October 2013- Best & Worst

Last October I set out to watch as many horror films as possible, for obvious reasons. But due to many things (binge-watching MTV’s Teen Wolf being one of them) not only did I only manage to watch two of them, but just nine films in total. This month I did much better, watching 21 films for the first time including 7 which can be considered horror. The best of these was easily Halloween, which I finally got around to see this year and it lived up to expectations despite being completely different than what I imagined.

As for the other films I watched, The Purple Rose of Cairo immediately jumped into my top 10 of all time. I also watched Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity two times in IMAX because it was an amazing experience that I knew I would never have again. It may not be quite my favorite film of the year, but it’s still among one of the best. And finally, films like The Best Little Whorewhouse in Texas, Enough Said, and Populaire reminded me that light and fluffy films can be just as powerful as any other.

And now, here’s my top 10 of the month, followed, as always by some awards and such.

Top 10

1. The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen, 1985)
2. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, 2013)
3. The Painting (Jean-François Laguionie, 2012)
4. Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
5. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Collin Higgins, 1982)
6. Enough Said (Nicole Holofcener, 2013)
7. Populaire (Régis Roinsared, 2013)
8. The Wolf Man (George Waggner, 1941)
9. Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2013)
10. Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas, 2013)

Honorable Mentions: The Guilt Trip, I Killed My Mother

Best Re-watch: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Worst: World War Z

Superlatives

Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Best Actor: Romain Duris, Populaire

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, Gravity | Mia Farrow, The Purple Rose of Cairo | Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said

Best Supporting Actor: James Gandolfini, Enough Said

Best Supporting Actress: Piper Laurie, Carrie

Best Screenplay: The Purple Rose of Cairo

Best Cinematography: Gravity & Halloween

Best Costume Design: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas & Populaire

Best Production Design: Gravity & Populaire

Best Music: Gravity & Halloween

Check out the complete rankings on Letterboxd and leave your thoughts on the comments below.