Top 10 – the Best Ten Films of 2012

Hurray! An end-of-the-year list with good movies! Rejoice!*

10 The Descendants

A lovely portrait of middle-age. The rough edges and the cynicism that characterized director Alexander Payne’s earlier films are smoothed over – to a very satisfying effect. George Clooney delivers a career-high performance. Extra kudos for the gorgeous images of everyday Hawaii.

 

9 The Hunger Games

The big surprise of the year. I, for one, would never have thought that anything that seems knock-off Twilight on the surface could make this good a film. Jennifer Lawrence proves herself to be a true leading lady, one like Hollywood has not seen in years.

 

8 Moonrise Kingdom

A film that much resembles The Descendants, in that it is the softest, cuddliest film in the corpus of its director. Many people are annoyed by Wes Anderson’s blend of depressed Bill Murrays and high concept stylization, but this is a film with a warm and true heart. Excellent performance all around, especially by the kids, and the best soundtrack of the year.

 

7 Cloud Atlas

Arguably the greatest filmmaking achievement of the year. A film project that seemed most likely to be made fun off, or at least provoke some raised eyebrows. But Tykwer and the Wachowski’s adapt an apparently unadaptable book and deliver a movie with a point as well as six climaxes. That it never feels too long is a credit to the excellent editing.

 

6 The Dark Knight Rises

Especially upon repeated viewing it becomes clear that Nolan’s final Batman film is not as good as the two films preceding it. There is some shoddy editing, and the lack of substantial politics disappointed me. But one cannot deny that this is still really good stuff. A mature superhero film on an unprecedented scale.

 

5 End of Watch

An incredibly tense police film with fantastic performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. The original cinematography – a blend of found footage and first-person shooter games – is its characterizing feature, but there is much substance to all this surface. There is no space for nuance here – the bad guys are very bad indeed – but what the hell? Who cares?

 

4 Anna Karenina

Its first half hour is the best half hour of cinema I’ve seen this year. No film can look like this and still tell a good story about interesting characters, so it is good that after that half hour Anna Karenina slows down to focus on its drama. Joe Wright’s second big achievement with this film is that Tolstoy’s outdated ethics actually do seem quite sensible.

 

3 Martha Marcy May Marlene

Already in 2011 this was the darling of the Sundance festival. We had to wait for a long time to get to see it here in The Netherlands, but boy, was it worth the wait! An outstanding debut for both director Sean Durkin and leading lady Elizabeth Olsen, who has more than twice the talent of her two older siblings combined.

 

2 The Muppets

A surprise choice perhaps. Not the choice made by any esteemed critic with proper taste. But hell, The Muppets made me happier than any other film this year. I laughed, I cried, and back at home I was still singing along with the lyrics.

 

1 Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da

Aka Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. Completely overwhelming drama about modern-day Turkey and the burdens it carries from its history. The tracking shot of a half-eaten apple rolling down a hill and into a little stream is an example of filmmaking machismo by one of the art’s masters; Nuri Bilge Ceylan. But more crucial is the shot of the doctor, seeing the wife and son of the murder victim walking home. It left me breathless.

 

* Circumstance prevented me from seeing Ang Lee’s The Life of Pi before the close of the year. So it will be a 2013 contender.

Oscar’s logic: things to consider…

Tonight are the Oscars awarded, in a big ceremony in the Kodak theatre in Los Angeles. So over the last week(s) many people have tried to predict who is going to win. But what do we need to consider? Three types of Oscar logic work kinda against each other this year:

Oscar logic number 1: there is almost always one big favourite. This year that favourite is Michel Hazanavicius’  almost-silent black-and-white film The Artist. Last year it was The King’s Speech. Crucially, this big favourite will win awards, in the wake of winning best picture, almost automatically. Best Director and Best Original (or adapted, depending on the film) Screenplay for instance. Or some technical awards that other films might be more deserving of. So there is a chance that The Artist, apart from winning Best Film, will also win Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Music, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes, Best Editing and best Cinematography. And of course Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best Supporting Actress for Berenice Bejo.

Oscar logic number 2: The industry has certain demands. You wouldn’t believe it, but Hollywood thinks it is in crisis. Because of the economical crisis everwhere else of course, and because of piracy. So box office success and industrial demands do influence the votes. If a film has hardly been seen by anyone, then kiss your chances goodbye. Sorry Glenn Close (nominated for Albert Nobbs), but that is the deal. As to industrial demands: In 2009-10, Avatar broke all kinds of box office records. So it won awards. Technical ones, mostly, but still. In a strange, counter-sentimental move against Avatar and 3D the important prizes of 2010 were won by the little-seen The Hurt Locker. But this year 3D must be proven a viable option for the future, now that legendary directors Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have adopted the format. Since Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin was criminally neglected by the Academy, Scorsese’s Hugo may have a shot at some prizes, especially Editing and Cinematography.

Oscar logic number 3: On the wave of The Artist Dujardin and Bejo may win awards for their performances, but there are other factors to consider: Best Actor is a career prize. It usually goes to actors who have a long-standing reputation in Hollywood. To win, it has to be your time. Cue Jeff Bridges in 2010, Colin Firth in 2011 and now George Clooney in 2012. Or, very perhaps, Gary Oldman. In the supporting categories the Academy tends to reward eccentric, extravagant performances in socially ‘relevant’  films. So Mo’nique in 2010, for Precious, and Melissa Leo last year for The Fighter. And this year Octavia Spencer for The Help.

I do not know what will happen in Los Angeles tonight. But whatever the outcome, the three types of Oscar logic described above will play their parts.

Oscar logic number 4. Pixar wins Best Animated Film. Oh, wait, they are not nominated this year. ..

A Film to Love and Cherish – the The Descendants review

Point one: one thing we must immediately stop doing is acting surprised when we see George Clooney giving a good film performance. Yes, he started out in a weepy hospital-soap and became initially known for his good looks. But since he took the piss with that image in Robert Rodriguez’ From Dusk Till Dawn he has showcased acting talent and versatility. He can do comedies, action flicks, heist movies and political thrillers and dramas. He oozes movie star charisma, but is not averse to roles that undermine his carefully maintained image. And in recent years he has done a number of really well-judged character roles. In Up in the Air, The American and now in The Descendants he showed that he is a dramatic actor of the same quality as more ‘respectable’ actors of his generation, like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sean Penn. The latter two already have their Oscars. It really is Clooney turn now, and his performance in The Descendants is a genuinely award-deserving turn. Step aside, Jean Dujardin, this is Clooney’s year.

Point two: It has taken Alexander Payne quite a while (Sideways came out in 2004), but the darling director of American indie cinema has delivered a film that is by far his best one to date. Fans of his earlier films, like Election, About Schmidt and the above mentioned Sideways may be a bit disappointed that the rough edges and cynicism of these critiques of American society are gone. But The Descendants has instead a heart and an emotional sincerity that I previously found lacking, or unconvincing, in Payne’s work. The spectacle and hype surrounding the other candidates for Best Film, Hugo and The Artist, may have drawn attention away from the incredible quality of The Descendants, but this is typically a film that people will continue to love and cherish over the years.

Point three: What a stroke of genius to have Hawaii as the location for this film. The story of The Descendants – estranged father has to rebuild the relationship with his daughter and re-evaluate his life as his wife lies in a coma – could arguably take place anywhere. But by choosing a place that has so seldom been seen in film as itself (Spielberg filmed Jurassic Park in Hawaii, but there it represented Costa Rica), and definitely has not been represented as a place where real lives take place (rather than as a holiday destination) Alexander Payne makes the place important. And he makes its difference to other American, more cinematically known, places such as LA or New York very important. Arguably, the story of The Descendants could take place anywhere. But it could only play out the way it does in this film in Hawaii. This previously un-cinematized location draws attention to those things about the story and the characters that are universal, and those aspects that are particular.

Point four: the film is not perfect. It starts of with a very ‘indie’ voice-over by George Clooney, which later does not return. It seems as if Payne started out making ‘just another’ independent film and then found out that The Descendants could be more than that, and was self-supporting, classical, enough to work without the vice-over. The film, which ahs a very reasonable running time of 115 minutes, drags a bit in the middle, when Clooney’s character Matt King takes his daughters and a boyfriend on a road trip.

Point five (last point): All the attention to Clooney’s performance, and all the fuss about it (which, as I argue above, is really no longer justified), and all the talk about Hawaii (which is an interesting discussion topic) draw attention away from some of the other, really good performances, most notably by Shailene Woodley, Matthew Lillard and Beau Bridges. The Descendants works really well as an ensemble piece too.

Gervais vs. Hollywood – Round Three

Today is January 12. That means that in three days, in Los Angeles, the Golden Globes will be handed out. The curious thing about the Golden Globes is that, as a prize, they mean nothing. They are voted for by the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Agency, a group of old men who are neither very prominent film journalists nor foreign. The only reason that they have become so important is because the Globes are traditionally awarded a week or two before the nominations for the Oscars are announced. This means that a lot of Academy voters, who – being busy and normal people – do not have the time to see every nominated movie, will regularly look at the Globes as an indication of what’s good.

The Globes are notorious for being the decadent alternative to the Oscars, as they are a party rather than a ceremony, and they are notorious because everyone knows that the nominees are just the people the HFPA want to hang out with. Which would explain the nominations for the Depp / Jolie vehicle The Tourist last year.

No, that is not true. The Tourist was not only nominated so that the HFPA memebers could hang out with Angelina and Johnny. They also accepted bribes. That is not my joke. It’s Ricky Gervais’. Last year the British comedian hosted the Globes for the second consecutive time, and his performances was so over the top, his jokes so harsh, that no-one expected him to be invited back. Already during the show, when Gervais was off stage for about an hour, rumors circulated online that he was fired during the broadcast.

But guess what. The controversy attracted a lot of viewers. So regardless how the insulted HFPA may feel, broadcasting network NBC (“not used to these numbers of viewers”) was very happy with Gervais. And so he is back. Again. Question is: how in the hell is he going to top last year? Apart from The Tourist and the HFPA, Gervais’ victims in 2011 where Charlie Sheen (obviously), Hugh Hefner, Bruce Willis, the entire cast of Sex and the City 2, Robert Downey Jr., John Travolta and Tom Cruise.I’m not sure who’s left. And I pretty sure that last year offered less spectacular material, such as the Sheen meltdown, than 2010.

How could Gervais shock us? I don’t know. The only thing I can imagine him doing is being extremely polite, and overtly enthusiastic and reverential in such a way that everybody sees he’s taking the piss. If he’s continuing his shtick from last year, though, he might mock George Clooney’s presidential ambitions (The Ides of March). He might make some terrible (or terribly funny) joke about cancer (50/50) and he is likely to comment on Meryl Streep’s performance as Lady Thatcher (The Iron Lady). Secretly I hope he is going to comment on the irony of awarding a God-playing actor (Morgan Freeman) the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award, a prize named after the director of The Ten Commandments.

Anyway, we’ll have to wait until Monday morning to see on Youtube what kind of shenanigans Gervais has been up to this year. As a warm-up: here are the best bits of 2011:

And the winner might be… [best actor]

The nominations for the 2012 Oscars will be announced on January 24, but on this site we have still three predictions to make. Best Film, Best Director and, today, Best Actor. A tricky category. Last year the little golden fellow went to Colin Firth for The King’s Speech, while he should have received it in 2010 for A Serious Man. In that year, ironically, Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart although his 2011 performance in True Grit. The point I’m trying to make is that the Best Actor award, even more so than the Best Actress one, is a career prize. It is not about the specific movie you happen to be in, it is about it being yuor turn. That is why there is only one big favourite this year, although there are many Oscar-worthy performances.

 

The big favourite:

George Clooney for The Descendants.

 

The other ones:

Jean Dujardin for The Artist

Brad Pitt for Moneyball

Leonardo diCaprio for J. Edgar

Michael Fassbender for Shame

and

Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (my favourite, could easily work as a career prize)

 

The career thingy is also the reason that, while they might score a nomination, it is just still too early for Ryan Gosling (Drive), Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50)

Announcement: Jasper’s Take Awards 2011: Nominations

Of course, this being the end of the year, I will publish my lists of best and worst films of the year. These lists will be uploaded on 30 and 31 December. Next to that there will be a novelty on this website: the Jasper’s Take Awards. These awards celebrate all those qualities films can possess that are generally overlooked by the Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Agency and the British Academy. Below you can find the categories, if you want to nominate people or films for a category, then just post a response to this blogpost. Also, if you have strong arguments in favor of or against a particular nomination, let me know…

The Tess Benedict Award for Most Mediocre Film of the Year

“Does he make you laugh?’ asks Danny Ocean (George Clooney) to Tess Benedict (Julia Roberts) of her new husband Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) in Ocean’s Eleven. “He does not make me cry” she answers. The Tess Benedict Award celebrates those movies that leave us entirely untouched. Neither arousing nor angering us they simply exist. It is time to acknowledge such mediocrity. The nominees for this award are:

Ironclad

Flypaper

The Rite

The Eagle

The Lincoln Lawyer

The ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ award for worst use of 3D in a Motion Picture

Of course we do need to be afraid of the dark. Very afraid. In fact, being too dark and still using darkening 3D is the serious fault in most of the following nominees.

Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides

Nova Zembla

Conan the Barbarian

The Green Hornet

Green Lantern

The Muhammar Khadaffi Award for morally most reprehensible film that is nonetheless succesfull.

Needs no further explanation. Nominees:

Green Lantern

The Change Up

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The Mind Heist Award for most enthusiasticating trailer!

Mind Heist is the song by Zach Hemsey that was used for the trailer of Inception, to great effect. This award celebrates those trailers that make us want to abso-fucking-litely see the film. The quality of the trailer, it should be said, is absolutely independent of the quality of the film. Nominees:

The Guard

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The Artist

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Entire Muppet Parody Trailer Campaign

The Jasper’s Take Awards wiinners will be announced on twitter in real time on the evening of 20 December, and will subsequently be listed on this website.

Ocean’s Eleven for Dummies – the Tower Heist review

Let’s face it. The release of Tower Heist has not received as much attention as the marvelous misjudgments of its director Brett Ratner, and the fallout of his ill-advised press disclosures. He spoke publicly of his sexual encounters with young actresses and called rehearsing something for “faggots”. Ratner was subsequently fired from his job as producer of the 2012 Oscars prompting his proposed host Eddie Murphy to step down too. Even Ricky Gervais wouldn’t have gotten away with that at the Golden Globes…

But, as I said, all this fuzz deflects the attention from Tower Heist, a film that is without a doubt Ratner’s best film. Not that that is such an achievement, with a CV that boasts the Rush Hour franchise, Red Dragon and X-Men: The Last Stand, but at least Tower Heist is harmless, light entertainment that does not offend any reasonable artistic sensibilities.

It’s plot can basically be described as “Ocean’s Eleven for dummies”, on two levels: first of all the film is not by far as smart and sophisticated as Ocean’s Eleven, and second – partly as an explanation of that first observation – the people executing the titular heist aren’t as smart, suave and stylish as Clooney & Co.

Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda, The West Wing) is a Maddoff-like businessman who has lost billions of his clients’ money, and is placed under house arrest by FBI agent Denham (Téa Leoni). Amongst his victims are the staff members of the luxurious apartment building (the titular Tower) where Shaw lives. They suddenly see their pensions and live savings disappearing. Lead by their manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) a number of the employees plan to break into Shaw’s FBI-guarded penthouse and steal his personal reserves of approximately twenty million dollars. Unfortunately, they haven’t committed so much as a petty crime in their lives, so Kovacs hires small time crook Slide (Eddie Murphy) to help them out.

The film makes a nice double bill with that other film about the economical crisis that came out last week: Margin Call. But whereas Margin Call is a deadly serious drama, Tower Heist is a light footed comedy. It has plenty of gags, though most of them produce moderate chuckles rather than loud laughs, and it also boasts an exciting heist sequence. The lack of experience of Kovacs’ crew makes sure that, although the plan is good, nothing goes according to plan. The nice touch in this is that we’re never sure whether they will actually succeed. Ratner has a number of twists and turns up his sleeve to keep the audience surprised.

Unfortunately, he is not a great director. There are various moments in which I thought: “I want to see how they manage to get themselves out of this pickle, because this is difficult.” But Ratner does not know how to show and tell properly, so when it gets difficult, he simply cuts away and returns after the feat has been accomplished. A sign of weakness.

But that weakness is made up for by an excellent cast. We can easily identify with Kovacs, as Stiller plays him pleasantly mild-mannered and toned down. Téa Leoni is the funny and talented version of Jennifer Lopez, and it is always a pleasure to see Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe and Matthew Broderick. Alan Alda steals the show as Arthur Shaw, combining grand-daddy-like friendliness with merciless cunning. But this is the film that marks the return of Eddie Murphy to funny films. After a terrible string of stinking no-brainers (Norbit, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Meet Dave) he is at least back on the level of the acceptable. Murphy is funny and hyperactive, although the family certificate of Tower Heist does not give him the space to go “raw”.

But Tower Heist is great fun, and because of the cast it is more than “instantaneously forgettable”. A pity that everyone is talking about the Oscar thingy.

Four Little Remarks about The Ides of March

An unusually short review of George Clooney’s new film The Ides of March here. In four points. Point one: the title. The Ides of March (March 15) was the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated by his political enemies, some of whom being his friends; one of them being his adopted son. As a title for this film, it is completely uninteresting. Because although there his some metaphorical backstabbing going on, but no real assassination. It ends in a bit of a dud.

Point two: the plot. Talented press agent for a presidential candidate (Ryan Gosling) finds out a nasty detail about his candidate (Clooney). He is approached by the campaign manager of the opponent (Paul Giamatti) and subsequently sacked by his own boss (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Of course he wiggles himself back into some position of power, by doing some backstabbing along the way. It is all shockingly boring and predictable.

Point three: the stakes. I do not care about any of these people. So there must be some bigger stake, something that all this is about. Something about Clooney’s presidential candidate that still makes you want him to be president despite his faults. And what do we get? Two little tiny moments of ecotalk. That is not good enough.

Point four: the cast. Gosling. Clooney. Giamatti. Hoffman. And then there are also: Evan Rachel Wood. Marisa Tomei and Jeffrey Wright. So much talent. Wasted on a lack of character, ideas and drama. Apart perhaps from Hoffman and Wood, who do have their moments.

If there is any real assassinating going on in this film, than it is George Clooney doing it to his own directorial career.

Point five. No. No point five. If you want to go and see a Ryan Gosling film that is out now, then go and see Drive. If you want to see a good political film directed by Clooney, go and buy Good Night and Good Luck on DVD.

Perfect Date Movie – the Crazy Stupid Love review

Woman tells men she wants a divorce. Men jumps out of driving car. For a romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love (dir. by Glen Ficarra & John Requa) does not start peculiarly funny. Or romantic, for that matter. And for the following thirty or forty minutes, there are very few laughs. Because in the first act the film feels like a bittersweet tragedy, a story of love lost or unanswered, and of the empty satisfaction to be found in casual dating and wearing nice clothes.

And throughout the film there is little to no full force comedy. There are strangely ironic or painful situations aplenty, and some funny dialogue, but it takes until the climax of the second act before things become really slapsticky. Yet as a not-so-funny, not-so-romantic romcom, Crazy Stupid Love rises way above the average of the genre, carefully avoiding cliches, almost until the end. Perhaps it is indeed better understood as a bittersweet tragedy, albeit with a happy end.

Steve Carrell plays family man Cal Weaver: a forty-something husband and father who over the years has clearly lost his mojo. So much so that his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) admits to having slept with colleague David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) and asks for a divorce. Cal immediately gives up on his marriage and settles for a bachelor’s life, in which he is mentored by womanizer Jacob (Ryan Gosling). Things of course take a different turn when Cal realizes he shouldn’t have given up on Emily so easily, and when Jacob accidentally finds true love with Hannah (Emma Stone). And if all that isn’t complex enough, Cal and Emily’s teenage son Robbie is in love with his babysitter.

Crazy Stupid Love has, in the end, still enough funny moments, but is best understood as a character study into different understandings of love, sex and relationships. Because of the complicated plot, and because it takes its characters seriously enough to set them up properly, the film is a bit too long: almost two hourse is fifteen minutes too long for a romcom. There is also a twist at the end of the second act – during the slapstick scene – that casts a doubtful shadow over the logic of some of the earlier scenes. But those are not major points of criticism: they do not spoil the film.

Neither does the casting. Gosling is formidable in the third big role in his mainstream breakthrough year: he was already known as a class actor in little independent films, but this year he has, next to Crazy Stupid Love, also the lead roles in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and George Clooney’s The Ides of March to boast about. Opposite him Emma Stone is a delight, combining smart wits with the typical insecurities of a twenty-something girl next door. Casting Julianne Moore is like going to the supermarket, loading your cart with four gallon cans of pure class and then going home and opening them all at the same time. What a range of emotions she can display with such little ‘acting’! Steve Carrell is by no means a bad actor, and he is perfect for the role, but he is also suffering from what I would call the ‘ Atkinson-Bean’ syndrome: like Rowan Atkinson you cannot see Carrell in anything without seeing just the odd, strange comedy character he used to do on television, in Carrel’s case in The Office US.

And Carrell’s Cal is not only a bit of a dork in the beginning of the film: he remains a bit of a dork throughout, despite the upgrade in his wardrobe. It is actually not strange that Julianne Moore dumps Carrell for Kevin Bacon. What is strange, is that she returns to Carrell, leaving Bacon in the cold.

Oh, I haven’t yet mentioned a deliciously raunchy supporting role for Marisa Tomei.

I think that Crazy Stupid Love tries to be the American answer to Love Actually, with its stunt casting and multiple love stories. A bit like that film from last year – Valentine’s Day. But Crazy Stupid Love is much better than Valentine’s Day, and completely unlike Love Actually. It is a nice, serious and at times funny film about love, with great actors playing interesting roles. Perfect date movie for anyone with half a brain.

The Big True Grit Anxiety Build-up Coen Brothers Oeuvre Review Scene List

As I am going to see True Grit tonight, finally, I have literally nothing else on my midn all day. Hence, my favourite scenes from previous Coen Brothers films.

“Y’a know, for kids” (The Hudsucker Proxy). Tim Robbins’ upstatr nitwit CEO invents the hulahoop. You know, for kids. What follows is an amazing 6 minute montage of product development, placement, failure and eventual success.

“And it’s a beautiful day” (Fargo). After all the demented outrageousness that is Fargo Marge Gunderson (played by the amazing Frances McDormand) provides for the first time true heart and warmth to a Coen Borthers film.

“The Big Inception”. No movie scene here, but a recut of images from stoner-bowling epic (really a niche market genre) The Big Lebowski to the music of the trailer of last year’s mega-hit Inception. A mix up trailer that showcases soem brilliant editing and yet captures the mood of the Coen Brothers film perfectly.

“Down to the River”. Gospel music, the American South in the Great Depression, George Clooney as an idiot. It all comes together in O Brother Where Art Thou.

“The Old Sheriff”. Tommy Lee Jones sees the world go to hell as monstrous killer Anton Chigurh arrives in town. Start around 5.00.

“The security of your shit” (Burn after Reading). They don’t come more retarded than Brad Pitt’s Chad Feldheimer.

“When the truth is found to be lies” (A Serious Man).  The brothers were surprised that they got an Oscar nomination for A Serious Man. I was not.