10.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Who could guess, after the meandering first feature in a seemingly unnecessary eight-hour trilogy of films based on a novel of less than 300 pages, that Peter Jackson had such a vigorous and thrilling middle episode in store? With Bilbo !artin "reeman#, $andalf %an !c&ellen# and the d'arves finally done 'ith introductory da'dling, they dive into a nonstop adventure among the noble (lves, the rough-he'n humans of )aketo'n and the ferocious dragon *maug voiced by Benedict +umberbatch#, -his time, .ndy *erkis has not lent his presence to $ollum, but his 'ork as second-unit director is spectacular, (ach comple/ encounter, especially a flume-ride escape of the d'arves, boasts a teeming ingenuity of action and character, . bonus0 the budding romance of the 'arrior (lf -auriel (vangeline )illy# and the d'arf hunk &ili .idan -urner#, %n all, this is a splendid achievement, close to the grandeur of Jackson1s )ord of the 2ings films,

9. 12 Years a Slave

Francois Duhamel / Fox Searchlight

*outhern 'hites of the pre-+ivil War plantation aristocracy believed themselves $od1s chosen, and their slaves inhuman, .s sho'n in this searing film document 3 an anti-Gone With the Wind 3 the masters 'ere the madmen, inferior but in charge, -he first t'o feature films of .nglo-.frican director *teve !c4ueen, 'hose first t'o features, 5unger and *hame, proved him a picture poet of physical degradation, 5ere, 'orking from John 2idley1s script based on the 6783 memoir of *olomon 9orthup, a free black 9e' :orker abducted into servitude, !c4ueen immerses vie'ers in the magnolia-scented hell to 'hich 9orthup +hi'etel (;iofor# 'as e/iled, :ou 'ill recoil at every punishment, feel each slur, 'ith an immediacy that makes the long-ago, <peculiar institution= of slavery sting like a 'hiplash, -o this hot content, !c4ueen applies cool imagery, -he movie has the eerie impact of a museum e/hibit> it is a diorama of

atrocity, populated by varying forms of monstrosity !ichael "assbender and Benedict +umberbatch as the main slave-o'ners# and benevolence Brad Pitt as a +anadian abolitionist#, and humani?ed by the smoldering restraint of (;iofor1s performance,

8. The Act of Killing

Drafthouse Films

%n 6@A8, the thug .n'ar +ongo 'as hired by the %ndonesian government to stamp out the threat of +ommunism> he and his fello' gangsters formed paramilitary sBuads that tortured and killed thousands of innocents, 9early a half-century later, .n'ar and many of his colleagues are still around, still protected by the politicians in charge, and ready to reenact their atrocities, Joshua Cppenheimer1s ama?ing documentary gives that opportunity to men 'ho gre' up idoli?ing Brando and Pacino and are pleased to star in their o'n crude biopics, -o more closely resemble his

young self, .n'ar dyes his hair and gets ne' teeth, 5e rehearses garroting a man 'ith a 'ire, to the laughter and applause of the 'omen 'atching, !aking the movies, 'hich vault from film noir to bi?arre musical, eventually gets under .n'ar1s skin and into his dreams> the pearly killer is finally afflicted 'ith nightmares, "or any vie'er, the effect is no less haunting,

7. Frozen

Disney

Princess (lsa has po'ers of sorcery beyond her control0 she can and does cast a nuclear 'inter on her northern kingdom, 5er sister .nna is the normal one, falling in love at the first sight of any eligible male, yet bound to confront her sister and save their realm, -he first animated feature in the Walt Disney studio1s glorious history to offer t'o princess heroines, "ro?en transforms

5ans +hristian .ndersen1s <-he *no' 4ueen= into a fable of modern, timeless sisterhood, "or this full-musical enchantment, Writer Jennifer )ee and co-director +hris Buck tapped some of the Broad'ay musical1s brightest lights 3 composers 2obert )ope? and &risten .nderson-)ope? and actor-singers %dina !en?el (lsa#, &risten Bell .nna# and Jonathan $roff as the gruff mountain man &ristoff# 3 and poured all comic inspiration into the sno'man character Claf voiced 'ith irrepressible enthusi-'oo?y-asm by -he Book of !ormon1s Josh $ad#, 5is sho'-stopping set piece <%n *ummer= provides the finest t'o minutes of cinema you1ll seer this year,

6. Furious 6

Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures

Planes, trains and automobiles collide spectacularly in the fourth "ast E "urious movie to be directed by Justin )in and 'ritten by

+hris !organ, %n a reunion of Fin Diesel, the late Paul Walker, their gang and girlfriends and D(. agent D'ayne Johnson, "urious A vrooms from -enerife to !osco' to )ondon, 'ith astounding stunts in each location, and hitches a ride on a military cargo plane for the final bra'l, Where "ast "ive heralded the 9e' 5olly'ood1s e/altation of sensational action over subtle 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 possible, -his adrenaline-stoking series is addictive, for its chases, crashes, crushes 3 and for its poetic limning of the closest camaraderie many men can ever kno'0 'ith their cars, C'ning one, some auto-holic says, is like a marriage, <:eah,= another guy replies, <but 'hen you break up they don1t take half your shit,=

5. The

ran!master

The Weinstein Company

2unning at G hours and 60 minutes in its 'orld premiere at the Berlin "ilm "estival, Wong &a'-'ai1s dreamy biopic of martial arts master %p !an 'as cut by GG minutes 3 one-fifth of its running time 3 by H,*, distributor -he Weinstein +ompany, -hat1s a crime akin to cutting random holes in a Bosch or Breughel painting> but 'hat1s left is choice, -he 5ong &ong director makes superb movies Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, 2046# 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 stars, -ony )eung +hiu-'ai, 'ho looks like a more beautiful Cbama, plays %p !an as a poet of gestural precision, in combat scenes choreographed by the great :uen Woping The Matrix, i!! "i!!#, )eung1s partner in reverie is a female doctor, daughter and martial artist played by Ihang Iiyi Crou#hing Tiger$ %idden &ragon#> she e/udes a goddess1s solemn grandeur and is given a diva1s final aria 3 a fittingly elegiac clima/ for a 'orld-class filmmaker 'ho1s al'ays in the mood for lost love,

4. her

Warner Bros.

%n a future )os .ngeles so near-Htopian that no scene takes place in a car, -heodore -'ombly JoaBuin Phoeni/# has a ;ob composing love letters for other people, Profligately romantic, bruised by the failure of his marriage to +atherine 2ooney !ara#, he has enough sentiment left over to fall truly, madly, deeply in love 'ith a computer operating system 'ho calls herself *amantha *carlett Johansson#, -heir virtual affair might be the springboard to satire, but 'riter-director *pike Jon?e instead creates a splendid anachronism0 a modern rom-com that is laughand-cry and 'arm all over, totally s'eet and utterly serious, Cr, if you 'ill, utterly *iri, Phoeni/ corrals the dulcet melancholy of a man 'hose emotional pain finds refuge in *amantha1s embrace, in a love that, to misBuote Phillip &, Dick, is <more human than human,= Phoeni/ and Jon?e sho' 'hat it1s like 'hen a mourning heart comes alive 3 because he, -heodore, loves 5er, .nd %, 2ichard, loved her,

3. American Hustle

Francois Duhamel / Annapurna Productions / Columbia Pictures

5istory remade as sparkling farce0 the "B%1s late-J01s .bscam investigation of political corruption, 'hich led to the conviction of a H,*, *enator and seven +ongressmen, becomes this headlong tale of romance and recklessness, %n director David C, 2ussell1s third consecutive movie about mismatched couples and their cra?y families, after The Fighter and 'i!ver Linings (!a)*ook, . 9e' :ork con artist +hristian Bale# ;uggles a mouthy 'ife Jennifer )a'rence# and a cunning girl friend .my .dams# 'hile reluctantly cooperating 'ith the sting 3 supervised by a federal agent Bradley +ooper# 3 of a 9e' Jersey mayor Jeremy 2enner#, <*ome of this actually happened,= reads the movie1s opening te/t> but 2ussell and co'riter (ric Warren *inger aren1t going for verisimilitude, -his portrait of the 1J0s revels in the

decade1s gaudiness 3 its disco dancing and casino dreams, its ugly coiffures and facial hair 3 and in the eternal abrasion of se/y 'omen and covetous men, -he five stars form a fabulous ensemble cast, in the year1s most kno'ing e/plosion of flat-out fun,

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

Gianni Fiorito / Janus Films

<What1s the matter 'ith nostalgia?= asks an aging poet in this masterpiece of divine decadence, <%t1s the only thing left for those of us 'ho have no faith in the future,= Writer-director Paolo *orrentino, 'hose I! &ivo blended political bio-pic and Cvidian satire, vie's modern 2ome in all its e/cess through the ;aded eyes of <the king of the socialites,= ;ournalist Jep $ambardella I! &ivo1s -oni *ervillo# 3 and, further back, more than a half-

century, to the (ternal +ity as seen by "ederico "ellini in La &o!#e +ita, -his profligately cinematic achievement sho's an affection for nearly all of its outsi?e characters, and a melancholy that the flaming creatures of Jep1s acBuaintance 'ill soon burn out, $iving even the cynics a faith in the vibrancy of movies, The Great "eaut) is the year1s grandest, most e/hilarating film that takes place on (arth,

1.

ravit#

Warner Bros.

When 9.*. travellers *andra Bullock and $eorge +looney get lost in space, all a'e breaks loose, )osing contact 'ith !ission +ontrol, as 'ell as access to their o/ygen supply, they are alone together, 'ith time and options running out, .n epic of desperate peril and profound 'onder, .lfonso +uarKn1s thrilling 3-D drama is a testament to human grit and groundbreaking technical

ingenuity, %t deserves to be seen once for the 'o' factor and a second time to try to figure out ho' +uarKn and his digital savants managed to make the impossible seem so cinematically plausible, 9o one had dared even to imagine this stuff 3 like the astounding 63-minute take that opens the movie 3 yet here it all is, vividly and sumptuously reali?ed, %n depicting the fearful, beautiful reality of the space 'orld above our 'orld, Gravit) reveals the glory of cinema1s future> it thrills on so many levels, .nd because +uarKn is a movie visionary of the highest order, you truly can1t beat the vie',