The PDC Staff Picks the Most Underrated/Overrated Movies of 2013

To call something overrated or underrated is usually pretty controversial, but especially when you're a critic. What it tends to mean is that you're battling back against the popular opinion of learned colleagues, and those discussions can get pretty heated. It's not as simple as saying "Hey I like this better", what you're saying is a certain movie doesn't deserve the respect it's getting, or another is deserving of more than your colleagues are willing to give. There's a little bit of personal criticism that comes with it that can't really be avoided.

We here at the Punch Drunk Critics engage in our share of disagreements (Julian is dead wrong about Man of Steel and he knows it!!) in which one of us has had to face an uphill climb to back or rip a certain film we feel strongly about. And so we got together to list the movies we felt were underrated or overrated during 2013, and as usual it turned out pretty interesting. Enjoy. And no, Anchorman 2 isn't on anybody's list, but it probably should be.

Roxana Hadadi

UNDERRATED

Teens in 2013: The Kings of Summer, The Bling Ring, The Spectacular Now

When did everyone stop caring about movies starring teenagers, unless they were Twilight or The Hunger Games? The ‘80s and ‘90s were full of great coming-of-age films, and yet it feels like the 2000s have been shortchanged when it comes to the genre—which was especially frustrating when 2013 saw the release of some great teen-centric films that were slapped with R ratings, isolating them from the younger audiences who really should have been seeing them. No surprise, then, that the three movies were promptly forgotten by moviegoers. The summer releases of The Kings of Summer, The Bling Ring, and The Spectacular Now went largely unnoticed by the general public—bringing in about $1.5 million, $19 million, and $6.8 million, respectively—which is frustrating given how well-acted, emotionally true, and affecting they all were. If Emma Watson licking her lips and dancing seductively in a club couldn’t get people out for Sofia Coppola’s “Bling Ring,” then The Kings of Summer (about three boys who rebel against their parents and run away) or The Spectacular Now (about young love between a teen alcoholic and his too-kind-for-her-own-good classmate) didn’t have a chance. And yet these are movies that you need to see, to remember how those ages felt and to wrap yourself in the yearning and desire and freedom that went along with adolescence. We shouldn’t forget those feelings, or these films.

OVERRATED

Gravity

Sure, Alfonso Cuarón’s film starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney was undeniably beautiful—to look at. But can we all admit that the story was lacking; the dialogue sometimes clunky and frustrating; and the final plot twist obvious and expected? Bullock’s and Clooney’s performances were solid and the tension omnipresent, but the fantastic visual effects, for me, didn’t engross me in the story; they kept me outside, looking in. Instead of feeling engrossed, I felt like an interloper. Gravity is a visual achievement for sure, but let’s not pretend it was the best film of 2013.

+Julian Lytle 

UNDERRATED
Rush

Man I don’t understand why there isn’t more people talking about one of the best films I’ve seen all year and clearly the best sports film all year. Let’s be honest here movies about the actual sport of car racing are pretty much boring. For me the greatest film in the car racing genre is Talladega Nights. Now you can say “Julian don’t you love The Fast and Furious franchise” and I say “ Man that ain’t about no sports, that’s about awesomeness”  but seriously Rush got me so involved in this story of these two men James Hunt and Niki Lauda probably got me the most invested in two characters this whole year. It let me see Chris Hemsworth as something other than Thor and it showed me just how good of an actor Daniel Bruhl is. Between this and Cinderella Man, Ron Howard has the lock on making dude movies that make dudes cry.

OVERRATED
The Butler

Man I don’t really even get how this movie is doing so well. This movie is essentially "Black Forrest Gump" in terms of the way it handled its main character’s travel through history. I think for me main issue with the movie is how it’s far too loose with the facts for to completely sell itself on being a TRUE story. For all the acclaim for Oprah’s performance I think what bothers me the most is that her character arc makes no sense at all. It didn’t work for me and it’s one of the few times where I don’t get how or why it worked for many others. I think this half decent movie is being boosted by the situation of Hollywood neglecting an audience.

+Travis Hopson

UNDERRATED

Blue Caprice

I don't shock easily; nor do many movies come out of nowhere and punch me in the face quite as hard as Alexandre Moors' Blue Caprice. One of the very first films I saw this year back before it ever had a hint of distribution, the subject matter was both worrying and intriguing. The Beltway Sniper shootings of more than a decade ago are still an open sore here in the District, and other movies on the matter have done a good job of sensationalizing it. But not Moors, who instead turns it into a terrifying character study on killer John Allen Muhammad, played with unsettling efficiency by Isaiah Washington, and the forces that turned him into a monster. Moors and writer R.F.I. Porto delve deep into Muhammad's twisted, "me against the world" psyche, but the real trick is how they make us understand without sympathizing. They're also quick to show how quickly Muhammad's sickness can be spread as he takes on a fatherly role to the wayward Lee Malvo (Tequan Richmond), the two forming a deadly and disturbed pair taking out their frustrations with the world on total strangers. But this isn't about the shootings themselves; it's about the shooters, and by the time they finally do take up arms we are sufficiently shaken to our boots. I turn up my nose every time I hear someone listing the likely Best Actor contenders because Washington's name is never mentioned when it needs to be in the discussion.

OVERRATED
Blue Jasmine
Two movies with Blue in the title? Guess what my back-up choice would have been? Yep, Blue is the Warmest Color. So overrated. But no, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine wins it, mainly because it sits at a staggering 91% right now on Rotten Tomatoes, which boggles my mind. You ever ask anybody what they like about the film? The answer is always the same: Cate Blanchett. Well, first of all nobody should be surprised by that. But second, she's not that damn good, and the problem with her can be laid at Allen's feet. Allen has never been the type to hover over his actors and give them notes on how to play a scene (unless they're playing a role he would've done himself), and there were a handful of times when someone needed to rein Blanchett's twitchy self in just a little bit. Tone it down a notch, take it up a notch, whatever. She's good, but let's not go overboard because she insults a lot of people and always has a drink in her hand. Speaking of insults, Allen's ruminations on class divisions  are amateurish at best. Whether it's the blue collar working stiffs or the high-minded rich everybody falls neatly into caricature, and Allen doesn't seem the least bit interested in exploring what really makes these people tick. Throw in a couple of extraneous characters; you could merge Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Dice Clay and the story wouldn't miss a beat; and what you've got is another decent if uninspiring Woody Allen effort. Can he go back to just touring us through Europe, please?

+Mae Abdulbaki 

UNDERRATED
Rush

Like Julian, I'm surprised that this film kind of came and went and never really got the attention it deserved. People just seemed to forget about it and it flew right under the radar, becoming overshadowed by its competitors. What's great about Rush is that you don't have to know that much about race car driving because Ron Howard chooses to focus on the film's main characters and their rivalry and interactions with each other. It's a film for everyone really, and is able to balance great drama and emotion, sprinkled with lighter moments throughout and, of course, race cars. Daniel Bruhl and Chris Hemsworth are both fantastic in their roles as real race car drivers Nikki Lauda and James Hunt, respectively, and make the movie all the more worthy of watching.  Overrated Captain Phillips The first time watching this film didn't really do anything for me. Sure, it's Tom Hanks, but really Barkhad Abdi is much more entertaining as a character than Captain Phillips ever was. Yes, I also know that it's based on a true story, but the whole film was underwhelming, Tom Hanks' performance only great in the last few minutes of a film that goes on for far too long and doesn't carry enough emotion. Watch A Hijacking. It's not based on a true story, but its premise is generally the same and is a much higher quality film.

OVERRATED
Captain Phillips

The first time watching this film didn't really do anything for me. Sure, it's Tom Hanks, but really Barkhad Abdi is much more entertaining as a character than Captain Phillips ever was. Yes, I also know that it's based on a true story, but the whole film was underwhelming, Tom Hanks' performance only great in the last few minutes of a film that goes on for far too long and doesn't carry enough emotion. Watch A Hijacking. It's not based on a true story, but its premise is generally the same and is a much higher quality film.

John Nolan

UNDERRATED
Disconnect

As per usual I go against the rules…or rather misunderstand the rules. I had to put in my due diligence before choosing Disconnect here and the consensus on RottenTomatoes.com holds this flick at a fresh 68%, so the issue here isn't’t really that people were saying it was bad…it was more that they weren't saying it was good loud enough for the audience to hear. The genius of this movie is that it works on two totally different levels, one of which the director did not intend (though I’m not sure how he didn't see this aspect of the interpretation coming). Disconnect is a movie of intertwining story lines, ala Crash, all revolving around the dangers of the internet… be it identity theft, online bullying, or underage webcam sex workers, this is the description the film’s director,  Henry Alex Rubin, hates. He prefers to think of it as a film about innocent lies with dire consequences, the realization that our preconceived notions are extremely off, and the odd way we can connect anonymously with people whom we would never associate with face to face. It’s win win, you can watch this film on a surface level and be extremely entertained, if not a bit freaked out. You can also watch it on the deeper meaning level and have your world view…or at least certain specific views, brought into question. A film that never got the attention it deserved and will sadly fall into the void of overlooked films Disconnect is easily my most underrated film of the year.

OVERRATED
Inside Llewyn Davis

I’ll just get this out of the way, Oscar Issac is amazing in the film, that part of this movies hype is deserved. This movie was very Drive-like in that there are a lot of silent and awkward scenes, the biggest difference is that Issac says more with a look than most do with their complete faculty’s… even with that the awkward feel is overbearing. The best way I can describe my feelings on this flick is to compare it to something you’d see in an art gallery. You know the old cliché where all the rich ladies in their mink coats with their monocled husbands standing close by, checkbook in hand, talking about the genius of a particular work. Then you walk up to see said work and it looks like someone sneezed on a canvas with a bloody nose and called it something catchy like “Eternalus” or some other pretentious made up word…yeah that’s how I felt about Llewyn Davis outside of Issac’s performance. You need only know that there was talk of a best supporting actor nomination for John Goodman, who I normally love, who’s entire performance consisted of acting like a stoned whacked out weirdo who spoke nonsense randomly for 5 minutes in the middle of the movie. I. JUST. DON’T. GET. IT.

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'12 Years A Slave' Wins Big at DC's WAFCA Awards

The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, of which we are proud members, revealed their winners of the 12th annual WAFCA Awards, and the critics of the Nation's Capital heaped their praise upon Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave. The slavery won a staggering six awards, the most in the group's history, claiming Best Film, Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Ensemble, and continuing Lupita Nyong'o's surge with a win for Best Supporting Actress.

A consensus continues to build around Cate Blanchett's jittery performance in Blue Jasmine, adding to the three Best Actress victories she scored over the weekend. One of the rare losses for 12 Years A Slave came in the Best Director category where Alfonso Cuaron won for his staggering sci-fi epic, Gravity, which also gave cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki another award to place on his mantle. The group chose Disney's Frozen over the somewhat polarizing The Wind Rises for Best Animated Feature, and Oscar-favorite Jared Leto won for his transformative performance in Dallas Buyers Club. The inaugural Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington DC was given to Lee Daniels' The Butler, earning the acclaimed historical drama its only victory. 

The full list of winners is below.

Best Film:
12 Years a Slave

Best Director:
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)

Best Actor:
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Supporting Actor:
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress:
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Best Acting Ensemble:
12 Years a Slave

Best Youth Performance:
Tye Sheridan (Mud)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)

Best Original Screenplay:
Spike Jonze (Her)

Best Animated Feature:
Frozen

Best Documentary:
Blackfish

Best Foreign Language Film:
The Broken Circle Breakdown

Best Art Direction:
Production Designer: Catherine Martin, Set Decorator: Beverley Dunn (The Great Gatsby)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, A.M.C. (Gravity)

Best Editing:
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger (Gravity)

Best Original Score:
Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Lee Daniels' The Butler

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Quentin Tarantino's Top 10 Movies of 2013 Has Some Curious Picks

Every year it's become something of an event when Quentin Tarantino reveals his ten favorite movies, mainly because his choices often run counter to consensus picks. But that's what also makes them so interesting. Who else had Paul W.S. Anderson's critically-panned The Three Musketeers on their list a couple of years ago? He took off from it last year because he was neck deep in Django Unchained, but now the Quentin Tarantino Archives have convinced him to reveal his top choices for the year so far, and again he makes some wild selections. Here's the list....

1. Afternoon Delight (Jill Soloway)
2. Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)
3. Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
4. The Conjuring (James Wan)
5. Drinking Buddies (Joe Swanberg)
6. Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
7. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
8. Kick Ass 2 (Jeff Wadlow)
9. The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski)
10. This Is The End (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg)

These are in alphabetical order rather than ranked, which works out in the favor of the genuinely charming Afternoon Delight, a small-scale dramedy that most everyone seems to love. It leads a list that includes mostly indie films, such as Richard Linklater's Before Midnight, Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha, and the critically-acclaimed Drinking Buddies. We shouldn't be surprised that someone like Tarantino would split from the critics by praising the disappointing Kick-Ass 2 and The Lone Ranger. He falls back in line by giving some more shine to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity.

Hopefully he'll drop a fuller list at the end of the year once all of the Oscar contenders have been released.

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Box Office: 'Riddick' Outshines 'The Butler' for #1

1. Riddick- $18.6M
2004's The Chronicles of Riddick was a bloated,  $105M PG-13 mess that felt completely disconnected from 2000's sleeper hit, Pitch Black. And so Vin Diesel, who had become a star thanks to the prior film, made a deal with Universal to return to the Fast & Furious franchise in exchange for producing rights to all future Riddick films. While $18M may not be a smash by any means, considering Diesel kept the film budgeted at below $40M, it may be just the tract needed to keep the series alive and lucrative. Diesel fronted much of the cost himself (with some reports that he mortgaged his home to do it), and it seems to have paid off. The adventures of Diesel's Furyan antihero have gained a stable, reliable audience who have followed the character from movies, to animated films, to successful video games, so there is a market out there. The only thing holding it back was cost, and assuming that stays under control Diesel should have another long-running
franchise to call his own.

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Box Office: 'Lee Daniels The Butler' Holds Strong; 'The Mortal Instruments' Bombs

1. Lee Daniels' The Butler- $17M/$52.2M
A lack of strong competition helped keep Lee Daniels' The Butler going strong in the top spot, only slipping 30% from last week. In a few days it will likely become the director's highest-grossing film, and that's before the inevitable prestige push it will get when Oscar time comes around.

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Box Office: '2 Guns' Outguns 'The Smurfs 2' for Top Spot

1. 2 Guns- $27.36M
Audiences largely avoided the movies this weekend, perhaps showing signs of blockbuster fatigue as the summer winds to a close. But those who turned out mostly saw 2 Guns, although its $27M debut is one of the season's weakest. The film shares the same director and star as last year's Contraband, Baltasar Kormakur and Mark Wahlberg, which opened at $24M. The presence of Denzel Washington is likely the reason why it performed slightly better, but this is still a fairly mediocre number. The problem may be that 2 Guns is largely indistinguishable from the recent run of films by both stars, and the marketing made no attempt to show why this was any different.

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Review: Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine', Starring Cate Blanchett

His films may be old-fashioned and may not have the same heft as they used to, but nobody can knock Woody Allen's ability to stay on schedule. At 77 years of age he's as much a workaholic as ever, cranking out at least one film a year and usually around the same time. The man is simply a machine, and the dedication to his craft admirable as he emerges from a whirlwind tour of Europe where his career went in some interesting new directions and produced some of the most inspired, whimsical films of his career. Whereas his most recent work has trafficked in the romantically surreal, Blue Jasmine brings us crashing back down to reality, powered by a steely and unnerving performance by Cate Blanchett as a socialite whose world has crumbled all around her.

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Tops at the Box Office: 'The Wolverine' Goes Berserker on #1

1. The Wolverine- $55M
It was a pretty slow weekend with only two heavily marketed releases, and really only The Wolverine had a mutant's chance in Hell at making any real noise. Four years removed from the last crack at a solo film for the X-man, the sequel's $55M debut falls $30M short of its predecessor, and nearly $70M less than X-men: The Last Stand. Both of those movies are considered disasters by most, and even though the franchise has been redeemed thanks to X-men: First Class, it's not totally unexpected that audiences would be weary of another Wolverine-centric offering. It's also possible that fans are only interested in the character when he's part of a team. Or the Japanese setting and lack of a clear storyline may have kept some away. Fortunately, the international flavor of it seems to have had a big impact on its foreign box office, reeling in $86M for a worldwide total of $141M.

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First Trailer for Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine' Starring Cate Blanchett

After his comeback with the surreal and funny Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen fell back down to Earth with last year's To Rome with Love. But it's a new season which means Allen is back at it again, gathering another incredible cast for Blue Jasmine, and judging by the look of the new trailer this won't be another love letter to a beautiful foreign city. Instead he's aiming for something a bit darker.

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New posters for 'The Wolverine', 'Man of Steel', 'Blue Jasmine', and more

Iron Man isn't the only Marvel hero getting in on the summer action. Logan the ol' Canucklehead is hoping to pop a claw into the box office with The Wolverine. At this point the only mystery left surrounding it are the ties to X-men: Days of Future Past, which could be significant indeed if prior rumors turn out to be true, and if all of the cameos come about. A new trailer will debut tomorrow, but for now a pair of character posters sketched in a similar style as earlier ones of Logan and Silver Samurai. These feature Wolverine's sexy assassin ally Yukio (Rila Fukushima) and the evil Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), his former peer now a deadly enemy. The Wolverine opens on July 26th and is directed by James Mangold.

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Release dates for 'Before Midnight', 'I'm So Excited', and Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine'

Grab your smartphone and fire up the calendar app, because Sony Pictures Classics has nailed down some release dates for three of this year's most anticipated films.

First up, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke's Before Midnight is set to arrive in New York and Los Angeles on May 24th. The film continues the nearly two decade-long romance of Jesse and Celine. You can check out my spoiler-free review of it here.

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Woody Allen's next film titled 'Blue Jasmine'; picked up by Sony Pictures Classics

Woody Allen's been hit or miss for years, there's usually no middle ground with him. He followed up his highly successful and imaginative Midnight in Paris with last year's tedious To Rome with Love, so the smart money is on his next film swinging back in the other direction. Par for the course, we don't know much about the plot, but we now know it will be titled Blue Jasmine.

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