List #36: A Couple of the Best Movies I Saw in 2013

Best Effort to Redeem the Worst “Hero” in Shakespearean Canon/
Best House Party You Would Actually Like to Go To:
Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing

I love Fran Kranz to bits, but not even he could really make Claudio ok. Claudio is never ok. He is the worst. But! Whedon did his best, and the movie is admirably boozy.

Best Documentary: 

56 Up 

This documentary series has been checking in on its subjects every seven years for half a century and it’s still as fascinating as ever. The format has also been adopted by several other countries — notably South Africa, which got to 28 Up this year.

See also: Rec. #33

New Favorite Film Reviewer:
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw
Who else would invent his own end-of-year awards (“The Braddies”) and then go on to say, “The reader is invited to note omissions and evidence that the list betrays suggestions of sociocultural bias.” Also: “This article was amended on 13 December 2013. The earlier version used the word ‘coruscating’ where ’excoriating’ was meant.”

Love. It.