Best of 2012: Number 1

1. The Avengers:

After months of work oriented distractions and technical errors resulting in the complete rewrite of this entry twice, it finally sees the light of day to no surprise to anyone that knows my preferences whatsoever.

“The Avengers” may feel like a total Hollywood copout of an answer to best film of 2012 but I didn’t choose this film simply for what it is but for the way that it changed the game. On its own, “The Avengers” is the highly satisfying fruits of the labor of a film project that may go down in history as one of the most ambitious concepts ever conceived of for the silver screen.

Tying together four properties under a framework allowing for more to be integrated later was a daunting task in and of itself but crafting a fun, witty, and even meaningful film with more spectacle than a Michael Bay film while still having a brain in the areas that matter is nothing short of a miracle.

“The Avengers” is the new paragon that anything with Hollywood support should strive to achieve and as far as I’m concerned, nothing less will do. 

Best of 2012: 4-2

4. Chronicle:

In discussing “The Dark Knight Rises,” I touched on the fact that although the average caliber superhero film has gone up today, there are still few people willing to truly take risks with the genre. Although I praise Marvel Studios for finally being able to distill the perfect formula for superhero movies, the fact of the matter is that getting something nontraditional and of quality is still a rarity.

For all the praise I heap on something like “Captain America: The First Avenger,” all they did was take a World War II adventure story starring a superhero and give it to the man that previously directed a World War II  adventure story starring a superhero. It’s great to finally see Hollywood thinking logically but this essentially like praising a mathematician for figuring out 2 + 2 = 4.

“Chronicle” provides a fascinating deconstruction and character study of superhero tropes as we know and understand them today but even serves as an intriguing science fiction story and a brilliant evolution of the found footage concept which has been getting progressively more tired out.

The twists and turns of the origin story that unfolds onscreen makes for an interesting study of the tropes and dynamic between superheroes and super villains, showing how easy it can be for the same circumstances to lead to 2 completely different outcomes and truly showcasing how dangerous power in the wrong hands can be no matter how good a person is on the surface. The film even makes its own nods to the nature of the conventions that it pays homage to, such as costumes and a climax that is the single most compelling argument for a live action “Akira” movie.

As if the central concept and performances of the newly super powered teens wasn’t strong enough to hold the film together, the framing of the film and the very justification for its found footage style steal the show in ways that I could have never imagined. Right when I thought pretentious bullshit like “Paranormal Activity” had run this trend into the ground, my mind gets blown in ways that I haven’t experienced since I first saw the concept done in “Cloverfield”

3. Silver Linings Playbook:

My process for constructing these lists typically involves tracking where a potential film’s viewing belongs on a list at any given moment of its running time. Some come in high, others low, more shift as the film continues to play out and the rest tend to rise or fall as I think about them. “Silver Linings Playbook” is the only film that leaped across the entire list to take its place below the only 2 films that top it, from second one.

Bradley Cooper stars as Pat Solitano, who upon release from a court mandated sentence at a mental health institute, sets out to win back the wife who left him an come to terms with his own status as bipolar with the help of the separate yet equally insane Tiffany, played by the lovely Jennifer Lawrence. In true David O. Russell fashion “Silver Linings Playbook” is a deceptively simple plot told with characters of highly unpredictable complexity that makes for a romantic comedy that is the calculated opposite of the garbage that the genre is loaded with across any given year.

The wild chemistry between Cooper and Lawrence alone could have held the movie afloat as an entertaining time passer. They’re funny, impulsive, sympathetic, quirky, and likeable leads with an uncommon attraction to one another that proves to be highly compelling to play out. The rich supporting cast however is what truly steals the show. I never would have thought that Robert De Niro would genuinely surprise me but his relationship with his recovering son garnered and chemistry with Jacki Weaver contributed to a heart that goes unmatched in any other film this year.You know you have a special piece of work on your hands when you successfully make Chris Tucker, a lovably endearing character.

To simply say that this is a good film, would be a major injustice; “Silver Linings Playbook” is the feel good film of the year not simply because of its emotional payoff and endearing characters but because it manages to please and satisfy in every respectable facet of storytelling without talking down to a lesser audience. It isn’t simply great; it is everything that every film of its type should strive for.

2. Argo:

“Silver Linings Playbook” took me by storm by crawling its way up my list during every second of its running time. Were it not for the more personal connection that I feel for my number one pick, “Argo” would have easily and undoubtedly swept film of the year, without a second thought.

It’s truly remarkable how straightforward “Argo” is despite the sheer brilliance of its premise. Following a former exfiltration expert’s mission to get 6 Americans out of Iran under the guise of making a movie provides for many an opportunity for the film to mercilessly poke fun at the business of Hollywood.

Ben Affleck doesn’t miss a beat, affectionately displaying the conventions, contradictions, and general quirks of working in the film industry. However, in choosing to focus on the mission of saving innocent lives from becoming victims of an international crisis, the jabs at showbiz become welcome lighthearted jabs to loosen the high tension of an incredibly sensitive operation that can easily end in death for everybody involved.

Even in the high stakes of the Iranian exfiltration, the pervasive sense of emotion is what really locks you into what’s going on. These 6 Americans and their Iranian allies are not simple character archetypes and plot devices; they are living people with real lives waiting for them, facing consequences for their actions, and rarely ever acting in the manner of their apparent stereotypes.

“Argo” was jaw dropping from start to finish. Ben Affleck has really proven himself a man to be taken seriously, directing a film so tense yet with so much human emotion, you almost forget how simple the actual plot is. Between tight direction leading to one of the most tense climaxes that I have seen in my life, a snappy screenplay that knows just how to balance heavy drama with a bit of dark humor, and an all around excellent cast, “Argo” isn’t quite my favorite film of the year but it came pretty damn close to toppling the juggernaut that did.

Best of 2012: 7-5

7. Life of Pi:

As somebody that has been trained to be able to find stories worth telling in the most mundane areas of life, “Life of Pi” was a charming and unexpected pleasure that transcends the few storytelling hiccups that it has, making for a life journey that is not only enthralling to see play out but visually spectacular.

The nature of protagonist Pi’s struggle at sea with a tiger rendered by and unfolded through incredible visuals at this point has become the one definitive point of attraction that everybody who has and hasn’t seen the film is aware of at this point. And to the film’s credit, the visual direction is absolutely stunning, however I find myself rather surprised that this has been the sole element attracting its audience.

Pi’s recollection of his journey to understand faith to a fascinated writer contains such an incredible level of real life charm that I found myself intensely envious of Rafe Spall for being allowed to partake in the life story such a fascinating man that has, for all intents and purposes, lived a fairly normal life.

Ang Lee tells Pi’s story masterfully through the charisma of Irrfan Khan with a terrific performance from Suraj Sharma. The first half alone is had me charmed over so much that when the visual direction kicks in, I was almost taken by complete surprise.

The incredible visuals of the protagonist’s plight at sea with a live tiger served as icing on the cake and were a true sight to behold. However the progression of the film into this territory, despite the breathtaking visuals, the storytelling becomes significantly more fantastical. As his life story becomes more of a fable than a biography, details begin to become less consistent and although most of these issues could be argued to be intentional, there are more than a few instances in which it weakens the storytelling, culminating in a revelation that could have been a terrific note to leave on, that is unfortunately spoiled by over explanation.

Despite the unevenness of the storytelling as a whole, “Life of Pi” easily takes the award for biggest surprise of the year and on top of Lee’s previous directorial work, “Taking Woodstock,” have redeemed himself permanently for the existence of “Hulk.”  

6. Les Miserables:

In 2012, after an age where the musical has become something of a joke, one film came to stand apart from all of the others, pushing the envelope in terms of the current weak quality of musicals; a movie that has shaken me to my very core to this day. That film was called “Rock of Ages,” a wretched production of scum and horrors of one of the most embarrassing eras of Rock history, distilled into a 2 hour theater experience of evil so terrifying, it brought me within a hair’s width of quitting my ambitions of being a proper critic of fiction at the sheer idea that my job would force me to willingly expose myself to such inhumane tortures and perversions of genres that I love on a regular basis. The embarrassment of the musical genre of film, despite 1 or 2 worthwhile productions over the course of the last decade or so notwithstanding, had culminated in this film and has left me cold to something that I once felt a very powerful love and appreciation for. “Les Miserables” is the anti-“Rock of Ages.”

Tom Hooper directs a silver screen translation of a stage production with care and intricacy the likes of which I have not seen since Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet.” The film makes full use of its camera to create a world that immerses its audience in the setting and story that it has to tell, a trick that sounds very simple in theory but is rarely ever attempted or executed properly. It draws you in almost immediately and never releases its grip on your attention despite a few tight shots and close-ups.

The sense of immersions steals the show and enhances the storytelling through a masterfully crafted and performed soundtrack. Every song tells a full story within the film so incredibly well but are so beautifully crafted and emotionally performed that they can stand alone in their own right. I haven’t been this in love with a musical soundtrack since “Chicago.”

And most importantly, the human element is alive and strong from start to finish. I was more spellbound in any given minute of “Les Miserables” than almost any other film to come out this year. Jean Valjean’s journey to redeem himself as a human being in his own eyes, Javert’s dedication to his extreme views of right and wrong, Marius and Cossette’s desire to fight through revolution to be with one another; all of these ideas and more are powerfully presented with little to no traditionally spoken dialogue and while many of the actors are asked to sing beyond their range, the emotion behind the vocal performances and the incredible acting carries them a long way.

Pacing issues aside, “Les Miserables” was an emotionally moving and brilliantly crafted journey that has not only restored my faith in a genre but reinvigorated my love of it. It has earned my recognition sheerly for its uniqueness as a production but as powerful therapy for my “Rock of Ages” PTSD, it has earned a permanent spot in my heart.

5. Cloud Atlas:

The Wachowski siblings have fallen pretty far from grace since the heyday of “The Matrix.” After taking the worlds of film and science fiction by storm, their continuously fading star, culminating in the abysmal “Speed Racer” seemed to be a sad sign that their first film, as impressive as it was, was ultimately one epic fluke. While I still don’t doubt that they have a tendency to be a tad bit pretentious, I find myself pleasantly surprised to admit that “Cloud Atlas” proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are far from talentless.

The ambitious undertaking of weaving the six tales of “Cloud Atlas” together into a single 3 hour long coherent film worth the necessary amount of time and investment it must demand of its audience was one that should have ended in complete and utter disaster. By all means, this should have been the largest cluster fuck of our generation. What was born out of this ambition instead is a series of interweaved vignettes that contribute to larger messages about celebrating life, karma and redemption, and destiny vs. free will that create one of the purest art films of recent history.

Every second of “Cloud Atlas” feels like a necessary piece of its puzzle; every shot, every line of dialogue, the usage of music, the usage of makeup, the roles of the cast members, and the nature of the settings are all integral in forming one of the multitude of interpretations that the film intends for its audience to take away from it.

This film thoroughly blew my mind upon my initial viewing of it and has left me hungry to rewatch in search of interpretations that I missed. “Cloud Atlas” is a well rounded masterpiece that is both intellectually complex and heavily emotionally resonant the likes of which the world of film has never seen before.

Best of 2012: 10-8

10. The Dark Knight Rises:

I’ve grappled with this one for quite some time. Christopher Nolan’s grand finale to his well deservedly critically acclaimed interpretation of Batman is by no stretch of the imagination a flawless film. However, upon viewing it after having written it off for a slot for months, I slowly came around to realizing that I wasn’t quite giving the film enough credit for what it was doing right.

While not shying away from its issues, “The Dark Knight Rises” is nonetheless of an incredible level of filmmaking in nearly every regard that is still not quite the standard of this genre. Nolan directs a packed yet tightly crafted epic, bringing the more human element of “Batman Begins” back around full circle. Bruce Wayne’s final adventure is full of twists and turns, believably escalated stakes, character revelations, and an unexpected amount of emotion that adds a weight to the finality of the films intent. Nolan has always been an excellent teller of complex plots but the shocking detail found in the rest of the film surpasses even his own demonstrated level of skills.

The cast of “The Dark Knight Rises” all give some of the most incredible performances of their careers, lending the franchise a level of heart it had never achieved before. The levels of literary metaphor within the challenges that Bruce must face are masterfully crafted and ultimately culminate in one hell of a sensational climax.

The films high ambitions have for the most part have yielded an intense payoff. Unfortunately, payoffs born out of such high ambitions don’t come without a few tradeoffs. The higher levels of spectacle, despite being more grounded than most films of the same ilk, lends “The Dark Knight Rises” a slightly more alien quality that prevents it from feeling as immersive as its predecessor, which slightly distracts from the heavier atmosphere that the film projects. Furthermore, while I applaud its efforts to tell a unique epic on a grand scale, it does have a bad tendency to rely on telling rather than showing for the sake of furthering its plot.

This unfortunate combination of flaws results in a film that could have been 20 minutes shorter or used 20 minutes to more organically flesh out its ideas. Despite its problems however, “The Dark Knight Rises” dared to take a chance that for the most part worked. Unlike 95% of superhero storytelling today, it put the integrity of its tale ahead of its desire to make a profit, rounding out a trilogy that I will be happily watching decades from now and creating a film that I have grown to love more and respect as one of my favorites of 2012.

9. The Cabin in the Woods:

If there is one genre that our modern genre savvy culture has utterly ravaged, it would have to undoubtedly be horror. With most modern twists and turns in storytelling exposed and conventions explored in great detail, most modern horror films have defaulted to the cheap and manipulative jump scare to get a rise out of the more naïve moviegoer. About the only thing truly scary about almost 90% of modern horror films is the how torturously boring they can become. And, along came Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard to give the horror genre the kick in the pants that it so desperately needs.

“The Cabin in the Woods” is a genre busting and trope twisting affectionate criticism, loving parody, and straightly executed production of the horror genre that I have not seen since “Evil Dead 2.” The film’s deconstruction of horror formula is done with an eye of both criticism and affection, observing the stereotypes and clichés of horror fiction and identifying them in such a way that celebrates their hand in the culture of the genre.

Meanwhile, thanks to Whedon’s sharp script and Goddard’s intricate direction, the delicate balance that goes into mixing the horror with the comedy prevents one element from overtaking the other, resulting in a respectable horror movie in and of itself with a strong element of humor that knows how when to step back, creating a less cynical parody that keeps all of its elements in check as opposed to the age of lazy spoofs that permeate the parody subgenre of comedy.

“The Cabin in the Woods” is a rare comedy in today’s day and age; one that doesn’t fall back on its comedy as a cop out to proper storytelling. Whether the charm of the characters, the subtle winks to horror formula, or the glorious grand reveal of the end, the film has a charm thanks to the perfect balancing act that it pulls off that few films attempting what it is going for have been able to achieve.

8. The Secret World of Arrietty:

I admit that I skated around this issue last year but this year has made it abundantly evident that the state of animation is on its way into a slump. Often I relish in the chance to talk up an animated film around this time of the year. Only then do I come to find that this year and the last have been far from stellar (you know things are getting when Pixar’s churned out mediocre content two years in a row). I’ll give credit to a few sleepers, like “Paranorman” and “Wreck-It Ralph” but thank god Studio Ghibli has stepped up to the plate to redeem itself after the laughably bad “Tales from Earthsea” with Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s take on “The Borrowers.”

There’s a somber tone about “The Secret World of Arrietty” that sets it apart from most typical animated films. Rather than direct a broader, almost theater-like production bloated with flash, quick pacing, and numerous other quirky bells and whistles, this is a film that takes the completely opposite tact. The sense of scale given to the small world of the borrowers is made apparent via the slow, methodical, and detailed pacing of the following of their day to day activities.

This pacing may sound like it makes for a boring film but the detail used to bring the world to life, as well as a strong down to earth plot based around the developing friendship between Arrietty and the protagonist (whom I shall leave unnamed both in the spirit of the original novel and to avoid the immature dubbing vs. subbing conflict of anime) contain so much charm that you don’t even notice the time fly.

In a year that was generally unimpressive for animation, “The Secret World of Arrietty” was a pleasant surprise not merely for its own quality, but as a fresh model that other animated films should strive to follow if for no other reason than to shake up the status quo a bit.