Her

On the risk of repeating myself: Joaquin Phoenix is a gorgeous, gorgeous man. True, it took me a minute to get over the 'stache, but even that most horrible of fashion fads (yes, it looks bad on everyone) cannot hide the fact for too long.

Also, I'm sure we can all agree that he is a brilliant actor on top of this. For a film like Her nobody of lesser acting ability would do. It takes a lot to keep an audience focused and involved in a film that mostly shows the same person throughout. Here, he is put into a film that is all atmosphere. The surroundings, however bleak at times, are stunning. The music is pretty, too.

Much has been said about Scarlett Johansson's exceptional performance as the voice that Theodore, the character played by Joaquin Phoenix, falls in love with (and she/it with him). The few actual supporting actors around Phoenix are ideally cast, as well. Amy Adams especially (also not at her best looking), who plays the role of old friend, gives an understated and believable performance.

Of course, the film is not perfect. The operating system ("Samantha") tends to be annoyingly whiny at times and I am sure that the relatively slow pace is not for everyone, but the story is beautifully embedded into a bleak yet beautiful world.

You won't see many films like this one.

8/10

American Hustle

I do not get everybody's infatuation with David O. Russell. Never mind that the guy is reportedly an asshole but his films are mediocre, at best. Like this one. Granted, American Hustle is far superior to the last of his products that has been shoved down our collective throats, Silver Linings Playbook, but that is not saying much.

Like its predecessor, American Hustle apparently cannot decide whether it wants to be a comedy or a drama. In my opinion, it is neither. Let's just agree to calling it a crime caper. Don't get me wrong, it has its moments and Jennifer Lawrence is actually very good in this (yes, I called her very good), now that she is allowed to play something other than the defiant young woman of all her previous roles.

As for the comedy part (or attempt of it)...the actors are made to look as ridiculous as possible (unnecessarily so), except for Amy Adams, who is as scantily dressed as possible. There is a dance part and some singing (both uncalled for). The drama comes in when several love triangles develop among the characters. It gets even sappy at parts (the Amy Adams character revealing to the Bradley Cooper character that she has been using a false name but 'this, this is real'). Also, it has endless voice overs (which I don't care for).

The story itself is about a couple of con artists that get caught and are forced to help the feds con other people (including one very honest and likable politician) but actually end up conning the feds. It drags on forever and the plot gets lost in the smugness of it all.

Could have easily been a good half hour shorter. I kinda wish it had been.

4/10

...which brings us to our Best Picture Oscar nominees update:
Gravity
Captain Phillips
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle

The Master

I must admit that the first 30 minutes of this were rough for me. It seemed all so tedious and I was waiting for the film to get going. Not what I expect from a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. He is one of my favorite directors and has in the past spoiled us with his works. Hence, I was a bit cautious at first.

However, as soon as Philip Seymour Hoffman enters the stage (so to say) the film does become the master piece (no pun intended) it is by so many said to be. For a long while it was lauded as the best film of 2012 and groomed as a sure thing for award season. But the film year is a long one and the attention span of the members of various academies and associations is rather short. What it did get, in the end, at the big one (Oscars), was recognition for the stellar acting of the main characters. Of course, they never stood a chance and the Academy did not dish out any surprises this year.

This is the story of a lost young man named Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), disillusioned after the war and prone to violence and his unlikely friendship and devotion to Lancaster Dodd ('The Master'/Hoffman), who may or may not be fashioned after L. Ron Hubbard. The cult (no, no, not a cult, surely) is known as The Cause and it doesn't seem to do any actual harm but enthralls the followers in regression therapy and lulls them with words spoken (made up?) by Dodd. There is some minor legal trouble of the financial kind, of course, but then there always is.

Dodd now wishes to help Freddie through his aggression by having him repeat either answers or short walks from one end of the room to the other and loudly stating what the wall or the window feel like when he touches them.

The scenes with Hoffman and Phoenix in them, mostly in conversation, are wonderful to watch and are what makes this film so special.

Joaquin Phoenix really is a gorgeous man and Philip Seymour Hoffman sings!

8/10