005. Flight

005. (06 Jan) Flight (2012, Robert Zemeckis) 53



Now we know what would've happened if you remade The Lost Weekend with a plane crash and terrible music cues. Tonally all over the map, this is far too preachy to get away with a gag scene where a coked-up Washington rides an elevator while a Muzak version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" plays. It ticks all the boxes for a substance abuse drama, meaning there are few surprises to be found with Zemeckis's predictable direction as an added liability. Whenever he lets the camera linger on anything (e.g. the miniature vodka bottle in the empty hotel room, Washington's tearful face at the end of the hearing), it's clear something dumb or gimmicky is about to transpire. The plane crash scene is exciting, I suppose, but it's a pale imitation of the 2004 Lost premiere.

334. Amour

334. (27 Dec) Amour (2012, Michael Haneke) 60



I'm reminded of the line from Bergman's Face to Face where Liv Ullmann watches her grandmother sitting by her grandfather's deathbed and laments, "For a brief moment, I realized that love embraces everything. Even death." That more probing, albeit obvious work tackling similar subject matter is far more moving and fascinating than the overly restrained Amour. That's not to say this doesn't have its own share of obvious imagery or commentary, with one particularly dopey dream sequence. Nevertheless, this is certain to resonate with anyone familiar with the hardships of elder care. Few films have shown the frustrating, debilitating nature of aging so artfully. Haneke knows very well what he's doing here, but this seems like a minor work for a man who's capable of so much more than a slow, sorrowful character study. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are underwhelming in their roles.

312. Django Unchained

312. (19 Dec) Django Unchained (2012, Quentin Tarantino) 75



Coming off the lean, perfectly structured Inglourious Basterds, it's not really a surprise or much a disappointment that Django Unchained isn't on par. Mostly, it's the absence of Sally Menke as film editor that's deeply felt, since this doesn't have the sharpness her collaborations with Tarantino had. But this is nevertheless engaging and exhilarating. To his credit, the substantial runtime isn't felt for a second due to clever scripting that crafts believable relationships and allows on-screen time to pass fluidly.

Christoph Waltz is certainly the standout here, though Leonardo DiCaprio sinks his teeth into a menacing role. Samuel L. Jackson, offering a variation on his same old schtick, is impossibly fun to watch chew scenery. Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington could have been recast midway through the film without anyone noting their absence.

Robert Richardson's cinematography is outstanding, as are the sets and costumes. Oscar nominations for most technical aspects are in order.

It took two viewings of Inglourious Basterds to fully appreciate this, so I have every intention of revisiting Django. It's so dense and thoughtful, full of nuanced arcs, all the while being quite reverential to its genre. There's a great deal to take in on a single go-around, and surely much reward in a second or third attempt.

307. Moonrise Kingdom

307. (09 Dec) Moonrise Kingdom (2012, Wes Anderson) 52



Anderson's zaniness and intricate set pieces are back to being a mixed bag following his utterly delightful Fantastic Mr. Fox. Unfortunately, Moonrise Kingdom is only about half as charming as it thinks it is. That still makes for a fun, albeit overly cute movie that's far more accomplished than efforts like The Darjeeling Limited. Despite an all-star cast of adults, Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward give the best performances here. The breathless, rapid-fire gags wear thin quite quickly.

305. Zero Dark Thirty

305. (08 Dec) Zero Dark Thirty (2012, Kathryn Bigelow)* 83



Terse, intelligent and exhilarating, it's hard not to be a little in awe of Zero Dark Thirty's confidence and competence. From the opening series of scenes about torture, it's clear this is constructing a thoughtful, even defining dialogue on the limitless complexity of the war on terror. Offering no easy answers and sticking us with an unsociable, obsessive main character, this has all the urgency and understanding that's been lacking from post-9/11 works about terror (e.g. United 93).

Jessica Chastain's Maya is the perfect fit for this narrative. From her steely resolve to her all-consuming need to kill bin Laden, she's endlessly fascinating. Her steady, rather devastating arc is done so much justice by Chastain, one can only pray she takes home the Best Actress Oscar.

The sheer leanness of Zero Dark Thirty is perhaps what it's easiest to marvel at. Mark Boal's The Hurt Locker script was laden with filler scenes, but there's not a wasted moment here. It's all in service to the theme of military intelligence coming at a high price for all involved, and that even good information can mean nothing without intuition and judgment.

The final sequence at the bin Laden compound should be enough to assure this a couple Oscars for sound work and a deserving nomination for Greig Fraser's cinematography. Alexandre Desplat's score is his umpteenth stroke of genius from recent years.

032. Bridesmaids

032. (26 Jan) /Bridesmaids/ (2011, Paul Feig) 59



Watching Bridesmaids back knowing its screenplay is Oscar-nominated makes it apparent just how weak the writing is. Exposition and transitions could scarcely be clumsier. The film is funny regardless and there's some genuinely good dialogue in the scenes between Wiig and O'Dowd, but it's a bizarre Oscar nominee when they usually look toward strongly structured comedies like In Bruges. The McCarthy nomination is less objectionable than I initially thought, though it is indefensible.

031. Margin Call

031. (25 Jan) Margin Call (2011, J.C. Chandor) 41



Despite the fact the characters work in a financial firm, they're constantly asking one another to dumb things down. It's just bad writing that Kevin Spacey's character has been in his position for 34 years, but has no idea how to read a projection. While it makes sense that this is just a terrible narrative device to make the financial crisis digestible for a mainstream audience, it's rather insulting.

So much time is spent clumsily, broadly indicting greed that there's no time to develop characters or give them arcs. Only Kevin Spacey's character comes close; he's burdened with a dying dog, a hilarious metaphor for his failing company. Chandor's attempts at stylizing his film, usually with off-center framing, occasionally distract from his scripting issues.

493. A Separation

493. (13 Dec) A Separation (2011, Asghar Farhadi) 47



A Separation is strident and full of judgmental characters whose toxicity prevents the film from having the compelling, even-handed narrative it hopes to have. Considering how much manufactured outrage and deck-stacking there is at work, it's almost surreal the film lacks any genuine emotional quality. While we've seen some astonishingly preposterous plots in 2011 releases, this one suggests some sort of low-key character study before becoming an exhausting legal drama. Anytime something dramatic happens, it's in a flurry of shrill shouting. While some of the events in the last half of the film come close to being involving, this always plays like a so-so stage play.

470. Midnight in Paris

470. (20 Nov) Midnight in Paris (2011, Woody Allen) 54



There's clumsiness in both the film's key plot device and the way famous individuals who populated 1920's Paris are introduced. Though warmth and charm carry a handful of scenes, it's burdened by inobservant observances like no time period recognizing its own significance. Owen Wilson's character wants to take his chances with an entrancing young woman in the past rather than his clearly dreadful fiancee in the present; that sort of deck-stacking prevents the film from feeling romantic or insightful. There are also some smug moments like Wilson pitching a scenario to Luis Buñuel.

465. Hot Millions

465. (15 Nov) Hot Millions (1968, Eric Till) 55



There are sweet moments to be had in Hot Millions and the embezzlement plot is one of the most clever I've seen in any caper comedy. As nice and relaxed as the film may be, it still lacks a plausible romance between Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith. The plot is overly complicated to the point where it's not very fun. A subplot about Bob Newhart's obsession with Smith is particularly creepy. This is obviously a '68 release since zoom lenses are still a novelty; they're used to death.

457. The Artist

457. (06 Nov) The Artist (2011, Michel Hazanavicius)* 48



The first thirty minutes of The Artist are lighter than air, suggesting a rather promising comedy. Then the film turns dramatic and whatever momentum was being gained is lost. A charming series of takes where Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo's flirting interrupts filming on a movie they're making gives way to suicide attempts and house fires and all sort of melodramatic nonsense. The movie simply ceases to be any fun and, considering it's sustaining on the gimmick of being silent, that makes the last three-fourths of the film quite a chore. There are amusing moments along the way, mostly involving an adorable dog. It's one of the frothiest, dopiest movies I've seen in quite some time. I guess that certifies it as a Best Picture contender.