Fave Flicks of 2012

2012 was an odd year for film. There were, as always, some great original ideas and amazing performances, mostly from the margins of the indie and mainstream realms, but this was not the most consistently amazing year for film. But, it didn't have to be. There was a lot of middling crap, but there were a handful of films that really stood out--or at least stuck with me after the credits rolled--that were spectacular in their own ways. 

That said, I offer my sort of comprehensive list of ten favorites from this year that managed to make me smile, think, or laugh a little bit more than the rest of this years releases.

10. Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon had kind of a big year, and if you ask the Scoobies and Browncoats, such recognition is long overdue.  Whedon's first big splash this year came in the form of the long-shelved horror movie satire, Cabin in The Woods. Cabin is far more intelligent and legitimately scary than any horror movie parody can ever hope to be, and while it doesn't rewrite the rules of horror movies, it offers a clever twist on the tried and tired formulas that have fueled horror franchises for decades. Best of all, Cabin is responsible for bringing us the unforgettable army of monsters.

9. The Raid: Redemption/Safe House/Safe (tie)

Far from the best movies this, or any, year--though The Raid is easily one of the best pure action movie in years--this trifecta of action flicks reminded audiences that good old-fashioned balls-to-the-wall mid-range action movies still have a place in the cinema. The Raid brought us brutal martial arts action to rival the best of Tony Jaa's output over the past few years while Safe House delivered spy action that was far more visceral and less restrained than 90% of the best spy fi from Abrams, Cruise, or the Broccolis. Safe, on the other hand, was clearly the lesser of the three, but it was a chaotic, brutal, and fast paced actioner that was far less neutered than most of Statham's disposable action flicks. 

8. Wreck-It Ralph/Rise of the Guardians (tie)

Fall brought us the one-two punch of Wreck-It Ralph and Rise of Guardians, two animated films with more heart and genuine thrills than most of the live-action cartoons Hollywood releases in the summer. The nostalgia-drenched Wreck-It Ralph was Disney's best shot at creating their own brand of Pixar magic, complete with heartwarming relationship between lost souls and the main character's search for self. Conversely, Rise of the Guardians is Avengers-lite, an all-star team-up superhero movie with fantasy characters like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny that is as well-crafted as the big-time Avengers, minus some of the plot gaffes.

7. Paperman

Playing in front of Wreck-It Ralph, Paperman was a delightful animated short that recalls the best qualities of 2012's Best Picture winner The Artist. Paperman hearkens back to the silent film era, following a salaryman and his comical, yet infinitely charming, pursuit of a cute-as-a-button secretary. With its charming characters, beautiful score, and gorgeous animation--courtesy of Disney's new Meander animation technology--Paperman encapsulates the heart and wonder of old-school romances with an amazing contemporary sheen.

6. Paranorman

Preceding the fall's animated delights was Paranorman, a sharp and touching stop-motion animation feature from Laika, the good people beyond the similarly creepy and affecting Coraline. Paranorman is a smart tale about forgiveness wrapped up in a classic, hilarious zombie comedy that actually does a better job of turning the genre on its ear than many of the more daring deconstructions that have hit theaters in the past decade. Filled with characters that were as three dimensional as the animation and a meaningful moral to boot, Paranorman was one of the true surprises of the summer.

5. Chronicle

Early this year, we finally got the live-action Akira movie we've been waiting for, and hopefully, the one that will halt Hollywood's plans to attempt a big budget remake. Josh Trank's Chronicle is Akira in all but name, only with a far more focused and cohesive plot, one in which Tetsuo is the center of the story and the overblown melodrama of post-apocalyptic Tokyo's warring factions are replaced by a taut examination of the toll of abuse on the fragile mind, and the damage that mind can do when it grabs the power to burn down the world.

4. Skyfall

Sam Mendes' soft reboot of the 007 franchise was one of the year's biggest blockbusters, and rightly so. Drawing influences from Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, boasting some of the most amazing cinematography to grace the screen this year, not to mention one of the best Bond themes ever, Skyfall brought Bond back to his roots, telling a wonderfully simple tale of revenge and rebirth while demolishing and honoring the continuity of the past decade. Bond is ready for the future, and judging by the box office receipts, so are audiences.

3. Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino's slave revenge fantasy may draw on the Boondocks' Legend of Catcher Freeman episode, but it does so with such craft that it canot be denied as a potential new classic. Jamie Foxx finally finds a role where his cockiness and vulnerability are not a handicap, but he is still outclassed by scene stealers Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio in a flick that is consistently fun, funny, and furious, just like a slave revenge fantasy should be.

2. The Avengers

The Avengers was unquestionably the highlight of Joss Whedon's big year. With the Avengers, Whedon brought fun back to the superhero narrative after years of grim tales of brooding sourpusses dominated the silver screen. As much as it was every true Believers dream come true, Avengers also happened to be a generally light-heartened, fun experience that was more ride than movie. It also brought us one of the single most exciting third acts in superhero films ever committed to film. With Whedon now the "head" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the future of Marvel's movie future looks bright in more ways than one.

1. Looper

Great sci-fi makes you think. Great movies make you feel. Looper does both. Rian Johnson's third film continues a short streak of perfection that began with high school noir Brick. Looper may be the tale of time-traveling hitmen, but it is truly a story about consequence, the power of compassion, and the ability of love to make us better people. Looper is that rare film that leaves audiences thinking about how they can better themselves while entertaining them with a clever plot and deep, affecting characters. Looper is a modern classic, no question about it, and one can only hope it is a sign of many more great things to come from Johnson.

Review - Safe

Grade: B-

As soon as the trailer for Jason Statham’s newest beat’em up, Safe, popped up online, complete with skull cracking and guns blazing over the fate of blank-faced young asian girl, I knew exactly what to expect: Transporter 4.

Imagine my surprise when I got a little more than that.

Slightly underrated screenwriter/director Boaz Yakin, delivers standard-issue Statham in a simple package with Safe but manages to weave in enough, relatively, subtle humor and relentless energy to push this entry in the Statham oeuvre just below Snatch or The Bank Job. Now, I admit to some hyperbole there because Statham’s been making the same movie, and playing the same mumble-mouthed smart guy, for more than a decade, so anything slightly different will stand out. In terms of narrative, Safe is no more unique than Transporters 1-16, following Statham as a suicidal homeless ex-cage fighter with a shadowy past out to protect an possibly autistic young girl (Catherine Chen) who holds a secret that puts her dead in the sights of Russian Gangsters, Chinese Triads, and dirty NYPD cops.

From the opening frames, Yakin makes it clear that Safe belongs to Chen’s Mei as much as it does to Statham’s cagey Luke Wright by energetically splicing the moments that lead each character to their fateful meeting. Yakin shows a great hand at visual shorthand and abbreviated storytelling with the opening; while he rarely comes close to that level of achievement later in the flick, he at least keeps the pace snappy thanks to an steady barrage of unblinkingly violent set pieces. Safe easily qualifies for one of the highest body counts ever in a Statham vehicle. In the roughly 24-48 hour span of the narrative, at least 100 unfortunate souls fall to abrupt demises at the end of a bullet to the head or a boot to the skull, and it is pretty damn wonderful. Granted, Safe may not match the sheer carnage and near-genocide of Spring’s uncrowned action champ, The Raid: Redemption, but it makes a solid run at the crown.

Amidst the the overblown orgy of bullet battles and fisticuffs, Safe manages to pause for some quirky moments of levity that, thankfully, never hinge on Chen overplaying her cuteness, which would be pretty difficult considering her grounded, non-Disney soldier appearance. Much of the humor in Safe comes from Statham’s sly digs at his outmatched opponents and simple interactions between Luke and Mei. Yakin wisely avoids overemphasizing the humor and opts to let the chronological and cultural disconnect between Luke and Mei speak for itself. By taking the road less traveled, Yakin actually manages to wring more honest laughs out of Safe than one would expect.

Between the humor and the devastation, Safe proves to be far more fun than it should be, no thanks to some one-note performances and wretched dialogue. Statham performs to expectation in a role he could sleepwalk through by now, yet Chen manages to give Mei an apt balance of melancholy, arrogance, and spite, which seems about right considering she was stolen from her home and forced into a life of crime. While Statham and Chen anchor Safe, they receive some fairly one-dimensional support from veteran character actors Robert John Burke, James Hong, and Reggie Lee, all playing variations of stereotypical heavies whose desire for self-preservation far outweighs their common sense. Chris Sarandon shows up midway through to bring some fire to the proceedings as the besieged and duplicitous Mayor whose method of keeping the Big Apple safe had little to do with Broken Window Theory. Also on hand is Anson Mount, the poor soul who was dragged into the circle of hell known as Crossroads, in a intriguing but underdeveloped role as as the Mayor’s right hand. As one-dimensional as the performances are, they’ve got nothing on the generally sterile, expository dialogue that sounds more like Saturday morning villainy than anything remotely realistic.

Crappy dialogue and one-note performances notwithstanding, Safe is solid, overblown, fast-paced fun (your welcome for the pull quote). Sure its typical Statham, but at least this time there’s a litany of bodies, a smidge of heart, and a touch levity to break the routine and create a much better flick than one would anticipate based on the trailer.

Yin: Fast-paced, relentlessly violent, subtly humorous take on typical Statham actioner. Chen shows solid chops, and avoids the cute kid trap, while Statham cracks skulls with aplomb.

Yang: Laughable dialogue and one-note supporting performances hamper a generally enjoyable experience.

In-Between: Nuts+Pole=Wince