Film Flare

Best of 2012. Honourable Mentions

 

Making a list of the five best new films I saw last year is not as easy as it sounds. You are inevitably forced to cut out several films which were really good, just not quite good enough.

This is simply a very brief list of those that almost made it into the Top 5.

 

21 Jump Street

An oddly touching and often very funny film which seems quite aware of the trend of remaking ideas. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum form a strangely cute bromance but the film is no brom-com (Bromance Comedy), there's action aplenty and there's a surreal streak that runs through it which makes the film a joy to watch. Not quite Top 5 material though.

 

Chronicle

This film would have been 6th. A stunning film that simultaneously is the best use of handheld camera work you've seen and the best portrayal of teenagers with powers you'd have seen too. The idea isn't too original but the execution and the style elevate this film to a thrilling and powerful piece of cinema.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

This film surprised me because I assumed that it would be a bitter disappointment once the initial reviews started to pour in. However, I was so happy with the film! Seeing the actors from LOTR returning was a great joy and the film completely satisfied my expectations. Looking forward to the next installment out around December this year.

 

Prometheus

Ridley Scott's return to good old fashioned science fiction was a grand affair, epic ideas translated well into the film although the film's descent into more conventional horror was not a match for his previous sci-fi/horror masterpiece, Alien. The visuals themselves were so stunning and Michael Fassbender as David is one of the finest single performances of the year.

 

Skyfall

Sam Mendes brings the good stuff with the twenty third Bond film starring the fantastic Daniel Craig, more suave then ever. The expansion of Bond's character is welcome and the introduction of Bond favourites Moneypenny and Q is handled very well as is Judi Dench's performance as M. The villain's turn from wi-fi super hacker to helicopter wielding bandit doesn't work too well but Javier Bardem is certainly creepy. And as for the silhouette fight in the Shanghai skyscraper? Amazing!

 

 

*If you disagree or have films you think deserve to be either in this list or in the top 5 itself, get in touch and say your piece. Constructive, intelligent conversation is something I'm a big fan of.

Best of 2012. Number 1

Dum dum dum dum dum! (music loses some of its appeal when it is just written onomatopaeic words)

 

 

So here it is. The smartest, most tense, most shocking and (in my opinion) the best film I saw last year. Rian Johnson's time travel character drama, Looper.

Part of the great triumph of the film is watching Joseph Gordon Jevitt acting as Bruce Willis, not Bruce Willis in any of his roles but of the man himself. Add to this convincing prothetics that take a while to notice and you have an extremely convincing way to show off an intelligent idea.

 And it is a clever idea. The initial scenes show off the world and the premise exceptionally well and both primary actors perform admirably. However, the secondary characters are also fantastic, starting with a incredibly menacing Jeff Daniels. Emily Blunt is on top form here and provides a strong female character to the generally male-centric world on display.

I think what I found most fascinating  is that for all the good ideas that are well formed in this film, it is , in the end, an intense and intricate character driven film based around the idea of meeting your future self. The film was reviewed as being similar to the Matrix and that delivers the film a disservice, whilst there is some action in the film, it is certainly not an action film. It is instead a slow paced, deliberate drama/thriller with convincing sci-fi tones and excellent dialogue and performances.

A well deserved first place.

 

Tomorrow we shall run through all the 'honourable mentions'. Films that almost made it into the top 5 but just missed out.

 

Best of 2012. Number 2

I'm going to disrupt usual FFFD proceedings until this gets done.

 

Anyway. Number 2 on my list is...

 

 

Altogether brighter, more fun, funnier and more action packed than The Dark Knight Rises.  

Joss Whedon displays his masterful ability to control a large cast of characters and to give the action a fantastic fluidity. Of course, those who have seen Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc etc know that Whedon has a great sense of giving extraordinary people great human traits and a fantastic sense of humour. This is all continued in The Avengers, a stunning way to spend $220 million.

Having most of the characters already familiar to us thanks to their stand alone films, the only real 'new' characters are Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Window (Scarlett Johansson) as well as persuading us that Mark Ruffalo is Hulk, which is easy because he is really good at Bruce Banner/Hulk.

The plot has pretty basic fare but builds well on the plot points contained in the individual films and it throws all of the characters together and somehow gives them all space to grow and kick arse. At times, though, it is obvious to see that X is fighting Y just to be cool, but it is cool so who cares?

 

So fast forward to today and Joss Whedon is overseeing 'Phase Two' of the Marvel Studio's film assault. Spearheaded by Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World,  Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, before it all culminates in the hotly anticipated Avengers 2, expected release date May 1st 2015.

 

Best of 2012. Number 3

 

The final part of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.

 

Trying to fill the exceptionally large clown's shoes the Joker left behind is no easy task and Dir. Nolan and screenwriters Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer do very well to give us a third film that almost lives up to the expectations of The Dark Knight.

Tom Hardy bulks up again to give Christian Bale's gravel voiced Batman a physical challenge that no other villain in the trilogy has been able to do. And it shows. Within the space of about ten minutes, Bruce Wayne is crippled and in a jail pit somewhere. In the meantime, Bane has set about organising a revolution in Gotham, villifying the 1% in a weird sort of 'Occupy Gotham' movement, with more masks. Batman gets healed and retrained up despite his age and comes back to Gotham where the film suddenly turns to the tired 'ticking bomb' cliche and loses a lot of its magic before the film ends in a way I found disappointing.

Add to this story strands from Batman Begins, a young police officer (Joseph Gordon Levitt) who can magically deduce Batman's identity because, hey, they were both orphans and a fantastic Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway and you end up with a film that isn't as entirely as fantastic as you'd have hoped.

However, despite the film's flaws, The Dark Knight Rises is a complex, emotionally potent film which is also thrilling and action packed. Bane and Batman's fights are gritty and intense and the first scene of the film is SO good. Hans Zimmer's music is as good here as it has throughout the trilogy and Christopher Nolan somehow manages to compact an awful lot into a comparatively short run time.

 

 

However, it's not as good as another certain superhero film which is still to come.

Can you guess what it is yet?

Best of 2012. Number 4

The countdown continues with...

Seven Psychopaths.

 

Marking another collaboration between writer/director Martin McDonagh and Colin Farrell after the excellent In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths is a funny, charming, grisly and sad film all at the same time.

One of the main appeals of the film for me were the trio of principle actors, Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken who are all incredibly good. The film intertwines quite a few story threads and ends up becoming slightly 'meta' without being pretentious or dense. It remains hilarious throughout, the script is very funny and the performances are almost too over the top but remain believable within the confines of the film.

The films runs a little crazy but it's certainly the funniest film on the list and whilst Dredd was ultraviolent in an over the top way, Seven Psychopaths is grisly and gritty where it needs to be.

 

The supporting cast all fulfil their parts really, really well and the film has a natural feel next to In Bruges. In fact, Seven Psychopaths feels larger in scope and feel than In Bruge and it seems McDonagh is more confident with the introduction of many more characters and plots into a single narrative.

 

All in all, a funny and violent film with a hard emotional layer built through a cracking script with excellent performances all round.

 

 

 

 

Best of 2012. Number 5

And we begin, like Top of the Pops circa 1973.

 

 Oh yes sir. Writer/Producer Alex Garland and director Pete Travis take on the 2000AD legend. And it works out very well. Gritty, claustrophobic and ultra violent, the film is a tightly made comic book film that seemed to buck the recent trend of having heroes emotionally vulnerable.

Dredd is Dredd, he starts the film as Dredd and he ends the film as Dredd, Karl Urban does a great job of injecting so little ego into the character. The telltale jaw may clench and move slightly but there is little emotion behind the famous mask except resolve. In stark contrast to other 'hero' films that will make an appearance on this list, the plotting is simple and the spectacle is small scale. It falls to Olivia Thirlby as rookie Judge Anderson to provide the emotional arc of the film and does so admirably.

 

So why does it derserve to be number 5? It's violent, funny, disturbing, well directed and contains a tight plot within a large city of crime. It puts many characters through a huge amount and the film makes the point that it is only one crime among thousands in Mega City One. Very enjoyable, if you can stomach the violence. Finally, it is the Dredd born in the pages of 2000AD as it should be on film.

Whilst rumours of a sequel were denied following the film's poor box office performance, strong DVD and download sales have meant that the rumour mill is milling once more, however, Pete Travis has said that he would not be directing any sequel, if a sequel were to go ahead.

Best of 2012.

Good morning and hello.

 

Since I have been writing this blog for just over a year, I feel able to write a list of my favourite films from 2012. I won't be re-reviewing the films extensively however, instead, it will just be a brief recap with a piece about why I feel that film should be placed where it is.

Simple.

 

Number 5 (of 5) will be revealed.........sooooooooooooon! (evil laugh/lightning/creepy harpsichord music)

(On another note, and because I LOVE parentheses, a massive thank you to everyone who has read, promoted or disliked this blog. I make this point because Film Flare has just passed 11,500 page views, and I'm only responsible for about 13.5% of those views.)

 

56 (Film Diary 27: 21/08/12 - 26/08/12)

Hey hey hey Film Flare folks.

 

Hope you've all had a charming weekend doing what you do. Soon you will all be reading words on a screen, that's what I do. 

 

The film in this week's FFFD is a monument since my childhood alongside most people of my generation. A film which is to be re-released in 3D next year and may actually be worthwhile seeing it in that format!

 

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park is one of those extremely rare films in the fact that no matter who you talk to about this film, work mates, friends, parents or whatever, you will never hear ANYONE say "Oh! I've never seen that film.", you just won't. If by chance you do ever come across someone who has never seen this film, feel a sense of inner warmth because you have the power to make someone's life better.

 

This film is a fantastic piece of film making (I am trying to put aside my childish glee here!), in terms of story telling, spectacle and character, this films may be Spielberg's finest since Jaws (a better film). I am now twenty four years old and I must have seen Jurassic Park not long after it's release in 1993 and even now, the animatronics are fantastic. The CGI has dated ever so slightly, but still remain awe inspiring and very impressive but the animatronic work remains timeless and convinced utterly. The scale, vision and scope of this film shows why when Spielberg applies himself, he is one of the best for visual images and impressive sequences. A film that is joyous to behold.

 

The characters are also expanded beautifully (my own personal growth allows me to understand them more than when I was a nipper). Richard Attenborough in particular ends up being pathetic and a tragic character as he tries to hold on to everything even as his project falls apart. Sam Neill and Laura Dern are a real joy to watch, even the kids aren't TOO irritating. Which is saying something....I hate movie kids almost all the time. Add in familiar faces like Samuel L. Jackson ("Hold onto your butts!") and Wayne Knight, disgruntled computer hacker who meets a pretty gruesome end for a PG film. Jeff Goldblum's Chaos Theory scientist is the weakest of the main characters but provides a nice counterpoint to the scientific method the film highlights.

 

What suprised me most upon rewatching this film is the pacing. I remember dinosaurs from the go and actually they don't make an appearance for a good 30 minutes or so. The plot in general makes a whole heap more sense to me now than it used to. The idea of having scientists endorse a park for insurance purposes gives everyone a reason to be on the island and everyone secretly cheers when the lawyer gets got by the T-Rex sitting on the toilet (although I realise that is ambigious, it is the lawyer on the toilet, not the T-Rex).

 

All in all, this brings back crazy nostalgic memories for me. Rewatching again doesn't change my mind, it is still a fine piece of film making and remains one of Spielberg's best!

Oh! And the soundtrack is beautiful!

 

Trailer:

  

54 (Film Diary 26: 13/08/12 - 20/08/12)

Hello again readers.

It's Monday, it's after 5:30pm, it's FFFD. Bringing you the very best in witty satire and insightful reviews. Apparently.

We go in hard with:

 

In Time (2011)

 

I was pretty surprised by this film. Starring Justin 'Rock Your Body' Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, I saw the trailers and thought 'oh, that looks an interesting premise wasted'.

Turns out I was only half correct in my judgemental way.

 

It is a film that does carry a reasonably interesting premise, that time is currency. It sounds cliched but in the film the idea is actually explored in surprising depth, with wages, services, gambling being done with time. It's an oddly futuristic world, where almost everything is identical apart from the times glowing on peoples wrists and that old cars make hovering sounds even though they are on wheels.

The idea that time can be transfered from physical contact sort of makes sense and the idea of stealing time from one person (as Alex Pettyfer's mob boss does) is quite neat. 

The actual story itself is a pretty heavy handed 'Rich thrive, poor die' deal which has been done better elsewhere but it allows Justin Timberlake's Will Salas to get suitably angry and to attempt to rebalance the world almost single handedly, helped out only really by rich kid Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried).

So the story is not as good as I'd have hoped considering the potential boundaries offered by the central premise could really offer a genuinly interesting and subvertive look at commodities and life but instead we've got a pretty good, relatively simple sci-fi/action film which looks fantastic (I'm super serial, the glowing clocks are cool!). 

 

In terms of the cast, JT is actually pretty likeable, not Cillian Murphy good (who is pretty good in this film) but better than Alex Pettyfer's slightly awkward English mob boss. Olivia Wilde is pretty underused and her last scene is really really dumb, which is a shame. It's meant to be really sad and so on but it just didn't work for me. 

 

All in all however, this is not a terrible film. You can find better films that have a similar message and frame the whole argument better but the premise is interesting and well fleshed out enough that the film's flaws do fall into the background of this enjoyable film.

 

Trailer:

 

 

Speaking of trailers, I have come across two more which have interested me.

The first, from one of the most talented contemporary South Korean directors, Kim Ji Woon comes a fun little action film starring a fun little action star called Arnold Schwarzenegger. The script seems to enjoy having Arnie in it and all in all, it looks like potentially great fun:

  

 

The second trailer is the intense as anything red-band trailer for End of Watch, a gripping look at LA Police and it looks to be very good:

 

51 - Trailer Flare 2

A fine Sabbath to you all. 

(Speaking of the sabbath, I found some old posters I crudely made at Uni for my Sunday evening film showing, called Cinema G's Sabbath Defying Film Extravaganza. Good times)

Photoshop Pro. 

 

Nostalgia avenue aside, to loosely celebrate Team GB's 'super saturday' gold medal haul at the Olympics, here is a brief piece about 4 trailers.....one trailer per 150% gold medal. 

 

Skyfall (26/10/2012)

 

 

I get more an more excited about this film the more the PR drive goes on. Now, instead of simply a Joker-esque Javier Bardem walking away from a burning building, we actually get to see what he looks like. He's a slimy, reptilian bastard. Hooray! With a haircut that could be on par with the notorious headpiece he wore in No Country For Old Men:

Weave by Toni & Guy; £45

 

However, Bardem's intriguing looking villain aside we have Daniel Craig's more suave-looking Bond, Judi Dench's fantastic M and some amazing looking action scenes and exotic locales for which the Bond franchise is known for. Directed by the frankly amazing Oscar winning Sam Mendes, this looks extremely promising.

 

Killing Them Softly (21/09/2012)

If you don't know about this film, it is Andrew Dominik's second film with Brad Pitt after the INCREDIBLE The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Killing Them Softly is an American crime film about an enforcer investigating a heist.

Trailer up:

 

 

Brad Pitt is pretty much always at least passable in roles these days and when he's on form, he is extremely good. This looks like one of those 'on form' roles. Add to this a fiendish supporting cast, a refreshing directorial style and a dark sense of humour and you have all the makings of a quality film.

 

Soldiers of Fortune (Uk release date TBC)

 

Now this film looks hilarious fun. Christian Slater, Ving Rhames, James Cromwell, Dominic Monaghan, Colm Meaney AND Sean Bean? You had me at hello.

 

.Rec 3: Genesis (/7/09/2012 -ish)

   

 

The first .Rec film was an incredibly tightly made and terrifyingly intense Spanish horror film and one of the better horror films I've seen for many years. The handheld style of camera work was used to incredible effect in the film to create chaos and is easily one of the better films to use that style of filming (Chronicle being another). .Rec 2 was a worthy sequel and continued and expanded the style and the story of the first.

So with .Rec 3, you have a small amount of handheld footage (by the looks of it) but the general style seems much more conventional and whilst the idea of the wedding looks like it could be good, it just looks a little......generic. Apart from the bloodied bride with the chainsaw, that's iconic stuff right there.

 

That's all until FFFD tomorrow.

Peace.