Top 10 of 2012 (A.J.'s picks)

by A.J.

January and February are the time of year when I get to catch up on the prestige pictures released over the holidays and also watch any major award nominees that I've missed. A few dozen movies later, I've seen enough to make my picks for the best of movies of the past year.

10. This is 40

This is 40 follows Pete and Debbie as they approach their 40^th birthday and deal with their careers, relatives, children, health, and each other. This could have been a heavy drama, but Judd Apatow’s movie is about happy, positive people doing their best to stay happy and positive. This is not a movie where people yell and scream and you wonder while they’re even married. This is 40 is light on plot, but the characters and set pieces are enough to carry the movie. The best description of This is 40 is as a hilarious drama.  

9. Damsels in Distress

Whit Stillman's first movie in 14 years is not a disappointment. There aren't many movies like Damsels in Distress these days. This is a smart, witty, funny movie about a group of girls that are trying to raise the level of sophistication at their college. The jokes are clever, the female and male characters are well-written and likable, which is becoming a rare thing. This movie feels like a whimsical romantic comedy from the 1930's or 40's, when it was possible to make what we see so rarely today: an inoffensive comedy.

8. Bernie

Bernie tells the unbelievable true story of a mortician in a small East Texas town that became involved with a wealthy widow. Bernie was so well loved by the community that when he killed the widow no one blamed him. Director Richard Linklater has the real life townspeople tell the story in interviews and also act alongside Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, and Jack Black as Bernie. Jack Black gives his best performance as the well-meaning mortician. He's able to portray a man so good natured and likable that a community accepted him and never rejected him. The townspeople are a big highlight of Bernie, telling the story through gossip and unexpected humor.

7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I never read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, despite everyone I knew telling me that I would love the novel. I feel like this film went overlooked last year, part of the reason being that the movie was made so long after the novel was first published, and it's set 20 years in the past. Would the youth culture of today still find it relevant? I don't know about high school and college kids, but I did. It's tough to make a movie about high schoolers that feels authentic. This movie's authenticity comes from the fine young actors who are able to ground the scenes of teen drama. There are scenes and storylines that feel cliched but that is only because there have been so many movies about teenagers, though not so many as good as this one.

6. Silver Linings Playbook

I wasn't too excited to see Silver Linings Playbook despite its credentials: stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and director David O. Russell. However, Silver Linings Playbook has received a lot of well-deserved attention for the performances from the cast. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence play people trying to overcome their respective psychological issues. The chemistry between them is good enough to let the age gap between the two actors slide. This is a comedy overall, but certain scenes fall into dramatic territory. The gear changes this movie makes are subtle. Like This is 40, Silver Linings Playbook is a movie about people trying to stay positive while facing serious issues. The "find your silver lining" mantra of Cooper's character is not an empty phrase. He genuinely believes that he can better himself and that other people can do the same. It's a tough, but achievable goal.

5. Django Unchained

Who didn't expect Quentin Tarantino's latest movie to be a hit with audiences and critics and even receive awards attention? But Tarantino deserves all of that praise because he consistently creates multi-faceted, interesting, and funny characters, creates an engaging story, finds just the right cast, and executes it all masterfully. All of this is true of Django Unchained. Christoph Waltz, Jaime Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio all give superb performances. Django Unchained is hyperbolically violent, unexpectedly funny, suspenseful, but, above all, it is incredibly entertaining. Tarantino is paying homage to blacksploitation movies and spaghetti westerns of the 1970's, but Django Unchained is on its own a sprawling and engaging western adventure.

4. Zero Dark Thirty

While watching Zero Dark Thirty I was reminded of Zodiac, David Fincher's 2007 film about the meticulous, decades-long, but futile search for a serial killer and the effect it had on those involved. Maya, a CIA agent played by Jessica Chastain, is our guide on the decade-long, seemingly futile, search for Osama Bin Laden. We follow Maya from interrogations at CIA blacksites, the streets of Pakistan, and the world of men in suits at CIA offices. This is more than just a procedural about the CIA and the war on terror. There are elements of a mystery present; puzzle pieces need to be found and assembled, and as the puzzle comes closer to being solved-- the closer Maya gets to the end of the trail-- the movie delves into thriller territory. Zero Dark Thirty is masterfully crafted by director Kathryn Bigelow, cinematographer Greig Fraser, and editors William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor. This is not a movie about revenge or retribution; it is about the cost of war, the damage it leaves in its wake, and what it does to everyone involved.

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Sequels tend to dwindle in quality, especially as the number of entries in a franchise increases; however, director Christopher Nolan, along with the rest of the crew and cast, deliver a worthy final chapter for the most recent incarnation of Batman. The stand out performance in this movie is Tom Hardy as Bane. Since we are unable to see most of his face because of the breathing mask Bane must wear, Hardy uses a peculiar and almost jolly accent for Bane's voice and also acts with his whole body, giving Bane a swagger and unusual charisma that makes him a truly interesting villain.

It’s curious to see how time has changed Batman’s villains. They used to be above average criminals, but The Joker in The Dark Knight and Bane in The Dark Knight Rises more closely resemble terrorists. The acts of terror carried out by Bane on Gotham City are intense to say the least. Batman did not defeat the villains of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight on his own, and The Dark Knight Rises is no exception. Every character plays an important part in the story and each is well-acted. I firmly believe that what makes these Christopher Nolan Batman movies work so well is not an outwardly dark nature, a complex tortured hero, or depictions of a cruel, unfair world, though that mistake is made more and more often by other movies being produced. What sets these Batman movies apart is that they successfully merge fantasy and realism to such a point that when a man dressed like bat appears in the night to protect you, you believe every moment.  

2. Argo

What a combination of genres: spy thriller, geopolitical drama, comedy, period piece, and its based on a true story. Argo is also a movie about making a movie, albeit a fake one. That’s a lot of material to handle, but it is executed wonderfully and makes you wish there were more movies like this. Argo is Ben Affleck’s third film as a director and he is getting better and better behind the camera. Affleck plays Tony Mendez, a CIA agent who comes up with a plan to rescue a group of Americans that have escaped the storming of the American embassy in Iran in 1979. His plan, to fly into Iran and, along with the Americans, pose as a Canadian sci-fi film crew and fly out, seems outlandish, and it is, but there are no better ideas. Affleck may play the central character, but part of what makes this movie work is the strong and rich ensemble of well-acted characters. Every actor shines in Argo. Like Zero Dark Thirty, this is a very well-crafted and entertaining thriller, filled with suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat even if you know how it ends.

1. Moonrise Kingdom

I know, you saw this coming from a mile away. But what can I say, of all the movies I saw last year the best time I had was watching Moonrise Kingdom. I’ll admit that director Wes Anderson isn’t doing anything he hasn’t done before, technically or thematically, but he does it exceedingly well in what is probably his mostly widely seen movie yet. Moonrise Kingdom features the strongest ensemble cast Anderson has had since The Royal Tenenbaums. You’ll find all of the trademarks you expect to see in a film by Wes Anderson: pans from one room to another, inserts of book jackets, slow motion tracking shots, dry humor, and offbeat, melancholy characters. That wistful atmosphere that is also an Anderson trademark is lighter this time since this story of two youngsters in love who runaway to be together is an innocent and optimistic one. Moonrise Kingdom is a fable about misfits searching for their counterparts and a place in the world, and it is a joy watching them on their journey.

Classic Movie Picks: February 2013

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

I love making connections between contemporary and classic films that share similar characters, themes, and stories. So, in honor of TCM's "31 Days of Oscar" this month's picks have been inspired by the 9 films nominated for Best Picture of 2012. 

Amour

2/10, 5:45 PM - Cocoon (1985) - In most respects, these two films couldn’t be more different. While Amour is a deliberate and realistic drama, Cocoon is a lightly comic, sci-fi story. However, both films deal with elderly people confronting their own mortality and  feature veteran actors. Cocoon’s 77-year old break-out star, Don Ameche, won the Best Supporting actor award that year.

2/11, 8 PM - Little Women (1933) - If you feel that the subject matter of Amour is too bleak, you may appreciate the warmth of the March family in Little Women. Little Women shows a family facing tragedy with optimism and making sacrifices for love.


Argo

2/2, 8 PM - Casablanca (1942) - Whether you’re flying out of Tehran or Casablanca, you can’t beat a tense scene at the airport!

2/12,10:15 PM - Notorious (1946) - If there’s one classic star who Ben Affleck reminds me of, it’s Ingrid Bergman. Not really, but I’ve chosen another Bergman movie because this one, co-starring Cary Grant is spy story with a terrific sense of suspense.


Beasts of the Southern Wild
2/7,11:30 AM - My Life as a Dog (1985) - Transport Beasts’ Hushpuppy, her father, and their community of eccentric bayou-dwellers to rural Sweden (and switch the main characters’ genders) and you might get My Life as a Dog. Lasse Hallstrom earned his first Best Director nomination for this film about the adventures of a sweet and spirited boy who is sent away from home when his mother falls ill. Both films excel at portraying life from the point of view of a child and the way children try to make sense of a confusing world.

2/23,8 AM - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) - Dr. T takes the child’s point of view to an extreme creating a fantasy world in which a boy’s disagreeable piano teacher becomes a supervillian out for world-domination.


Django Unchained
2/4, 2:15 AM - The Wild Bunch (1969) - Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch took movie violence from simply serving the plot to a visual motif in and of itself, a concept that Quentin Tarantino has eagerly adopted and taken to new heights (or lows, depending on your point of view).

2/5,5:30 AM - Friendly Persuasion (1956) - In stark contrast, the Quaker family in Friendly Persuasion rejects violence. However, they find their values tested when their town is threatened by a band of Confederate raiders.


Les Misèrables
2/12, 6:15 AM - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) - If the persecution and despair in the streets of Paris depicted in Les Misèrables has you hungry for more, check out this other adaptation of a Victor Hugo novel.

2/18, 5 AM - Pennies From Heaven (1981) - Much of the Les Misèrables publicity has been about the director’s choice to film the actors singing live on set, rather than using vocals recorded in a studio. If you feel that this live-singing thing isn’t your bag, Pennies From Heaven may just be the musical for you. Like Les Miz, Pennies features prostitution, murder, and homelessness; however, it uses only pre-recorded tracks, with the actors lip-synching to popular recordings from the 1930s.


Life of Pi
3/2, 7 AM - The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954) - The most famous shipwreck survivor may still be Robinson Crusoe; however, I suspect that these days The Life of Pi is more widely read than the classic novel by Daniel Defoe. The two stories are somewhat different, but both are anchored by the trials of a man, alone, struggling to survive.

2/10, Flight of the Phoenix (1965) - Watch this film and play a game of “would you rather”...Would you rather be set adrift at sea or crash land in the desert?


Lincoln
2/8, 8PM - Wilson (1945) - President Woodrow Wilson may not be as present in popular culture as Abraham Lincoln, but he is just as pivotal a figure in history. This rally-round-the-flag biopic, made as the world was engaged in World War II, focuses on America’s reluctant, but necessary entrance into World War I and Wilson’s subsequent struggle to establish a lasting international peace through the League of Nations.

2/11, 10:15 PM - Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) - Before Daniel Day-Lewis donned a beard and wart and wrapped himself in a wool blanket, Raymond Massey was the definitive Lincoln, playing the president on stage, in films, and on TV and radio. Abe Lincoln in Illinois centers on Lincoln before his ascent to the White House: his early romance with Ann Rutledge, his eventual marriage to the ambitious Mary Todd, and his famous face-off against Stephen Douglas. 2012’s Lincoln serves as a fitting sequel, continuing the story of his life to it’s conclusion.


Silver Linings Playbook
3/3, 8 PM - Annie Hall (1977) - The neuroses of Annie and Alvy may not compare to the mental problems experienced by Pat and Tiffany in Silver Linings, but both films are offbeat romantic comedies about two people coming together despite themselves. Diane Keaton won an Oscar for her performance as the quirky and wholesome Annie and this year Jennifer Lawrence has a good chance to follow in Keaton’s footsteps for her role as the mercurial Tiffany.

2/12, 4:15 PM - The Enchanted Cottage (1945) - The Enchanted Cottage is a touching story about love’s power to transform. This film is completely earnest, with no trace of Silver Linings dark humor. But if you give it a chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.


Zero Dark Thirty
2/16, 2:30 AM - Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) - Zero Dark Thirty has come under much criticism for its depiction of torture tactics used by the CIA during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bad Day at Black Rock also deals with a controversial chapter in American history: the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

2/3, 12:15 PM - The Nun’s Story (1959) - I could say that Maya, the CIA analyst at the center of Zero Dark Thirty, was so consumed by her job that she was, in effect, living like a nun; but the real connection I see between these two films is their heroines. They are determined women frustrated by the restrictions imposed by male-dominated organizations. For Maya, it is the CIA; for Audrey Hepburn’s novice nun, it is the Catholic church. And each woman is unable to shake the inner feeling that she is right.