2012 Movie Assessment

This was a very good year for movies – a lot of quantity and quality.  If you read this blog regularly then you know I am an unrepentant movie nut.  This list was culled from only the movies I went to see. I know there are a bunch of movies that are worthy that I haven’ t seen yet.  I’ve also included what I considered to be the worst movies of the year, because that’s almost more fun. 

Top Ten for 2012

1.  Cloud Atlas – this movie just captured my heart for some reason.  It was sweeping and spanned several centuries with the story jumping back and forth in the time stream.  I love it when moviemakers take chances and they certainly did with this but the theme of redemption and enduring love can’t be underexplored.  I loved this movie.  Best movie of the year.

2.  Cabin in the Woods – The biggest surprise of the year.  This is the most effective combination of horror and just laugh out loud comedy that I’ve ever seen.  Incompetent civil servants controlling a slasher film story behind the scenes while the fate of the earth hangs in the balance – could not have been any funnier.  Best line of the year – “C’mon!”

3.  The Avengers – so hyped I didn’t think it could deliver but it does.  Each character gets his/her story and screen time.  The Hulk steals every scene he’s in as moviemakers finally get him right.

4.  The Dark Knight Rises – so tough to adequately end a trilogy when the bar has been set so high by the two preceding films but Nolan does that and more.  This was the best film of all three as we see Bruce Wayne complete his arc ably assisted by the best Catwoman ever.

5.  Lockout – another movie that totally surprised me (and you get extra points for that).  It is a fairly straight forward science fiction adventure but Guy Pearce as the wise cracking hero and Joseph Gilgun as the mesmerizingly evil villain elevate this.

6.  Prometheus – Another heavily hyped movie that I feel delivered.  Ridley Scott was able to return to the Alien story with a lot more money and special effects.  This movie was just immense in scope and vision.

7.  Skyfall– heart stopping action is a 007 staple but when they add drama and take some real chances with the characters then you have something really special - which was Skyfall.

8.  Argo – an uplifting drama about the most embarrassing episode in recent US foreign policy doesn’t seem like a great premise for a movie but Affleck makes it work.  It was also an interesting look back into the 1970’s – (what were we thinking with those haircuts!)

9.  Looper – a very smart science fiction yarn that has two stars playing the same character and actually meeting face to face.  This film makes you think as you consider the layers within layers of implications of being able to travel back in time to fix things.

10.  Ted – total guilty pleasure movie that is just too funny.  You actually believe the bear is real after ten minutes and pokes so much fun at the Boston sub-culture.  A guy’s flick but one of the funniest I’ve seen in years.

This list was tough to make up because there were so many great movies worth considering this year in terms of quality.  The following movies made it to the final cut, in no particular order:

Honorable Mention:

Amazing Spiderman – great re-make that I didn’t understand the need for until I saw it.  Emma Stone steals entire movie but Garfield is a very compelling Spidey

21 Jump Street – I never watched the original series but this was a really fun comedy

Bourne Legacy – great re-boot of the series Post-Damon

Lawless – overlooked by a lot of people but this was a very compelling film.  Hardy demonstrates great acting chops here as the indestructible brother

7 Psychos – so, so funny.  This movie had to have Christopher Walken in it but the best psycho was Sam Rockwell

The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey – while this didn’t have the pull of the LOTR it was still groundbreaking filmmaking by Jackson

Jack Reacher – Cruise will never be Reacher but he got the attitude perfect and the plot is tight, a very enjoyable action flick

Life of Pi – didn’t know what to make of this going in but I ended up loving the visual art and the poignant story

Hunger Games – Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss Evergreen

Battleship – very flawed but over the top sci fi action that I revel in, worth it just to see a battleship deliver a broadside

Chronicle – very nuanced sci fi tale about the implications of great power.  The young actors in this really stepped up

Top Comedy (co-winners): 

Ted
Cabin in the Woods

Top Horror Movie:

Cabin in the Woods

Top Drama:
Argo

Top Romance:

Hope Springs – chick flick for middle agers

Top Action:

Avengers

Best Special Effects:

Total Recall

Best Foreign Film

The Raid: Redemption – great combination of bloody action and martial arts.  It also has a lot of heart and solid acting

 

Worst Movies/ Biggest Disappointments

Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – so, so bad, worst movie of the year, by far.  I thought this would be some campy fun but it was wretched on every level

The Watch – talented cast who totally mailed this one in, I felt bad that they should expose their laziness so brazenly

Savages – really looked forward to this but just terribly acted, edited, and directed – just bad cinema