Well, it's July which means we have passed the half way point for 2012. So how has the year been? Eh, it's been okay. I mean, it's been a pretty typical year so far. Not too many great movies, just a small handful of them and some good, solid, entertaining movies. Of course, I haven't seen everything. I've missed some promising titles such as Being Flynn, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Jeff Who Lives at Home, Your Sister's Sister. Some of those are now available to watch on DVD so I'll definitely be checking them out sometime. And I still have yet to see other promising looking movies such as Safety Not Guaranteed and People Like Us. So take that into consideration when you read my top 10 (as well as my bottom 5).
Before I list the bottom 5 and top 10, let me go over some great performances worth remembering.
For best lead actor in a movie this is an easy pick. Liam Neeson gave a powerful performance in The Grey and easily gets the title. There is not one other performance that comes close to matching Neeson's work. Particularly during the movie's final 10 minutes. Although nobody comes close to matching Neeson, other notable performances include John Cusack in The Raven, Taylor Kitsch who really commanded the screen with great presence in the underrated John Carter and Chris Klein, who gave the best and most nuanced turn of all the main guys from American Reunion, though Jason Biggs remains as likable as ever.
For best lead actress, this was a little tougher. As much crap as she gets for her work in the Twilight movies, I have always thought that Kristen Stewart is, nonetheless, a very good and capable actress outside of that franchise. And she gives what may be her best performance yet in Snow White and the Huntsman. I thought she was absolutely terrific in the movie. She commands the screen and makes Snow White's transformation in to a warrior taking on Charlize Theron's fierce and evil queen, entirely believable. It's not quite a revelation for her, but it's close. That said, as impressive as she was in that movie, my pick for this category goes to Dame Judi Dench, who is positively wonderful in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The movie is a huge ensemble of great, British actors, but the story is largely told through her eyes and Dench never misses a beat. Other notable performances from lead actresses came from Emily Blunt in The Five-Year Engagement, Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lopez in What to Expect When You're Expecting, Gina Carano for her kick ass work in Haywire and Amanda Seyfried in Gone.
Best actor in a supporting role was another tough choice. Ultimately I went with Frank Grillo in The Grey, because he has a slightly more challenging role by making us a care about a guy who really starts the movie off as a real asshole, but Grillo succeeded, magnificently. His last scene is heartbreaking, terrifying and yet oddly touching all at the same time. The other performance that nearly took it is Tom Wilkinson, who was absolutely wonderful in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The journey his character takes, the reason why he has come to back to India, is touching. I really loved his last moment in the movie. It's not a big moment, it's actually quite small, but it's quite moving. Other notable turns for this category include Eugene Levy in American Reunion, Chris Hemsworth in Snow White and the Huntsman, Chris Pratt in The Five-Year Engagement, Josh Brolin for his brilliant impersonation and characterization of a younger K (Tommy Lee Jones) in Men in Black III, Bill Nighey in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Michael Fassbender for playing the only interesting character in Prometheus and Rodrigo Santoro in What to Expect When You're Expecting.
For best actress in a supporting role, I have to go with Alison Brie, who is so funny and endearing and instantly lovable in The Five-Year Engagement. But other notable performances for this category would be Anna Kendrick in What to Expect When You're Expecting, Lynn Collins in John Carter, Mena Suvari, who is luminous in American Reunion and Maggie Smith in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Before I list my top 10 movies of 2012, here are my bottom 5.
5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - This movie actually begins promisingly with an enjoyable first half. Alas, the second half of the movie gets bogged down in silliness and is shockingly dull. The main problem with it being that, what made the first half enjoyable is Lincoln being in the thick of the action, but because the second half takes place during his presidency, he's mostly stuck in the white house. It's not until the climatic showdown set in a train, where he gets back in the action, and while the climax looks great and contains some impressive pyrotechnics, it's an unfortunate case of too little, too late.
4. What to Expect When You're Expecting - Unfortunately, the movie is exactly what you are expecting. Well, I suppose the movie could have been worse. There are some cringe inducing moments, but there are some surprisingly good moments sprinkled here and there as well as a handful of nice performances, most notably from Jennifer Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro and Anna Kendrick. But as good as they may be, they can't hide the fact that this is another bland, formulaic ensemble romcom.
3. Red Tails - This movie is bad. It's actually incredibly bad. Bad writing and bad directing abound. The dialog is truly atrocious and the movie contains of the worst romances I have ever seen in a movie. And yet, as bad as it is, it's not the worst movie of the year. Mostly because the cast is actually pretty solid (Terrance Howard even manages to bring a little bit of class to the film) and the movie is never dull. Unlike my bottom 2, which are better made movies, but bored me.
2. Silent House - This movie has one thing going for it and that's the cinematography. I thought the camera work for the movie was outstanding. In fact, it's so good, that it alone managed to keep my attention for a while. But then the movie started to get really dull and repetitive. For most of the movie it was spinning it's wheels. Instead of putting me at the edge of my seat, it came damn near close to putting me to sleep. And then there is the ending and, well, the less said about it, the better.
1. The Pirates! Band of Misfits - A lot of people seem to like this movie. I found it to be wildly unfunny and dreadfully boring. This movie was an utter chore to sit through. Really have nothing more to say about this movie. I can't remember the last movie I saw in which I was this hopelessly bored while watching it.
Dishonorable mentions go to The Lucky One and The Cabin in the Woods. Yes, I know most people loved The Cabin in the Woods. I liked the idea behind the movie, but I didn't like how it was executed. And I just found the last 20 minutes or so to be very silly.
And before I go to my top 10, here are some honorable mentions. Some movies that just missed being on the top 10 but are still very much worth checking out. They are: Men in Black III, 21 Jump Street, The Dictator and The Raven.
So here are my Mid-Year (January-June) Top 10 of 2012:
10. The Avengers - A lot of people probably have this in their top 3. I wouldn't quite call this a great movie, but it's definitely great fun. Even though the last 40 minutes final showdown was very entertaining, I enjoyed the character interaction a little more. Oh, don't get me wrong. The climax was cool, had some great scenes and some terrific action, but what made this movie as enjoyable as it is, was seeing the characters come together, having to put their egos aside and work as a team to save the world.
9. Seeking Justice - Nicolas Cage was gotten a lot of crap over the last few years, and I'm sorry to say, but a lot of it is sadly deserving. But this was one film of his that I don't think deserved the ire of critics. I found this to be an immensely satisfying, actually kind of old fashioned thriller with Cage in fine form though the one who really steals the movie is Guy Pearce, who plays a great villain. There are a lot of great twists and turns to the story. Directed by Roger Donaldson, who often excels at this kind of suspense thriller, I thought this was a nice, tight, taut thriller that does exactly what it sets out to do and accomplishes it with finesse. Definitely one of the more underrated movies of the year.
8. The Woman in Black - Just when I thought I was getting sick of ghost stories, along comes this movie to prove that it is still possible to make a good one. Of course, the movie isn't perfect. There are perhaps a few too many scenes of Daniel Radcliff walking through dark, empty hallways. And I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. But this is a nicely atmospheric, visually stunning, very well acted and creepily effective thriller. One of the year's more pleasant surprises. It's also proof to me that Radcliff can actually have a career outside of the Harry Potter franchise.
7. The Raid - After a small setup, this movie practically is nonstop action. And, especially since the action scenes are so brilliantly choreographed and viscerally charged, that's most definitely not a bad thing. This thing rarely ever lets up. And the guy who plays the hero, is very charismatic. He has a real screen presence and commands the camera's attention with ease. Character development is practically nil, but that's actually okay, because this is a movie doesn't need it. We like the hero, and hate the bad guys and want to see the hero survive and see the bad guys get their comeuppance. And that's enough for a movie like this. Besides, late in the movie there are a few twists and turns that actually give some of the characters a little more depth. Mind you, this is still isn't Shakespeare, but it's nice to know that the writer's aren't phoning it in either.
6. Man on a Ledge - If you were lucky enough to not have seen the trailer for the movie, don't. It gives too much away. But even if you have seen the trailer, I still found this movie to be incredibly suspenseful, with some cool twists and turns, solid acting all around and, while the ending does get a little on the silly side, this movie had me from the first frame all the way to the final moment.
5. John Carter - A very old fashioned adventure story, exceptionally well told. Taylor Kitsch is very charismatic and gives what I thought should have been a star making performance. Unfortunately, nobody went to go see this movie. A visually stunning, and wonderfully entertaining sci-fi epic.
4. American Reunion - Watching this movie is like reuniting with old friends you haven't seen for a long time and finding out that, while some things have certainly changed, hanging out with them remains as comfortable as ever. Very funny and surprisingly poignant at times as well.
3. Snow White and the Huntsman - Definitely the best telling of the classic fairy tale I have ever seen. Breathtaking, exhilarating, exciting, luscious, beautiful to look at, gorgeous cinematography, great visual effects and a stunning production design. Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth are terrific as Snow White who manages to escape from the evil queen when she's about to be killed and runs into the dark forest. Hemsworth's huntsman is then sent in to find her and kill her. But he has a change of heart and instead of killing her, elects to take her to safety. The battle scenes scenes are among the best I've seen in a long time. And, although there are times when she goes a little TOO over the top, Charlize Theron, for the most part, makes for a great evil queen. This all leads to a very satisfying conclusion. But be ware, despite being based on a fairy tale, this is no kids movie. I was actually surprised a little by how dark and scary and violent the movie is, at times. A great, grand epic adventure.
2. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - A sort of coming of age for old people. This is a movie that, for most part, is about a group of elderly people who go through a journey when they all decide, for various reasons, to come to India. And each of the main characters ends up learning something about themselves along the way. It's a beautifully written and photographed movie and is wonderfully acted by the stellar ensemble cast of mostly veteran British thespians. Though we do also have Slumdog Millionaire's Dave Patel, playing one of the two major young characters and he has his own story pertaining to a young lady he's in love with and his disapproving mother. He also plays the young idealist and perhaps a little naive owner of the titled hotel.
1. The Grey - Far and away the best film of the year and the only movie that left a truly lasting, indelible impression on me. I mean, I still love some of the others, but this was a near masterpiece. By far, Joe Carnahan's best and most accomplished effort to date (Narc comes close though). Liam Neeson, as I have already mentioned, gives the performance of the year and it's probably his best performance since at least Michael Collins way back in 1996 and maybe even his best since Schindler's List. And Neeson leads the year's best ensemble cast, which includes Frank Grillo (my choice for best supporting actor), Dallas Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Joe Anderson, James Badge Dale among others. Some people had a problem with the ending. I thought it was perfect. I absolutely loved the fade to black and found the entire ending to be note perfect. This isn't merely a man versus nature movie, but it's also about coming to terms about meeting ones end. And that's why I loved how the movie ended so much.
Next up: A small review of Breaking Bad's 5th season premiere and the first a 3 part Emmy article.
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