Top 50 Films of 2012: No.20 - 11

Ordinarily most of the films below would've made my Top 10 List, and some almost were, however I've had to make some alterations and tough choices so here's the latter half of my Top 20 with ten more great films.

Berberian Sound Studio 
Director: Peter Strickland
Sometimes a film really takes you on an odd journey and Berberian Sound Studio was definitely one of those films. The piece is set during the 1970s where Toby Jones' sound man travels over to Italy to work on a film that, unbeknownst to him, is a very bloody horror movie. The focus on sound effects over dialogue is great as is the lead performance from Jones who is one of the most underrated British actors working today. Best of all though was Peter Strickland's script as Jones' protagonist begins to lose his mind though I personally found the ending a little flat.

Carancho 
Director: Pablo Trapero

Previously the director of the Oscar-winning The Secret in Their Eyes, Paolo Trapero returned with a very moody look at the Argentinian night-life in Carancho. The Carancho of the title is an ambulance-chasing lawyer played by Ricardo Darin who, over a number of evenings, falls in love with a young idealistic paramedic. Trapero concentrates a lot of the look of his films so we feel trapped in hospital corridors or claustrophobic in the backs of ambulances while the end sequences were just amazing. What I liked the most though was that this was primarily a love story between two damaged characters who were destined to be apart mainly because of their occupations.

Even the Rain 
Director: Iciar Bollain

Sticking in South America we have Even the Rain which tells the story of a film crew shooting the story of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the new world. The film is also set against the backdrop of the protests in Bolivia where the government started to raise the prices of water which is a problem for the film crew as their lead actor is also one of the central protesters. Even the Rain was a great film for a number of reasons namely Paul Laverty's great script and the performances from Luis Tosar and in particular Juan Carlos Aduviri who is completely compelling as the rebellious Daniel. More than anything this was a film about standing up for what you believe and changing your opinions of people both of which I find are universal themes.

The Imposter 
Director: Bart Layton

As I've said time and time again throughout this countdown this really has been the year for great documentaries and Bart Layton's fantastic story about French conman Frederic Bourdin who pretended to be missing Texan teen Nicholas Barclay almost seem too unlikely to be true. Barclay really was able to covey the odd nature of the tale with both talking heads and reconstruction while building to a very compelling climax. The interesting thing about this documentary is who you actually believe is it the conman, the private detective or the grieving family? In the end we don't get all the answers we need but this story certainly stuck with me and this is why it's one of my films of the year.

Killing the Softly 
Director: Andrew Dominik

Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt teamed up successfully for the great western - The Assassination of Jesse James back in 2007. Five years later they left the wild west behind them to make an old fashioned crime movie in which Brad Pitt plays hitman Jackie Coogan a smooth-talking guy who is hired to find out who orchestrated a heist during the poker game of Markie Trattman played by Ray Liotta. Dominik is able to produce a very slick, stylised film that doesn't outstay its welcome while also linking events in the film to the financial crisis in America. While it may not be a perfect film, James Gandolfini was a little too over the top for my liking, ultimately this was a purely enjoyable movie that I got a lot of entertainment from.

The Master 
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Four years ago Paul Thomas Anderson's awesome There Will Be Blood topped my Films of 2008 list but in 2012 his latest feature fails to make the Top 10. I found this was mainly due to the fact that the narrative structure was a little bit weak towards the final third of the film and it became a little repetitive. Despite this The Master is still one of the best-acted films of the year thanks to the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Sutton a drifter who falls under the spell of Philip Seymour Hoffman's cult leader Lancaster Dodd. While Hoffman's grandstanding is a joy to watch, and Amy Adams puts in a great supporting turn as Mrs Dodd, I personally thought this was Phoenix's show and loved his performance as this very messed up character. As is always the case with PTA's films I found The Master to be visually stunning however there was just something missing for it to find a place in my Top 10.

Monsieur Lazhar 
Director: Phillipe Falardeau

Sometimes a film you know very little about can catch you unawares and Monsieur Lazhar was definitely one of those films. This French Canadian feature, which was nominated for a Foreign Language Oscar, sees Mohammed Felag's Algerian refugee volunteer to teach a class of primary school children whose teacher has just committed suicide. Far from being another inspirational teacher film, Monsieur Lazhar is quite a harsh tale mixing themes of second chances, missed opportunities and doing the right thing to create a truly spectacular movie. In fact Monsieur Lazhar was one of those films that I would say was too short but the final scene really got to me emotionally and I'm not ashamed to say that I had a little tear in my eye.


Moonrise Kingdom 
Director: Wes Anderson
It's fair to say that Wes Anderson is a director that divides viewers with some finding his films charming while others find him annoyingly quirky. I personally was a fan of Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums but found his later films a little annoying thankfully then Moonrise Kingdom was a dazzling return to form. Moonrise Kingdom featured Anderson's usual style and love of music however for once the two protagonists were people you actually liked as we followed twen outcasts Sam and Suzy as they run away from home and fall in love. The performances from the two young leads were spectacular and they were backed up with some fantastic work from Bruce Willis, Ed Norton and Tilda Swinton. I would go as far as to say that this was Anderson's best work to date and I feel he'll have a hard time topping what he did in Moonrise Kingdom.

A Royal Affair 
Director: Nikolaj Arcel

2012 was an excellent year for Scandinavian imports both on the small and big screen and A Royal Affair is the first of three films from area to feature on this countdown. The film tells the story of the young English lady Caroline Mathilde who is forced to marry the supposedly deranged crown prince Christian of Denmark.  The film then focuses on the couple's relationship with controversial royal physician Struensee who falls in love with Caroline while at the same time convincing Christian to stand up to his court. What could've been just another period drama is saved by a trio of great performances, notably from the incredible Mads Mikkelsen as Struensee, as well as some brilliant production design. The film combines themes of sacrificing what you believe in and changing people's perception of you and also sheds light on a piece of history that I knew very little about.

Skyfall
Director: Sam Mendes

Finishing off this section we have the latest Bond film which celebrated 50 years of the franchise by producing arguably the best Bond movie to date. Following up the inconsistent Quantum of Solace, Skyfall captivated straight away thanks to it thrilling opening train sequence and didn't let up to the final Home Alone-style set piece in the Scottish Highlands. Daniel Craig was at his best portraying a weakened Bond while Javier Bardem played a believable bad guy an Judi Dench even got to use her handgun as M featured quite heavily throughout. Skyfall was by and far the year's best blockbuster and was rightfully the most successful Bond film of all time.

So there are ten films that could've easily made it into the final part of the list, to discover what I've chosen in my final ten tune back soon.

Films of 2012: Half Term Report

So we're officially half way through the year now folks and I thought I'd just bring you up to date on the current rankings so far.

Best Films of the Year so Far
Of the 120 films that I've watched there are 17 that have garnered a mark of 8 or higher in my reviews and they are:

Carancho

Coriolanus

Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel

The Descendants

Even the Rain

Headhunters

The Hunger Games 

Juan of the Dead

The Kid with a Bike

Like Crazy

Marley

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Moonrise Kingdom

The Muppets

The Raid (Possibly my favourite film of the year thus far)

Shame

Young Adult 

Worst Films of the Year So Far 

 And conversely ten films have got a score of 2 or less and they are: 

 

Deviation

The Devil Inside

The Divide

Gone

Hard Boiled Sweets

Jack and Jill

Piranha 3DD

Project X

The Sitter

This Means War

So there you go a lot of treats and a lot of duffers. Do you agree with my lists? If not tell me what you think should be in either category by leaving a comment below.  

Review No.110: Even the Rain

After having my brain well and truly numbed by the dire Piranha 3DD it was time to try a film that had a bit of a message to it with the Latin American movie Even the Rain. The film is based around a Mexican film crew going to Bolivia to make a film about Christopher Columbus' voyage to the new world as well as him trying to impose his religious beliefs on the natives and their eventual rebellion. In the opening scene we see Gael Garcia Bernal's director Sebastian and Luis Tosar's executive producer Costa greeted with a long line of natives wanting to be considered by parts after the former advertised an open casting. Though the filming team goes back on their word they are confronted by the resilient Daniel who is eventually cast as Atuey the Taino Chief with his real life daughter playing his daughter in the film. The uprising of the Indians in Sebastian's film is shot concurrently alongside the current protests in Bolivia as they take offence to their water supply being privatised and demand to be given a voice. As Daniel leads these protests both Costa and Sebastian are constantly having to bail him out of jail however the incidents become increasingly more violent and they both worry that they won't be able to finish the film. Throughout the film both of their attitudes' to the natives change as the initially liberal Sebastian finds the constant protests are hindering the progress of the story he feels he needs to tell while the financially-minded Costa becomes close to Daniel with him ultimately making a major sacrifice in the film's closing scenes.

Though I'm not usually a big fan of political message Even the Rain really drew me in to the plight of the Bolivians by drawing it alongside the story of these wealthy movie folks. Though the film-makers bemoan the exploitation of the Bolivians they to are using these locals as extras because they are a lot cheaper than their Hollywood counterparts. This hypocritical behaviour is pointed out several times, most notably by the drunken actor playing Columbus, however we the audience are allowed to make our own minds up about the central characters as they change during their time in Bolivia. For me the best performance in the film comes from Tosar who was absolutely terrifying in Cell 211 but here is much more of a kind individual even if at times he comes across a trifle authoritative. Juan Carlos Aduviri also feels completely natural in the role of Daniel as he shows how easy it is to seem powerful without saying anything at all. The mainly exterior locations look great while the final scenes of the full-scale rebellion of the Bolivians are made as realistic as possible. Though not a perfect film, at times I felt it a little too preachy, Even the Rain is a well-written excellently acted parable about exploitation and history repeating itself which neither underestimates or alienates the audience throughout.

Verdict: A thoroughly enjoyable film about exploitation and how your opinions can change with two great performances from Tosar and Aduviri easily gets 8.5/10