Top 10:
10. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Right way, I've probably lost some readers with this choice. No one seems to like this movie. I absolutely expected to hate it. Quite frankly, the previews for this looked dreadfully bland, as opposed to biting like the premise suggested. That being said, though this was not nearly as dark as I anticipated, I found myself frequently moved by its poignant emotional core. Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley gave surprisingly restrained performances, letting depth sink in in a much more realistic way than you would think. The jokes did tend to run a little more broad and silly than they needed to, but the emotions of the film were absolutely in the right place and it's ultimately a wonderful film.
9. Hitchcock
Admittedly, there are certain films that are not really made for general audiences. The average moviegoer today may have some idea of who Alfred Hitchcock was and what kind of movies he made, but few would see this movie and be as completely swept away by it as true cinephiles. That's really who this was made for and it hits all the great notes. It is a stylized biopic that may not strike the realism chord, but it paints a very entertaining picture of one of the most important genre revolutions in cinematic history. What if someone good made a horror picture? Witness the way Alfred Hitchcock brought horror into the A-Picture club and changed movies forever.
I really struggled with where exactly I wanted to place Django Unchained on my list. I have very mixed feelings about it, but ultimately I think it is a very creative and unique movie. Maybe if it had come out months ago, I'd have enough time to really digest where it falls on a list like this, but I've only had a few weeks so I'm sorry. Quite frankly, I find the first half of this epic blaxploitation spaghetti western to be amazingly perfect cinema and some of the most entertaining work I've seen all year. Enter the second half, which is when Quentin Tarantino really let his trademarks take over in place of his western setting and things get a little bit more murky and less successful as things take a dark turn, followed by a silly over the top epilogue. Django is more of a mixed bag when looking at the sum of its parts, but 4/5ths of its parts are pretty dang wonderful. It's not the genius level of Inglourious Basterds or any of his 90s work, but there's enough to like here that this really deserved a place on my list.
7. Moonrise Kingdom
It's no secret that Wes Anderson, as far as I'm concerned, is the best filmmaker of all time. This guy speaks to me the way no other filmmaker ever has and I love his films with an intense passion. That being said, his most recent two films haven't struck that personal note with me that all of his early work did. Moonrise Kingdom is not vintage Anderson, but rather it comes from a place more akin to Fantastic Mr. Fox, a wonderfully clever and well made film. I always joke that a bad Wes Anderson movie is still probably going to be one of my favorite movies. Well, here's your example of that. While not bad by any stretch of the imagination, I wasn't taken with Moonrise the way a lot of these Anderson virgins appear to have been. That does not mean It doesn't have strokes of genius. The thing is, this is a different type of Wes Anderson film. Somehow, his trademark quirks are turned all the way to eleven as he tells a story of twelve year olds in love and running off to take part on their own adventure. A lot of the differences between this and the previous additions to Anderson's oeuvre is that he usually makes movies about adults that act like twelve year olds. Though Anderson's work elevates itself above quirky comedy by his masterful use of subtle drama and tragedy, that kind of character work is inherently much more entertaining than twelve year olds acting like adults. There is still a lot to love here in the epic love story of two young people that turn out to have as little of an idea of how the world works as all those adults trying to find them.
6. Flight
The most thrilling scene in any 2012 movie belongs to Flight, the dark tale of an alcoholic pilot played by Denzel Washington. This scene, depicted in the above picture, comes from the opening of the film as Washington flies a plane that begins to fall apart mid-air and he manages to land it while saving almost all of the passengers. Rather than being a hero, however, he is under investigation after the paramedics found alcohol in his system. The film is the struggle this man goes through as he must confront his lifestyle and the choices he has made. The only thing keeping Flight from being perfect is its somewhat cliched ending, but all in all, it's a wild ride and a fantastic movie.
5. Bernie
Bernie was one of those movies that I didn't really know much about. I never saw a trailer and maybe read a vague plot description a long time before it was released. It was purely because of word of mouth that my interest was piqued, and boy was it a good decision to see it. While I'd recommend you know as little as possible before watching this disturbingly entertaining true story, let me assure you it is certainly worth your time. Just watch it on faith, okay? This is the story of a Texas mortician's relationship with a mean old widow gone horribly wrong. That's all you need to know. Richard Linklater directs the action with fake and real interviews to heighten just how crazy this true story is and the payoff is wonderful. You should be shocked as the film goes on, and that's exactly why it works.
4. To Rome With Love
I seem to have strange reactions to Woody Allen movies. While I consider him one of the best filmmakers of all time, I'll gladly admit he's made a fair share of stinkers. Recently, however, I've found that he's been on a roll. I loved Whatever Works, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Midnight in Paris, and now To Rome With Love. Most critics will inform you that Midnight in Paris is the only one of that list that's worth anything, but I think Allen has gone back to his roots and is making some of the best work of the latter half of his career. To Rome With Love is not groundbreaking cinema; it contains some lightweight themes and a lot of broad humor, but it is legitimately hilarious. Part of the magic here comes from Allen putting himself in a role again, something I've been waiting for for the past six years. Woody may not have a lot of range, but when he's acting, he lights the screen on fire with his wonderfully silly performances. This is no different. The film is comprised of four vignettes in Rome, and is a great comedy for anyone looking for a simple laugh.
3. Sleepwalk With Me
Mike Birbiglia is a genius. I didn't really appreciate him until I saw Sleepwalk With Me, but following that, I downloaded his comedy albums and read his book and can now saw it with certainty. The man is smart, charming, and hilarious. Sleepwalk With Me is his directorial debut which he co-wrote and stars in. Though it showcases his personal humor, Sleepwalk With Me serves as a sort of Annie Hall for the modern world. It fictionalizes Birbiglia's personal journey to fame and self discovery while its emotional core lies with his struggle to manage his relationship while doing so. Birbiglia understands something it often takes filmmakers many years to get; real people can be funny too. Whether they're trying or whether the laughter is directed at their serious actions, the realistic tone keeps Sleepwalk With Me in a very intelligent genre of humor while being as silly as it needs to be to make all of its points and score a large amount of huge laughs. It is simultaneously a crowd pleaser and an art film, with points about life, love, and the road to success. I can't recommend it enough, and I personally cannot wait to see what Birbiglia comes up with next.
2. The Master
If this movie came out in late December, it probably wouldn't find itself so high on my list. Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those filmmakers that takes a long time to make a movie because he thinks about things. He analyzes and restarts and rewrites and ultimately crafts multilayered stories that are well packed to resonate with you in a number of ways, even if you don't realize their magic is working the first time you see the movie. The Master is his most dense work yet, following a man (Joaquin Phoenix) returning from WWII with PTSD before there was any real method of caring for these individuals. He is broken and lonely until he believes he has found hope in Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who is the founder and master of a new religion known as The Cause. The film sort of failed to catch on in any big way, and seems like it may end up being one of those movies people 20 years from now look back on with more affection than contemporary audiences can muster. The Master is long, holds an unconventional narrative, and lets you think just as much as it wants you to. It's an intricate film that will leave you thinking for a long time after it's over.
1. This is Forty
You're no more shocked about this than I am. Never in my wildest imagination did I think this semi-sequel to Knocked Up would end up being the most entertaining movie in a year competing with the latest offerings from Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Quentin Tarantino. Yet it happened. Judd Apatow's fourth film is certainly his best. It's a film full of self centered, privileged and narrow minded people who are talented at finding reasons to feel sorry for themselves even if the audience can't help but not sympathise with the majority of their self inflicted problems. That's not to say the experience of watching this unfold is not absolutely hilarious, however. This is Forty finds that rare balance of characters that aren't quite people you root for, but every single action they do is completely honest. That's what's so charming about this movie. It's incredibly honest about its characters and life. Watching this reminded me of the experience of vintage Woody Allen or James L. Brooks. It's a very mature movie about immature parents just trying to get by. Nothing could stop me from loving this movie. Even if some of the editing was a little indulgent, it works here. Hands down, this was the most entertaining movie I saw in 2012 and I can't wait to see it again.
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