Film in 2012 may not have been
quite as strong overall as 2011, but right at the top there were a lot of good
and very entertaining films. 2012 also featured many wonderful performances,
particularly among men (many great performances that would have made my lists
in past years were sadly left off). The LeapBackBlog Film Awards are comprised
of what I think were the best and most interesting films, the strongest
performances (taking into consideration who the actor is and what else they
have done), the narrative style that drew me in (best directing), and exquisite
craftsmanship (best technical achievements). But really, these are lists of my
favorites from the year.
As far as American auteur filmmakers go, Paul
Thomas Anderson might just be the greatest in contemporary cinema right now.
With The
Master, he has made another film that creates a purely visceral experience.
It is not easily pinned down, as it is not just about its story or characters
but more so about the tumultuous times of post WWII America (soldiers finding
it hard to return to life, clashing with the myth of clean and wholesome living
propagated by corporate ad agencies – this is also very well done in William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives). Anderson
is a master filmmaker, garnering stunning performances (all three of the film’s
main actors have made this year’s acting film awards lists) and creating a
layered visual story that shines with aesthetic brilliance.
For all his quirkiness as a filmmaker, there is maybe no
other director who takes as much care with the details of every single frame of
their movie as Wes
Anderson. His films are instantly recognizable, and Moonrise
Kingdom is no different. Anderson does not shy away from showing his hand
in the making of this film, from the camera moves (that sometimes feel like an
expansion on Yasujiro Ozu’s
style) to the specific blocking of characters in a frame (and everything this
else he does) the audience can feel Anderson behind the camera orchestrating it
all. However, even given his indulgent style, Moonrise Kingdom’s characters are
so rich and their drama so grounded in pathos that even with all the stylistic
elements the audience cannot help but be lost in the world of film completely
engrossed in the story, characters, and drama.
3D exists in today’s cinema seemingly solely for commercial
gains. Studios often insist upon it to pump up their bottom lines, much to the
begrudging of directors as it usually adds nothing positive to the film going experience
(usually detracting from it). All that said, Ang Lee takes 3D and uses it
wonderfully and beautifully in Life
of Pi, making probably the second film to use the medium to its advantage
since the fad gained momentum (following the other film to use 3D well – Avatar).
Lee also rises to the challenge of making a film with essentially only one
human character for large portions of its narrative. Called an un-filmable
story, Lee has made something exquisite and incredibly moving and cinematic with
Life of Pi.
The
Dark Knight Rises was maybe the most anticipated film of 2012, with
unattainably high expectations – and yet writer-director Christopher
Nolan delivered a brilliantly grand finale to his Dark Knight Trilogy
(meeting and exceeding those expectations). The film perfectly blends the
spectacle aspects of summer blockbusters with the exceptional character drama
of prestige cinema. Nolan has taken blockbuster filmmaking to a different
level, and his films are the standard by which all other blockbusters are
judged. He has transcended the trappings of event filmmaking, which prizes the
extravaganza above all else, by making his films (as big, dynamic, and
entertaining as they are) about his characters and story first. Nolan is the
best director working within the studio system right now.
Quentin
Tarantino’s venture into genre filmmaking has yielded brilliant and
extremely fun and entertaining work. With Django
Unchained, he continues his Revenge Trilogy this time targeting slavery.
Tarantino’s ability to effectively use his camera as well as shot composition
and mise en scene set him apart from most directors working in Hollywood today,
but more so in Django Unchained it is his dialogue and the performances that he
garners from his actors (particularly Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo
DiCaprio) that makes it a special film.
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