It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done a Weekly Review post with the holidays and all so the following is really what I’ve seen over the past three weeks or so. Between traveling coasts, wrapping up my top ten, and busting out a bundle of lingering 2013 reviews, I finally had a chance to eject some thoughts of a number of films from the year that I hadn’t yet had a chance to reflect on. So strap in and take a look at this surprisingly great collection of films.

SIMON KILLER (2013)

Trying to fulfill my list of underseen films of 2013, I finally got to watch Simon Killer which had snuck past me all year until it arrived on Netflix Instant. Perhaps expecting it to be an edgy and powerful foreign landscape romp reduced my enjoyment of the actual picture but I think either way I would have only found this film just ok. Featuring a cast of unknowns, none of whom prove their staying power or demand the rise to name brand performer, Simon Killer dips into the swampy territory of Parisian prostitution as an American traveler tries to bandage his recent breakup with a new kindled flame with a whore. Director Antonio Campos definitely tries to be different as his camera is never focused on the action but always wandering on the scene’s lower sections – legs, shoes, sofas, shuffles. It’s an interesting choice but it becomes too obvious and faux-artsy as the movie wears on. While the soundtrack managed to garnish some killer tunes from the likes of LCD Soundsystem, the editing leaves them without much of a place to go, much like the film itself.

C

THE ACT OF KILLING (2013)

An interrogation has never been as self-reflective as it has in Act of Killing. Documentarians Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, and an anonymous third have turned the camera on Indonesian gangsters, or as they like to be called and call themselves “free men”, as they reflect on the heinous acts of near genocide they inflicted on rivaling communist party. At first, they are callused and cheery, almost gleefully ready to reenact their heinous crimes. But in the midst of these reenactments, they learn the true horror of what they have done. Rather than force-feeding these conclusions to their subjects, the filmmakers draw it from them with meticulous restraint, making the internal transformation we witness that much more powerful and cathartic. The Act of Killing is certainly one of the best documentaries of 2013.

A-
CUTIE AND THE BOXER (2013)

Another 2013 documentary, Cutie and the Boxer aims the camera at Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, two struggling Japanese-native artists who’ve been living in New York City for decades. Ushio has been the breadwinner, however light his monthly cull may be, for a long time so when Noriko starts to emerge as a respected artist their already shaky marriage is thrown for a loop. Rather than just focus on their art, director Zachary Heinzerling shows us a surprisingly intimate view of love as a battlefield. But for all the issues the Shinoharas endure, their love is a foundation that we never doubt, making Cutie and the Boxer a shockingly affecting piece of documentary filmmaking.

A

HOSTEL (2005)

Years ago I turned off Eli Roth‘s blistering torture porn Hostel because I was too grossed out. Apparently, my more recent adoption of the horror genre has changed my view of what is “too much” as this time around I was surprised at how tame the film appeared to me. Sure, there are melted eyeballs, fingers getting snipped off, and decapitated heads and limbs by the pile, but here in 2014 that’s pretty much standard. Nonetheless, I found myself captivated by this story of country-hopping adventure gone awry and appreciated moments when the story would derail from expectations. By no stretch of the imagination is this a great or even good film but it was certainly one that I found myself enjoying.

B-

THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK (2013)

I learned of about this other little guy at about the same time that I learned of Simon Killer and was equally unstirred by a viewing. The History of Future Folk sees an humanoid alien arrive on Earth with plans to exterminate and populate but is sidetracked when he hears music for the first time. There’s a bit of similarity to Flight of the Concords and Tenacious D when the duo is slinging their oft-kilter folk rock but there’s nothing inherently memorable or funny about any of the songs they perform. And those are the highlight of this otherwise forgettable film. Rather, it’s a bit of a painfully awkward affair and while I don’t prefer to hate on little indie films, this one is just too unremarkable for me to give a pass to with a clean conscience.

C-

2 GUNS (2013)

Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington lead this buddy cop film that feels right out of the 80’s and might as well be a reboot of the Lethal Weapon franchise. But after two hours of shooting, running, and “twists” it really doesn’t go anywhere. Wahlberg and Washington both play undercover detectives working an angle who each drink a dose of getting screwed over and must team up, despite their many mangy differences (sigh), and ultimately wind up in over their heads with criminal organizations and rogue government agencies alike. It sounds like the plot to a million different action films and, complete with the snark you would expect from a Wahlberg, Washington team-up, it feels like it too. Thankfully there are worse things than watching these two bozos run amuck and shooting things for a few hours but, then again, there are better things too.

C

OLDBOY (2003)

So Oldboy and I go way back. This is a film I’ve had on my too-see list for years and despite having started it once or twice have never finished because I didn’t feel like “the timing was right.” I know, I know, that’s weird and all but you’ve got to be in the right mood to truly appreciate certain kinds of films and let’s just say I’m happy I waited on this one, because watching it last night after the clock struck midnight was exactly the kind of viewing experience Oldboy demands (well that or a packed theater but that time has passed.) Originally I was going to see Spike Lee‘s American remake but after that wasn’t screened for critics and then went on to bomb, I felt it right to return to Chan-wook Park‘s lauded original. Violent, twisted, and heavily philosophical, Oldboy is the perfect union of ideas and exploitation. When we’re not still guessing, Park keeps us occupied with meticulously staged fight sequences and horrifying reveals. But his greatest accomplishment lies in his ability to wrap things up in such satisfying manner. It makes me wonder, if Oldboy had ended any other way would it be the celebrated landmark it is today? I would render a guess: no.