Top 10 Movies of 2012

2012 was a year of great expectations. I had predicted that after the tepid offerings of 2011, the blockbusters scheduled for this year had the potential to be fantastic. And thankfully that turned out to (mostly) be the case. There were few big titles that disappointed, which was a nice change of pace.

On the other hand, that means that this year's list is going to contain fewer than the normal amount of weird, smaller movies nobody had heard of, something that I usually take pride in. I swear it's not on purpose, but between the big movies actually being decent for a change, combined with the fact that my overall movie consumption is less than usual for this year since this blog keeps me from devouring everything on the shelf like I normally do, I'm guessing most people have at least heard of the majority of these films.

Sorry, I'll try to be snootier in the coming year. It's a promise. On with the Top 10 Best Movies of 2012! (plus an honorable mention)

Honorable Mention: Brave
Pixar's latest effort caught me off guard with a movie I actually really liked a lot. I found the characters and story far more likable than their average fare, and I had a very good time with it despite myself. I'm still not a huge fan of Pixar, but I always give credit where I feel credit is due. "Brave" is probably my new favorite Pixar film.

And once again, I must commend "Brave" for having a fairy tale story about a young girl which doesn't feature a love interest at any point. I can't describe how refreshing that is.

10. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I'm not going to lie to you. "The Hobbit" is going on this list purely out of fanboyism. I can't help myself. Was it a great movie on par with "The Lord of The Rings" films? No. Did that matter? Not to me. It's still "The Hobbit." And I am such a huge mark for it that there's no way I'm not loving every bit of it.

Look, I won't blow smoke up your collective asses and be dishonest. This movie had its issues. The biggest thing being the fact that it's an hour too long for no good reason. Had that been fixed it would have been WAY higher on the list. But despite my nerd-love for "The Hobbit," I can't bring myself to place it higher. There are just too many problems with the pacing. But it was still awesome despite all of those problems, and it still deserves a spot on my Top 10 of 2012.

Now, just wait until "The Desolation of Smaug" and we're talking guaranteed Top 3 spots! At least. I'm calling it right now. That movie...you just have no idea how awesome it's going to be.

9. The Flowers of War
This is the only movie on this list that I can't say I had a fun time at. "The Flowers of War" is a slog to get through. It's rough. It's brutal. Horrible, awful, unthinkable, "Schindler's List" level, tear-inducing things happen in this film. It's enough to make you cry. It's enough to make you not want to watch anymore. It's enough to make you want to retch. And my goodness was it amazing.

This isn't lite watching by any means. But if you can stomach it, and I recommend you do, you'll understand why it made my Best of The Year list. It deserves it. Any movie that is that powerful and moving is doing a lot of things right. Even if those things aren't things you'd ever, ever want to see. The scenes from "The Flowers of War" that have been burned into my mind are never going to leave. I can't say I would have willingly chosen to have them there, but I'm glad I saw such moving images that left such a strong impression.

8, Wreck-It Ralph
One of the bigger surprises for me this year came in the form of John C. Reilly as a video game character in "Wreck-It Ralph." I wasn't holding out high hopes for this one, but it ended up being both charming, well written, very entertaining and funny as hell. Much like "Bolt," another film from Walt Disney Animation Studios that I really like, "Wreck-It Ralph" also managed to be touching and heartbreaking at times without ever feeling like we were being overtly manipulated into it. On top of everything else, it's also a gorgeous flick.

Also, having been a gamer for many a year, this was a nostalgic kick to the spine that dropped references that only 30-somes like me would get. I mean, when's the last time you saw a "Metal Gear Solid" reference in a movie? I love when stuff is catered towards me!

7. The Grey
This tale of Liam Neeson in the woods trying to save himself and a small group of plane crash survivors from a vicious, extremely territorial pack of wolves in Alaska was part "Heart of Darkness," part "Alive" (only good) and part "Jaws." It's also a moving tale of courage and personal strength in the face of overwhelming odds and crippling despair.

Is it even possible to survive something like this? Probably not. Is the fight worth it? Maybe. Is that the point? No. Will it mean everything if you look despair in the eye, spit at its feet and sneer "Do your worst, you son of a bitch" even while standing on the edge of the cliff? Absolutely.

6. Skyfall
After the crushing disappointment that was "Quantum of Solace," the odds were not in Bond's favor with "Skyfall." Leave it to Sam Mendes to bring Bond back to the forefront of ass-kicking with what was the most ass-kickingist Bond movie since Pierce Brosnan's debut in "GoldenEye."

"Skyfall" was a grand-slam-in-the-bottom-of-the-9th success in every way that I can think of. Even the last half hour, which I thought did the film a disservice by going more Jason Bourne than James Bond was still awesome, despite my complaints. We also got the first memorable villain since "GoldenEye" with Javier Bardem, playing the only Bond villain that I can recall seeming like he was threatening to sexually molest 007. It was a fun time.

This is just what the Bond franchise needed. Now they need to do exactly that again. Forever.

5. Looper
Like there's any way the best time travel movie I've seen since "12 Monkeys" isn't going on this list. "Looper" is just as twisty-turney in the genre it occupies at any given moment as the plot that it weaves, and twists and turns it has a-plenty. What's amazing is that as often as it changes, so drastically so that if you were to watch the beginning and the end there's a good chance you'd think they were different films aside from the cast, it never once doesn't make total sense or feel out of place.

If there was a guy looking to take up the mantel of "The Next Christopher Nolan," director Rian Johnson is it. I can't wait to see what he does next. If "Looper" is any indication, whatever it is, it's going to blow our minds.

4. The Dark Knight Rises
The final chapter in Christopher Nolan's superb Batman trilogy was a movie that was met with some, let's be gentle and say "mixed" reactions. In actuality it was closer to "half the audience loved it and the other half wanted to burn down Hollywood over it." It's always normal to have backlash to any highly anticipated movie, but people seemed really viciously torn over this one. I don't understand why because I thought "The Dark Knight Rises" was a towering, powerful end to one of my favorite film series. I loved it, despite some problems with pacing, which is why it isn't higher on the list.

This film was a big bite out of a huge sandwich, maybe a little too big to be sure, and there's a lot to chew. There's a lot of character stuff going on, and it's less about Batman than it is Gotham as a whole. But that didn't seem out of place to me. Gotham has always been what Batman was fighting for the whole time. And thematically it's appropriate since a large aspect of the story is dealing with how the people of Gotham are going to function without Batman. You think Bruce Wayne wanted to have to protect Gotham forever? No, he wanted them to not have to need him. This isn't Batman being pushed out of the picture, this is his story coming full circle. This was the point this whole time, if you care to pay attention to the two films that came before.

And I don't care what you say. Bane was amazing. And I understood him perfectly fine. Ya'll need your hearing checked. Or maybe go to a theater with decent sound.








How did it come to this? Here we stand, at the turn of the tide. We now come to the TOP 3 OF 2012. In a year of much anticipation, there were some ups and there were some downs - but which 3 films were solid enough to make the upper echelon? One had me doing one of the biggest nerd-outs I've ever done over it, another I just assumed was going to be incredible (and I was right), while another was actually a complete surprise. Which ones? Let's do it! Here's what I consider the absolute best of what 2012 had to offer!

3. Prometheus
Few movies this year, well besides TDKR, was as divisive as "Prometheus" was. Ridley Scott's return to sci-fi was met with high expectations and intense backlash as it turned out to be, to the OUTRAGE of fans of the "Alien" franchise, something that was unthinkable! It was...brace yourselves, children...

A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE.

Gasp! Do you mean to tell me that Ridley Scott had the temerity to make a film with huge, bold ideas that may not have any easy answers, which takes its time in actually setting up an atmosphere to portray and develop the futuristic world it takes place in, and has a grand sense of discovery and exploration, and leaves you with more questions than answers, in other words "great science fiction" instead of simply remaking "Aliens" and calling it a day?! What a travesty!

I seriously don't understand the rage that "Prometheus" inspired. I hate to sound like a snob (okay that's a lie) but honestly, if you're one of the people who hated "Prometheus," I seriously don't know what you were expecting. Was it "Alien?" If that's the case, you got it as the plot is essentially the same in its barest elements. Was it "Aliens?" Then just watch "Aliens." Don't tell me that's what you really wanted, either, because then you'd call it derivative. Did you just want "a sci-fi movie?" THAT'S WHAT YOU GOT. I hate to break this phrase out, but I have to assume the people complaining just didn't "get it." This movie is fantastic, and a wonderful, brainy addition to the "Alien" franchise. I can't wait to see where it goes next.

(And by the way, as to the complaint that the scientists "act stupid," all I have to say is "I'm the first person on an unexplored planet uncovering what may be the secret to not only how human life began, but I'm the first son of a bitch to encounter AN ALIEN GOD DAMN LIFEFORM. Quick! Let me hide in my room and not go anywhere, do anything, or perform any acts of exploration and discovery, or in other words why I came here." And remember, it's not like they know they're in a horror film.) I think this may deserve it's own entry on exploring the misdirected hate.

2. Django Unchained
Come on. It's freaking Quentin Tarantino. The man is the sugar to my Kool Aide. The vodka to my martini. The cheese to my Royale. You think he's not making an appearance on here? I'm not sure where I'd rank "Django Unchained" next to the rest of his films, since they all shine in their own way but still feel very similar, but it's up there among his best, I think. It's probably his most streamlined, least self-indulgent outing, which may relieve most and disappoint a select few others. At least, it certainly flies by faster than the others despite being the longest movie he's made at nearly 3 hours.

Tarantino always populates his movies with the most incredible cast you can imagine, and here is no different. Seeing Christoph Waltz give another Oscar nomination assured performance was no surprise, but what was a surprise was seeing Leonardo DiCaprio actually stealing the show from Waltz to give what I thought was easily the performance of his career. While everyone in "Django Unchained" was a superstar, both of these guys made it worth seeing by themselves. Easily.

And that's without the rest of the movie being a solid-gold home run. Which it was.






And the best movie I saw in 2012 was...

1. ParaNorman
Much like "The Muppets" last year and "Coraline" in 2009, my top film of the year ended up being the one that made me feel the best. "ParaNorman" is a loving tribute to horror and bloody exploitation grindhouse films, while maintaining a PG rating and a charming sense of humor. Shockingly, this works in a fantastic fashion.

Putting an ear-to-ear smile on my face for an hour and a half is not an easy task. I am a notorious sourpuss when it comes to most movies. "ParaNorman," though, this was all smiles from beginning to end. Well, smiles except when I was squirming in my seat going "EEEEEWWW!!! NO!!! HAHA!! OH NO!" at a corpse licking someone, picking my jaw off the ground both during a shockingly dark reveal at the end of the second act and a satisfyingly intense climax, and pointing at the screen and laughing my fool head off over the fact that there was a "Manos: The Hands of Fate" reference, and other various things of that nature that made this film an absolute delight.

I loved every second of "ParaNorman." It would make a fantastic double-feature with "Coraline," which is an idea so awesome that I may have to do that sometime soon. I still think "Coraline" is the better film, but "ParaNorman" wins out on the humor. But any movie I'm able to even put in the same sentence comparatively as "Coraline" is one that is going to hold a special place for me forever, because that's not something that happens often. Mostly it's relegated to every time Laika does another stop-motion film.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go watch something where the zombie eats someone's brains...

The Flowers of War (2012)

Movies like "Flowers of War" are difficult to talk about. On one hand, you can talk about the story and characters and whatnot, and that's all well and good, but on the other hand, sometimes there is just a power and intensity to a film that sort of defies description. And while I could certainly give a reader a good notion of what is in store for them would they chose to watch this film, there's no way to properly convey raw emotion, which this film is bursting at the seams with.

I could probably start by giving everyone a heads up when it comes to "Flowers of War": This is a tough movie to watch. Not tough in the sense that it's bad, but tough in the same way that a film like "Schindler's List" is tough to watch. There are films out there which are thematically more similar to "Flowers of War" than "Schindler's List" is, but in terms of tone and gut reactions to horrible things happening, it's a similar feeling. I was almost reminded of the kind of unease I experienced while watching "Requiem For A Dream" or in particular "A Clockwork Orange," especially when it came to the scenes of graphic violence done to women. Only in this case, there's additionally violence done against children, specifically young girls.

Yeah, you'll probably be able to tell if you'll be able to stomach this movie based on the inclusion of the phrases "A Clockwork Orange" and "young girls" in that previous sentence. Even the thought of those two subjects being merged is enough to make you want to cringe. So heads up, anyone who wants to watch this film.

But if you are feeling brave enough to give it a try, if you're anything like me, you'll find that "Flowers of War" is a very, very good film worthy of your attention. Is it going to be a bumpy road? Oh yeah. Will it be worth it at the end? Absolutely.

This movie has not yet begun to be bleak.

The story takes place in China in the second Sino-Japanese war. The Japanese invade Nanjing, and lay utter waste to the city and distribute wholesale slaughter to pretty much anyone they can find. Christian Bale is a mortician named John, who was on his way to perform burial rights for the pastor of a church/school in the city when it was attacked. Caught up in the fighting, he takes refuge in the church with the student body of about a dozen 14ish year old girls and the slightly older assistant, who is the only boy. At first he's content to take his pay and leave, but it's pretty clear that although John is a bit of a crass jerk, he's got too much of a heart to abandon the girls.

A complication arises pretty soon, however, when a dozen prostitutes come knocking at the door, demanding to be let in for protection. John is all about this, naturally, but tensions escalate pretty quickly between the students and the courtesans, and soon there's another little war taking place in the church. All the issues are soon rendered pretty moot, however, when the Japanese occupy the church, but not before doing some truly horrific things that end up being only a taste of what is to come. That is when John disguises himself as a priest, and basically becomes the girl's protector.

The main complication of the story comes up when the Japanese commander of the occupation forces orders the girls to sing at a party they are having in a few days time. Knowing the horrors that await the girls if they go, most likely involving rape and murder, John must find a way to get them out of the city before that happens, no matter the cost.

Christian Bale plays the role of John in a way that reminds us that despite being awesome, he really is a phenomenal actor, capable of extreme ranges that having him going from a roaring volcano, bellowing at the Japanese to stop their depravity, to a whispering, mewling mess of a man who has finally reached the end of his ever-thinning rope. I think between playing a comic book legend, sometimes we forget Bale is a master's course in acting onto himself.

"Hey ladies. Did I ever tell you I'm The Goddamn Batman?"

Playing the head courtesan, Yu Mo is newcomer Ni Ni, who I'm hoping shows up in more stuff, because she was dynamite, and ends up being the heart and soul of the film, more so than even the children, oddly enough. That's not to say the kids weren't good, because they most certainly were, but it's Ni Ni who ends up hammering home the emotional punchline of the movie.

If there were downsides to "Flowers of War," it would be three things, and the amount this bugs you may vary from person to person, but here's my trite complaints, and believe me, they are trite because it was hard to find too much fault with this film.

First, I can't help but feel that the Japanese are really, really portrayed poorly. I know that they wrecked Nanjing. That's on record as one of the worst atrocities in modern wartime. What got me is that there was not a single Japanese character who was given even the slightest shred of humanity. No, every one of those monsters is completely evil. Even the least evil among them, the Japanese commander Colonel Hasegawa, played wonderfully by Atsurô Watabe, despite being shown early on as sympathetic and looking out for the girls fate, he really is only setting them up to be slaughtered like sheep.

You're telling me not a single Japanese soldier in the entire army wasn't a serial rapist with a bad case of pedophilia? None of them? There's got to be at least a few who aren't...

The second thing is that the subtitled dialogue is a little stilted. I don't know if it's too literal of a translation, or if there's no real way to truly convey what's being said in English while having it sound right, or if they really do talk like that in China and Japan, but it's really weird. It's kind of hard to describe, but I can sum it up by saying it's a lot like anime subtitles. You fellow anime fans can relate to this.

Think back on how many times in anime you've read a subtitle that says something like: "You're mean!" or "Is he truly a man such as that?" or saying a person's name as a reaction to that same person saying something. Or even more annoying, when they are loudly talking about a person with other people while that person they're talking about is standing right the hell there, clearly not 5 feet away, but paying them no mind. Does any of this ring any bells?

Is that normal over there? I'm sorry, but if you're talking about me behind my back, but doing so in a fashion where I'm obviously supposed to hear you, I'm saying something. Maybe "Screw you," or "Shut up" or something. Either way I'm saying something. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but it seems incredibly rude. 

"Helloooooo nurse."

The final thing is something which I'm still not sure if I liked or not: the ending. Now, I'm not going to say a word about what actually happens, except to say it's really, really moving and gut wrenching. Adding to the sadness is the voice over narration that's been going on throughout the film by one the students, which plays up not only the tension but foreboding doom that awaits.

The problem with the ending is that there are really two separate paths to follow at that point, and we only get one of them. The other path is really left a mystery, although one can assume what happens. And while what probably happens is not something that we'd probably want to see in the first place, there really is no closure going on for the second half of the ending equation. I won't call it a bad ending, in fact it's beautiful, but it does reek a bit of unsatisfying.

That being said, this movie is a powerhouse.

THE BOTTOM LINE - "Flowers of War" may make my Top Ten of 2012. If not, it's getting an honorable mention. This is an amazing film, and I'm very glad I saw it, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant trip. Be warned, there are scenes that will be seared into your retinas for days. This could be a textbook definition of a "heavy" movie. If you've got the gumption, Highly Recommended.