My Top 25 Favorite Movies of 2012, Part 3

Onwards and upwards!


Cloud Atlas

Sometimes a movie forces its audience to work for their reward.  I like when this happens.  It's a change from the usual movie going mode, which is to sit back and be a lazy sponge.  Not that there's anything wrong with lazy spongeness, it just gets boring if that's the only thing you're doing for long stretches of time.  You need a brisk workout now and then.  Along comes "Cloud Atlas", based on the novel by David Mitchell.  Making a movie out of something so sprawling and ambitious would be a monumental task for any director, so it's a good thing that three directors decided to take on the challenge.  The Wachowskis ("The Matrix" trilogy) and Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run", "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer") took on the challenge and created something truly special.  Everyone I know who's seen this movie, love it or hate it, has had a completely unique emotional reaction to the film.  But as I said earlier, it requires and investment from the audience to fully reap its philosophical and emotional benefits.  After all, when you have a movie which alternates among six different time periods and features the same actors playing a different character within each of those periods, well. . . it requires a bit of an attention span.  Thankfully there's enough variety and spice to make it entertaining, even if you're lost.  Historical fiction, drama, love story, comedy, horror, futuristic sci-fi, post apocalyptic sci-fi, detective thriller, even action movie - it's all there.  And every time I see this movie, I see some previously unnoticed new detail that makes me want to watch the whole dang thing over again.  Sure, some of the special makeup jobs are kind of crappy, but it isn't a big deal.  When are you ever going to see a movie where Hugh Grant plays a post apocalyptic cannibal king?  When you watch "Cloud Atlas", that's when.  Every time I see this movie, it affects me, emotionally.  Transcendental stuff.

Django Unchained

Now for a remake that has almost nothing to do with the original - except that is has the same theme song, and the main character's name is the same, and the original star (Franco Nero) makes a brief appearance.  And it's a Western.  Otherwise, it's yet another revisionist remake from Quentin Tarantino, much like his last flick "Inglorious Basterds".  Jamie Foxx is fine in the lead role as a freed slave turned bounty hunter trying to find and rescue his enslaved wife, but it's those who surround him who really stand out.  Christophe Waltz is charming and bad ass and enigmatic as King Schultz, the ultimate standout character of the film.  Leonardo DiCaprio makes a great villain, even though he gets out-villained by Samuel L. Jackson.  And, like all Tarantino films, the supporting cast is peppered with numerous familiar faces from cult and classic film and television history.  Mix them up with Tarantino's over-the-top sensibilities (cartoony blood explosions) and his trademarked ear for dialogue and pace (the slow burn which suddenly explodes with fury), as well as his respect and love for obscure cinema ("Mandingo", anyone?) and you have a film that's quite unique, yet totally Tarantino.  Every time I see this movie, I forget how damn funny it is, too.  It's a dusty, blood stained grab bag of surprises.

ParaNorman

From Laika, the animation studio which brought us the fantastic film version of "Coraline", comes a new venture into the realm of stop-motion.  This movie is quite beautiful looking. . . ghoulishly beautiful, that is.  Taking its cues from 100 years of horror cinema, "ParaNorman" is a love letter to scary movies.  At the same time, it's also a great story about the long-term effects of bullying.  Don't worry, though, it's not preachy at all.  It's a really good time.  This movie makes me crack up quite a bit, largely from the hilarious dialogue.  "When I'm nervous, I get mouth diarrhea."  I can relate.  "Promise me you'll do it.  Swear!"  "You mean like the F-word?"  Bwaaahaha!  "Don't make me throw this hummus!  It's spicy!"  Actually, I think I've used that one before.  Besides its stellar animation and cinematography, spot-on sense of humor, and deep love for the horror genre, it also boasts a great cast.  In particular, I'd like to single out Tucker Albrizzi, who plays my favorite character in the film, Norman's buddy Neil.  It's an endearing performance.  Kudos to Casey Affleck as well, who plays what, to my knowledge, is the first non-stereotypical gay character I've ever seen in a 3D animated movie.  What a surprise!  Thank you, Chris Butler and Sam Fell, for this highly entertaining flick.

Hitchcock

I'm not a big fan of biopics.  Thankfully, "Hitchcock" isn't a biopic.  It doesn't encapsulate the life and career of Alfred Hitchcock into a tight, easily-digestible narrative, it concentrates merely on one slice of his life - the making of "Psycho".  Beyond being one of my favorite movies of all time, I find the circumstances around the creation of "Psycho", as well as the groundbreaking effects of its release, absolutely fascinating.  "Hitchcock" doesn't cover all of those bases, but only because it's not a comprehensive behind-the-scenes piece.  Thematically, it's the story of Hitch's relationships (or lack thereof) with women, and the parallels those relationships have with his own creative abilities.  In particular, the movie concentrates on his marriage to his longtime wife Alma.  Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren are the two leads (as Alfred and Alma, respectively) and their performances are the heart of the film.  Surrounding them are a bevy of great actors, far too many to list, but I'd like to single out Scarlett Johannson, who does a fantastic job portraying Janet Leigh.  Michael Wincott also does a creepy job in a very odd subplot regarding Hitch and a dream relationship he has with killer Ed Gein, the inspiration for the original "Psycho" novel.  At first this subplot seemed out of place, but I came to enjoy it greatly for what it is - a dark reflection of Hitch's issues with the ladies.  All-in-all, director Sacha Gervasi took what could easily have been a dry recitation of the facts and made something fun, something infused with the eccentricity and playfulness that the Master of Suspense himself possessed.  Because of that, this movie gets a lot of replay in my house.  In fact, this is one of my most-watched movies on this list.

The Hunger Games

Have you heard of this movie?  It's a little, hard-to-find indie flick that came and went without making much of a splash at the box office. . . obviously I'm kidding.  At the time of this movie's original release, I found it to be rather over hyped and not as creatively original as fans seemed to think it was.  I still feel that way, yet I've watched and enjoyed it multiple times and will continue to enjoy it in the future.  Director Gary Ross and the rest of the filmmakers have made the effort to craft a solid, honest piece of work that never feels like a studio-driven cash cow, even though it is.  In some ways, namely in the whole "rebels vs. evil empire" theme (via a Reality TV Competition Show of the Future twist), it reminds me of a bare-bones version of "Star Wars", and that ain't a bad thing.  Jennifer Lawrence deserves a lot of credit for her grounded portrayal of main character Katniss Everdeen.  It's refreshing to find a kick-ass lead female character whose entire story arc doesn't revolve around the backwards cliché of "whichever man she chooses to love will determine her fate".  There is a love triangle in "The Hunger Games" (a requirement of all Young Adult novels, apparently), but it's not the main emphasis.  Overall, it's smart, timely, exciting and thoughtful, and leaves you wanting more, which is a good thing in this instance.  The sequel, "Catching Fire", is even better.

See you next time for swords, spies, scouts, psychics, and sinister stuff.

My Top 25 Favorite Movies of 2012, Part 2

Damn, there sure were a lot of good animated movies in 2012.  I guess it makes up for the Great Animated Movie Drought of 2011.

On with the list. . .


The Secret World of Arriety

Based on the classic children's novel "The Borrowers", "Arriety" is the latest winner from Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.  The whacked-out, hallucinogenic milieu of their previous films has been toned down quite a bit, but their knack for telling gentle, heartfelt stories through flowing, beautifully detailed hand-drawn animation is stronger than ever before.  Maybe this has something to do with the fact that studio head and director Hayao Miyazaki ("the Walt Disney of Japan") has "retired" somewhat.  On "Arriety" he's credited as the screenwriter and planner (I'm not entirely sure what that is), leaving the directing to Hiromasa Yonebayashi.  In Yonebayashi's hands, the world of the Borrowers comes to life with thoughtful detail and creative invention, easily convincing the viewer that a society of tiny beings could very well be hiding in the forgotten spaces of your home, living their lives, taking your Milky Way bars, moving your car keys - okay, Borrowers wouldn't take those things, I'm just inventing solutions to my own woes.  The story of teen Borrower Arriety and her forbidden friendship with a sick human boy named Shawn doesn't quite end up where you might expect it to, and that's one thing I love about Japanese animation - it's not formulaic, it's not "safe".  It embraces the unexpected, and that's something I dig.

Looper

There are all kinds of theories of time travel, especially in movies.  #1) If you go back in time and change anything significant in the past, the whole timeline will shift to reflect these changes.  #2) If you go back in time and change anything significant in the past, it creates a separate, alternate universe where both timelines continue onward, parallel to each other, but different.  #3) If you go back in time and try to alter things, you will fail.  Time is fixed and cannot be changed (the "No Fun" theory of time travel).  #4) Time is made up of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey bits (the "Doctor Who" theory).  #5) The Looper theory:  Time is in a constant state of auto correct.  If you change things in the past, the universe will instantly compensate in the present (although human memories take a little longer to reset).  It's a time travel theory where paradoxes are not possible.  It took me a while to wrap my head around this new thinking (the other theories are ingrained in my sci-fi lovin' brain) but, really, it matters little when the film itself is so electric and the cast is so cool that it takes your mind clean off of "The Rules" and transports you straight into the story.  Rian Johnson ("Brick", "Breaking Bad") created a winner.

Wait a minute:  If crime lords in the future send their victims back in time in order to dispose of the bodies, then why do they need Loopers?  Couldn't they just instantly send the victims back in time and directly into a giant furnace or something?  Why am I unable to come up with my own theory?  Well, Johnson has explained his reasoning and it's because. . .  well, the answers do exist.  In special features, interviews, deleted scenes - for those who must know.  It would have been nice to have been included in the movie itself, but it doesn't matter in the end.  In this case I trust the filmmaker and am able to come up with my own personal theories for the seemingly unexplained stuff (it's seemingly well thought out by Johnson and his buddy Shane Carruth, director of "Primer", which is arguably the best time travel movie ever made).  "Looper" is film noir, a genre which banks on mystery, shades of morality, and the razor sharp obscurities of life.

Frankenweenie

Tim Burton has been involved in some of my favorite films over the years: "Ed Wood", "Big Fish", "Pee Wee's Big Adventure", "Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands", to name a few.  Lately, though, he's been sucking.  "Alice in Wonderland", "9", "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", "Dark Shadows" - all visually spectacular films, certainly, yet perfect examples of hollow, lifeless cinema.  Then came "Frankenweenie", a movie that very few people paid to see in theaters but turned out to be one of Burton's best.  Based on a live action short film he directed in 1984 (his first live action film), "Frankenweenie" tugs on the heartstrings of any person who's ever had a pet, and also on the heartstrings of anyone who's ever been a fan of classic sci-fi/horror movies.  What a surprise!  A Time Burton movie filled with classic movie references!  I'd have it no other way.  Besides being a great Gothic family film, it's also yet another fantastic showcase for the (not-so) lost art of stop motion animation, a trend Burton has spearheaded with the likes of "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "James and the Giant Peach", and "Corpse Bride".  Stop motion animation has always been my favorite type of animation, and 2012 was a banner year for this particular style of hand crafted filmmaking.  "Frankenweenie" (the title is fun to say) is a beautifully crafted mix of nostalgic sweetness and warped, dark humor.  Plus, Mr. Whiskers is one of the creepiest movie characters of 2012.  Welcome back, Tim Burton.

Perfect Sense

Now here's a frightening idea for an apocalypse: The human race is collectively, and inexplicably losing the use of its five senses, one at a time.  The loss of each sense is preceded by a sudden rush of emotion, followed by one of the senses blinking out.  Now imagine that, just as this crisis is beginning to take hold, you find the love of your life.  "Perfect Timing" might have been a more appropriate title.  Eva Green and Ewan McGregor are the two unfortunate lovebirds.  She's a scientist, he's a chef.  Both of them are emotionally stunted human beings, but have found, in each other, a complementary soul.  Under the solid direction of David Mackenzie it would have been a fine love story all on its own, but the addition of the unique apocalypse story turns it into something special.  Despite its low budget, we get to experience how the rest of the world (beyond the story's main setting of Glasgow) deals with the crisis.  It's scary, it's tragic, and yet, at the same time, life-affirming, humanistic, and fearless.  Great drama.  Trivia Time: Ewan McGregor was the star of the "Star Wars" prequels.  The actor who plays his boss in "Perfect Sense" is Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.  In real life, Denis Lawson is Ewan McGregor's uncle.  Consider your mind blown.

21 Jump Street

And now for a love story of a different nature.  I was never a fan of the original series, but I'd caught some of the episodes back in the good old days (it used to air before one of my favorite shows, "Star Trek: The Next Generation").  This new movie, despite focusing on new characters and having a far more comedic tone, is actually a continuation of the original show (as the surprise cameo appearances confirm).  It matters not, however.  Even if you aren't familiar with the original, this is the perfect entry point.  Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (whose previous movie, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", made my 2009 list), it's uproarious, foul-mouthed, action-packed, it features Ice Cube as the Angry Black Captain, and is surprisingly sweet and full of heart.  It slows down a little bit in the middle, sure, but quickly picks up and finishes on a hilarious high note.  And who knew that Channing Tatum would be so good at comedy?  The sequel, "22 Jump Street", hits theaters in the next couple of months.  I will be there on opening day.

Next time it's cowboys, cannibals, corpses and Katniss.