Top Five Best Films of 2012...So Far
With the summer season over and the big, Oscar season coming up, it's time to take a look at the year so far, halfway through the big bulk of movie releases. Here are the best five films of the year so far. (Note: Some films say 2011 instead of 2012. I am going by their release in theaters so they all still count as 2012).
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- DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.It's always a fantastic feeling when I get surprised at the movies and no film yet this year has surprised me as much as The Cabin In The Woods did. I can't say too much about it (since revealing even the most minor of spoilers about this movie would make me tantamount to a criminal) but I will say that if you love horror films, or just films in general, you will love this movie. Working from an insanely clever screenplay that plays with not only how movies are made but how we view them, the film takes the most basic horror premise, "Five teens go to a cabin deep in the woods...", and makes it something genius. The film is fun, scary, smart, witty, and insightful, often all at the same time, with one of the best third acts I've ever seen and guaranteed to keep the audience guessing.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleTom HardyAnne HathawayEight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.It's not The Dark Knight. It's not meant to be. It's meant to be its own film and it is a fantastic cap to the end of the most successful superhero trilogy in history. In fact, it is worthy to stand next to Toy Story 3 and Return of the King as the best threequel in film history. Christopher Nolan has done something with Batman that always needed to be done but no one ever really seemed willing to do it for the films: he has made him a human being. This is more of a Bruce Wayne film than a Batman film, but that makes the time we have with the Dark Knight all the more enjoyable and tense. Nolan also uses topical event and social thinking to make the film more truthful and realistic while also making sure never to lose his admiration for the character. Batman's battle with Bane is likely to stand as one of the best on-screen fist-fights and the last fifteen minutes are guaranteed to get an emotional rise even out of those who have not had one in the trilogy yet. I'd say go see it, but you already have.
- DirectorRalph FiennesStarsRalph FiennesGerard ButlerBrian CoxA banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.Perhaps the trailers were misleading, but that does not dent the power of the film. Ralph Fiennes can now stand next to Kenneth Branagh and Lawrence Olivier as one of the most capable handlers of Shakespeare in film. The update to modern times works well, as Fiennes has chosen the perfect play to update, its themes of honor and revenge among the high-born and mighty still relevant today, if not more so than when Shakespeare wrote it. Fiennes is in top form as both director and actor and has surrounded himself with a plethora of fantastic actors, the standout being Vanessa Redgrave as his scheming mother. If you want a rote, by-the-numbers action film, you will be disappointed. If you want a smart, thoughtful, intelligent, and heart-felt rendition of a lesser-known Shakespeare play, you are in for a treat.
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsRobert Downey Jr.Chris EvansScarlett JohanssonEarth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.It's all been leading up to this and Joss Whedon certainly didn't disappoint the legions of fans who have been waiting since Iron Man for the inevitable team-up of the Avengers. Want could have just been a cute marketing ploy to cash-in on a team-up that had comic fans salivating for four years instead produced a fantastic superhero film that never forgot that there were people behind the costumes as well. It is rare that one sees the human behind the mask anymore but Whedon went out of his way to make sure it happened and he succeeded. Equal parts action and character drama, The Avengers was certainly well worth the wait.
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisAnanda GeorgeRay SahetapyA S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.If you want a complex, intricate plot, you will be disappointed. In fact, I was honestly surprised I liked this film as much as I did, considering there was less of a plot and more of a set up: twenty cops go into a building run by a crime lord and must fight their way out. What makes me like it, I believe, is that, unlike Michael Bay's dreck, it never pretends to be anything more than an action film and strives to be the best action film it can be. It certainly succeeds in that department. The action and choreography are all top-notch and no matter how many fights there are, they are all unique and, most importantly, comprehensible. Even the shaky-cam, almost always nauseating in most action films, is used to good effect. It is not a deep film but it's a fantastic action film that holds up well to multiple viewings.