Alrighty then, readers, it's time for me to rattle off my favorite films of 2012, the ones I've found to have major replay value over time, the cream of the crop. These are not necessarily what I think are "The Best" movies, they're the ones that stand the test of (one year's) time, that affect me without fail, that get better with each successive viewing. I subject them to friends, hold them aloft as a focus of righteous defiance, and create obsessive lists about them on obscure movie blogs.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present My Top 25 Favorite Movies of 2012.
Part One of Five.
I heard that. No groaning, please.
Wreck-It Ralph
John Lasseter was the man responsible for bringing Pixar Animation Studios to the world. He ran the studio and wrote, produced and directed many of its timeless classics. When Disney created their own computer animation division, they asked Lasseter to shift some of his focus from Pixar and oversee their new studio's movie projects. Since that time, the quality of Pixar's flicks has dropped and the movies produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios has become the Gold Standard. "Frozen" is but the latest example of this - "Wreck-It Ralph" was 2012's. Produced by Lasseter but written and directed by longtime veterans of "The Simpsons", "Wreck-It" presents an imaginative new world where all video game characters coexist together, creating an endless onslaught of in-jokes and references for gamers everywhere. Beyond that, it's just a darned good time, with a fantastic cast voiced by fantastic actors (Sarah Silverman, as Vanellope von Schweetz, comes this close to being annoying, but ends up as endearing), with colorful, standout animation, heartfelt gooiness, exciting action, a poppy soundtrack, crackin' 3D, and much of the magic that Pixar seems to have lost. And there are so many avenues to explore in this new world that I'm eagerly anticipating what new developments the sequel will bring.
Safety Not Guaranteed
Director Colin Trevorrow is currently making the new "Jurassic Park" sequel entitled "Jurassic World". I can see why he was chosen for that project; although "Safety Not Guaranteed" is his first movie, and is quite bereft of special effects, there's a vaguely Spielbergian quality to it all, like a modern indie-film version of "Sugarland Express" or "1941" or "Always"or. . . well, it's hard to provide a satisfactory comparison, but the elements are there. As Aubrey Plaza's character sinks into the crazy world of Mark Duplass's "time traveler", it enfolds us all in its alluring promise - everyone has regret, some mistake they've always wanted to go back and fix. It's tempting, the option to really go back and fix something wrong, even if said option is a long shot invented by a crazy person. It's a very human, classic Spielbergian-style desire, wrapped up in the body of a quirky, funny, surprising indie flick with an uplifting, open-ended (yet satisfying) finale. It kind of reminds me of my favorite film of 2011, "Take Shelter". Only funnier. And with less thunderstorms.
The Dark Knight Rises
Everyone's favorite Republican superhero is back (no really - he's a rich, angry white guy who saves the world from oily-haired hippies with his expensive toys), and this time - it's final. Until his next reboot in "Man of Steel 2", that is. I think it's really cool that there exists an epic, standalone Batman trilogy. Even though "Rises" is the equivalent"Return of the Jedi" in terms of quality (it's the least best of the three films) and has some problems of its own (major plot twists are telegraphed too soon, some rather wonky writing, too many contrived plot devices), it's still a great movie with many stellar moments. And the finale is quite ballsy and moving (Big Spoiler Alert - Batman dies). Like any good trilogy-ender, it brings the story back around to the beginning ("Batman Begins") and wraps things up nicely. As for the cast, Tom Hardy, as Bane, can't outdo Heath Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight", but he's still an imposing villain (with an oddly endearing accent), Anne Hathaway is an appropriately alluring and realistic Catwoman, Christian Bale is still solid in the thankless lead role, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (quickly becoming one of my favorite new actors) is good even though his character is kind of a throwaway, but it's Michael Caine's Alfred and Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon who've always been, to me, the heart and soul (in that order) of these pictures. Filled with that propulsive Christopher Nolan energy, it's a fine ending to a great story. Bring on Ben Affleck!
Argo
And here he is! You'll have to wait until 2015 to see him put on the Bat Suit, but until then you can see him as CIA agent Tony Mendez in the (Best Picture) Academy Award-winning "Argo", based on a true story. Going into this movie for the first time, I was merely expecting a Rah-Rah, Go America!-style political thriller. What I saw was something quite, dare I say it - charming. While the Rah-Rah factor is present (buoyed by the fact that America's actions sparked the Iranian hostage crisis in the first place), and there are political maneuverings at work, "Argo" is really a movie about human ingenuity and our ability to resolve dangerous situations through nonviolent means and peaceful action. Okay, that makes it sound like one hell of a fruity movie but, trust me, it's good. It's tense, funny, respectful to its real-life subjects, features a fantastic cast of actors (Alan Arkin and John Goodman are standouts), has a healthy dose of geek love for 70's science fiction, and is a great example of a modern film filled with old school Hollywood charm. While the runway chase sequence at the end is silly (and invented merely to provide an "action climax"), director and star Ben Affleck did a fantastic job. This movie gets a lot of play at my house.
The Cabin in the Woods
Get this: A murderous unicorn violently kills its hapless victim by stabbing him repeatedly with its horn. That scene alone is enough for me to put "Cabin" on this list, but the rest of the movie is pretty damn brilliant, as well. The less said about the tricky plot, the better (it's a movie that needs to be experienced rather than told about), but let me just say this - if you are a horror movie fan, this is your wet dream. If you like dark comedy, this is your wet dream (it's funnier than most of the comedies released that year). If you like movies overflowing with references to classic horror movies, this is your wet dream. If you like intelligent films with deeper themes about the relationship between the horror movie fan and the movies themselves, this is your wet dream (I, for one, am tired of being treated like a drooling, beer-swilling idiot - even though I am one). If you like Richard Jenkins or Bradley Whitford, this is your wet dream. If you like cool, old school makeup effects, this is your wet dream.
You should probably just wear waterproof pants. Or a diaper. Or sit in an inflatable wading pool.
Directed by Drew Goddard, and co-written and produced by Joss Whedon (the first of 2012's one-two Whedon punch), "The Cabin in the Woods" is fantastic fun, from its opening credits, to the point where all hell breaks loose (literally), to its nihilistic John Carpenter-esque ending.
"Am I on speaker phone?"
Join me next time for really tiny people, dead dogs, bald time travelers, apocalyptic love stories, and Jonah Hill in a Peter Pan costume. I don't know which one is scarier.