2012 - IN REVIEW: TOP TWENTY FIVE BEST FILMS: #10 - 1

 10.  HIMIZU

While an always interesting director, Sion Sono has a habit of being a bit hit or miss in regards to his features.  A great illustration of this was in 2011 when I saw both “Cold Fish” and “Guilty Of Romance” at MIFF that year, with “Cold Fish” being every bit as good as “Guilty Of Romance” was bad.  I’m very happy to report that Sono bounced back big time with his next feature “Himizu”, arguably the best of his career.  The film is most known for its adaptation, which was originally going to just be a straight adaptation of the manga it is based on, however after the March 11 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami occurred, Sono felt that he couldn’t ignore the situation and subsequently re-wrote the script to incorporate elements of the aftermath from that tragedy.  The films of Sion Sono are known for their darkness and he never appears to have a positive outlook in regards to humanity, so I was pleasantly surprised to see such a positive message incorporated into “Himizu”.  It is his most optimistic film to date, and the message to never give up is an important one especially for the tragedy struck Japanese.  Do not get me wrong though, “Himizu” is still full of the trademark darkness, violence and weirdness of a Sono film, it is just that the film’s ultimate message is a positive one.  The film is about a young fourteen year old boy who through a series of events loses everything that is important to him, to the point that he loses himself too.  The future doesn’t look bright for the young man until a group of his friend’s band together to get him back on his feet.  Man, if that isn’t the most simplistic description of “Himizu” I have ever read, but really all you need to know is that it is a great film, full of intensity and that Sono weirdness, that ultimately becomes Sono’s most mature film to date.  Click here to read my original review.

9.  MANIAC

I have never been a massive fan of William Lustig’s original 1980’s version of “Maniac”, so the idea of a remake of it, didn’t inspire much enthusiasm in me.  Once I heard who was directing the remake whatever enthusiasm I did have for the project evaporated entirely, because the only film I had seen from director Franck Khalfoun was the terrible and paint-by-numbers “horror” film “P2”, which was a disaster.  However once Elijah Wood was cast as the titular maniac, I will admit that the against-type casting piqued my interest again.  The film showed up at MIFF and I decided to see it, but I was not prepared for just how much I would adore this film.  My favourite thing about the original “Maniac” is that down and dirty atmosphere that seems impossible to duplicate in today’s cinema.  Well, Khalfoun got this type of atmosphere spot on here.  This new version has such a dirty old school feel to it and the weirdness and depravity that is present throughout the entirety of the feature is such a positive.  It makes “Maniac” stand out from the horror pack of today, which is full of overly glossy and “pretty” yet hollow films.  It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with “Maniac” as the opening murder is one of the best in recent years, and the electronic score that played over the top of the scene made me realize that everyone involved in the making of “Maniac” knew exactly what they were making and what made the story tick.  While I have still only had the one viewing of this film, my opinion of a stylistic decision in “Maniac” has softened slightly.  The entire film is shown through the eyes of Elijah Wood’s character, which I initially thought was a big mistake mainly because it involves Elijah passing mirrors constantly just so we get a glimpse of the actor.  It seems unnatural, as does Wood’s “off camera” performance, but when I think back on “Maniac” these days, I don’t think it was as bad as I initially thought.  What is unmistakable is the quality of filmmaking in regards to using the “point of view” style.  It is extremely well done and camera moves are beautifully choreographed.  For a horror film, I feel I have to mention the gore scenes, and again these are so well done.  The majority of them are done practically and are as bloody as anything you are likely to see.  I loved this film so much and look forward to watching it again when it is officially released in cinemas.  Oh and one more thing, man, how creepy are mannequins with blood dripping down their faces?  Click here to read my original review.

8.  KILLER JOE

Here is another film that I just adored at MIFF this year.  It is also the best film director William Friedkin has made since his seminal “The Exorcist” which is another reason worth celebrating.  “Killer Joe” is a hilarious black comedy / thriller hybrid about a detestable family who hire a killer in an attempt to secure the life insurance money of the family member they are paying to have killed.  To say things do not go as planned is an understatement, as people double-cross each other and it all comes to head at one of the funniest and most brutal family dinners you are ever likely to see.  The film has a sensational central performance from Matthew McConaughey as the titular killer, who in my opinion gives his best performance to date.  He is someone you know you do not want to mess with, but he does so in such a quietly menacing manner, to the point that he is almost charming while he is threatening you.  The other performance that needs to be singled out is that of Gina Gershon who is so brave here.  The most infamous scene of “Killer Joe” revolves around her character and if Gershon had not committed 100% to this scene, it would have failed terribly.  While I have singled these two out, the whole cast of “Killer Joe” is excellent.  This is a brutal, brutal film (the violence contained within, although brief is incredibly intense) but it is also a hilarious film.  You will be shocked (and maybe disgusted) at some of the things you will laugh at while watching “Killer Joe” but it really is just so funny.  The ending particularly is hilarious and McConaughey’s performance during this moment is spot on.  Click here to read my original review.

 

7.  FACING MIRRORS

This was my favourite film of MIFF this year but as you can see it has dropped to my seventh favourite of the entire year.  This has less to do with the quality of the film, and rather the fact that I have not been able to watch the film again since the film festival.  As a result, its details are fading from my memory.  What I loved about this Iranian film was the sensitivity shown about a topic that you would assume would not be well received in its home country.  The film is basically about the unexpected friendship between two women.  One, a taxi driver forced to drive while her husband is incarcerated in an attempt to pay all her bills, while the other is a young female to male transsexual woman who is attempting to flee Iran so she can have the necessary operation.  When the taxi driver finds out the truth about her passenger, she is disgusted and outraged and in an attempt to flee from her as quickly as possible, she turns into the path of an oncoming bus.  She is hospitalized due to the accident, but is touched to find that the passenger that she so easily dismissed had been sitting by her bedside, waiting for her to awaken.  From here, a beautiful friendship develops as both girls learn more about the other’s situations, as the two realize they are more alike than what they initially figured.  As I said, this is a beautiful humanistic film full of stunningly honest performances that never once delivers a false note.  The film is complex in its themes but simple in its emotions and writer / director Negar Azabayjani understands that her story is the strongest aspect of the film and as such does not impose any sort of style that could take away from its emotional impact.  Although not quite as good as “A Separation” (my #1 film of 2011), I hope that it gets the same kind of release that that film got and that just as many people see it.  It is fantastic cinema and a film I really hope I get to see again soon.  Click here to read my original review.

6.  ARGO

Gone are the days where Ben Affleck is the butt of everyone’s jokes in Hollywood.  Instead, he has amazingly reinvented himself into one of the best directors that is currently going around and “Argo”, his third film as director, is his best film yet.  It is the true story about how six American officials were smuggled out of Iran after escaping from a situation that saw the American Embassy raided and hostages taken.  The incredible way these six were smuggled out of the country was under the guise that they were filmmakers on a Canadian production, location scouting in Iran.  It is an amazing story that Affleck has told beautifully and suspensefully.  The highlight of the film is its complex and incredibly well written script that for once sees characters talking about things as if they were human.  I also really enjoyed the in-jokes about Hollywood and the filmmakers working there.  “Argo” is full of well rounded and realized characters and all have been expertly acted by some great actors the likes of John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston.  Something that Affleck knows really well is his own strengths as an actor and he is magnificent here.  The period production design of the 1970’s is spot on also, to the point that Affleck was able to integrate real news footage of the era into his film and it doesn’t look out of place.  While I understand that this is not their story, my only problem I have with “Argo” is that I would have liked to have known more about the people they were trying to save.  The white knuckle finale of the film has some of the best suspense generated in a Hollywood mainstream film for ages and while Affleck loses some of the “reality” towards the end to create this suspense, it ultimately works for the better of the film.  Click here to read my original review.

5.  THE RAID

Best action film for at least a decade!  That pretty much sums up how I feel about “The Raid”.  This Indonesian production directed by Welsh director Gareth Evans is so adrenaline pumping amazing, that you will be stunned by what you are witnessing.  The plot (which as I have mentioned above is very similar to “Dredd 3D”) is as simple as they come as it is about a S.W.A.T team that gets lured and then trapped in a thirty storey apartment block that is owned by a local ganglord.  With hundreds of criminals living under the roofs of these apartments, the chances of these cops coming out alive are very slim, but there is one rookie cop who refuses to give in and just die and takes the fight to the criminals, giving every bit as good as he gets.  What is so exciting about “The Raid” is that it has the kind of energy that was so prevalent in those classic late 80’s / early 90’s Hong Kong action films, back when Jackie Chan and John Woo were both in their prime.  The film just moves at an awesome pace and once the action kicks in, it does not let up.  The very intricately choreographed (and perfectly lensed) fight scenes are truly stunning and incredibly brutal.  With the stakes so high, and death around every corner, every martial arts move is there to either defend or kill.  There are no superfluous moves here and for once whenever a knife makes an appearance in a fight, it is used to very bloody effect.  Gareth Evans is a huge fan of those old Hong Kong martial arts films and it is obvious too.  He even shot the fights like they did back then, taking weeks at a time for just one fight.  His choice of angles when shooting the fights are also perfect as he knows how to give each move its greatest impact, but he just knows how to stage a fight.  Good news for fans of “The Raid” is that the film is the first part of a planned trilogy with part two, titled “Berandal” (or “The Raid: Retaliation” for the English markets), shooting right now as I write this.  I cannot recommend “The Raid” enough.  Click here to read my original review.

4.  EXCISION

It has been a long time since a film has disturbed me as much as “Excision” did on my first viewing.  With the large amount of horror films that I watch, I am pretty much desensitized to violence and gore, so it takes something special to create an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach which is something “Excision” was successful at doing.  I was so disturbed by the film, in fact, that I wasn’t even sure that I liked the film after that initial viewing.  However, the film never left me and I constantly thought about it, which is the sign of at least an effective film.  Anyway, I have since watched the film another two times and it is safe to say that I adore the film.  It is such a bold and brave film in the topic it attacks, but it is also a very sad film.  It is about a high school student named Pauline who is seriously disturbed and who has aspirations of becoming a surgeon.  Her sister suffers from cystic fibrosis and although appears well, will soon need a lung transplant.  Pauline and her mother have a very antagonistic relationship, and the two do not get along.  They are always at each other’s throat, antagonizing one another, although all Pauline wants is her mother to notice her and to love her.  In an attempt to secure this love, Pauline goes to the absolute extreme.  “Excision” is home to a pair of very impressive performances from AnnaLynne McCord (who plays Pauline) and Traci Lords (who plays Phyllis, Pauline’s mother).  I was not aware of McCord’s gorgeous looks before this film as I am not a fan of her television show “90210”, but she has certainly made quite the transformation here in becoming the ugly and sickly looking Pauline, full of odd quirks and ticks.  Lords on the other hand plays Phyllis perfectly as a domineering, uptight and repressed mother who also has some amazing emotional beats to portray too.  One of the most disturbing parts of “Excision” has to do with Pauline’s fascination with blood (all kinds of blood), which reveal themselves in her very beautiful but gory dreams.  The imagery in these dreams are all kinds of disturbing, so buyer beware.  I was blown away by Richard Bates Jr’s “Excision”, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.   Click here to read my original review.

3.  THE ARTIST
 

This is another film that came out so early in the year that I had forgotten it was a 2012 release.  In case you are not aware of this, I am a huge fan of silent cinema.  There is something just so beautiful about a story being told in mostly images.  In my eyes, it was a tragedy that the “talkies” hit as early as they did because storytelling had reached the most beautiful artistic peak in silent films just as they were to become extinct.  Since then a few people have tried to create an homage to the lost art but they always seem to get it wrong.  They always break it down to its lowest common denominator with silly slapstick action that is over-cranked and acting that is over the top in its melodramatics.  While it is true that some silent films were like this, there was a wealth that was anything but.  When “The Artist” started making headlines, I was worried that this was going to head down the same path, but to my surprise the film turned out to be a beautiful and fitting homage to silent films and their untimely demise.  What I was most surprised about was the amount of drama that unfolds in the film where it actually goes to quite a dark place with our main character even contemplating suicide.  The film is about George Valentin, a big silent movie star who doesn’t heed the warning about the coming of sound film and as such quickly becomes a has-been and in the process loses everything he worked so hard for.  Meanwhile a young girl, Peppy Miller, who happened to become famous upon a chance meeting with the silent star, sees her fortunes reversed as she becomes the biggest star of the “talkie” era.  Feeling bad for the past star and knowing she wouldn’t have what she has if not for him, Peppy tries to get work for George but being the star he once was, his ego will not allow it and as such his downfall continues.  This is a story that you hear regularly about of that time; silent stars who couldn’t handle it when talkies took over and they lost their popularity, so the film has a poignant quality to it also.  The film is perfectly acted by both Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo who play George and Peppy respectively, and there is also a fine performance from Uggie as George’s woofer.  Director Michel Hazanavicius has got the look and feel of the time just right and he has also come up with some unique uses of sound in this silent film (you will know the scene when you see it).  My only problem with the film is the strange use of a huge chunk of the “Vertigo” score towards the end.  While I love the piece of music, it just does not seem to fit the action on screen.  Other than that I love “The Artist” and hope that it ushers in a new age of silent features but hopefully ones that do not need the background of silent films as part of their plot, rather they be independent of it. 

2.  LOOPER

Rian Johnson’s “Looper” was the most entertaining and intelligent mainstream film I had seen in a long time.  Even though the film has been released for some time now, I am still reticent to reveal all of its secrets.  I will say that if you are going into “Looper” thinking you are getting some kind of film about time travel with a thriller aspect thrown in, well you are right, but there is a whole other thing going on in the film that isn’t even hinted at in the trailers, and this is what makes the film so special.  The film has a moral question throughout very similar to the age old question about if you knew what atrocities Hitler was capable of doing back when he was a child, would you be able to kill him there and then even though he was innocent of any crime at that moment.  “Looper” has much more heart and emotion than I was ever expecting, but then I was expecting your usual sci-fi thriller, wasn’t I?  Something that I really liked that Rian Johnson did was at two times in the film he has characters state about not letting yourself get confused with the whole time travel thing.  He understands that this part of it is convoluted and by wasting your time worrying about it, you will miss what the film is truly about.  The basic premise of “Looper” is that it is set in 2044 and fifty years from then, not only has time travel been invented but also outlawed.  The only people using it are criminals who when they want to get rid of someone they send them back to 2044 where a specialized assassin known as a “looper” is waiting ready to dispose of them.  The only rule a looper has is never to let their target escape even if it is their future self.  This is ultimately what happens to Joe (played by a facially altered Joseph Gordon-Levitt) when his older version comes from the future in an attempt to alter something that happened to someone he loved in the future.  After the older Joe (played by Bruce Willis) escapes, the young Joe must hunt him down before he is killed himself by his employer for failing in his duties.  That is all I am going to say about the film except I will also mention that Emily Blunt turns up about halfway through the film and she is, as usual, great in her role (which will remain secret here).  Everything about “Looper” just seemed to work, the film was complete and as such, I was mesmerized by it for its entirety of its running time.  I think it will be a rare sci-fi film I will regularly re-watch in the future.  Click here to read my original review.

 

1.  SHAME

No other film devastated me as much in 2012 as Steve McQueen’s “Shame”; a film about sex addiction and depression.  This is such an emotional ride that is downright painful by its end as we watch Brandon, a successful businessman slowly self destruct via his obsession with sex after the unexpected arrival of his sister Sissy.  As sad and painful a film “Shame” is, it is as equally beautiful from a technical standpoint.  Every part of the making of this film seems to be perfection from Sean Bobbit’s gorgeous cinematography (some of the long take shots he performs are mind blowing), to Harry Escott’s haunting score; it all combines to create this exquisite piece of cinema.  The two lead performances from Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan are some of the best in years and the fact that Fassbender wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar for his performance illustrates just how much of a joke they have become.  What I truly love about “Shame” is the story happening between the lines.  It is my opinion that both Brandon and Sissy are victims of abuse from their childhood and this is the reason for their problems.  It isn’t until Sissy shows up on his doorstep that Brandon’s repressed memories resurface and he begins his descent down into hell until he hits rock bottom, while Sissy obviously is trying to get her brother to talk about it (maybe she needs to talk about it) but when he refuses, she finds herself slipping further and further into a depressive state until she feels she has to do the inevitable.  I should explain this is never explicitly referenced throughout the film but in my eyes it is implied in a number of places.  Even the fact that Brandon doesn’t find the act of sex a pleasurable one (rather the opposite), is a hint or sign.  Although we know his character regularly gets what he wants from these sexual encounters, do we ever see him enjoy one?  In terms of classic scenes, Carey Mulligan sings a rendition of “New York, New York” in a club that once you see it, trust me, you will never forget it.  Also the two scenes set on trains that bookend the film are so amazing in the fact that the same situation is set up, but we get to see Brandon’s reactions to both at different points in his life, seeing how his character has grown or if not grown, changed.  It goes without saying that “Shame” is a spectacular film, it is a painful and sad experience, but it is done with such honesty that this is why it was my favourite film of 2012.  It is a truly amazing and magical experience.  Click here to read my original review.

Well there you have it, that was my very extensive round-up of the year that was 2012.  Hopefully you got some enjoyment out of it, but before I finish, lets have a brief look at the upcoming year and my most anticipated films of 2013. 

2012 - IN REVIEW: TOP TWENTY FIVE BEST FILMS: #20 - 11

20.  FOR LOVE’S SAKE

I find popular Japanese director Takashi Miike to be wildly inconsistent.  There is no doubt he is an absolute talent and has created some definite classics, but he also has his fair share of duds too.  Saying that, “For Love’s Sake” was one of the most fun I had in a cinema all of last year.  It is a ridiculous melodramatic love story that also happens to be a musical.  The song and dance numbers are insane and are all different in style from one another which just makes the film so damn entertaining.  “For Love’s Sake” is set in the 1970’s and I couldn’t help but think that the majority for the film was an homage to the “pinky violence” films of that era, especially with all of the gang fights within the story.  The film has been wonderfully shot and is full of bright vibrant colours adding to its charm.  The main problem with the majority of Miike’s films is that they all appear to be too long, and “For Love’s Sake” also suffers from this (shaving 20 minutes off the running time would have made this an instant classic), but for the most part, this uniquely Japanese film will have you tapping your feet in the aisles to its good hearted insanity.  Click here to read my original review.

19.  THE DIVIDE

Set post apocalypse, “The Divide” cares little about the incident that caused the destruction of the Earth, but rather at the way humans regress to the basics of need and survival, which is to look out for number one before anyone else.  This is such an easy film to hate due to the fact that it revels in human despair and is very nihilistic, however it is the film’s boldness to actually go to these dark places and not be afraid to explore them that is the very reason I love “The Divide”.  Xavier Gens was the director of the film and he never backs away from getting dark and dirty, brutal and violent.  With the exception of the opening scene, “The Divide” is set in a shelter where a number of survivors attempt to survive after the blast has annihilated the rest of the world.  The increasing tension of the film is amazing particularly in the second half as the hope of the survivors starts to fade and individuals continue to do terrible things to one another just to ensure their own survival.  While it is true that there is barely a sympathetic character in the film and that performances are a little all over the place, within the film is a stunning performance from Michael Eklund which is as physically intense as it is emotionally, as his character, Bobby, slowly starts to go insane.  Although there is a lot more to recommend about “The Divide”, Eklund’s performance is enough to warrant seeing the film.  Click here to read my original review.

18.  LAWLESS

As generic an entry into the gangster genre as its title, “Lawless” is a film that has been impeccably made.  Based on a true story, “Lawless” is about the three brothers of the Bondurant family who were moonshine bootleggers back in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia.  Their small but hugely profitable business is suddenly threatened when a new deputy from Chicago comes to town and attempts to take a cut of their profits, however the Bondurant’s refuse to be intimidated by anyone including the law.  As I said, the storyline of “Lawless” is nothing we haven’t seen before in any number of gangster films, but it is the way the film has been put together that makes it so good.  First of all, the film is littered with outstanding performances from the likes of Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska and the stunningly beautiful Jessica Chastain.  There is also a gloriously over the top performance from Guy Pearce as the deputy from Chicago that has to be seen to be believed.  This is another collaboration between director John Hillcoat and writer Nick Cave who previously gave us the outstanding Australian western “The Proposition” and again they have succeeded brilliantly in creating a thoroughly entertaining film.  If you are familiar with “The Proposition” you will know that Hillcoat and Cave like their violence to be brutal and bloody, which is true again here in “Lawless” as there are a number of confronting and very bloody scenes.  Visually, the film is gloriously beautiful to look at thanks to Benoit Delhomme’s stunning cinematography.  I have heard a lot of complaints about the pace of the film claiming that it is too slow, but I couldn’t disagree more.  The two hour running time flew by for me thanks to the even pace of the film.  For some unknown reason there seems to be a lot of negativity in regards to the quality of “Lawless” but with the exception of its rather clunky finale, I thought the film was brilliantly made and a very entertaining film.  I just wished it had kept its original title, “The Wettest County In The World”.

17.  SOUND OF MY VOICE

When two investigative journalists infiltrate a cult in an attempt to expose the leader (who claims to be from the future) as the fraud they believe she is, they find themselves having to look within themselves and reflect on what makes them who they are, as their mission becomes increasingly dangerous the more they find themselves believing in the teachings of this cult.  Another film that I saw at MIFF and one that I went into with little expectation, I found “Sound Of My Voice” to be a fantastic surprise and one that stayed with me long after the film had ended.  Director Zal Batmanglij made the smart decision to keep everything about the cult as open ended as possible, whilst never over explaining anything. His direction is very economical focusing more on the story rather than imposing a style onto the film.  The real jewel of the film though is co-writer Brit Marling who also stars as the cult leader.  She is fantastic and has a presence that is just hypnotic.  Behind her beauty there is a darkness behind her eyes that never betrays the truth of her situation.  The film is short and told in chapters that also add to the experience of “Sound Of My Voice”.  It also in my opinion has a perfect ending that will leave you talking about the film long after you finish watching it.   Click here to read my original review.

16.  KOTOKO

The latest film from Shinya Tsukamoto is a harrowing affair.  It is about a single mother, Kotoko, who suffers from depression and a number of mental issues, trying to bring up her son in today’s world.  Kotoko suffers from a strange affliction in that she sees “double”.  This isn’t where she sees the same image duplicated, rather she sees two variations of the same person, one good and one evil, and she must always be alert to know which is real and which is not.  This terrifies her and as such she holes herself up in her apartment with her baby in an attempt to never cross paths with another human being.  This is obviously not healthy and her situation as a result becomes more and more intense.  What is so amazing about “Kotoko” is the fact that the star of the film, Cocco, suffers from a lot of the same mental disorders as her character does in the film.  Cocco is a famous singer in Japan and this is her feature acting debut and she gives a phenomenal performance.  Through her character she goes to a number of very dark places, but she always portrays each scene with intense honesty.  This is not the kind of vanity project that we are so used to seeing from U.S singers when they decide to try their hand at acting, instead it is the opposite as Cocco has opened herself completely to her fans in this role, warts and all.  Shinya Tsukamoto is back in fine form once again with “Kotoko”, it is his best film since 2004’s “Vital”, but it is not for everyone.  It is incredibly bleak and very bloody and it certainly packs an emotional punch, but it is so worth it.  Click here to read my original review.

15.  THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

It seems so long ago that I saw this film that it is hard to believe that it was a 2012 release here in Australia, but it’s true, as it came out in the second week of January.  I was a big fan of the original Swedish version of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” (it ranked at #13 in my Top 25 of 2010) and particularly of the star making performance from Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander.  When word came out that Hollywood was to remake the film, I thought two directors could do the film justice: Brian De Palma or David Fincher.  As history shows Fincher got the gig, and his version of the same story is just as powerful and brilliant as the original.  It is well known that David Fincher is a perfectionist and a supreme stylist so “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” was always going to be technically well made and it is.  The problem was always going to be in the casting of the role of Lisbeth, particularly now that they would be living in the shadow of Rapace’s performance.  Fincher boldly chose Rooney Mara, who prior to this announcement I had only seen in “The Nightmare On Elm Street” remake and thought she was terrible.  I thought this was a shocking mistake and there was no hope Mara could pull off this extremely complex role, but I was so wrong – she is stunningly good.  She completely makes this Lisbeth her own, to the point that you don’t even consider comparing her performance with Rapace’s while watching the film, she just is Lisbeth.  The attitude, the look, the walk, her accent, it is all Lisbeth and never once derivative of Rapace’s performance.  Thankfully the Hollywood version of the film has not been watered down, so this is still as brutal as the original (so beware that there are some very confronting scenes), and as entertaining.  Where the remake is superior to the Swedish film though is in its very fine and non-traditional score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  

14.  HUGO

I often cite Martin Scorsese as my favourite director but “Hugo” saw him doing a few things that he had never done before in his filmmaking career.  The first was to make a “children’s” film, leaving behind murderers and the mob to tell a heartwarming tale about an orphan living in Paris during the 1930’s.  The second was to shoot the film in 3-D.  Both of these decisions made the prospect of “Hugo” very interesting and exciting if just to see how good a director Scorsese was when totally out of his comfort zone.  To most people’s surprise, “Hugo” has turned out to be one of Martin Scorsese’s finest films of his entire career and one that is obviously very personal to him.  Without giving anything of the plot away, “Hugo” is a love letter to cinema and the early pioneers of cinema, whilst also something of a call to arms in the importance of film restoration.  While I state above that “Hugo” is a children’s film, I do not necessarily think this is accurate as it is more of a film for adults with children at its center.  In regards to Scorsese’s use of the 3-D technology, without hyperbole let me say that in my opinion it is the best use of the technology that I have seen yet.  Predictably Scorsese chose not to use the 3-D as a gimmick for things to just come out of the screen, instead he uses it to create incredible depth within the frame and it is obvious that this experiment has energized Scorsese because some of the shots he has created in “Hugo” are just stunning.  I haven’t mentioned the cast yet, but they are all magnificent particularly Ben Kingsley in an important role.

13.  THE MASTER

While initial reports about Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film “The Master” claimed that it was going to be an expose on the religion / cult that is Scientology, it turns out that is not exactly the case.  Instead we are treated to a story of friendship between two men in post war America.  Freddie Quell is a naval veteran struggling to cope in post war America and often turns to alcohol to subdue his pain.  One day while drunk he happens to meet the leader of a faith-based organization called “The Cause”.  Freddie and Lancaster make an initial connection over Freddie’s cocktail making abilities, but Freddie soon begins to think that he can make sense of his life and to once again give it meaning by following the beliefs of “The Cause”.  He soon becomes Lancaster’s right hand man and a trusted friend of both Lancaster and his wife Peggy.  As time goes on, “The Cause” continues to gather followers but as Freddie’s life begins to spiral out of control and his memories once again start to take hold of him, he begins to question the validity of both “The Cause” and the teachings of his friend.  “The Master” is the kind of film that they no longer make anymore, in more ways than one.  This is a personal emotional piece of filmmaking that is epic in scope that seemed the norm back in the 1970’s but just don’t exist today.  The film was also shot on 70mm film, a format that hasn’t been used since Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version of “Hamlet”.  The real “master” of the film is writer / director Paul Thomas Anderson (who was in admittance at the 70mm screening that I attended) who has created a doomed romance between two men filling it with details and nuance of the period.  In my eyes, Anderson has yet to make a bad film, but “The Master” would probably be his most demanding due in part to the fact that it is less plot-based than his previous films and deals more in mood.  Also the slow deliberate pacing of the film could put a lot of people off, but as I have made known regularly, I respond to slow paced films.  As usual Anderson has garnered top notch performances from all of his actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams but it is Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell that gives probably the best performance, not just of this film but of all of 2012.  He is stunningly good and deserves the Oscar for this role.  Two other aspects of “The Master” standout for their quality and they are the truly gorgeous cinematography from Mihai Malaimare Jr. and Jonny Greenwood’s masterful and unique score.  It is probably my favourite score of the year and it is a tragedy that Greenwood was not nominated for an Oscar for it.  While a difficult film in terms of story, there is no doubting that “The Master” is one of the best put together films of 2012.

12.  DREDD 3D

As I mentioned earlier “Dredd 3D” turned out to be the biggest surprise for me in 2012.  It was initially a film that I had no interest in at all, but after hearing the positive buzz for it, I finally decided to check it out.  For once the buzz was correct and “Dredd 3D” turned into one of my most entertaining films of 2012.  While it shares similar plot points with another film on this list (“The Raid”), both films do different things with it and both are awesome.  The story is about Judge Dredd and another rookie Judge who are trapped and ambushed in a massive 200 storey apartment complex that is owned and run by a drug lord who orders a hit on the two judges in an attempt to secure her new drug will reach the streets of MegaCity One.  What follows is a bloody (very bloody) and brutal fight for survival from the judges against the criminal citizens of the apartment block.  Learning from the previous and terrible Sylvester Stallone “Judge Dredd” film of the 90’s, this time Karl Urban fills out the title role yet never once takes his helmet off during the entirety of the film.  This is the real Judge Dredd, the badass, violent, get the job done at all costs Judge Dredd, and his second cinematic outing is definitely worth watching.  Believe the hype.

11.  SKYFALL

As great as Daniel Craig has been in the role of James Bond, both films previous to “Skyfall” had the same thing in common which was that they were so serious, too serious in fact for a Bond film.  The lightness of touch of Bond films previous was gone and instead was replaced with darkness and real emotional angst.  While I am a huge fan of “Casino Royale”, “Skyfall” is easily the best of the recent Bond films because that lightness and playfulness is back.  Bond is quick with innuendo and one liners here, and he doesn’t mind hoping in a shower with the closest female around.  Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes has brought James Bond back to the present by ironically going back to the past.  The storyline which has to do with growing old gracefully, as well as the conflict between the digital world versus the analogue world, is brilliant and Mendes and his cinematographer Roger Deakins get to explore this dynamic visually too.  In the ultra modern city of Shanghai, Deakins uses reflections and neon light to great dramatic effect causing intentional confusion brilliantly, while during the finale in Old Scotland, the darkness and silhouette are the visual weapon of choice and again, it is beautiful to look at.  Without a doubt “Skyfall” is the best looking Bond film yet.  My favourite thing about the film is the old versus new battle that permeates the entire movie even down to the gadgets from Q.  Mendes was smart enough to realize that the Bond films were becoming far too unbelievable especially with the gadgets (invisible car indeed) and he has scaled it right back.  For the first time in a long time, “Skyfall” has a really great Bond villain in Javier Bardem’s Silva.  Bardem straddles the line between brilliance and over the top perfectly, but what is it with him and ridiculous hairstyles.  The other thing Sam Mendes gets right with “Skyfall” is the fact that we finally get to learn a little about James Bond’s childhood and for once there are real consequences to the dangers faced.  I love this film and the scene when James Bond and M change cars is an absolute classic.  I hope Mendes returns for the next installment of the Bond franchise.



Keep an eye out for the third and final part: #10 -1.