Now, while I do have a list of films I need to drop knowledge on, I thought this would be the best time to rhyme off my humble opinion of the 10 best films released over the past year and why they rank so highly in my heart of hearts. I especially wanted to do this because this year has been, in my eyes, the best year for movies since 2008, which blessed us with such fare as The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Wall-E, and The Dark Knight (so great, it merits being mentioned twice).
2012 has been great for film for a couple different reasons. First off, we've seen two major film franchises reach conclusion. Last year, we said good bye to Harry Potter in what I thought was a fantastic send off. This year, we did the same for (praise all of the gods) the Twilight 'Saga', as well as Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. I can rag on Twilight all day (I really can) but it would be ignorant to say that it hasn't had a huge impact on pop culture in both film and literature. The Dark Knight films proved that the Superhero genre can be not only entertaining, but also good quality film as well. They made it cool to be a fan. That makes me cool, now. Finally.
With the ending of these franchises, we've also seen several rise up to take their places. In what many claim to be the next Twilight series, The Hunger Games has made a successful transition to film alongside the kick-off to Peter 'One Trick Pony' Jackson's Hobbit trilogy and a new Spider-Man series. This year also saw the resurrection of several franchises we thought were dead and gone, some of which should have stayed dead and gone. Underworld, Men in Black, American Pie, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Jason Bourne (but not really), and Oliver Stone's career all got revisited this year. Some had a new breath of life put into them, others hopefully were reburied...under concrete. The trend of re-releasing past films in 3D, which I'm less than OK with, continued with Star Wars Episode I, Titanic, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc.
The best part of this year for me, though, was the number of good quality original films. OK yeah, so the sequel reigned supreme this year in terms of box office successes, and we got a couple remakes and reboots, but that's par for the course at this point. We may never again have a year that isn't dominated by these types of films. But the amount of original material, and the quality of said material, that has been released this year has been amazing. Many of these films you'll see on this list but I wanted to take the opportunity to list off some of the lesser known films that absolutely deserve recognition: Chronicle, Haywire, The Grey, Safe House, Lockout, Ted, Seven Psychopaths, and Killing Them Softly were among the good-to-great films not based on best-selling YA novels or comic books that I recommend everyone see, without actually ranking them in my Top 10.
But of course there was a dark side to 2012. It wasn't so much that there were a lot of really BAD movies out there, just several disappointments. I typically walk into a film, and everything else in life for that matter, with the mindset that I'd rather be surprised than disappointed, and therefore enter into everything with a negative outlook. I abandoned that for some of the films I went to this year, and it'll never happen again. It almost ruined TDKR for me, but I wised up. However, some films were beyond saving for me. Prometheus couldn't make up its fucking mind as to whether or not it was an Alien prequel. John Carter was the worst combination of Flash Gordon and Stargate ever. Piranha 3DD and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter were too bad for their own good. I couldn't get into Brave at all. The Bourne Legacy shouldn't have had 'Bourne' in the title. Taken 2 did not, and maybe could not ever, live up to the original. And I need a whole damn blog to talk about The Hobbit. But yeah, still the best year since '08.
OK, I promised a list. Let's do the damn thing.
#11, winning the "Most Necessary Unnecessary Reboot/Remake" Award:
Too many people say this film should have never happened because the last series of films just ended 5 or so years ago. I call bullshit. It would be different if 1) this movie had sucked, and 2) the previous movies hadn't been as bad as they were. Everything the previous films got wrong (i.e. casting) this one got right. Spider-Man 3 was on a Batman and Robin level of bad, and our friendly neighbourhood wall crawler needed redemption. He got it. Andrew Garfield is as perfect a Spidey AND Peter Parker as we will have, and is alone worth the price of admission. Also: Emma Stone.
#10, and the "Comedy Film I Actually Went To Theaters To See" Award winner:
This is one of the surprises I was talking about, in that it's one of the goddam funniest movies I've ever seen. Jonah Hill has proven that he's at his best when he has quality people to play off of (Superbad), and at his worst when that same schtick doesn't work with his co-stars (The Watch), so I've always been pretty meh about him. Between that and Channing 'G.I. Joe' Tatum, my expectations were low. My expectations got their asses kicked. Tatum should do nothing but this exact role in every movie he's in, and I'd watch that movie every day and laugh my ass off every time. The chemistry between Hill and Tatum is flawless. Best of all, the film makes a point of slapping the Remake/Reboot trend in the face while actually being a remake itself. That's bad ass. FUCK YOU, SCIENCE!
#9, winning the "Back to the Future" Award for best film featuring time travel:
Praise the gods for a genre film with an original concept that's actually good! You see a film with the qualities of Looper less and less these days, because they tend to be more of a gamble in the box office than the latest Marvel property or something featuring Johnny Depp. Performances from both Willis and JGL were great and, aside from a very noticeable change of pace and setting in the third act, the film itself was very well put together, but the biggest reason to watch this movie is it's view on the mechanics of time travel. Too many films like this one have overcomplicated the concept, but Looper's approach was simply 'who gives a fuck?' For that, I wanna hug this movie. I loved this movie and can't wait to see it again.
#8, with the "Best Alternative Novel Adaptation to Twilight" Award:
In my eyes, the best way to tell if a film adaptation of a novel or series thereof is if watching the film makes you want to read the original material. Twilight did not do that for me. Game of Thrones has. Harry Potter has. Had I not already read One Shot, Jack Reacher would have. So when I walked out of THG wanting to read these books, and then actually finishing the books some weeks ago, I had a new liking of this film instilled within me beyond my crush on Jennifer Lawrence. I don't anticipate liking the next films as much as this one, but I'll still watch and even be excited for them. In the end, it's just nice to see that not every YA adaptation is of the Twlight variety.
#7, the award winner for "Most Pretentious Movie While Still Being Enjoyable":
Wes Anderson has always been hit or miss with me. I don't typically go for the artsy-fartsy stuff that he and his ilk shell out, but this film is a huge exception. Anderson has a tendency of making very pretty and quirky films accompanied by heavy handed melodrama that usually just depress and confuse me. Moonrise Kingdom drops that drama and just tells an endearing love story that is both pretty and quirky. Also, watching my favourite Neo-Nazi Ed Norton and Bruce Fucking Willis stumble around with Barney Fife-like incompetence is one of the best things to happen in 2012 for me. Literally.
#6, and a tie for "Best Animated Film":
Animated movies tend to be awesome. We live in a time where animation gets better and better, voice acting is now just as important as real-life acting is in real-life movies, and the stories told aren't just for kids any more. Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Shrek, the list goes on. This year was special for me because not one, but two different aspects of pop culture were featured in such animated movies: zombies and video games. Wreck-It Ralph was obvious Disney fare but with references that could only be directed at a generation that started playing video games with controllers with two buttons and the same incredibly annoying 'boing' sound effect for jumping. Ralph is as endearing as a main protagonist can be, and the film as a whole was the kind of feel-good story that Disney has become synonymous with. ParaNorman went in a different direction. It was more like the love child of Shaun of the Dead and Coraline. A dark sense of humour with nods to many of the classics of the horror genre, while still being both suitable and relateable to kids. It would be an oversight to not mention that both are about a social outcast looking for acceptance by his peers, a sentiment even I could relate to.
#5, winner of the "Evil Dead" Award for best genre film that also satirizes the genre it belongs to:
There's nothing to say about this impossibly great film that I didn't say in my previous review of it. By all means, watch the movie, read the blog, whatever. Just give it its due diligence, because any true horror fan should be able to embrace any one of the several things about this movie that I love. I can honestly say that I hope they start doing prequels for this one, but ONLY if Whedon and Goddard are involved.
#4, and the award for "Best Film On This List That Might Actually Get An Oscar" goes to:
I love me some Top 10 lists, but I typically don't agree with them, because for the most part they consist of films that I haven't seen or don't appreciate as much. Not a lot of Cabin in the Woods love in the mainstream but they all loved the fuck out of Skyfall. Whatever. The only thing we all seem to agree on was this piece of work. It's hard to believe a true story could be pulled off as a legitimate thriller, as it's way too easy to find out how it ends, but I spent the last 20 minutes or so with my hands on my face going "holyshitholyshitholyshit" with several sighs and deep breaths inbetween. This movie is fantastic, and no small part of the blame should go to Affleck. Awards all around for that man. But then again, I'm with Kevin Smith in that I'll watch Ben in anything. I even enjoyed Daredevil. Let that sink in.
#3, with the "In Memoriam" Award for a definitive conclusion to a series of films:
#2, winning the "We All Knew This Was Going To Be Awesome" Award:
I'm not claiming that Tarantino is for everyone. He's not, and I will never spend a lot of time arguing that he is. But a true student of film recognizes unhindered art by another student of film. Tarantino has never been about making Box Office records or appealing to every demographic. He makes his films the only way he knows how to make them. In my opinion, Django is one of his best. If you're into highly stylized ultraviolence with likeable over-the-top characters in a simple, linear storyline, or just enjoy Leo DiCaprio at his best (truly worth the price of admission alone) go see this right the hell now.
#1, and the "Most Important Movie of 2012" Award winner:
Oh man, this movie! As great as this movie is, and it is fucking GREAT, it's my #1 movie simply because I like to acknowledge good work paying off. Four years of buildup, a handful of movies as setup, and an assembly (no pun intended) of some of the bigger names in Hollywood as some of the biggest names in comics. There was a lot of potential for disaster here. But the stars aligned for Joss Whedon and company, because that guy's awesome. Now, a genre that's only a decade or so old has once again been redefined and influenced by the creation, release, and success of this one film.
All right, that's it. I strongly encourage readers to express opinions, positive or negative, about my posts just so I know that someone other than my proofreader/bacon fryer/bride-to-be Mandi is paying attention. Seriously, even if all you're doing is trolling me (which is pretty much the only way my friends communicate with me anyhow). So, here we are in 2013. We survived the Mayan apocalypse, or whatever. Twlight's dead. Obama's still the president. Still not sure what's happening with the NHL mess. 2012 was pretty great. I strongly doubt anything in the coming year will top it, but I'm ready to be surprised.
Knight Owl
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