BY JOE REID |
The Best Movies of 2013 Already Available on DVD (Updated)
(Updated August 19th): The best thing about fantastic movies released in the first half of the year is that some of them are already available to watch on DVD. Here are your best bets.
(This post originally appeared on July 16th, but has been updated to definitively reflect the Best Movies of 2013 So Far Already on DVD as of August 19th, 2013.)
#8. Upstream Color: Shane Carruth's long-awaited follow-up to 2005's mind-bender Primer might be even less inclined to explain itself to its audiece. But it's also a richly moody story about a man and a woman and the strange, almost unexplainable connection they share.
#7. Side Effects: Steven Soderbergh's final (or so he says) theatrical feature is a sexy, misdirectional thriller in the vein of '80s hits like Fatal Attraction. Of course, it's Soderbergh, so the thriller has equal parts atmosphere and an expertly chosen cast, including Oscar nominees/winners Rooney Mara, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as Channing Tatum, making his third (and final, again, if we are to take the director at his word) Soderbergh film.
#6. A Place At The Table: Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush's documentary about the hunger problem in America got fantastic reception since it premiered at Sundance in 2012. Come for the appearances by Jeff Bridges and Tom Colicchio. Stay for an eye-opening look at this country's abusive relationship with food.
#5. Stoker: The English-language debut from Korean mastermind Park Chan-Wook is an absolute freakout of defied expectations, protagonists who aren't to be trusted, shocking violence, and threatening moods. You'll love it!
#4. No: Chile's nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film competition at last year's Oscars was a politically thoughtful and a thrilling take on the intersection of art, marketing, and revolution, all under the banner of 1980s Chilean politics. Gael Garcia Bernal gives a heroic performance, and director Pablo Larrain's period-appropriate visuals bring a dose of playful aesthetics to the film.
#3. The Place Beyond the Pines: Director Derek Cianfrance and star Ryan Gosling team up again after Blue Valentine, this time eschewing fraught romance for father-to-son legacies across multiple families on both sides of the cops-and-criminals divide. Besides just Gosling, Cianfrance gets great performances out of his huge, sprawling cast, from Bradley Cooper to Dane DeHaan to Ben Mendelsohn to Eva Mendes to Ray Liotta.
#2. Spring Breakers: The blizzard of internet chatter surrounding Harmony Korine's Millennial-baiting carnival of boobs, booze, guns, and James Franco's ridiculous cornrows was ultimately justified (if any internet chatter that cacophonous can possibly be justified) with a film that took dreaminess to new extremes and gave Britney Spears at least one more moment in the cultural zeitgeist.
#1. Mud: Jeff Nichols made a splash with the Michael Shannon schizophrenia vehicle Take Shelter, and this year he returned with a coming-of-age tale about two boys who come across a boat in a tree. The film is given a considerable jolt by Matthew McConaughey, who continues his hot streak with an intriguing loner character in what has turned out to be one of the best reviewed films of the entire year.
Other Best of 2013 (So Far) Posts
The 5 Best Heroes of 2013 So Far
The 10 Funniest Performances of 2013 So Far
The 5 Most Essential Documentaries of 2013 So Far
Who Gave the Five Most Award-Worthy Performances of 2013 So Far?
