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Filmmaker Matthew Nash Talks About His Work, Influences and Style

Hello again, friends and compatriots! We’re jumping right back into our conversation with the head of Lesley’s Film and Animation department, Matthew Nash. Apart from his academic duties, Matt is an accomplished, award-winning filmmaker, most well-known for his powerful documentary film entitled 16 Photographs at Ohrdruf.

If you missed last week’s post, be sure to give it a look-see here!

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ADAM GREENE: How did you decide to become a filmmaker?

MATTHEW NASH: Totally by accident. I’ve never been an artist who’s particularly wedded to a medium. It’s fine to be wedded to a medium, I’ve just found that for myself, I don’t like having to channel all of my ideas through a tool. I like to find the tool for my idea.

My creative partner, Jason, and I, had done a lot of videos. Experimental, weirdo goofy stuff. And then, super long story super short, we decided to make a mock version of Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March, that actually turned into a serious project.

It was supposed to be a week-long gag, and we ended up doing it for two years. That’s a film that you should never watch. [laughs]
But, I learned a lot. I had moved into that mindset. We did an experimental, semi-narrative piece where the concept was basically two people, who are nowhere, talking using just a microphone and a speaker. [Jason] and I, over the course of several months, recorded all of our phone conversations, transcribed them, edited them, and then turned that into a script.

On its face, this could be a profoundly boring 15 minute short film. The solution that we came up with was that we wanted to take the production level to 11.

We rented 18 foot cranes, 20 feet of dolly track, really good microphones, really good production team, the whole nine yards. It was that experience that got me hooked on production, on process.

When [16 Photographs at] Ohrdruf fell into my lap, I didn’t even know what to do with it.

The backstory is that my grandfather died in 1991, and after he died, we found this packet of photos that he had taken at the liberation of a concentration camp called Ohrdruf.

In 2008, when Barrack Obama was campaigning for the presidency, on the campaign trail, he says something like, “My uncle liberated Auschwitz.” And of course, big scandal, because America didn’t liberate Auschwitz, the Russians did.

They found his uncle, and they interviewed him, and it turns out that he was at the Ohrdruf camp. So all of a sudden, I’ve got the uncle of the future president of the United States and my grandfather, and I can put them in the same place.

I dug out the photos, and honest to God, I didn’t know what I was going to do. Having just done the project inspired by Ross McElwee, his very personal narrative process, I thought, “That might be my approach to this. As I try to figure out these pictures, I’ll just bring a camera along, and see what happens.”

Initially it was just going to be some YouTube shorts, but a really close friend of mine is a high-end editor in New York, and he said, “I’ll edit this for you.” And my partner and producer in New York said, “I’ll produce this for you.” And he also wanted to do the soundtrack.

Once everything came together, and I started doing the research into the photographs, it followed its own course. If you watch the film, it more or less is chronological to what I did.

AG: How has your experience working on documentary filmmaking influenced your narrative filmmaking?

MN: I think I’m still getting my feet under my knee as a narrative filmmaker. I really enjoyed the sci-fi film, but when I watch it now, there’s some stilted dialogue or, you know, I could have given more direction at a certain point, things like that. These are the things you learn.

The big difference that I have found is that when you’re working in a doc mode, you lay out an outline, or sort of a trajectory that you want to take your viewer on. Then you set out to find people to interview, or find footage to meet the needs of each stage of the process. And as you find people, they tell you things that you hadn’t expected, so you’re constantly tweaking your script or your outline.

Whereas with narrative, the script is everything. You’ve made or broken your project before you’ve ever done a casting day. If you don’t have a good script, everything after that is wasted effort.

There are areas where editing, acting, rewrites can save you, but if you’ve set yourself out on a bad course, you’re stuck on that.

I have learned, as I look toward doing narrative work, to be much more upfront about flaws in scripts, whether they’re things I’m helping my friends on, or students are sending me, or my own scripts.

One of the big lessons from last summer was just making sure that you are on the right track, that you really understand what you are doing. You know how it is on set, your camera guy has a great shot, or your lighting guy can’t light the space that you want, and you have to be adaptable and you have to be flexible.

VIKTOR HERRMANN: Do you think your documentary background gives you an advantage in being flexible?

MN: I hope so. My own self criticism of when we did the sci-fi film is, I think, [that] I was too flexible. I think the project really would have benefited from a director, me, taking a much harder line about some compromises that were made. I think we would have made a stronger project if we had taken the extra two minutes to move that light or to reposition that tripod or whatever it is.

The thing that you can do with documentaries is you can go, “I’ll live with that.” I think the thing you can’t do with narrative is say, “I’ll live with that.”

AG: What advice would you give to students or filmmakers in general that are wading into the corporate sphere? A lot of corporate places don’t have time to help write scripts with you. They might say, “Well, just bring your camera and start unfolding the story, you’ll figure it out.”

MN: One of the things that I would advise people in that circumstance is to have your own script, air quotes here, ready to go. Have your default model firmly established. So if you’re hired in a corporate situation to do an on-the-fly thing, walk in the door knowing, “Here’s how I tell a story. It begins here, it goes here, it climbs to here, it falls to here, rises back up and ends.”

If you’re going to have to work on-the-fly, how do you assess which elements in front of you meet the needs of basic storytelling 101?

It takes skill, it takes practice, it takes an eye. It takes being able to recognize when the world is giving you the thing [that you’re looking for], and getting a camera on it.

If you’re just pointing your camera at things because somebody gave you a paycheck, you’re not going to make a good product.

One thing I say to my students is all of the thinking and understanding and planning and research and immersion into your medium, all of that happens before you ever take the lens cap off.

If you haven’t done that work, if you don’t understand your medium or how you speak with it, you’re just making footage.

AG: Why is video important as a teaching or marketing tool?

MN: I think where we have gotten with our video tools is that it democratizes things. It makes it fast. It makes it accessible. When I was a student, if you wanted to make a film, the process was arduous. But today, I could grab a video camera, and tell a story really quickly.

Nowadays folks who are working in video have to incorporate a vocabulary of cinema, of narrative. It doesn’t matter if you’re going into a corporate environment, an academic environment. You’re bringing to the tool all of its history and all of its vocabulary.

Partially because we are so media saturated, I think people are bringing a lot of that stuff intuitively now.

VH: Would you say there are benefits, even if you’re not pursuing film or video as a career, to having video skills?

MN: Oh, I think so. It’s one of the major and rising vocabularies that we have. Your phone shoots video now. Your phone shoots photos too, but more and more as I scroll through Facebook, I notice: It’s video. And frankly, there’s a lot of bad video out there.

One of the things that I know we’re going to face when we launch the digital filmmaking program, because we already face this in the photography program, is, “Oh, hey, I shot some cool pictures with my phone. I’m a photographer.”

This is not to devalue our students; anywhere a student develops a love for photography is totally valuable. But the ease of use and the ease of access [has made it so] amateurs can very quickly think that they’re professionals.

I think the same is going to hold true for filmmaking. “I shot a great short video on my phone.” Awesome! You know what? You can do professional quality work with your phone. But it has nothing to do with the phone. [laughs]
It has to do with whether you can use a cinematic vocabulary.

VH: Is there something that has influenced your filmmaking that perhaps doesn’t come from film, that perhaps would surprise people?

MN: Sure. So many things. One of the things that I talk about with my students is that inspiration comes from everywhere. You can go to the library and get the art history books, but you might be sitting at home watching an episode of The Simpsons, and it just clicks.

What goes in eventually comes out. I consume as much as I can get my hands on. I love 1950s horror comics. In fact, film students are all going to be required to read at least one volume of something from Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, Weird Science, the classic EC 1950-1955 Golden Age.

I think filmmakers should fall in love with this stuff, because it’s formulaic storytelling 101. By the time you’ve read 5 or 6 Tales from the Crypt stories, you’re like, “Oh, this is just formula.”

If you can take your brain to the next step, you can be like, “You know what? It’s a formula that I should probably learn.” If you go back to the 80s, HBO did what, 9 or 10 seasons of Tales from the Crypt episodes.

These comics are the script, the formula that allows you to do a successful 9 or 10 season series. Every episode is standalone. Think about The Twilight Zone.

It’s very formulaic. It begins in a certain way, it unfolds in a certain way, it reveals in a certain way, it climaxes in a certain way, it concludes in a certain way. Every time.

VH: And yet it’s still one of the greatest pieces of television ever.

MN: Exactly. Because you know what you’re going to get. And even though it’s different actors, different characters, different stories, you know.

And on one hand, it’s boring television watching. If you’re an educated viewer, you’re like, “Yawn.” But if you’re going to make this stuff? The thing I always tell my students is, “You can’t break the rules until you know the rules.”

To a certain extent, these are our rules.

AG: Can you talk about collaboration and the importance of developing good working relationships?

MN: Sure. I have lots of friends doing cool stuff, but it’s not like I picked my friends because they were going to be film producers or anything. I met some these guys when I was 16. I always tell my students, “If you surround yourself with cool and interesting and motivated people, they’re going to grow up to be cool, interesting, motivated people who do cool stuff.”

AG: I would say that applies to crews, too. I’d much rather work with somebody that I really click with, that I think is a really smart, reliable person, rather than just somebody who knows how to operate a camera really well. Because that first person will be able to learn how to use the camera really well with time. You can teach people, and you can teach skills, but it’s much harder to teach people skills.

MN: Yeah! On my sci-fi film last summer, we were a small crew so everybody wore multiple hats. Our associate producer, Rob, was also our lighting guy. And he brought this guy that he had been working with and liked, and the guy just flaked. He worked for half the morning, checked his phone, was like, “Oh, I’m bored,” and left.

This was a volunteer gig, whatever. But Rob cut him loose. This was his number one guy, and he dropped to the bottom of the list. Meanwhile, the boyfriend of somebody on my crew, his name was Joe, shows up, does an amazing job, and ends up getting hired.

Rule number one is just don’t be a dick.

AG: [laughs] That’s a great rule.

VH: Just for life in general.

MN: Yeah! It’s a people based business. You hire who you trust. I got offered a job in Hawaii a couple of years ago, and one of the things that absolutely terrified me was leaving behind this whole network of people that were beer-and-pizza friends, and I know if I called them up and was like, “Hey, I want to do a short film,” – I actually did this recently, I said, “Hey, Rob, I’m interesting in doing a short film,” and he said yes before I even told him the title or when it was or anything.

Having that network of people who trust each other… that’s how it works.

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16 Photographs at Ohdruf can be found on Hulu, Vimeo, or Amazon Prime. Be sure to check out Matt’s, http://www.mr-nash.com, to find out even more about the man and stay current on what he’s cooking up next.

April 16, 2015
Harold Ramis Shares Some Words of Wisdom About Film’s Future

Mr. Stay Puft lives again during the 25th Anniversary screening of Ghostbusters at the 2009 Nantucket Film Festival
What a blow. By now you’ve probably heard Harold Ramis, the force behind such movies as Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, and Analyze This, has passed at the age of 69. In honor of his legacy, I thought I would skip the circumstances of his death and the array of films he gave us, which you undoubtedly already know by now, and instead tell you an inspirational story of my brief interaction with him at the Nantucket Film Festival in 2009.

The highlight of the festival that year had to have been Ramis himself, who was in attendance for three main reasons: to receive the Screenwriter’s Tribute, to premiere his new film Year One, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ghostbusters. As someone who grew up with Ghostbusters, was completely transfixed by the multilayered themes and messages of one of my all time favorites Groundhog Day, and depended on Analyze This for more than one DVD date night, it was a particularly meaningful few days for me.

First of all, I was tasked to be on the team blowing up the actual 25 foot Stay Puft Marshmallow Man that was used to market Ghostbusters when it premiered in 1984. Come on—does it get any cooler than that? This float dominated the skies, and stared out at the Atlantic from Siasconset’s Casino theater on the south side of the island. Getting Mr. Stay Puft to cooperate was a challenge, but somehow the group was able to cross the streams and get him into his new 2009 role as Mr. Stay Put. As guests arrived for a special screening of a brand new 35mm print of the film, he greeted them to their awe and delight.

I met Ramis during the screening of Year One, while I was in the front entryway waiting for the film to end. With everyone seated in the theater watching the movie, Ramis stepped out some point near the middle to have some time to himself. Year One turned out to be not one his better movies (4.9 on IMDB, a 14% on Rotten Tomatoes), so perhaps the typical “director in the back gauging the audience reaction” wasn’t necessary in his mind. Factor in how many times he must have seen the film while editing, and perhaps it’s easy to understand why he would be stepping out. Whatever the reason, Ramis chose a wooden bench by the ticket booth, and got involved with some game or texting activity on his phone—I can’t recall which, though if I had to guess I’d say some kind of game.

After a few minutes of this he took a brief nap, but must have had some internal clock wake him about 10 minutes before the end of the film. As he looked around, no phone in hand, I thought “if I’m ever going to talk to him this would be the chance,” so I did.

It’s amazing how cool and collected you can head into a conversation with someone of his stature, and then completely out of character get all tongue twisted once you started speaking. That was me, but fortunately I found my steady voice before we got to a level of embarrassment. He smiled as I sputtered, knowing we both knew he was being very gracious to let me occupy some of his time, something no doubt countless fans and filmmakers had done before. I think he was amused not by the fact that I was trying to tell him how much I respected his work, but more by the direction I took our talk, which he seemed surprisingly engaged by.

After the pleasantries and unnecessary gushing, I finally got to what I thought would be the most relevant and purposeful discussion I could come up with on the spot. I asked him if he thought film as we knew it would survive. Did he feel the access digital video gave filmmakers, with its ease, price, and increasing quality, would implode the professional market, and ultimately for those reasons overcome “Hollywood” looking content? Would the storytelling suffer? Would the good stuff be able to compete with quality gear getting so cheap, and the potential noisy flood of bad content springing up online more every day? And more so, would there even be a career in film by the time I “made it,” if that time ever came?

He thought for a moment, and after reflecting on this told me that while the technology had changed in the past few decades, the core of filmmaking, the very root of motion pictures, was in capturing and telling a good story. “We can’t stop the way society is changing this profession,” he said, “so while it may become harder to get your work in front of large audiences, or into traditional theaters, or to get your film backed by a big studio so you can make the big bucks, in the end whoever can adapt and embrace the circumstances best will come out okay. If you love making films, just keep making films.”

He asked me what I had done to advance my career, so I told him about starting Green Lens Media, and about making my first feature in high school years ago under a SAG student contract. He reiterated that while film as a format and industry would change, there would always be room for new stories and new filmmakers, who yes, could make careers of it if they worked hard enough for it. It was a sobering thing to hear that the industry I’d been pursuing for nearly a decade at the time was, according to this Hollywood insider, bound to be different, but also refreshing that he was so optimistic about its future considering.

I was fortunate to get to hear this insight from Ramis, and it stuck with me despite the many other speaking events I saw him at throughout the festival. Most people wanted answers to things like “what was it like working with Bill Murray,” and “what’s the funniest thing that happened behind the scenes on such-and-such movie?” It’s sometimes easy to forget while starstruck that these are just people after all; people who, of course, are talented, but are also hard-working and even a little lucky. They might be able to point to a particular instance where they were in the right place at the right time to catch some opportune “break,” but isn’t that just something that would have happened eventually another way anyway, if not that way? In other words, if you work hard enough, if you “just keep making films,” eventually that lucky break will find you.

Thanks, Harold, for all of your comedic genius for the time you were here. Thank you for your reassurances about the film business, and for believing in film’s future, as murky as it seems sometimes. I’d like to think that when we see an Egon hard at work inventing something, or a Dr. Sobel trying to figure out how to not die this time, or a Phil Connors making humor when there was none despite a desperate situation, there is in each instance an inevitable and eventual hope that evolves at some moment into something we have been looking forward to. It’s a great message, one that I and other filmmakers are inspired to see and be reminded of. You will be greatly missed, and I wish you all the best on your journey as I continue down mine, and continue making films.

On a side note, if you ever care to haunt GLM (especially our scriptwriting software), that would be just fine; I promise you would be given Slimer status (the endeared, free-to-roam friend Slimer, not streamed-into-the-Trap Slimer).

All the best,
Adam

Leave a comment! What are some of your favorite Harold Ramis movie moments, and what is your opinion on the future of the film industry?

February 24, 2014
The Right Song, The Right Movie

I love all forms of art: visual art, music, performance, storytelling, etc. Movies are great because they combine so many of them. Among the best examples of this is the use of the perfect song in a film—the right song coming together with the right image. The combination creates moments that resonate with us. They make us think about the images the movie showed us anytime we hear the song. In fact, a very strong argument could be made that these are the most cinematic moments in movies.

There’s far too many to choose from, but let’s break down just a few memorable moments, and attempt to examine closely why it is they work so well.

GOODFELLAS – “Atlantis” by Donovan

Here, I could just write “the entire movie” and move on. Martin Scorsese’s always been a director famous for the brilliant use of soundtracks in his movies. Goodfellas is perhaps the finest example of that. From Tony Bennett’s “Rags to Riches” launching us into the world of the gangster, the famous dead-body montage set to the outro of “Layla”, to the schizophrenic medley of classic rock and blues hits that take us through the paranoid, unbelievably fast moving life of a coked-out Henry Hill. The music reflects the emotional and mental state of the characters throughout all these sections of the story, and that’s why it’s so effective.

Goodfellas is filled to the brim with amazing uses of popular songs, but perhaps my favorite is the scene in which Billy Batts is brutally beaten within an inch of his life, set to Donovan’s peaceful, beautiful hippie anthem “Atlantis”.

At first, the song is very much in the background, almost unnoticeable on a first viewing. Donovan’s poetry (no singing here) over mellow chords comes in as Billy Batts and Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) are having a seemingly friendly chat at a bar. Tommy (Joe Pesci) enters the bar, the look on his face (and the fact that he was just insulted by Batts in the previous scene) telling us that some heavy stuff is about to go down.

The calm, gentle music makes this quick rise in tension even more unbearable. Then… as Batts notices Pesci behind him, and DeNiro grabs a hold of his neck, a powerful drum fill takes us into the chorus. The music then gets bumped up in the mix, and the combination of its serene, catchy melody with the brutal beating we’re witnessing is shocking and horrifying—as the director intends it to be. Above all, though, it’s unforgettable.

The cherry on top comes towards the end of the scene. The music dips down a little as Pesci looks over to Ray Liotta and says “I didn’t wanna get blood on your floor,” then it picks up again as we cut from his reaction—stunned and made all the more powerful by the music’s increase in volume.

SPIDER-MAN 2 – “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” by B.J. Thompson

You rarely hear pop songs in superhero movies, and if this scene is any indication of how well the combo can work, it’s a shame. To set the scene up for those of you who might not be familiar with Spider-Man 2 (and if you’re not, shame on you!), the film is all about Peter Parker’s struggle to balance his personal life (his desires) with his job as Spider-Man (his responsibility). About halfway though the movie, he gets fed up and decides he’s not going to be Spider-Man anymore. So much so that he throws his costume in the trash! Gasp! Fade to black.

From the darkness… the most beautiful ukulele chords, followed by the sun shining brightly at us. Then, right as the vocals come in, Peter walks into frame. Smiling. Blissful. Relaxed. The first time we’ve seen him be this way in the entire film. I really do consider this to be an almost magical sequence in the film. “Raindrops Keep Fallin” has been used in a number of movies (Forrest Gump, Clerks II), but never so perfectly as it’s used here.

The lyrics, all about a person who has decided to be happy, even if raindrops keep falling on his head, fit so well with Peter’s state of mind during this portion of the movie, it’s scary. I almost feel like I don’t need to explain any further. Just watch the scene, and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

This is true movie magic. It’s as if the song was recorded specifically to be used over this scene. I honestly can’t even begin to think of another song that would have fit better.

DJANGO UNCHAINED – “Freedom” by Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton

Like Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaker known for the exceptional use of popular music in his films. Pulp Fiction practically invites the audience to dance at certain points. Even though his last two movies have been period pieces (this and Inglourious Basterds), Tarantino doesn’t let that be a boundary. While neither Django nor Basterds are filled with pop music the way Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown are, he still does use it, and to shockingly effective degrees.

Take this scene: Django asks a slave on a plantation if she’s seen the Brittle brothers—his former owners, and the men he is looking for. She points one of them out to Django, he takes out one of those old-style retractable telescopes, and observes. As he spots him, the song’s rhythmic drums and tribal-style background vocals kick in.

We cut to a flashback. The Brittle brothers. Tying Django’s wife, ready to whip her. Django pleads to spare her. The music is quite loud here, but the focus remains on Django’s desperate begging, and Broomhilda’s resilient face, getting ready for what she knows is coming.

The song continues, loud and powerful, as we cut from Django and Broomhilda getting ready to escape, to Broomhilda about to be punished and Django pleading. Then… the whip cracks. Broomhilda’s gut wrenching scream fades into the chorus, now louder and more booming than ever.

It’s horrifying. It literally sends goosebumps up my arm every time I watch the movie. This is a hard, hard scene to watch. The music’s loud, unrelenting bass line underlines the horror of this, and is one of the main reasons why this scene is not only so tough to watch, but also so gripping.

As I said at the beginning of this post, there are COUNTLESS other examples of great songs used to great effects in great movies. What are some of your favorites?

February 13, 2014
The Top 13 Films of 2013

Movie lovers, rejoice. Great storytelling is still alive, well, and kicking like an over-caffeinated donkey. 2013 seemed like it was going to be a year film buffs would remember almost from the start. By the time it was over, there was no doubt about it.

Before we start the list (arranged in descending order for the most dramatic umfh), I feel obligated to say that this is all only my opinion. Film is subjective, and what I found amazing, riveting and engaging, someone else might find boring, predictable and just plain stupid.

That said: one of the best things about movies is the discussions they open up. So, if you strongly disagree about some of my choices (or would just like to share your opinion, whatever it may be), I urge you to leave a reply below and start a dialogue.

Finally, I did not get a chance to see some of this year’s most acclaimed movies — namely 12 Years a Slave and Nebraska — so it’s very possible I missed out on some real gold.

With all that out of the way, let’s get on to my picks for 2013’s best films.

13. SPRING BREAKERS

This was one of the first movies I saw this year, and boy, did it make an impression. Unrelenting, hypnotizing and unforgettable. Like many great works of art, Spring Breakers takes a decisive moral stand. It presents the world of spring break for everything that it is – a nightmare flimsily disguised as a fantasy.

Also, say what you will about James Franco, but his performance here is one that absolutely glues your eyes to the screen and dares you to look away. It’s a peculiar role, and one many actors would be too afraid to tackle. But he does so with a fierceness that is incredible to watch.

12. THE WAY, WAY BACK

Movies about angsty teenagers are a dime a dozen, so it’s always a real treat when one comes along that manages to defy expectations. This certainly does that. Just as much about the adults as it is about the teens, The Way, Way Back is funny, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. It’s a feel-good movie the way feel-good movies should be done.

Special props to Sam Rockwell (who is always a joy to watch) and Steve Carell, who branches off and plays someone unlike anyone else he’s ever played — a genuine jerk.

11. MUD

The fact that a movie this good didn’t even crack the top 10 tells you a whole lot about film in 2013. Like writer/director Jeff Nichols’ previous work Take Shelter, this is a deliberately paced character study with a unique down-on-the-bayou feel.

As fantastic as Matthew McConaughey is (and boy, did he have a run of quality performances this year), the real star of the show is Tye Sheridan, the young actor who basically carries the movie on his shoulders. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

10. AMERICAN HUSTLE

Let me get this out of the way: This is a flawed film. HOWEVER — and this is a big however — if you gave me Blu-ray copies of every movie on this list, I’d probably pop in American Hustle more often than any of them.

It’s a blast from start to finish, a treat for both your eyes and ears, and one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences I’ve had all year (twice). In particular, I want to point out the opening scene which is simply Christian Bale (who in my opinion gives the performance of the year here) putting on a hair piece. It’s so simple, yet so effective in telling you everything you need to know about the character. Brilliant storytelling, and a whole heap of fun, even if the entire package is slightly uneven.

9. BLUE JASMINE

Man, Cate Blanchett really killed it here. We all know she’s going to win the Oscar, and damn right, if you ask me. She’s impossible to take your eyes off of. I’ve heard a lot of people say this is a return to form for Woody Allen. I can’t speak to that, as I’ve only seen half a handful of his movies, but for a movie that is essentially people in rooms talking for an hour and a half, this is a blast.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll thank your lucky stars your life isn’t as dysfunctional.

8. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

As great as so many movies were in 2013, one genre seemed to disappoint: the blockbuster. I’m sure many of you will disagree, but personally, I found practically every big-budget extravaganza disappointing. In particular, Thor: The Dark World, The Great Gatsby and especially Star Trek Into Darkness.

So by the time The Hunger Games: Catching Fire rolled around, I had lost a lot of faith in big-budget/special effect pictures. And then I watched it. Holy crap.

This is top-tier filmmaking from first frame to last. I won’t say much more about it, in case you haven’t seen it yet, except SEE IT. The first Hunger Games was a really solid teen action-drama, but this transcends the genre. It’s The Dark Knight of teen sci-fi/action movies. If you still can, definitely try to see it on the big screen.

7. KILL YOUR DARLINGS

This was yet another surprise. I saw this for one reason: Dane DeHaan. He is someone I consider to be amongst the finest actors working today, especially for his age. And while I certainly got a great DeHaan performance, I also got a whole lot more.

This is a dark, engrossing film that pulls no punches and makes no apologies. If you enjoy films that deal with the darker side of youth, and explore interesting subcultures, this is for you. Check it out. Really great editing in this, too.

6. DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

Now we’re really talking. This is one of the finest character arcs I’ve seen in a very long time. Most great actors give an award worthy performance once every few years – this year alone, Matthew McConaughey gave three (we’ll get to the third). He’s unbelievable in this, as is Jared Leto, who transforms himself in the role of a pre-op transgender woman.

Those two performance are worth the price of admission alone, but Dallas Buyers Club also has an incredibly tight, smart script that’s only made better by Jean-Marc Vallée’s confident direction.

5. HER

Romantic movies aren’t usually my thing. Sure, there’s plenty I do like, but for the most part, I find them to be very typical and not particularly interesting. Spike Jonez’s Her almost seems like a response to that complaint.

The film follows genre tropes more closely than you might expect, but it does something utterly fresh and unique with them. Perhaps what I enjoyed most was the subtle sci-fi setting, which while a major part of the film, never overbears the characters, as it does in so many other sci-fi movies.

Though a few moments might not land as well as intended, this film is really something special.

4. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

Prequels are hard to get right. Actually, I take that back. Prequels are almost impossible to get right. After all, movies are all about change — characters going through arcs — and by definition, a prequel means we will be seeing characters that have yet to go through the change that drew us to them in the first place.

The result is usually sloppy, unnecessary and most of all not nearly as interesting as the previous movies. But somehow, Pixar pulled it off.

Monsters University has no right to be as good as it is. Yet, it is. It really, really is. It stands shoulder to shoulder with almost any of Pixar’s best, and like them, it is a spectacular achievement – made all the more so when you think about how much of a train wreck it could have been.

3. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

Like Monsters University, Inside Llewyn Davis is a movie that shouldn’t work. It has no real plot, its protagonist doesn’t really change at all by the end, and yet… it is never once dull, never once pointless, and never for a moment not compelling. Indeed, it is the exact opposite.

If Coen brothers’ humor is your thing, you’ll probably find this a melancholy, but hilarious movie. If it’s not, you’ll probably be depressed for days. Either way, you’ll likely find yourself sucked into the cold world of the early 60s New York folk scene.

And if you wanna talk about Oscar snubs, few things fit the bill better than Oscar Isaac not getting nominated for his performance here.

2. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

Once again, Martin Scorsese shows all the kids how it’s done. The legendary filmmaker may be 71 years old, but here he has crafted a film more full of unrelenting life and energy than anything even remotely comparable by his much younger peers. This is Goodfellas for the 21st century.

The fast pace, almost constant voice over and subject matter certainly makes this a spiritual successor to both Goodfellas and Casino, but thanks to an entirely different cast, scriptwriter and cinematographer, it manages to stand on its own.

Like in those films, Scorsese takes a strong moral stand while also presenting these characters with absolute honesty. The Wolf of Wall Street is not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle it, this is a movie that will entertain you like crazy, then make you hate yourself for being so entertained in the first place. It’s riveting stuff that will stay with you long after the credit rolls.

PS: Though he’s only in the film for the first 20 or so minutes, Matthew McConaughey hits his third home run of the year here. Well done, Matthew. Now leave some work for the rest of Hollywood.

1. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

I went to the theatre to see this movie early in 2013, knowing next to nothing about it. By the time the lights came up, I knew I had witnessed something really special. This isn’t just the best film of the year. This is the best film of the last several years. Walking out of the theatre, I knew there was hardly any chance I would see a movie this good by the time 2013 ended. While The Wolf of Wall Street made me doubt that, in the end, I had to give it up to Pines.

To me, this is nothing short of a modern American masterpiece. It features career defining performances from all the leads — especially Eva Mendes and Bradley Cooper – and is the quickest 2 hours and 20 minutes you’ll have at the movies this side of The Dark Knight.

It’s the kind of movie that won’t do the math for you. It forces you to think, to put the dots together in your head, and it refuses to succumb to your expectations. A lot of people will be turned off by some of the directions this movie goes in, but all that means is that this is a movie that takes real risks. And oh lord, is it refreshing to see that.

From the acting, to the gorgeous cinematography, haunting score, and razor sharp editing, The Place Beyond the Pines is indeed a cinematic masterpiece.

Also, although this is predominately an actor’s movie, I don’t consider it an overstatement to say it features the finest chase scene I have ever seen.

If you haven’t checked this movie out yet… do it.

The chances we’ll get a year so full to the brim with great movies is rare, but let’s just be grateful we got this one, eh?

What were some of your favorites from 2013?

January 23, 2014