2012 Releases Ranked: Part 1

We are half way through 2012 and so far, the planet is still here, the human race still exists and the cinema has been glorious!  Time to celebrate in the first of a two part post.  I have seen only 19 films that have been released in UK cinemas in 2012 so far.  Unfortunately the cinema continues to be too expensive and the lure of the Lovefilm rental service keeps me firmly planted on my sofa for most of my film watching.

So please pop back tomorrow for the top ten 2012 releases I have seen so far this year.  Here are the bottom nine and please bear in mind, even the worst is a 5 out of 10 in my opinion!  If you want to read anything I said about any of these, please click the title.

19. American Reunion 5/10

18. Like Crazy 5/10

17. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen 6/10

16. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 6/10

15. Friends with Kids 6/10

14. Martha Marcy May Marlene 7/10

13. Coriolanus 7/10

12.  Avengers Assemble 7/10

11. Sound of My Voice 7/10

What ten films could possibly be better than Avengers I hear you scream through gritted teeth?  Unless you think I'm completely insane, please swing by tomorrow to find out!  And feel free to let me know why any of these actually deserves a place in the hallowed grounds of my top 10 or on the other hand how right I am for casting these foul urchins out into the cold wasteland of the bottom 9.

February Films Part 1: From Incendies to Final Destination 5

I didn't reach the heady heights of January's whopping 26 films but in the 29 days of February I have managed a respectable 18 films.  I thought I'd make this a bit more fun and rate them in order of my favourites and to keep you guessing I'm going to do this as a two part post.  So today here's the countdown of the 9 less good films I watched this month.  Please be sure to pop back tomorrow (or Saturday) for the top 9 countdown of films I saw in February.

Wierdly I didn't watch a single documentary or found footage horror this month which is very unlike me.  On the other hand I did watch two very different films about the end of the world.  Neither made my top 9.

18. Final Destination 5 (Steven Quale, 2011)

 

This franchise is losing the will to live.  Good ending for franchise fans but the deaths, the big accident at the start and the characters are getting more and more fake, less inventive and failing to hide the obvious CGI and poor scripting.  It’s time death came for the series.

17. Red State (Kevin Smith, 2011)

 

Disappointing Christian cult horror from Kevin Smith.  When three horny teens seek out a hooker to do the dirty with, they get more than they came for when they are captured by the Westboro Baptist Church-alike Christian fundamentalist cult living on the outskirts of town.  Could have been funnier, scarier, and far more involving if it wasn’t so disjointed and apathetic towards the fate of the young characters.

16. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)

 

Slow, beautiful but mind-numbingly boring.  Watching a depressed Kirsten Dunst go through her wedding and then await the end of the world is just painful.  I wish I could relate more to Dunst’s character but I couldn’t help wishing she’d just give up and lock herself away so I could see how the rest of the characters coped with their impending doom.  Worth watching for some incredible visuals and great performances but the story is utterly forgettable.

15. 13 Assassins (Takashi Miike, 2011)

 

This is the samurai film that packs the mother of all battles.  Starts slow but once the samurais get swords swinging, the blood flows endlessly in brilliantly but emotionally empty choreographed mayhem.

14. 2012 (Roland Emmerich, 2009)

Take this, mix it with Melancholia and somewhere in the middle there’s a good film.  2012 sees John Cusack and family running, driving and flying out of never-ending enormous and ridiculous CGI.  Woody Harrelson overdoes it as the OTT conspiracy theorist that is righteous with his doom-laden ranting and the crazy narrative takes us from exploding national park volcanoes to the tip of Mount Everest.  You can’t ask for much more from a big, dumb blockbuster.

 

13. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (John Madden, 2012)

Read my review here.

12. The Guard (John Michael McDonagh, 2011)

 

Featuring another great performance from Gleeson after In Bruges, The Guard also has a witty script that doesn’t shy away from revealing the dark side of the anti-hero central character.  Gleeson's drug-taking, whoring cop is a hoot from the moment he drops acid in the opening scene and declares it to be a 'good day'.  Throw in Don Cheadle as a straight laced fish-out-of-water American agent and this crime comedy soars.

11. Incendies (Denis Villeneuve, 2011)

Twisted, twisty and disturbing.  After the death of their mother, siblings search their past and discover dark family secrets.  Forgiveness, incest and torture all feature in a gripping and powerful tale that is adapted from a stage play but feels incredibly cinematic.  Incedible ending too.

10. Moneyball (Bennett Miller, 2011)

 

Talking baseball and statistics with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.  The Oakland Athletics need more than money to win the game and Hill has the smarts and the mathematical formulas to deliver Pitt’s manager the players he needs to take the Athletics to the top.  Talky but entertaining even if you don’t like maths or baseball.  However if you don’t like Pitt or Hill, it’s probably best to give this one a wide berth.

I don't think I watched a single 'bad' film this month.  Many of these films were in a lot of critics and bloggers 'top films of the year' lists and I too would consider many of them outstanding films.   But this month I watched a lot of good ones and sadly these are the nine that had to be relegated to the 'not-as-good' end of the list.  If you think I'm mad, then please come back tomorrow to see what I'm rating higher than these films.  Surely they must be bloody brilliant?

What did you think of these films?  Is Melancholia a work of art?  Red State a pile of crap?

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (John Madden, 2012) Review

7/10

Ever wondered what the cue to get into heaven at St. Peter’s Gates is going to look like?  Try standing in line for a preview screening of this little gem.  The Daily Mail readers were out in force this morning, free tickets in hand and storming the cinema, to catch this charming story of a bunch of old folks retiring in India.  Like the line for entry to heaven, there was regretfully the odd young person in the audience, no doubt terrified at the prospect of leaving their life behind to sit with all the oldies for what might seem like eternity.

But fortunately The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a charmer and even the youngest viewers will find something to enjoy here.  Whether it’s Bill Nighy, again stealing the film from under the noses of an accomplished ensemble (see also Love Actually) or the sweet love story of the films only younger characters, the film has enough unexpected moments to mask the more predictable and clichéd elements of the story.

When seven British retirees opt to ‘outsource’ their retirements to cheap and cheerful India, they arrive at a hotel that is not as expected from the brochure.  Dev Patel’s Sonny runs the place under the watchful eye of his disapproving mother and the visitors are left to dust off the furniture and make do with the cockroaches on the floors and the curry served up every dinnertime.  

The stars of the movie are delightful; Judi Dench does vulnerable but determined; Bill Nighy funny and heartbreaking; and Tom Wilkinson quiet, reserved and struggling with an unexpected burden.  It is a story of seven characters facing up to a new time of their lives with new challenges and new loves presenting themselves.  It is a hopeful story about letting go of the past and embracing the future.

Like any film set in the country, India is a central character.  The colours, the faces, the smiles, the sounds, the hustle and bustle of the packed streets all assault the senses, not just for the characters but also for the viewer.  You might see less of the real India than many would like, but it is always present in the background.

The love stories are touching with the ups and downs of relationships sensitively written.  The unwinding of Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton’s Douglas and Jean is particularly well handled and bound to induce the odd tear once the inevitable finally happens.  Wilkinson’s search for a lost love is concluded a little too conveniently and lacks the emotional gut-punch it could have.  But all the characters get their moments in the spotlight; whether it is bigoted old racist Maggie Smith’s opening of her heart to the locals or Ronald Pickup’s desperate search for a last bit of nookie (ahem sorry… meaningful connection).

The elderly members of the audience loved it, laughing heartily from the opening moments of Dench on the phone to her internet service provider.  More unsettling was how many found Maggie Smith’s Muriel and her hideously outdated racist comments at the beginning even funnier.  Hopefully the Daily Mail readers, like Muriel, will come away from the film with a slightly enlightened view of the world outside their doors.

Overall, Dench and Nighy are the standouts, but Wilkinson also gets a strong storyline in a film chock-full to the brim with colour, joy, a little bit of sadness and hardship and a lot of hope.  Just like India itself then.

More reviews at I Love That Film:

Untouchable

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Song For Marion

Ruby Sparks