2012 in review
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 1:02 pm
And here we are again... I'm obliged to tackle the moviegoing year 2012 with full acknowledgement that I have yet to catch DJANGO UNCHAINED (though I intend to, of course), and that I deliberately skipped BREAKING DAWN PART 2 and yes, even THE HOBBIT because I don't care for the post-Potter practice of making multiple movies out of single books that don't actually call for them. I may have to make an exception when the final HUNGER GAMES installments come out as I've already started reviewing that series in print, however.
2012 was a bigger year for franchise fantasy and action than pretty much anything else... the pure "horror" entries were often debatable at best, forcing me to consider a number of marginal titles just to bolster the annual list. So, with that in mind...
THE GOOD
It's "not a horror movie," but THE GREY does, indeed, feature scary, snarling monsters out to GET you, so this Liam Neeson survival vehicle warrants consideration here--and it was very well done, so it makes the grade.
Hammer Films made a most welcome box-office comeback (after the well-reviewed flop LET ME IN) with a macabre, thoroughly atmospheric take on the British perennial THE WOMAN IN BLACK (as good an adaptation as any of the multiple variants, featuring a strong lead performance by Daniel Radcliffe).
SOUND OF MY VOICE didn't go for the "scares," but supplied plenty of effective unease and paranoia in its tale of a cult led by a supposed time traveler... this is one indie that's sure to stick with you.
Then we had the two big "event" films of the year... Joss Whedon's long-shelved THE CABIN IN THE WOODS went for broke with clever surprises and a thorough understanding of all that had gone on before in the guise of an all-too-typical "body count" movie; while Ridley Scott's controversial PROMETHEUS served up an overwhelming deep 3-D spectacle that scored enough "horror" moments to go with the science-fiction premise. The jury's still out on just how well this complements ALIEN itself, but it's a terrific ride on its own.
THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET was a neat surprise that was practically snuck into theatres to take advantage of star Jennifer Lawrence's new HUNGER GAMES popularity. The premise was low key, but the acting and script were both surprisingly strong... it certainly managed to keep me guessing!
The retro anthology V/H/S managed to hit a few theatre screens, but most of you will see it on DVD... not the format for which it was named. Yes, there's shaky-cam vertigo to be had from beginning to end, but if you're used to that sort of thing, there are definitely more excellent segments than mediocre ones.
The sequel we never thought we'd see was THE COLLECTION, which revealed itself to be a full-blown Italian horror celebration from the SAW sequel team. Yeah, THIS one I quite enjoyed, but you guys aren't off the hook yet (stay tuned).
But the flat-out SCARIEST film of the year was one that came to us under the generic title SINISTER. The trailer convinced me that it was nothing more than another J-horror rehash (see the image and you're doomed), but this one went above and beyond to shock and disturb, so it more than earns its stripes as the top HORROR title of 2012.
THE MIDDLE GROUND
Yet another "found footage" extravaganza, THE DEVIL INSIDE scored a whopping opening weekend take and managed to squeeze a few good moments out of the well-worn format. Then they ran out of tape or something.
Then there were two more "house" movies... SILENT HOUSE was the wrong film on which to apply the "real time" gimmick, for reasons that become apparent as the secrets are uncovered, but there's still reasonable intensity while it lasts. As for DREAM HOUSE? Daniel Craig and some excellent art direction manage to distract you painlessly from yet another wearily predictable scenario.
The Filipino import THE ROAD tries to be the nation's representative of both the "serial killer" and "supernatural vengeance" subgenres... it starts off with a bang but loses its effectiveness the further it travels back in time.
Not one, but two vampire-themed movies highlighting the name of Tim Burton. DARK SHADOWS was decent fun and turned out to be more respectful to the original series than it appeared in the truly awful comedy trailer, but it's still closer to BEETLEJUICE in the long run. And while ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER opened well with the traditional "training" story, the potentially interesting tale got swallowed up in utterly overblown action sequences. Notice how neither film earned much of an audience?
As opposed to the phony conversion job of AL:VH, we got two franchise entries in genuine 3-D... and the 3-D was excellent in each case, even though RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION was another all-over-the-map video zombie fest (you can't go wrong with Milla Jovovich, either); and SILENT HILL: REVELATION served up mostly random gobbledygook to go with its truly creepy and effective visuals.
Finally, we had THE POSSESSION, which boasted a terrific cast of characters essentially assigned to enact a PG-13 version of THE EXORCIST with a Jewish slant. Not bad at all, but three-and-a-half stars, Roger??
Now, before I get to the stinkers, a bit of qualification is in order. If WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is a searing drama in which Tilda Swinton tries to re-assemble her life after the hideous actions of her son, then it's a powerful and well-acted movie. But when it tries to be (or resemble) a "horror film," then it's one of the most pretentious and heavy-handed BAD SEED ripoffs imaginable (yeah, we notice the color red all over the place, and we see the targets reflected in Kevin's eyes. Puh-leeze.).
THE BAD
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE made me long for CRANK 3-D more than ever. It wasn't quite as awful as the first movie, but the miscasting of Nicolas Cage and the lack of anything resembling a tone caused this to wipe out quickly. At least one observant viewer noticed that DRIVE ANGRY was a better Ghost Rider film than either of the official entries...
I missed PIRANHA 3DD in theatres (guess I wasn't one of the lucky eleven), but this excruciating joke-fest (yes, written by the same Dunstan/Melton team from the SAW/COLLECTOR/FEAST series) made the Aja "original" look like a masterpiece.
John Cusack COULD play Edgar Allan Poe in a good movie, but THE RAVEN sure wasn't it. Yep, just another SAW ripoff in a very different setting.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 convinced me to give up on the series. I don't care about the ongoing characters, it's not scary any more, and the formula has just plain stopped working. See V/H/S instead.
And the worst horror film of the year? THE APPARITION had a potentially good cast and it came from the usually dependable Dark Castle studios, but seldom have I seen something so lazy and generic come from people who ought to know better. Nor is it the fault of yet another hoary J-horror premise. SINISTER took it seriously and knew it could still be scary. Nobody here even tried.
A pair of super-strange "arthouse" entries flirted with the genre without truly embracing it: BRANDED would have been a crackerjack corporate intrigue/advertising satire WITHOUT the confusing mystical elements, but a vegetarian dragon fighting a Ronald McDonald monster certainly ranked as the most unique image of the year. And while COSMOPOLIS even alienated most of the defenders of Cronenberg's other "impossible" book adaptations, it's still a part of the Cronenberg universe in theme and detail.
As I said earlier, the majority of screen excitement in 2012 came from dependable franchises willing to experiment with their formats. CHRONICLE was a good "found footage" supehero film that didn't actually involve any heroic activity whatsoever. Meanwhile, the traditional superheroes continued to shine in (well, of course) THE AVENGERS, the needless but super-entertaining reboot THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and the one with the heaviest "hard act to follow" curse ever, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
Criminally overlooked in this arena was the superb 3-D DREDD, which gave you everything Stallone didn't... and then some.
Stallone himself gave us the truly ho-hum EXPENDABLES 2, in which Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. make jokes about each other's catch-phrases, Jet Li skips town early, and only Jean-Claude Van Damme makes a memorable impression. ZZZZZ.
On the other hand, the time-worn James Bond franchise stunned everybody with the outstanding 50th anniversary celebration SKYFALL.
THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS tried to give you fantastic elements to go with its traditional martial arts stylings, but the RZA did himself no favors by directing himself as the surprise lead character. It's decent fun that could and should have been a LOT more.
And as for THE HUNGER GAMES? I weary of the BATTLE ROYALE argument because it's not the same story--the movie was a faithful and exciting adaptation of a "young adult" novel that I'd take over any of the TWILIGHT books any day. And it's a futurisitic "death sport" story, so that automatically puts me in the audience. So there.
That's my 2012... how was yours?
Remo D.
2012 was a bigger year for franchise fantasy and action than pretty much anything else... the pure "horror" entries were often debatable at best, forcing me to consider a number of marginal titles just to bolster the annual list. So, with that in mind...
THE GOOD
It's "not a horror movie," but THE GREY does, indeed, feature scary, snarling monsters out to GET you, so this Liam Neeson survival vehicle warrants consideration here--and it was very well done, so it makes the grade.
Hammer Films made a most welcome box-office comeback (after the well-reviewed flop LET ME IN) with a macabre, thoroughly atmospheric take on the British perennial THE WOMAN IN BLACK (as good an adaptation as any of the multiple variants, featuring a strong lead performance by Daniel Radcliffe).
SOUND OF MY VOICE didn't go for the "scares," but supplied plenty of effective unease and paranoia in its tale of a cult led by a supposed time traveler... this is one indie that's sure to stick with you.
Then we had the two big "event" films of the year... Joss Whedon's long-shelved THE CABIN IN THE WOODS went for broke with clever surprises and a thorough understanding of all that had gone on before in the guise of an all-too-typical "body count" movie; while Ridley Scott's controversial PROMETHEUS served up an overwhelming deep 3-D spectacle that scored enough "horror" moments to go with the science-fiction premise. The jury's still out on just how well this complements ALIEN itself, but it's a terrific ride on its own.
THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET was a neat surprise that was practically snuck into theatres to take advantage of star Jennifer Lawrence's new HUNGER GAMES popularity. The premise was low key, but the acting and script were both surprisingly strong... it certainly managed to keep me guessing!
The retro anthology V/H/S managed to hit a few theatre screens, but most of you will see it on DVD... not the format for which it was named. Yes, there's shaky-cam vertigo to be had from beginning to end, but if you're used to that sort of thing, there are definitely more excellent segments than mediocre ones.
The sequel we never thought we'd see was THE COLLECTION, which revealed itself to be a full-blown Italian horror celebration from the SAW sequel team. Yeah, THIS one I quite enjoyed, but you guys aren't off the hook yet (stay tuned).
But the flat-out SCARIEST film of the year was one that came to us under the generic title SINISTER. The trailer convinced me that it was nothing more than another J-horror rehash (see the image and you're doomed), but this one went above and beyond to shock and disturb, so it more than earns its stripes as the top HORROR title of 2012.
THE MIDDLE GROUND
Yet another "found footage" extravaganza, THE DEVIL INSIDE scored a whopping opening weekend take and managed to squeeze a few good moments out of the well-worn format. Then they ran out of tape or something.
Then there were two more "house" movies... SILENT HOUSE was the wrong film on which to apply the "real time" gimmick, for reasons that become apparent as the secrets are uncovered, but there's still reasonable intensity while it lasts. As for DREAM HOUSE? Daniel Craig and some excellent art direction manage to distract you painlessly from yet another wearily predictable scenario.
The Filipino import THE ROAD tries to be the nation's representative of both the "serial killer" and "supernatural vengeance" subgenres... it starts off with a bang but loses its effectiveness the further it travels back in time.
Not one, but two vampire-themed movies highlighting the name of Tim Burton. DARK SHADOWS was decent fun and turned out to be more respectful to the original series than it appeared in the truly awful comedy trailer, but it's still closer to BEETLEJUICE in the long run. And while ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER opened well with the traditional "training" story, the potentially interesting tale got swallowed up in utterly overblown action sequences. Notice how neither film earned much of an audience?
As opposed to the phony conversion job of AL:VH, we got two franchise entries in genuine 3-D... and the 3-D was excellent in each case, even though RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION was another all-over-the-map video zombie fest (you can't go wrong with Milla Jovovich, either); and SILENT HILL: REVELATION served up mostly random gobbledygook to go with its truly creepy and effective visuals.
Finally, we had THE POSSESSION, which boasted a terrific cast of characters essentially assigned to enact a PG-13 version of THE EXORCIST with a Jewish slant. Not bad at all, but three-and-a-half stars, Roger??
Now, before I get to the stinkers, a bit of qualification is in order. If WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is a searing drama in which Tilda Swinton tries to re-assemble her life after the hideous actions of her son, then it's a powerful and well-acted movie. But when it tries to be (or resemble) a "horror film," then it's one of the most pretentious and heavy-handed BAD SEED ripoffs imaginable (yeah, we notice the color red all over the place, and we see the targets reflected in Kevin's eyes. Puh-leeze.).
THE BAD
GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE made me long for CRANK 3-D more than ever. It wasn't quite as awful as the first movie, but the miscasting of Nicolas Cage and the lack of anything resembling a tone caused this to wipe out quickly. At least one observant viewer noticed that DRIVE ANGRY was a better Ghost Rider film than either of the official entries...
I missed PIRANHA 3DD in theatres (guess I wasn't one of the lucky eleven), but this excruciating joke-fest (yes, written by the same Dunstan/Melton team from the SAW/COLLECTOR/FEAST series) made the Aja "original" look like a masterpiece.
John Cusack COULD play Edgar Allan Poe in a good movie, but THE RAVEN sure wasn't it. Yep, just another SAW ripoff in a very different setting.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 convinced me to give up on the series. I don't care about the ongoing characters, it's not scary any more, and the formula has just plain stopped working. See V/H/S instead.
And the worst horror film of the year? THE APPARITION had a potentially good cast and it came from the usually dependable Dark Castle studios, but seldom have I seen something so lazy and generic come from people who ought to know better. Nor is it the fault of yet another hoary J-horror premise. SINISTER took it seriously and knew it could still be scary. Nobody here even tried.
A pair of super-strange "arthouse" entries flirted with the genre without truly embracing it: BRANDED would have been a crackerjack corporate intrigue/advertising satire WITHOUT the confusing mystical elements, but a vegetarian dragon fighting a Ronald McDonald monster certainly ranked as the most unique image of the year. And while COSMOPOLIS even alienated most of the defenders of Cronenberg's other "impossible" book adaptations, it's still a part of the Cronenberg universe in theme and detail.
As I said earlier, the majority of screen excitement in 2012 came from dependable franchises willing to experiment with their formats. CHRONICLE was a good "found footage" supehero film that didn't actually involve any heroic activity whatsoever. Meanwhile, the traditional superheroes continued to shine in (well, of course) THE AVENGERS, the needless but super-entertaining reboot THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and the one with the heaviest "hard act to follow" curse ever, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
Criminally overlooked in this arena was the superb 3-D DREDD, which gave you everything Stallone didn't... and then some.
Stallone himself gave us the truly ho-hum EXPENDABLES 2, in which Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. make jokes about each other's catch-phrases, Jet Li skips town early, and only Jean-Claude Van Damme makes a memorable impression. ZZZZZ.
On the other hand, the time-worn James Bond franchise stunned everybody with the outstanding 50th anniversary celebration SKYFALL.
THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS tried to give you fantastic elements to go with its traditional martial arts stylings, but the RZA did himself no favors by directing himself as the surprise lead character. It's decent fun that could and should have been a LOT more.
And as for THE HUNGER GAMES? I weary of the BATTLE ROYALE argument because it's not the same story--the movie was a faithful and exciting adaptation of a "young adult" novel that I'd take over any of the TWILIGHT books any day. And it's a futurisitic "death sport" story, so that automatically puts me in the audience. So there.
That's my 2012... how was yours?
Remo D.