Jump to content
NEurope
Cube

Films in 2012

Recommended Posts

As seems to be tradition now, what films released this year have you watched, and what did you think of them.

 

After watching no films in the cinema last year or the year before, I've watched seven this year, which still isn't a lot.

 

The Avengers

 

After hearing that Joss Whedon was put in charge of this, I decided to watch the individual films, which varied from poor (Thor) to great (Captain America). The Avengers was absolutely amazing. I loved every moment of it, especially the interaction between all the characters and how it had a “Whedon” feel to it.

 

The Cabin in the Woods

 

I hadn’t paid any attention to this (other than “Joss Whedon”), so I went in without knowing what to expect. I actually watched this on the same day as Avengers (and spent the whole time thinking that the actor who played Curt looked somewhat familiar - he was played by Chris Hemsworth). I loved it, from the spooky start, to the “commentary” on the whole horror genre and the whole conclusion bit.

 

Men in Black 3

 

After the disaster that was MIIB, and with this being so long after it, I was sceptical at first. Surprisingly, it was damn good. Josh Brolin did an impeccable job at being a young Tommy Lee Jones (by far the most convincing role of this type - Star Trek and X-Men First Class felt like new characters, whereas Brolin was a younger version of the same character) and it was surprisingly character-based. Great film.

 

Brave

 

As a film, this was great. As a Pixar film...not so much. Perhaps on a second or third watch it may grow on me (like Cars did), but the initial watch wasn’t that impressive. It was still entertaining but it seemed to be missing a bit of the...magic.

 

The Dark Knight Rises

 

A brilliant conclusion to a great trilogy. Not as good as TDK, but Bane was still a great villain and Catwoman was done amazingly well. I thought the twist with the “main” villain wasn’t the greatest thing ever, and Christopher Judge was knocked out way too easily, but the rest of the film made up for it. I just hope that WB have the decency to leave Nolans’ Batman trilogy alone and not connect it to Justice League.

 

Skyfall

 

While Casino Royale was good, it wasn’t Bond. Skyfall brought us the perfect mixture of this old Bond and the more classic Bond (it has a similar feel to GoldenEye). Lots of great locations, great action and a lot of fun.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I went all-out and watched it in 3D IMAX HFR. The film was better than I had hoped for (I always preferred the book over LotR) and didn’t feel long or slow at all - if anything, some scenes went past too quickly. Everything loved amazing, the characters were great (especially Bilbo) and I enjoyed all the extra stuff. I also thought that the changes they made were great for the film format. My film of the year. On top of this, the 3D was great. It wasn’t in-your-face, but was used instead to simply enhance the picture. The 48fps looked amazingly smooth, too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Like always, I'll go in order of what I've actually seen this year, although the first one or two may have actually come out last year.

 

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

 

Wow. I can't actually believe how great this was. Superb performances from all involved. I haven't seen the Japanese original or the Swedish remake, so I was left unknowing of what quite it was about....but I just loved it. Great setting, great revenge scenes/story and intertwined well. Where is the news on the next one?! (Just checked...delayed, was due late 2013) Excellent

 

Margin Call

 

Hugely enjoyable. Having worked in the financial industry for seven years, it made it all the more interesting and I could easily soak up all the film, the drama, the realism, the world, the jargon...great, great performances from particularly Sylar and Jarvis. Excellent

 

Shame

 

Three for three, the year was starting well! (In fact, this was a great day...memorable. I went on my own to Milton Keynes cinema on the 16th January and watched Margin Call, and then Shame after about a 25 minute gap or so. I recall enjoying some ice cream, Baskin Robins) anyway, back to Shame, I've now seen it several times. Michael Fassbender deserves awards basically. He is a tremendously talented actor, and this movie shows the darker, obsessive and damaging side of sex. Has some simply beautiful scenes too....wonderfully directed. Excellent

 

The Sitter

 

Jonah Hill comedy vehicle. Some amusing performances from the child actors. Nothing to write home about, but nothing too offensive either. Easy viewing. Funny. Good

 

Chronicle

 

An interesting take on the "powers" / "superhero" genre - found footage. It was good. It was different. Goes down a different route to all other powers movies, good setting and direction, all seemed somewhat refreshingly good in terms of a representation of a high school setting, but not without its cliches. Also introduced us to (@Cube) Dane DeHaan - a great actor. Very Good

 

Ghost Rider - Spirit Of Venegance

 

Not nearly as bad as you would assume. It pretty much completely ignores the first, which is a smart move. It has Idris Elba. Its a somewhat enjoyable, thrilling, road trip...cheesy dialogue, cheesy fights. Its fine. Fine

 

Wanderlust

 

Malin Akerman is so so so so so beautiful. I could watch her all day. And Paul Rudd completely ruins his chances of going balls deep in her moist, sweet passion tunnel. The movies lowpoint. But....as a huge fan of Paul Rudd, this movie had plenty to give! Some great comedic performances to be found, and once again Joe Lo Trugilo steals the show in every scene he is in.

 

(This guy)

 

Joe-Lo-Truglio.jpg

 

Better than expected, with one scene in particular having me in tears (I'm gon' puts ma dick in!) Very Good

 

21 Jump Street

 

Probably the biggest surprise of the year, this turned out to be pretty fucking hilarious, with most in agreeance of that fact. Fine, fine performance from Jonah Hill (arguably as always) but the stand out was Channing Tatum - dude's god damn funny! Silly but smart, witty spoofing and some unexpected cameos delivered in a brilliantly new and unique way. Just so fun. Very Good

 

The Hunger Games

 

Don't compare it to Twilight for fucks sake. I didn't quite understand the comparisons after I saw the movie and heard people talking about it. This has great actors, giving great performances (whereas Twilight has mostly poor actors, but some good actors....all delivering average to terrible performances...anyway I am getting side tracked) Jennifer Lawrence is easy to watch. She lights up the screen and its really no wonder she has been such a break out of the screen this year. I enjoyed it. Some of it was really strange and weird, the whole concept feels more at home in an 18 certificate, but I like what they went for. I am "in". Good

 

The Avengers (UK Title Avengers Assemble)

 

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. Its finally here. Unbelievable. I cannot believe this movie actually happened. It could have been better, sure...but for what it was - just a pure action movie....it was just amazing. So unique in its setup, with (most) characters having their own goddamn movie (or two) to delve into their characters, there was no necessity to go into who these folks were, and we could get straight into getting the chess pieces in position, and then having a hugely enjoyable, action packed, funny, brilliant, well directed, well choreographed explosive movie. Words cannot really describe my love for it. It is possibly even my favourite movie of all time. Fucking Fantastic.

 

American Pie : Reunion

 

Surprisingly good. Good

 

Prometheus

 

I didn't hate it as such. It just...tasted....a bit off. Its annoying when stupid things happen....like Rafe Spall standing around in the room when he could have left....terrified of everything but then suddenly gains confidence and a smile when he sees an evil space snake. Ugh. Fassbender was excellent as usual. Most of the other stuff was just horrible and nonsensical. The design itself was pretty beautiful though. Other than that....just no. Poor

 

Men In Black 3

 

Fine. Good

 

The Five Year Engagement

 

<3 Jason Segel. Was nice seeing a British chick too,...just warms the cockles sometimes I guess. Good chemistry, and Jason Segel does so brilliantly and plays so well on screen, he really is a sharp and fantastic and warm actor, he makes all of his relationships on screen seem extremely realistic, relatable and true. It was a good movie, had some laughs. Good

 

The Amazing Spider-Man

 

Taking one of my most beloved characters and refreshing him for a new generation. They did a very good job. Indeed. The most important aspect being the casting of Peter Parker, and I think he is absolutely perfect. He looks near identical to certain artists renditions too, and just visually is very faithful and he plays the part to a t/tee/tea in my eyes. Emma Stone is brilliant too. Again, great chemistry (they are now shagging in RL). Its a tiny bit of a shame about the villain, he is a little weak for the relaunch, but I get the decision...they had a big story to tell and needed to do a villain that linked in nicely and didn't need too much explanation. All good casting decisions, and great fight choreography....really seems to snap into place when it reaches the fight at the school. Really think the second (Call it "The Spectacular Spider-Man or I will cry) will be absolutely fantastic, even if they have completely and utterly fucked up the casting of Electro, and done the complete opposite of what I commended them for above. Ugh. (Jamie Foxx). I suggested Jay Baruchel on facebook, because I am fantastic and should cast all movies. Very Good

 

The Dark Knight Rises

 

Ugh, I hate that this viewing has bad connotations with me kinda. Basically, I booked four tickets for friends and I, and the showing was straight after work. I was on new accounts, and some how (to this day I don't think this was my fault. I think I was either sabotaged, or....hell I don't know, but it doesn't make sense) anyway, a cheque went missing, and we looked everyhwhere for it and couldn't find it, and I basically had to say to my uppers "Well....I kind of have to go now.." the tickets were like £45, I had them, and two of my pals were waiting at the cinema. Nightmare. So I had to "dump" my problem on a pal who was staying late anyway. So I was a bit....frantic during the screening, worrying about it. Anyway, didn't really rate it too highly. It was definitely GOOD....but I do not see how anyone can rate it anywhere...ANYWHERE as close to the other two movies. Bane is the weakest villain of all the movies. It has so many god damn plot holes that do not make any sense. Visual plot holes too, which are just absolutely infuriating and pull you the FUCK out of the movie (instantly changing to nighttime in the tunnel) god I HATE that kind of thing. Not very good fight scenes. Impossible things happen. Ugh. Just....I don't get it. You build a "far fetched but still seems quite realistic" world with the first too, and then take it ridiculously far and just.....ugggghhh god there is so much wrong with it! You know what, its not even good. Fuck it. Expectations were huge. I'd have been satisfied if it was anywhere near even half as good as either of the others. It wasn't. Poor

 

Ted

 

Really funny. Mila Kunis is great. Wahlehberggfeg is good. Just really enjoyable and as with most Seth Macfarlane things it was surprisingly emotional in places. Good, fun stuff. Good

 

The Watch

 

This movie was absolutely PANNED by critics. I've never seen anything like it. As such, my expectations were low. (Just to clarify. Jonah Hill films don't come out with me not seeing them, Vince Vaughn films don't come out with me not seeing them. Starring Richard Ayoade? Nigger, you just sealed the deal!) Ayoade is one of the greatest people ever born. And in this film he's fucking hilarious, deftly delivering his at times superb dialogue, (at times its bad...yes) but its never awful, and its never taken too seriously. I am actually...kind of shocked it was panned so much. It is no way near as bad as the critics would have you believe. Give it a chance of DVD! Both Claire and I really...really enjoyed it. Good

 

Dredd

 

Entertainment. Pure and utter, violent entertainment. Utterly fantastic. Genuinely. Just pumped with absolute enjoyment. Karl Urban is brilliant in it, barely ever giving any emotion - but with that, also showing so much, and the few tiny drops we get say a thousand words. Its a simple and amazing and awesome and (apparently ripped off...heh) concept - two Judges (awesome epic kill police) get locked in a giant mega block of flats full of criminals. Hell ensues. Its just....brilliant. Buy it immediately. It did the impossible - made me purchase Dredd comic books. Excellent

 

Looper

 

One of the most original sci fis of recent times. The way it explains (or rather...it doesn't exactly) the mythology and the universe is such a natural and organic method...it lets you learn it as the movie unfolds and mixes different genres along with some excellent performances from Bruce Willis and everyone's favourite Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Really enjoyed the hell out of it. Borderline Excellent

 

Sinister

 

I really liked Ethan Hawke in this. I really...didn't dig the ending so much. But the rest of it is pretty great, pretty chilling stuff. In fact there are some scenes which are flat out difficult to watch...really super SUPER chilling. And the "nasty" of the movie is a great design, very scary....I can imagine if I was a child (physically) it would be the kind of character design that would scare the bejeesus girl out of me for years (in the same vein of Pennywise and Devil Girl in The Exorcist). Good

 

Skyfall

 

The more I think about it, the less I enjoyed it, BUT it was still really good. I think it was Daniel Craig's best outing as Bond, and it was enjoyable...really loved the reveal of what Skyfall actually is, and that whole setting. The villain was excellent and kind of refreshing. Good

 

Argo

 

Heart pounding, tense, thrilling, interesting, thought provoking, emotional, uplifting, well acted (no....flawlessly acted). Ben Affleck is an absolute master of film making, and he is a brilliant actor too. Its a shame that Bryan Cranston has a relatively small part,...as such a colossal fan of Breaking Bad, that is the only criticism I could give it and its invalid. Excellent

 

Silver Linings Playbook

 

Indy, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It has all the ingredients that I usually piss my pants and squeal about. I don't know though. I just didn't quite connect with it. The characters are...good...and I certainly enjoyed their relationships, but the way the film actually unfolds and the flow of the leads evolving relationship was a little hash-ish for my liking. The ending seems to kind of come out of nowhere (and whilst happy and obviously predictable) I didn't quite buy it and I didn't feel all that great about it. It certainly has its moments though, but its never all that funny when it seems to try and it only sparingly has moments of true drama. Somewhere between good and poor I guess? Goor

 

The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey

 

Again, what the fuck? Why the fucking hell has this been so hounded by critics. I literally cannot get my god damn head around it. And I'm not a huge fan of LOTR, so I'm not some ignorant fanboy. As reviews were fairly unanimously average (at the time I went in to see the movie) my expectations were low. It has a slow start, sure, but its kind of necessary, and its not bad at all! Its NICE seeing these characters and seeing what we do of the day to day stuff, and Bilbo's home. It makes the coming adventure, action and drama all the more fun to watch. Great performances all round, stunning...really stunningly beautiful visually, ambitious and plentiful scope and great direction. Good intertwining sets of stories. It all felt very full and generous and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very Good

 

The Raid

 

I got this for Christmas. I had the option of the UK Theatrical Cut or the Uncut edition. I watched the UK edition, with the intention of watching the uncut another time. What the fuck? THAT was the cut edition? Holy shit, can't wait to watch the uncut one! That was one of the most brutally violent movies I've ever seen. Kind of silly at times, but it was hugely entertaining from start to finish, with one scene in particular (hiding/cubbie hole scene) being just...tense and painful to watch and utterly utterly brilliant. At its peaks its jaw dropping, mind boggling, eye popping violence and thrilling action. Very Good

 

 

I am looking forward to ;

 

Iron Man 3

Thor The Dark World

Kick-Ass 2

The Man Of Steel

The Hangover Part 3

This Is The End

 

 

and other stuff, but not as much as the above.

Edited by ReZourceman

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Kick-Ass 2

 

If I watch that, I'll probably spend the whole time looking for sky blue velour as my work sold some to the production company (we also sold a load of fabric to Eastenders for the Christmas market stalls, but there was no way I was going to watch that).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Thats awesome. Also, totally had to include this video.

 

We were also approached for a little something nobody would see, but some douche who used to work for us never sent the samples. I hate him so much.

 

But it was only going to be used for Batman's cape, so who cares.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dredd, The Hobbit and The Cabin in the Woods are my standout films (I missed out on a shit load of films I wanted to see like Rust & Bone and Amour). Everything else was pretty forgettable.

 

 

Prometheus gets a special award for being utterly fucking shit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This thread should be useful, a few days ago I was trying to think of my favourite movies from 2012 and I couldn't remember any movies before The Amazing Spider-Man...I came up with:

 

  • The Dark Knight Rises (DUH)
  • The Amazing Spider-Man: It was good and very entertaining the first time, second time ok...it's worn off now.
  • The Avengers: It was amazing the first time, the second time was bad. Don't think I'll be watching it again.
  • Looper: Don't think I'll watch again, but JGL was so good in it, and it wasn't completely generic.
  • UM. ???

 

I did see TDKR 3 times and Spider-Man twice in the cinema, so that took up a chunk of cinemagoing...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't watch many (new) films in 2012, but my favourite was probably Paperman.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Urgh, so many films I wanted to see but never got around to actually do it (at least Avengers, Looper, Brave and Wreck-it Ralph, off the top of my head). As far as I remember, I watched:

 

Dark Knight Rises - Cool, though pale in comparison with the 2nd film.

 

American Pie: Reunion - Good enough, surprisingly. Thought the franchise had given all it had, but this movie was quite enjoyable.

 

Red Lights - Decent enough. Not bad, but not particularly memorable, either.

 

Les Infidèles - What a mess. It was marketed as a comedy, and the comedy parts were good, but half of it wasn't a comedy at all.

 

Intouchables - This was excellent, and film of the year for me. Can't find any flaws in it.

 

(Meanwhile, this was also the year I first watched great films like Clockwork Orange and Princess Mononoke, so I guess I can't complain)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Plenty of films I wanted to watch; didn't get around to many, though.

 

The Avengers - Brilliant, loved it. The perfect superhero action romp. The interaction between the heroes was great, and Mark Ruffalo is the perfect Bruce Banner.

 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Went in with zero expectations and was actually positively surprised. Story was better than expected, and I really enjoyed the style/atmosphere. Otherwise a mostly mindless supernatural action romp like expected.

 

Brave - Overall a bit disappointing. The core of the story was good, but the execution was a bit all over the place. Some parts were amazing, others were groan-inducing, particularly most of the silly moments. Probably need to see it again now that I know where the plot is going. The music and animation, especially the backgrounds, were stunningly beautiful, but I really didn't like the character designs. After How To Train Your Dragon I had high expectations, considering my love for the Scottish Highlands and Pixar, but at present DreamWorks still holds the title for best Scottish Highland epic in my book.

 

The Dark Knight Rises - While they'll never be personal favourites of mine, this was a great film and a satisfying end to the trilogy. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, 'nuff said.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant,

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hotel Transylvania

 

Probably the film I enjoyed most this year. Absolutely hilarious from start to finish and just a good, fun film. Recommend all watch when the DVD is released in February!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would have written a long post about all the movies I went to see at the cinema last year...but to be honest nothing even comes close to the Boxing Day joys of Django Unchained Seriously everyone go and see it!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I misread the title/forgot what year it was and came into this thread thinking it would be about new releases. Bit disappointed i have to say...

 

Anywho, here is a list of films i thought were good/enjoyed:

 

Dredd 3d

Looper

The Hobbit

Life of Pi

Avengers

Dark Knight Rises

Skyfall

Hunger Games

Men in Black 3

Chronicle

21 Jump Street

Rock of Ages

Expendables 2

 

And here is a list of ones that weren't/I didn't like:

 

Journey 2: The mysterious Island

This Means War

Dark Shadows

Snow White and the Huntsman

Prometheus

Brave

Amazing Spider-man

The Campaign

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger

 

 

Obviously there is a gradient between the two, but generally speaking that's the split.

 

bob award for the film which has nothing to do whatsoever with the title:

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger - seriously, what the hell? This title was literally just because Manger and Danger rhyme. There was very little danger in this film, and barely any mangers. The two did not coincide once.

 

Best surprise:

Dredd 3D - Best use of 3D this year (i didn't see Hobbit in 3D) and very pretty. Totally was not expecting such a good film.

 

Unexplained character actions in film:

Could this go to any other film? No, because i made up the award for Prometheus. What the hell were all the people in this film doing? Nothing any of them did at any point made any sense other than to make something cool happen in the film.

 

Best song:

With the Skyfaaaaaaaalll! Bake a crumbleeeeeee! When you stumbleeeeee! etc. Grew on me, even though i dislike Adele.

 

Most hilarious moment in a film:

 

The drug scene in 21 Jump Street. I can't remember laughing as much at a film this year.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I actually found this quite hard, remembering what I had seen.

 

My favourites:

Moonrise Kingdom

The Avengers

Spider-Man

 

 

 

Good films:

The Hunger Games

The Dark Knight Rises

The Hobbit

Looper

Frankenweenie

The Muppets

Shame

The Raid

The Artist

 

 

Rubbish

Prometheus

 

...I also watched Men in Black 3 on the plane and really enjoyed it!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've seen quite a few films this year.

 

The Artist - Didn't know an awful lot about it, but loved every second. Saw this in January, I think. Fantastic and definitely recommended! :)

 

The Expendables 2 - Couldn't help but love it. It's obviously a piss-take, not very serious, trying to push the film/boundaries as far as is acceptable, but it is far, far superior to the first. The first was an experiment whereas this had a fair bit more going on for it. :D

 

Brave - A bit odd. It's got an excellent middle section but the beginning and ending are a bit weak. Still a decent film and just above average, but not up there with the likes of UP or Toy Story.

 

Prometheus - It was ok but I can't help but feel disappointed with what Ridley Scott created. There are some neat ideas in this, but it would have been a lot better had he taken out all of the references to Alien and just made this its own standalone film/series/franchise.

 

The Dark Knight Rises - Best film of the year by quite some margin. I wasn't sure about the title before seeing it, but I loved all the references to "Rise", you could probably write an essay on it. Tom Hardy nailed it as Bane. Not sure why people are comparing his performance with Heath Ledger's Joker when it has a lot more in-common with Liam Neeson's Ra's Al-Ghul. The fight scene in the sewer is one of the best things I've ever seen, even better second time around on DVD.

 

The Hobbit - Biggest disappointment, probably tied with Prometheus. Doesn't even compare to the quality of the Lotr trilogy, didn't find it very magical/hugely interesting to watch. Might be better second time around, but generally felt meh about this one.

 

The Amazing Spiderman - Andrew Garfield is far better than that shite Tobey Maguire was in the original trilogy, and Emma Stone is far more watchable and likeable than Kirsten Dunst. However, there are scenes in this which ruin the film, and stop it from becoming "good' and instead it's merely "average". The crane scene ruins all the good work that came before it.

 

Men in Black 3 - Expected it to be terrible, pleasantly surprised. Enjoyed it, thought it had good humour in a lot of places. Josh Brolin did a great job. Would recommend.

 

Looper - Excellent viewing. Reminds me of Twelve Monkeys in a way, for some reason. JGL played his part really well and the film had quite a few awesome moments without ever becoming really corny or cheesy. Will probably get this on Dvd in the future.

 

Might be one or two more that I've missed or forgotten. Didn't get around to seeing Skyfall as I had no time. Didn't bother with The Avengers as I'm not really into Marvel (didn't like the Iron Man films, not bothered by Thor, didn't like either of the previous Hulk films) and didn't see The Hunger Games but may catch on DVD at some point.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My ten favourite films from 2012 :-

 

Skyfall

Perfection. Truly great after the disappointment that was Quantum of Solace.

The Dark Knight Rises

A satisfying conclusion to the Dark Knight trilogy.

Looper

A great modern time travelling sci-fi thriller.

Headhunters

A wonderfully dark, cat and mouse chase.

Killer Joe

A tense, risky and shocking piece of entertainment.

Shame

A gripping and bleak character study.

Carnage

A smart comedy with some terrific performances.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

A charming adventure with several jokes and impressive animation for adults to appreciate.

Dredd 3D

Surprisingly great action film for an adult audience.

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

Great return trip to Middle Earth.

 

The Worst :-

Jack and Jill

This Means War

The Cold Light of Day

Coriolanus

John Carter

The Woman in Black

Iron Sky

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Goon

Casa de mi Pedre

 

Biggest Disappointments :-

Taken 2

The Hunger Games

Brave

Moonrise Kingdom

Avengers Assemble

 

 

Getting a Cineworld Unlimited card soon, so 2013 should be a good one at the cinema, especially with the amount of films coming in the first 3 months of the year that I'm looking forward too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×