Sam's Top 10 Films of 2012
Barring a few critical darlings I haven't seen yet, here are my favorite films of a year filled with cinematic surprises, a year in which the line between popcorn entertainment and intimate drama was almost invisible.
10. “Hitchcock”
A beguiling behind-the-scenes look at what may be the most influential slasher movie in film history, “Psycho.” Here, the suspense lies in watching its aging director Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) try to top himself and keep his personal life in order during the process. “Hitchcock” is absolutely enchanting, adding magic to “Psycho” even as it pulls back the curtain on how it was made.
9. "Skyfall"
Like the 22 previous James Bond films, this one is a dazzling action adventure. But unlike many of them, its most thrilling moments happen in the quiet before the storm, between gunfights and explosions. In addition to Sam Mendes' intelligent direction and Daniel Craig's intimate performance, a large credit for the film's dramatic power goes to cinematographer Roger Deakins, who imbues every shot with a sense of texture and gravitas.
8. "Silver Linings Playbook"
As he did with 2010's "The Fighter," director David O. Russell breathes new life into family-drama Oscar bait, reminding us why award voters hooked on to the genre in the first place. In this film, bipolar Philadelphian Pat Solitano (played by a never-better Bradley Cooper) embodies Russell's revisionist approach, deconstructing and tackling love and mental illness rather than merely wallowing in it. As Pat's lovely foil Tiffany, Jennifer Lawrence is magnetic. And as Pat's father, Robert De Niro gives his best performance in years.
7. "Django Unchained"
A spaghetti western that also smacks of blaxploitation, "Django Unchained" is warmly familiar and bracingly fresh. One of Quentin Tarantino's best films, it offers an embarrassment of riches: a slave-turned-gunslinger revenge fantasy, horrifically dazzling violence, Leonardo DiCaprio like you've never seen him before and more. More importantly, it finds Tarantino doing what every great director should, engaging in dialogue with earlier cinema and history.
6. "Lincoln"
Director Steven Spielberg and star Daniel Day-Lewis reveal the man behind the legend without reducing his iconic stature. Screenwriter Tony Kushner glosses over some of the harsh realities of the history Lincoln helped shape. But that’s a minor nit to pick in a film that, like any great historical drama, successfully stirs suspense out of the inevitable. Although it is a mere coincidence that "Lincoln" arrived shortly after a presidential election, the timing adds weight to the already hefty and powerful political drama.
5. “Flight”
The drama of a plane crash lies not within its survivors’ defiance of death but in their struggle to live afterwards. Such is the conceit of “Flight” — director Robert Zemeckis’ first live-action film since 2000’s “Cast Away,” which, ironically, also revolves around a man recovering from the wreckage of a crash. In “Flight,” Denzel Washington stars as Whip Whitacre, an airline pilot who makes a miraculous crash-landing under the influence of alcohol. The film is not about a pilot who happens to drink before a fateful flight, as the previews suggest. It revolves around a much deeper conflict — that of a man’s demons in constant pursuit of his virtues. If only “Flight” had not ultimately let him off the hook so easily, it would’ve been a richer, more haunting film. But as it stands, it is a harrowing tale of addiction that crackles with suspense.
4. “The Master”
Like the cult at its center, this film is absolutely arresting. As the post-war waif at the forefront of the story, Joaquin Phoenix is magnetic and mesmerizing. And as the philosopher he follows, Philip Seymour Hoffman casts a spell. “The Master” is a majestic fever dream of a film, unlike anything the great writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson has done before.
3. “The Dark Knight Rises”
Another triumph that blurs the line between epic popcorn entertainment and intimate drama — and a great cap to a thrilling trilogy. With his dazzling combination of brains and brawn, Tom Hardy’s villainous Bane is a perfect embodiment of director Christopher Nolan’s audacious approach to the Batman franchise. "The Dark Knight Rises" is not only a great comic book film; it's a great film, period.
2. “The Grey”
The first film I saw this year, “The Grey” has not stopped haunting me. A large part of its visceral thrill lies in its striking subversion of expectations. Far from the grindhouse spectacle its hype suggested, “The Grey” is the most harrowing exploration of mortality in years. The Alaskan wolves are not the main attraction in this survival story; this is the rare outdoor thriller whose most mesmerizing marvel is the desperate strength of the human spirit.
1. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
This is not only the most tender and poignant film of the year; it’s the best high school movie I’ve ever seen. Like adolescence itself, “Perks” creates a moment-to-moment feeling of yearning and discovery. Filming with a misty lens, first-time director Stephen Chbosky beautifully visualizes the melancholy wonder of youth — a sensation even more powerfully expressed by his lead characters, tenderly portrayed by Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller and Emma Watson. Like Chbosky’s novel on which the film is based, “Perks” envelops you in its world — one you’ll find warmly similar to your own adolescence.
Honorable Mentions: "Argo" (a New Hollywood-esque political thriller brimming with playful suspense); "The Cabin in the Woods" (the cleverest self-aware horror film since "Scream"); "Frankenweenie" (an enchanting reintroduction to Tim Burton); "Magic Mike" (a surprisingly endearing character study and subtle indictment of our image-obsessed culture); "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (a refreshingly nuanced romantic dramedy).