Argo

Argo
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Ben Affleck [IMDB]

One thing the Williams brothers here at East Village Film Society like to do is watch movies... in fact... we often times watch the same ones. You may recall, if you follow the blog, that Steve reviewed Argo back in October. At the time I was in the middle of a move and couldn't get out to see this title. Well, as luck would have it, tonight I finally got to pop on this bad larry and do some damage. Giddy up.

Synopsis: The middle east is a crazy place.

Argo is a structurally sound movie and well crafted. Ben Affleck keeps proving that he's a directoral force with each release and Argo is no exception. It's a suspenseful ride and doesn't really waste too much time getting into things. The acting is all fantastic, I especially enjoyed Alan Arkin, even though he's not in it much.

The one negative for me was I knew the outcome and although it was a gripping film, you ultimately knew it was all going to work out in the end.

I don't think Argo is best movie of the year material, but it's a lot of fun and definitely worth your time.

Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Kathryn Bigelow [IMDB]

This title topped a lot of folks best of lists this year and I was hoping to squeeze it in before I posted mine, but that was not the case. Eitherway, I wanted badly to check this title out and got the chance to tonight... so here it is.

Synopsis: A dramatization of the hunt to track down and kill Osama Bin Laden.

So... I'm afraid even if Zero Dark Thirty made the deadline for my best of 2012 list, it would have ranked pretty low. I did enjoy this film and it's a sold procedural, but I wasn't mesmerized by it like everyone seems to be. It's a little slow to roll out and the last act is probably the best part of the film. Jessica Chastain was good and it was pretty cool to see Coach Taylor in there too. I think her character was a little too one note for me and there didn't seem to be a lot of depth to her. She was like a person on a mission, executing that mission and that's all that's there. I was into Zero Dark Thirty and entertained by it, but it just didn't feel really memorable or impactful.

Lincoln

Lincoln
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Spielberg [IMDB]

Oscar season is right around the corner and in preparation I'm trying to wrap up viewing all the remaining contenders on the list for best picture, sure they haven't released that list, but a Spielberg biopic about Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis... let's be honest, it'll be in there.

Synopsis: This biopic locks in on Lincoln's struggle passing the 13th amendent to the US Constitution.

Lincoln is a solid film and I like that they didn't start from his childhood into adulthood, instead they just focused on one part of his life. Daniel Day-Lewis looked and preformed brilliantly. Tommy Lee Jones also deserves props for his role in the film, I thought he was great.

Lincoln's downfall is the overkill of dialogue. It feels like they took Lincoln's speeches and read them verbatim, sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. It felt emotionally disjointed, with the family dynamic hitting most of the passionate moments and the political meetings falling flat.

Everything else you've come to expect from Spielberg is apparent here.... a great score by John Williams and Janusz Kiminski killing it on the cinematography. Overall, I felt like it could be better, but  it wasn't a huge let down either.

Playback

Playback
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Michael A. Nickles [IMDB]

I'm starting out 2013 with a review of the worst movie of 2012. It's not the worst in terms of quality, but in terms of performance. The internet was set ablaze yesterday with the news of Christian Slater's new film Playback's poor showing in 2012, only raking in a meer $264. I decided to sit down with some friends last night and check it out for free on Netflix, because I'll be damned if I'm gonna help this movie make another cent.

Synopsis: An evil spirit trapped in a video possesses the souls of all those who watch it.

This film isn't that good, but I've surely seen worse. It's soundtrack is awful and the editing is a nightmare, not in a scary way. It's pretty much a cast of unknowns and Christian Slater, who actually doesn't have that big of a roll in the film. Everyone kinda sucks, one kid looks just like a young Dolph Lundgren, minus the muscles. There was a decent amount of blood, a few jump scares, and storyline that worked well for the genre. It wasn't good, but I didn't loathe it either.

Les Misérables

Les Misérables
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Tom Hooper [IMDB]

I will start this review out with a disclaimer: I am not a fan of musicals. The only musical I like, that I can think of, is Little Shop of Horrors. That said, Les Mis didn't hold much promise for me, but as an open minded dude, I thought... Sure, why not.

Synopsis: A guy jumps parole and is hunted by a lawman through France during the Revolution.

First and foremost, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway are amazing singers and performed above and beyond what I expected of them. Les Misérables is also a technically sound and visually pleasing film. Now that all of the pleasantries are out of the way... this was one of the worst movie going experiences of my life.

It was brutal. I was so bored throughout this film, I couldn't wait for it to end. There is maybe 3 minutes of actual dialogue, the rest is singing. I found myself tuning out and eventually all the songs just started to sound the same. It got to the point where I wasn't even sure what the hell was going on... Is this guy dead? Is he sleeping? Why is Hugh Jackman lurking on this girl in the woods? Why is Hugh Jackman sick? I'm sure the answers are in there in the songs, I just lost interest. Russell Crowe was also pretty bad, I think they could have cast a stronger voice if that's the main focus of this film.

I don't know, call me uncultured or whatever, but I need some down time in between all the music to ground everything. Maybe a little character building and exposition... ugh... never again.

Curtis' Best of 2012

Here it is folks, the best films of 2012 ranked by your friend Curtis, that's me. I've decided to give you my top twenty films, top 5 documentaries, and then at the bottom I'll include a link ranking all the films I've seen this year (there's over 40 of them.)

1. Django Unchained 
2. Amour
3. Killer Joe
4. The Master
5. Looper
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
7. The Grey
8. The Hobbit
9. Seven Psychopaths
10. Moonrise Kingdom
11. Cloud Atlas
12. Magic Mike
13. Cabin in the Woods
14. Prometheus
15. The Dark Knight Rises
16. Dredd 3D
17. John Carter
18. Skyfall
19. Chronicle
20. The Avengers

Top Five Documentaries
1. The Imposter
2. Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
3. Indie Game: The Movie
4. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
5. The Queen of Versailles


My complete movie ranking of 2012

Django Unchained

Django Unchained
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Quentin Tarantino [IMDB]

Django and The Hobbit were my two most anticipated films of the year and I knew when I heard the release date for this where I'd be Christmas day... at my house opening up presents. Well, that and at the theater to lay my eyes on Mr Tarantino's new baby.

Synopsis: A German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) frees a slave  named Django (Jamie Foxx) who he enlists to help track down felons. The two then team up to help Django free his enslaved wife.

I had a real good time watching Django Unchained tonight, it's an extremely fun movie. Waltz and Foxx work so well together on screen and their dialogue is something you would come to expect from a Tarantino film, but the two of them really sold it well. Django is a hilarious film, but then the next minute it's serious and then the next minute after that it's brutally violent. It's a hard line to walk but one Quentin does very effectively. I loved the score and cinematography, as I normally do with most his films. Leonardo DiCaprio played his role perfectly... it was actually one of my favorite performances from him. It was also nice to see some cameos in Django, especially Walter Goggins from The Shield and Crockett from Miami Vice. I can't really think of anything bad to say about the film, it won me over and I would highly recommend it.... unless you're offended by bad language and the killing of slave owners.