Presenting the best, the worst and the missed of...
Hiya, everyone.
This is a way of welcoming people that I learned in 2012, from various sources such as Marlon Brando's Stanley Kowalski (!) in A Streetcar Named Desire and my visit to London. I think it sounds quite nice - kind of understated and Bohème-ish.
So, 2012 has gone by in - I hate to say it because it's such a worn-out cliché - quite a blur. A whole year ago, I started what would be my best year movie-relatedly watching the "OMG-you-haven't-seen" film; The Shawshank Redemption. And then it just ended, one day after I had seen Paths of Glory, a link in my current obsession with Stanley Kubrick. Before 2012, I never had had an obsession with a director. Okay, I had seen every single Karan Johar film, but that doesn't really count.
As frequent readers may know, I also suffered from a severe Wes-Anderson-virus some time last autumn, which has left marks on my soul and my mind that will probably never vanish. This goes as far as including Wes Anderson "inspired" photographs in a totally un-Wes-Anderson-related post about cult films, without noticing it (thanks for the clue though, BT).
What else went down last year was my considering to close the blog, primarily in relation with its second birthday, which resulted in one my most philosophic essays ever (except from the confuzzledness one). Then, somehow, I got all involved with movies and blogging that I forgot the thought. Luckily.
I also managed to watch more than 365 movies (a goal I didn't even consider reaching - how did it happen?), although I had weeks of not watching movies in summer. And I went to the cinema a lot comparatively, which makes me proud because I actually support the film industry and cinemas that way. Nevertheless, I didn't watch enough 2012 movies at all, but time to catch up before the Oscars (see list of movies I need to watch further below).
Anyway, like last year I want to use this space to write a line about...
EACH 2012 MOVIE I'VE SEEN SO FAR
FROM WORST-ISH TO BEST-ISH
Worst movie ever: Business Man
Made me realize that after so-bad-it's-good there's a so-bad-it-makes-you-cringe.
The usual Heigl: One for the Money
As always forgettable yet not as bad that you want to turn it off.
The unknown: You & Me Forever
A welcome time-killer during the hottest day on Roskilde Music Festival.
The second bad South-Indian comedy: Bhooter Bhabishyat
I'll think a lot before saying yes to reviewing another Indian comedy after this and Business Man.
The typical bland Indian rom-com: Teri Meri Kahaani
Despite its beautiful visuals in the historic segments, this was another big Hindi-film disappointment.
Life of an Indian starlet 2.0: Heroine
Despite Kareena owning the film with a marvelous performance, this one was rather boring and nothing compared to the previous year's The Dirty Picture.
A fitting ending: The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part II
Of course it was corny, of course it was over-the-top and of course it was predictable. Nevertheless I liked it a lot - less cinematically than personally.
Visual: Die Vermessung der Welt
There were some funny scenes, but the main interesting point was its visual brilliancy.
All-rightey: Ekk Deewana Tha
Nothing too special and far too long - but the soundtrack and Prateik make me gush (British Amy was much better than expected too).
The great disappointment: Barfi!
It's so damn hard to accept the fact that this movie didn't turn out to be awesome - or anywhere near that.
The perfect entertainer: Pitch Perfect
Good songs and some funny one-liners - what else can you wish for?
Doc-that-makes-you-feel-horrible: Saving Face
I really don't know what to say... it's so unreal when you just see it on your TV.
My favourite series on film: Türkisch für Anfänger
I didn't expect anything as ingenious as the series, but this was really good. Need to do a post about the series some time.
Another obession: Woody Allen - A Documentary
Ignited my other current obsession.
The one with the best performance of the year: En kongelig affære
Yeah, I'm talking about the guy who's not in this picture.
The most promising new franchise: The Hunger Games
I really couldn't imagine a year without a great sequel of some kind to look forward to.
The best experience in a movie theater: The Avengers
Watching a movie on a music festival gave me a hint of what it would be like to attend a real movie festival... sigh.
German comedy in its best shape: 3 Zimmer/Küche/Bad
Some people will hate me for putting a movie with a scene like this over the former one - but who cares.
TOP 5:
A dramedic feast: Liberal Arts
Made me laugh, made me cry and made me feel I'm not the only crazy person in this world.
An unexpected pleasure: The Hobbit
Mainly because I missed Gollum so much (just kidding... or am I?).
An orgie of words: Cosmopolis
So satisfyingly unsatisfying.
Coming-of-age in perfection: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I didn't have that heartbreaking feeling of being understood and understanding since The Graduate and Babel. Devastating, beautiful and inspiring.
My quirky candyfloss-ish favourite of the year: Moonrise Kingdom
Pretty, funny and still profound at some place, I was sure this was going to be my favourite the minute the credits began to roll.
STATS
I'm not going to bore you with lots of figures as I'd like to, but here are the most important stats:
Feature films watched: 377
131 more than last year!
Re-watches of these: 40
11 more than last year.
Seen on the big-screen: 27
No data to compare to.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
- Review each film I've seen in the theatre, and trying to review each 2013 film I watch.
- Make a short post on each of the 1001+ Movies I watch.
- Watch a movie from a country I haven't seen movies from (or don't remember) - one per month as follows: January - Armenia, February - Bhutan, March - Cuba, April - Dominican Republic, May - Ethiopia, June - Fiji, July - Guatemala, August - Hungary, September - Indonesia, October - Jordan, November - Kenya, December - Lithuania
- Watch at least three Indian movies per month
2012'ERS I WANT TO CATCH UP ON so far...
Indian: Paan Singh Tomar, Gangs of Wasseypur, Kahaani, Agneepath, English Vinglish, Vicky Donor, Shanghai, Ishaqzaade, Talaash, Cocktail, Patang
Other: Django Unchained, Argo, Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Misérables, Cloud Atlas, Silver Linings Playbook, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Brave, Beasts of the Southern Wild
and of course each of the Oscar nominations, but that's just wishful thinking.
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What's your 2012 highlight so far? Any important films you missed out on? Agree or disagree with anything I say?
Have a happy new year!
Happy new year to you!! 377 movies? How in the world did you manage that????? I am a filmi fanatic, but this... i could never do! I agree with you on Teri Meri Kahaani as well as Heroine.... personally I found Ek Deewana Tha off-putting (no likey for Prateik) and I genuinely loved Barfi :) And Hobbit... oh Hobbit - it was so much FUN revisiting Middle-Earth and seeing it lives its own life. It was not on par with LOTR - then again the book is not on par with LOTR book either.
ReplyDeleteTo you too, Gaja!
DeleteWell, there are many film buffs that watch over 400 movies a year, so I think I'm pretty normal... :D just kidding, I have no idea!
I thought Ekk Deewana Tha had a really bad script and all that back-and-forth was quite annoying after a while - but as I said, Prateik and the soundtrack I loved.
Barfi was okay, I didn't rate it low, it was just that I had expected so much more.
Great to hear some more love for The Hobbit after so many negative reviews!
Great post. I haven't seen Cosmopolis but I liked/loved all the films in your list.
ReplyDeleteI liked Barfi, but didn't love it. I think my favourite Bollywood film of last year (haven't seen English Vinglish yet either) was Talaash. Kareena is mindblowing in it.
Thanks - you should see Cosmopolis, although I'm not sure whether it's your kind of movie.
DeleteI really need to see Talaash!
377 movies! My God that is quite an accomplishment! Glad you liked Twilight, I too found it to be fun.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see Woody Allen documentary and The Hobbit this week, I hope I'll like both as much as you did.
Yeah, I guess so... I didn't have the feeling I was going to make it anywhere near 365.
DeleteHope you'll write about one or both of the movies, I'm curious about how you liked them.
Great post! The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Liberal Arts are on my to-see list.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear - I hope you'll enjoy both of them.
DeleteA bunch of 2012 movies I haven't seen yet too. That's why I'm delaying my best of 2012 list. Here are some 2012 titles I'm looking forward to catching in cinema or dvd soon:
ReplyDeleteDjango Unchained, Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty. Arbitrage, Room 237, Safety Not Guranteed, The Hunt, The Imposter, Searching for sugarman, Robot & Frank, Liberal Arts, Sister.
You know, I don't even know much about most 2012 releases - for example yesterday I watched Argo without knowing a thing about it. But I think 2012 offered a lot of great new releases, so it'll be fun to catch up on them.
Deletethat's a lot of movies Mette, I wish I had the strength to see that many! Wow, I completely forgot about Breaking Dawn II, I haven't seen it yet...2013 shall begin with that ahah.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know if it's strength, because I could've just learned a couple of languages or read some books instead ;). Do watch Breaking Dawn II, I'm interested about your opinion on it.
DeleteIt's astounding that you saw 377 films, WOW, that alone deserves a standing ovation girl! A nice eclectic mix too, good for you Mette!
ReplyDeleteHaha, thank you! It's weird to think of it as an accomplishment, but I'm kinda getting along with the thought now... sometimes, more is more :)
Delete377 films is rather impressive - especially as you had 131 up on 2011! That's awesome. I really need to see Liberal Arts, but I am seeing Perks tomorrow! Happy New Year to you!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too! Yeah, it seems I lived up to my goal of seeing one movie a day - even more!
DeleteHope you'll have fun watching Perks, take some handkerchiefs with you, it has some really sad moments.
Damn 377 films that is a ton of time sitting in the dark ;-)
ReplyDeletewe have that same #1 this year. I absolutely love Moonrise Kingdom and Wes Anderson in general.
I don't regret it :). Anyway, I also watched movies in daylight, if that changes things.
DeleteGreat to hear that! I'm really happy that Moonrise Kingdom received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.
Adored Moonrise as well, a great choice!
ReplyDeleteHaha I loved the comment for A Royal Affair about the best performance not being in the photo :P I agree he was great, also enjoyed Mads + Vikrander.
There weren't many pictures of him online ;).
DeleteVery nice wrap up. 377 movies is pretty awesome. I only counted new movies watched on my site but even with rewatches included you're way ahead! Well done!
ReplyDeleteI also love the love for Moonrise Kingdom. I looooved it for so many reasons.
Thanks, Keith!
Delete