Super Late 2012 Retrospective: Top 10 Directors

So ever since Stage Challenge finished, I've been getting very nostalgic and retrospective and stuff, but mainly only about things that have happened this year. Mind you, the other day I was reading some of my reviews of films like We Need to Talk About Kevin and Shame - which I now saw over a year ago, where the hell did time go?! - and through that little nostalgic blog trip I stumbled across my 2011 retrospective. Which I did in July 2012. Because...yeah, I'm not up with the times. At the moment, I'm having a very chill holidays (which I hate - I would probably go and build a set or something just for fun), so I thought I may as well do a 2012 retrospective. However, I do have to say one thing: 2012 was such a shit year for movies. Like, I remember 2011 a hell of a lot better than I do 2012. Alas, I did my best to whittle everything down into some lists, so over the next week or two (depends on what crops up), I'll explore my favourite directors, performances and films from last year.

As for the directors - well, I can say that there weren't many huge standouts this year for me, unlike McQueen, Alfredson, Refn and Ramsay who took out my top spots last year. And yes, I decided to take Christopher Nolan out of the running for this one because I would literally give him all the awards for being wonderful and perfect and everything I need in my life etc etc etc. It is really only fair. But yeah, he's number one in my eyes.

Honourable mentions: Andrew Dominik - Killing Them Softly, Ang Lee - Life of Pi, David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook, Sam Mendes - Skyfall, David Ayer - End of Watch, Steven Soderbergh - Magic Mike, Joss Whedon - The Avengers, Michael Haneke - Amour, Richard Linklater - Bernie, Kristin Marcon - The Most Fun You Can Have Dying

10. Paul Thomas Anderson - The Master
Five years after There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson turned up with his much anticipated The Master. The one thing that I admire most about PTA's work is that they feel like they exist in another planet, away from the 'normal' films that we're getting nowadays. There Will Be Blood is a film that you can't easily put away in a big box with hundreds of other films. Same with The Master. While most of the film ended up confusing me a little bit, there's no denying that what PTA did with this film was extremely different, complex and daring. Plus, the guy has one of the most thrilling filmographies of any director in Hollywood - and he's only 42.

9. Ben Affleck - Argo
While he wasn't my favourite director of 2012, Affleck deserved to win that Oscar. To this day, it confuses me as to why he wasn't even nominated, because the directors who were nominated weren't exactly the most stunning crop. Affleck is one of the most stunningly talented directors in Hollywood right now, with a filmography that just keeps getting better and better with each film. While I can't say that Argo is the absolute pinnacle of what Affleck is capable of, the way he made this movie was just stunning - from the immaculate production design to what he did to produce the graininess of the film (I don't know why, I just find that extremely fascinating). Plus, Argo is a super intense film without even really trying to be.

8. Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Tom Twyker - Cloud Atlas
This movie pretty much only has a placement on here because it is the biggest showing of ambition that I've ever seen. And if there's one thing I absolutely hold onto more than anything else in this world, it is ambition. Yes, Cloud Atlas has a little more ambition than it needs to make a truly great film, but there's just so much to admire about the efforts of these three directors. Cloud Atlas is such a complex beast to even think about attacking, and it is amazing that these guys could translate some of it onto film. It may not have all been completely successful, but I can guarantee you that this is more of a contribution to the world of film than 80% of the films that came out last year.

7. William Friedkin - Killer Joe
I'm a self confessed theatre-on-film fan - any play that gets adapted to the screen is usually a hit with me. Killer Joe is one of the most confusing films to enter that fray, as I could barely even begin to imagine how any of Tracy Letts' play could play out on a stage. This film is kinda like a huge "fuck you" to censorship and morals and everything else, which after all the controversy that Shame got in 2011, was kind of interesting and thrilling to watch. It is difficult material - especially being the darkest of comedies - but William Friedkin handles it all with this weird blend of satirical and noirish panache. And then there's that scene with the chicken. Yeah.

6. J.A. Bayona - The Impossible
While it can be accused of a few of Hollywood's biggest problems: white-washing and the good old "let's make you cry, a lot" kind of thing, The Impossible is a very well made movie. Maybe I'm just very close minded, but I couldn't even imagine how you'd possibly make a tsunami happen on screen. It is in those large scale moments when the film is at its best, especially with all of the underwater sequences, but it doesn't skimp on the human element when it isn't doused in melodrama. One of my favourite things about this film, however, is that final shot where the plane is flying over that beautiful, calm, blue Indian Ocean. That gave me a few nightmares.

5. Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Even though this film is a little on the long and self-indulgent (cough QT trying to be Australian for no obvious reason) side, it is still awesome. And it is strangely beautiful, for a Tarantino movie. Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say about this one without going into full fangirl mode.

4. Gareth Evans - The Raid: Redemption
For some reason, whenever I think about 2012 movies, I always forget that The Raid: Redemption was one of them. But once I remember it, I remember what a totally thrilling adrenaline-rush it was: and unlike most action films, it was a thrilling adrenaline-rush for the entire film. In my review (probably why I keep forgetting about it - it feels like I was reviewing films an age ago), I called it a "ballet of violence", and said that "while cinema should be predominantly used to tell a story, it is always nice to see a story so well shown on screen." And that's exactly what Gareth Evans did best with this film: he showed his story instead of telling it.

3. Rian Johnson - Looper
Rian Johnson is a filmmaker I admire a lot - not just because his films seem like they exist in a different planet (much like PTA's, but to a differing degree), but because he's a man with true ambition. Looper is another ambitious piece from him. Yes, it is a complex time-travelling film with it's fair share of action sequences, but the one thing that strikes me the most about Looper is that it plays out like a realistic vision of the future, and not a dream. Also, with all the action-genre trappings and the futuristic gadgets, it remains pretty much like an independent film with a tiny budget. It is such a bizarre mix, but it works so damn well.

2. Kathryn Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty
Maybe it is a little unfair of me to put Kathryn Bigelow in contention for this list as well, since with her being my absolute idol at the moment it's obvious that she'd be so high up. However, I just watched Zero Dark Thirty again last week, and in between being freaked out by how similar I am to Maya and loving it even more the second time around, I realised that no one else could have made this film better than Bigelow. In all honesty, I find her directorial work here a lot better than it was in The Hurt Locker - mainly because she's not so obsessed with her hand-held camera movements - because she has such a knack for making films that don't feel like films. This is stuck somewhere in the middle-ground between being a documentary and being a film, but it can't be accused of being either. Just excuse me while I'm over here worshipping Kathryn, but damn, Zero Dark Thirty is still one of the most inspiring films I've ever seen because of her.

1. Joe Wright - Anna Karenina
Okay, I'm going to cop a lot of flack for this one. While Anna Karenina wasn't perfect, or even all that great, I fell completely and utterly in love with the way it was made. It was just so...achingly beautiful and perfectly choreographed. I think when I was explaining this film to a teacher a while back I said it was "like a musical without people singing". Because some of the pieces just acted like they were a musical waiting to happen, and I adored that. The stage setting was beautiful. Every single thing about the production design was beautiful. I just have a lot of love for the beauty of this movie. Please someone tell me that I'm not the only one.

If you can remember that far back, who were your favourite directors of 2012?

AAN: Where the Awards Stand After the Guilds and BAFTAs

I haven't really covered this year's awards season as much as I would have liked - hell, I just haven't found the time to review Silver Linings Playbook even though I saw it over a week ago - but I've found it a little hard to keep up to the minute with this stuff. So I've waited until after the BAFTAs to throw in my two cents on how the season is going as we head into the final straight. Here's my simple guide to what has been happening...

Best Picture - Well Argo pretty much has this one in the bag. With the Golden Globe, SAG, PGA, DGA and BAFTA under it's belt, there's pretty much no stopping it. I do think there is a little leeway for a spoiler from Lincoln or Zero Dark Thirty or even Amour. I mean, I won't be surprised if it doesn't win.

Best Actor - Yeah, Daniel Day-Lewis has pretty much got this as well. I haven't seen Lincoln but I still get so angry about the fact that he is winning over Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper who were both brilliant. Ah well. There's literally no room for anyone else to win in this category.

Best Actress - As has been said, this is pretty much a race between Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain. I mean, the media is now making up rumours that they hate each other but let's be honest - it isn't a big deal if neither of them win it, and I'm sure they're beyond catty behaviour. I like Jessica Chastain's performance 1000x more than Jennifer Lawrence's (that's not because I love J-Chas more than life itself), but they both have a million more chances to win in the future. However, Emmanuelle Riva won the BAFTA tonight and I think this could happen again come Oscar night. Like really. But I still hope that J-Chas wins.

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz has won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, with Tommy Lee Jones winning the SAG, probably because Waltz wasn't nominated. Another Oscar for Waltz? Bet on it.

Best Supporting Actress - Biggest plot twist ever: Anne Hathaway doesn't win.
Not in this lifetime.

Best Director - This whole category makes me LOL so hard. "Oh look, Ben Affleck just won another award - oh wait, he's not even nominated for the Oscar". Neither is Kathryn Bigelow, who would be my other guess. So really, this race is going to be down to the wire. I'm thinking Michael Haneke will win (I have this thing that Amour is going to win literally everything, like including Best Animated Film). None of the directors who have been nominated for the rest - Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg or David O. Russell - seem to stand out, though Ang Lee seems to be the sensible bet. This is mind boggling stuff, which makes it all the more exciting.

Other little notes:
-Django Unchained's screenplay is getting lots of love. The WGA's can't provide much more clarity on that but I think QT has it in the bag.
-Skyfall seems to be all the rage. Even though it isn't nominated for much that isn't on the technical side, I'd see it taking a few of those awards. Specifically Best Score, which it seems to be doing rather well with.
-Brave is the front runner for the Animated section? Who knows. I hope it is.
-On a BAFTA related note, so happy that Juno Temple got the Rising Star award. She's amazing.
-I actually can't wait for the Indie Spirits this year. Matthew McConaughey as a double nominee? That's how it should be done!

What are you thinking now? Got any front-runners/favourites sorted?

DVD--The Town

or: Cops and robbers.

One word to sum it up: Nice.

The Town has such a pretty cast. Ben Affleck as an actor and a director is pretty. One of my most favourite actresses Rebecca Hall is pretty. Blake Lively is pretty. Jon Hamm is beyond pretty. And Jeremy Renner, well, what can I say...I become more interested in this man with every role he takes. So they all come together, with the brilliant Pete Postlethwaite (RIP) in another small but scene stealing role, and make a movie about bank robbers with the cops on their tails. Methoughts it would be pretty awesome. Methinks The Town was actually a bloody awesome movie.

One may go into this film expecting a gritty action thriller, and you will get exactly that, but you will also get a nice romance as well. The romantic duo come in the form of Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). She is an innocent bank manager who lives in Charlestown, and has just had her bank robbed. He, unbeknownst to her, is a bank robber and the one who robbed her bank. They form an unlikely relationship, which endangers the world he is currently in. His friend and fellow robber, James 'Jem' Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) believes that she might screw things up for his group of robbers and gets increasingly worried about what she told the FBI and that she may be able to identify them. It's not long before Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), the head of FBI's investigation, has found a link to this group, and they start to realize that death or prison are their only ways out of Charlestown.

This is a story often told: a girl and a guy falling in love even though one half is shrouded in secrecy, a man trying to make a break from his past life and make a new one, and the one last job which changes everything. It's not new material, but there is something about The Town which is really special. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this movie was really well done. Ben Affleck may have had his highs and lows as an actor, but with this, his follow up to the much acclaimed Gone Baby Gone, he shows that he is a very capable writer and director. Almost too capable, if anything. Here he captures the right atmosphere, making a dark surrounding for dark characters all praying for some light, but never quite reaching it because of their surroundings pulling them back in.

As well as being an insightful drama which looks into the lives of criminals effortlessly well, The Town also succeeds at being an action film, too. There are a few great chases and sequences within the film which are done with blockbuster flair. I like how this movie has a deft blend of genres: drama, romance and action. It never gets tired, and is always interesting. From a girly perspective, I really liked the romance in this film, since they weren't trying too hard to capitalize that. It just shows that a romantic story can be good when you don't try too hard. Deep down, though, this is a mans movie, which is okay for the girls, too. Now why wasn't this nominated for more than one Oscar?!

The characters and performances within the film are brilliant. Affleck, who didn't stop at writing and directing duties, is superb in the leading role, but it's really his supporting stars who shine. Hopefully Rebecca Hall will become better known for her role in this: she was amazing (as always) and so sweet, I couldn't help but feel she was a stand out. Jon Hamm, why you so sexy? He was good, too. Blake Lively was beyond great in this. I really never knew how far she'd be able to go as an actress, and she really pushed her limits here. Even though her role was one which could have easily been omitted, she made the most of her opportunity. Pete Postlethwaite, quite frankly, terrified me as Fergie. How is it that he could just steal the show in a few short scenes? He was simply such a great character actor, and really showed that here, in one of his last films. However, the man who scored The Town's only Oscar nomination was Jeremy Renner, who was magnificent here. Following on from his superb nominated performance in last years The Hurt Locker, Renner takes on another character who can't live with out violence. His presence is violent and scary, but there is still enough of a story in the man to make you like him. Let's just hope that Renner keeps up the roll he's been on of late, because I just can't seem to get enough of him.

THE VERDICT: The Town may not have the most original story, but the way it is made and performed is a brilliant example of fine filmmaking. Ben Affleck should just keep writing and directing movies.

What I hoped for:

What I got: