So, here it is, the end of the year is upon us and with it the supposed end of mankind, as prophesied by those hypochondriac Mayans – or was it Noel Edmonds? Either way, they got it wrong and we’re still standing, so what better way to celebrate than to read our informative film finalisation of the last two months of 2012. We’ve had the great, the good and the Keith Lemon… here is THN’s final countdown…Cue some classic 80s Europe!
November
Musician RZA made his writing and directorial debut with kung-fu inspired THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS. Gathering an impressive cast including phone-throwing Oscar-winner Russell Crowe, and Lucy Liu, the film still failed to make a dent in the box-office, which can’t be said for Robert Zemeckis’ FLIGHT. The iconic director left the dead-eyed animation behind to lead Denzel Washington to another possible Oscar with the story of a hard-drinking, pill-popping pilot labelled a hero after saving the lives of his passengers, despite being the cause of the crash.
Disney’s Pixar-less animation effort WRECK-IT RALPH saw John C. Reilly voice lead Ralph looking for some love, and most caved in giving it a huge total at the box office, it opens in the UK in February. TWILIGHT fans around the world saw their lives become meaningless with the conclusion of the ‘epic’ saga (yes I’m trying to keep a straight face as I wrote that). BREAKING DAWN PART 2 was massive but no one at THN were prepared to sacrifice two hours of our lives to venture a review. No offence Twi-hards…
David O Russell’s acclaimed SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK was a welcome change of pace with a heart-warming story centred on the lives of two troubled individuals dealing with mental heath problems. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence give career-best performances in a movie our Esben described as “a feel-good film that ranks amongst the best of the year“. Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI was another to light up THN, with Dan, a huge fan of the novel, summing the big-screen transfer up as a “thrilling adventure, awe-inspiring visuals and truly a journey of unique discovery. You may not leave the cinema with a belief, or any change in your belief, of God but you’ll believe in LIFE OF PI“.
The first festive-themed kiddie fave arrived in the form of Dreamworks’ RISE OF THE GUARDIANS. Peter Ramsey’s all-star animated fantasy fable (with the voices of Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman and Alec Baldwin) didn’t impress THN’s new daddy Fordy, who commented that it “hits every predictable beat imaginable… it’s all painfully generic“. Dan Bradley’s long-delayed remake of 80s classic RED DAWN fared a little better (though not at the box-office), we said “the cast deliver uniformly good performances, and, as is so often the case, there are the usual twists and turns and a few surprises” Even Chris Hemsworth couldn’t save this big-budgeted actioner that sank without a trace.
KILL LIST director Ben Wheatley brought us another very British affair with the blackly comic SIGHTSEERS. The dark and hilarious misadventures of a caravaning (and serial-killing) couple was surprisingly full of heart with great performances from co writers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram. Sam Gilbert’s review labelled it “chockfull of belly laughs and twisted I-really-shouldn’t-be-enjoying-this moments“. Brad Pitt and Andrew Dominik’s re-teaming, after the superb western THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, is another worth mentioning despite a very disappointing box-office haul. KILLING ME SOFTLY’s political theme may have distracted viewers from enjoying the straight-forword gangster thriller most expected, however, we were certainly impressed remarking how the film was “quite brilliantly developed“.
December
Iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg brought his acclaimed biopic of 16th US Commander-In-Chief ‘honest Abe’ to the big-screen, minus the vampire hunting exploits as earlier demonstrated in Timur Bekmambetov’s fun flick. LINCOLN featured an all-star cast led by method master Daniel Day-Lewis demanding everyone on and off-screen call him Mr. President. Both a hit with critics and audiences alike, expect the film to feature strongly come Oscar night.
The last month of the year was always going to be dominated by one big release, Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. Fans flocked to see the likes of Gandalf and Bilbo back on the big-screen and if you loved the previous epic Oscar-winning trilogy, this offered more of the same with THN’s Martin saying “By the end you’ll undoubtedly be craving the next installment with bated breath”
Christopher McQuarrie’s first foray behind the camera since 2000s underrated crime-classic THE WAY OF THE GUN, saw him collaborate with Tom Cruise on the excellent JACK REACHER. The film, based on author Lee Child’s 9th novel to feature Reacher, ‘One Shot’, opens this week with myself praising it as “a clinical and labyrinthine thriller full of surprises and not a million miles away from the tactically-inspired 1970s crime thrillers“.
They may not be out yet, but it’s worth mentioning some of those vying for the Academy’s consideration due for release just before or after Christmas. Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Jamie Foxx as the vengeance-seeking title character attempting to rescue his wife from ruthless plantation owner Leonardo DiCaprio; Kathryn Bigelow’s fact-based military thriller ZERO DARK THIRTY see’s Jessica Chastain embark on the hunt for Osama bin Laden; J.A. Boyona’s disaster epic THE IMPOSSIBLE depicts the harrowing events and aftermath of the infamous Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, and of course Tom Hooper’s film version of sweeping musical LES MISERABLES which has Oscar-bait stamped all over it.
Hidden Gem
Michael Haneke’s AMOUR won Cannes’ Palm d’Or earlier in the year and the film, which centres on the lives of an elderly couple, pulled on our Martin’s heart strings with him proclaiming “AMOUR is heartbreaking in its story, acutely focused in its telling, and simultaneously devastating and inspirational in its content“.
Box Office Round-Up
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2 $279,005,734
WRECK IT RALPH $169, 568, 351
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY $113,152,900
LINCOLN $110,253,963
FLIGHT $90,279,687 (All figures correct at time of publish)
Catch up on the rest of THN’s 2012 Rundown here.
