Top Ten Films of 2012

Top 10 Movies I'm Looking Forward to In 2012: Jeff

1) The Dark Knight Rises (July 20) - All I can say, is whether it is 'The Dark Knight' level of greatness, or 'Batman Begins', or even worse than the two, I'll still have an IMAX ticket to see it.



2) Nero Fiddled - Woody Allen's latest film. For the most part, ever since 2005's 'Match Point', Allen has been on an uphill slope of greatness ('Scoop' wasn't great, but it got better and better from there), and 'Midnight in Paris' is in my top 10 of this year. In the tradition of stellar casts, 'Nero' features performances for Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni ('Life is Beautiful'), Greta Gerwig, and even a small appearance from Allen himself, all in four vignettes set in Rome.

3) Seven Psychopaths - Martin McDonagh. The next film from the playwright behind one of 'In Bruges'. It stars Colin Farrell (like 'In Bruges') and involves dog kidnapping schemes and gangsters. Nice. All I could ask for. The cast also includes Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell (who both performed in his stage play 'A Behanding in Spoken', which I wished I could have seen), Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, and Tom Waits.

4) Prometheus (June 8) - Ridley Scott going back to the 'Alien' franchise. Sweet. Cast which includes Michael Fassbender (getting more and more acknowledged as each minute passes), Charlize Theron (always fantastic), Guy Pearce (hoping he has more screen time, since the guy has been in the background over the past few years, with performances in 'The King's Speech' and 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark') and Noomi Rapace (From the original Swedish 'Millennium Trilogy').

5) Gravity (November 21) - Alfonso Cauron's latest since 'Children of Men' (2006). Cauron has always pushed boundaries in terms of filmmaking, and I'm sure communities everywhere will buzz of its greatness once it has been released. Like most of Cauron's films, they run on simple premises but contain larger thoughts. This one concerns a mother trying to fix the Hubble telescope so that she can return to Earth and reunite with her daughter. With a small cast of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, Cauron will be pulling no stops in terms of technology and it's guaranteed to be a groundbreaking work.

6) Django Unchained (December 25) - Oh Tarantino. Young and old, is there anyone who can't conveniently pull up some kind of schema for this man's films. Always unique, even when he conveniently cuts and pastes styles from other films, the man knows his dialogue, enough so to make a scene interesting and tense, even if it is just folks sipping coffee and talking. This one sounds even more deliberately self indulgent, with a plot involving a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) who teams up with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to kill Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio, against type), an evil plantation owner, and save his wife (Kerry Washington). Samuel L. Jackson (SLJ, as I like to call him), Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, RZA, and Sacha Baron Cohen are among the cast. Sounds like it's gonna be a ultra violent romp along the lines of 'Inglourious Basterd' (apparently spelled correctly, as Tarantino has made), and I'm certainly along for the ride.

7) Dark Shadows (May 11) and Frankenweenie (October 5) - I cheated by picking 2 here. Make all the cracks you want on director Tim Burton, but he's still one of my favorite directors. Burton has a style, one that nobody else matches, and he has mastered it in terms of visual art. No, I'm not the biggest fan of some of the films he has made over more recent years ('Planet of the Apes' (2001) and 'Alice in Wonderland' (2010, People like this one, but I found the plot far to predictable), but I can't argue that the art of every one of his films (excluding 'Apes') is fascinating beyond explanation. The man knows how to direct. 'Shadows' is based on a cult TV gothic soap opera about supernatural things and a mansion, etc. I haven't watched the series, so I'm looking forward to seeing it in fresh eyes, since I don't really have time to watch it (It lasted quite a while). Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter obviously have large roles, but others join them, including Eva Green (the bond girl from 'Casino Royale'), Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Grace Moretz (becoming one of the most sought after "Young" actors, and the replacement for all of Dakota Fanning's former praise, well, except for Elle Fanning), and Jackie Earle Haley (a talented man, in both 'Little Children' and 'Watchmen'). 'Frankenweenie' turns Burton's 1984 live action short film into a claymation feature. I saw the original when I purchased The Nightmare Before Christmas a long while back. It's an imperfect short, as it is mostly the story of 'Frankenstein' but without all the murder and junk. John August pens this one (as he often does collaborations on all of Burton's scripts), and Winona Ryder voices one of the characters, marking a 21 year gap between the two's collaboration on 'Edward Scissorhands'.

8) Looper (September 28) - Rian Johnson is one of my favorite independent writer/director working today. To be honest, of recent times, with his casts and etc. one would think he would have gotten more recognition with 'The Brothers Bloom' (a fantastic con film in my gracious opinion). 'Looper' is a sci-fi film involving a hit man for the mob who kills people sent to him from the future. He recognizes his next target as himself, hilarity ensues (just kidding about the hilarity). Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars (marks their third collaboration; makes an appearance in Johnson's 'Bloom', his second film, and stars in 'Brick', his first) and Bruce Willis plays his older self. Also Emily Blunt is in it, and she's always great. As an added note, Shane Carruth (the software engineer that refused to dumb down his independent time travel film 'Primer') has something to do with this project, which ensures its going to be fairly accurate, and most likely confusing, in terms of time travel.

9) This is Forty (December 21) - The king of comedy for this generation releases his next film. I speak none other than of Judd Apatow. '40 Year Old Virgin', classic. 'Knocked Up', even better. 'Funny People', misstep, but a valiant one (there's so much personal stuff from Apatow in this that its kind of hard to think its terrible, especially when I actually enjoyed the first half a lot). '40' returns viewers to Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) from 'Knocked Up'. Obviously the cast list besides them is pretty nifty, and I'm hoping that this one returns Apatow to former glory.

10) Moonrise Kingdom (May 16) - Wes Anderson. Like Tarantino, Anderson has a firmly placed style. We all know what to expect on this one, and it's a love it or hate it thing. Family issues, symmetrical and neat cinematography, and plenty of montages to the beat of composer Mark Mothersbaugh (from Devo) and songs by bands like The Kinks. I'm a fan. I couldn't say any of his films were bad, and 'The Darjeeling Limited' and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (his most recent films) were both quite good. His films are the feel-good type that make you smile when you walk from the theater. I want that.

Honorable Mention:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14) - After seeing how director Peter Jackson so fantastically transitioned into this EPIC genre over time from gore films ('Dead Alive' is one of my favorite zombie films, by the way), I'm psyched to see the next installment of the 'LOTR' series get his treatment. Although I am a bit more skeptical now that Guillermo Del Toro is not directing (his creatures and ability to make humor ('The Hobbit' is much more family friendly and fun than 'LOTR') which he used in 'Hellboy' would have been perfect). While 'The Hobbit' is one of my favorite books of all time, somehow I'm afraid it will lose some of the elements of loved about it, such as the fact the Bilbo (the main character), an unexpected hero, gets knocked out and the reader misses the entire battle. Sure, Director Peter Jackson will knock Martin Freeman (Arthur Dent in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and Tim, the original version of Jim on the UK 'The Office') out, but the audience will probably have to sit through the entire battle, which will take away from the poetry of the novel in a way. Not to say I'm not excited. Just nervous. Also, I love the old animated 1977 'The Hobbit' a lot.

- Jeff Bassin

Top 10 Movies I'm Looking Forward to In 2012: Jay

1) Dark Knight Rises
With such a great franchise going why would I not want to see the next installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman (Hopefully I can understand Bane)



2) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Being a fan of Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy, ‘The Hobbit’ Novel, and ‘The Hobbit’ animated movie (“Kabash (Thunder Sound)”), I can’t wait to see the great ensemble cast and story come to fruition.

3) Prometheus
Directed by Ridley Scott this film looks as though it may just be the most epic film of the year (Plus it takes place in space!).

4) The Raven
Murders in the fashion of Edgar Allen Poe, sounds fun (and disturbing). With Director James McTeigue of ‘V For Vendetta’ I know it is going to be a fun visual experience.

5) Hunger Games
While I’m not yet hooked on the heroin like substance that is ‘The Hunger Games’ craze yet, I am still definitely interested in seeing how it turns out and who knows, maybe I’ll give the books a chance.

6) Moonrise Kingdom
I am a big fan of Wes Anderson Films so I cannot wait for another fun, quirky comedy (I guess that makes me part hipster).

7) Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov creator of ‘Wanted’ and the ‘Night Watch’ Films this is sure to be both fun and stylized.

8) This Is 40
A Sequel to ‘Knocked Up’ and it is Written and Directed by Judd Apatow (OK, I’ll forgive you for ‘Funny People’)

9) The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Created by Aardman Animations, creators of ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Wallace and Gromit’ will be a fun movie with a Claymation look.

10) Frankenweenie
Originally a short by Director Tim Burton, he will now be making it into a feature film and I am excited to see how it comes out (Hopefully not like ‘Alice in Wonderland’).

Honorable Mention:
Brave
I would but myself if I didn’t put it on here so it shall be luck number 11. While the plot doesn’t appeal to me that much, I can get excited for another original Pixar film (and not a sequel).

- Jay Bassin

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Chuck Finale- I must say that since I saw the pilot in 2007 it has always been a great ride. In saying this, I believe the finale truly did the show and the characters justice through its ending. In life thing do change so it is nice to see that in the shows ending each particular character is moving forward. While the series does not end with every problem solved its clear that Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak really wanted to reward the fans for sticking around so long with plenty of flashbacks, references, and cyclical plots. It is sad to see such a great TV Show but one can only hope there will be more fun to see from the persons involved. While some shows finales break the show (You know what I am talking about to all those that watched Kyle XY) this finale made it which is why I would definitely recommend the show.



- Jay Bassin

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark- While not perfect, the film is creepy and will give you a nervous feeling after you get out of it, even a second time around. I learned a lot more from this viewing. For one thing, I'm curious how similar this is to the original. They definitely didn't have the effects so I wonder how the managed the creatures. Also, I found the relationship arcs in this film intriguing. You have the daughter, Sally, played by Bailee Madison (who is very good at crying a lot, Fanning-esque hmmmm?), and her love for her father, Alex, played by Guy Pearce (who mostly stands around doing nothing in the movie), and her dislike for her father's girlfriend, Kim, played by Katie Holmes (who it's nice to see doing movies again) in the beginning of the film. Slowly and surely enough, Kim becomes the nice one as she believes Sally, while Alex becomes more of an ignorant villain, keeping Sally in the house full of creepy talking rat things. Neato.



- Jeff Bassin

Friday, January 21, 2012

The Thing- Not a terrible remake/prequel thing, but something isn't right about it in comparison to Carpenter's one (I'm a John Carpenter fan though). It is honestly scarier than the original, since the thing is much more attack prone and visual this time around, but you lose some of the paranoia, when the person turns into the creature after you suspect they are one.
SPOILER
I enjoyed the ending where Mary Elizabeth Winstead burns Joel Edgarton after realizing he was thingized, but honestly it shocked me that the filmmakers didn't find it more interesting to make her kill him, only to realize he was human and that she was just paranoid. I would have had him missing his earring instead of it being on the other side of his ear, so she would think he was killed, but he would protest it must have fallen out as he ran to catch up with her. She would burn him, only for her to realize his screams were that of a human. The film focuses on the shocked face of Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the snow, the real monster, mankind. Cut to black.
Now that's an ending.



- Jeff Bassin

Monday, January 16, 2012

Moneyball- I'm surprised but not surprised I like this one. The reason I'm not surprised is because it got plenty of good reviews from previous critics. The reason I'm surprised is because I'm not the hugest baseball fanatic and this film is essentially many conversations about baseball statistics. Yes there are tense moments of will they win or not, but in reality, not really, since it focuses more on the guy managing the team than the team itself. Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Jonah Hill make good work of the script, even though I'm half convinced that Hill's nervousness as a character came from the same nervousness that is working with actors like the two of them. It's also nice to go, hey! is that Robin Wright as the ex-wife? Yes it is. And is that Chris Pratt (Andy from 'Parks and Recreation') as a baseball player on the team. Why Yes, yes it is. The film tells a captivating portrayal of events, even if it didn't always seem completely honest. I also enjoyed the occasional use of archival game footage to depict the reality of the film. The script is sharp and witty as well, adapted from the novel by Michael Lewis, by Steven Zaillian ('Shindler's List', 'Gangs of New York') and Aaron Sorkin ('A Few Good Men', 'The Social Network'). Definitely worth checking out for anyone, although I would further recommend it to someone who has at least a slight interest in baseball.



- Jeff Bassin

Sunday, January 15, 2012

50/50 (2012)- I'm not going to lie. With all of the hype for this film, I had Will Reiser's first feature script pegged really high in my expectations. Oddly enough, as manipulated as I felt watching this film, I was entranced, and in good way. The film splits its time half and half (50/50) between comedy and emotional drama, and both are equally effective at its individual time frames. One second you will be laughing around with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen as they pick up women and look at the lighter sides to cancer (mostly drug induced), and the next second you are watching Gordon-Levitt's moody face sigh through his mundane normal day activities. Every performance in this film is well done. I always enjoy seeing Philip Baker Hall and Anna Kendrick, and his and her sequences were particular favorites of mine, but Anjelica Huston does good work in terms of comic timing, and I'm finding Bryce Dallas Howard's choices of roles of recent times extremely brave (i.e. this and 'The Help'. It's not easy performing in so many "Villain" roles and partially humanizing them the way she does). Honestly, It's hard to point out flaws besides for the obvious ones (like I said, at times, you do feel emotionally manipulated, for example, cry now, laugh now, ohhhhh, now a cry time). It makes you think, feel, and laugh, and you walk out of it with a smile of sorts on your face. Sure, the film is not entirely happy, but it's comforting, and for a film about coping with such a dark and key word, CURRENT, subject, I think it's an important one.

- Jeff Bassin



50/50- With a premise like this, how could it be a comedy! Well, when it comes down to it, life is funny and this film was very true to life. It is a story that depicts what screenwriter Will Reiser roughly went through in his battle against a cancer with a 50/50 chance of survival. Performances all around were great giving credit to Joseph Gordon-Levitt (I guess he is not just the guy from ‘Inception’ that did not say much). Anna Kendrick also played her role well as an inexperienced therapist. Seth Rogen played his usual self with the twist that he is using his best friends illness to pick up chicks. The change in tone of the film is well, 50/50 when it comes to comedy and drama which is nice because it gives us the chance to recover before being given another healthy handful of cancer. Overall, Jonathan Levine did a great job directing because all the actors of the film gave very strong performances and the look of the film was spot on. If you are worried you will ever get cancer (with this day in age, everyone should be) than you should probably check this one out.

- Jay Bassin

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Repo! The Genetic Opera- Coming into the film I knew it was a cult film and it sure was. Thankfully I get to fall on the side of the fans rather then the critics. It was a campy, fun, and gore-filled Rock Opera with a completely original idea (‘Repo Men’ was not though at least there was a weird organ stealing sex scene). Director Darren Bousman is no stranger to gore as seen by his work on Saw II, III, and IV, taking the opportunity to take this film to a gruesome extent (Nothing like seeing Paris Hilton’s fake face fall off). Filled with songs throughout, it is filled with interesting concepts, ideas, and visuals from the costumes all the way to the drugs (So good you’ll take it from the deceased!). There were strong performances throughout especially in Alexa Vega and Anthony Head (‘Spy Kids’ meets ‘Buffy’). There is nothing like seeing Anthony Head as a father figure and Alexa Vega plays a cooped up teenager fairly well. I can’t say that this particular brand of rock music is my thing but I can always enjoy a good musical and the colors and sounds of this film did not disappoint. If you are into musicals and feeling like a fun movie I would recommend it.



- Jay Bassin

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World- Now, I could say that this film is crap. It's the combination of gross-out humor, physical humor (lots of ouchies), and tons of puns. But II lost my watch, so I don't have the time for all of that discussion. I'll name positives since the film is comprised of mostly negatives. Let's be honest, films like this, 'Shorts', and 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl' are the price of being a fan of director Robert Rodriguez (despite that Taylor Laughtner a.k.a. Sharkboy). For every 'El Mariachi' or 'Sin City', there's always a 'Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over' (in my head, the first subpar Family film Rodriguez directed). On the bright side, Rodriguez has always given fairly nice messages, especially in this one with the idea of the importance of time with your family (seems kind of like a personal point, judging by how he runs his career). He also, with his former career as a cartoonist, creates creative and imaginative gadgets and locations, something that has sadly worked less and less since the original 'Spy Kids'. Sure, it's easy to pick on this film. After all, it was the film that recently contained the marketing strategy of smell-o-vision to be tacked on to 3D. But I saw its merits. Especially in the campy performances. Jeremy Piven sure looked like he had a good time on this one. It was also nice to see Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara (the original Spy Kids) playing adult spies. Even Joel McHale has an obnoxiously happy smile on his face for the first half of the film like he's been taking too many "happy" pills, which is nice, I guess. Here's hoping the next one is better, cause I'm tired of defending this talented one-man-show director. He works on pretty much everything on his films, from the score to even shooting it with a camera himself. He seems to do better putting his creative ideas into stylized action films, so hopefully we'll see more of those in the future. Especially since I can't in all good conscious, I can't wholly recommend this one.



Crazy, Stupid, Love- I can't remember if this is the second or third time I've seen this film, but I'll admit it, I enjoyed it the most this time. I'll tell you why. Originally, I was disappointed by the idea that the film convinced me it was being brave but eventually cowered behind hollywood's shining bright and happy ending. The film begins with moments of true comedic honesty, brutal, but very funny, only matched by Christopher Beck's Devotchka styled score (Devotchka did the score on 'Little Miss Sunshine'). But as the film comes to a close, it ends with the same big romantic gestures of typical romantic comedies, and closes with everyone happy. Except for Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon. They get nothing. Nothing, dammit! Anyways, here's why I enjoyed it this time. I looked at it from a new perspective. Now follow what I'm saying. The film is a poem. It's not about happy ending, sad endings, whatever. It's about that crazy, stupid little thing called love. Ah, love. Short and sweet, and most importantly, transcendent. The film wants to show us that love has no bounds. It can be found in a bored marriage, a womanizing rich SOB, and it can even be found in a young child (this film is "Pro" Bieber). The reason it chooses to be happy isn't really to be hollywood and happy, but to make a thesis. It wants to show its audience that love is a undefined concept, and one that can be explored from the oddest places as well. Also, Ryan Gosling is just too cool in this film. I couldn't stand how awestruck the girls were in the theater, but let's be honest, I understood. Gosling is confident, rich, and sharply dressed in this one. This, along with 'Drive' and 'The Ides of March' (the latter I haven't seen… yet) is pointing to him as one the smoother operators working in hollywood today. He also did 'Blue Valentine', which killed me on the insides. Sure, 'All Good Things' was bad, but let's face it, the man knows how to pick his roles. Honestly, the film was a good move on every actor's part. I mean, Josh Groban is in it. And even for Bacon and Tomei.



- Jeff Bassin

Friday, January 6, 2012

Green Lantern- No, not a good film. But you already knew that. Which is probably why you didn't watch it. I, on the other hand, feel the need to watch all superhero films (even Electra! *Gasp) which is why I took the time to watch this one. Overall, 'Green Lantern' is nothing special. But it is edible in that way like when you try to cook something new. It could use work, but if given time and respect, who knows? Plus, it's always entertaining watching Peter Sarsgaard, but especially so if he has a giant forehead that pulsates. Yummy. I never enjoyed first parts to superhero films (with a few exceptions, duh, i.e. 'Iron Man', 'Spider-man', etc.) since it's all about backstory and each has the same structure as any normal hero myth with "Departure, Initiation, and Return". So predictable and cliche at this point, that 'Thor' was actually kind of a relief in all its oddness. Despite complaints of the film being overlong, I think the biggest problem was that the film actually wasn't long enough. There's a whole lot of ground to cover in the mythos of the "Green Lantern Corps." and it really doesn't leave the film with a whole lot of time to build a good villain (Sarsgaard was only good for show (oh that forehead!)) and because of it, the final battle at the end of the film was fairly rushed and slightly mundane. I didn't feel any stake in the characters because there was no time to build on them with so much backstory. Maybe if it were three hours, it could have better developed some characters and actually done the actors some justice (especially Blake Lively, who I actually think is quite good… just not in this). Honestly, that kind of seems amusing. A 'Lord of the Rings' length superhero film, with tons of backstory, plenty of time for character development (which means lengthy convos in Critic Talk), and brilliant special effect (it actually was quite dazzling, even if the imposed suit on Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan) was a little wonky, at best.



- Jeff Bassin

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Adjustment Bureau- I welcomed in the new year with the classic fate vs. free will debate. Technically with an anti-religious answer too. But don't let that spoil the film if that doesn't sound like an appealing concept for a hollywood film. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have nice chemistry, have interesting banter, and the film is surprisingly light and comedic. But if you are worried, I ought to let you know, the message of not allowing a group of suit dressed men, all working for a mystery (never seen as well) chairman boss, put us on a defined path through life, despite the comfort of having the path, is certainly nailed into the brain. But I enjoyed it. Like I have said before, I love a nice romantic comedy with a winning couple. I wanted them to get together. I didn't care if that meant his and her fame filled careers would be damaged. That's a good love story. Even if they did a few fairly long time cuts like "Three Years Later" and "Eleven Months Later", I was entertained by the antics of the film. Definitely a under-seen film this year, and it deserves viewers, so I'm glad I gave it a shot. It's not a classic, but it's certainly good. THIS REVIEW HAS JUST BEEN ADJUSTED. See it. Love, Love, Love. Instant Classic. WINNING.



- Jeff Bassin