The Best English Movies Of 2012

Yeah, I know I am late. This is the list that should have come a long time before. But blame it on a multitude of factors- the delayed releases of films in India, my final, hectic year at college, my lethargy and my crazy mixed up mind as well. But still, to make amends, I am here making a most fantastic list of the finest films that we got last year, or rather this year….

To sum it up, 2012 was a rather great year- intelligent entertainers that loomed over the usual blockbuster crowd, master-filmmakers at top of their form, some new and relatively unknown names. We were given solid stories of terrorism, of comic book heroes, cowboys, profane teddies and even a legendary figure from history books. But what matters is how they eventually scored and which one of them deserved the top prizes.

So, this is a crazy list- dominated by the usual names in the top, while the rest is for rejoicing the crowd-pleasers but the Number One is clearly the biggest winner of them all and it is quite a surprise as well….

So, shall we begin?

10- Life Of Pi

There is an excess of visual storytelling over plot, reason and character in Ang Lee’s ‘Life Of Pi’ and such excess, as in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001- A Space Odyssey’, renders everything as self-indulgent, half-baked and painfully slow. Yet, applause should go where it has to- to the sheer, poetic force of its visuals, the kind of immersive exuberance that helps us to forgive its glaring flaws.

Composed in jaw-dropping 3D and stunningly life-like CGI, this light-hearted tale of a boy’s adventure at sea with a tiger leaps gracefully from beautiful sights of Pondicherry to the CGI-created seas in terrifically spectacular way. Entire moments- of wide-eyed wonder- are more memorable than the actual adventure itself. And even as Lee grapples tediously with heavy subtext and a bad pace, the film never stops looking good.

 

9- Ted

 

Seth McFarlane’s unashamedly bawdy and brazen debut scandalized many- when was the last time you heard about a teddy-bear who swore, drunk and got laid- but it also won many hearts with its sweet simplicity. In the exterior, this is a full-fledged raunchy comedy packed to the gills with hilarious setups- the departmental store gag will leave you in stitches- but at heart, it is also a wonderfully nuanced story of friendship, young love and more.

There is a nicely unassuming quality about the film- the writing is endowed with much unabashed tomfoolery yet sincerity, the characters are normal, flawed people who are nonetheless charming and the titular teddy- voiced hilariously by McFarlane himself- wins many hearts even with his offensive actions.

 

8- The Dark Knight Rises

 

It can be Christopher Nolan and only Christopher Nolan who can lift the simple premise of hero versus villain into something not just dead serious but grand, dramatic, suitably epic, complex and deeply relevant. In the finale of his thrilling Batman saga, Nolan holds up a comic book as a mirror to the ongoing chaos in the world by painting an epic battle between good and evil which dominates us all inside.

This is more than the average superhero film- as a battle between the incorruptible Batman and the evil Bane, this soon emerges into something more subversive, more intense. Deftly weaving together parallel threads, Nolan amps up the excitement, suspense and drama in this concluding chapter and brings to life a visually stunning, larger-than-life action film that is both whistle-worthy yet intelligent.

The third act stretches a bit too much and undercuts the tight pace and crunchy action but Nolan more than makes up with a climax that proves why Batman is the best of the heroes out there. Splendid!

 

7- Looper

 

The smartest sci-fi movie since Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’, Rian Johnson’s slick and futuristic action-thriller lives up to its name in being a loopy, twisty ride, almost obsessed with nerdy, geeky ideas. However, there is also enough wit and wisdom on offer- the film is fashioned breathlessly like an Alan Moore-meets-Frank Miller comic book while the characters- from futuristic and tech-savvy gangsters to their hapless victims- remain compellingly believable and real.

Throwing us fantastic concepts of future crime, time travel and the all-important concept of good versus evil, Johnson directs a fantastically ingenious and equally dramatic story of two versions of the same man forced to confront each other due to circumstances. As the travesty unfolds and coincides with a desperately tense whodunit formula, ‘Looper’ stuns, moves and captivates us with solid storytelling and fantastic acting from Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis. The action is breathless and even as the stylish first-half gives way to a sermonizing second-half, Johnson’s film remains to be compelling, tough and terrific.

 

6- Skyfall

 

Happy 50^th Birthday Commander Bond!

There is no better occasion for the Bond series to forget its recent blunders and come up with a solidly entertaining, rip-roaring and classy outing that harkens back to the glory of the Sean Connery days without losing its instantly urban groove. Ace director Sam Mendes, along with his charismatic leading man Daniel Craig and cinematographer Roger Deakins, has helmed a Bond film for the ages- a pure crowd-pleaser down to the bones yet brilliantly paced to be thrilling, dramatic, intimate and witty, all at the same time.

‘Skyfall’ essentially feels like a party, a vividly bright and sprightly celebration of those good old times- witty one-liners, gorgeous women, ethereal landscapes and Aston Martin DB5 all make a dashing comeback. However, Mendes has also crafted a luxurious and sharp-to-taste cocktail of ingredients both new and old- such that this is a Bond film with something for everyone. The result- Skyfall is clever, stunning and all the finely balanced bits come off to a stellar and dramatic end that reminds us why ‘Nobody Does It Better’.

 

5- Argo

 

It is not easy to make a full-fledged film out a mere newspaper article, let alone a thriller. But what actor-director Ben Affleck and writer Chris Terrio do is to make a film that helps us to transcend the mere words of a newspaper article and feel the real events happening around us. As an account of the outrageously true mission to rescue the diplomats stranded in 1970s Iran’s hostage crisis, ‘Argo’ is not quite accurate. However, as a rare thriller that deals with fear and paranoia, the film living up its fancy science-fiction name simply soars and rises beyond the genre.

The visuals are urgent, the script crackles with digs at both Hollywood and politics and Affleck’s own directorial touches are nifty, ingenious and artistic. Scenes of insurgency are recreated after actual photo montages and a movie publicity event parallels the torture on hostages in Iran. Most remarkably though, Affleck builds up a sudorific storm of tension, paranoia and urgency as the diplomats are guided by their world-weary savior Tony Mendez (Affleck in a superb performance) and it all culminates in a grilling finale in the end. This is not just a thriller but rather an exacting portrait of fear and insecurity, and of hope and despair.

 

4- Zero Dark Thirty

 

Kathryn Bigelow’s masterpiece- a ripe-for-controversy account of the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden- sticks to facts, discoveries and a flawlessly gritty reconstruction of the night raid on Abottabad. But in sticking to its facts and hard truths, this is eventually more than just a documentary. It is a finely crafted thriller driven by the force and pace of an action movie; Bigelow’s film is also a dark and tragic drama about loss of innocence in war and it makes for a sensational yet sobering experience.

At the center of the piece is the gripping Jessica Chastain playing a modern-day heroine who along with skeptical CIA heads, alert spies and tough yet likable SEAL troops takes down the terrorist leader in a battle that is shocking, brutal yet heroic and purposeful. Bigelow navigates the story with tightness- never afraid to make us cringe yet serving enough thrills and spills to make this film nothing less than a classic war movie where you choose your sides. Bravo!

There are a few snags, yes and the pace does slacken a bit but for most part ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is gripping, spectacular and phenomenal.

 

3- Lincoln

 

 

It is almost a Herculean responsibility to transform the behind-the-scenes verbose action behind the historic 13^th Amendment into a film that actually entertains like any good old entertainer and to position Abraham Lincoln with all his idealism and flaws as the hero of the piece. Yet, Steven Spielberg, writer Tony Kushner and a super-actor have gone a step beyond that- they actually make us cheer, clap and whistle.

A tense and dramatic depiction of Lincoln’s efforts to get slavery eventually outlawed, Spielberg’s film is a towering achievement of filmmaking, writing and acting. His direction is flawless, precise yet heartfelt and dramatic, as it raises the tension in Lincoln’s life and his political career; Kushner’s script is taut, brilliantly written and stirring and there is a fantastic cast of actors- Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, David Straitharn and others chew up the frames and make the entire period drama a truly epic and monumental affair.

Yet, it would be useless not to mention the one man who really dominates the film and that is DANIEL DAY-LEWIS.

The magnificent actor not only plays the great man; he resurrects him, injecting his own life into it. His performance is cold-blooded yet warm, furious yet subtle and quiet, naïve yet witty and so much more. Spielberg and Kushner helm a classic, but Lewis’s performance makes it a sure masterpiece.

 

2- Django Unchained

 

A furious and fearless masterstroke of filmmaking confidence, Quentin Tarantino’s latest firecracker, painted recklessly and gloriously in blood-red, is nothing less than a walloping tornado. With its relentless spree of bloody dialogue, bloodier lines and fantastically scripted, unforgettable characters played by unforgettable actors, ‘Django Unchained’ is more dynamite than firecracker and it sure explodes. And how!

A deceptively simple format of a cowboy hero waging a war of revenge against the bad guys is twisted on his head as Tarantino, with the talents of a really skilled juggler, conjures with his fiery writing and direction a Western for the ages. Threaded together in a fairy-tale narrative, there is nonetheless mastery packed in fine, immaculate layers of cocked guns, clever, convoluted conversations and a starkly hilarious yet unsettling portrait of America’s shameful era of slavery and racism.

Jamie Foxx is solid as the eponymous slave-turned-cowboy hero, Christoph Waltz steals much of the show as a dentist-cum-bounty hunter who shaves off foam from his beer and layers it on his words instead, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson are unforgettably menacing as the villains. And finally, the hero of it all is Tarantino, tugging us into a war that shells our minds with its ruthless storytelling yet wills us to give a full-fledged grin.

Whoa!

1-    The Master

 

 

To tame a film like ‘The Master’ is as difficult as taming a dragon, as one of the characters muses about. And there are nearly a dozen theories and opinions on what Paul Thomas Anderson’s film could possibly mean. Some call it a critical satire on Scientology; some others explained at it as about a platonic homosexual relationship between its two powerhouse male leads; others went on to critically analyze each little nuance and moment- right down to the hard-hitting ending. And some merely gave up. As for me, I can sum it up in the following way- ‘The Master’ is a multi-dimensional piece of art, a story of two men, of messed-up moonshine, morals, of a nation psychologically destroyed by war and misled by hollow philosophy. It is clever, twisted yet timeless and tragic.

Anderson is clearly the Martin Scorsese of the next generation and he has always made films whose impact exceeds their plots- the quest for oil and riches saga in his masterpiece ‘There Will Be Blood’ parallels the story of America’s naked ambition with startling sharpness. And in this story of an angry war-weary veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) seeking acceptance and redemption from a delusional cult-leader (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), he has exposed the dark side of humanity through its honest, humorous and vibrant depiction of obsessions of sex and power.

Phoenix and Hoffman are both superb and completely absorbing while Anderson’s direction, powered by his metaphorical and masterful script, ensures that this remains a poignant film about relationships, friendship and love while giving us a bitter satire on how we choose to be influenced by people incapable of being leading or inspiring us. Brilliant!

And while praise usually goes to a film for its ideas, here, applause should rightly go to Anderson for crafting a film that celebrates the individual with his flaws and mediocrity above the challenging ideas it presents. And such a film is indeed a masterpiece.

 

 

 

 

 

Life Of Pi- Spectacular, Sweet But Slow

      

It is not every day that a boy raised in the multi-cultural Pondicherry by a Westernized father and traditional mother is named after not just the eponymous mathematical symbol but firstly after a swimming pool. Both director Ang Lee and novelist Yann Martel have taken the name of the story’s character far too seriously. So, Piscine Molitor Patel aka Pi does not only showcase an impressive grasp on mathematics. He also lives up to his original name- Piscine, which is obviously a term meaning fishy and sleeps with the fishes and a tiger in a lifeboat.

 

 

Pulpy as it may sound, all credit goes to Martel for weaving a Booker winning novel around that quirky premise of adventure in the seas and to Lee for recapturing it on the large screen in a truly larger-than-life manner. Lee’s latest film ‘Life Of Pi’ is as magical as it can be, sticking loyally to Martel’s simplistic prose and at heart a simple, neatly cut tale of how the biggest perils teach us a lot and all that. It is good, old-fashioned cinema and storytelling as pure as clear-eyed as the waters of Piscine Molitor, the pool.

It is a truly spectacular ride as well. Lee, clearly one of our most artistic filmmakers, decided to opt for CGI, motion capture and 3D- all rolled together and doled out in truly stunning style, as the central adventure- Pi stranded on a life-boat with a Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker after a disastrous shipwreck-begins to unfold. The CGI touches are a bit blatantly distinct in some moments, but most of it- the raging seas, the thick clouds, the tiger’s snarls and roars- feel alive and kicking. This is more Steven Spielberg than Werner Herzog but it is none the worse for it and Lee delivers bang for the buck.

Yet, Yet. One can’t help but wish that this could have been more than that. There are notable times when Lee’s film soars beyond the mainstream territory. ‘Life Of Pi’ has all the makings of a classic but it falls short on some crucial levels. Just when you expect it to stun you on a personal level, it comes off short, it misses the boat. And from then on, you don’t even care about the good parts. Almost.

 

The first 30 minutes or so- focusing on the origins of the character Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma)- is perhaps the closest thing we have to a plot in the film. We are told, by an adult Pi himself narrating (a reliable Irrfan Khan), about a bittersweet upbringing in a pretty and picturesque Pondicherry- about his father’s stubbornly Westernized ways, about his mother indulging him to discover religions and the beauty of music. It comes off a bit choppy but Lee handles the emotional heft well and it all feels well-placed.

 

It is the ship-wreck scene that delivers much flesh and blood into the languid pace. Lee choreographs the scene with terrific urgency- as Pi is eventually stranded while the animals from his family zoo try to flee the situation as well. It is a beautifully crafted scene, helping the audience to transcend the mere words of Martel’s book and savor everything as sensational and thrilling. A moment lingers best in the mind- Pi diving underwater to watch the whole ship with his doomed family sinking into the depths.

The adventure kickstarts shortly thereafter as Pi finds himself with a sick zebra, a melancholic orangutan and a nasty hyena who finishes up the other two. That is just before the big surprise- in a fantastically thrilling shot, the fearsome beast shoots out like missile and Lee stuns the audience by this creation, which feels genuinely sprightly, dangerous and equally vulnerable.

 

But from there on, it goes terribly downhill. Lee is clearly in a problem, trying to sort out his priorities- is it an adventure movie? Is it a movie about animals and humans? Or is it still concerned about that intriguing concept of God, earlier highlighted in the film? Handling so much is indeed a tall order and while David Magee’s adapted script smartly, briskly cuts out most of the sermonizing parts of the novel, Lee suddenly becomes indifferent. In the parts where he should have really delivered the most, Lee suddenly begins to drag his feet.

The second half is terribly bogged down by repetition, predictability and bad pacing- Lee does little to make things interesting between Pi and his unlikely companion on the boat, other than just sharing stars, supplies and fish. Martel’s novel has some crucially flawed elements and Lee and Magee could have ideally cut them out to bring in a refreshing essence into the film. But save for a few stunningly scripted moments- the initial ones with the orangutan and hyena are very well-done indeed, as is the scene when Pi gives the tiger another chance at survival- the rest is as predictable it can be and the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker the tiger feels underdeveloped.

 

And of course, it can always be justified that Lee was perhaps more interested in the adventure, the use of technique and so on. Indeed, it is a valid argument but even then Lee could have given us a truly phenomenal adventure. After some stellar bits- one in which a Humpback whale shoots out of the seas at night and another in which a bunch of fish are hunted by what look like carnivorous Puffer fish, Lee simply stops trying and the film drags a bit too much. Another storm at sea does not quite click as a really cool idea and a stopover at a carnivorous island, while stunning and promising, feels quite half-baked.

Most crucially, the ending feels so abrupt and sudden that it completely mars our experience with the adventure. One cannot blame Lee for that- Martel chooses to do that as well but it leaves all of us befuddled. It is easy to see why the relationship between Richard Parker and Pi feels so underdeveloped. And while it can be argued that the former is after all a wild tiger, it still hurts.

 

 

Still, with such serious flaws, Lee’s film is worth a watch, if only for the visual palette that it presents, than the final outcome on the canvas. It is not every day that the 3D and motion-capture technology are used so effectively, not just convincingly but also to evoke some genuinely jaw-dropping moments. Lee achieves that splendidly, helping us to forget some of the disasters (‘John Carter’ is the most dreadful). His compositions are energetic, vibrant and the landscape of sea, the gently rocking boats and cloudy skies feels amazingly authentic. There are some truly phenomenally poetic moments- like the golden morning sky beautifully reflected on the water or the night creeping on Pi and Richard Parker, as they look forward to hope.

 

Suraj Sharma is quite good playing Pi, infusing his character with vulnerability and heroics. The supporting cast does not have much to do- Adil Hussain and Tabu are predictably fine as Pi’s parents while Irrfan Khan as the grown-up Pi is good as usual. However, by now we had enough of him in such roles and we want more from this terrific actor. Not that it matters, though, as this is eventually Lee’s ship and he steers it through visually beautiful territory, just not too enthusiastically.

This is clearly the Ang Lee of ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ rather than ‘Brokeback Mountain’, the film which is unanimously called as his best work and deservedly so. So, don’t quite expect ‘Life Of Pi’ to be the compelling drama that it promises to be. Just sit back on your life boat and marvel at the scenery around you. Be warned though- you will be only floating slowly without really reaching anywhere.

My Rating- 3 Stars Out Of 5