2012 Best Picture Review
Total Nominees: 9
Dramas: 7.5
Comedies: .5
Musicals: 1
Wastes of Walton Goggins' Talent: 2
Summary: as the case in 2011, none of these movies really stood out as my favorite however there is some method to the madness in that the ones I enjoyed the most can be found towards the top.
What it's about: miserable people living in the political unrest of 19th century France, where talking has been outlawed and citizens are forced to sing all conversation.
From the moment I read the words, "Hugh Jackman sings" I expected to not like this movie, but damn it if I didn't find it enjoyable.
Jackman shines in the lead role, as does Anne Hathaway, who despite appearing in less than half of the 2 hour and 37 minute run time, proves herself deserving of the Oscar she won. Both make you wonder how the rest of us can be expected to do anything worthwhile in a world where some people have so much damn talent.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter provide delicious, comic relief as a devious, thieving couple who would do anything to make a coin. Then there's Russell Crowe and his constant, sullen expression, which could be character interpretation or maybe the fact that, like the audience, he knows how he's the weak link in this ensemble.
Pre-Viewing Tip: Turn on the old closed captioning at the start. You'll thank me later.
What it's about: A daring, joint effort by American and Canadian governments in 1980 to rescue American diplomats hiding in Iran after the US Embassy was overtaken my militant students.
Zero Dark Thirty
Put me down as one of the many that believe Ben Affleck should have received a nomination for Best Director. He does an excellent job of transporting the viewer back to the era of bell bottoms and crazy hair.
The story is interesting, the script is tight, and while no one in particular stands out as carrying the load, there are no weak links here either. Particularly enjoyable are the performances by Alan Arkin and Bryan Cranston.
I'm sure events were tweaked for maximum dramatic effect, and there's been some controversy as to just who was responsible for the heroic events. Whatever - it's great entertainment.
What it's about: The hunt for, and killing of, Osama bin Laden.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
What it's about: A little girl living in a poor, lowland community near New Orleans is tested by poverty, a missing mother, a dying father and a massive hurricane.
If you enjoyed 2010's Winter's Bone nearly as much as I did you probably would enjoy this too. While Beasts isn't quite as dark, it too features a unique region of the country and the people who call it home - where every character, good or bad, is thought provoking.
I love it when a cast of relatively unknowns come together to tell an amazing story. Nine year-old Quvenzhane Wallis - Hushpuppy - carries the load for a good portion of the film which is impressive because, you know, she's freaking NINE YEARS OLD. Dwight Henry, who plays her father, brings his character to life with a stern, intense love that must have made the writers giddy.
Toss in some interpretive symbolism in the way of large, boar-type creatures that only Hushpuppy can see, a unique soundtrack and an ending that makes you create your own conclusions and you've got an entertaining story.
Django Unchained
What it's about: a bounty hunter frees a slave to help him track down bad guys.
What it's about: religi-curious Indian boy stranded at sea in a lifeboat with a tiger...or is he?
For the first 45 minutes of Life of Pi I thought I'd found my favorite movie of 2012. Original, thought-provoking, beautiful.
Suraj Sharma excels as Pi - a boy named after a swimming pool and raised in a zoo. While crossing the ocean with his family and their animals their ship encounters a huge storm and sinks, sending young Pi on an adventure that will 'make you believe in God.'
The tale of survival that follows is epic in nature, but a little too much for me as act 2 seemed to drag. A nice twist at the end brings it all back, leaving the viewer with something to think about.
Still a visually-stunning film - Director Ang Lee and his special effects team create one mesmerizing scene after another - the end result is as much a piece of art as anything.
Silver Linings Playbook
What it's about: relationship between two emotionally-damaged people, set in the city of brotherly fucking love.
Somehow placed in the comedy genre, Silver Linings Playbook received no less than 8 Oscar nominations and, after watching, I'm not really sure why. Bradley Cooper is deserving as Pat, the story's hero who's had a mental breakdown after coming home to find his wife in the shower with someone's great grandfather. He shows emotional range you won't find in any of the Hangover films (1, 1A or 3).
Jennifer Lawrence, a tad disturbed herself after the loss of her husband, is solid and engaging, but let's be honest - this Oscar win is more a make-up for the one she should have won for her work in Winter's Bone.
Robert DeNiro was nominated as well, for playing a character that could easily appear in the script as "DeNiro in a Variety of Philadelphia Eagles Shirts."
While not bad, SLP lacks the grandeur or vision found in the others on this list, seems at times to be trying to break the Big Lebowski's record for uses of the word 'fuck,' and is about 45 minutes longer than it needs to be.
Lincoln
What it's about: 16th President's efforts to pass the 13th Amendment during a time of great unrest - in the nation, in Congress, and in his own home.
Amour
What it's about: by all accounts, something horribly, horribly depressing.
Not available on Netflix at this time.
If anyone doubs director Kathryn Bigelow's ability to create an intense thriller (unlikely after the Hurt Locker) they need only watch ZDT. From the start she transforms the viewer into the harsh, unpleasant post-9/11 world - a world where there are no rules when it comes to fighting terror.
Jason Clark (Dan) shines at the start as a CIA agent with a knack for torture, then hands it over to the talented Jessica Chastain as Maya - another agent still wet behind the ears but hell bent on finding America's most wanted man.
Though Maya's ultra-fast transformation from unsure newbie to convinced badass (telling the CIA Director that she's the 'mother fucker who found him') borders on the unbelievable, the act 3 portrayal of the storming of bin Laden's compound is edge-of-your-seat stuff and shouldn't be missed.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
What it's about: A little girl living in a poor, lowland community near New Orleans is tested by poverty, a missing mother, a dying father and a massive hurricane.
If you enjoyed 2010's Winter's Bone nearly as much as I did you probably would enjoy this too. While Beasts isn't quite as dark, it too features a unique region of the country and the people who call it home - where every character, good or bad, is thought provoking.
I love it when a cast of relatively unknowns come together to tell an amazing story. Nine year-old Quvenzhane Wallis - Hushpuppy - carries the load for a good portion of the film which is impressive because, you know, she's freaking NINE YEARS OLD. Dwight Henry, who plays her father, brings his character to life with a stern, intense love that must have made the writers giddy.
Toss in some interpretive symbolism in the way of large, boar-type creatures that only Hushpuppy can see, a unique soundtrack and an ending that makes you create your own conclusions and you've got an entertaining story.
Django Unchained
What it's about: a bounty hunter frees a slave to help him track down bad guys.
After Quintin Tarrantino's ever-so-humble Oscar speech ("I'd like to thank me for writing a great script...") I wasn't exactly excited about giving the egotistical prick my money or time, but the guy is a pretty damn good writer so...
The first 3/4 of Django was wonderful - a fun ride full of the same sharp, humorous dialogue we've come to expect from Tarrantino. Don Johnson has fun with his character, Big Daddy, and the scene where his idiotic gang argues about the quality of their masks is one of my favorite film moments of 2012.
Christoph Waltz is constantly grin-inducing as a German bounty hunter perplexed by the whole slavery thing, and Jamie Foxx maintains a cool anger that burns like embers under his skin. You never really know just what he's capable of but you know it's probably a lot. And Leonardo DiCaprio has so much fun playing bad guy Calvin Candie it makes you want to move to Hollywood and give acting a shot.
Eventually though, as he seems to always do, QT pushes the envelope and inserts over the top violence, blood, gore, etc. The intent is clearly to shock, but the problem with doing this in every film is that it eventually it doesn't work. What was shocking in Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction now seems bland, even predictable.
Throw in an awkward bit of self-casting with possibly the worst Australian accent ever captured on film and it's enough to drop this from my top spot. Django is no Inglorious Basterds, but it's still good.
What it's about: religi-curious Indian boy stranded at sea in a lifeboat with a tiger...or is he?
For the first 45 minutes of Life of Pi I thought I'd found my favorite movie of 2012. Original, thought-provoking, beautiful.
Suraj Sharma excels as Pi - a boy named after a swimming pool and raised in a zoo. While crossing the ocean with his family and their animals their ship encounters a huge storm and sinks, sending young Pi on an adventure that will 'make you believe in God.'
The tale of survival that follows is epic in nature, but a little too much for me as act 2 seemed to drag. A nice twist at the end brings it all back, leaving the viewer with something to think about.
Still a visually-stunning film - Director Ang Lee and his special effects team create one mesmerizing scene after another - the end result is as much a piece of art as anything.
Silver Linings Playbook
What it's about: relationship between two emotionally-damaged people, set in the city of brotherly fucking love.
Somehow placed in the comedy genre, Silver Linings Playbook received no less than 8 Oscar nominations and, after watching, I'm not really sure why. Bradley Cooper is deserving as Pat, the story's hero who's had a mental breakdown after coming home to find his wife in the shower with someone's great grandfather. He shows emotional range you won't find in any of the Hangover films (1, 1A or 3).
Jennifer Lawrence, a tad disturbed herself after the loss of her husband, is solid and engaging, but let's be honest - this Oscar win is more a make-up for the one she should have won for her work in Winter's Bone.
Robert DeNiro was nominated as well, for playing a character that could easily appear in the script as "DeNiro in a Variety of Philadelphia Eagles Shirts."
While not bad, SLP lacks the grandeur or vision found in the others on this list, seems at times to be trying to break the Big Lebowski's record for uses of the word 'fuck,' and is about 45 minutes longer than it needs to be.
Lincoln
What it's about: 16th President's efforts to pass the 13th Amendment during a time of great unrest - in the nation, in Congress, and in his own home.
After watching Best Picture nominees Warhorse and this one-man play disguised as a feature film, I'm convinced that Spielberg could release a home movie of his cat chasing a laser pointer and the Academy would slobber all over it while giving him a nomination.
Yes there was a great performance by Daniel Day Lewis (and his make-up artist), and a supporting cast full of A-listers. Great costumes, makeup, etc. And James Spader's performance as a thug lobbyist was excellent though a bit rushed, showing that dirty politics have been around from the start.
Yet with all this it still seemed like I was watching in real time. Towards the end I thought, it'd be cool if they didn't mention the assassination - there's no need - everyone knows what happened so they could really be artistic here. Of course, SS never met a chance to tug on the heart strings he didn't like so it's in there, with dramatic music, flags waiving, etc.
A can't-miss for big fans of Day Lewis and/or 1800's political banter, a can-miss for everyone else.
Amour
What it's about: by all accounts, something horribly, horribly depressing.
Not available on Netflix at this time.
