Top 10 Films of 2013 So Far

Did Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby make the cut?

Here are my picks for the first half of the year. You can also check out my top 10 albums list here. Note: I still need to see films like Frances Ha, Stoker, Like Someone in Love, Berberian Sound Studio and Something in the Air.

Blind Spot: This is England (2007)

Directed by Shane Meadows
Produced by Mark Herbert
Written by Shane Meadows

Starring Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim, Vicky McClure, Joseph Gilgun and Rosamund Hanson

Top 10 Albums of 2013 So Far

Phoenix's last album topped my '09 list. Did Bankrupt! make this one?

I've not caught up with everything yet, but here's my favorites from the first half of the year.

1978 CinSpec Awards

I still have a ridiculous amount of films to see from this year, but here's my ballot, which I'll update after I see more. Winners indicated (*).

June Oscar Predictions

Can Before Midnight pull off a Best Picture nomination?

These are quite similar to my May predictions, except that I now have Before Midnight doing better, and my faith has been restored in The Counselor and The Wolf of Wall Street. Of course, most of these are still up in the air. Here's what I'm thinking at the moment. (Changes from May's predictions included.)

Sofia Coppola's Five Films in Five Words

In honor of her fifth feature film, here's a quick look at her filmography.

1968 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). I still haven't seen films like Targets, War and Peace, Spirits of the Dead, The Fixer, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Night of the Living Dead, Twisted Nerve, The Subject was Roses, Isadora, The Fox, Hot Millions, Star!, Finian's Rainbow, The Young Girls of Rochefort, and Where Eagles Dare.

Review: Before Midnight (2013)

Celine and Jesse.

Directed by Richard Linklater

Produced by Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Sara Woodhatch

Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke (screenplay); Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan (characters)

Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

Vacation Time!

Just a quick heads-up, readers. I'll be on vacation for the better part of next week, so things will be relatively quiet on the blog for a few days. Unfortunately, I won't have Internet access (except for my iPhone), but I have some posts scheduled. Feel free to comment, and I'll get back with you at the end of next week.

1958 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). I still have a lot of films to see, including Mon Oncle, Ashes and Diamonds, Ivan the Terrible, Part Two, Bonjour Tristesse, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, The Horse's Mouth, The Young Lions, The Last Hurrah, The Brothers Karamazov, Thunder Road, Run Silent, Run Deep, Les Miserables, Lonelyhearts, The Blob, Ice Cold in Alex, The Music Room, The Quiet American, and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

Top 10 Most Rewatched Films of the 2010s So Far

Inception (2010)

Here's my list of films I've watched the most in the first few years of this decade. Some of the titles surprised me, but rewatchable films aren't always the best of the year. Note: The top 8 films are ones I've watched 5 times, ranked by preference. The bottom two (and honorable mentions) are films I've seen 4 times.

Five Films in Five Words #6

Here are some newer releases.

1948 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). Films I still haven't seen include: Oliver Twist, Easter Parade, Unfaithfully Yours, Act of Violence, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Macbeth, The Miracle, The Street with No Name, Germany Year Zero, The Three Musketeers, and They Live by Night.

Review: The Seventh Continent (1989)

A remarkable debut from Haneke.

Directed by Michael Haneke
Produced by Veit Heiduschka
Written by Michael Haneke and Joanna Teicht
Starring Birgit Doll, Dieter Berner, Leni Tanzer, and Umo Samel

Oscar Oddity #12: Best Actor Debuts

Close, but not a debut.

A select few actors and actresses have won Oscars for their debut performances. While twelve actresses and two (supporting) actors received Academy Awards for their first roles, no debut performance has won a Best Actor Oscar. The Academy gravitate towards people they know, so this makes perfect sense.

Consider: Spring Breakers for Best Cinematography

Here's a new feature in which I'll briefly highlight an aspect of a new film that I feel deserves more awards consideration. (It's still early, but this movie probably won't be recognized anyway.)

Films I Saw in May

The Seventh Continent

The Best:

1. The Seventh Continent - ****
2. The War Zone - ****
3. Sin Nombre - ****
4. Titus - ****
5. Drunken Angel - ****
6. La Bête Humaine - ****
7. Drugstore Cowboy - ****
8. What Richard Did - ****
9. Julia (2009) - ****
10. The Tin Drum - ****