Here we are yet again. Another year, another list. I'm pretty happy with the way that 2012 shaped up. I think that overall we saw several great films, and it was the return of the adult drama. For the first time in years, several films that didn't star robots made over a hundred million dollars at the box office. This should hopefully spell at least a couple of years where the story matters more than the toys. That's naive of course, but one can hope. And now, the Best Films of 2012.
Zero Dark Thirty
I am a sucker for a great procedural.
Give me hours of people sitting in dark rooms pouring over old
newspapers and audio tapes and I'm in heaven. I love watching smart
characters figure out the answer to the mystery, and the chase to
find out where the killer is before he can strike again. This is
that movie and so much more. Zero Dark Thirty, the drama about the
intelligence mission that located and ultimately killed Osama Bin
Laden, is the best example of this genre since David Fincher's
Zodiac. But unlike that film, here we get an unbelievably satisfying
ending. Jessica Chastain gives the performance of her career as
Maya, a women hellbent on finding Osama Bin Laden, and refusing to
take no for an answer. The film chronicles ten years of false leads,
red tape, and the terrorist attacks that set the mission back again
and again. It is exhausting as you watch her struggle to find the
answers, and then find people to believe her. I would have been
happy if that's all this was. But then it becomes so much more. The
final 40 minutes is an almost real time reenactment of the raid on
Bin Laden's compound, and it's the most tense piece of filmmaking of
the year. Kathryn Bigelow directs this film with such precision and
confidence that it's almost as though you can see her projected
through Maya. It's incredibly refreshing to see filmmaking so
focused and determined to tell this story as clearly and undramatic
as possible. There's none of those horrible war movie cliches here.
Just cold, hard revenge. Zero Dark Thirty is a great example of the
perfect marriage between excellence in the art of film and the art
of entertainment. It is also the best film of the year.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The film that I have shown to more
people this year than any, Perks is a coming of age drama set in the
early 90s, and it is the perfect example of a movie that just gets
me. I can't remember the last time that a screenplay felt so honest,
funny and heartfelt. The plot of the film is simple, it follows a
shy kid as he chronicles his freshman year of high school, and the
friends that he meets along the way. But as with every great story,
the devil is in the details. This is a movie about moments. Moments
that made me genuinely smile and think back to when I was a kid and
how completely this film rang true. These aren't characters who are
cool or trying not to be cool, they simply are high schoolers. With
all the charm and flaws that go along with it. It is the most
personal film on this list for me, the one that resonated with me on
so many levels.
The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan's conclusion to his
wonderful Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is not a film
that one can simply watch on its own, but must be viewed as the
final chapter of a story that's been setup since Batman Begins. I've
seen this film now about ten times, and I find that every time not
only do I get swept away by the fun of it all, but I marvel at how
well constructed this trilogy really is, and that Nolan has given
this Batman fan the definitive portrayal of this character on film.
No, this is not a perfect film, and the trilogy isn't either. But
when it comes to big summer movies, none was better this year at
giving the audience a thrill while also allowing their brains to
work right along side.
The Cabin in the Woods
A horror film that is a comedy about
horror films while also being a horror film. I know, confusing. But
trust me, it's one fun ride. Written by Joss Whedon and written and
directed by Drew Goddard, “Cabin” revolves around a group of
college kids who take a weekend trip to, you guessed it, The Cabin
in the Woods. But nothing is as it seems, and that is evident from
the first seen that takes place in what looks like a laboratory
where Bradley Cooper and Richard Jenkins discuss the annoyances of
baby proofing a kitchen. It is the weirdest movie of the year, but
one that keeps you on your toes. The script to ingenious, but never
feels full of itself, always poking fun at the slasher horror
cliches, but still being an excellent addition to the genre. The
final 25 minutes of this film is probably the most fun I had in a
movie theater last year, and was the perfect example of a movie
paying off every plant and culminating in a cornucopia of awesome.
Skyfall
The fact that a James Bond movie is in
my top ten at all surprises no one more than me. I've never been a
fan of this series, mostly due to its tongue in cheek nature. It
never kept my interest past a fleeting viewing. But this one is
different. Director Sam Mendes strips away all of the cliches that
we've come to expect from this series, and gives us a vulnerable
Bond, one who must face his past. Judi Dench is given so much to
work with here as M, and her performance is second to none. Javier
Bardem's villain is so creepy and menacing, it finally feels like a
real threat. This is the kind of big budget action filmmaking that I
would like to see more of. Making us care about the people firing
the guns makes the gun battle so much more exciting.
Pitch Perfect
The best comedy of the year is about
an acapella girl group. If this were any other movie, I would see
that as more of a comment on the state of comedy, but this movie
delivers from start to finish. 30 Rock writer Kay Cannon and Avenue
Q Director Jason Moore have crafted a witty and fun competition
comedy that kept me laughing the entire way through. The casting is
absolutely perfect, especially Rebel Wilson who cements herself as
one of the funniest actresses working today. Also of note are John
Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks playing “Best in Show” type
commentators. Every one of their lines lands perfectly, and adds to
this very clever comedy.
How to Survive a Plague
A documentary about the AIDS crisis
that is thrilling, funny and NOT depressing? Somehow this film is
just that. How to Survive a Plague documents the creation of
activist group ACT UP that in the 1980s forced the government to
take action against the AIDS crisis and begin releasing drugs to the
masses. The film wisely sidesteps the devastation of AIDS and
focuses on the group of people that saw their lives in jeopardy and
weren't going to take it sitting down. It is a mixture of interviews
and archival footage, some of which is really incredible. The
documentarians were able to capture some of the most heated and
intense moments of the protests and it really is a compelling piece
of cinema. The film itself is also structured like a thriller, where
you are unsure who survived and who didn't, which adds a level of
urgency to an already intense documentary. It is available on
Netflix and I strongly urge you to look past the subject matter and
enjoy an example of fantastic documentary filmmaking.
Bernie
Bernie is the kind of dark comedy that
I fall head over heels for. It is a Christopher Guest mockumentary
wrapped in a true crime drama. The film centers around Bernie,
played by Jack Black, who works at a funeral home in a small Texas
town. He befriends the mean old women in the town, played by Shirley
McClaine, and over the course of the film we see their relationship
unravel and have grave results. I feel comfortable spoiling that
since not only is this based on a true story, but it is not nearly
where the enjoyment of this film lies. The film is a mixture of
testimonials from the towns people who lived through this
experience, as well as reenactments of the events. The folks in this
movie are so genuinely hilarious, and their comments in the later
half of the film are so brilliant, it's shocking to find that they
are almost all non-actors. The film is written and directed by
Richard Linklater who has been a prolific filmmaker from Austin for
some time now, always dabbling in different genres and trying his
hand at all sorts of stories. For me, this is his best film since
2003's “School of Rock.”
Compliance
Every year I like to put a film on my
list that is for the varsity level film goer .The person who thinks
they've seen it all, and can sit through anything. Compliance is the
kind of film that if it wasn't based on true events, you would turn
off in ten minutes. It just would require such a suspension of
disbelief that any self respecting person would roll their eyes at.
But the fact that the movie is very closely based on a true story
makes you never want to turn away in fear that you will miss the
next crazy revelation. The film centers on a manager of a fast food
restaurant who gets a call from someone claiming to be a police
officer, and tells her that one of her employees is being accused of
stealing money. The officer then asks the manager to do a series of
increasingly unbelievable things to prove the employee's guilt. The
film is an excellent case study in how people respond to authority,
and what lengths someone will go to if they believe it is what
society has told them is right. Writer/Director Craig Zobel shows an
incredible amount of restraint in his directing by never going for
the gratuitous moments, and instead opting for a feeling of unease.
The performance that Ann Dowd gives as the manager is one of the
best of the year. The range of emotions that she goes through here
is at times terrifying and at the same time elicits such empathy
from the audience, it is a real shame she was not nominated for an
Oscar. It is not an easy film to watch, but I guarantee you will
have one hell of a wonderful debate afterwards.
Argo
With every film he has made, Ben
Affleck has shown that he is becoming not only a more competent
director, but one of the best of his generation. That was never more
true than with Argo. The film, an adaptation of a declassified CIA
mission from 1980 to rescue Canadian hostages from Iran, is classic
Hollywood filmmaking. It is at times incredibly tense, and then in
the next scene laugh out loud funny, and after that, it becomes a
well written procedural. The final few moments of this film are the
testament to its greatness. Even though this is based on a well
known event, and we are pretty sure we know the outcome, Affleck
creates a sequence filled with so much tension, you are suddenly on
the edge of your seat. This is the kind of popcorn cinema that was
made 20 years ago, and now we consider high art. While that speaks
more to the state of studio filmmaking, it is nice to see a well
made and intelligent film for adults that is a great time at the
movies.
And of course what Best of List would
be complete with out a Worst of List? This year, it was simple. One
movie was far away the worst of the year.
Ted
I don't think I've ever seen another
film completely devoid of laughs that is selling itself as a comedy.
It's as if Seth McFarlane seems to think that the joke is that we all
happen to consume some of the same pop culture, so if you call it
out, we'll just laugh at the familiarity of it all. It's tired and
dull. And it was insulting to my intelligence. I love movies that
push the boundaries of good taste. That's where some of the best
comedy originates. But it's not funny to just have a bear smoke pot
and talk about how awesome the Flash Gordon movie was. It wasn't
awesome and neither is this.
