As we reach the halfway point of 2012,
it's a good time to look back on the year so far and if there's
anything I could say about this year at the moment, it would be that
2012 has been a great year for movies. Compare this to 2011, where it
wasn't until May when the films that year started to get really good.
By the end of June last year, the only films I would've heavily
recommended at that point were Thor, Fast Five, X-Men: First Class,
Transformers 3 (Yes, I'm serious), and Super 8. In terms of the films
that have come out this year, they have been much better in terms of
overall quality. So far, we have seen Marvel's ultimate team-up movie
fully realized with 'The Avengers', the next 'Harry Potter' franchise
in 'The Hunger Games', and a smart, if not thought provoking, sci-fi
film in 'Prometheus'. Of course, there have been some stinkers this
year but so far, the good has outweighed the bad.
The first truly great film of 2012
really came out as early as February, which is pretty rare
considering that most of the films that come out during the first
quarter of the year aren't really that good. That film in question
was director Josh Trank's sci-fi found footage film 'Chronicle'. It
is a film that managed to overcome the cliches that plague most found
footage films, mostly in part due to its writing. Its three main
characters were very likable, and even though one of them became the
villain at the end, it was due in part to all of the trauma that he
was experiencing in his life. The filmmakers did not just make him
some kid who became evil just for fun, but someone we sympathize
with. For a found-footage film, it is shot very well, it doesn't do
the shaky-cam when it comes to the action sequences, and the effects
are pretty good for a movie filmed on a $15 Million budget.
In March, Lionsgate brought the first
part of author Suzanne Collins' popular book series to the big screen
with 'The Hunger Games'. While many deemed it as 'the next Twilight',
it's better if we call it 'the next Harry Potter' because unlike
Twilight, The Hunger Games is very well-written with a strong female
lead who isn't dependent on a boyfriend. Director Gary Ross did a
very good job at adapting the book to film. Aside from the ending
playing out rather differently than in the book, it is not like
'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' which barely
followed the book at all. Jennifer Lawrence is perfect as Katniss
Everdeen and the rest of the cast, from Josh Hutcherson as Peeta
Mallark to Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, do fantastic jobs as well.
But the best was yet to come when on
May 4th, Marvel brought out its big guns with director
Joss Whedon's 'The Avengers'. Ever since the first Iron Man film back
in 2008, we have been teased constantly about this film with all the
references throughout Marvel's films and I think it's safe to say
that we were unprepared for how amazing the film really was. In other
words, 'The Avengers' very much lived up to the hype. For a film this
big with as many characters as it has, Whedon made it all work as
each character was given enough to do and characters like Loki, Black
Widow, and Hawkeye were given much more character development
following their previous appearances in other Marvel movies. Really,
there isn't a single problem in this movie whatsoever. How Marvel
will now move forward with these characters is currently a mystery,
but they have done a tremendous job at handling all of these
characters so I feel there won't really be any problems. However,
'The Avengers' has certainly raised the bar for superhero films (I'm
looking at you, 'Dark Knight Rises').
In June, Ridley Scott released the much
anticipated sci-fi flick 'Prometheus', a film that had people
questioning if it was a prequel to Scott's sci-fi classic 'Alien'. In
hindsight, Prometheus is actually its own story that is only set in
the Alien universe. However, most people have deemed this film as
being a disappointment mostly due in part to its screenplay that was
rewritten by Lost's Damon Lindelof in order to separate the film from
'Alien'. It is true that the writing for the film isn't perfect. Some
of the plot lines don't really go anywhere and some characters'
motivations aren't very clear. But the film is backed up by amazing
visuals, a strong cast (particularly Michael Fassbender as the
android David), and a great sense of scale and tension. It shows that
Ridley Scott is at his best when he does sci-fi, and even with all
the plot holes, the film does leave you wanting more.
SOME OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS
Men in Black 3 was a surprise because
not only did it not fall to the same problem that Men in Black 2 had,
but its story also delved deeper into both the backgrounds of both
Agent J and Agent K, allowing them to bond more as partners. Also,
Josh Brolin kills it as a young Tommy Lee Jones.
Snow White and the Huntsman may seem
very similar in style and tone to 'Lord of the Rings', but it is a
nice new take on the usual 'Snow White' story that we are used to
knowing. Charlize Theron is very entertaining as the evil Witch,
Chris Hemsworth continues to be one of the most charming actors in
Hollywood as the Huntsman, and Kristen Stewart does do a good job
here outside of 'Twilight'.
We may have looked at the trailer for
'The Three Stooges' with disdain, but the film surprisingly worked
because the Farrelly brothers did not mess around with this classic
comedy act. The three actors they got to play the Stooges were all
terrific and the story was also very touching, serving as a nice
tribute to Moe and Curly Howard and their friend Larry Fine.
'Brave' isn't exactly a full redemption
for Pixar after the disappointment of Cars 2. While it certainly
represented a step in the right direction, the story falls flat
halfway through becoming much more traditional and pretty predictable
as well. That being said though, the characters and the setup for
this land that Pixar creates is well-handled and like 'The Hunger
Games' has a very strong female lead leading the way.
John Carter may have bombed at the box
office, but it was actually pretty good for what it is. Whatever the
reason for this film's performance is up in the air, but for the
movie itself, really its own problem is the writing, which makes the
movie very uneven in terms of pacing. Not really the best choice for
a live-action debut, but Andrew Stanton does do an overall good job
here.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
I'll admit that I think that 'Red
Tails', the film that took George Lucas two decades to make, was okay
as a film but it does fall victim to the same problem that plagued
the Star Wars prequels... cheesy dialogue and a story that doesn't
fully respect the Tuskegee Airmen.
Like with 'Red Tails', the latest Dr.
Seuss animated film 'The Lorax' is okay, but I quickly forgot about
it after I saw it. It's rather generic actually with a very generic
protagonist and a very generic villain and while it does get the
message that the original book promoted across all right, it's
nothing special.
WORST FILM OF THE YEAR SO FAR
THIS MEANS WAR
I was hoping that this film would be
good, but the first half effectively kills it by being unfunny and
unrealistic in terms of the romance. The second half is better, but
it doesn't save the film.
Aside from 'This Means War', I've
stayed away from the more critically bashed movies that have come out
this year, including 'The Devil Inside' and 'Battleship'. It seems
like things are only going to get better as the year continues. We
are only just three weeks away from director Christopher Nolan's
highly anticipated conclusion to his Batman trilogy with 'The Dark
Knight Rises'. We will also be seeing Jeremy Renner take over for
Matt Damon with 'The Bourne Legacy', sequels to both 'Taken' and 'The
Expendables', and Quentin Tarantino's next big film, 'Django
Unchained'. It just goes to show that this year has certainly a great
time for movie-goers.
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