I easily watch more new movies in December than any other month in the year. It’s a race to see what movies might end up on my year-end list and what movies I can start predicting for Oscar nominations.
Now both of those events have passed, and the urgency is gone. Still there are movies like “A Touch of Sin,” “The Past,” “Wadjda,” “At Berkeley,” “The Great Beauty,” “Bastards” and “The Wind Rises” that are beyond where I can easily access them (so maybe expect a part two to this post), but for those gaps that seemed most pressing, I finally amended them.
Rather than suffer through a full review for each long after the moment has passed, here are some capsule thoughts on recent 2013 movies I felt needed to be seen before they got lost in next year’s shuffle.
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – 3 ½ stars
Though featuring shots that seem lifted from “Badlands” and a story that would appear to chronicle that film’s aftermath, “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” isn’t quite Terence Malick-lite. David Lowery’s film details the end of jailbirds Bob and Ruth, but not their sordid beginning. Lowery instead explores the will of Bob to escape from prison and return to his wife and daughter he’s never met and Ruth’s determination to start anew. Bradford Young’s cinematography evokes the rustic earth tones present in Malick’s best and worst while Daniel Hart’s music channels Nick Cave with rhythmic pattering and trembling strings. But Lowery separates the spiritual poetry and narrated prose from the imagery, making this strictly a film about responsibility and parenting, establishing the close-knit tension from how seemingly close the characters are to accomplishing what they must. Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck only share a handful of scenes, but their chemistry is in the unspeakable ether. Affleck has a simple, matter of fact presentation of his jailbreak that categorizes the whole movie’s tender mystique and close to the bone authenticity. “Sir, I used to be the devil, and now, I’m just a man.” Continue reading “2013 Movie Catch Up”