Tab's Best Movies of 2012 so far
I hedged about posting my list so early, but with only a few promising movies such as Lincoln, Hitchcock, Les Miserable, Zero Dark Thirty left, my list is pretty close to complete and I probably want to get the reaction sooner than later before I forget what I've watched:
1. Argo (2012). With an excellent tight and well edited script by Chris Terrio and direction by Ben Affleck of an unique and real espionage event surrounding the rescue of six American Embassy employees during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Argo becomes a gripping, well told event movie that is both dramatically gripping and emotionally compelling on a very human level. [Reviewed 10/14/12]. 10/10.
2. Cloud Atlas (2012). A movie for the ages, spanning 500 years and six different stories with actors playing multiple roles that captures both the eternal bonds of love and individuality along with individual and corporate corporation or control. A visually dizzying, sometimes raw, and at time funny look at individuals and their convoluted relationships and their environments. [Reviewed 10/28/12]. 9/10.
3. Moonrise Kingdom (2012). Reminiscent of Stand By Me (1986), A Christmas Story (1983), and Juno (2007), this story of two runaways on an island community is a contemporary fairy tale of a entertaining, captivating cinematic experience loaded with stylized humor and presentation. [Reviewed 6/22/12]. 9/10.
4. Looper (2012). Similar to Bruce Willis in 12 Monkey’s (1995), this fusion of time travel, action, mystery thriller, and family drama incorporates more layered characters and emotionally riveting scenes thanks to director Rian Johnson. The acting is solid and the script is cerebral, taut, and substantive. Except for an “initial” futuristic set design that is too heavy on its reliance from other sci fi movies and an unnecessary looper wannabe character’s persistent overuse, Looper is defined by intense universal themes of sacrifice and personal dreams of love and humanity. [Reviewed 9/30/12]. 9/10.
5. The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The movie unfolds almost like a human mystical fairy tale with all the tortuous agonies of human angst experiences in everyday life. Even with its technical flaws like There Will Be Blood (2007), this movie is able to over come them with its qualitatively deep characters, a densely morally ambiguous theme about rich and poor, about good and bad, and a cerebral undercurrent and a well executed, edited dramatic action thriller along with a summertime climax. [Reviewed 7/21/12]. 9/10.
6. People Like Us (2012). This relatively straight-forward family drama has Chris Pine having to decide about following his deceased father’s desires for him to give a large inheritance to a sister he never knew he had. With a new focus on brother-sister, mother-son, this mainstream but edgy movie brings forth strong emotion resonance involving relational issues that many of us at one or another must face ourselves. [Reviewed 6/30/12]. 9/10.
7. Big Miracle (2012). A compelling and one of the few recent movies to be well edited in its pacing that sustains a dynamic riveting tension reminiscent of A24" without physical action and violence. Based on a real-internationally news broadcast animal event, Drew Barrymore and cast provide a family drama that captures its audience wholesale. [Reviewed 1/5/12]. 9/10.
8. The Devil’s Carnival (2012). This odd crazed fantasy with hideously florescent garish colors with incredibly few special effects and mostly set design throws the audience into a dark circus-like nightmare of the devil to test the souls of three people. With off-balance trapping like the animated Coraline (2009) and the exaggerated, over the top Billy Flynn's Chicago (2002) flash, and even echos of television's Buffy The Vampire Slayer's "Once More, With Feeling" 2001 musical episode, The Devil's Carnival offers a strange, but captivating nightmarish brush with emotive intensity. From the female selfish thief, to the naive young girl, to the grief-stricken father each has the tale to tell in trials that aweigh them. This short, low-budget movie moves smartly in a well paced, off-kilter musical bonanza of sight and sound...a less sexy version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show of today but with as much if not more underlying substance and as shockingly different and innovative as Dogville (2004). [Reviewed 11/10/12]. 9/10.
9. Brave (2012). An animated medieval coming of age movie that particularly highlights the mother-daughter relationship, with great visuals in 2D, strong storyline, good editing, liberal dose of humor, a strong message, and good action that makes great use of the animated medium. [Reviewed 6/24/12]. 9/10.
10. Dark Shadows (2012). An uneasy, but successful blend of comedy, drama, horror, and thriller in this Tim Burton/Johnny Depp adaptation of the television series. Mr. Burton has carefully incorporated the old and the new, making more sharp and poignant the essence of vampirism and the connection to the core of eternal love. [Reviewed 5/13/12]. 8/10.
Honorable Mention
Lucky One, The (2012). A carefully, well edited, and solid romantic drama with the nicely underplayed rich storyline. Except for the need for unnecessary, dramatic or more stereotypical ending, this movie may have been able to capture a top-ten movie listing. [Reviewed 4/22/12]. 8/10.
Men In Black III (2012). Another solid, fun, and entertaining sci fi action comedy adventure with Josh Brolin putting in a for seamlessly younger Agent K. This movie’s strong plotline, nice twist, and a trans-temporal character make for a crisp, new adventure with this well-paced, and interested. The movie is weakened in the beginning by Tommy Lee Jone’s character seemingly oddly aged and dull listless performance in the beginning of the movie, along with an inordinately harsh and violent opening, and an underdeveloped Emma Thompson as Agent O. But in the end, the movie was well worth the money spent and engaging throughout. [Reviewed 5/27/12]. 8/10.
Mirror, Mirror (2012). Tarsem Sigh has directed a lavish and difficult live action fairy-tale with remarkable acuity incorporating Julia Roberts evil persona with a dramatic, humorous dose of fantasy that never is broken in its presentation. [Reviewed 3/30/12]. 8/10.
Odd Life of Timothy Green, The (2012). This family drama is a fusion of August Rush (2007), a young adult version of Meet Joe Black (1998) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). What makes this particular movie stand out is how it avoids the traditional sweet syrupy sludge of typical feel good juvenile movies. Instead the script incorporates a more encompassing view of life, including its funny moments, innocent experiences as well as the drama of hurt, sadness, and loss. In sort, this is a very nicely balance movie that includes a slice of life look at our own experiences but through the lens of honesty and the hopes and dreams of many parents and their children as well. This is a movie about what can be and is. Almost one of my top ten movies of the year. [Reviewed 8/26/12]. 8/10.
Total Recall (2012). Using the same fascinating plot points of the original (1990), this remake can easily stand on its own with this nicely layered Blade Runner (1982) setting admit a innovative jump in the futurist and logically believable car chase and remaining plot editing. Unfortunately, the psychological twists have already been revealed for old-timers, taking some of the unpredictable, suspense our of the movie. [Reviewed 8/4/12]. 8/10.
Rock of Ages (2012). Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones (in a limited role), and new comers Julienne Hough and Diego Boneta offer strong vocal performances in this movie for the aging that nevertheless bring new life to the lyrics of love and pain. A few weaknesses in production number balance, a clashing number on a billiard table scene take a bit of the shine of the Rock in this movie. [Reviewed 6/17/12]. 8/10.
Safe House (2012). Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds star in this solid espionage action thriller that has great cinematography and gritty action. Unfortunately a few weaknesses and an overly American ending keep this movie from being a qualitatively and consistently step above even The Bourne Identity (2001). [Reviewed 2/12/12]. 8/10.
Good But Failed to Make the Grade
The Amazing Spiderman (2012). The movie’s plot weaknesses can’t make up for a sincere attempt at a slightly darker and grittier Spiderman in the way The Dark Knight transformed into a much more human Batman (2008). [Reviewed 7/7/12]. 7/10.
The Avengers (2012). A rather chaotic and disparate collection of superheroes that Joss Whedon, director and writer can’t quite get the ensemble cast smoothly working together even as actors. Somewhat enjoyable, but too many characters and subplots to be supremely satisfying. [Reviewed 5/6/12]. 7/10.
Bourne Legacy (2012). This fourth Bourne movie without Jason Bourne is also a great script with an adequate director and performance by its cast making for many missed opportunities to raise the level of action thrillers. Adding in a rather unspectacular ending, the movie can only offer some tantalizing glimpses of a Bourne movie scenario that takes as its fascinating premise a real-time side-by-side playbook of Bourne Legacy co-existing with the Bourne Ultimatum story line. [Reviewed 8/28/12]. 7/10.
Snow White and The Hunter (2012). An unwieldy attempt at producing a mature version of Snow White that although exciting at times, unsuccessfully humanizing the evil queen, fails to retain the original magic and fantasy of the original. [Reviewed 6/3/12]. 7/10.
Disappointments
Prometheus (2012). Another fabulously amazing visual experience that can’t hide the blemishes of a weak plot that becomes two-dimensional by the end of the movie. [Reviewed 6/10/12]. 6/10.
Skyfall (2012). Oddly enough the aging Bond theme unlike Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again (1983) is perhaps too successful in this movie in that this latest version seems tired and worn out, containing big explosions as if to make up for the loss of connective tissue in this movie. Oddly enough this humanizing version of Bond as well as its limp attempt a incorporate some of Roger Moore’s humor doesn’t work well and the emotional connection remains distant, disconnected. The Bourne Supremacy (2004) angle does work well here but Bourne’s crisp, tight, cerebral script is lacking in Skyfall. [Reviewed 11/9/12]. 6/10.
Terrible
Missed/Haven=t Seen Yet
Earthling (2012)
Hitchcock (2012)
Les Miserables (2012)
Lincoln (2012)
Loneliest Planet, The (2012)
Perfect Family, The (2012)
Red Lights (2012)
Rust and Bones (2012)
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012)
Wall Flower (2012)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Moved By The Heart and Past Experiences
As an educated commoner, it there can be such a label, my movie picks are very subjective based on the emotional connection I obtain from each movie I see. With little time and money and living adrift Utah about an hour and a half from Park City and Sundance, and being married, my selections are usually limited to the mainstream American theater. I have a strong preference for relational movies as a social worker involved with most of the time family and marriage issues - so love and death, separation, and reunion on big issues for me in almost any movie. As for musicals, there aren't that many out there and even as I've grown up, I initially hated musicals as a boy, except for the kid movies like Sound of Music, Mary Poppins...but now music for me is a wonderful form of expression that isn't captured in the same way as the straightforward narrative form. Perhaps such interest came from my focus on dance in high school instead of sports.
Clearfield, Utah is Considered a Low-Moderate Income Labor Town
"You probably life in a beautiful, serene place." Besides a view of the Rocky Mountains, that portion north of Salt Lake City, Utah (the state's capital) which has the more majestic peaks, Clearfield really is mostly noted for its Clearfield Job Corp Center (one of the biggest in the country) and the Freeport Center, an aging World War II material depot that now houses a large diversity of industrial warehouses and manufacturing, and perhaps some of the best local corn. But one I doubt anybody really would place the city on the list of beautiful, serene places. Most I gather come, live here, and the move on.
Flash and Style over Substance??
From the trailers I've seen of DJANGO, as in the debate between style over substance in cinema, DJANGO seems to project a lot of theatrical flash and style much like Chicago's Billy Flynn in the musical's courtroom scene of which of course the movie, as musical itself, won best Oscar picture. But when dealing with a docudrama and authenticity with respect to the Civil War, it would be of interest to find the balanced medium between Saving Private Ryan (1998) and its opening sequence or the emotive drama of The Help (2011) versus something like stylized version of drama and thriller like Pulp Fiction (1994) and Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004). Whether this movie will be a No Country for Old Men (2007) which seemed on its surface to have this style, but weak integrity or There Will Be Blood (2007) which had a solid core around a strong performance, time will tell. I will be watching for the 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby when it comes to stylized theatrical drama.
I'm concerned that this movie instead of a restrained and subtle performances encourages the usual cliches of the cinematic movie screen.
