Well here's the start of my list of my favorite films of 2012, and (hopefully brief) thoughts on each. First, we'll start with 10 honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):
21 JUMP STREET
Channing Tatum really came into his own this year with this, Magic Mike, and another movie to be featured later on this year's list. His chemistry with Jonah Hill is great, and the movie is flat out hilarious (a good reminder that the brilliance of Scott Pilgrim was as much a contribution of its co-screenwriter Michael Bacall, who wrote this alone). This is on the list as a reminder a great comedy is sometimes just one that makes you laugh really hard.
ANNA KARENINA
Joe Wright seems to be on the top of his game making period pieces with Keira Knightley. I've always respected his other work but didn't enjoy it as much, but this completes a sort of unofficial trilogy with Knightley (along with Pride & Prejudice and one of my all-time favorites Atonement). The choice to set most of it inside an old theatre is an inspired choice that always kept my interest, and the cinematography is breathtaking. Wright found a way to breathe new life into this classic story.
ARBITRAGE
A simple thematic undercurrent of the rich "getting away with murder" so to speak may feel on the nose to some, but I thought it necessarily hit the point hard (something I'll bring up later with another film). Richard Gere is in top form, adding a lot of pathos to a character that shouldn't at first seem sympathetic, and the script really kept me guessing. I was particularly interested in how he isn't one man trying to figure it out, but he basically has a small team of people helping him through this situation, his most trusted advisors. Tim Roth's character may stumble a bit at the end, but it doesn's top the film from ending strong.
COMPLIANCE
A series of events so unbelievable that it would have to be based on a real events to be made into a film. Luckily, the movie fleshes it out where necessary in order to subtly ask what it is in our nature to allow us to do these unspeakable things. A perfect example of how most people will do just about anything as long as they don't ultimately feel responsible for their actions. Pat Healy's performance is chilling, and I hope this is the role he needs to get much more recognition in the indie world, and Ann Dowd really should've been nominated for an Oscar, if only for the final scene of the film alone.
HAYWIRE
One of Steven Soderbergh's seemingly last feature films is a raw, gritty, stripped down action film, almost like a female Jason Bourne mixed with 3 Days of the Condor. The action is expertly filmed, and Soderbergh uses his name to attract an unbelievable cast to fill out the film in supporting roles, most notably Michael Fassbender as a rival assassin who makes the mistake of underestimating our heroine, played more than adequately by the MMA fighter Gina Carano. This is also another example of how Channing Tatum is not so slowly becoming an actor to watch.
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
A welcome return to Middle Earth, and even if it doesn't feel as important as the original trilogy, this is still a fun adventure film with some incredibly fun moments. The troll sequence is everything it should be, and the interaction between Bilbo and Gollum ranks among my favorite scenes of the year. Sure, the CG orcs are kinda crappy and there's way too much bad exposition in the first hour, but what works is really great, and if you can give me moments like the dwarves all singing in Bag End, then turn that into a roaring theme for the rest of the film, I'll take that over The Avengers any day.
NOT FADE AWAY
I've still only seen the first 3 episodes of The Sopranos, but David Chase's first feature about the 1960's music scene certainly makes me want to keep going. An excellent analysis of the motivations and inspirations of perhaps the greatest music period in history told as a microcosm of one fictional, unsuccessful band.
PROMETHEUS
Stunning practical effects work reigns here, in addition to excellent performances, especially Michael Fassbender as David, and an interesting thematic exploration of evolution vs intelligent design by way of Alien. I won't even call myself an apologist here, I think this movie got really unfairly panned by horror and sci-fi fans. Lindelof writes the kind science fiction that I want to see, one primarily rooted in mystery, theme, and character, and always leaves room for interpretation and ambiguity. I'm really interested to see what they can do with a sequel, even if Lindelof won't be writing it.
SKYFALL
Terrific action, and a much better realization of the washed up action hero trope than The Dark Knight Rises. Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Javier Bardem give the Bond series perhaps its best cast to date, and the film works perfectly as a 50 year anniversary film, complete with homages to some of the series' best moments, but also works on its own as a tremendous action film. Oh yeah, and Roger Deakins' cinematograpy is amazing, practically begging the Academy to give him his well deserved first Oscar. Hopefully he gets it.
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Although I'm not sure it rises above just being an excellent procedural, I really appreciated the apolitical approach the film took, choosing to frame it as a great detective story focusing on one brilliant, determined woman who manages to do the impossible in a man's world and find Osama bin Laden almost single handedly. Jessica Chastain's performance is phenominal, as is Jason Clarke's. But if that doesn't sound interesting, hopefully you'll stick it out for the visceral, heart-pumping infiltration sequence that occupies 20-30 minutes at the end of the film. I probably enjoyed The Hurt Locker more, but Zero Dark Thirty is well worth seeing.
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