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defrogI watched a bunch of movies in 2012.
I will rate them for you now.
DISCLAIMER: If yr favorite movie of 2012 isn’t here, it’s likely because (1) I didn’t get a chance to see it, (2) it hasn’t been released in Hong Kong yet, or (3) I did see it but didn’t like it as much as you did. Also, if some of these seem kind of old, it’s because their release date was 2011 for yr country, but 2012 for Hong Kong.
TOP TEN DEF FILMS OF 2012
1. The Ides Of March
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Looper
4. Skyfall
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Moneyball
7. Prometheus
8. Iron Sky
9. The Cabin In The Woods
10. Lawless
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Simple Life
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Avengers
THE ONE FILM I LIKED THAT NO ONE ELSE DID
Dark Shadows
MOST IMPROVED FRANCHISE
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
WORST FILM I SAW IN 2012
Snow White And The Huntsman
THE FILM THAT GOT THE MOST MST3K TREATMENT FROM ME
Les Miserables
===================================================================
TOP TEN DEF FILMS OF 2012 [EXTENDED PLAY]
1. The Ides Of March
There’s all kinds of things people will find flawed about a film like this, not least the lack of whatever partisan political statement they want it to make. But it’s a solid film with a tightly-written script and some excellent performances from just about everyone.
2. Moonrise Kingdom
I’m off and on with Wes Anderson, but it’s definitely “on” for his coming-of-age story about two disaffected 12-year-olds who run away together. Anderson’s gift for quirky storytelling and mid-60s pop-culture nostalgia, as well as a tendency to create characters where the kids seem more grown-up than the adults, makes all the difference, as well as a great ensemble cast.
3. Looper
Writer-director Rian Johnson makes the most of the premise – at least as far as action thrillers go. There are a few holes here and there, and like most near-future movies, the “future” is vaguely conveyed by dystopian violence and a handful of gadgety things. But the story is solid and told well, and the action intense without being overblown (mostly).
4. Skyfall
The Bond film that’s come the closest ever to depicting him as an actual human being. Skyfall lives up to the expectations set by Casino Royalein ways Quantum Of Solace didn’t quite achieve. Wherever the franchise goes from here, it has the best possible platform from which to spring.
5. The Dark Knight Rises
For me, it pretty much lived up to my expectations – which is to say, it doesn’t top TDK, but it’s still a great note to go out on. Good storytelling, good acting, and Hardy makes a far more menacing and interesting Bane than I ever would have imagined.
6. Moneyball
I don’t really go for sports films, but this focuses more on the business side of the game, and how the manager of a losing team defied conventional logic that teams with low budgets can’t afford good players. Despite a few cheesy moments and the occasional sports cliché, it’s very well written.
7. Prometheus
Fans of the Alien franchise will be arguing about this one til the end of time, but I thought this was great, if not perfect. And whatever you think of the story, let’s admit that what really sells it is Ridley Scott’s direction and aesthetic. The film looks awesome, and the horror bits are intense even when they’re predictable.
8. Iron Sky
Critics have savaged it for a variety of reasons, and it is flawed in some ways. But creatively it takes more chances than most films I’ve seen this year. And anyway, the fact that the sub-plot involves the US President (ostensibly Sarah Palin) plotting a re-election strategy with her insane campaign manager tells you how seriously you should be taking this film.
9. The Cabin In The Woods
A relatively original take on a hackneyed genre and pretty funny at times. People have complained it’s not very scary, but that’s not an issue with me as most “horror” films don’t scare me anyway.
10. Lawless
Lawless doesn’t add anything new to the gangster genre (or the bootlegger subgenre). Still, I found it to be pretty compelling viewing. Tom Hardy’s performance as Forest Bondurant, combined with Guy Pearce’s psychotic take on Rakes and Nick Cave’s script, gives the story a kind of mythological feel.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Simple Life
Hong Kong indie film about how the relationship between an actor and his loyal family servant changes after she has a stroke. This probably should rate higher, but in all honesty it’s not a film I’m likely to watch more than once. But I do recommend it for its masterful screenplay, a brilliant performance from Deanie Ip and its realistic portrayal of nursing homes in Hong Kong.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Gary Oldman’s performance alone as Smiley makes this worth watching. In the end, though, I deducted points for the story being a little too hard too follow for those of us who didn’t already know the source material.
The Avengers
This might rate higher if I was a fan of either the Avengers comic book or more than 50% of the superheroes featured here. Which I’m not. But it is one of the best Marvel films, and a lot better than I expected.
THE ONE FILM I LIKED THAT NO ONE ELSE DID
Dark Shadows
People put it down for a variety of reasons – to include Burton’s tendency to encourage Johnny Depp to be weird, but honestly, after what Burton and Depp did to Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter, this is the one that went over the limit for you? – but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
MOST IMPROVED FRANCHISE
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
The first GR film was so bad I had no intention of watching the sequel – until I found out Neveldine/Taylor were directing it. And because it’s an N/T film, you get both the upside (OTT action scenes, Sin-Cityesque narration and a more appropriate rock’n’roll approach) and the downside (one-dimensional characters and spectacularly large plot holes). Either way, it’s a hell of a lot more fun than the first film.
WORST FILM I SAW IN 2012
Snow White And The Huntsman
Basically it’s a more bad-ass take on the Snow White fairytale, which means you pretty much know how it ends. Not quite Grimm Brothers Meets Twilight as the marketing has suggested, but I still didn’t get much out of it.
You may also like to know that this was in direct competition with Battleship for Worst Film. But Battleship had two things going for it: Hong Kong getting destroyed (to include its geography), and Rihanna with guns.
THE FILM THAT GOT THE MOST MST3K TREATMENT FROM ME
Les Miserables
I was tempted to give this the Worst Film award, but I decided it wouldn't be fair since I really don’t care for musicals as a genre (with rare exceptions), and I only bothered to see it because The Bride wanted to go. By the 45-minute mark we were both checking our watches, and by the 1-hour mark we started making smart-ass comments (quietly, of course). Excruciating.
Stop singing,
This is dF
I will rate them for you now.
DISCLAIMER: If yr favorite movie of 2012 isn’t here, it’s likely because (1) I didn’t get a chance to see it, (2) it hasn’t been released in Hong Kong yet, or (3) I did see it but didn’t like it as much as you did. Also, if some of these seem kind of old, it’s because their release date was 2011 for yr country, but 2012 for Hong Kong.
TOP TEN DEF FILMS OF 2012
1. The Ides Of March
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Looper
4. Skyfall
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Moneyball
7. Prometheus
8. Iron Sky
9. The Cabin In The Woods
10. Lawless
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Simple Life
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Avengers
THE ONE FILM I LIKED THAT NO ONE ELSE DID
Dark Shadows
MOST IMPROVED FRANCHISE
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
WORST FILM I SAW IN 2012
Snow White And The Huntsman
THE FILM THAT GOT THE MOST MST3K TREATMENT FROM ME
Les Miserables
===================================================================
TOP TEN DEF FILMS OF 2012 [EXTENDED PLAY]
1. The Ides Of March
There’s all kinds of things people will find flawed about a film like this, not least the lack of whatever partisan political statement they want it to make. But it’s a solid film with a tightly-written script and some excellent performances from just about everyone.
2. Moonrise Kingdom
I’m off and on with Wes Anderson, but it’s definitely “on” for his coming-of-age story about two disaffected 12-year-olds who run away together. Anderson’s gift for quirky storytelling and mid-60s pop-culture nostalgia, as well as a tendency to create characters where the kids seem more grown-up than the adults, makes all the difference, as well as a great ensemble cast.
3. Looper
Writer-director Rian Johnson makes the most of the premise – at least as far as action thrillers go. There are a few holes here and there, and like most near-future movies, the “future” is vaguely conveyed by dystopian violence and a handful of gadgety things. But the story is solid and told well, and the action intense without being overblown (mostly).
4. Skyfall
The Bond film that’s come the closest ever to depicting him as an actual human being. Skyfall lives up to the expectations set by Casino Royalein ways Quantum Of Solace didn’t quite achieve. Wherever the franchise goes from here, it has the best possible platform from which to spring.
5. The Dark Knight Rises
For me, it pretty much lived up to my expectations – which is to say, it doesn’t top TDK, but it’s still a great note to go out on. Good storytelling, good acting, and Hardy makes a far more menacing and interesting Bane than I ever would have imagined.
6. Moneyball
I don’t really go for sports films, but this focuses more on the business side of the game, and how the manager of a losing team defied conventional logic that teams with low budgets can’t afford good players. Despite a few cheesy moments and the occasional sports cliché, it’s very well written.
7. Prometheus
Fans of the Alien franchise will be arguing about this one til the end of time, but I thought this was great, if not perfect. And whatever you think of the story, let’s admit that what really sells it is Ridley Scott’s direction and aesthetic. The film looks awesome, and the horror bits are intense even when they’re predictable.
8. Iron Sky
Critics have savaged it for a variety of reasons, and it is flawed in some ways. But creatively it takes more chances than most films I’ve seen this year. And anyway, the fact that the sub-plot involves the US President (ostensibly Sarah Palin) plotting a re-election strategy with her insane campaign manager tells you how seriously you should be taking this film.
9. The Cabin In The Woods
A relatively original take on a hackneyed genre and pretty funny at times. People have complained it’s not very scary, but that’s not an issue with me as most “horror” films don’t scare me anyway.
10. Lawless
Lawless doesn’t add anything new to the gangster genre (or the bootlegger subgenre). Still, I found it to be pretty compelling viewing. Tom Hardy’s performance as Forest Bondurant, combined with Guy Pearce’s psychotic take on Rakes and Nick Cave’s script, gives the story a kind of mythological feel.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Simple Life
Hong Kong indie film about how the relationship between an actor and his loyal family servant changes after she has a stroke. This probably should rate higher, but in all honesty it’s not a film I’m likely to watch more than once. But I do recommend it for its masterful screenplay, a brilliant performance from Deanie Ip and its realistic portrayal of nursing homes in Hong Kong.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Gary Oldman’s performance alone as Smiley makes this worth watching. In the end, though, I deducted points for the story being a little too hard too follow for those of us who didn’t already know the source material.
The Avengers
This might rate higher if I was a fan of either the Avengers comic book or more than 50% of the superheroes featured here. Which I’m not. But it is one of the best Marvel films, and a lot better than I expected.
THE ONE FILM I LIKED THAT NO ONE ELSE DID
Dark Shadows
People put it down for a variety of reasons – to include Burton’s tendency to encourage Johnny Depp to be weird, but honestly, after what Burton and Depp did to Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter, this is the one that went over the limit for you? – but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
MOST IMPROVED FRANCHISE
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
The first GR film was so bad I had no intention of watching the sequel – until I found out Neveldine/Taylor were directing it. And because it’s an N/T film, you get both the upside (OTT action scenes, Sin-Cityesque narration and a more appropriate rock’n’roll approach) and the downside (one-dimensional characters and spectacularly large plot holes). Either way, it’s a hell of a lot more fun than the first film.
WORST FILM I SAW IN 2012
Snow White And The Huntsman
Basically it’s a more bad-ass take on the Snow White fairytale, which means you pretty much know how it ends. Not quite Grimm Brothers Meets Twilight as the marketing has suggested, but I still didn’t get much out of it.
You may also like to know that this was in direct competition with Battleship for Worst Film. But Battleship had two things going for it: Hong Kong getting destroyed (to include its geography), and Rihanna with guns.
THE FILM THAT GOT THE MOST MST3K TREATMENT FROM ME
Les Miserables
I was tempted to give this the Worst Film award, but I decided it wouldn't be fair since I really don’t care for musicals as a genre (with rare exceptions), and I only bothered to see it because The Bride wanted to go. By the 45-minute mark we were both checking our watches, and by the 1-hour mark we started making smart-ass comments (quietly, of course). Excruciating.
Stop singing,
This is dF
