It was too much of a challenge for me to pick a top 10 for 2012, and as a result I came up with a separate list for documentaries and fictional movies. It was tough to differentiate between the two forms considering documentaries are a whole different experience than watching a fictional movie. For e.g. a movie about a group of super heroes fighting to save a part of Manhattan can hardly be held to the same level as the issues of victims of rape in the US armed forces. As a result I have these two lists, now just keep in mind these are my favourite and not those I consider to have been the very best movies of 2012. But I do believe Samsara holds the #1 overall spot, especially given the fact that I watched it in 4K (4 times the resolution of 1080p) resolutoin at the tiff Bell Lightbox and gave me the best viewing experience of any movie.
(I have also yet to watch Amour and Zero Dark Thirty, two films that have potential on having made this list but yet to get a proper release in Toronto)
My Favourite Documentaries of 2012: 1. Samsara 2. Stories We Tell 3. Jiro Dreams of Sushi 4. Chasing Ice 5. The Imposter 6. The Central Park Five 7. Casting By 8. The Invisible War
My Favourite Fictional Films of 2012: 1. Cloud Atlas 2. The Cabin in the Woods 3. The Impossible 4. The Avengers 5. Argo 6. Rust and Bone 7. Moonrise Kingdom 8. Les Miserables 9. Looper 10. Lincoln
And some on the “Honorable Mention” list: Life of Pi, Django Unchained, We Need to Talk About Kevin, No, Silver Linings Playbook
I kept a track of all my movies watched in 2012 along with the date, cost, location and who I watched it with. I enjoy going back and checking stats and here are just a few things I bothered to play around with and showcase in graphic form.
First of all my average cost of a movie was only $4.94. This low number is mainly due to the fact that 77/150 movies I watched were free of cost thanks to film festivals, scene points and free screening invites. So while I did watch a whole bunch of movies, the costs incurred were not as horrible as they could have been.
It’s a marvel what one learns about filmmaking while watching the anti-film This is Not a Film. In 2010, acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi was confined to his condo in Tehran under house arrest as part of his punishment for intending to make a film deemed subversive by the state. During his house arrest, he decided to turn on a camera and just record, all the while trying to deny he was even making a film.
It’s May the 4th today and as any Star Wars fans probably knows, it’s “Star Wars Day!” (Get it..cause “May the fouth” and “May the force”??
BUT as big a fan as I am, today is more Avengers Day than Star Wars. Hence my Hulk about to go Undertaker and tombstone by Threepio.
Yes, that’s right today The Avengers one of my most anticipated movies of not just 2012 but since 2008 when Marvel became their own movie studio (although back then the dream of a full fledged Avengers movie was but a far away geek dream). So 4 franchises, 5 films and lots of post-credit Sam Jacksons later we have Marvel’s Avengers or Avengers Assemble for my UK readers (because I’m sure you guys exist). And after a week of watching nothing but amazing documentaries thanks to hotdocs, this is about as far away as I could get from that genre!
Caught the midnight show at Scotiabank Cinema here in Toronto and thanks to our reserved seating at Cineplex Ultra AVX (or as some call it “perfection”) we had no need to get there at 8 for a midnight release. Had to patiently wait through long concession line ups with people in full avengers costumes for a blockbuster that’s what summer movie watching is all about. And this being the first in what will be a string of midnight releases for me made me realise again what a joy watching a midnight release with die hard fans is like. Cheering after each trailer (very loud ones for The Dark Knight Rises and Prometheus) and also applauds, whoops and more cheering after each “moment” or witty remark made by any of the characters.
This could very well be my favourite super hero movie, not the best by any means, but the most fun I’ve had in a CGI-riddled movie since the first Transformers or ever perhaps.
It took a while for action to get going, they had to go through some typical Marvel stuff where the “good guys” would have to fight each other and the Hulk (this is what happens when the main adversories is too weak to put up a fight or have to wait till the climax of the movie to reveal themselves). No complains though as Thor vs Iron Man vs Captain was funny and entertaining to watch. This movie (as everyone seems to agree) gets the Hulk right and that’s thanks to Mark Ruffalo and the use of motion capture to potray “the other guy”. I’m a big fan of Tom Hiddleston who plays evil-adopted-brother-of-Thor Loki and his scenes were as much a delight to watch as it was to see Robert Downey Jr doing his thing.
The final battle scene more than makes up for the few scenes in the middle of the movie that bascially saw the Avengers come together, realise they suck as a team before realising they actually can band together to fight evil. We’re treated to amazing action sequences in “one shot” leap frogging from hero to hero (either in tandem or solo) as they fight evil flying chariots of a “powerful army” that seems to be very easy to dispose of. All the scenes featuring the Hulk were huge fan favourites and the scene mid credits sets up the sequel(s) which appear like they are going to feature a lot more space and “death” and stuff . Would be very interesting to see how that plays out since apart from Thor, every other movie has been very grounded in this Avengers cinema-verse.
Trailers are the largest component to a film’s marketing campaign in this day and age of youtube and other streaming websites. The internet is flooded with similar lists, but you can never have too much of a good thing right? The trailer for one of my most eagerly anticipated movies of the year “Prometheus” actually inspired me to create this blog post.
Like many of you, I’m someone that “cannot afford” to miss the trailers before the start of a new movie. Some of my friends who I frequent the cinemas with know I tend to actually stay away from trailers for some movies I want to experience in a completely spoiler free environment such as Avatar and the upcoming Dark Knight Rises. With Avatar, I know the moments of seeing the floating mountains or the Na’vi outside the context of the movie (and in 2D) would definitely have lessened the experience for me. And I’m hoping the same goes for Dark Knight.
Unfortunately a lot of studios opt to include spoiler heavy trailers or include the best joke or the money shot of a movie (e.g. the “Kraken” from the “Clash of the Titans” trailer which had almost as much screen time in the trailer as it did in the movie). But then you have trailers like the one for Hugo last year and The Cabin in the Woods which hold the true plot of the film cleverly cloaked.
So my list below are the 15 trailers that I got me most excited for the chance to watch said movie as soon as humanely possible! Mind you, it’s never easy to come up with such lists and I know I would have more that pop in to my head that I wish I included here. Unfortunately, trailers for a lot of good dramas tend not to illicit the same feelings of anticipation as the ones for a big blockbuster do, so I hope you keep that in mind along with the fact that not all the movies advertised below are ones I consider “good”. Trailers are elevated to the next level by fantastic soundtracks, and all these trailers share some amazing accompanying music and songs.
Let me know if you feel like I should have included some others.
The Watchmen – Full of mysterious “superheroes”, great visuals and one of the best songs accompanying a trailer made this a must watch movie for me through a graphic novel I previously had no knowledge about.
Black Swan – I had heard so much about this movie even before it’s release, and this trailer like many of Aronofsky’s other work is splendidly, nail clipping-ly delivered. This along with is trailer for Requiem for a Dream and Pi is proof that Aronofsky know’s the perfect music to accompany his very unique style of film making.
Alien – The trailer for Prometheus that inspired me to post this blog borrows heavily from this trailer, no surprise given that it’s a prequel. But a great set up, where you’re not shown any “money shot” from the movie but gives the viewer the impression that they are in store for not only one of the best horror movies of all time, but one of the best sci fi ones as well.
Cloverfield – Motion sickness galore! But a movie from J.J.Abrams back when Lost was THE thing to watch on TV, the head of lady Liberty and a massive viral online marketing campaign meant that even without a great trailer, everyone was talking about Cloverfield.
The Social Network – Again a haunting song sets up a brilliant trailer for something everyone (well everyone that would be reading this at least) uses. Facebook has been an integral part of me since first year of university and when I first saw this trailer there was all kinds of familiarity tugging at me (like “hey I comment on pictures too!”). And I’m just thankful that the movie lived up to this great trailer.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – David Fincher seems to know how to handle songs for his trailers, first the Social Network and now this with one of the most exhilirating songs in a trailer I’ve experienced, I had not read the books or watched the Swedish films, but simply based on this trailer I could believe the international hype that is “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.
Paranormal Activity – So I’m not really a fan of audience shots integrated in to the trailer, but boy does it work for this movie. I realise that this is not a great trailer and is made to Even the snippets of quotes taken from reviews work in this case! This trailer took this movie from being a 0 in to one of the most talked about movies of the latter half of 2008.
Transformers – A staple cartoon and toy series from my childhood, this trailer gave me the first ever shot of a “real life” car transforming and it was amazing! The thought of seeing a car chase in the highway where the cars turn to robots and fight half way to all out fights breaking out in the middle of a city makes this pure CGI summer movie bashing, with a very easy to excite fan base this trailer became a big hit very quickly.
The Strangers – This trailer scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it, that’s all the reason it needs to be on this list! The movie however…a little different story. This trailer unfortunately does reduce the in movie effect of certain scenes.
Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol – Yes a pretty stereotypical action movie trailer but this is a fantastic trailer for the movie. A classic theme mixed in with a very upbeat Eminem song with a running Tom Cruise and a scene with the world’s tallest building that’s never been seen before makes this a fun 2.5 minutes.
Casino Royale – A reinvention of a classic franchise with a whole new look Bond, one for the modern times that definitely gets down and dirty with his blond (gasp!) hair!! The trailer works and thankfully so did the movie…in a very big way.
Star Trek – I’ve always been a Star Wars fan, this trailer made me want to be a Star Trek fan as well. I can give it no higher compliment. (As a bonus, the video below links to one long video comprising of multiple trailers for the movie)
Spiderman (2001) – This particular trailer was not really broadcasted as it featured the World Trade Center buildings and the people behind the movie opted to skip this trailer and scene from the movie. But it’s a mini bank robbery scene with the final bits of this teaser being spectacular and bringing something to the screen that had not been seen before, a superhero movie that had massive potential. The movie that started the whole trend of superhero movies that we see going on today.
The Avengers – I had to. No other movie can boast the fact that it has 4 other movies made to set it up, this trailer brings together some big name characters, and every time it came on in theatres people would cheer. It caters perfectly to it’s target audience and that’s exactly what a trailer can hope to accomplish.
The Hobbit – To finish this off, here’s a front runner for being the biggest movie of the year (which is saying a lot in the year of the Avengers and Dark Knight Rises). This trailer brings us back to Middle Earth and it’s as beautiful as we remember it. The trailer is bookended with familiar faces and introduces us to the newest “fellowship”. It’s a great way to reintroduce us to Tolkien’s world and I must admit it is the familiarity and current excitment that lands The Hobbit in this list.
Today was the big event when I was able to attend an “In Conversation With” series put on by tiff featuring George R. R. Martin followed by a Q&A session and a book signing. An event just over 2 hours that also featured a surprise reading by George of his upcoming book “The Winds of Winter“. It was my first time at a reading and it was simply stunning, if only he would narrate his own books but that’s just wishful thinking on my part.
I bought a new copy of “A Dance with Dragons” and got my friend’s copy of “Warriors 1″ signed by George. He is such a fantastic guy, I’d watched a few of his interviews online and have his Google Authors talk series appearance along embedded below if you have an hour to kill. He is incredibly knowledgeable and smart with all things fantasy and a genuinly nice guy who you can say enjoys his time with fans and encouraged all of us to visit conventions (particularly Wizard World cons) so we can talk football and party till the early hours with him!
It was a fantastic event, it filled out the tiff Bell Lightbox‘s biggest theatre, the only negative being the moderator (some woman from HBO Canada who aparently does a lot of celeb interviews). But in my experiences, it’s not very easy to find a moderator that’s a joy to listen to as well.
I joined up with a few friends to check out the Game of Thrones exhibit at the tiff Bell Lightbox being put on by HBO Canada and Movie Network. It was not very impressive, but I would definitely recommend it to any fan of the show or books given the fact that admission is free. You see banners, costumes, some weaponary and a dragon egg along with the severed head of a certain character to go with the many pictures from the first season. The highlight of the exhibit is of course getting your picture taken on the throne. The pictures they took and posted on facebook are unfortunately of a low quality so that’s a little annoying.
Another informative and well put together exhibit by the fine folk at tiff.
So, 2011 was a good movie year for me with me stringing together 137 movies in theatres (47 of them I was lucky enough to watch for free). That count was certainly helped by the fact that in 9 days of tiff I managed to squeeze in 20 movies.
Below is a quick countdown of the 10 films I enjoyed the most that were given a release in some theatre in Toronto. Following my top 10 list I’ve also listed a few movies that I thought were worth a mention
10) X-Men: First Class - A highly entertaining and well thought out prequel to Bryan Singer’s X-Men.
9) Midnight in Paris- The movie that surprised me the most in terms of content, and what a pleasent surprise it was to realise the layout of the movie and it’s always fun to watch Owen Wilson talk.
8) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - After coming to terms with the fact that the film versions will never live up the books I would have to agree that a movie that predominantly deals with a final battle it was well paced out and beautifully done.
7) Shame – Michael Fassbender is fast becoming the next big thing for me and this movie really showed me his acting chops, and features a captivating scene featuring Carey Mulligan singing Sinatra’s “New York”
6) The Artist – Hollywood has fallen in love with this movie for showcasing a different era where movies and their stars led far more romantic lives. This movie falls on my list for being different, beautifully crafted and boasting that authentic feel primarily thanks to casting a couple of leads that are unkowns in hollywood and play their roles fantastically.
5) The Devil’s Double – I walked out of this movie really hoping that Dominic Cooper would get some Oscar buzz (which he doesn’t appear to have succeeded in generating), his performance lifts this film the way Daniel Day Lewis’s and Natalie Portman’s performances lift up There will be Blood and Black Swan respectively. I also enjoy this movie for the fact that it does not half ass the story and allocates enough time for us to go through the ups and downs of Latif.
4) Another Earth – Despite the presence of Martha Marcy May Marlene this year, Another Earth takes my self made award of being “The Winter’s Bone of 2011″ in being shot with a low budget featuring great acting and the hint of science fiction makes this a winner that caters to a lot of what I like seeing in a movie.
3) Take Shelter – Michael Shannon gives another stellar performance in this movie that’s equal parts brilliant and horrific.
2) Senna – I knew the basic facts of Ayrton Senna’s racing career but this doucmentary composed entirely of footage from the late 80s to early 90s plays out as the best if not one of the best sports movies I’ve ever seen. Chronicling his epic battles with rivals and showcasing his death defying driving skills. Highly entertaining even if you know nothing about F1.
1) Hugo – Despite boring me at the start of the movie, it really picked up for me after 20 or 30 minutes. Once I realised it’s a romantic look back at the start of the moving picture’s introduction to audiences and early movie making it won me over. It’s also the best looking movie I’d seen all year even with it’s 3D effects, supported by a great ensemble and fine acting (ironically Asa Butterfield who plays Hugo does leave me wanting a bit more) Hugo really stuck with me and it took me a few days to fully appreciate it and realise that I did in fact love it.
