MATEO'S TOP 10 FILMS OF 2012

BY MATEO MORENO 

1) LES MISERABLES (PG-13) Victor Hugo’s classic novel from 1862 was turned into a highly successful stage musical in the 1980’s that went on to win Oliver’s, Tony Awards, and worldwide success.  Various attempts to bring it to the screen have occurred but none successfully.  Now Director Tom Hopper (The Kings Speech) has finally brought the beloved musical to the screen in a beautiful and breathtaking version.  Hugh Jackman commands every scene as Jean Valjean, a man who has spent 19 years imprisoned, partly due to him stealing a loaf of bread for his dying sister.  His powerful performance never lets up here, and his emotional singing is stunning.  Anne Hathaway is breathtakingly beautiful as the suffering Fantine, a woman turned to prostitution to pay for her daughter to live.  Heart wrenching and honest, Hathaway has never been this good on screen, and her emotional performance, plus one of the best versions of “I Dreamed a Dream” I’ve ever heard, are sure to nab her an Academy Award.  Amanda Seyfried breathes life into Cossette, a character often underplayed and sometimes boring.  And Samantha Barks proves again what a wonderful role Eponine is.  Her voice is beautiful and her unredeemed love story is as beautiful as ever.  Also great are Aaron Tveit, Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, and Daniel Huttlestone.  Many critics and fans alike are up in arms with some of the “talk singing” instead of only belting out the tunes and true it does make the musical sounds different, but in an authentic, beautiful, and cinematic way.  Even with the miscasting of Russell Crowe, Les Miserables is a stunning achievement in filmmaking, and one of the best film musicals I’ve ever seen.

2) SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (Rated R) David O. Russell has made a wonderful career out of portraying damaged characters (The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings) and his latest adaption is no exception.  Bradley Cooper shines as Pat, an ex-teacher just out of the mental institution and living with his parents (a superb Robert DeNiro and classy Jacki Weaver).  Once out, he connects with a young girl named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a woman who has many problems of her own.  She agrees to help him out with his problems in exchange for something she needs done.  To tell you any more would ruin the beautiful surprises this movie has in store for you, but rest assured it’s a beaut.  Cooper and Lawrence are a perfect match, both shimmering with raw, emotional performances.  Robert DeNiro, as Cooper’s father, hasn’t been this good in years.  A tearful confession scene between him and Cooper will make even the most stoic of men reaching for a Kleenex.  As it reaches and pushes towards its climax, the film does what films rarely do: it gets better.  Truly the most authentic and enjoyable romance to come out in some time.

3) THE MASTER (Rated R) Paul Thomas Anderson always seems to have people adoring his films for their originality and strong performances.  Or they have people up in arms, protesting their strangeness, unable to connect, and sometimes simply “don’t get it.”  Put me in the former category, as he is truly one of my favorite American filmmakers, and his latest continues on his strengths as a unique voice.  Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie Quell, a lost soul who comes under the guidance of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the leader of a cult entitled “The Cause” that specializes in “hope, understanding, attention.”  But enlightenment is not exactly what happens through the course of the film.  Phoenix is phenomenal as Freddie, manic and violent in once scene and a protective puppy dog wanting desperately to learn something in the next.  Had it not been for Phoenix’s very public distain for awards, he would be one of the top contenders this year.  Hoffman is equally impressive but in a much more quiet and moody role.  The fact that you truly don’t know if his cult leader actually believes in the nonsense that he preaches is the beauty of the performance.  Amy Adams also turns in a great performance as Hoffman’s dedicated wife.  It’s not an easy film to digest, and may even take a couple viewings to full embrace, but The Master is intriguing, powerful, and bound to stir up discussions.

4) THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (Rated PG-13) Not since the days of John Hughes has a movie dealing with high school struck such an honest and emotional core.  Stephen Chbosky, adapting and directing his own novel, paints a beautiful portrait of a young introvert Charlie (Logan Lerman), who doesn’t really fit into anywhere.  That is until he stumbles into a group of “misfit toys.”  Siblings Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) become his best friends, first love approaches his doorstep, and all of the pain and struggle of high school is dealt with in a refreshingly honest way.  Lerman is quietly powerful as the boxed in teen, and Miller is the charmingly wonderful friend you always wish you had growing up.  Watson proves she’s no one trick Harry Potter pony with a heartfelt, loving performance (and also a spot on American accent).  The adults in the film also turn in great performances; Dylan McDermott in just a few scenes shows what a great dad can be, Paul Rudd brings a great humane touch to Charlie’s favorite teacher, and Melanie Lynskey adds a sweltering darkness to the tone of the film, one that never leaves.  It’s truly a film that didn’t nearly get the attention it should have got in theatres.  Give it its attention now.  It’s well deserved.

5) BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (Rated PG-13) Director Benh Zeitlin’s moody and breathtaking take on a small community in the bayou (based on the play Juicy and Delicious by Lucy Alibar) is surely the sweetest tale of success.  It was made for very little money (less than $2 million) and features a cast of almost complete unknowns.  Quvenzhané Wallis plays Hushpuppy, a six year old girl living in “The Bathtub,” a southern Delta community with her father (Dwight Henry).  With the rising flood waters and her father’s health steadily decreasing, Hushpuppy goes on a search for her mother and while doing so, encounters life.  Wallis is truly remarkable and could become the youngest Oscar nominee ever.  Her gentle and wide eyed view on a world she doesn’t understand is evenly matched with Henry’s tough love and sometimes chaotic father.  The fantastical addition of a prehistoric beast called Aurochs adds a darkened fairy tale element to the film.  It’s truly a wild, original, and beautiful meditation on growing up in a poor bayou and should be seen by everyone who loves original cinema.

6) MOONRISE KINGDOM (Rated PG-13) Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Fantastic Mr. Fox) brings his originality to this sweet story of two outcast kids (Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward) who fall in love in a sleepy New England town and go on the run, forcing their families and Scout Troops to go searching for them leading to a wild, out there adventure.  Showing up in the star studded adult cast is Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman & Bill Murray along with Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, and Bob Balaban.  Both Gilman and Hayward give top notch performances as the young, on the run lovers, and the adult cast all turn in unique and strong takes (Norton, Murray, and Willis especially strong).  It’s filled with all the strange unique oddities that come with an Wes Anderson film and also comes with all the charm and beauty they entail.  It’s a film oddly special in every single way.

7) THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (Rated R) Joss Whedon had two films he was involved in this year (the spectacular The Avengers and this).  Both films were crackling with humor and originality, but because it’s unlike any horror movie you’ve seen, Cabin is the one that hits my Top 10.  Knowing too much about this movie will spoil the fun (as is the case with a few of my Top 10 films this year) but I’ll say this much.  Five friends (Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kanz, Jesse Williams) take off for a weekend getaway in the woods and stay inside a rustic cabin, where things go horribly wrong all weekend.  Co-Writer/Director Drew Goddard and co-writer Joss Whedon create a new breed of Horror film; one that’s not fully horror, not fully action, and not fully comedy.  It’s a strange mix of all three and every bit of it works.  They approach each horror clique and march right past it to spectacular results.  Fran Kanz (recently seen on Broadway in Death of a Salesman) is the standout main cast member, while Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins both give great performances as…well you’ll have to see. Buckle up and enjoy the ride, because they most definitely take you on one, and it’s a doozy.

8) FLIGHT (Rated R) Director Robert Zemeckis returns to live action filmmaking with this very adult, very ambitious story of Whip Whittaker (Denzel Washington), an airline pilot who ends up landing his failing plane and saves the lives of almost everyone on board, instantly becoming a hero.  Though once the investigation starts, Whip’s story is much more than it seems.  Turns out he was drunk and high while flying the plane, thus instantly making his life much more complicated.  Zemeckis stages the landing in such a spectacular fashion that it takes your breath away, and THEN the movie starts.  It’s as if the ending to most films begins this one, and the real drama ensues.  Washington turns in another fantastic and complex performance as Whip.  His darkness and addition makes you cringe yet you’re always on his side wanting him to get better.  Kelly Reilly as a fellow addict whom Whit begins a relationship with, is also quite wonderful.  Her pain is mirrored in Whit, yet while she’s on the road to recovery, he seems to be stuck in neutral.  Among the rest of the cast giving strong supporting performances are Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, and John Goodman as Whit’s drug “brother.”  It’s not the soaring hopeful story you might expect from the trailers, but that’s where its strength is; it’s much stronger than what you think going in.  And doesn’t leave you when you come out.

9) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Rated PG-13) Truly an epic finale to an epic trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is a rollicking, thrilling film that places a very battered Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) in an almost peaceful Gotham City.  Still reeling from his run in with The Joker years ago, he’s put away his mantle, letting the newly restructured city take care of itself.  But when a new force of evil appears in the form of Bane (Tom Hardy) Batman must once again return to the streets, this time aided by a jewel thief Selena Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and a idealistic young cop (Joseph Gordon Levitt).  The structure of this final piece of Nolan’s Batman puzzle is splendid, and incredibly exciting.  Not only has that, but he (along with co-writers Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer) fully fleshed out these Gotham characters.  Bane, never a favorite of mine in the comics, makes a frightening nemesis here, and Hardy relishes it completely.  And Bale’s Batman/Bruce Wayne continues to deepen and grow.  Looking back on all three films, it really is a phenomenal piece of work, showing that not all Superhero movies need to be this gritty and dark.  But it sure did work for this Batman series.  It breathed new life into the Caped Crusader, one life that won’t go away for a very long time.

10) LIFE OF PI / NOT FADE AWAY / YOUR SISTERS SISTER (Rated PG-13 / Rated R / Rated R) In a three way tie for the tenth spot come three vastly different films.  To begin, Life of Pi is the ambitious Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel.  It centers on a young boy named Pi (played with determined ambition by Suraj Sharma) whose family is moving their beloved zoo of animals across the sea heading to Canada.  A storm hits, crushing their vessel into the sea, scattering its remains every which way.  Pi awakes, floating on a lifeboat with a few surviving animals, most notably a 450 pound Bengal Tiger who he names Richard Parker.  The story is an epic one of survival against all odds and a deep meditation on faith, never centering on one religion or way of belief, but on faith itself.  The relationship forged between a boy and a hungry tiger is fascinating, and Lee does a great job adapting a “unfilmmable” novel.  In order to fully embrace the film, you must separate it from the novel.  Appreciate them both on their own merits and you will see the spectacular beauty of the film (also, make sure you see it in the eye popping 3D.  The visuals often literally took my breath away.

Not Fade Away is the directorial debut of David Chase, creator of The Sopranos.  It’s a quiet and passionate tale of a group of kids in the 1960’s forging together to create a rock band and make it big.  John Magaro, Will Brill, Jack Huston, and Brahm Vaccarella are all great as the kids wanting to make a dent in the music scene, each bringing a touch of humor and passion to their roles.  Bella Heathcote is the luminous vision to Magaro’s passion and she adds a great balance to his determined performance.  As Magaro’s father, James Gandolfini is touching and subtle as he strains to connect with his son.  The ending, which I found beautiful, may divide audiences but overall it’s a quiet, strong love letter to rock and roll.

Your Sisters Sister is a beautiful, sparse film that follows two best friends and a sister in a remote cottage.  Still reeling from the death of his brother a year ago, Jack (Mark Duplass) is invited by his best friend Iris (Emily Blunt) to her father’s cabin to take some time off and recuperate, think about life, and be alone with his thoughts.  Once he arrives he finds out he’s not alone; Iris’s sister Hannah (Rosemary Dewitt) is also at the cabin.  The next morning, Iris shows up to join Jack there and over the course of a few reveling days, all of their lives are changed.  Trust me when I say the less you know the better (I know I’m a broken record.  But it really is true!).  Duplass is charming and relatable and Dewitt digs into her characters layers with an honest force that’s relatable and hard to watch.  Emily Blunt is radiant here, funny and charming, mixing it all into a beautiful performance.  Each time I see her, I like her even more.  Lynn Shelton (Humpday) has directed a beautifully intimate film that’s largely improvised by its cast, and due to that really add authenticity to it.  Watching it I really had no idea where it was going to go but each step I loved.  Heartfelt and witty, Your Sisters Sister is my final choice for favorites of 2012.  And though it may go unnoticed by the award show circuit, it shouldn’t go unnoticed by you.

The Artswire's NYFF 2012 Final Roundup

BY MATEO MORENO

BY MATTHEW CODY LANG

The 50^th Annual New York Film Festival (sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center) kicked off on September 28^th and ran through Oct. 14^th.  I previously gave 10 different “Must See, Should See, and Skip it” recommendations from the festival (see them here) and now my cohort Matthew Cody Lang and I have several more films (big budget, docs, foreign films, indies) to share with you.

MATEO’S PICKS:

MUST SEE

Not Fade Away (Rated: R, Opens December 21^st 2012 in limited release, USA) David Chase’s (The Sopranos) big screen directorial debut tells the story of a group of teens in the 1960’s, and the boom of music surrounding them.  At the center of it is a suburban Jersey family which includes an excellent John Magaro, James Gandolfini, & Molly Price.  The rest of the main cast is comprised of extremely talented actors as well including Will Brill, Bella Heathcote, Dominique Mcelliogott, Christopher McDonald, and Meg Guzulescu.  Chase, along with Music Supervisor Steven Van Zandt, creates a really poetic and beautiful love letter to the 1960’s era of rock and roll.  The performances feel real and authentic, and it truly helps sell the band aspect when the actors can all actually play (even more incredible is that they didn’t know how to play when they were cast).  Chase really evokes a great feeling of nostalgia for the period (even if you weren’t alive to see it) and the cast all perfectly fit into their roles.  The ending may divide audiences (Chase is no stranger to that) but I for one found it beautiful and original.

NO (Currently unrated, opening in limited release February 2013, Chile) Gael García Bernal stars in this true story, based on the “Yes” and “No” electoral campaign that changed the way Chile’s government works to this day.  Bernal plays René Saavedra, a young man in advertising who is used to working on products like Pepsi.  When the current dictator of Chile Augusto Pinochet is pressured by the international community, he calls for a “Yes” or “No” vote to be cast, deciding his power.  Pinochet only lets this happen to appear as a team player, not thinking anyone would dare vote against him.  The opposition hire Saavedra to head the “No” campaign and using a new and innovative marketing plan, they create a campaign that could actually remove Pinchet from office and free them from dictatorship.  Lives are threatened, innocent people are attacked, and Saavedra must decide if what he believes is the right thing to do really is worth all of it.  Bernal gives a magnetic performance, as does Antonia Zegers who plays his activist wife.  Director Pablo Larraín shoots the entire film in U-Matic which makes the film look shoddy and actually feels as if it was shot in the 1980’s.  In fact, about 30% of the film is archival footage (Pinochet is never played by an actor, only seen from actual clips for instance) and it blends seamlessly.  It’s a brave move to make a movie look bad on purpose, but that only adds to the thrilling aspect of the film.

Holy Motors (Rated: R, Now in limited release, France) I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a stranger film in the theatres than Leos Carax’s Holy Motors and still loved every moment of its weirdness.  The story is weird and almost dreamlike, following a man, Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant), who travels from one life to the next, becoming a beggar, a family man, a mobster, and more.  His dutiful limousine driver Céline (Edith Scob) takes him from location to location, often saving his life as well (that is, if there is a life to save as Oscar dies several times in the film too).  Some familiar faces come up throughout; Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue, and the director himself show up to play.  Throughout the film, some beautifully shot sequences bring you into a world that is both beautiful and confusing; challenging the way a film is presented and formatted altogether.  Take my word for it; you’ve never seen anything like it.

SHOULD SEE

Flight (Rated R, Release date: November 2^nd, 2012, USA) Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, The Polar Express) returns to live action features with this dark and quite exhilarating tale of Captain Whitaker (Denzel Washington), an airline pilot who during a routine flight, miraculously lands a plane falling apart and saves almost everyone on board.  However, Mr. Whitaker is far from your typical heroic man.  Before boarding the flight, he was drunk and high on cocaine.  Once in the hospital, Whitaker’s blood is taken and suddenly his dangerous and boozy life comes crashing into his brave and heroic act.  Zemeckis’s return is both very exciting and a very dark film, especially for mainstream American filmmaking.  Washington pulls quite an impressive performance with the doomed pilot, making you like him while you revile his actions.  It’s a brave and tormented performance, one that will no doubt gain traction come awards season.  Showing up in great supporting roles are John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, and a tragically beautiful (and understated) performance by Kelly Reilly.  It’s not family friendly but it is an exuberating film that may detour occasionally into somewhat sappy waters but the thrill of this Flight overcomes it every time. 

Après mai (Something in the Air) (Rated: R, Opens in limited release Nov. 14th, 2012, France) A beautifully shot story of a young man and his activist friends in late 1960's to early 1970's France makes up the story of Aprés mai.  Clément Métayer stars as Gilles, a 17 year old high school student fed up with the social unrest of the time and, along with his friends (including Felix Armand, Hugo Conzelmann, and Lola Creton) fight for what they believe in, distribute left wing magazines, and vandalize building in protest.  It’s a beautiful and engaging story following these young adults and the radically changing times of the world.  Director Clément Métayer shoots the film with an engaging precision and the cast (notably Armand, Creton, and Carole Combes as Gilles wandering ex girlfriend) give memorable performances.  Not everyone’s stories have a full ending (especially Combes) and that’s okay.  It’s as if sometimes we’re only allowed to see so much of these characters lives.  A sharp and smart import that should be seen.

Ginger and Rosa (Rated: R, US release date: tba, UK) Director Sally Potter’s extremely mellow film stars Elle Fanning and Alice Englert as best friends living in London 1962.  They are literally inseparable since birth, born only inches apart.  Yet as they grow into their teens, the two girls begin to separate, one becoming obsessed with the threat of Nuclear war and the other increasingly more drawn to the sexual revolution.  Rounding out their parents are Alessandro Nivola, Christina Hendricks, Annette Bening, & Oliver Platt, each giving fine performances (Nivola in particular).  Fanning and Englert are quite good too and Potter does paint an intriguing portrait here.  Yet at times the movie keeps you at an arm’s length and in the end is quite cold.  But there’s still much to admire in this film and its dark production.

SKIP IT

Amour (Rated PG-13, Opening in limited release Dec. 19^th, Austria) I put Amour in the “Skip it” category not because it isn’t a well made film (it is) or that the lead actors Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, & Issabelle Huppert don’t do a wonderful job (they do).  I put it here because it is an extremely sad film to watch, and I’m not sure if the end result is worth it.  Trintignant & Riva play Georges and Anne, a couple in their 80’s, retired, and living a quiet, pleasant life.  Until one day Anne health suddenly beings to fade away and Georges is left to care for his wife, who eventually is almost unable to communicate with him at all.  The film is very simple; elongated shots, no score, and very powerful performances by all three lead performances.  The end is shocking and sad and everyone involved does lovely work.  Yet the entire ordeal, for me, felt just that; an ordeal.  I appreciated the filmmaking but didn’t enjoy the film.  It was far too sad, too long (it runs a little over 2 hours and without a score and much dialogue it felt twice that length) and for me didn’t earn the sadness it brought me as a viewer.  And as much as the actors put out there, I never fully felt connected to them, or knew them as a character.  Perhaps you aren’t meant to, and there are plenty of fans of this film (it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year).  I’m just not one of them.

CODY’S PICKS

MUST SEE

NO (currently unrated, opening in limited release February 15th, 2013, Chile) This was the film I was looking forward to the most of the festival because I have been an admirer of Gael García Bernal work for years. Hearing he was going to be at the screening lit a fire beneath me and made me rush to the theater for a good seat. My heart sank when the press was told he was sick and could not make it. Luckily, I wiped the embarrassing fan girl tears away and stayed for the film.

This wonderfully exciting new film follows an ad executive (Gael García Bernal) through Chile’s 1988 referendum as he creates a clever campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet. Being as the film takes place in the late 80’s, director Pablo Larrain takes the viewer back in time with this charming retro documentary style cinematography. The performances are fantastic and Bernal (who never misses a note) is at the top of his game. Pedro Peirano’s screenplay highlights both sides of the debate with a worldly eye that exposes the truth but also with a safe amount of humor. 

CASTING BY  (unrated, release date: tba, USA) Tom Donahue’s insightful documentary that delves into the lives of casting directors was a surprisingly pleasant ride. It mostly centers around famous casting director Marion Dougherty who pushed her way to the top through and is responsible for the casting of many famous films/roles such as Midnight Cowboy, Lethal Weapon, and Batman. It also shows the lack of respect that many casting directors have and still have received in the industry. The film shines a new light on this job title that people in the entertainment business should not miss out on this film.

SHOULD SEE

LIFE OF PI (Rated: PG-13, Release Date: November 21st, 2013, USA) The morning I went to see this film, my right contact was hurting my eye so I decided to just watch the film with my other eye. The film was in 3D so being momentarily handicapped helped me see the film and not just the spectacle. Ang Lee returns with a visually stunning film that left my eye(s) salivating. While on a journey with his family across the sea, Pi (Suraj Sharma) is left stranded on a raft after a storm destroys the massive ship. But he is not alone. He must share the raft with a Bengal tiger he grew up to fear. This tale of survival will definitely keep you drawn in from beginning to end but the emotional attachment to the characters falls very short because of the writing. Newcomer Suraj Sharma gives a great performance that will sadly go under appreciated but still respected considering he basically carries the entire film. Though I was not fully involved with the story, it was definitely a beautiful thing to watch and the effects will have everyone gasping and craving more.

SKIP IT

PASSION (Rated: R, release date: tba, USA) Oh lord. Brian de Palma’s new thriller stars a wonderful Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace. The first half of the film is very scandalous and hilarious with a dash of suspense. McAdams keeps Rapace’s character tied around her finger until the roles become reversed and de Palma decides to stop and make a completely different film that does nothing but leave the viewer hoping for a sudden conclusion or a return to the original film you believed you were watching. This scattered film left everyone in the audience laughing and shaking their heads. The only reason to see this film would be for Rachel McAdams. Her corporate demeanor and secret sadistic side fight each other throughout and it’s exciting to see her play with both sides so effortlessly. So if you watch this film, leave the theater once the pills come into play. Hitchcock would be embarrassed.