Best Movies of 2012

Best Movies of 2012

It's the time of year when critics like to dwell on what was great and not so great about 2012 as a cinematic year.

And being too scared to be different from the crowd, that's what I've decided to do as well. It's been a good year for films at times - sure, there have been the stinkers of 2012, but you'll have to wait for that list - for now though let's concentrate on the best of the year. (And as ever, they are in no particular order)

Safety Not Guaranteed - a brilliant little film which made the most of its stars Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass. It became a wonderfully poignant character piece and had one of the best endings of the year as a writing team investigated an ad which promised time travel to a prospective employee but could not guarantee their safety.

Looper - talking of time travel, this Rian Johnson flick, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt with Emily Blunt was a cool mix of premise and substance. It also had one of the best tonal shifts and a story which none of the trailers hinted at. A rare surprise these days in the movies.

The Dark Knight Rises / The Avengers - a tremendous year for superhero films saw the fun in the Marvel team up from Joss Whedon which reinvented the Hulk and gave the series a shot in the arm with The Avengers. The Dark Knight Rises capped off a stellar trilogy for the Batman series and showed dark and broody is seriously entertaining.

Skyfall - Bond was back and while he didn't reach the heights of Casino Royale, he certainly did better than Quantum of Solace. Capping off a jingoistic year for the Brits, this was Bond at its best - though I'm unlikely to beat this comment on the internet to explain how good it was at putting the cool back into cool Britannia... "Skyfall is the best instalment of Home Alone yet."

The Hunt - Mads Mikkelsen's turn as a kindergarten teacher hounded after a wrongful accusation of sexual abuse was a searing entry in the film festival and had a lingering impression long after its powerful denouement. It's due out on general release next year - so don't miss it.

West of Memphis - Talking of film festival, this doco about the West Memphis Three was as powerful a piece of soul searching film that you'll ever see. Uplifting and terrifying in equal measures, the fight ofr justice - and Damien Echols' visit to New Zealand - offered up more hope than anything else released.

Your Sister's Sister - Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass teamed up for this mumblecore three hander about a one night stand gone wrong. A brilliantly funny and dry relationship piece, this one hits the small screen next year. Make sure you catch it.

Dredd / The Raid - as a long term fan of the Judge Dredd comics, there was much anticipation around this given how Stallone had messed up the franchise. Its biggest thrill was seeing Joe Dredd fanboy and Kiwi Karl Urban take the role and do something incredible with it - as well as a great use of 3D within. Likewise, The Raid, which had a similar premise, offered up much action and ass-kicking from the tower block under seige story.

Argo - Ben Affleck gave good story in front and behind of the camera in this story about the CIA mission to pull out American diplomats from Tehran in the 80s. But it was the side story of a Hollywood fake film which was riotous thanks to Alan Arkin's studio hack.

Brother Number One - the NZ doco looking into the Khmer Rouge through the eyes of Rob Hamill whose brother was caught up within the horror was never anything but emotionally gut wrenching and achingly honest. But it had hope in a place where you wouldn't expect some - and to be honest, it was one of the best docos of the year.

The Cabin in the Woods - Joss Whedon produced this brilliantly meta horror about horrors which was a riotously great time in the cinema as it revelled in the horror cliches but provided commentary on why we watch horror films in the first place.

Ted - who knew that a film about a pot smoking CGI animated teddy bear from Family Guy Seth MacFarlane would be such foul mouthed fun?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Peter Jackson's first part may be a little padded at the start but for its 48FPS CGI wizardry which redefined the look of the fantasy genre, the Hobbit was a startling cinematic tour de force. And not just for the FX, Martin Freeman made an immediate impression as Bilbo - and I can't wait to see how the final two films pan out.

The Sessions - Humorous, heartfelt, life affirming were just a few of the words which spring to mind for this John Hawkes film which starred Helen Hunt as well as a sex surrogate, out to help Hawkes' disabled by polio Mark O'Brien lose his virginity. An engaging piece, it managed to touch me a little more than The Intouchables did.

Bubbling under the list and just missing a place  - but still worthy of a commendation and your time... The Intouchables, Madagascar 3, The Way, The Hunger Games, The Artist, Amour, Moonrise Kingdom, This Must Be the Place, The Descendants, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Not seen - but heard great things about - Searching for Sugarman

Have a Merry Christmas to you all - and stand by for the cinematic stinkers which fouled up the auditorium...

Quartet: Movie Review

Quartet: Movie Review

Cast: Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Dame Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon, Sheridan Smith
Director: Dustin Hoffman

Based on the same titled play by Ronald Harwood, Quartet marks Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut.

Courtenay, Connolly and Collins play a group of retired musicians, (Reg, Wilf and Cissy) who are living out their twilight years at Beecham House, a home for elderly musicians. The group used to be in a quartet and every year, the inhabitants of the house come together for an annual concert to celebrate the birth date of Verdi.

The plans this year though are disrupted by the arrival of Dame Maggie Smith's Jean Horton, a once revered singer, who used to be married to Reg. Jean doesn't sing anymore, and with tensions between her and Reg, it looks like this band ain't gonna get back together....which could be disastrous for the fund raising efforts for Beecham House.

Quartet is a gently charming comedy, which will play well to its target older audience. And, perhaps, fans of Downton Abbey, given that Dame Maggie's playing yet another version of her character from that.

Mind you, that said, the veterans are the stars of this piece and each gets their moment to shine. From Courtenay's bitter feelings towards his ex, Connolly's cheeky cantankerousness, Collins' scatterbrained approach and Dame Maggie's somewhat haughty diva, they all work with what little they have in terms of story and script. Sheridan Smith adds a level of sophistication and a touch of youth as the doctor running the house.

With one liner quips and bon mots throughout, Quartet is a pleasant enough, lightly frothy piece which sags a little toward the end; I do feel a little cheated at the end of the film (spoiler) when you don't see the quartet actually sing. Given how many hints there were that Dame Maggie's character was an extraordinary singer, and such a big thing for the quartet to reform and sing, it's a disappointment that that didn't eventuate. Although, it was probably a big ask and could have led to some terrible lip synching....

Hoffman does a fair job of directing - the camera lingers a little too often in some parts and the direction can occasionally veer towards the heavy handed when a lighter touch would have done. The music and rolling English countryside are wonderfully captured on film as the film plays out.

All in all though, Quartet is a solidly pleasant piece, which hits the right notes for its audience - I hesitate to use the word nice - which will proffer up a point of difference in amongst all the other seasonal fare being released at Christmas.

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Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: Blu Ray Review

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The world of vampires mashed up with one of America's most famous presidents....

How is that even possible? Well, that's the thesis of this new release which posits that, as a youngster, Abe Lincoln's mum was dispatched by a mysterious force so evil that he can't begin to fathom what exactly it was. Thankfully, Dominic Cooper's Henry Sturges helps explain the vampiric ways of the world, opening his eyes to the omnipresent threat around him.

So, when Lincoln becomes president and discovers a threat by vampires to turn the USA into a nation of bloodsuckers, he has no choice but to make it his mission to take them all out.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is a film which is based on a mash up book and unfortunately takes itself a little too seriously. If it pricked a bit of that pomp and pomposity and infused it with a vein of a bit more self knowing fun, it would be a slightly better film. As it is, it's not a bad night's entertainment, just one of those popcorn films where the overall feel is that you're indifferent when it's over.

The acting's solid from a cast which has a few names here and there - Benjamin Walker gives a good turn as the vengeful president and Rufus Sewell brings a degree of menace to the leader of the bad guys. Sure, there's plotholes aplenty throughout but after a while, your mind starts to forego logic in favour of just watching the film.

And that's really where the benefits of this film lie. From Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, it's a stylish piece which oozes slow mo shots, things flying out of the screen and a healthy amount of cool horror FX action.

Maybe if it had been a bit more tongue in cheek, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter would have you a bit more fangful for its qualities. As it is, it's a disposable piece of night in entertainment - nothing more, nothing less.

Extras: making of,commentary

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Jackpot: DVD Review

Jackpot: DVD Review

Rating: R16
Released by Vendetta Films

Another Scandanavian crime thriller, Jackpot is yet further proof that the Nordic way of looking at life is somewhat skewed.

After a violent shoot out at a porn shop, one survivor, Oscar remains. Surrounded by eight bodies, and the police and clutching a shotgun, Oscar's immediately hauled into the cop shop to be interrogated as to what exactly he knows about the shooting....

However, while the investigating detective Solør is convinced Oscar's guilty, Oscar begins to explain what happened - and how it all came from the winning of a football pool which netted four men over 1.7 million kroner and caused all manner of divisions.

Jackpot is as dark a black humoured story as they come - it's also incredibly amusingly dry throughout.

Oscar's choice of colleagues for the football pool happens to be three ex-cons, Billy, Thor and Dan who are particularly inept at division (a running gag centres on how they're unable to work out exactly how much money each of them will get) but whose propensity for mistrust and paranoia outweighs the benefits of the win.

But there's a very tongue in cheek feel to some of the extreme violence throughout; when one ganglord's killed in the shoot-out, his final words to a co-worker in the porn shop is to plead with him to go and pick up his son. To which, the co-worker asks if he'll need written permission to do that.

It's that kind of off-kilter, slightly left-field view which permeates the slickly produced piece and thanks to a snappy running time, touches of Fargo (think chippers) Jackpot is a twisty, albeit slight shaggy dog story with a fun pay-off that's as pulpy and in keeping with the genre as you'd expect.

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To Rome with Love: Movie Review

To Rome with Love: Movie Review

Cast: Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Greta Gerwig
Director: Woody Allen

After his recent fantastical offering in Paris, Woody Allen returns.

This time, he and an ensemble cast head to la bella Italia, Rome, for another fantasy magical comedy offering - To Rome With Love.

Visitors to and residents of Rome find their lives changed by the adventures and predicaments they find themselves in.

From Jesse Eisenberg's trainee architect, Jack, who's tempted by his girlfriend's best friend Monica (Ellen Page) to Roberto Benigni's Leopoldo, who awakes one day to find his life has been turned into that of a celebrity, chased at every turn by the paparazzi, this is a mix of farcical and the comedic, with a pinch of the serious thrown in.

Allen himself is back in his usual neurotic form as a frustrated former opera director whose daughter is engaged following a whirlwind romance to one of Rome's locals. When he heads there, he discovers his daughter's father-in-law is a talented singer - but only when he sings in the shower...

It's full of whimsy, fantasy and light heartedness - but it didn't half rub me up the wrong way. Allen seemed to be a parody of himself and all his neuroses wound up to 11; with comments like "I have an IQ of 150 - you're thinking in euros, in dollars, it's a lot less" and "Don't psychoanalyse me! Many have tried. All have failed.", it's like he's rolling out his best lines.

Like any series of stories, some fly, whereas others falter and fail, proving their flimsy coincidence is all a little too much to bear - from the farce of the newly married husband whose wife wanders off only for him to be left with Penelope Cruz's call girl and his parents thinking that's his wife, it's an intriguing mix which doesn't quite work out as well as perhaps it should.

It's a shame because Allen's eye for the beauty and majesty of Rome from behind the camera is once again magnificent - even if his writing is stereotyped and a little too farcical and fantastical to take seriously. But then, perhaps that's some of the reason for To Rome With Love - it's a postcard and declaration of amour for the city and one which will resonate with those looking for light and flouncy Woody Allen.

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Django Unchained: Movie Review

Django Unchained: Movie Review

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo di Caprio, Samuel L Jackson, Kerry Washington
Director: Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino's back in true trademark skewed style - and he's already dragging with him five Golden Globe nominations for Django Unchained, his take on the spaghetti western.

It's set in America in 1858 and Jamie Foxx plays Django, a slave who's been separated from his wife Broomhilda (Washington) and part of a chain gang. He's sought out by former dentist turned bounty hunter Dr Schultz (a stunningly great turn from Christoph Waltz). Schultz seeks out Django as he knows what three of his quarry look like - and the pair form an alliance, working through the winter and capturing bad guys, dead or alive (mostly dead though in bloody Tarantino fashion).

But Django's got one thing on his mind - the return of his wife. And making a deal with Schultz, the pair set off for slave laden estate Candie land owned by Leonardo di Caprio's Monsieur Calvin Candie (who has a side line in mandingo fights) and run by Stephen (a cowed Samuel L Jackson) to free her once and for all.

What do you say about Django Unchained?

Violent, pulpy, bloody, funny and trademark Tarantino, it's a revenge flick through and through. Filled with, of course, historical liberties, it's a stylish film which has Quentin's pawprints all over it - from the fantastic soundtrack to patented patter and violence and zoom shots. (Plus an old Columbia logo at the start of the film sets the reverential tone for the westerns and cinema from days of yore.)

And yet, it's anchored by a tremendous turn by Christoph Waltz, who commands the screen from the moment he arrives on it, drawn by a horse and cart with a giant wobbling tooth attached by a spring on its roof. Through a calm and intelligent exterior, Waltz is a towering presence over the film and in some ways, overshadows everyone who appears - with the exception of Leonardo di Caprio, whose flouncy cotton plantation owner Calvin Candie is all flourish and charm, until his anger is aroused at which point the tension has you on the edge of your seat before it all explodes in violence. It's no wonder these two have been granted Golden Globe nominations - they're rarely matched on this celluloid outing.

So it's fair to say that Jamie Foxx brings a quiet and measured performance as Django, but it's not until the final part of the film that he actually gets to shine, because of how towering Waltz and DiCaprio are. Even Samuel L Jackson as the toadying and calculating runner of the home Stephen is more sidelined by these - but at the end of the day, you can't have the final mix without all the ingredients and it's not to suggest their performances are lesser, but that their superior turns pale when compared to the electrifying performances from the other two. Each get their time to shine away from the others and when they do, you can't take your eyes off the screen.

Django Unchained also suffers a little from a long winding narrative, with some extra excursions (including Tarantino's bizarre appearance and attempt at an Aussie accent) seeming better suited to the cutting room floor than in this 2 hour 45 minute epic, occasionally over-indulgent and sprawling vengeance flick. A little more expeditious editing could have turned this occasionally sprawling N-word littered Western into a tighter piece without losing the character touches and humorous moments which stand out. (One riotous sequence sees a posse of sack wearing vigilantes railing about how they can't see through their eye slots)

Pulpy, trashy and true Tarantino, Django Unchained is a stunning and audacious piece of film-making which has artistic and stylish flourishes aplenty and offers up cinema lovers the typical Tarantino cocktail of furious film-making, guaranteed to nourish and at the same time, confront with its brutal -and brilliant -touches.

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The Campaign: DVD Review

The Campaign: DVD Review

Rating: R16
Released by Warner Home Video

Enter into the fray, The Campaign movie, the latest contender in the political comedy landscape.

In North Carolina, Will Ferrell is unopposed candidate Cam Brady; he's been the incumbent for years and is going for a fifth term as congressman. But, when his lusty ways get the better of him and a misdialled smutty phone call ends up going to a Christian family, he starts slipping in the polls.

Sensing their influence over the district may be slipping with Brady faltering, two CEOs (Ackroyd and Lithgow) decide to put up rival candidate, Marty Huggins (a moustachioed Galifianakis) to shake up the race.

And that's when the politics get dirty - Huggins vows to run a clean campaign and Brady is determined to do whatever he can to stay in power...

So, the big question has to be - does (and should) the Campaign 2012 get your vote?

Not exactly. This is not a satirical comedy, aimed at the smarter side of politics; it's a hit and miss, scrappy affair which proffers up a few laughs here and there but no smart intelligent insights into American politics. (Mind you with Ferrell and Galifianakis on board, what would you really expect?)

Sure, there are some funny one-liners dusted throughout (some of which are unprintable here)as the campaigning gets personal and the tit for tat silliness escalates. There are also some amusing sequences (including what not to do with a baby and world famous dog) but most of the humour falls a little flat given the pedigree of who's involved. The uneven film starts off amusing and with its tongue sharply in its cheek but quickly runs out of steam like a campaign lacking in finance and a groundswell of support.

The Campaign is merely a collection of amusing moments in a broad scatter-shot comedy which packs no sharp satire. You will laugh (occasionally) but you'll find the next gag is a long time coming as the story plays out over its short 85 minute run time.

Sadly, this campaign and its candidates don't get my vote..

Extras: Deleted scenes

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