Finally My Best/Favorites of 2012 or Am I a Hater or Lover of Film 2012 Edition

Because I don't get to the movie theater as often as I like, I must rely on Netflix more than I like to watch the new great films. Which means the previous years awards winners aren't viewed until....May.

There's still a few outstanding on the list, but I feel confident that I can pick my favs and best films of the year from what I have seen.

10. The Grey - Bringing up the rear is a big surprise film that I didn't know how I would like it. But its simplicity of story and the amazing awesomeness of Liam Niesen draws you in. He's as captivating as in any other film he's ever been in. That's sort of all you need to know. The plot is rather simple, but that's something modern movies sort of pass over too much these days.

And Liam Niesen is fighting wolves.





9. The Avengers - Speaking of over-blown, plot heavy Hollywood monstrosities. It took 5 films just to set up the story of this movie. At times it seemed a little too complicated for it's own good (they spent an awful lot of time at SHIELD), but the characters were so well done. Joss Whedon should been rewarded simply for that. The arch of the team is so well managed. It wasn't the greatest film but it was really, really fun.

8. Zero Dark Thirty - And speaking of really fun movies. There's nothing like watching a 3 hour film about a decade long chase for a man hiding out in a compound being chased by people staring at computers and torturing people. But in all seriousness...I think it was fantastically well done. It is NOT The Hurt Locker by any means.....but that's the point. This film shows how modern warfare is really done...with satelites and phone hacking. I love The Hurt Locker, I think it is also a tremendous film, but this film Here's my mini review from a Facebook comment:

"The most amazing thing about the film is how reserved the movie is. From the character development to the pacing. I said after it was over to Betsy, I loved the music. She asked "why, it didn't stand out." I said, "Exactly." It was the music in the Bond film where it's slowly building while Bond is working and really doing his job well. The music, like the film, is not the grand climax. It's the slow, drawn out, paced endurance that is at the heart of the film. It might even be the theme of the film: We didn't catch bin Laden in the explosive invasion of Afghanistan, we caught him by putting our heads down and going to work. President Obama said something like we aren't going to "spike the football" afterward. American cinema is always going to be great at spiking the football. Our action films pretty much define America as football spikers, and when we go to the theatre, we want to be shown that. It was just nice that the film about our greatest post 9-11 triumph didn't spike the football. It just put it's head down and methodically went to work. (Maybe it was a little long, though.)"

7. Argo - Speaking of spiking the football! Well....spiking it 30 years later in a semi-fictionalized form. I wish this film had kept more to the facts, though, it would have made it feel more authentic. Seriously, maybe it's just my trivia hungry, history checking mind, but I kept thinking during the film, "Did it really happen like that?" I knew for sure, there was no way, the Iranians were driving down the runway at the end chasing the plane as it was taking off...it just seemed too film-climaxy to be true. And sure enough, that and a lot of other stuff was not true. But...it's based on real events, it's not real events. So just looking at the film, it was great. But is this better than Zero Dark Thirty...or why do I like it better? I'm just like everyone else...Argo was just more entertaining. It was fun to watch Americans stick it to the Iranians with the use of ingenuity and wit to outsmart them. More fun usually wins out.

6. The Hunger Games - And speaking of more fun. A fun game where youths are forced to kill each other in an arena. I honestly just like this film because I read the book. Or rather, I listened to it on a long car ride. It isn't perfect. I don't like some of the details of the world the book and film created. At times it seems rather far fetched. But that being said, I also think there are some really great things about the world that was created. Especially the visuals...District 12 was extremely well done...and the capitol is outrageous. All in all...not the most unique premise...but as an amalgamation of great sci-fi tropes and set-ups, it does pretty well with what it has.


5. Safety Not Guaranteed - And speaking of a film doing the best with what it has. This is the low-budget time travel movie that you didn't really expect to have any time travel in it. This was like the Hipster Time Travel film. It has the awkward girl from Parks and Recreations and the loud mouth from New Girl and together they balance out quite well. There actually isn't much to say about this. It was just so damn charming....and it sort of snuck up on you like that. Next thing you knew you were rooting for the awkward girl and the weirdo and it was over. And it was so cute.

4. The Raid: Redemption - Moving onto a film that is the opposite of cute. I don't usually get into Asian cinema, but for some reason this one reached out to me and said "Rent me." So I did. And I loved it. The big reason is the premise. A SWAT team is taking out a drug lord who controls a tall building. Floor by floor they make their way up taking on swarms of bad guys. I love situations like this...for one, it takes place all in one location and secondly, I just love the idea of people going through a building and taking out a whole gang. Sort of like Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis. There's a lot of shooting in that film and a lot of busting into rooms and shooting people. And there is a lot of shooting in this film. And some really good fighting. It takes a while for the emotional plot to get going, but that's actually a positive. The emotional arc never feels forced, it isn't cheesey or out of place. There was a perfect balance between awesome action films and actual dramatic story progression. Some might say it's the best action movie in decades.

3. Moonrise Kingdom - At this point it gets tricky. I love Wes Anderson. I love all his films and he might be my favorite director. And I absolutely loved this film. It's almost too Wes Anderson perfect though. Maybe in years to come this will be the film I return to from 2012. In fact, I know that will be the case. But the films ahead of this one are there for two separate reasons.

2. Silver Linings Playbook - I loved this film too. A lot. It was hilarious. And engaging. And it had Robert De Niro being amazing. This sort of took the mantle from Little Miss Sunshine and all the Oscar worthy dramedies that have come out in the past decade and it went one step further. The characters had more depth. The situations had more comedy and the story was so much more engaging. It was just a dramedy about a family in one weird situation after another...it was a family with meaningful characters stuck in a not so weird situation that somehow seemed kind of weird. Honestly, at any moment the film could have de-railed and gone wrong. But it never does. It sort of beautifully is one long de-rail that makes you realize in the end it was on the rail the whole time, the rail was just cockamamie. Silver Linings Playbook was a beautiful cockamamie masterpiece.

1. Wreck It Ralph - Yes! Hardly ever do I feel like watching a movie twice in a row. I didn't with this movie, but I felt like it! I won't spoil the film by overly discussing it. But it was freaking awesome. And finally John C. Reilly....finally the role he was born to play. He always seems sort of off in whatever role he's in, like somehow he took the mantle from Keanu Reeves in awkward acting style. He was the father in We Need to Talk About Kevin....and he did not belong there. He hardly ever belongs. But he did in this film! So good...and Sarah Silverman....amazing! I love Cinema!!!!!



Honorable Mentions:
The Hobbit (Great film, but a little long)
Lincoln (Great film, but too much talking)
Django Unchained (Great film, but way too much N-word)
The Dark Knight Rises (Good film, but way too little Joker)
Dredd (Good action film, but way too much copying of plot of The Raid: Redemption)
Prometheus (Great sci-fi film, but way too many plot holes)
Hitchcock (Best bio-pic of the year. But I don't like bio-pics)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Bad film, but has what Lincoln was missing)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (decent film, but really captured what high school was like in the 90's)