The Beacon’s best films of the year

Oscar season is over, and that means it’s time for the most important movie awards ceremony in the nation to begin: Bera Dunau’s top 10 films of 2012!

In all seriousness, as The Beacon’s film critic, I’ve been excited about making this list all year.

It was a great year for movies, and I don’t think there’s been a year where I’ve left theaters as consistently satisfied as 2012.

Across many different genres, filmmakers stepped up to the plate and released exciting, engaging and creative films, many of which were unafraid to challenge and defy audience expectations.

The rules are the same as they were last year: Movies on this list have to have come out in the year in question and have to have been reviewed in The Berkshire Beacon.

With that in mind, here are my top 10 films of 2012:

10. Looper

Writer-director Rian Johnson’s time-traveling gangster movie is a truly original and engaging piece of filmmaking. The detail with which the world in Looper was built is very impressive, and I’m excited to see what Johnson will be creating next.

9. Lincoln

An excellent political drama, Lincoln is the historical period piece at its finest. It also features a master class in acting from Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field, who deserve every bit of praise they are receiving for their performances.

8. 21 Jump Street

The best, most outrageous comedy of the year, 21 Jump Street could have been another lazy ’80s remake. Instead, taking advantage of excellent writing and terrific acting, it pushed boundaries and earned every last bit of its R rating, while maintaining a refreshing tenderness that’s seen too infrequently in adult comedy.

7. Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino’s bloody revenge fantasy, set in the American south is a compelling and disturbing tribute to the spaghetti western. Focused squarely on the national shame that is American slavery, this is a film that will be talked about and debated for years to come.

6. Chronicle

It’s great to see an original film in theaters. It’s even better when that film is really good. First-time filmmakers Josh Trank and Max Landis used the well-trod superhero genre and the often tired plot device of found footage to make a compelling and powerful film. The result is a very impressive movie, and I expect more great things from Landis and Trank in the future.

5. Skyfall

Bond is back and better than ever. Combining the gritty realism of the previous two Daniel Craig James Bond films with some of the much loved elements of the Bond movies of old, Skyfall is an example of the action movie at its finest. It also features one of the greatest chase sequences I’ve ever seen.

4. Life of Pi

This visually stunning piece of art was one of the most gorgeous pieces of filmmaking I saw all year. Combining luscious visuals with a masterful use of 3D and a powerful narrative, Life of Pi is a great example of how filmmakers can use technology in innovative and creative ways.

Unfortunately, the company responsible for Life of Pi’s visual effects, Rhythm and Hues, is currently deeply distressed, grievances its employees and pro-VFX union protesters made known in a protest outside this year’s Oscars.

3. Cloud Atlas

A movie that truly deserves the title of epic, Cloud Atlas took a book that was widely considered unadaptable and made it one of the most compelling films of the year. Consisting of six interconnected stories across six distinct genres and time periods, Cloud Atlas is a narrative and visual tour de force whose assessment will only grow in time.

2. Moonrise Kingdom

An excellently written, heartwarming movie, Moonrise Kingdom combines great performances from actors at the top of their game with a sincere affection for rural New England and the mainstream culture of the 1960s. This is a must-see, and its two young stars, Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman, are definitely ones to watch out for.

And for first place, we have a tie, with two different but equally great movies topping off the list.

1. ParaNorman

Stop-motion animation studio Laika has created a film for the ages. Ostensibly for children, ParaNorman is fearlessly dark and never attempts to talk down to its audience.

At the same time, few movies have as much heart as this one, and the narrative pay off at the end is incredibly satisfying. Visually stunning and perfect from start to finish, you owe it to yourself, and your children, to watch this movie.

1. The Cabin in the Woods

In the end, Cabin had to be here. Brilliantly written, masterfully paced and so original that even a veteran moviegoer like myself didn’t see all its twists, The Cabin in the Woods takes the classic American horror movie and turns it on its head.

Part horror film, part science fiction story, part comedy and part biting meta narrative, The Cabin in the Woods is an experience unto itself, and I won’t spoil it by describing it more. Buy, rent or Netflix it now.

Honorable mentions this year go to The Avengers, for finally bringing an epic comic book cross over to the big screen, and Liberal Arts, an excellent romantic comedy whose review didn’t make it into The Beacon.

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on February 28, 2013. Filed under Arts and Entertainment,Columns,Movie Reviews,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry