Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski, 2013)

5/10
This was a movie I wanted to like a lot more than I actually did, or maybe one that I thought I would like more than I did. Shot in documentary style with a black-and-white camera and taking place over a weekend of a computer chess tournament at a hotel in the early 80's, it has an appealing retro feel. The story drifts around, spending time with participants in the tournament and other funny/bizarre going-ons at the hotel, but never commits to anything conceptually. It's billed as something of a comedy, but it wasn't particularly funny. A few strands are interesting or humorous, but nothing to write home about. This was a movie that did very well at the Sundance festival earlier this year, and my reaction to it is the same as my reaction to a lot of Sundance-approved films...it's nice and quirky enough for Mom & Pop to think it's different and exotic, but safe enough to risk offending no one. I personally thought it could have done and been a lot more.

As I Lay Dying (James Franco, 2013)

7.5/10
This is James Franco's second directorial effort after his 2011 student film The Broken Tower, and is an adaptation of William Faulkner's novel of the same name. The novel is noteworthy for its stream-of-consciousness style and its unconventional storytelling methods (15 different points of view recount the story). Franco makes some stabs at attempting to recreate those techniques on-screen, such as relying heavily on a split-screen approach and having characters give monologues directly into the camera. I found that generally these techniques worked and weren't distracting, though I could see how one might call them self-conscious and gimmicky. The movie is good, well-acted by all and extremely faithful to the book, and I don't think it would be inaccurate to suggest a lot of the movie's success is derived from Faulkner's words. It's no great shakes but it's a competent, enjoyable adaptation and I look forward to Franco's next book-to-screen translation, Cormac McCarthy's Child of God.

American Hustle (David O. Russell, 2013)

4/10
Being annoyed by a David O. Russell film is becoming something of a masochistic year-end tradition, but I've never been bored by one, until now. American Hustle spreads roughly thirty minutes of entertainment over a painful near-2.5 hours, taking forever to reach a conclusion that's mildly interesting instead of being jaw-droppingly clever. It's representative of the movie as a whole, however - this is a movie that should be so vibrant the screen it plays on should be shaking. The characters should be more interesting, the jokes should be funnier, the soundtrack should dazzle, the con in the plot should thrill...none of these things happen. This feels like Russell doing his best Tarantino impression and failing miserably. What results is indeed a mildly interesting, occasionally entertaining, mostly boring, sloppily-scripted mess.
As far as the much-hyped cast goes, it's hit and miss. Christian Bale and Amy Adams fare best, which is good because they're the center of the movie. Bradley Cooper is all over the place, trying anything in vain to make his character into something. Jeremy Renner either sleepwalks through his role or simply isn't capable of bringing anything more. But Jennifer Lawrence is the true travesty, stuck with an awful, obnoxious character and resorting to painful histrionics to try and make it work. She deserved better, instead of having to lower herself to the gimmickry seen here.
For a movie that lasts as long as this one does, and with so much screen talent, to be only somewhat entertaining in spurts, is simply not good enough.

Moebius (Kim Ki-duk, 2013)

6.5/10
I've never seen a Kim Ki-duk movie, but as I understand it he's South Korea's master provocateur. His early films like The Isle and Bad Guy drew heavy criticism for their perceived misogyny and squirm-inducing violence, often perpetrated on women. It seems he had quieted down in recent years but roared back this year with Moebius, which was banned in South Korea almost immediately (a decision since overturned).
It starts off with quite a bang - a woman discovers her husband's cheating ways. Entering his bedroom with a knife she attempts to castrate him. He fends her off and she, still seething with rage, enters their son's bedroom, castrates him instead and devours the member. The film them follows the son's attempt to have "normal" relationships (proving disastrous for others) and the father's survivor guilt (which manifests itself in curious ways). And the mother's inevitable return.
It is a strange movie, not just for the plot but also for the fact that the 90-minute movie is completely dialogue free. Not a silent movie, just no one talks. There is the obvious reading into silence in the context of abuse, or of abuse victims (and observers), and it's easy to see this as a condemning of South Korean society at large. The title also seems to be a clear reference, not just to the mirrored beginning and ending of the movie (without spoiling anything) but also the cyclical nature of abuse that is without beginning or end.
The movie has a little more to say (no pun intended) about sexual politics, guilt, and abuse than I detailed here, though it's not a grand statement and it's hard to believe Ki-duk isn't mostly just intentionally living up to his provocateur status with the shocking imagery in the movie. The film is even blackly comic at times - a scene involving a (different) castrated member winding up in the middle of a busy street and its owner looking on helplessly weirdly recalls Mrs. Doubtfire doing the same when Robin Williams knocks his mask off a window ledge.
I wouldn't call Moebius a particularly brilliant movie, and it's technically pretty unpolished, but at the very least it's certainly an original and interesting experience

This is the End (Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen, 2013)

8.5/10
The strength of This is the End, of course, depends on how much the idea of spending 2 hours with exaggerated versions of the actors involved appeals to you. If you didn't like these guys before, you certainly won't be any more endeared to them after watching this movie.
Despite the potential for being a massively self-indulgent vanity project goof-off for all involved (ala Ocean's Twelve), Rogen & co. never lose sight of the big idea: be funny. I laughed a lot during this movie, more than I expected to. And while it stops short of any big ideas or coalescing into a major statement about anything, I found that, like Pineapple Express, it has a lot of real and true (and funny) things to say about the dynamics of male friendships, and they crop up in surprisingly poignant ways. The plot meanders a little and the apocalypse, while impressively mounted, doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense (why does Jonah Hill get possessed again?) but the comedy comes fast enough that the small details are easily overlooked.
For me, James Franco and Jonah Hill stole the show, but I also have to give special mention to Jay Baruchel, who I've never really liked in anything before but was excellent here as the straight man.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, 2013)

8/10
One of the rare instances where I think the sequel topped the original (which was also very good)...unfortunately this is Hollywood and we're treated to a two-part finale that's become all the rage when there's money to be made (Harry Potter, Twilight, etc) and hopefully the next two films do the rest of the series justice. When I read the book I was a little let down by the fact that Katniss and Peeta had to re-enter the Games, effectively repeating the main stage from the first movie but I felt like it was better handled here, or maybe it bothered me less because I knew it was coming.
In any case, Catching Fire does a really good job of pretty much everything - the special effects are good, the action is solid (a little less of if this time around, though), it resonates emotionally and everything feels very authentic. It's hard not to feel like most of this is because virtually 100% of the movie passes through Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss, and Lawrence is tremendous in the role, walking a thin line between strength and vulnerability. I feel like the film adaptations would not be nearly as enjoyable without her, and I look forward to seeing what she does with some of the heavier material that makes up the final book.

3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977)

7/10
I'm currently reading Kier-La Janisse's "autobiographical topography of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films" House of Psychotic Women, which is so far excellent, and Robert Altman's 3 Women was discussed in an early chapter. I bought the Criterion Blu-Ray a while ago and never watched it, so I made time for it. It's certainly a bizarre, enchanting film. Whether it was Altman's decision or not, lots of credit to whoever decided to put Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duvall in a movie together, two of the most unique female faces ever to make it in Hollywood for sure. I enjoyed the movie, even if it didn't make a whole lot of sense or say very much. I liked the central relationship between Duvall and Spacek's characters. There was a good deal of black humor throughout and I had a hard time deciding which girl I felt sorrier for. The back of the DVD case notes that the two live in an "underpopulated" California town and that's the perfect word for it. The desolate, barely-alive town becomes a character almost in and of itself.