2012 was not an inspiring year for movies, at least not
when it came to the ones I saw at the movie theater. Below is a list of
the films I went and saw with brief reviews of each one:
The Hunger Games- Genuinely awful. This is the type of film
that reminds me why teenagers are still developing their taste. Bad dialogue,
mopey “acting” substituting as grim resolve and dull situations made this one
of the more painful exercises in futility I’ve suffered through in years.
Amazing Spider-Man- Embarrassingly bad. As far as I was
concerned, there was no need to reboot a franchise that was working, but since Sam
Raimi and Tobey Maguire wanted an extra year to develop a quality Spidey flick,
the studio stupidly chose to green light this abortion. Spidey for the “Twilight”
degeneration, this film features a mopey Peter Parker with a soap opera level
backstory and some of the cheapest-looking visual effects I’ve seen since the Scorpion
King in “The Mummy Returns.”
The Bourne Legacy- Very good. Not as good as the
Greengrass/Damon films, but the same screenwriter from those films wrote and
directed this one with a mostly positive pay-off. Kudos to him for creating a
separate yet equally interesting concept running concurrent with the events of
the third film. It’s a bit draggy and confusing in the beginning, but once the
film finds its legs, it’s one helluva ride!
Skyfall- Absolute drivel. I was never keen on the reboot to begin with, but "Casino Royale" turned out to be an astoundingly good film. Then "A Quantum of Solace" showed me what happens when idiots run the show. Now "Skyfall" comes along and reveals how little there is left to say in a Bond film. Featuring a screenplay that felt as if it was written by fifteen different teams of writers who never met or compared notes, this garbage pile lurches along from uninspired scene after scene until a pathetically awful conclusion ripped out of "Witness" with Harrison Ford. It's so poorly structured, that a scene at the end that should have held emotional relevance resulted in a shrug from me. I have now officially lost interest in Daniel Craig's Bond films.
Lincoln- Very good. Still, it could have been better. And
had Spielberg not been the director, it probably would have been. I’ve always
seen Speilberg as a superficial director whose skills in creating suspense are
not useful when doing character studies. His historical films have been at best
uneven and, at worst, “Schindler’s List.” Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent and
Sally Field does well with what she’s given. It’s the acting that makes this
rather static film move.
The Avengers- Excellent. I’m not just saying that as a
fanboy, either. This was a film that could have easily not lived up to the
hype, but it exceeded it. The characters are well-represented, the dialogue is
crisp and serves the plot rather than hampering it like the awful lines uttered
in the Spider-Man reboot, and the action is phenomenal.
John Carter- Great. An underrated adaptation of a difficult
novel, this film was unfairly maligned because of its budget. It’s the first
thing I’ve seen in years that made me feel the way I felt when I first saw Star
Wars. Even the JJ Abrams Star Trek didn’t do that.
Taken 2- Painfully awful. To be fair, repeated viewing of “Taken”
the first reveal it to be a deeply flawed film with little redeeming quality
beyond its star and subject matter. But compared to its sequel, the first one
is a masterpiece. Taken 2 pushes the concept of kidnapping to its illogical
extremes and actually has the daughter running around Turkey tossing live
grenades onto rooftops so Super-Liam can direct her to where he’s being held
prisoner. The fight scenes are stiff and geriatric feeling and the climax
between Neeson and the main bad guy is so abrupt, I literally missed it. Terrible,
terrible movie that I feel dumber for having watched.
Ghostrider: Spirit of Vengeance- Meh. I didn’t have a
problem with the first one, so the idea of a revamped sequel was lost on me. Yes,
Johnny Blaze is darker and crazier in this one, but the story feels rushed and
all the cool setup gets lost in asides showing how crazy and evil the title
character is.
Total Recall- Forgettable. Instantly forgettable. I’ve never
seen a more disposable remake. I used to have a strong dislike for the
Schwarzenegger original, but that one at least had feeling behind it. The
remake feels cold, functional and serviceable at best.
Django Unchained- This was the one film, other than the "Avengers," I'd been waiting for. It was also the perfect way to close out the year, following the dreadfulness of Bond and the whitewashed classroom boredom of "Lincoln." The writing, the directing, the acting are all perfect, Tarrantino once more showing that he exists in a world of quality filmmaking quie separate from most of his peers. Best movie of the year.
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