My pick for best movie of the year is...

The envelope please.

Oh, this is so exciting.

And the winner is...

THE LONE RANGER.

No... wait. 


GRAVITY.

And I can’t even see 3D. If I could, I’d say GRAVITY was the best picture of 2009-13. When you think of “Best Picture” in the classic sense you think of epic pictures, innovative pictures, thrilling stories, spectacular performances, movies that have lifted the art form. That’s not the struggle to get MARY POPPINS produced, or a three-hour look at a Wall Street asshole who encourages midget bowling. You don’t crown Best Picture to a cute caper movie, or a ridiculous civics lessons because Oprah Winfrey is in it. When techniques have to be invented to realize a director’s vision, that’s Picture of the Year material.

That said, if 12 YEARS A SLAVE were to win I would not be unhappy.   It's important and remarkable in its own right.  I just think GRAVITY is groundbreaking, no matter how many D's you see it in.  


First I will say, see it on a big screen. Or bigger. You will not get the full effect watching GRAVITY on your smart phone. The long opening sequence, which is one continuous shot, is maybe the most amazing thing I’ve seen in cinema. More amazing even than watching a downtrodden folk singer hold a cat and ride on a subway for five minutes. As I watched the opening sequence in GRAVITY I kept saying, “How did they do that?” Considering this is the age of CGI and amazing special effects, it now takes a lot to get a person to say that.

Alfonso Cuaron is quite the eclectic filmmaker. It’s hard to believe the same man who directed Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN also helmed HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. And now GRAVITY. Had I known he was so versatile I would have gotten him to direct an episode of ALMOST PERFECT.

And yet for all the dazzling effects and relentless suspense, it is the characters that really launch this picture into space. George Clooney proves he can play charming even in a bulky space suit, and Sandra Bullock is downright remarkable as the newbie astronaut who must somehow get home without the help of Superman or any of the Avengers.

I don’t know if I’ve ever rooted for a character more. She brings such depth to her character, which is quite a task considering for most of the movie she’s in a space suit slamming against the sides of the shuttle. And then there’s this gorgeous scene where she sheds the suit and emerges like a butterfly, all the while weightless. All that Kubrick was trying to do in three hours plus for 2001: A SPACE ODESSEY (the evolution of man, yada yada) Cuaron achieves in that one sequence.

There are a number of excellent movies that came out in 2013. In fact, it was a year better than most.  Again, 12 YEARS A SLAVE might well take the gold. But for my money, GRAVITY rises to the top.

TOMORROW: A movie I wanted to love but didn't... although film critics did.