of steel aswell.


of the the white house action movies, Olympus has fallen was entertaining enough, albeit with ropy cgi in places. white house down was utter pish

e_e

hedgehog2 wrote: »

I genuinely feel people did not warm to the movie because it was rubbish

But why was it rubbish? I'm becoming increasingly annoyed at people outright dismissing films on here but having no good reason for it. It's no way to have a discussion and does not even remotely make me reconsider my view of the film. You could at the very least try to have an argument.

LuckyLloyd

e_e wrote: »

But why was it rubbish? I'm becoming increasingly annoyed at people outright dismissing films on here but having no good reason for it. It's no way to have a discussion and does not even remotely make me reconsider my view of the film. You could at the very least try to have an argument.

From the OGF thread:

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Well this was absolute nonsense. Sometimes breathtakingly beautiful nonsense, but still nonsense.

Sure, a lot of the scenes are really superbly shot, even if I wished Refn had a little more to his visual palette than 'symmetrical and architecturally interesting room / hallway with person in middle' and 'drench **** in red'. That's a little unfair, as there are a few really nicely filmed sequences, and sometimes they gel together with Martinez' score (sometimes moody, sometimes ridiculous) to create quite the effective atmosphere. Even when it's a one-trick cinematography pony, the trick is at least enthusiastic.

I was also quite impressed by how lifelike the cast of robots were, especially Goslingbot which really did look like the real thing. I think the Scottthomasaton was left in the sun a little too long, though, but in terms of acting algorithm she was probably the most accomplished. Alas, every time the majority were programmed to act or say anything, we take a dive right into uncanny valley. No wonder Refn doesn't ask much more of his technicians than to have these machines pose dramatically and walk forward slowly (did Zack Snyder co-direct some of this?). But as a technical achievement these automatons were quite extraordinary.

The script - with its endless parade of empty shocks and amusingly naive self-seriousness - was adolescent to the extreme. It's a DTV revenge movie in arthouse clothing, and despite some moments where that combustible cocktail kinda works (the ending does came relatively close to being satisfying), alas it it's hard to overcome the whiff of self-parody off the thing. It's like it took the already emotionally disaffected Drive and gave it another lobotomy, just in case there was any trace amount of humanity left in there. Honestly, there are times when you can basically hear Refn behind the camera saying "long beat". Contrived to within an inch of a life, you're always extraordinarily aware you're watching a film. If that's the intention, fair enough, but it makes for an experience that's hard to connect to. Taken as some sort of academic exercise that wants to keep as distant as humanly possible, it all too often shows itself up as the empty husk that it is.

It's uniquely and aggressively awful, I'll give it that, and certainly isn't slumming it with those ignorable films that don't even try. I was left a tad sceptical by Drive, but this takes all that film's worst traits and amps them up exponentially. It's worth a watch as some will undoubtedly fall for it, but consider me unswayed by its slickly immature posturing.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Slowness is not an inherently negative trait. In fact, there are countless films both good and bad that are considerably more ponderous and even narcoleptic than Only God Forgives. As much as I didn't like the film, I can only give it credit for at least deeply considering its pacing.

But sometimes a really, really slow film can create a hypnotic rhythm and increase both our emotional and intellectual engagement with a film. At the extreme end, you have someone like Bela Tarr with his ten minute long takes of very little at all. But his films are also fascinating, involving, deeply atmospheric, thematically rich and internally consistent, constantly requiring us to engage with the film on all manner of layers. It all comes together, even if it takes seven hours. Apichatpong Weerasethakul - again, I was frequently reminded of his work throughout this film, and not only because of the Thai setting - is an expert at creating absolutely compelling images with a beyond leisurely pace. With those two directors, and many others, the rewards are always worth the sometimes considerable effort they request of us.

To me, Only God Forgives biggest problem is its artificiality amounts to little. It merely tries too hard. I could always feel the cogs turning, the director behind the camera contriving the situations to within an inch of their life. Some films have done similar with really good effect, but here it was frustrating and unrewarding. Heck, even Drive - which, again, I think is a superior film but also frustratingly shallow at times - managed to create a more distinctive, cohesive production of almost classical cool. Only God Forgives overcorrects, and to me the results were soulless and even confused (the editing particularly was all over the place, almost jittery). It makes Drive look like a film of the deepest thematic and emotional depth, and to me offered no good arguments for why exactly it was so disaffected.

Although some individual sequences are momentarily spellbinding, almost every time a character spoke in their absurd robospeak I was distracted at how distant and clinical the whole thing was. There was no satisfying rhythm, no overall cohesion for the slick individual moments and ultimately no significant rewards other than aesthetic ones for enduring through its self-proclaimed grandiosity. Style over substance can and has worked innumerable times - here, the balance was way too lobsided.

I have no doubt Refn was trying his darndest here, and a spectacular & ambitious failure is preferable to a straight-up mediocrity - I have little love for the film, but nor would I claim "worst film evar". Refn allegedly (and accurately) considers himself a pornographer, so at least he's aware of the level he's working on. But he still tries too hard to craft the film's ponderous mood, tries too hard to shock (why provoke when you have nothing of note to say?), tries too hard to keep everything militantly cold & disaffected. And ultimately it's all just too silly to take even remotely seriously.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Was also left quite uncomfortable by the general misogyny of the film. Obviously the whole thing is intended as some sort of exaggarated form of hell, but there's times when the whole thing turns into some ridiculously masturbatory fantasy - quite literally with all the allusions to violent deeds as some way of dealing with repressed sexuality. To a degree, its like Refn engaging in some bizarre self-reflection through Gosling's 'character' - a director genuinely unable, maybe even unwilling, to resist his worst temptations. Grimaced everytime a character revelled in using the 'c' word. Again, a film that always favours adolescent shock over actual depth. Not worth mistaking its controversial (in inverted commas) stuff for anything other than desperate provocation. The dinner table centerpiece might have been the worst of the whole film.

Shooting lazy cliches with extended pauses doesn't lend then any more gravity either - was surprised Refn resorted to the likes of 'innocent child' to get his point across, and even then fell back on them with depressing frequency.

There were times when it felt like Refn trying to make a Apichatpong Weerasethakul inspired genre movie, but I realise that makes it sound far more interesting than it actually is, despite those fleeting, rare moments when everything does come together.

maximoose wrote: »

I was really looking forward to this whenever the first trailer came out, but my god - this was terrible.

Drive (which I loved) got an awful lot of stick for long pauses between dialogue, characters blankly staring at each other - but Only God Forgives takes it to a whole new level and completely takes the piss. So many long shots of people just walking, and walking, then staring, then walking again.

The "story" is almost non-existant. The plot synopsis on Wiki and IMDB appear to have been made up by people trying to put a story around it, cuz there is a lot in there which is in no way clear or alluded to in the film.

The fingerbanging his dead mothers stomach is one of the weirdest, stupidest things I can remember seeing

One thing I will give it credit for though, it does look fantastic.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Visually stunning but totally devoid of substance. I was reminded of De Palma moments watching it - not that De Palma movies are anything like this - in terms of the way the film feels as a piece of work. It looks like the process is backwards. Like Refn sketched out some scenes and backgrounds in his head and banged out a flimsy movie to fit around them. The visuals are the only consistent and well honed thing on show here, everything else feels neglected in comparison. The plot, dialogue and 'themes' come across as skethched out on the back of a napkin over a lunch break. That might not be the case of course, but as a viewer the film felt like:

- I have some images for scenes that I really want to do;
- I want it to be generally dark;
- I'll worry about the rest later, incidental really;

Even the soundtrack is hit and miss - it felt very misplaced by times.

It is of course correct to say a good or great film doesn't NEED all of strong plot, dialogue, acting, characterisation; that it doesn't have to be bright and uplifting; and that it doesn't have to make a point or grasp an aspect of the human experience. Indeed, you can have all the rest with uninspiring visuals. No one aspect is essential. But when you have nothing other than a tenuously connected set of visual vignettes you are in trouble.

Moreover, and this is just a personal opinion, I think films should earn gratuitous violence. Violence for grit or for impact as part of a visceral film can be vital and feel utterly appropriate. Violence for shock factor alone seems pointless and is irritating to me. Ultimately I felt like I was wandering around the Tate Modern for 2 hours (despite the movie only lasting 90 minutes). Obviously some people will like that but I think it's a wasteful use of the medium.

Hopefully Gosling feels like his itch for this stuff is scratched now. Drive and Only God Forgives are dreadful wastes of his talent. Hopefully he finds a few projects that interest him and we can get immersive performances like Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson and Blue Valentine to enjoy again.

Now, are we saying that we have to be as articulate and eloquent as johnny_ultimate (I dream of being able to write like him) is for negative opinions to be valid?

You are a big champion of OGF on this board, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. But the idea that this:

Little Italy wrote:

Only God Forgives was an absolute work of art and it should have been longer.

is the ultimate truth of the matter and can only be disagreed with via a nuanced and complex argument is rubbish. I can understand why some were besotted with it, but such people could surely get the idea that it would be deeply irritating for the majority of the audience, right? It's the antithesis of a universally liked movie like Argo in terms of its story, structure, approach etc, etc. Expect that people despise it. It really shouldn't be terribly difficult to understand why they do.

tupac_healy

audidiesel wrote: »

rush was my favourite film this year.


a few others I liked aswell: pacific rim, oblivion, worlds end, this is the end, fast and furious 6, star trek into darkness.


the films i disliked were only god forgives or die hard. really disappointed with man of steel aswell.


of the the white house action movies, Olympus has fallen was entertaining enough, albeit with ropy cgi in places. white house down was utter pish

Even though I rarely turn off films before the end I almost did it for oblivion and I hated Pacific Rim too, I know its an action/cheese flick but other than the visuals it was terrible!!


Oh and I loved OGF..... I really can't understand all the hate for it, maybe its the subject matters it deals in or its extreme nature, but as a movie, the tone/setting/pacing its just fantastic! Maybe ever so slightly too slow but not overly slow as some make out

Grayditch

Only God Forgives was definitely style over substance. I enjoyed it's pace, no problem there and the mood the film set kept me interested, but broken down scene for scene, there was just not enough of a good film in there.

timthumbni

Watched an indie film called Blackbird recently. May have even last year release I'm not sure but it was a very good watch. (Canadian film)

The girl in it was flipping stunning as well.

Also Blackfish. A documentary film about killer whales in those Seaworld type shows but to me it was literally jaw dropping. Quite disturbing as well. Google Tilikum the killer whale and I can guarantee you will never take your kids to Orlando again. A psychotic killer whale..... What's not to like.????