TOP FILMS OF 2012 plus OSCARS tomorrow

Finally, my TOP FILMS of 2012, just in time for the OSCARS presentations tomorrow, Sunday 24 February.  Red carpet stuff starts at 4pm (or earlier on E!) and the ceremony starts at 5pm. 

The following films I rated an "A" because I can't imagine them being made any better than they are, and because they gave me a lot of pleasure.

----A-----

ARGO--Dramatic, exciting, politically entertaining, witty  and  funny as hell-- OSCAR nominee
            Alan Arkin and cohort John Goodman provide the comic relief.

SKYFALL--Great action, great actors (Daniel Craig, Judy Dench, Javier Bardem), great villains
                    super special effects, music, editing, photography.  The best BOND ever!

MOONRISE KINGDOM--Wes Anderson's newest creates a world all it's own, where two runaway
                  kids seem more mature and sensible than the adults in their lives.  Clever and witty.

CHASING ICE--Beautifully shot documentary about disappearing ice floes and icebergs.  Covers
                    similar ground as Al Gore's AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, but much less political. 
                    Amazing time lapse photography that is gorgeous and shocking, too.


----A- -------

LIFE OF PI--Ang Lee's newest based on the philosophical novel is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
                    FILM of the year to watch---I had to blink twice sometimes to acknowledge the
                     tranquil detail and extreme exotic purity of many scenes.  Wonderful score and
                     special effects.  Since Ben Afleck didn't get nominated for best Director for ARGO,
                     then I would give Ang Lee the nod for supremely handling a film that dealt so
                     eloquently with spirituality, children, water and underwater photography and the
                     humanizing of animal behavior.  The final "twist" gives a new dimension to the story.

LAS ACACIAS--Lovely, intimate South American film about a lonely, long haul trucker who is
                      forced to take a young woman and her baby along.  Of course, the baby manages
                      to steal many scenes, but the shyness of the main characters wins you over.

THE INTOUCHABLES--French comedy drama based on true story of the relationship between
                       an African caretaker and his rich white paraplegic charge--a classic "fish out of
                       water" story with humor and humanistic touches.

OSLO, AUGUST 31ST--Gripping "last day in the life" of an intelligent Norwegian suicidal drug
                        addict, and the people who touch his sad life.

THE AVENGERS--Big, noisy but very well constructed and entertaining super hero adventure.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY--Peter Jackson's magic is back on track.  Can't
                         wait for segments 2 and 3.

LIBERAL ARTS--35 year old man visits his Alma mater and falls for a young student in his
                           attempt to reconnect with his "glory days" in this mature, charming tale.

EYE OF THE STORM-- Australian Fred Schepisi (CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH,
                           ROXANNE) is back on track in a funny, almost campy family melodrama.
                           With Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, and the incomparable Charlotte Rampling.

DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL--Superior documentary about fashion icon.

-----B+-------

LINCOLN--Fascinating historical epic with crowning performance by Daniel Day Lewis.

DJANGO UNCHAINED--Quentin Tarantino's latest is bloody mixture of lurid melodrama, high
                            action, terrific acting and comic overkill, but it's still very entertaining.

AMOUR--Serious French film about couple's struggles when the wife has a stroke.  Actors are great.

THE SESSIONS--Excellent drama about a sex therapist trying to help iron lung patient discover
                              his sexuality.  Helen Hunt and John Hawkes are terrific.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK--Quirky comedy drama that you either GET or don't GET.
                              I got it, and the cast is amazingly connected, especially deNiro and Jennifer
                              Lawrence, both OSCAR nominees.  It creates a unique mise en scene.

SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN--Amazing mystery documentary about a very talented singer/
                              songwriter, thought dead for many years, found living in anonymity.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD--I give a lot of credit to the director for taking us on this
                               journey to the uncharted world of poor people living and surviving on a Louisiana
                               bayou, but the true heroine of the film lies with the amazing force of nature,
                               --not the devastating hurricane that centers the film, but the true star who anchors
                               yet carries us along, 6year old Quvenzhane Wallis, a best actress nominee.

Other B+ films that could just as easily be in the top 20 above.......

PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, HUNGER GAMES, LOOPER, BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, CLOUD ATLAS, SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETY, ANNA KARENINA, FRIENDS WITH KIDS, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, ELENA, FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT, DO DECA PENTHATHON, GAYBY....




FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURES--------GAYBY, EYE OF THE STORM, JOHN CARTER, PITCH PERFECT, WANDERLUST, HITCHCOCK, PREMIUM RUSH, THE QUARTET, ROCK OF AGES, ICE AGE CONTINENTAL DRIFT, DR SEUSS LORAX,

SMALL BUDGET WONDERS-------BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, GAYBY, DO DECA PENTHATHON, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, ACACIAS, PEOPLE LIKE US, ANY DAY NOW, ROBOT AND FRANK, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED,

TERRIBLE MOVIES--------TED< THE VOW< PARANORMAN< THIS MEANS WAR< GONE< and the worst for many reasons including shaking camera, bad lighting, bad sound, general ugliness etc--the newest version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

Some films NEARLY ruined by that damn SHAKY CAMERA-----RAMPART,END OF WATCH, TAKEN 2,BOURNE LEGACY, ZERO DARK THIRTY, ANY DAY NOW, LES MISERABLES, DO DECA PENTHATHON, BEAST OF SOUTHERN WILD


Some more modest films that are perfectly fine entertainment (Grade B or B-) include,
AMAZING SPIDER MAN, BRAVE, PROMETHEUS, THINK LIKE A MAN, HOPE SPRINGS,THE MASTER, SALMON FISHING IN YEMEN, ARBITRAGE, KID WITH A BIKE, 2 DAYS IN NY, SIMON AND OAKS, HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, BEL AMI, ANY DAY NOW, HELLO I MUST BE GOING, THE IMPOSSIBLE, THE QUARTET, WANDERLUST, LAWLESS, ZERO DARK THIRTY, LES MISERABLES, HELLO I MUST BE GOING, NORTH SEA TEXAS, TEDDY BEAR,




OSCAR STUFF

I'm hoping ARGO will win best picture, but I wouldn't mind LIFE OF PI or LINCOLN taking home the stature.  DJANGO UNCHAINED was entertaining, but too violent, AMOUR too serious--it has a better chance in the Foreign Language Film category, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is too quirky, BEAST/SOUTHERN WILD and LES MISERABLES had too much shaky camera work to watch comfortably, and even though it is solid, ZERO DARK THIRTY suffers in comparison to the recently watched first TV season of HOMELAND as it shares many similar elements.

Daniel Day Lewis seems to have a lock for Best Actor, but I also admired Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper in LES MIS and SILVER LININGS respectively.  I really loved all the best actress nominees--I'd vote for Naomi Watts as the mother trying to survive a tsunami with her one son in THE IMPOSSIBLE, but I think Jennifer Lawrence gave a brave performance in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (and THE HUNGER GAMES) and will probably win.

I really love Helen Hunt in THE SESSIONS---she's bravely nude in much of it, and the determined character of Sally Field in LINCOLN is very strong, but Anne Hathaway really nails her big dramatic song in LES MIS and certainly makes that film more memorable.  The supporting actor category is really up for grabs this year---all actors are great, AND they've all won an OSCAR before!!!!!  I'd vote for Christoph Waltz in DJANGO, but he just won 2 years ago for INGLORIOUS BASTARDS.  It's been a while since Robert De Niro (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) so he might have the edge, but Tommy Lee Jones has had a great year (see HOPE SPRINGS) so LINCOLN might be his ticket.  Alan Arkin is also well liked, and since ARGO was slighted in the direction category, this might be another bone thrown that way.  I liked them all.......

Since Ben Afleck didn't get a nomination for best director (he's won at other awards ceremonies.....) I'd vote for previous winners Ang Lee or Steven Spielberg, but David O. Russel does some amazing things with SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.   Michael Haneke (AMOUR) and Benh Zeitlin (BEAST SOUTHERN WILD) are newcomers to the OSCARS and seem like long shots.

The writing awards are tougher for me to predict.  I think MOONRISE KINGDOM should win, but this is its only nomination.  My next choice would be Tarantino for DJANGO, but AMOUR, FLIGHT and ZERO DARK THIRTY all have their supporters in the original category.  For adapted screenplay, I loved LINCOLN'S literacy and ARGO's suspense and drama.  BEASTS, LIFE OF PI and SILVER LININGS are also strong.

I'd love LIFE OF PI to win for music score, cinematography and visual effects, and SKYFALL to win all the other technical awards.

I'm surprised that THE HOBBIT only got a couple minor nominations, because it is really a quality film, nearly as good as the LORD OF THE RINGS series.  I think John Hawkes should have been nominated for THE SESSIONS.  I'm also disappointed that SKYFALL got just a few nominations--since it is known as the BEST BOND EVER!!!!!!!



I have some miscellaneous dvd films and new openings to write about---perhaps next week.  The new films include the fabulous Maggie Smith in THE QUARTET (Grade B) and the sad, moving AMOUR (Grade B+) and the annoyingly dull and mostly unfunny IDENTITY THIEF (a generous grade of C-)........I'll be as busy as I can be at SIFF Cinema's FILM NOIR series starting this weekend........