Top 10 of Everything: Arts and Entertainment

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Top 10 Best Movies

See the rest of TIMEs Top 10 of Everything 2013 lists here

10. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Who could guess, after the meandering first feature in a seemingly unnecessary eight hour trilogy of films !ased on a novel of less than "00 pages, that #eter $ac%son had such a vigorous and thrilling middle episode in store& With Bil!o 'Martin (reeman), *andalf 'Ian Mc+ellen) and the d,arves finally done ,ith introductory da,dling, they dive into a nonstop adventure among the no!le Elves, the rough he,n humans of -a%eto,n and the ferocious dragon .maug 'voiced !y Benedict /um!er!atch)0 This time, 1ndy .er%is has not lent his presence to *ollum, !ut his ,or% as second unit director is spectacular0 Each comple2 encounter, especially a flume ride escape of the d,arves, !oasts a teeming ingenuity of action and character0 1 !onus3 the !udding romance of the ,arrior Elf Tauriel 'Evangeline -illy) and the d,arf hun% +ili '1idan Turner)0 In all, this is a splendid achievement, close to the grandeur of $ac%sons -ord of the 4ings films0

9. 12 Years a Slave

Francois Duhamel / Fox Searchlight

.outhern ,hites of the pre /ivil War plantation aristocracy !elieved themselves *ods chosen, and their slaves inhuman0 1s sho,n in this searing film document 5 an anti Gone With the Wind 5 the masters ,ere the madmen, inferior !ut in charge0 The first t,o feature films of 1nglo 1frican director .teve Mc6ueen, ,hose first t,o features, 7unger and .hame, proved him a picture poet of physical degradation0 7ere, ,or%ing from $ohn 4idleys script !ased on the 189" memoir of .olomon :orthup, a free !lac% :e, ;or%er a!ducted into servitude, Mc6ueen immerses vie,ers in the magnolia scented hell to ,hich :orthup '/hi,etel E<iofor) ,as e2iled0 ;ou ,ill recoil at every punishment, feel each slur, ,ith an immediacy that ma%es the long ago, =peculiar institution> of slavery sting li%e a ,hiplash0 To this hot content, Mc6ueen applies cool imagery0 The movie has the eerie impact of a museum e2hi!it? it is a diorama of

atrocity, populated !y varying forms of monstrosity 'Michael (ass!ender and Benedict /um!er!atch as the main slave o,ners) and !enevolence 'Brad #itt as a /anadian a!olitionist), and humani@ed !y the smoldering restraint of E<iofors performance0

8. The Act of Killing

Drafthouse Films

In 1AB9, the thug 1n,ar /ongo ,as hired !y the Indonesian government to stamp out the threat of /ommunism? he and his fello, gangsters formed paramilitary sCuads that tortured and %illed thousands of innocents0 :early a half century later, 1n,ar and many of his colleagues are still around, still protected !y the politicians in charge, and ready to reenact their atrocities0 $oshua Dppenheimers ama@ing documentary gives that opportunity to men ,ho gre, up idoli@ing Brando and #acino and are pleased to star in their o,n crude !iopics0 To more closely resem!le his

young self, 1n,ar dyes his hair and gets ne, teeth0 7e rehearses garroting a man ,ith a ,ire, to the laughter and applause of the ,omen ,atching0 Ma%ing the movies, ,hich vault from film noir to !i@arre musical, eventually gets under 1n,ars s%in and into his dreams? the pearly %iller is finally afflicted ,ith nightmares0 (or any vie,er, the effect is no less haunting0

7. Frozen

Disney

#rincess Elsa has po,ers of sorcery !eyond her control3 she can and does cast a nuclear ,inter on her northern %ingdom0 7er sister 1nna is the normal one, falling in love at the first sight of any eligi!le male, yet !ound to confront her sister and save their realm0 The first animated feature in the Walt Eisney studios glorious history to offer t,o princess heroines, (ro@en transforms

7ans /hristian 1ndersens =The .no, 6ueen> into a fa!le of modern, timeless sisterhood0 (or this full musical enchantment, Writer $ennifer -ee and co director /hris Buc% tapped some of the Broad,ay musicals !rightest lights 5 composers 4o!ert -ope@ and +risten 1nderson -ope@ and actor singers Idina Men@el 'Elsa), +risten Bell '1nna) and $onathan *roff 'as the gruff mountain man +ristoff) 5 and poured all comic inspiration into the sno,man character Dlaf 'voiced ,ith irrepressi!le enthusi ,oo@y asm !y The Boo% of Mormons $osh *ad)0 7is sho, stopping set piece =In .ummer> provides the finest t,o minutes of cinema youll seer this year0

6. Furious 6

Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures

#lanes, trains and automo!iles collide spectacularly in the fourth (ast F (urious movie to !e directed !y $ustin -in and ,ritten !y

/hris Morgan0 In a reunion of Gin Eiesel, the late #aul Wal%er, their gang and girlfriends and EE1 agent E,ayne $ohnson, (urious B vrooms from Tenerife to Mosco, to -ondon, ,ith astounding stunts in each location, and hitches a ride on a military cargo plane for the final !ra,l0 Where (ast (ive heralded the :e, 7olly,oods e2altation of sensational action over su!tle character, Furious 6 revs everything up, purifies and improves it to a level even cooler and more aerodynamically delirious than its predecessor, if such a thing is even mathematically possi!le0 This adrenaline sto%ing series is addictive, for its chases, crashes, crushes 5 and for its poetic limning of the closest camaraderie many men can ever %no,3 ,ith their cars0 D,ning one, some auto holic says, is li%e a marriage0 =;eah,> another guy replies, =!ut ,hen you !rea% up they dont ta%e half your shit0>

5. The

ran!master

The Weinstein Company

4unning at H hours and 10 minutes in its ,orld premiere at the Berlin (ilm (estival, Wong +a, ,ais dreamy !iopic of martial arts master Ip Man ,as cut !y HH minutes 5 one fifth of its running time 5 !y I0.0 distri!utor The Weinstein /ompany0 Thats a crime a%in to cutting random holes in a Bosch or Breughel painting? !ut ,hats left is choice0 The 7ong +ong director ma%es super! movies 'Chungking Express, n the !ood for "ove, 20#6) that ignore narrative drive for tales of romance and regret in a rapturous visual style of slo mo imagery and ha@y closeups of ,istful stars0 Tony -eung /hiu ,ai, ,ho loo%s li%e a more !eautiful D!ama, plays Ip Man as a poet of gestural precision, in com!at scenes choreographed !y the great ;uen Wo ping 'The !$trix, %ill &ill)0 -eungs partner in reverie is a female doctor, daughter and martial artist played !y Jhang Jiyi 'Crou'hing Tiger( )idden *r$gon)? she e2udes a goddesss solemn grandeur and is given a divas final aria 5 a fittingly elegiac clima2 for a ,orld class filmma%er ,hos al,ays in the mood for lost love0

4. her

Warner Bros.

In a future -os 1ngeles so near Itopian that no scene ta%es place in a car, Theodore T,om!ly '$oaCuin #hoeni2) has a <o! composing love letters for other people0 #rofligately romantic, !ruised !y the failure of his marriage to /atherine '4ooney Mara), he has enough sentiment left over to fall truly, madly, deeply in love ,ith a computer operating system ,ho calls herself .amantha '.carlett $ohansson)0 Their virtual affair might !e the spring!oard to satire, !ut ,riter director .pi%e $on@e instead creates a splendid anachronism3 a modern rom com that is laugh and cry and ,arm all over, totally s,eet and utterly serious0 Dr, if you ,ill, utterly .iri0 #hoeni2 corrals the dulcet melancholy of a man ,hose emotional pain finds refuge in .amanthas em!race, in a love that, to misCuote #hillip +0 Eic%, is =more human than human0> #hoeni2 and $on@e sho, ,hat its li%e ,hen a mourning heart comes alive 5 !ecause he, Theodore, loves 7er0 1nd I, 4ichard, loved her0

3. American Hustle

Francois Duhamel / Annapurna Productions / Columbia Pictures

7istory remade as spar%ling farce3 the (BIs late 70s 1!scam investigation of political corruption, ,hich led to the conviction of a I0.0 .enator and seven /ongressmen, !ecomes this headlong tale of romance and rec%lessness0 In director Eavid D0 4ussells third consecutive movie a!out mismatched couples and their cra@y families, after The Fighter and Silver "inings +l$y,ook, 1 :e, ;or% con artist '/hristian Bale) <uggles a mouthy ,ife '$ennifer -a,rence) and a cunning girl friend '1my 1dams) ,hile reluctantly cooperating ,ith the sting 5 supervised !y a federal agent 'Bradley /ooper) 5 of a :e, $ersey mayor '$eremy 4enner)0 =.ome of this actually happened,> reads the movies opening te2t? !ut 4ussell and co,riter Eric Warren .inger arent going for verisimilitude0 This portrait of the 70s revels in the

decades gaudiness 5 its disco dancing and casino dreams, its ugly coiffures and facial hair 5 and in the eternal a!rasion of se2y ,omen and covetous men0 The five stars form a fa!ulous ensem!le cast, in the years most %no,ing e2plosion of flat out fun0

2. The reat "eaut# $ %a gran!e bellezza

Gianni Fiorito / Janus Films

=Whats the matter ,ith nostalgia&> as%s an aging poet in this masterpiece of divine decadence0 =Its the only thing left for those of us ,ho have no faith in the future0> Writer director #aolo .orrentino, ,hose l *ivo !lended political !io pic and Dvidian satire, vie,s modern 4ome in all its e2cess through the <aded eyes of =the %ing of the socialites,> <ournalist $ep *am!ardella ' l *ivos Toni .ervillo) 5 and, further !ac%, more than a half

century, to the Eternal /ity as seen !y (ederico (ellini in "$ *ol'e -it$0 This profligately cinematic achievement sho,s an affection for nearly all of its outsi@e characters, and a melancholy that the flaming creatures of $eps acCuaintance ,ill soon !urn out0 *iving even the cynics a faith in the vi!rancy of movies, The Gre$t &e$uty is the years grandest, most e2hilarating film that ta%es place on Earth0

1.

ravit#

Warner Bros.

When :1.1 travellers .andra Bulloc% and *eorge /looney get lost in space, all a,e !rea%s loose0 -osing contact ,ith Mission /ontrol, as ,ell as access to their o2ygen supply, they are alone together, ,ith time and options running out0 1n epic of desperate peril and profound ,onder, 1lfonso /uarKns thrilling " E drama is a testament to human grit and ground!rea%ing technical

ingenuity0 It deserves to !e seen once for the ,o, factor and a second time to try to figure out ho, /uarKn and his digital savants managed to ma%e the impossi!le seem so cinematically plausi!le0 :o one had dared even to imagine this stuff 5 li%e the astounding 1" minute ta%e that opens the movie 5 yet here it all is, vividly and sumptuously reali@ed0 In depicting the fearful, !eautiful reality of the space ,orld a!ove our ,orld, Gr$vity reveals the glory of cinemas future? it thrills on so many levels0 1nd !ecause /uarKn is a movie visionary of the highest order, you truly cant !eat the vie,0