Evenings With Scorsese - "Boxcar Bertha"

As part of an ongoing series of blog posts called Evenings With Scorsese, I'll be watching all of director Martin Scorsese's films -- from 1967's Who's That Knocking At My Door to 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street -- and then posting my own personal thoughts, reflections, and opinions about each film as I go. Today, I will be focusing on 1972's Boxcar Bertha.

During the Depression, Bertha Thompson (Barbara Hershey) is left with nothing after her father dies in a crop dusting accident, sending her into the arms of charming activist railroad worker Bill Shelly (David Carradine), with whom she becomes lovers. When his attempts to unionize draw the ire of railroad magnate H. Buckram Sartoris (John Carradine), who seeks to crush his efforts, Bill is forced into the life of an outlaw and begins to rob trains with the help of Bertha, down-on-his-luck gambler Rake Brown (Barry Primus), and former mechanic Von Morton (Bernie Casey). As the level of risk involved in their criminal exploits begins to escalate and the romantic relationship between Bertha and Bill deepens, it becomes clear that this wild ride is hurtling towards a tragic end.

Roger Corman is a prolific film producer and director who, during the height of his career in the 1970's, was famous for producing low-budget exploitation films, each with the requisite sex, violence, and explosions. Though you might be inclined to dismiss his work as low-brow fare, Corman is also credited with helping launch the careers of several modern filmmakers who got their start working on his films, including James Cameron, Ron Howard, and Francis Ford Coppola. Martin Scorsese is one such filmmaker, with Corman handing him the reins to Boxcar Bertha based on the strength of his first feature film, Who's That Knocking At My Door. With his cast and crew assembled, a $600,000 budget, and less than four weeks to shoot on location in Arkansas, Scorsese went out and shot his second feature film, one that would be ignored by most film critics after its release as a double feature alongside 1,000 Convicts And A Woman.

I went into Boxcar Bertha with very low expectations, knowing it was an exploitation film and that it wasn't a film Scorsese necessarily wanted to make so much as one he had to make in the interest of furthering his career as a director. And while I wouldn't rank Boxcar Bertha among his best works, it is a much better film than it should be, thanks in large part to the directorial touch of a future master filmmaker learning to honing his craft. In addition to the Christ-like image of a character being crucified with railroad spikes on the side of a boxcar, which is an almost too-obvious nod to the themes of Catholicism from his previous film, Boxcar Bertha is a film about a group of social pariahs trying desperately to survive in their own little niche in the corner of the world. Bertha and her ragtag group of bandits form a surrogate family, like J.R. and his cronies from Who's That Knocking At My Door, but rather than finding contentment through drunken antics and juvenile behavior, this band of train robbers operate under as modern Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich and giving to themselves, the less fortunate. When exposed to to outside logic, this illusion collapses, as the forces of law and order close in and tear their reality apart at the seams.

While Bertha might be the title character, the most interesting person in the film, at least for me, was Bill, the railroad worker who is a reluctant criminal, taking more pride in an honest day's work than in stealing the valuables of a train's wealthy passengers. Bill feels forced into the life of an outlaw, as his attempts to push back against his employers to better his co-workers' compensation are crushed with violence, often from bull-headed police officers acting on behalf of people much more powerful than Bill. Bill refuses to label himself an outright criminal, even as his actions continue to chart a tragic downward spiral and his criminal activities go from robbing a bank to holding a railroad magnate for ransom. More powerful forces might've forced him to exist on the fringes of society, but Bill does nothing to better his situation and his ultimate fate is as much a result of his own unbreakable pride as it is a product of his enemies' dogged pursuit.

I'll admit that Boxcar Bertha was much better than I expected it to be, but I think that the following anecdote (per IMDB.com) provides a better final coda than I ever could:

After he finished this film, Martin Scorsese screened the film for John Cassavetes. Cassavetes, after seeing this film, hugged Scorsese and said, "Marty, you've just spent a whole year of your life making a piece of shit. It's a good picture, but you're better than the people who make this kind of movie. Don't get hooked into the exploitation market, just try and do something different."

Evenings With Scorsese will continue now with Scorsese's breakout film, Mean Streets. Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back again soon!

5 Reasons To Start Watching NBC's "Hannibal"

On Friday, February 28th, Season 2 of Hannibal premieres on NBC. Inspired by the series of novels from author Thomas Harris and re-imagined for television by head writer and executive producer Bryan Fuller, Hannibal is about the tenuous friendship between Will Graham, a gifted criminal profiler whose overactive imagination allows him to empathize with and understand the serial killers that he hunts, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the noted psychiatrist tasked with ensuring that Will doesn't let his work consume him. Unbeknownst to Will and his colleagues at the FBI, Hannibal uses his professional reputation to conceal his true nature, and it soon becomes clear that his personal agenda might be more sinister than anyone could have imagined. Sound interesting to you? Because if it does, then there is no excuse for why you haven't been watching.

Hannibal is a show that is high on critical acclaim but short on ratings. Television critics can't stop raving about it, but audience members at home can't even seem to find the remote. And this is a problem, because low ratings means low interest from advertisers, and if a network can't sell advertisers on their show, then that show is not long for this world, unfortunately. And I'd rather not live in a world without Hannibal. So, in the interest of keeping a fantastic show on the air, I've put together a list of reasons why Hannibal requires -- and deserves -- your attention.

5. Bryan Fuller is due for a hit show. Hannibal is the fourth television series created by Bryan Fuller, with none of his previous three -- Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, and Pushing Daisies -- lasting more than two seasons, despite near unanimous critical acclaim and small, but devoted followings. The problem is that Fuller tends to create shows that tread off the beaten path, which can alienate more mainstream audiences who are interested in less stylized fare that is easier to swallow. But because Fuller's shows offer a creative detour from your standard procedurals, his shows are best known for their affectionate fan bases, which are often small in number but unrivaled in terms of passion. NBC renewed Hannibal for a second season in spite of the first season's diminishing ratings because it was willing to take a chance on a brilliant show that had everything but the appreciation of a larger audience, after languishing in a tough Thursday night time slot opposite ABC's Scandal and CBS's Elementary. Now, NBC will be airing Hannibal on Fridays, a gamble the could either sink the show for good or allow it to take advantage of a night that more than a few people consider to be the graveyard shift of weeknight television.

4. Haven't read the books or watched the movies? No problem. Yes, the character of Hannibal Lecter was made famous by Anthony Hopkins' bone-chilling portrayal of the sophisticated cannibal in the film series that began with 1991's The Silence of The Lambs. But Hannibal is a bold re-imagining of the source material, drawing more from the original series of novels by author Thomas Harris, and serves as a prequel of sorts to the events that take place in the books. The first two seasons and, if all goes well, the third season are what Fuller likes to refer as the "lost novels" in the series, with Harris' original trilogy serving as the basis for the theoretical fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons. So you don't have to be familiar with either the books or the films to appreciate or understand the show, but it will enrich the experience, as the shows' writers do like to make subtle (and not-so-subtle) callbacks to the source material and even utilize supporting characters from the literature such as Freddie Lounds, Dr. Frederick Chilton, and Mason and Margot Verger.

3. This is not violence for the sake of violence. I must warn you: There are scenes and images in Hannibal that I'm positive you will find disturbing (See: The "cello neck"). But this is not a show that is interested in escalating the level of violence and gore of each episode for the sake of mere shock value, because Hannibal is more than a simple whodunit. Will is tasked with finding the individuals responsible for a variety of gruesome murders, but to do so he must first understand their motivations, and the key lies somewhere in the details of their heinous crimes. Part of what makes Hannibal so entertaining is watching Will deconstruct and re-enact (in his own head, mind you) the murder itself, hoping to use the specific nature of the crime to glean personal details about the person responsible. Most of the elaborate crime scene tableaus are borderline absurd, because the intent is not to reproduce a realistic homicide, but rather to create a macabre portrait that illustrates the twisted psychology of its killers. Hannibal is less about the "how" and more about the "why" when it comes to examining what drives people to take the lives of others, and the psychological toll it must take on the man being asked to step inside their twisted psyches.

2. The performances are among the best on television. I was disappointed, but also not that surprised, when not a single cast member of Hannibal was nominated for an Emmy or a Golden Globe this past year. It speaks to the current quality of television programming -- in particular cable dramas, which have dominated of late -- that a brilliant show like Hannibal can be shut out of the awards, but unfortunately it does also mean that a struggling show in desperate need of some much-deserved public attention will go unrecognized. Just watch the first season and you'll understand what I mean when I say that Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen are two of the most underrated actors on television right now. Their outstanding performances as Will Graham and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, respectively, and the relationship between those two characters are what serve as the show's central nervous system. In addition to the strong supporting cast, led by stalwart Laurence Fishbourne as Will's boss Jack Crawford, Hannibal also boasts an impressive line-up of guest stars, including the likes of Gillian Anderson, Eddie Izzard, and Gina Torres.

1. It is the boldest and most creative drama on broadcast television. From the simple fact that I even bothered to write this column, you can infer that I am a huge fan of Hannibal. Believe me, I never expected to like it as much as I did, but I was hooked from the first episode. I liked the movies, for the most part, but not enough that I was sold on the idea of a television show about Hannibal Lecter, sight unseen. But Bryan Fuller has defied expectations and, with a fresh take, re-invigorated source material that most considered stale, allowing the show to slip out from under the shadow of Anthony Hopkins' iconic performance and create a Hannibal Lecter for the modern age that is as spine-tingling as his predecessor. It is difficult to talk about the phenomenal writing of Hannibal without spoiling the events of the first season, but know this: This is not a show that is interested in wasting your time. With 13 episodes per season, the storytelling is tight and methodical, and the end result is an amazing achievement, thanks in large part to the exceptional cast and breathtaking production design, in addition to the stellar writing staff. With the unexpected success of FOX's Sleepy Hollow, I'm hopeful that audiences who are eager to embrace shows that are outside-the-box will discover Hannibal and see to it that this outstanding show survives.

Need to catch up on the first season before the premiere of Season 2 on Friday, February 28th? Season 1 of Hannibal is available for purchase on DVD or Blu-Ray on Amazon (or you can check your local retail store), where you can also stream the entire first season online for a price. Hannibal is also available to rent on DVD (by mail) with Netflix, but is not available for streaming on Netflix Instant. Or, if the idea of watching all 13 episodes sounds like too much work for you, you can check out the official video recap of the complete first season here.

Evenings With Scorsese - "Who's That Knocking At My Door"

As part of an ongoing series of blog posts called Evenings With Scorsese, I'll be watching all of director Martin Scorsese's films -- from 1967's Who's That Knocking At My Door to 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street -- and then posting my own personal thoughts, reflections, and opinions about each film as I go. Today, I will be focusing on 1967's Who's That Knocking At My Door.

J.R. (Harvey Keitel) is a young and unemployed Catholic Italian-American living in New York City during the 1960's, where he spends his nights drinking and rough-housing with his group of cronies. When he meets a beautiful girl (Zina Bethune) on the Staten Island Ferry, J.R. starts to realize that their might be more to life than getting drunk and acting like a buffoon. But when his new girlfriend reveals a disturbing secret from her past, J.R. struggles to reconcile this startling revelation with his own perceptions of her as a pure and angelic woman.

Martin Scorsese first began working on Who's That Knocking At My Door when he was a film student at New York University and the film was still under its original title, I Call First. It was filmed and edited over the course of several years, undergoing multiple plot changes in the process, before debuting at the Chicago International Film Festival in November of 1967. It wasn't until an exploitation producer agreed to distribute the film, on the condition that Scorsese change the title and include a gratuitous sex scene, that the film reached a wider audience.

I'll be honest here and admit that Who's That Knocking At My Door didn't do much for me, and perhaps that is a forgivable by-product of the fact that Scorsese wrote the film as semi-autobiographical. Scorsese was raised a Catholic, which is not something that I can relate to on a personal level, and much of J.R.'s struggles in the film are a result of his Catholic upbringing. His black-and-white view of women as either saints or whores is what drives a wedge between J.R. and his new girlfriend, after she reveals a secret that taints his saint-like image of her. The film doesn't have much of a plot to speak, which I know will become something of a trademark for Scorsese, so the weight of the film falls on the shoulders of Harvey Keitel, with this serving as his acting debut. And for what it's worth, J.R. is a fascinating -- and frustrating -- character.

One of the most memorable scenes in the film is when J.R. meets the girl (who is left nameless, for the record) for the first time, and the two bond over a conversation about John Wayne and The Searchers. J.R., for all his faults, is such a likable character, and you buy into this romance because of how much he seems to covet their relationship, going so far as to suggest they wait until marriage before having sex. He loves this girl, but it all comes crashing down on him when this perfect woman, in his mind, turns out to be as flawed as he is, failing to meet the pious values and expectations that he was raised on. Credit Keitel for a debut performance that is raw and unrefined, but wholly real and believable, as a confused and conflicted young man who can't seem to differentiate between what he feels and what he was taught to feel.

Who's That Knocking At My Door is a difficult film to grade because the filming is rough, the editing hit-or-miss, and the performers inexperienced, and none of that is the fault of Scorsese. This is a student's film, first and foremost, and one that I'm not sure I would consider exceptional if not for the fact that its director would go on to be nominated for eight Best Director Oscars. But with the gift of foresight, I can recognize Who's That Knocking At My Door as ground zero for Scorsese, tapping the surface of themes and ideas that will become the hallmarks of his acclaimed career.

Evenings With Scorsese will continue now with Scorsese's second film, Boxcar Bertha. Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back again soon!

Evenings With Scorsese - A Career Retrospective

"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out." - Martin Scorsese

I remember when I first watched The Departed (the film that would earn Martin Scorsese his first and long overdue Best Director Oscar) back in 2006, and I loved it -- even going so far as to declare it the best movie I'd seen in a long, long time (granted, I was 15-years-old, so not that long, but you get the idea). But then I also remember when I watched Goodfellas for the first time, a short while later, and feeling as if I had missed something, because the film that critics had praised as one of director Martin Scorsese's best did not inspire the same enthusiastic awe as The Departed. I was left wondering: What was so good about Goodfellas?

For the longest time, one of the things I struggled with in terms of film discussion is the difference between entertainment value and artistic value, and whether one outweighs the other. When I was a kid, I loved George Clooney's Batman & Robin and even Shaquille O'Neal's Kazaam, and was oblivious to the fact that both of those movies would be considered two of the worst films of the 90's, if not all time. I was entertained, and that was all that I cared about.

It wasn't until several years down the road that I started take notice of classics like Casablanca, Network, and All The President's Men... and was left feeling both bored and underwhelmed. I couldn't understand why all of these films were being hailed as some of the greatest movies of all time, because the themes and ideas these films were trying to present were going right over my youthful, inexperienced head. To be honest, I'm not even sure I knew what I was supposed to be looking for. It took me a while before I learned to read between the lines, and started to understand film concepts like themes, symbolism, motifs, and mise en scene. Moviegoing became a different and much more contemplative experience for me, and I haven't looked back since.

As a college student, I was fortunate enough to be able to take elective classes where we watched, analyzed, and discussed the various works of auteur filmmakers like Joel and Ethan Coen, John Cassavetes, and Stanley Kubrick, and being able to review a director's complete filmography is a learning experience I'm hoping to replicate here on this blog. As someone with aspirations of writing for film and television, I can't think of a better way to improve my craft, other than sitting down at a computer and writing and re-writing, than to watch and learn from the best.

And Martin Scorsese is certainly one of the best. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, I've seen all of his recent films from 2002's Gangs of New York to 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street, but I've also yet to watch over half of the films he has directed since his debut feature film, 1967's Who's That Knocking At My Door. So, in the interest of finding out what I've been missing (and revisiting classics like Raging Bull and Goodfellas), I've decided that 2014 will be the year in which I watch all of the great films that Martin Scorsese has to offer. Now, this is a considerable undertaking, but one that I'm determined to complete. I'll be updating this blog on a regular basis, offering my own personal thoughts and musings about each film as I cross them off the list, and I hope that you'll follow along. Check back soon for the inaugural post!

Welcome to Evenings With Scorsese - A Career Retrospective!

Who's That Knocking At My Door (1967)                   Boxcar Bertha (1972)
Mean Streets (1973)                                                Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)                                                    New York, New York (1977)
Raging Bull (1980)                                                  The King of Comedy (1983)
After Hours (1985)                                                  The Color of Money (1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)                        Goodfellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)                                                    The Age of Innocence (1993)
Casino (1995)                                                         Kundun (1997)
Bringing Out The Dead (1999)                                  Gangs of New York (2002)
The Aviator (2004)                                                  The Departed (2006)
Shutter Island (2010)                                              Hugo (2011)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Top 10 Movies of 2013

New Year's has come and gone, bringing with it a fresh slate of films, movies, and motion pictures to feast upon at your local theater. But before we dive in, it is important that we take a few moments to recognize the cream of last year's cinematic crop. And like all pretentious movie buffs, I've put together a list of the ten films that, in my humble opinion, stood above the rest.

Now, I know what you're asking yourself: Who is this man and what qualifies him to decide which films belong on a top ten list? The truth is, I have no qualifications to speak of, other than the fact that I go to the movies a lot. What I find so endearing about the moviegoing experience is that it varies from person to person, and no one opinion is the definitive answer to whether or not a movie is worth your time. You are free to see and like (and not like) whatever you so choose. No film is going to appeal to or appease everyone, but I guarantee there is at least one film out there for everyone (if not more). All you have to do is take a chance and purchase a ticket.

But, enough romanticizing. I don't want to lose you before we even get into the list. Before we do, I must first offer an important disclaimer: These are the not the 10 Best Movies of 2013. Not even close. I can't even guarantee that you'll like all of the movies on this list. There is no universal grading scale or criteria (at least that I've been made aware of) to determine what film is better than another. It is an impossible task. Instead, what I have assembled here is a list of the movies that I loved the most, and I was able to narrow the list down to ten with the help of multiple viewings, a fair amount of deep thinking, and quite a bit of consternation.

With that in mind, allow me to introduce my Top 10 Movies of 2013:

*HONORABLE MENTION*

Nebraska. How long after you've finished watching a film do you come to the conclusion that you liked it or not? Just a few minutes after the end credits begin to roll? On the drive home? When you're lying in bed that night and staring up at the ceiling, still contemplating the film's merits? It varies from film to film, but in the case of Nebraska, it was in the first few hours after I left the theater, when I began to feel the weight of the final scenes between David Grant and his father Woody Grant. Woody receives a questionable letter in the mail declaring him the winner of a million dollar prize, and David agrees to drive him to Nebraska to claim his prize, after multiple attempts to convince Woody that the letter is a scam fall on deaf ears. David uses the unexpected road trip as a chance to try and get know to his father better, but almost gets more than he bargained for when the two decide to make a pit stop in Woody's home town -- and word gets out that Woody is a soon-to-be "millionaire." What makes so Nebraska so affecting are the performances of veteran character actor Bruce Dern and former Saturday Night Live regular Will Forte as Woody and David, respectively, a father and son whose tenuous relationship is what keeps the film's heart pumping.

10. Star Trek Into Darkness. Outside of a few random samples of Star Trek - The Next Generation, I'd never been much of a Trekkie, until director J.J. Abrams re-launched Captain James T. Kirk and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise for a whole new generation of fans with 2009's franchise reboot Star Trek. While that first film spent a considerable amount of time and effort servicing its diverse cast of characters while also delivering a heaping helping of rollicking sci-fi action, Star Trek Into Darkness sacrifices its supporting characters in favor of a narrative that seems much more interested in the temperamental friendship between Kirk and Spock, both of whom are still at odds over the balance between logic and emotion when it comes to making life-or-death decisions. Their commitment to their respective ideals is put to the test when a former agent of Starfleet (in a cold, calculated performance from rising star Benedict Cumberbatch) launches a terrorist attack against the peace-keeping organization, sending Kirk and crew hurtling through space on a mission of vengeance. While more than a few Trekkies will cry foul over the similarities with Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek Into Darkness is still a blast from start to finish, and Abrams continues to show his considerable talents behind the camera.

9. This Is The End. When the Apocalypse strikes and all of Los Angeles is engulfed in flames, who better to seek shelter with than actors James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride? And thus goes the plot of This Is The End, where a disaster of biblical proportions leaves our favorite celebrities holed up together, struggling to set aside their bloated egos long enough for them to be rescued. What makes This Is The End work so well, aside from the fact that it is one of the most laugh-out-loud comedies I've seen since 2005's Wedding Crashers and 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is the willingness of each actor to lampoon their own public persona. James Franco is a pretentious idiot who decorates his new abode with self-made art, Jonah Hill is a conceited narcissist wafting in an air of self-importance after his recent Oscar nomination for Moneyball, and so on and so forth. There is something endearing about seeing actors, who are often propped up on a pedestal because of their fame and fortune, parodying themselves as self-centered morons, showing a surprising self-awareness for the ridiculousness of their celebrity lives. This Is The End won't get more than a passing mention at the Academy Awards, but it was the most fun I've had at the movie theater in a long time.

8. The Conjuring. The advertising and promotional materials for The Conjuring like to purport that it is based on true events, and while that might be a dubious claim given Hollywood's penchant for embellishing the truth for the sake of drama, the film feels more real than its recent predecessors in the horror genre because it actually gives its characters room to breathe. And while it spends a considerable amount of its running time subjecting those characters to all manner of horrific events, it never forgets that these characters are human beings, as opposed to the cardboard cutouts we've become so accustomed to seeing in lesser horror films. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life ghostbusters Ed and Lorraine Warren, respectively, bring a level of class to The Conjuring that elevates it above your typical spookfest, with Farmiga in particular delivering an exceptional performance as a clairvoyant haunted by the unspeakable things that her gift allows her to see and feel. More than anything, The Conjuring delivers well-crafted, old-school scares, hounding the audience with tension and dread rather than blood and guts, and shows great affection for horror classics like Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror. Even with the chance to grab a cheap scare at the last minute, The Conjuring refuses, demonstrating a strict adherence to the old adage that what you don't see is much more frightening than what you do see.

7. The Wolf of Wall Street. I'm starting to wonder if Leonardo DiCaprio, who was also one of the few bright spots in this year's bloated melodrama The Great Gatsby, is even capable of delivering a bad performance anymore. I'm sure some will point to the recent Clint Eastwood-directed misfire J. Edgar, but then maybe I'll go a level deeper and suggest that Leo is incapable of doing so when under the direction of Martin Scorsese, with The Wolf of Wall Street marking their fifth film together. And what a volcanic collaboration it is, with DiCaprio slipping into the shoes of Jordan Belfort, the real-life Wall Street stockbroker who amassed an absurd fortune for himself and his associates by defrauding unsuspecting investors with fraudulent stock stales. When he isn't high on Quaaludes or cavorting with an endless parade of prostitutes, Belfort can be found on his expensive yacht throwing hundred dollar bills -- and cooked lobsters -- at the FBI agents tasked with bringing him down and putting an end to his depraved circus of sex, drugs, and cash. While some have criticized the film for glorifying Belfort and his cohorts, The Wolf of Wall Street is more of an indictment of capitalism, in that people are quick to criticize the excessive lifestyles of the rich and powerful, yet stand in perpetual awe of their grandiose achievements.

6. 12 Years A Slave. There is a scene in 12 Years A Slave in which Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped from the North and sold into slavery as a plantation worker in the South during the 1800's, is saved from an impromptu lynching by his overseer, only to be left suspended from the tree for hours on end, the noose still gripping his neck and his toes barely able to touch the ground. No one, not his his white masters nor even his fellow slaves, moves to help him. It is a disturbing, uncomfortable sequence that lasts no more than a few minutes on-screen, but, like the film itself, leaves an unsettling impression nonetheless. 12 Years A Slave is as much about the slaves as it is about the slave owners, and considers what kind of physical and emotional wreckage the human soul must bear, both for the man enduring the beating and for the man holding the whip. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender deliver the film's most intense performances as Northup and his sadistic slave owner Edwin Epps, respectively, but newcomer Lupita Nyong'o almost steals the show in a heartbreaking turn as the tragic slave girl Patsey. 12 Years A Slave presents an unflinching glimpse into the horrors of our past, one that perfectly illustrates the ugly inhumanity of slavery, and is the very definition of "a must-see film."

5. The Way, Way Back. When The Way, Way Back first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, critics praised it as a winning throwback to coming-of-age comedies like the camp classic Meatballs, but it almost seemed like a backhanded compliment when most referred to the film as an unashamed crowd-pleaser. The term "crowd-pleaser" has developed somewhat of a negative connotation over the years, as if trying to appease your audience is some kind of sin to be looked down upon. And while I will admit that The Way, Way Back does follow a familiar formula, it is hard to fault the film for pandering when the acting, writing, and directing are all excellent -- that rare, momentous occasion when the cast and crew are firing on all cylinders. Sam Rockwell, predictably, provides the film's most stirring performance as the self-deprecating manager of a local water park, where he helps spark a depressed, lonely teenager to step out of his shell and have some fun with life. After winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for 2011's The Descendants, co-writers and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have established themselves as a formidable filmmaking pair with this their directorial debut, and it is their innate talent for finding levity in even the most somber of situations that has earned them well-deserved recognition.

4. Her. Just from the plot synopsis -- which sees an introverted letter writer struggling with loneliness who falls in love with "Samantha," the new sentient Operating System (OS) for his computer -- you might think Her is a full-length Saturday Night Live sketch parodying the pretentious, self-serious Oscar bait films that often dumbfound audiences but leave critics singing their praises. And while I'm sure that there will be some who leave the theater with that impression, I can guarantee that Her will be the most challenging, thought-provoking film you'll see this year, whether you like it or not. Everyone in Her is struggling to connect, from the customers for whom the lead character Theodore Twombly writes letters to their loved ones on their behalf to the woman who offers to act as a physical surrogate for Samantha so that she can be part of their relationship. Set in the not so distant future, the film uses the blossoming romance between Theodore and his OS -- which is met with equal amounts of elation and revulsion from his closest friends -- to examine modern relationships, and how we too often substitute technology for genuine human connections. There are scenes and ideas in Her that I'm sure will make you feel uncomfortable, but if you give yourself over it, what you'll find is not a love story, but a story about love.

3. American Hustle. American Hustle, director David O. Russell's latest Oscar contender blending the award-winning casts of his previous efforts The Figher and Silver Linings Playbook, is something of a mess. But with a convoluted scheme serving as the centerpiece of the film's loose plot, it falls to the impressive cast to hold the movie together and, in what has become a recurring theme for Russell, they're more than up for the challenge. Presenting a fictionalized dramatization of the real-life FBI sting operation to bring down corrupt New Jersey politicians in the late 70's, American Hustle revolves around con artist Irving Rosenfeld and his partner Sydney Prosser, who are busted by ambitious FBI agent Richie DiMaso and forced to help procure video evidence of Carmine Polito -- the mayor of Camden, New Jersey -- and his political associates accepting bribes. The plot is far less important than the volatile relationships between the various characters, each of them trying to stay one step ahead of the other as their elaborate scheme becomes more and more dangerous. I could rave about all of the lead performances, but the standout, at least for me, is Bradley Cooper, playing against type as DiMaso, the impatient, overeager FBI agent who can't quite seem to control his emotions or keep his reckless ambitions in check.

2. Prisoners. How far would you be willing to go to get back what was taken from you? This is the frightening question that Prisoners forces its audience to consider, as viewers watch with agonizing dread while Hugh Jackman's Keller Dover is pushed to the brink after his six-year-old daughter goes missing. When the police investigation goes nowhere and hours begin to swell into days, Dover decides to take matters into his own hands and kidnaps the prime suspect, clinging desperately to the idea that brute force will coax him into coughing up the location of his daughter. Jackman, who has experienced mixed success when stepping outside of his signature role as X-Men's Wolverine, gives the performance of his career, vanishing into the role of a father crumbling under the weight of his guilt and desperation. Jake Gyllenhaal, as the unrelenting Detective Loki, is every bit as good as his co-star, so much so that the film never misses a beat whenever it shifts to his point of view. But the highest praise is reserved for director Denis Villeneuve, whose masterful execution of a taut and convoluted script is what elevates this film above your standard thriller. Prisoners is the kind of film that will leave you more disturbed than inspired, but the personnel at work here are near flawless, making this gut-wrenching thriller one that you can't afford to miss.

1. The World's End. Writer and director Edgar Wright, with the dynamic acting duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as his unorthodox leading men, satirized the emptiness of modern culture using a zombie outbreak as the backdrop in 2004's Shaun of the Dead and delivered an affectionate homage to the classic tropes and cliches of the buddy cop genre with 2007's Hot Fuzz. These films functioned as the first two installments of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (so-called because of the fleeting inclusion of different flavors of Cornetto brand ice cream in each film), with The World's End serving as a fitting conclusion to this trio of clever comedies. The World's End, in a send-up of the apocalyptic obsession that has taken hold of Hollywood, follows five childhood friends who return home to the small town of Newton Haven to complete an epic pub crawl, but soon discover that the denizens of this forgotten hamlet have become harbingers of an alien invasion. Crawling with pop culture references and layered with dense humor, The World's End offers equal helpings of action and laughs that keep the film moving at a rocket's pace, but also packs an unexpected emotional punch as it tackles the harsh realities of growing up and the disappointment of an adulthood that never quite lived up to the dreams and expectations of adolescence.

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Just A Bit Outside: Gravity, Saving Mr. Banks, Elysium, The Wolverine, Oblivion, and Iron Man 3

Biggest Surprise of The Year: Frozen. I'll be honest, I went into Frozen with zero expectations, knowing next to nothing about the plot and having read none of the glowing reviews that coincided with its release. But Frozen is vintage Disney, the likes of which I haven't seen (outside of Pixar, of course) since 1998's Mulan. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, Frozen centers around the relationship between Elsa, a princess who flees the kingdom for fear that her magical abilities are out of her control, and her sister Anna, who braves an eternal winter to find Elsa and convince her to come back. You'd be hard pressed to find a better animated film this year, and the songs alone -- including Idina Menzel's "Let It Go," which will no doubt garner a much-deserved Best Original Song Oscar -- are well worth the price of admission.