FILMS SEEN IN 2012
I have a goal of seeing 50 new films per year - for 2012, watched 125!
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125 titles
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergDanny McBrideNick SwardsonTwo fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else...**** out of five - VERY funny, well-written, and Eisenberg & Ansari are fantastic!
- DirectorEva JinStarsZiyi ZhangBingbing FanPeter HoTwo ex-lovers work together to win back their lost loves, but not everything goes according to plan.****-1/2 out of five - Funny, romantic, and charming film.
- DirectorMike MillsStarsEwan McGregorChristopher PlummerMélanie LaurentA young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer and that he has a young male lover.***-1/2 out of five - Christopher Plummer is BRILLIANT, in what would have otherwise been an average film (though McGregor, as always, gives the film heart).
- DirectorAbhishek SharmaStarsAli ZafarPradhuman SinghPiyush MishraA reporter casts a fake Bin Laden to act in his video message to America, so he can immigrate there.**** out of five - Made me a HUGE fan of Ali Zafar, who is an amazing talent ... but this is, overall, a very funny comedy PERIOD.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.****-1/2 out of five - Brad Pitt proves he's one of the finest actors working today, after all. The most excited I've gotten about baseball since I was maybe nine years old. Fantastic.
- DirectorAlbert RayStarsGinger RogersLyle TalbotHarvey ClarkPat Morgan and Ted Kord are rival newspaper reporters always trying to outscoop each other. They join together to solve a series of murders being committed in an apartment building.*** out of five - Vintage mystery with Ginger Rogers; actually kind of creepy in spots, was much better than I thought it'd be, in its low-budget way!
- DirectorJaffar MahmoodStarsZachary LeviFran KranzSarah ShahiRay's half Pakistani and half white. When his parents' marriage dissolves, Ray's perspective of Ms. Right falls deeply into question.**-1/2 out of five - Zachary Levi is great, as always, but overall would call the film an average love story/romantic comedy. Worth seeing for Levi, though.
- DirectorLee Jeong-beomStarsWon BinKim Sae-ronKim Tae-hoonA quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.***** out of five - Action, humor, martial arts, gangsters, heart & soul, and an incredible performance by Bin Won; one of the best films I've seen this year so far, and I'm sure I will still be saying that 11 months from now.
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.***** out of five - And worthy of every single award it's won, or will win. Jean Dujardin MAKES the film, which is both an homage to silent films (perfect in every detail), as well as a tender love story ... about a man and woman, but also a film for anyone who loves movies.
- DirectorRain JungStarsChang Jung LimKim Gyu-riKim Tae-hoonSang-yeol, a 30-something loser stuck in a dead-end job as a home-shopping model, is able to marry the girl of his dreams - his modeling colleague So-yeon - when he discovers she's pregnant with his child. But after marriage an even bigger discovery awaits: the child isn't his - in fact he's still a virgin, and he might even be gay...*** out of five - Good comedy, touched with romance, that starts of slow ... but in the end winds up being pretty touching, warm, and tinged with more than a little charm.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsGeorge ClooneyShailene WoodleyAmara MillerA land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.***-1/2 out of five - Featuring a great performance by George Clooney, and Hawai'i as almost another character in the story. Didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but a beautifully-written script and the performance by Clooney are Oscar nom-worthy for sure.
- DirectorShawn LevyStarsHugh JackmanEvangeline LillyDakota GoyoIn the near future, robot boxing is a top sport. A struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot.**** out of five - 'Rocky' meets 'Max Max Beyond Thunderdome' meets 'The Champ' ... down to the rousing final battle in the ring!
- DirectorShinsuke SatoStarsKazunari NinomiyaKen'ichi MatsuyamaYuriko YoshitakaKato's (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) death changes Kurono's (Kazunari Ninomiya) view of life completely. He decides to keep fighting until he earns 100 points so that he can bring back Kato. GANTZ calls back several other unwilling participants that were allowed to leave after scoring 100 points. Before Kurono succeeds in resurrecting Kato, he unexpectedly comes back. GANTZ and the fighters take on another enemy worse than ever before. To make matters worse, GANTZ starts acting up. GANTZ chooses the next target... this time it's not an alien but a human girl. Each unwilling participant in GANTZ's twisted game has a different motive for fighting, whether to protect a loved one or to do what they think is right.***** out of five - No, haven't read the manga or seen the series, but this sequel is going to be in my Top 10 of the year already; rousing, action-packed, and intensely emotional at the end. Fantastic.
- DirectorStephen SommersStarsDennis QuaidChanning TatumMarlon WayansAn elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.*** out of five - liked this MUCH more than I thought I would; if you like mindless, check-your-brain-at-the-door action, you'll probably like it, too.
- DirectorJonathan LevineStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittSeth RogenAnna KendrickInspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.**** out of five - funny, touching, and with a very heartfelt performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is worth watching this film for alone.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsRyan GoslingCarey MulliganBryan CranstonA mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.****-1/2 out of five - NOT the action-packed chase movie some people might think this is, going in ... instead, this one is a thoughtful, yet intense character study featuring an Oscar-worthy performance by Ryan Gosling, who goes from quiet loner to intense outcast in under two hours - and makes it achingly, convincingly real.
- DirectorScott SpiegelStarsAlexandra StadenNikolaj Coster-WaldauRaymond CruzWhen her surrogate father who owns the casino she works in gets murdered, Modesty Blaise takes on those that killed him and are now at the casino to rob it. It turns out she is more than just a modest worker.*-1/2 out of five - VERY disappointing "spy film" that is more about LOTS of talk and very little action. Bad casting, as well, with the lead actress - who looks more like an anorexic ex-model than a super-spy. Nice in spots, and with a good supporting performance by Raymond Cruz, but weak as a newborn kitten, overall.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.**** out of five - Fully expected to hate this, as I am a HUGE fan of the original franchise ... but this one truly delivers, thanks to Caesar (played to total conviction, prior to all the CGI, by Andy Serkis). The humans are just along for the ride, here - this flick is all about Caesar, and his quest to give his fellow creatures freedom from being treated like both pets and guinea pigs. Rousing, exciting, and emotionally involving; great job!
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsFrançois DamiensJean DujardinKhalid MaadourSecret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis, beds local beauties, and brings peace to the Middle East.*** out of five - Had to watch this, after seeing Jean Dujardin's brilliance in 'The Artist'! In this French spy spoof, which is slow to start but gets infinitely better as it goes along, Dujardin is like a hot, suave and chauvinistic Inspector Clouseau - not the brightest bulb in the bunch, but still somehow able to find and get the bad guys. The film, very funny in spots, is certainly not hurt by the presence of Berenice Bejo, Dujardin's co-star in 'The Artist' who plays an Egyptian spy whose duty is to help Dujardin's character foil the evil plot.
- DirectorTono ErrandoJavier MariscalFernando TruebaStarsEman Xor OñaLimara MenesesMario GuerraChico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment.**** out of five - a wonderful, animated love story (and Spain's entry in the Best Animation category at this year's Oscars), this endearing and uplifting film starts in 1948 Cuba, where we are introduced to piano player Chico and the beautiful singer Rita - in a film that covers their love-hate relationship, as the grow together and come apart - over several decades. Beautiful music and hand-drawn animation.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMatt DamonKate WinsletJude LawHealthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.**** out of five - while it might give some the creepy-crawlies - and certainly will have you thinking twice about how many germs you put yourself into contact with, every single day - Soderbergh's all-star cast make for one heck of a gripping movie that, in the end, is more about how the world comes together to try and solve an epic pandemic, than it is about the horrors of the disease itself. Great drama.
- DirectorIssa LópezStarsPatricia LlacaJulio BrachoMaya ZapataFour ambitious and beautiful young women. From four very different corners of Mexico. Just like hundreds of others, they are caught up in the frenzy that sweeps the nation when Alejandro Mateos (Julio Bracho), one of the country's most powerful producers, dreams up a nationwide talent search to cast the lead in his next big movie. But all this is news to Alejandro's on-again, off-again lover, Eva Gallardo (Patricia Llaca) , a diva of epic proportions, who expected to get the part. While Eva schemes to nail down the role, our four leads begin their own journey on the road to fame.**** - a wonderful, vibrant, funny, and touching film from Mexico, about the search for a new star when one of Mexico's most popular telenovelas (soap opera) decides to recast the female lead in a film version of the insanely popular series. A handful of girls from various parts - and various social/class backgrounds - of Mexico vie for the role ... and the film, while very funny, also touches on some of deeper issues that are a part of life in Mexico today. Loved it!
- DirectorTate TaylorStarsViola DavisEmma StoneOctavia SpencerAn aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.****-1/2 out of five - The brilliant and touching awards monster (deservedly so), set in the racially unsettled Jackson, Mississippi of the 1960s, shines with Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer as two best friends who "raise white babies" for their bigoted employers. Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jessica Chastain (earning a well-deserved Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, herself) also add their brilliance to one of the best films of the year.
- DirectorYûji TajiriStarsRinako HirasawaMutsuo YoshiokaMinami AiyamaNear Kawahara, a young man on a bus connives to meet a single mother by knocking over her son's box of crickets. He's Hiroshi, she's Haruka, the boy is Yuichiro. Hiroshi pursues Haruka, and she invites him into her flat. When Hiroshi is not engaged in exuberant sex with her, he's playing with Yuichiro and learning the intricacies of the neighborhood sport, cricket wrestling. The local cricket-raising champion is Anzai, who desires Haruka for himself. Haruka's ex-husband Taro and his girlfriend Kunico are also around - and everyone's paths will cross over desire, love, loneliness, and the quest for a victorious cricket.*** out of five - Though FOR SURE not a film for everyone, I liked this much more than I thought I would. Hiroshi hooks up with a pretty young woman, and the two constantly have sex - often while her young son is being babysat by neighbors. In between, Hiroshi learns to deal with the woman's ex, temptations from other females, and even develops an obsession for cricket wrestling (don't ask). This crazy (and pretty explicit) sex comedy is about as bizarre as it gets, yet still - somehow - maintains its own charm.
- DirectorRyoo Seung-wanStarsRyu Seung-beomYoon So-yiAhn Sung-kiAs a dorky cop falls in with five Tao masters who admire his c'hi, an ancient foe comes looking for them all.**** out of five - Nerdy rookie policeman Sang-hwan, in pursuing a purse-snatcher who drives a motorcycle, ends up badly hurt. He's taken by the woman martial artist, who has caught the purse-snatcher, to be revived and healed by the Five Masters ... who recognizes, in Sang-hwan, the most powerful of chi - the makings of a genuine warrior. As they groom Sang-hwan (still a nerd) to become a legend, an outcast Master returns to modern-day Seoul to - among other things - enact his revenge on the Five Masters who used to be his comrades. Funny, exciting, and with great fight scenes (especially at the end), the film works largely due to the great performance of Seung-beom Ryu as Sang-hwan.