Author: Ian D.

Let’s get the general platitudes out of the way. 2013 was a stunning year at the movies. To narrow a “best of” down to 10 films is a fun exercise but this could easily be 20 films long this year.

The Wolf of Wall Street is debauchery with a studio budget. It meanders, slinks and plows through its 3-hour runtime like a Wall Street lackey on a cocaine bender. This is lavish, gutsy filmmaking from the legend Martin Scorsese.

Spike Jonze is Hollywood’s most wonderful enigma. He hasn’t made a feature film in 4-years (the ethereal Where the Wild Things Are) but continues to actively work in short form and the occasional cameo (look for him in The Wolf of Wall Street.)

I was not exactly enthusiastic about last year’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Sure, it had all the markings of a Peter Jackson – middle earth epic but none of the soul. Jackson had seemingly succumbed to his darkest tendencies – leaning too hard on his masterful CGI teams and less on the classic source material.

Frozen – Disney’s new animated feature – feels like it comes from a company resigned to its fate. They’ve invested millions into development of action-adventure movies, high-concept family comedies and other silly ventures. Frozen is Disney’s bread and butter.