This is my take of the films I felt deserved praise this year, I will have two more entries in this series but one will be about the bad and the other will be the surprising or just plain weird.
So needless to say, my positivity will all be drained into this article, I hope you enjoy these reviews and the movies and films they are about, because as you read this I am already putting my rubber gloves on a preparing to mercilessly tear apart some of the films you may have enjoyed, try not to hold it against me. Now then on to business.
The Avengers
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo.
Directed by: Joss Whedon
If there was one movie that I fully expected to be let down by this year, it was the massive undertaking that was the Avengers. I felt that it had been built up too much, for too long and began to seem like one of those grand ideas that simply could not come to fruition and be executed to it's fullest capabilities under the flaky and flighty Hollywood ways.
Joss Whedon, as lauded as he was by his cult followers, just did not seem like the right director to helm the project. The idea seemed like prime ground for the projects respective stars trying to upstage one another and kvetch about not having enough screen time. After four years of build up and allusion to the ideas culmination, I just felt it was too much hype to live up to.
This shows how much I know about predicting mainstream movie success I guess, because the movie lived up to every expectation and then some.
Whedon's ability to subtly touch on little things that the comic book hardcores look for so they could bitch about the absence of, coupled with his dialogue and interactions between the massive action set pieces and plot devices almost make the movie alone.
Then of course there are the massive action sequences, which are nothing short of outstanding.
From the other aspects like Whedon finally being the director to bring Bruce Banner to the screen properly (of course Mark Ruffalo deserves a bit of credit for bringing the right energy to the character as well).
To the big things like the grandiose, forty minute final scene, this movie delivers as promised.
the movie is not without flaws, the aliens at the end are rather contrived and generic (Mummy Returns anyone?), there are some glaring storytelling missteps and I am currently working on a separate article that reads between the lines to what this movie could really be about in terms of mass consumption.
But that is for another day, today I am here talking movies as a fan of cinema.
While I would never dare call it a film or even the best movie of 2012, this is, in my somewhat humble opinion the ultimate "popcorn movie".
The Cabin in the Woods
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins and Kristen Connolly.
Directed By: Drew Goodard
The teen slasher genre has been one that has endured despite it's formula being long stale and infinitely predictable. As a horror film student, I know this genre like the back of my hairy hand and never cease to be disappointed every time things play out the same old ways.
Then came The Cabin in the Woods, a very clever little movie that turns the genre completely on it's ear. I will not tell you the details because it is a ride one must simply experience for themselves but trust me, this is one you wanna check out if you have not already.
I would classify this as more of a dark comedy than a horror film, but damn is it fun regardless of what genre you prefer. Endlessly campy and comical, yet drives to an ultimately serious core that tugs at the roots that all modern horror film and story stem from, let's just call the ending a "Lovecraftian" one to say the least.
Chronicle
Starring: Dane Dehan, Alex Russell and Micheal B. Jordan.
Directed by: Josh Trank
The found footage genre has officially peaked in the form of this very well done little movie about three high school kids who discover an object that has crashed deeply into the ground and get too close to it, causing them to develop psychic powers.
This leads to an interesting series of events where comparisons range from "Carrie" to the classic anime film "Akira" where power indeed corrupts.
I really do feel that the genre has no place left to go and should be put to rest based on how well this movie was done.
Director Josh Trank however should get plenty of work in light of this low budget, high reward movie and I look forward to his next offering.
Looper
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Jeff Daniels and Emily Blunt.
Directed By: Rian Johnson
Rian Johnson is an artist I have been paying close attention to for some time, ever since I had the good fortune of stumbling across his ingenious piece of modern noir storytelling, the high school murder mystery film "Brick" some years ago.
That film, which I highly recommend you seek out, also starred the extremely talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt, only now this work is not just some under the radar, little noticed indie film, it is a clear statement of the arrival of both Johnson and Levitt as major talents in the industry.
This film about a futuristic hit man/junkie/lost soul who ends up being contracted to kill his older self , is best described as Science Fiction Noir, a category i had never thought existed before this film.
Levitt's older self, Bruce Willis, rises to the challenge of this film and goes tit for tat with Levitt's wry fiery acting style. Willis is just one of those rare movie stars where he is always engaging and impactful, even when he mails it in, he is great. This is a film that he clearly felt inspired by and it shows in his performance.
Jeff Daniels plays a very interestingly unconventional baddie who while never really making you hate him, you are not sad to see his number come up either.
Blunt's role gets lost in the shuffle here, but I would be re missed if I didn't mention how this fantastic actress made the most of here role.
The film plays out in tragically familiar ways (if your at all familiar with film noir that is) and leaves you feeling like you just viewed a very rare and special piece of cinema.
This is a film I highly recommend, obviously, and even though the academy will NEVER remove the stick from their asses long enough to recognize something like this, it is a film I nominate as quite possible the best one this year.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans.
Directed by: Marc Webb
In all honesty, I despised the first three Spidey movies and I really was not a big fan of the comics either, but this movie really worked for me.
I enjoyed the way it was crafted and executed, as well as the implementation of Peter Parker's dry sense of humor. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone had actual chemistry on screen instead of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst's lifeless and forced romance in the earlier entries.
Rhys Ifans was a fine choice for some over the top bad guy acting as The Lizard, one of Spidey's seminal foes. It kept me entertained and by the time it was ready for it to end, it did, that's as much as I can want from my friendly neighborhood spider man.
Lawless
Starring: Tom Hardy, Shia Lebouf, Jessica Chastain and Guy Pearce.
Directed by: John Hillcoat
Tom Hardy is the reason to watch this film. As a man standing up for his life, liberty and property as a free enterpriser, he is John Locke Incarnate.
He is a man who is only at war because the incoming empire wants his piece.
The film kicks hard with a visceral style of violence that will make anyone emit a "god damn" or two upon impact.
Guy Pearce is such a despicable and weaselly villain that you absolutely cannot wait for him to get his.
He is as fantastic at making you hate him as Hardy is at making you wish you had his backbone.
This film is rough, rugged and makes you feel the bond between the three brothers this story is based on.
Another nicely told story by John Hillcoat that ends with a very appropriate sense of melancholia.
Prometheus
Starring: Charlize Theron, Micheal Fassbender, Noomi Rapace.
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Prometheus is a film that fans of the Alien franchise expected to get answers from, but instead just got a whole new line of questioning, this is what made Scott's film a winner in my eyes.
From the opening scene on, this film is a visual masterpiece that gradually descends into a nightmarish and gorgeously shot Sci-fi/horror epic.
There are scenes that will stick with you long after the credits roll, and questions that you will spend plenty of time trying to answer for yourself to no avail.
This is one of those rare films that rendered me as the proverbial "kid just enjoying the movie" during my viewing and I feel that it got a bad rap due to near sighted marketing.
Make up your own mind though and give this one a look, love it or hate it, it damn sure will not bore you.
The Dark Knight Rises
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy,Micheal Caine, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard.
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Anybody who knows me and has been subjected to my verbal diarrhea long enough knows that I firmly believe that Christopher Nolan is the world's greatest living film maker.
They would also know that, while I am not really a comic book "geek" per say, I have a deeply profound affinity for and connection to the world of the Dark Knight.
So it should be no surprise that I view Nolan's vision of Bruce Wayne's world to be a grand accomplishment and The Dark Knight Rises to be a proper final chapter in Nolan's trilogy.
Nolan has done something special, he has taken a comic book property and churned a series of allegorical, societally reflective films that have more to say beneath the surface then they do at face value.
Most people who walked away disappointed or slightly dissatisfied with this film did so because they likely A) Unfairly held it up to it's predecessor, The Dark knight, which really was a perfect storm that can never be matched. or B) Went into a film expecting to watch a movie (yes there is a distinction and if you don't get what I mean, feel free to ask).
Nolan does not make movies, even his mainstream "paycheck" blockbusters are crafted with a great deal of thought, detail and one common driving emotion that is present in every single film he makes, Obsession.
The Obsession in this case, is Bruce Wayne's crippling need to play savior to Gotham city, it is his way of honoring/coping/protecting his parents, whom he can never get back.
All of this culminates in the Dark Knight Rises, when the league of shadows returns with a new general, the masked and malicious Bane. He executes a series of terrorist acts with a monstrous fluidity that brings Gotham city to the brink of oblivion, all while talking like a refined English gentleman through a respirator.
There are things about Bane's point of view and logic that have been dismissed as fortune cookie wisdom in other reviews. I felt his words were quite chilling and very much a pointed commentary towards the times we are currently living in, they are just said through the voice of the villain, so they are dismissed as empty.
Anyhow, needless to say I found Bane to be a remarkable character who brought an entirely new kind of threat to Batman than that of the whirlwind of random destruction that was the Joker's in the previous film.
He also takes part in what i feel is the most powerful scene I have seen in any comic book based film, where he essentially destroys the Batman as we know him.
A scene very accurately taken straight from a legendary installment of the comic series, that's all I will say.
The cast is spot on, everyone is on their game throughout.
My one gripe about the film would be that it is just a little too long in the middle, but it's a forgivable offense.
If Peter Jackson can make us sit through a four and a half hour Lord of the Rings finale, Nolan can be allowed an extra half hour to give the finishing touches on his version of the Batman saga.
In closing I will say this, while I am sad that Nolan will not helm another Batman film, I am glad he is not.
He is too good to remain tied to such antiquated and mainstream features.
Films like Memento, The Prestige and Inception are just a taste of the sort of originality he bring to us and I for one want to see what else he has in store.
As for the Batman series, Bravo Mr. Nolan, I cannot wait to see what you bring to us next.
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