TOP 10 FEATURES of 2012

As the lights fade on 2012 it becomes time to select my ten favorite movies of the year.  Many times this year the house lights would dim and I would be engulfed by a glow of images that would dance with a wave of sound.  A new year now old means many new experiences at the movies.  New friendships forged this year and many more reinforced.  It was a good year to experience the movies.
I saw many new releases during the year and also got to revisit some old favorites theatrically as well.  These included the original War of the Worlds, the first 007 adventure Dr. No, the immortal Bride of Frankenstein, and an IMAX showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark.  But this list is not about revisiting old favorites on the big screen but top ten of the current years crop.  I still have yet to see some releases of 2012 that I really want to see such as Zero Dark Thirty.  Mainly because they haven’t been released wide yet.  Fear not they will be seen.
I’m also including the best of the rest.  This will be reparatory screening, performance, things of that nature.  It’s short but I do enjoy assembling it as part of this list my top ten list.
When you read this list please remember the following: I’m not a critic, in fact a far cry from. I’m just a movie buff in the line to get a good seat and my over sized soft drink.  So let’s raise that 30 some oz soda high and see you in 2013.
So without further ado my top 10 of 2012 are:

10. Killing Them Softly
I do enjoy a good gangster/mob movie.  This year brought two, Lawless and Killing them Softly.  I saw both movies.  I throughly enjoyed both movies.  So what gives this one the edge over Lawless?  A few factors.
I love almost slow paced, very atmospheric movies.  Diaro Argento’s Suspiria is a prime example of those kind of movies.  So is Killing Them Softly.
Ahh but the pacing and atmosphere alone is not enough to make a movie great.  The movie is a simple yet entertaining story.  This gives way for great story telling techniques and director/writer Andrew Dominik masterfully weaves the tale.
Brad Pitt and Richard Jenkins are both at the top of there game in this one and James Gandolfini turns in the greatest supporting performance on the year.

9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
If you haven’t seen this independent flick, let me start my write up by saying rent it, you will not be disappointed.  The movie follows six year old Hushpuppy and her father after a Katrina like event devastates their already rundown community.  Six year old Quvenzhane Wallis easily gives the years best female performance.
The movie was some of the best 93 minutes of screen time this year.  It was powerful to see the how the group of survivors refused to give up hope when it was so easy to do so.  The story also has bits of mythology sprinkled in.  I love mythological stories and creatures and to have that element added in made for an unforgettable movie.
It’s hard to imagine an Oscar season without Beasts of the Southern Wild contending for picture and its cast competing for the acting awards.

8. Flight
I was excited when I found out that Robert Zemeckis was making is first live action movie since 2000’a Castaway.  The guy is responsible for some great movies: Back to to Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump.  Further exciting me was that Flight was going to star one of my favorite actors: Denzel Washington.
The movie did not disappoint me when I rushed out to a midnight showing one early November’s eve.  My expectations were already high and the film rose above them in the opening moments with an intense plane crash.  A little more then two hours later it was still ironically flying high above my expectations.  I was expecting a run of the mill investigative drama with references/flashbacks to a horrific death defying plane crash. What I got was a far more compelling, thought provoking movie.  Yes it did have a horrific death defying plane crash in the opening moments.  That set the stage for a movie that, remembering months later, is still as powerful as when I saw it.

7. The Dark Knight Rises
EPIC!Also a brilliant conclusion to an already great trilogy.  The gap between the release of this movie and The Dark Knight was four years and the wait was worth every day, especially since Christopher Nolan released Inception between the two flicks.
I loved that the campiness of the twoTim Burton Batman features was removed and replaced with a more serious vibe.
I tend to judge superhero movies by two factors: the believability of the hero and the challenges said hero faces in his or her villain.  Both factors exceeded my expectations in the movie.
Had I not believed Christian Bale as Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight I would not have considered The Dark Knight Rises a priority to see.
Now for the villain factor: Tom Hardy as Bane.  The character is psychically Batman’s equal and seems to have the mental edge on him.  That made a great challenge for the hero.  Also casting Tom Hardy was a brilliant decision that added much to the movie.
A great movie and one I will watch over and over in the years to come.

6. Django Unchained
I always get excited about a new Tarantino movie and Django Unchained is no exception to that.  I went in to the theater wanting to really like the movie and three hours later I left the theater a far cry from disappointed.
The movie had all the Tarantinoisms I’ve come to love:  witty dialogue,numerous odes to movies of yesteryear, and the stylized action that his unique to a Tarantino flick.
Really good westerns seem to be a dying breed of modern cinema.  Blackthorn and 2010’s True Grit seem to the two of the more recent great westerns but both themselves a continuation or remake of previous films. There’s nothing wrong with that but what gives Django Unchained a spot on my top ten list is how it feels more like an original western.  It has that old timey feel as well, like the The Good The Bad & The Ugly which was lovingly homaged by Tarantino.

5. Bernie
I’ve enjoyed Jack Black’s work.  Tropic Thunder, 2005’s King Kong, School of Rock all notable movies but all pale in comparison to the surprise that is Bernie.  The movie is a true story that is hard to believe is a true story.  A murder story in Texas is not the part that brings that statement to life but rather the characters in the film.  The movie intertwines interviews real life people with the facts of the case portrayed by the actors.  It’s hard not to fall in love with the charm this movie has and that charm hinges deeply on leading man Jack Black.  It’s a performance worthy of an academy award nomination.
I also throughly enjoy really unique movies and this one is incredibly unique.  All I can say without spoiling the details of the flick is rent it!

4. Prometheus
No movie this summer did I want to enjoy more then director Ridley Scott’s prequel to the classic Alien.  I was not disappointed when I revisited the world that Scott created when the first alien came aboard the Nostromo back in 1979.
I enjoyed seeing Noomi Rapace lead a great cast by portraying a great action hero.  It was awesome seeing a woman action hero as well, especially one on par with her predecessor Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley. Noomi Rapace only led an incredible cast that was brilliantly complimented by Michael Fassbender’s performance as David.  I am routinely impressed with his work and he is becoming one of my favorite stars.
I can’t wait to see how the adventure unfolds in the inevitable sequel to come in the years to follow.

3. Argo
Ben Affleck has turned into a great director.  He follows up two mighty movies, Gone Baby Gone and The Town, with a tour de force movie.  Argo took my breath away in its opening moments and did not give it back till its closing credits two hours later.  That makes for a great suspense filled movie.  Sure there were liberties taken with the  true story but it seemed necessary to make the movie more dramatic, especially during the final moments of the escape.
I loved how each character, main and side alike, equally deepened the story.  It seemed at times, especially during a theatrically viewing, that I wasn’t watching the story unfold but sharing in an experience with friends and strangers alike.  That’s what I love to happen when I go to the movies and Argo gave me that.

2. The Intouchables
The only foreign film this year on the list. The Intouchables touched on emotions without insulting them, which is good.  I often find myself disliking movies that insult my emotions with over dramatic music queues or characters randomly finding the meaning they’ve been searching for.  Romantic movies seem to be prime examples of this atrocity. This movie voids all that and still manages to tell a touching story.
The movie combined a rare mixture of playfulness and drama.  It tiptoed across both lines without compromising its storytelling ability.  This is a fine line to dance on and the movie did so brilliantly.  The movie is a must see and proudly sits on an ever rarer list: movies I paid to see multiple time theatrically.

and my favorite movie of 2012 is

1. Skyfall
James Bond is my absolute favorite.   So is it biased with the latest entry at the top of my 2012 list?  It certainly factored in but ultimately was not the deciding factor to crown Skyfall the best movie of 2012.
 The movie is Daniel Craig’s finest performance as 007 to date and his most complex outing with the character.  I love how he portrays Bond as a thug one moment and then have a very strong emotional connection with another character moments later.  It’s not only a sign of good acting but good story telling on the writers part.
The movie also joins the ranks of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Thunderball, Goldeneye, & Casino Royale as one of the greatest Bond flicks ever.  Skyfall not only works as a great Bond flick but an excellent suspense movie, which is a great testament to the caliber of the movie.

BEST OF THE REST:
MALE PERFORMANCE: Joaquin Phoenix The Master
FEMALE PERFORMANCE: Quvenzhane Wallis Beasts of the Southern Wild
DOCUMENTARY: Searching For Sugarman

MIDNIGHT MOVIE MAYHEM & RUNNER UP: (Not the best movie seen at midnight but what I thought what the best party was)
‘Prequel Night’ - MOVIE: Prometheus (the prequel to Alien) MENU: the prequel to dinner breakfast food. eggs, sausage, muffins, shrimp n Grits
MIDNIGHT MOVIE RUNNER UP: ‘Summer lovin had me a blast’
 MOVIE: The Avengers  MENU: Poolside cookout: beef & veggie burgers, veggies, pie

TOP 3 REPARATORY SCREENINGS:
1. James Bond Originals presents of Dr. No
2. Cinema Overdrive presents A Boy and His Dog
3. The Alfred Hitchcock Retrospective presents Rear Window

NEVERMORE FILM FESTIVAL 3 FAVORITE PICKS: (Nevermore is a film festival hosted by the Historic Carolina Theater of Durham.  The festival is dedicated to playing new horror features as well as bringing back some classics. Most of the features played never see a US theatrical release)
1. Some Guy Who Kills People
2. Absentia
3. Marathon Man (1976)
Though my preference is to the new films that Nevermore brings I had never seen Marathon Man till it played at Nevermore this past year.  I could not pass up the chance for my first viewing of the classic to be in 35mm and on the big screen.

So here’s 2013 and hoping it’s a good year at the movies.
Please join me for a flick because they are better with friends.