Back in the movie wasteland of last January, no one could have guessed what a bounty of good films the year would bring. Not just good films, but several that measure up to our idealized notions of what the medium once was. Two candidates for the top of the heap pretty much chose themselves. For sheer entertainment, the clear call is 'American Hustle,' David O. Russell's joyous celebration of 1970s-era con artists and their intricate cons. For innovation-a new theatrical experience born of new technology-'Gravity' whirls in its own orbit. With the understanding that there's nothing to be said against 'American Hustle,' and everything to recommend this screwball comedy for the ages, I think 'Gravity' is the best movie of the year.
Columbia Pictures克里斯蒂安•贝尔、艾米•亚当斯和布莱德利•库珀在电影《美国骗局》中早在1月份闹片荒的时候，人们不会想到今年会迎来如此多好电影。不仅如此，有几部影片甚至达到了被我们在心目中理想化了的那些老电影的水准。今年有两部电影脱颍而出。纯娱乐片方面，赢家显然是《美国骗局》(American Hustle)，这部由大卫•欧•拉塞尔(David O. Russell)执导的影片讲述了上个世纪七十年代的行骗高手和他们的微妙骗术的故事，幽默诙谐，令人捧腹。而从创新角度看，《地心引力》(Gravity)的全新拍摄技术给观众带来了新的观影体验。人们普遍认为《美国骗局》无可挑剔，这部疯狂喜剧片是一部时代佳作。我个人则认为，《地心引力》是今年的最佳影片。
Alfonso Cuaron and his colleagues, most notably the cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the production designer Andy Nicholson and the filmmaker's co-writer, Jonas Cuaron, have made a motion picture that expands the way motion pictures will be made. Readers with an interest in technology can get a sense of their extraordinary achievements from last month's cover story of American Cinematographer, which is available online. But the emotional essence of the film is already known to anyone who has seen it, and has been swept away by it-into the outer space of silence and menace, into an inner space of deep delight.
在导演阿方索•卡隆(Alfonso Cuaron)和同事们（其中包括知名电影摄影师艾曼努尔•卢贝兹基(Emmanuel Lubezki)、制片设计师安迪•尼克尔森(Andy Nicholson)和编剧霍纳斯•卡隆(Jonas Cuaron)）的共同努力下，《地心引力》丰富了电影的拍摄手法。《美国电影摄影师》(American Cinematographer)杂志上个月的封面故事刊载了关于《地心引力》制作过程的文章，对电影技术感兴趣的读者可以一探究竟。读者们可以在网上阅读该杂志。不过任何看过《地心引力》的观众都已经领会到了该片的情感内涵，这部电影把观众们带进入了一个寂静危险的外太空和一个深度愉悦的内心世界。
After 'Gravity' and 'American Hustle,' my picks are in alphabetical order:
除了《地心引力》和《美国骗局》，我还选出了其他一些口碑不错的影片（按字母顺序排列）：
'12 Years A Slave' is shattering and anguishing, a singular anomaly in an entertainment medium. More than that, Steve McQueen's hugely ambitious chronicle of slavery in America is revelatory, a work of art that has been embraced by mainstream audiences. That's a testimony to the power of art (as expressed in John Ridley's script and performances by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o and Michael Fassbender, among others), and heartening evidence of moviegoers' hunger for substance and meaning in the films they choose to see.
《为奴十二载》(12 Years A Slave)：这是一部奇特的文娱片，令人震动、悲伤。本片导演史蒂夫•麦昆(Steve McQueen)大胆拍摄了一个关于美国奴隶制时代的故事，发人深省，是一部迎合主流观众口味的佳作。这部影片证明了艺术的力量，同时说明影迷们在他们选择观看的电影中渴求影片的本质和意义，这一点也令人振奋。该片编剧为约翰•里德利(John Ridley)，主演包括切瓦特•埃加福特(Chiwetel Ejiofor)、露皮塔•尼永奥(Lupita Nyong'o)、迈克尔•法斯宾德(Michael Fassbender)等人。
'Blue Jasmine' belongs, chronologically, to Woody Allen's late period of self-renewal. Artistically, however, it's a comfortable fit with some of the brightest comedies-the brightest/bleakest/wriest comedies-he's ever done. The centerpiece is Cate Blanchett's astonishing performance as Blanche duBois re-imagined to be the half-mad ex-wife of Alec Baldwin's crypto-Bernie Madoff. Not all that far from the center, Sally Hawkins, Andrew Dice Clay, Bobby Cannavale and Louis C.K., among others, maneuver their way through mine fields of deceit and disappointment.
《蓝色茉莉》(Blue Jasmine)：按年代顺序排列，本片属于导演伍迪•艾伦(Woody Allen)自我更新晚期的作品。不过，从艺术角度看，该片算得上是伍迪•艾伦作品中最优秀的喜剧之一。该片的卖点是凯特•布兰切特(Cate Blanchett)的出彩演绎，曾在《欲望号街车》中出演布兰奇•杜布瓦(Blanche DuBois)的凯特•布兰切特这一次出演女主角茉莉，离婚后精神状态有些癫狂。亚历克•鲍德温(Alec Baldwin)在剧中扮演茉莉的丈夫，是一个类似于马多夫(Bernie Madoff)的行骗者。其他人物方面，在经历了欺骗和失望后，莎莉•霍金斯(Sally Hawkins)、安德鲁•戴斯•克莱(Andrew Dice Clay)鲍比•坎纳瓦尔(Bobby Cannavale)以及路易•C.K(Louis C.K.)等人扮演的角色最终都找到了自己的方向。
'Cutie and the Boxer' was hardly noticed by the movie-going public, but a list of fine films isn't a rundown of box-office triumphs. The reach of Zachary Heinzerling's debut feature-length documentary is equaled by its grasp. On the surface it's about nothing more-or less-than a troubled marriage that has somehow managed to last 40 years. Beneath the surface, then startlingly out in the open, is a history of rivalry (both husband and wife are artists), enmity, reluctant devotion and, most startling of all, enduring love.
《小可爱与拳击手》(Cutie and the Boxer)几乎没有受到观影公众的注意，但好电影名单并非票房大片的罗列。这部达到正片长度的纪录片是扎克利•海因策林(Zachary Heinzerling)的处女作，其影响与感悟同样出色。表面上它只是讲述了一段勉力维持了40年的问题婚姻。然而在表面之下，又惊人地暴露出来的是一段有关竞争（夫妻双方都是艺术家）、怨恨、不情愿的奉献以及持久的爱（这是最让人震惊的）的历史。
'Fruitvale Station' represents another remarkable feature debut, by the director Ryan Coogler. Its subject matter-the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant, a black, unarmed 22-year-old by a white transit cop in Oakland, Calif.-might have made a documentary. Mr. Coogler had the better idea of exploring it as a dramatized, and to a considerable extent fictionalized, account of the day in Oscar's life that preceded his death. He's played by Michael B. Jordan, whose performance can break your heart or fill it with joy, sometimes simultaneously.
《弗鲁特维尔车站》(Fruitvale Station)是另一部出色的故事片处女作，由瑞安•库格勒(Ryan Coogler)执导。这部影片的主题是赤手空拳的22岁黑人奥斯卡•格兰特(Oscar Grant)在加州奥克兰与一名白人交警发生冲突而遭到误杀，这本来可以成就一部纪录片。库格勒有更好的想法，将这个真实事件加以戏剧化改编，并在很大程度上进行了虚构，讲述了奥斯卡死亡前一天的生活。饰演这个角色的是迈克尔•乔丹(Michael Jordan)，他的表演能让你心碎，也能令人欢乐不已，有时是两者兼具。
'Her,' which was written and directed by Spike Jonze, takes romance into the virtual realm, and its hero on a gently crazed journey of genuine passion. Joaquin Phoenix is the poignantly lonely guy who falls in love with his smartphone's new operating system. The basic conceit is a fragile one, but it's beautifully and bravely developed, as well as elegantly photographed by Hoyte Van Hoytema, with perfectly calibrated performances by Mr. Phoenix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson, who is that system's voice and soul.
《她》(Her)，由斯派克•琼斯(Spike Jonze)担任编剧兼导演，将浪漫带入了虚拟世界，影片的主人公展开了一场有些疯狂的真正激情之旅。华金•菲尼克斯(Joaquin Phoenix)扮演的男主角是个令人心酸的孤独小伙子，他爱上了自己智能手机的新操作系统。影片的基本构想有些脆弱，但故事非常华丽地展开，霍伊特•范•霍特玛(Hoyte Van Hoytema)的摄影也很精妙，完美地烘托了菲尼克斯、艾米•亚当斯(Amy Adams)和斯嘉丽•约翰逊(Scarlett Johansson)的表演。斯嘉丽•约翰逊在片中扮演的是智能手机操作系统的声音和灵魂。
'Inside Llewyn Davis' finds the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, in a hauntingly somber mood that somehow translates into memorable drama. I think my review should have made it clearer that this elegy for a casualty of pop culture is a special taste; some of it is fairly glum. So much of it, though, gets to something stirring by way of Oscar Isaac's phenomenal performance as a self-defeating folk singer fatefully dedicated to his art.
在《醉乡民谣》(Inside Llewyn Davis)中，编剧兼导演乔尔•科恩(Joel Coen)和伊桑•科恩(Ethan Coen)兄弟俩挥之不去的忧伤情绪转化成了令人难忘的戏剧性场面。我觉得我的评论本应澄清，这部关于流行文化牺牲品的悲歌有一种特别的味道；其中一些部分相当阴郁。奥斯卡•伊萨克(Oscar Isaac)在片中出演一位自暴自弃的民谣乐手，宿命般地献身于他的艺术，他的卓越表演令这部影片极其震撼人心。
'Nebraska' gets to the heart of Bruce Dern's prickly old geezer, Woody Grant, by way of a road trip across Montana and Nebraska, shot in radiant black-and-white. (Here again one of the movie's stars is its cinematographer, Phedon Papamichael.) Alexander Payne directed, flawlessly, from Bob Nelson's stellar script, which is all about thwarted love, and reconciliation, between Woody and his son Will; he's played with painfully quiet eloquence by Will Forte. Here's the American heartland as it's seldom portrayed on screen, with humor and almost palpable fondness.
《内布拉斯加》(Nebraska)以明快的黑白片形式拍摄，通过一次穿越蒙大拿和内布拉斯加的旅行揭示了由布鲁斯•邓恩(Bruce Dern)扮演的易怒老头伍迪•格兰特(Woody Grant)的内心世界。（这部电影的摄影师芬顿•帕帕迈可(Phedon Papamichael)也参演了影片。）编剧鲍勃•尼尔森(Bob Nelson)炮制了优秀的剧本，而亚历山大•佩恩(Alexander Payne)的导演工作也无懈可击。这部影片讲述的是伍迪和儿子威尔(Will)关系不佳、最终和解的过程；扮演儿子的威尔•福特(Will Forte)极度平和的表演征服了观众。这里是很少在银幕上得到刻画的美国心脏地带，带着幽默和几乎可以感知的深情。
'Short Term 12' is one of those small indie features that stays with you in a big way. It's only 96 minutes long, a modest production set in a foster-care facility for troubled teens. Yet Destin Cretton's direction and Brie Larson's performance elevate the film to, well, one of the year's very best. Ms. Larson is almost a sure thing for not getting an Oscar-this year's competition is unusually fierce-but do catch up with her portrayal of Grace, a 20-something supervisor who is far from untroubled in her own life.
《少年收容所》(Short Term 12)是独立制片的小型影片之一，然而却会大大地影响观众。这部低成本电影片长仅96分钟，背景是一个针对问题青少年的收容设施。然而德斯汀•克里顿(Destin Cretton)的导演和布里•拉尔森(Brie Larson)的表演让这部电影跻身年度最佳影片之列。拉尔森几乎可以肯定无缘奥斯卡奖（今年的竞争异常激烈），但她对所扮演的女主角格蕾丝(Grace)的刻画极具水准，格蕾丝是一名20多岁的年轻保育员，她自己的生活远非平静无波。