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
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,
isn't on anybody's list, but it probably should be.
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.
OVERRATEDGravity
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 UNDERRATEDRush
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.
OVERRATEDThe 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.
OVERRATEDBlue 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 UNDERRATEDRush
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 PhillipsThe 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.
OVERRATEDCaptain 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
UNDERRATEDDisconnect
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.
OVERRATEDInside Llewyn DavisI’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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