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.
So many of us fans of Joss
Whedon, who have known he was a great writer and filmmaker for years, were
vindicated in 2012 with (both The
Cabin in the Woods and) The Avengers.
Whedon’s film that wraps up phase one of Marvel Studio’s adventures is probably
the most entertaining cinematic experience of the year. It sees Iron Man, Thor,
the Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow all team together to save
Earth from an alien invasion that Loki has brought on. Whedon brings a
wonderful combination of humor, drama, and character to the film – it is
exciting, action packed, hilarious, and full of great character moments. It is
the epitome of fun blockbuster filmmaking (and what we Whedon fans completely
expected it to be).
Leave it to the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer to make the most
insanely ambitious film of the year with Cloud
Atlas. It features six stories across the history of man. Each story deals
with human relationships and traits – love, friendship, freedom, and bravery –
and each is connected in some way. The epic scale and scope of the film is
staggering, and it is amazing that it even came off at all, let alone as
brilliantly as it did. The troupe of actors are all asked to play multiple
characters, many of which are against type (and even race and gender). What is
the most impressive about the film is how well it is woven together, as it
never drags or feels like it is not building towards something. In today’s
cinema landscape in which blockbusters are seemingly solely remakes,
rehashings, and sequels (which are mostly broad, boring generic films), Cloud Atlas
is an essential epic, as it dares to be original, challenging, and adventurous.
The
Dark Knight Rises was the film I was most looking forward to seeing in
2012, and it did not disappoint as it is my favorite film of the year. Christopher
Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy ends with grand conclusion. Taking place
eight years after The
Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne must return as Batman to face is most physically
daunting foe in Bane, who is looking to complete Ra’s al Ghul’s work and destroy
Gotham City. Nolan’s narrative features the great action set pieces and genre
staples to go with his deft directing to make it a superb adventure film, and satisfying
finale, but it is the rich characters (and brilliant performances led by Christian
Bale, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway) and emotional
moments that make it something more, something special. Nolan’s trilogy is the benchmark
that all comic-book films will be measured against (and it is a very high bar).
Wildly violent, almost to a
cartoonish level of excess, and sharply written, Django
Unchained is a highly entertaining western/revenge drama. Like all Quentin Tarantino films, it is
full of B-movie references, artistic filmmaking, great performances (from Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo
DiCaprio), and spirited dialog. Django is a slave who is freed by a German
bounty hunter (Dr. King Schultz) who needs his help tracking down his latest
bounty. They become friends, and Schultz wants to help Django rescue his wife
from a plantation in Mississippi owned by the brutal and dastardly Calvin
Candie – a suicide mission. Tarantino uses his narrative to portray the South
in a very unflattering manner, directly challenging the myth purported by films
like Gone
with the Wind – and to this endeavor, the film is quite striking and
effective (without losing an ounce of entertainment).
Much like last year’s Drive,
Killing
Them Softly is a different take on the crime drama genre. On its surface,
the narrative is that of a typical crime drama (and works on that level too) –
some low level thugs knock-off a protected game, so the mob sends in a
professional to kill them and retrieve the money – but Andrew Dominik uses the format
for so much more. The film plays as a comment on the financial crisis that
America faced in 2008 and the need of a bailout to seeming save the country
from disaster. From the constant stream of financial and political news talking-heads
in the background to the filming location being the dilapidated post-Katrina
New Orleans and the characters being veiled stand-ins for those involved in
bringing the financial markets down, Killing Them Softly seems to be a fairly
exacting shot at capitalism – one that also has stunning aesthetics and brilliant
performances (particularly from Brad
Pitt) at is core.
As someone that generally thinks
3D is a waste of everyone’s money because it mostly just detracts from the
cinema experience, Life
of Pi and its use of 3D blew me away. Ang Lee uses the format not to
exploit (less than knowledgeable) filmgoers for their money, but rather to
heighten the beauty and the grand experience of the film’s journey. I forgot I was
even watching a 3D film – that is how well it is integrated. It is a wondrous
experience. The story tells the adventure of Pi, a young man who travels from
India to Canada with his family along with their zoo animals, only to be the
sole human survivor of a horrific storm that takes the ship. Pi finds himself
adrift in a life boat with only a zebra, hyena, and Bengal tiger named Richard
Parker. Life of Pi is the kind of filmmaking that all epics should strive to be
– it is maybe the most beautiful and fulfilling cinematic experience of the
year.
The
Master seems to perfectly capture the mood of the time it takes place in –
the sense of loss, isolation, and disconnection of those returning from WWII
mixed with the façade of force-fed family values by government and advertising
(that would shape America in the early 1950s). Freddie Quell (wonderfully played
by Joaquin Phoenix) is lost
in society returning from the war, but he finds a place with the eccentric
Lancaster Dodd (played by the equally great Philip Seymour Hoffman), a
charismatic cult leader. Quell is drawn by the intrigue and grand con of Dodd
and his Cause and Dodd seems to be fascinated in the wildness of Quell. Paul
Thomas Anderson’s narrative is not so much a streamline story, but an
experimental emotional study of Quell and his internal struggle. Anderson uses
all his filmmaking tools to make the film a visceral experience, and one that
is utterly compelling and fantastic (my personal love of grand genre films aside
– aka my love of The
Dark Knight Rises – The Master is probably the best film of 2012).
Quirky, charming, genuine, and a
complete joy to watch – Moonrise
Kingdom is auteur Wes
Anderson’s seventh feature film. It follows two kids Suzy and Sam who run
away together to camp out and explore their budding romance. Anderson’s
narrative (as his films often do) feels like it takes place in an alternate
reality, in which kids are full of budding potential and adults are somewhat melancholia
at having never reached theirs. Aesthetically, it feels and looks just like one
familiar with Anderson’s work would expect, as Anderson has a flair for aficionado
directorial moments (long takes, lots of camera moves, and stylistic blocking –
basically every element of every frame is specifically designed to look the way
it does down to the smallest detail by Anderson). What is different, however,
about Moonrise Kingdom as opposed to Anderson’s last few features is that it
wins over its audience in total by the end, even those not enamored with Anderson’s
unique style with its warmth and likable characters.
James Bond is a character all
filmgoers know and most love. With Skyfall,
director Sam
Mendes welcomes the nostalgia and classic franchise elements that make
James Bond great while also bringing a more modern take to the series (keeping
with the trend of the Daniel
Craig films). In his latest adventure, Bond finds himself facing off
against maybe his most equally matched villain (well, since GoldenEye) – another MI6 agent
formally shepherded by M named Silva (who is fantastically played by Javier Bardem). He knows just
where to strike to hurt M and cripple MI6. Bond must takes refuge in his past
to protect M. This is one of Bond’s more personal films, which benefits it greatly
as the character work is strong. Mendes also does a wonderful job of making a
Bond film that feels fresh, but completely embraces and brings back many of the
elements of classic Bond films (it is the best of the Craig era so far).
Zero
Dark Thirty is Kathryn
Bigelow’s Heart of Darkness (so to speak). The film details a CIA agent’s
(Maya, played by Jessica Chastain)
journey into the darkness to find and ultimately kill Osama bin Laden. It is an
emotionally arduous yet rewarding experience as Bigelow expertly uses suspense
and tension to pull the audience in with intense moments – and it is an
interesting story. As a character drama, it works very well – Chastain is
brilliant as Maya, a woman who has given everything of herself to finding bin
Laden. Bigelow tells the story without a political slant, rather it is more
about the sacrifices that men and women have made to try and keep America safe
(or simply to do their jobs and what they think is right).
Honorable Mentions (11-25):
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