What I'm watching

10 Best Films Watched in 2012 (Excluding re-watched films)

1, The Descendants - Story, setting, music and most of all performance came together brilliantly to make a truly excellent film.

2, Warrior - A sports film which, much like Rocky, transcends its genre to be about so much more than it would seem to be on the surface. Again close to tears at the conclusion due purely to emotional exhaustion.

3, 127 Hours - A powerful piece of cinema which almost made me cry through sheer empathetic joy at the end.

4, The Avengers - Fun in every sense of the word with an absolutely marvelous cast. It’s the stuff you go to the movies for.

5, Falling Down - A wonderfully cathartic release from all the day to day minutia of societal and conventional norms. One of Michael Douglas’ finest performances.

6, Kramer vs Kramer - A great example that you don’t always have to go big to make an impact. The most real looking take I’ve seen dealing with the fallout of divorce.

7, The Artist - A superb love letter to the silver screen’s early years. Maybe a little over-hyped at this point but still a solidly entertaining watch.

8, Dog Day Afternoon - The limited locations combined with the powerhouse performance of Pacino kept the tension high and the story captivating.

9, Wreck-It Ralph - Loved this film: Great characters, great message and great cameos. An all around enjoyable watch.

10, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original) - The creepy premise and the uneasy undercurrent of the whole movie mixed with the American 50’s setting made for a fantastically unnerving film.

Best of 2011 watched in 2012 (excluding rewatched films)

Like a lot of film review blogs and sites do around this time of year, last year I created a top ten films from 2011 list. What I discovered from doing this though was that I don’t actually watch that many films released in a given year but wait for them to come to Sky the next year. Bearing that in mind I decided to create the top 10 films from 2011 watched in 2012 list.

1, The Descendants - There is nothing wholly remarkable about this film but the performances in it are what make it my number 1. Clooney and co just nailed it perfectly and I’d be surprised if he ever manages to top this film.

2, Warrior - The unsung great of 2011, this movie takes you on an emotional journey and makes you want to patch up any relationships you’ve let fall apart.

3, The Artist - Well deserving of the best picture win, this movie is beautifully made and a wonderful watch.

4, The Help - Four strong female performaces and an interesting story keep this from feeling too overly cliche.

5, Crazy, Stupid, Love. - This one caught me off guard but is a charming comedy dealing with the various issues and tribulations of love.

6, Drive - A polarising film to say the least but I liked it enough to merit a spot on the list. Not a lot of rewatchability but an interesting film no doubt.

7, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol - Much like Fast Five last year, I could not have predicted my enjoyment of this film, given I’d written off the franchise, but this was just an entertaining watch all round and easily the one I’ve rewatched the most since its release.

8, Real Steel - I honestly don’t know why I liked this movie so much other than it’s a familiar tale with a twist and has two really well done performances in a relationship you completely accept as genuine.

9, The Muppets - I’ve got a soft spot for these lovable bundles of felt anyway but this film was a wonderful love letter to the show and great fun to boot.

10, Hugo - While kitschy in places, Hugo is visually stunning and an interesting look into a topic which could have been remarkably dry if handled incorrectly.

Best and worst watched in 2012 lists and a best of 2012 released in 2012 list are also forthcoming.

#305/#22 The Descendants

When his wife is put in a coma after a boating accident, Hawaiian lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) has to look after his two daughters by himself for the first time in years. When it looks like his wife won’t be coming out of the coma he has to break it to the girls only to find out from his eldest (Shailene Woodley) that his wife was having an affair. Will he be able to handle this new development on top of his ailing wife and a major decision he’s handling that could alter the Hawaiian landscape forever, or will it all prove to much to cope with?

Clooney almost always brings his A game whenever he’s in anything but this performance is by far his best yet. He’s totally believable as the guy just trying to keep his head above water as his world crashes around him. Shailene Woodley is also in top form as his daughter. I thought she performed well enough that there might have been a best supporting oscar nod coming her way but this turned out not to be the case. If Jennifer Lawrence was the one to watch last year, then Woodley is this years new kid on the block. The rest of the cast, although largely secondary characters, hold their own as well. Even Matthew Lillard seems to have learned to act for this one.

It’s also such a visually pretty film. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with Hawaii in general being a beautiful place but it was portrayed wonderfully throughout this film. It’s also got a lovely soundtrack on top of this, which gels with the whole tone of the piece incredibly.

The story could have been really cliche, i.e. distant father learns to love his daughters when wife is dying, and while to an extent this is what happens, it’s the way in which it goes about doing it that makes it so good. People are angry in this films, they’re sad, they’re happy, etc. They react with more than one emotion at a time and it makes the whole thing feel more real because of it. Genuinely emulating real emotions is one of the hardest things to do right but this film just nails it.

It’s just a wonderful film. Visually beautiful wrapped around some fantastic performances playing out a thoroughly engrossing story. It’s a top tier film if ever there was one. 5/5