Top Ten Films 2012 — The Gourmand Film Writer

Jun 19

Jun 19 Top Ten Films 2012

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild ****

No film has transported me to another world more this year than Beasts of the Southern Wild. A bildungsroman set in the fictional island, the Bathtub, of the coast of Louisana. Hush Puppy, a young girl, must overcome her fears of losing her family to comfort her father in his remaining days. A powerful story told through the perspective of a young girl’s whose fantasies and magic are real.

2. Life of Pi ****

The most spiritual film I’ve seen since Groundhog Day. Ang Lee’s film deals with finding God in all things and breaking down the notion that his father tells him as a boy that when you look into the tiger’s eye you believe you see a soul… but what you really see is only a reflection of yourself. Finding the reflection of God as real as reality, Ang Lee painstakingly constructs visuals so that the reflection is as real as reality.

3. Moonrise Kingdom ****

Perhaps Wes Anderson’s saddest film. A story of two children running away from adulthood and trying to spend one last summer together before they won’t have this opportunity anymore. One of his most stylized films, but the movie works well to explore the idea of budding and quickly fading romance, the daring of kids, and the worry of adults.

4. 5 Broken Cameras ****

One of the most personal movies I’ve ever seen made. This documentary follows the life of its creator Emad Burnat as he tries to deal nonviolently with the Israeli army in Palestine. Obviously he has a certain point of view on the subject, but more than that, he offers his beautiful insights into life and confesses his own worries and dreams of the future. With cameras becoming cheaper, this is the type of movie we all hope to make.

5. Silver Linings Playbook ****

With the best ensemble cast of the year, David O’ Russell returns to his roots of dark humor. Scoring his best film since Three Kings, Silver Linings Playbook delves into the dark reality of family mental illness with incredible performances by Robert DeNiro (he actually acts again!), Bradley Cooper (who knew he could act?) and Jennifer Lawrence (convincingly playing someone much older than her).

6. Skyfall ****

It’s ironic that I am not usually a fan of Bond movies. There are several that place themselves into incredibly well directed action films, among them: Goldfinger and Casino Royale. With the entrance of Sam Mendes as director, the Bond series has achieved new heights. Elevating the formula to a Shakespearean family feud, Skyfall pits loyal son, Bond, against a previous agent, Silva, bent on destroying M which might as well stand for Mom. Judi Dench reminds us why she is one of the greats in a heartbreaking performance.

7. Django Unchained ****

Perhaps the most divisive film of the year, Tarantino I think has done more with this movie than his critics are giving him credit. This film still obviously falls into the “Revenge” picture, but it also works as a brilliant critique on American culture which was founded on violence. As Schultz says in the film “I too am in the flesh business.” Perhaps the great accomplishment of the film is to portray slavery in a way that shows the depths of its evil. What slavery does at the core is not to pit slaves against their masters but brothers against brothers. As a result, the mandingo fighting scene, which is almost unwatchable for its violence, becomes a powerful testament to the evils of slavery. The scene was influenced at Emerson’s Invisible Man. In the end, the fight comes down not to Schultz versus Candy or even Django versus the white slave owner Candy, but to his house slave, Stephen, played brilliantly by Samuel L Jackson.

8. Amour ****

A beautiful film about an elderly couple rekindling their love as their lives come to a close. The problem with Amour by Michael Hanake is that two better films about the same subject have come out in the past couple of years: Ingmar Bergman’s Saraband and Sarah Polley’s Away from Her. However, judging the movie on its own, Hanake whose heavy handed direction has sometimes bugged me in the past, stays out of the way, shooting in claustrophobic hallways that peer into the lives of these two amazing characters. A beautiful film.

9. Argo ****

With Argo, Ben Affleck proves himself a great director. Each film he has grown with confidence and this thriller packs a suspenseful punch. One of the most hair raising films of the year starts comically with a brilliant satire of Hollywood before plunging into a Hollywood style film re-enacting the incredible escape act during the Iranian hostage crisis.

10. Deep Blue Sea ****

I am not always a fan of plays adapted into cinema. Too often they feel stilted and fake. Setting a movie in one room is not unheard of, but adapting a play into a film runs the risk of a single set translating into a very boring film. Not so with The Deep Blue Sea about a middle aged married woman (Rachel Weizs) who falls in love with a much younger man and how that passion turns to something darker. Rachel delivers the performance of the year.

Runners up (Listed Alphabetically): 21 Jump Street *** ½; A Simple Life ****; Arbitrage *** ½; Avengers *** ½; Coriolanus *** ½; End of Watch *** ½ ; Flight *** ½; Jiro Dreams of Sushi *** ½ ; Looper *** ½ ; Savages ****; The Kid with the Bike *** ½ ; The Master *** ½; The Secret World of Arrietty *** ½; The Sessions *** ½

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Runner up: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress: Rachel Weisz, Deep Blue Sea

Runner up: Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Supporting Actor: Samuel L Jackson, Django Unchained

Runner Up: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress: Judi Dench, Skyfall

Runner Up: Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Best Cinematography: TIE: Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi and Mihai Malaimare Jr., The Master

Runner Up: Roger Deakins, Skyfall

Best Score: Johnny Greenwood, The Master

Runner Up: Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom