The Top Ten Films by Steven Spielberg - By Ari Dassa

The Top Ten Films by Steven Spielberg

This Article originally appeared on our legacy site PassMeThePopcorn (Now Defunct)
 

By Ari Dassa

 

Steven Spielberg, arguably the most celebrated filmmaker of all-time, has won 126 awards during his illustrious career. That includes 4 Academy Award Oscars with Two for Best Director. On the verge of winning another Academy Award for his work on the excellent movie Lincoln, many film fans are listing their favorite Steven Spielberg movies of all-time. Not one to turn down a chance to examine the works of one of my all-time favorite directors, I’ve decided to add to the conversation and share my list of the Top 10 films directed by Steven Spielberg.
 

Honorable Mentions:

 

 

Lincoln

(2012)
 
Incredible movie. Not much more to say here about this film, except to say go see it when one gets the chance.

 

Official Synopsis:
 
Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
 

 

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

(1984)
 
This one, over time has just eventually won me over completely.
 
Synopsis:
 
The second of the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg Indiana Jones epics is set a year or so before the events in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1984). After a brief brouhaha involving a precious vial and a wild ride down a raging Himalyan river, Indy (Harrison Ford) gets down to the problem at hand: retrieving a precious gem and several kidnapped young boys on behalf of a remote East Indian village. His companions this time around include a dimbulbed, easily frightened nightclub chanteuse (Kate Capshaw), and a feisty 12-year-old kid named Short Round (Quan Ke Huy). Throughout, the plot takes second place to the thrills, which include a harrowing rollercoaster ride in an abandoned mineshaft and Indy’s rescue of the heroine from a ritual sacrifice. There are also a couple of cute references to Raiders of the Lost Ark, notably a funny variation of Indy’s shooting of the Sherpa warrior.

 

 

Munich

(2005)
 
Munich is a masterwork… until the ridiculous sex scene, which is inter-cut with the killings. That scene is so tonally unbalanced and the wailing middle-eastern woman on the soundtrack and slo-mo sweat is so overdone, that it completely ruins the final 10 minutes of the film and the horror of the massacre.
 
Official Synopsis:
 
Inspired by real events, Munich reveals the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate the 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes – and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who led it. Hailed as “tremendously exciting” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), Steven Spielberg’s explosive suspense thriller garnered five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
 

 

Saving Private Ryan

(1998)
 
Saving Private Ryan has some astonishing set-pieces, but I’m not really too crazy about the film.

 
Official Synopsis:
 
Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII’s D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller’s men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name “Ryan” stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film’s historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurrence in Ambrose’s 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944.
 

 

My list of the Top 10 Spielberg Films:

 

 

 

10. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

(2001)
 

“A.I.” is an ambitious effort that doesn’t always work, but it’s fascinating to watch Spielberg work with Kubrick’s treatment and take himself into darker and more challenging places thematically.
 
Official Synopsis:
 
In a future world of runaway global warming and awe-inspiring scientific advances, humans share every aspect of their lives with sophisticated companion robots called Mechas. But when an advanced prototype robot child named David (Haley Joel Osment) is programmed to show unconditional love, his human family isn’t prepared for the consequences. Suddenly, David is on his own in a strange and dangerous world. Befriended by a streetwise Mecha (Jude Law), David embarks on a spectacular quest to discover the startling secret of his own identity.
 
 
 

 

9. Minority Report

(2002)
 

Official Synopsis:
 
Based on a short story by the late Philip K. Dick, this science fiction-thriller reflects the writer’s familiar preoccupation with themes of concealed identity and mind control. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, a Washington, D.C. detective in the year 2054. Anderton works for “Precrime,” a special unit of the police department that arrests murderers before they have committed the actual crime. Precrime bases its work on the visions of three psychics or “precogs” whose prophecies of future events are never in error. When Anderton discovers that he has been identified as the future killer of a man he’s never met, he is forced to become a fugitive from his own colleagues as he tries to uncover the mystery of the victim-to-be’s identity. When he kidnaps Agatha (Samantha Morton), one of the precogs, he begins to formulate a theory about a possible frame-up from within his own department. Directed by Steven Spielberg, who hired a team of futurists to devise the film’s numerous technologically advanced gadgets, Minority Report co-stars Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, and Neal McDonough.
 

 
 

 

8. Jurassic Park

(1993)
 

Synopsis:
 
Experts and others are invited to a theme-park site featuring dinosaurs man-made from DNA. Starring Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborogh. Based on Michael Crichton’s novel.
 

 
 

 

7. Empire of the Sun

(1987)
 

Official Synopsis:
 
A British boy living in Shanghai after getting separated from his family eventually arrives at a prison camp when Japan invades China at the outset of WWII.
 

 
 

 

6. Catch Me If You Can

(2002)
 

The most underrated film on this list, The film features what I believe is Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performance in his career so far. It’s a beautifully made film which shows Spielberg’s gift for entertaining and moving an audience at the same time. Give this one another chance. It rewards the viewer on subsequent viewing.

 
Official Synospis:
From three-time Oscar winning director Steven Spielberg, Catch Me If You Can follows Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. as he successfully passes himself off as a pilot, a lawyer and a doctor – all before his 21st birthday!

 

 
 

 

5. Raider’s of the Lost Ark

(1981)
 

Official Synopsis:
 
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no ordinary archeologist. When we first see him, he is somewhere in the Peruvian jungle in 1936, running a booby-trapped gauntlet (complete with an over-sized rolling boulder) to fetch a solid-gold idol. He loses this artifact to his chief rival, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who then prepares to kill our hero. In the first of many serial-like escapes, Indy eludes Belloq by hopping into a convenient plane. So, then: is Indiana Jones afraid of anything? Yes, snakes. The next time we see Jones, he’s a soft-spoken, bespectacled professor. He is then summoned from his ivy-covered environs by Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis, it seems, are already searching for the Ark, which the mystical-minded Hitler hopes to use to make his stormtroopers invincible. But to find the Ark, Indy must first secure a medallion kept under the protection of Indy’s old friend Abner Ravenwood, whose daughter, Marion (Karen Allen), evidently has a “history” with Jones. Whatever their personal differences, Indy and Marion become partners in one action-packed adventure after another, ranging from wandering the snake pits of the Well of Souls to surviving the pyrotechnic unearthing of the sacred Ark. A joint project of Hollywood prodigies George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, with a script co-written by Lawrence Kasdan and Philip Kaufman, among others, Raiders of the Lost Ark is not so much a movie as a 115-minute thrill ride. Costing 22 million dollars (nearly three times the original estimate), Raiders of the Lost Ark reaped 200 million dollars during its first run. It was followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1985) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), as well as a short-lived TV-series “prequel.”
 

 
 
 

 

4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

(1982)
 
Official Synopsis:
 
Director Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming masterpiece is one of the brightest stars in motion picture history. Filled with unparalleled magic and imagination, E.T. follows the moving story of a lost little alien who befriends 10-year-old, Elliot. Experience all the mystery and fun of their unforgettable adventure in the beloved movie that captivated audiences around the world.
 

 
 
 

 

3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

(1977)
 

Official Synopsis:
 
In the night skies near his Muncie Indiana home power repairman Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) experiences something out of this world. His close encounter sets into action an amazing chain of events that leads to contact with benevolent aliens and their Mothership. Spectacular special effects John Williams’ outstanding score and winning performances from Dreyfuss Teri Garr Melinda Dillon and legendary director Francois Truffaut in the role of Lacombe make CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND movie magic of the best kind.
 

 

 

2. Schindler’s List

(1993)
 

Official Synopsis:
 
Schindler’s List, a Steven Spielberg film, is a cinematic masterpiece that has become one of the most honored films of all time.
Winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, it also won every major Best Picture award and an exceptional number of additional honors. Among them were seven British Academy Awards; the Best Picture Awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, the National Board of Review, the Producers Guild, the Los Angeles Film Critics, the Chicago, Boston and Dallas Film Critics; a Christopher Award; and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globe Awards. Steven Spielberg was further honored with the Directors Guild of America Award.
The film presents the indelible true story of the enigmatic Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, womanizer, and war profiteer who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. It is the triumph of one man who made a difference, and the drama of those who survived one of the darkest chapters in human history because of what he did.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film, which also won Academy Awards for Screenplay, Cinematography, Music, Editing and Art Direction, stars an acclaimed cast headed by Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle and Embeth Davidtz.
 

And the #1 film from Steven Spielberg is…
 
 
 

 

1. Jaws

(1975)
 
Was their any doubt? “Jaws” is quite simply one of the best films of the ’70s.
 
Official Synopsis:
 
Directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your-seat suspense quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the movie industry. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. Featuring an unforgettable score that evokes pure terror, Jaws remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history.
 

Or if you don’t like that classic film one could always watch…

 
 
 

Hook

(1991)
 
Hook is hilarious. I’ll give it that.
 
Official Synopsis:
 
A high-flying adventure from the magic of Steven Spielberg, Hook stars Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman as the infamous Captain Hook. Joining the fun is Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell, Bob Hoskins as the pirate Smee, and Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy Darling, who must convince the middle-aged lawyer, Peter Banning, that he was once the legendary Peter Pan. And so the adventure begins anew, with Peter off to Neverland to save his two children from Captain Hook. Along the way, he rediscovers the power of imagination, of friendship, and of magic. A classic tale updated for children of all ages, Hook was nominated for five 1991 Academy Awards(r) including best visual effects

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Best Films of 2012 - By Lon Harris

 This article first appeared on our legacy site PassMeThePopcorn (Now Defunct)

By Lon Harris

 
Continuing our series of posts featuring the BEST of 2012. PassMeThePopcorn.com contributor Lon Harris shares his TOP TEN FILMS OF 2012.
 
THE RUNNERS-UP
…in no particular order
 

 
Bachelorette, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Jeff Who Lives at Home, The Cabin in the Woods, The Queen of Versailles, Wreck-It Ralph, Skyfall

 
FILMS I HAVEN’T YET SEEN
…THAT MIGHT BE WORTHY
 

 
Bear in mind, I may at some future point knock something off the list in favor of The Life of Pi, Amour, The Turin Horse, Paranorman or some other brilliant 2012 film I didn’t get around to during the year proper.

 
GREAT 2011 FILMS I SAW
…IN 2012
 

 
Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Kill List would both be on here if they were 2012 films instead of 2011.
 

 
AND NOW, THE ACTUAL TOP 10
 
 

 

#10: End of Watch

directed by DAVID AYER
 
David Ayer’s police thriller is the best use of the “found footage” conceit to date, making expert use of documentary-style “you are there” visuals without being manacled to them.

As with “Training Day,” he unfortunately gives in to the temptation to pump up the action towards the end, and what starts off as a tense, character-driven thriller kind of loses its way in the transition to a Hollywood cop movie formula. But unlike “Training Day,” which skips the rails pretty early on, “End of Watch” only gets big and shootout-y and over-the-top late in the game, after it has had time to really make you care about these characters and fully explore their world.

The handheld/documentary style gives the relationship between partners Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena an intimacy that most “guy” movies would be afraid to give male relationships PLUS it makes all the “cop” scenes immediate and intense. Ayer even does a good job scripting a “mystery” for the cops to solve that nevertheless builds in a way that feels logical and natural. These aren’t regular joes who one day wake up and decide to become Michael Bay “Bad Boys”-style heroes. They just keep taking calls and situations just sort of unfold. It’s pretty damn involving.
 

 

 

 

#9: This Is 40

directed by JUDD APATOW
 
I’ve always been lukewarm on Judd Apatow’s films as a director. (As a producer, too, but let’s stay on topic.) His movies always have funny characters and moments, but also tend to be overlong, self-indulgent and somewhat relentlessly, single-mindedly, repetitively focused on the protagonist’s tiresome neuroses. By the end, I’ve given up on caring whether Seth Rogen or Adam Sandler figure it all out and get the girl. I’m sick of them and their shallow, narcissistic problems.

But in “This is 40,” Apatow finally broadens his gaze and takes on a larger and more emotionally resonant topic than his usual “stoner guy who’s afraid to commit.” It’s a sort-of sequel to “Knocked Up,” but it’s really more reminiscent (though maybe not quite as accomplished) as Woody Allen’s great ensemble relationship dramedies – “Hannah and Her Sisters” comes immediately to mind. Rather than zeroing in on Paul Rudd’s mid-life crisis, we also get the perspective of his wife (played brilliantly by Apatow’s wife, Leslie Mann, in one of my favorite 2012 performances) and their two daughters. Plus we get some insight into Rudd’s father (Albert Brooks) and Mann’s father (John Lithgow, who really should be used like this in more film comedies.)

Maybe because the central idea behind “This is 40” is not particularly high-concept and kind of lean (“a married couple turns 40 at around the same time”), Apatow feels more free to spend time getting to explore what’s happening with the secondary characters. Or maybe it’s because this is already a spin-off of another movie, so he has a vested interest in growing out this particular universe of people. But the whole ensemble feels more rich and fleshed out, and the movie feels less self-congratulatory and navel-gazing as a result. It’s still probably a few scenes too long, but that’s basically his style at this point.

 

 

 

 

#8: Moonrise Kingdom

directed by WES ANDERSON
 
Wes Anderson’s best since “Royal Tenenbaums,” and likely to be one of the movies that – looking back on the entirety of his career – defines his style and voice. It also feels like a bit of a bookend film with “Rushmore.” That was a movie about a brilliant, rebellious, lonely kid who fixates on an unattainable older woman. “Moonrise” instead is about a similar kid actually connecting with someone else his own age. Both movies are about the implications this sort of pure, innocent young love has on the lonely, frustrated adults who are witnesses to it.

The film is constantly being described as “very Wes Anderson-y,” and it is, with all the expected trappings. It’s funny, it’s dark, there are slow-motion sequences set to classic songs, there are scenes with kids in exquisitely appointed bedrooms listening to classical music on tiny toy record players. But it’s also a big step into fantasy/fairy tale territory as well. All his Anderson’s have an element of whimsy to them – the Tenenbaums house was certainly unlike most NYC homes – but “Moonrise” takes place in an entirely parallel reality. I very much appreciated Anderson’s apparent decision to do away with rules and just completely untether himself from realism in favor of comic invention.

That’s on top of amazing cinematography, a really fun weird unexpected role for Bob Balaban, the best role Bruce Willis has had in years, an as-expected great soundtrack, a metric shit-ton of great child performances… I’d totally see it again right now.

 

 

 

 

#7: Safety Not Guaranteed

directed by COLIN TREVORROW
 
Most time travel films (including this year’s staggeringly overrated “Looper“) look at the mind-twisting implications of the act itself. What would it be like to meet your future self? Would small changes in the past dissolve the space-time continuum? “Safety Not Guaranteed” may be the first time travel film solely focus on the WHY? question. What is it about visiting the past that fascinates us so? What would it take to drive someone to risk everything and jump into a time machine?

Even calling it a “time travel film” implies some element of heady sci-fi trippiness that isn’t really there. Instead, director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly have turned out a rather ingenious, very funny indie comedy with some sci-fi elements sneaking around in the margins. They’ve also crafted perhaps the best possible use of actress Aubrey Plaza, who gets the chance to explore and expand on the blasé, snarky persona she has honed over 5 seasons on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Plaza has not one but two great foils in “Safety”: brash journalist Jeff (Jake Johnson) and eccentric possible-time-machine-creator Kenneth (Mark Duplass), whom she and Jeff are investigating for a story.

What surprised me most about “Safety Not Guaranteed” is how Trevorrow and Connolly take such a ludicrous premise, that in other hands would have been a bundle of twee cutesy indie quirk, and found an underlying story that’s so heartfelt and sincere. (The script is based on a jokey classified ad looking for a time travel companion that appeared in a 1997 issue of “Backwoods Home Magazine. Imagine turning THAT into a movie that has genuine emotional heft. No easy task.)

 

 

 

#6: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

directed by PETER JACKSON
 
First off, I’m ranking “The Hobbit” as a movie, not a treatise on the future of how many frames we want to see projected each second. I saw it in HFR 3D and enjoyed it – noticing some peculiarities along the way, but generally adjusting to the picture after about 10 minutes – but will surely also enjoy subsequent 2D viewings at a more traditional frame rate.

OK, so now on to the film, which I found to be a largely-delightful return to Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth, reminiscent in many ways of his terrific Lord of the Rings trilogy opener, “Fellowship of the Ring.”

But what I found so surprising and charming about “The Hobbit” is the shift in tone, from melancholy to exuberance. The Lord of the Rings films are (rightfully) obsessed with the fading away of the old world, of Middle-Earth itself, along with a constant sense of impending doom. “The Hobbit,” taking place 60 years earlier, when only the faintest signs of the coming disaster visible, is more lighthearted and whimsical. You feel like you’re seeing the same world brought to life but with a different sensibility, and it has seemingly brought out Jackson’s more skewed, wacky side, which is a real relief after the stifling, airless “Lovely Bones” and “King Kong.”

Once again, Middle-Earth has been realized gorgeously, the action sequences are intense and exciting, and the animation on Gollum keeps improving with every new film. I’m now significantly more excited for Parts 2 and 3 than I was a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

#5: Seven Psychopaths

directed by MARTIN MCDONAGH
 
The year’s most underrated film, and one I’d wager will live on in the memories of film fans long after a lot of 2012′s ‘prestige’ titles have become half-recalled footnotes. (“Silver Linings What-book?”) As he did in 2008′s wonderful “In Bruges,” writer/director Martin McDonagh uses funny banter and genre trappings to kind of lure you in before switching everything around and getting thoughtful. But this new film is less character-driven and more heady, even surreal, than “In Bruges,” and arguably is even better for it.

Without spoiling too much, I’ll say “Seven Psychopaths” is both a canny examination of how smart people think about movies, and a deconstruction of the violent, hyper-stylized B-movie explosion kicked off by guys like Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie 2 decades ago. I feel like a lot of movies now do crazy things – and get super-meta and self-aware – to try to subvert audience expectations, but very few of them are as daring and audacious, and ultimately successful, as this film.

To say too much more would be mean-spirited and unfair, but I can say that lot of the success of “Seven Psychopaths” is the ridiculously extensive and impeccable cast. Not only the main trio of Colin Farrell (who is at his best in McDonagh’s movies), Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, and their nemesis Woody Harrelson, but also guys like Harry Dean Stanton, Željko Ivanek, Tom Waits and Michael Stuhlbarg showing up in small roles.

 

 

 

#4: Holy Motors

directed by LEOS CARAX
 
In “Holy Motors,” a man named Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) is driven around in a limousine all day, stopping for ‘appointments’ in which he dressed up as a variety of characters and then plays out dramatic scenarios with other people. Many of these scenarios take the form of familiar movie genres. For example, in one appointment, he dresses up as a gangster and attacks a fellow gangster. In another, he plays a dying man being comforted by a beloved niece. In another, he puts on a motion-capture suit and acts out both an action sequence and a love scene. And on and on, through numerous appointments in the course of a single day.

It would be easy to get obsessed with “what it all means,” and it’s impossible not to try to put together the pieces of Monsieur Oscar’s day in the hopes of arriving at The Point. Is it a commentary on the life of an actor, endlessly putting on and taking off different disguises, giving away little pieces of ones self each time? Is it about life itself as a kind of performance, that each of us is really ‘playing roles’ depending on who we’re around and our circumstances? Is it about the universality of experience, that we all see ourselves as individuals but really are playing out the same interpersonal dramas and crises that people all over the world have experienced for hundreds of years? Maybe all of these things?

But it’s worth stepping back from this discussion for a moment and realizing how DIFFICULT it is to make a movie this entertaining over the course of 2 hours that makes so little “sense.” Writer/director Leos Carax masterfully makes each sequence and assignment compelling – even exhilarating – on its own terms. Even when it’s near-impossible to wrap your head around what’s happening, you can’t stop watching and wondering what’s coming next.

 

 

 
 

#3: Django Unchained

directed by QUENTIN TARANTINO
 
“Django” is another tremendous achievement for Quentin Tarantino, who at this point is on a par with the Coens as the contemporary American filmmaker with the strongest overall track record. I’m tempted to say it’s not quite as good as “Inglourious Basterds” and “Pulp Fiction.” In particular, I felt like the movie has a huge, dramatic, near-perfect climax… and then goes on for about 3-4 extraneous sequences that aren’t really as clever or exhilarating as what has come before.

But this is a minor quibble. The bulk of the film is a marvel – brutal, funny, unpredictable, exciting and, as always with Tarantino, utterly faithful to its predecessors (Westerns in general, but specifically spaghetti westerns, as well as the Italian pseudo-documentary “Addio Zio Tom”) while remaining fresh and modern.

And HOLY SHIT, the main three performances! Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio are basically perfect. I can’t think of a single false moment from any of them. Giving Foxx almost no dialogue turns out to be a pretty brilliant maneuver – he’s usually so reliant on his comic delivery, even in dramatic fare like Collateral or Ray – and here there’s none of that. It’s all glares, glances and body language. Plus, DiCaprio’s delight in getting to play against type, and be a colorful villain, is palpable every moment he’s on screen. He disappears into this role in a way he’s never done for me in anything I’ve seen him in.
 

 

 

#2: The Master

directed by PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
 
I can’t help but think that a lot of the problems and issues people had with PT Anderson’s sprawling post-war travelogue/drama is that it was sold as an alternate history of Scientology. That’s such a tantalizing prospect, it was maybe hard to accept that the movie wasn’t so much interested in L. Ron Hubbard’s life or the inner workings of cults or just what happens in that “Celebrity Center” off Franklin. When you go in thinking you’re going to blow the lid off of Xenu, and instead get a sprawling-yet-oddly-intimate look at an off-kilter friendship between two broken people… well, maybe Buyer’s Remorse sets in.

But what PTA accomplishes here is no small feat. Freddie Quell (a superlative Joquin Phoenix). Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Peggy Dodd (an underrated Amy Adams) are fascinating, idiosyncratic and genuinely original creations, and though a lot of their motives and inner demons remain ambiguous at the end of the film, we do develop a sense of kinship and camaraderie – of shared experience – with all of them. As he did in the similarly-divisive “There Will Be Blood,” Anderson holds up individuals on the fringe of mainstream, polite society, individuals who occasionally behave like deviants, and demands that his audience come to know them, sympathize with them and even accept them.

We don’t get to know Scientology any better than when we started, and we don’t get to follow anyone on a traditional narrative arc. There’s no beginning, middle and end of Freddie’s strange journey inward. Instead, we’re simply spending 2.5 hours seeing the world from his perspective, and then it’s up to us to decide what – if anything – it all means. That’s what it feels like when a movie treats you like an adult, an experience that was far too rare in 2012 cinema, or American movies from any year, really.

 

 

 

#1: Lincoln

directed by STEVEN SPIELBERG
 
Once every decade or so, Steven Spielberg will make an impeccable, detailed, thoughtful look back at a specific historical event or period in history, and just put every other contemporary American filmmaker to shame. Then he goes back to his usual styles: above-average sci-fi and schmaltz. “Lincoln” is arguably his best-ever historical drama – there’s less emotional weight than something like “Schindler’s List,” but then again, this is the leaner and arguably smarter effort, and one of the most effective and entertaining inside looks at the American political process I can recall.

The performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln is, of course, transformative and completely stellar and has stolen most of the headlines, but this is really an ensemble effort, with Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn and James Spader also giving standout, career-highlight performances. It’s also a home run for oft-maligned cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, whose obsession with backlighting in this case lends an iconic quality to these characters, even when the on-screen action might be otherwise mundane.

Perhaps most surprising about “Lincoln,” considering its pedigree, is how matter-of-fact and forthright it is about the passage of the 13th Amendment. You go in expecting a lot of soaring rhetoric about the chains of bondage and the natural state of human freedom, but instead we follow the actual legislative action of passing the amendment with an almost journalistic, play-by-play zeal.

A lot of the credit here must go to screenwriter Tony Kushner, who takes the day-to-day bureaucratic work of these 19th Century politicians in Washington and finds the humanity lurking underneath. (Aaron Sorkin did a similarly mesmerizing job of this in “The Social Network” a few years back.) In fact, the political wheelings and dealings are so compelling and dramatic – even funny! – it’s almost disappointing when we step away from the sphere of government and check in with Lincoln’s personal life and family drama (though Sally Field does nice work as Mary Todd.)

 

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