Top 50 Films of 2012: No.30 - 21

So we're halfway through this crazy year now and here are some films that were in my Top 10 at one stage but due to the quality have tumbled down into this section.

The Angel's Share 
Director: Ken Loach

Ken Loach returns to the tone he set in Looking for Eric in this amiable comedy with an edge that sees Paul Brannigan's Robbie and his fellow community service parolees attempt to steal several bottles of the world's most expensive whisky. The whole whisky heist story almost plays out like an Ealing comedy however Loach brings in a lot of depth to the film thanks to the past the Robbie character has endured including rendering a young boy disabled. Screenwriter Paul Laverty, who will feature in this list later on, mixes warmth with social commentary and the film also has a great supporting turn from John Henshaw as Robbie's whisky mentor.

The Cabin in the Woods - SPOILER ALERT!!
Director: Drew Goddard

OK so I'll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible but you can't talk about the delightful Cabin in the Woods without talking about what made it great. While the trailer made you think that this was a simple kids in the woods slasher movie, writer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard's film was much more of a satire on horror movies over the years. The characters played by Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins were a complete antithesis of what you usually see in your teen horror films and helped the right amount of sarcasm to the film. While I think the ultimate idea split audiences for me I think it was a brave attempt at something new however I reckon it will unfortunately mean a lot more film-makers will try to copy the idea.

The Descendants 
Director: Alexander Payne

Though technically a 2011 film, this Oscar winner was one that I watched in 2012 and therefore counts towards this list as we saw George Clooney's sad-sap dad try to comfort his daughters after their mother ends up in a coma. While this was one of Alexander Payne's weaker films it still had plenty of heart thanks to the script and the performances from Clooney and the two young actresses playing his daughters. The setting of Hawaii gave the film a real sense of place and once again Payne perfectly depicts what it's like to be a middle-aged man and still not sure where you stand in the world.


The Hunger Games
Director: Gary Ross

I initially felt that Gary Ross' blockbuster would be another Twilight as both were based on sets of books aimed at young female readers however thankfully it was so much more than that. That was partly down to Jennifer Lawrence's grounded performance as Katniss Everdeen a bow-and-arrow-wielding teen who was attempting to survive The Hunger Games which was essentially a less brutal Battle Royale. The combination of the harsh subject matter with the colourful supporting performances of Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson really bought this film to life and I have to say I was gripped from beginning to end. I would also go as far as to say that Jennifer Lawrence made much more of an impression on me in this film than she did in her Oscar-nominated role in Silver Linings Playbook.

The Kid with a Bike 
Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

I wasn't expecting a great deal from this little French film but it ended up being a simple tale of lost childhood and trying to find your place in the world. It concerned twelve-year old Cyril a resident and a children's home who was convinced that his father would one day come for him something that never happened. Instead Cyril found a new home with a kindly hairdresser who looked after him yet hankered for something more and unfortunately fell under the influence of a local gang leader. The film was beautifully shot by the Dardenne brothers and stuck with me due to the great lead performances of Thomas Doret and Cecile De France.

Life of Pi 
Director: Ang Lee

The award for most visually stunning film of the year must go to Ang Lee's Life of Pi or as I call it a boy, a boat and a tiger. From beginning to end the film lit up the screen with its cacophony of colour and stunning later scenes with starkly-lit marine life and an island full of meerkats. The reason why it's so low on the list is that I found it a little bit lacking in narrative depth and I felt Lee spent a little too long on the boat however the opening and closing of the film had plenty of character. All of the actors playing Pi were really compelling and overall I found this to be a great tale of survival and belief.

Marley 
Director: Kevin MacDonald

It's fair to say that Kevin MacDonald knows his stuff when it comes to documentary making and after the brilliant Touching the Void comes this tribute to Bob Marley. You can tell from the offset that this is MacDonald's labour of love to his idol and despite its lengthy run time I never once felt bored. Instead I enjoyed listening to the story of Marley and more importantly hearing all of the music that the Marley family let MacDonald have the rights to. For me the only issue with the film was that it didn't dig deep enough into Marley's more aggressive side, only hinting at it in some sections, but other than that a great music biography of one of the icons of the industry who had a story that needed telling.

The Muppets 
Director: James Bobin

It's easy to be sniffy about The Muppets but to me it was the best kids/family film of the year as it definitely appealed to both children and adults. It was clear that Jason Segal had a real love of The Muppets and wanted to do them justice with both his script and Brett Mackenzie's songs setting the right tone for the film. All of The Muppet performers were at the top of their game and a tear almost came to my eye when I heard 'The Rainbow Connection' while there was a lot of fun to be had from Chris Cooper's evil landlord. Overall this was a real reinvention for The Muppets and I just worry that their reputation will be tarnished by future sequels.

Nostalgia for the Light 
Director: Patricio Guzman

A fascinating documentary focusing on both astronomy and the atrocities committed by Pinochet's regime in Chile. Guzman's film is set mainly in the Atacama Desert where women still search for crushed up bones of their loved ones while at the same time the film looks at the similarities between the desert and the surface of Mars. I think the reason I enjoyed Nostalgia for the Light is that it shone a light on a part of history that I knew nothing about while at the same time was phenomenal to look at. While it wasn't always the easiest of watches it was still a fascinating and eye-opening documentary made by someone who clearly has a passion for telling good stories.

Young Adult 
Director: Jason Reitman

The reunion of Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, the team behind Juno, passed a lot of people by and for me Young Adult didn't get the recognition it deserves. Cody took the criticism  that she didn't write for young people and turned her latest character, Charlie Theron's author, into a young adult novelist meaning that she didn't talk or act her age. As well as being a fantastically written work it also featured Charlize Theron's best performance as the awful Mavis who actually has a lot of pain behind those stinging insults meanwhile Patton Oswalt put an awesome supporting turn as her unlikely new ally. While Young Adult didn't have the best of endings it was still one of the year's funniest films and should've got a bit more love than it actually did.

So there's another ten. Next time we hit the Top 20.

Review No.77: Marley

Over to Jamaica for a bit now as we begin Kevin MacDonald's extensive biographical documentary of the life of reggae icon Bob Marley. The film tracks Marley's life from his poor upbringing in Jamaica's Trench Town to his show-stopping performance with The Wailers at Madison Square Garden before finally covering in detail his untimely death at the age of just 36. I obviously had a smattering of knowledge about Marley in so much as I knew quite a lot of his songs and about his Rastafarian beliefs but I wasn't aware of his background or upbringing so MacDonald's film did shed light on a lot of these topics of course MacDonald is quite adept at telling a story in the documentary format as was witnessed in his award winning Touching the Void and last year in the under-appreciated Life in a Day. I didn't know for example that Marley was mixed-race his father being an army captain being neither black nor white meant that he came in for some abuse at school but grew stronger from his experiences. While in Jamaica he also learnt to express himself through music and fell in love with Rita, who later became his backing singer, with them marrying before he went over to America. Eventually Bob Marley and The Wailers became a big deal especially after signing a deal with Island Records which meant they could tour around the world. At the same time we learnt of some of Bob's personal struggles such as his involvement in Jamaica's gang warfare as well as being rejected by his biological father but through both of these incidents he was able to create music to express himself. He was also able to use his music to unite the two opposing political forces in Jamaica hosting a peace treaty concert to get them to reconcile which bizarrely did the job. Finishing off the film was his tragic final months as cancer took over his body he moved to Germany to attempt to be healed by a ground-breaking doctor however it was too little, too late and Marley passed away in 1981.

After only a few moments watching Marley you can tell that this has been a labour of love for MacDonald who has obviously spent years editing together concert footage, personal pictures of Marley and vocal recordings of his interviews in addition to interviewing dozens of talking heads. Among those interviewed include his wife Rita, his children, his half-siblings, his band-mates, producers and head of Island Records Chris Blackwell who along with Ziggy Marley executive produced the film. Blackwell and Ziggy's involvement in the film meant that Bob's extensive back catalogue can be used to illustrate various points in his life and the music he wrote to reflect how he was feeling. The use of some of the songs to reflect personal moments in his life provide many poignant moments during the film with one of my highlights being when his step-siblings listen to the song 'Cornerstone' which was written after their father rejected Bob after he tracked him down for the first time. A lot of the critics have bought up the fact that MacDonald's love of Marley has meant that he doesn't dig deep enough into some of the less appealing characteristics of the man including his fathering of several illegitimate children as well as his tempremental nature which caused his relationship with Island Records to fragment. This is certainly hinted at through the fact that he denied he was married to Rita and also that Ziggy called his father 'a rough man' however the former is brushed under the carpet as Bob's affairs are explained by the fact that fidelity is 'a western ideal' with Rita acting as his guardian angel rather than his wife. These criticisms aside what can't be denied is that Marley is an excellently produced documentary which never feels overlong despite coming in at well over two hours. At times I had a smile on my face and other times I was close to tears but what really made me joyful was listening to his music with MacDonald's film definitely wanting to make me check out some more of Marley's back catalogue. The abiding message here though seemed to be that if Marley had gone for regular check-ups with his doctors after they discovered the cancer he may well still be with us so remember folks always see your GP on a regular basis!

Verdict: A labour of love that never feels overlong this wonderful documentary contains some great music however at times I felt it was a little one-sided therefore I will award it 8.5/10