It’s that time of the year again when Paula Fleri-Soler reviews the year’s highlights on the silver screen and the ones which didn’t quite deliver.
What did 2012 have to offer us at the cinema? There was plenty of good stuff. Super-heroes dominated the box office and, overall, the silver screen offered an appealing mix of titles in a variety of genres. Of course, unavoidably, I also wasted precious hours of my life sitting through some pretty dire drivel.
Many of this year’s blockbusters went a long way in proving that action films need not be a series of mindless chase scenes and explosions, as witnessed by Marvel’s The Avengers Assemble and The Dark Knight Rises.
Between them the two films amassed $2.6 million at the international box office, while earning some of the best reviews the genre has ever seen. Further down the box office list, but also deserving of a mention is The Amazing Spider Man, a reboot of the popular character given a fresh face and interpretation by Andrew Garfield.
Joss Whedon earns my accolade as Director of the Year. The man who created some of the best TV in the past decade-and-a-half finally earned the success he deserves for the one-two of Avengers, and for co-writing and co-producing The Cabin in the Woods – a funny and scary homage / parody of the teen horror film.
The multi-talented actor Michael Fassbender continues to impress. Supporting roles in A Dangerous Method, Haywire and Prometheus and the uncompromising Shame which he carried on his shoulders made him the obvious choice for my favourite actor of the year, and I look forward to his next projects with great anticipation.
My actress of the year is undoubtedly Jennifer Lawrence. This beautiful, intense and talented 22-year-old transformed Katniss Everdeen from the pages of Suzanne Collins’ successful novel The Hunger Games into a flesh and blood cinematic hero. She effortlessly improved the average House at the End of the Street by her mere presence and is on the cusp of winning some major awards thanks to her superb turn in The Silver Linings Playbook.
Every silver lining has a cloud, and some of the bad stuff this year was very, very bad. Keith Lemon the Film has the dubious honour of being the worst film I have ever watched; Adam Sandler continues to annoy me; while the ‘found-footage’ genre has really outstayed its welcome, Paranormal Activity 4 really scraping the bottom of that barrel.
This year, I also had the opportunity of seeing some of the product from the fledgling Maltese film industry which will hopefully continue to thrive, with a number of local film-makers producing some highly interesting work, not least Pierre Ellul whose controversial look at the late Dom Mintoff’s political life in Dear Dom proved extremely popular if somewhat divisive.
And finally, my top 10 films of the year. As usual, singling out a firm favourite is a difficult task, so I have taken the easy way out and listed them alphabetically. Whittling them down to just 10 once more proved problematic, so some of my other favourites get a special mention.
Anna Karenina – a highly stylised and theatrical take on Leo Tolstoy’s beloved novel and a brave interpretation by director Joe Wright who never lost sight of the story despite the sumptuous production design.
Argo – an intelligent and taut thriller which unfolds against the backdrop of the American Embassy hostages in Iran in 1979, and proves beyond doubt the directing prowess of actor Ben Affleck.
The Artist – This little French film was a reverent homage to silent cinema that deservedly dominated the awards season earlier this year.
Carnage – a comedy of manners that provided a quartet of sublime performances from Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christophe Waltz and Kate Winslet as two couples whose discussion about an altercation between their sons degenerates into savagery and hilarity.
The Dark Knight Rises – like its predecessors, it proved to be deep, dark, exciting and emotional, a fitting end to director Christopher Nolan’s take on Batman.
The Hunger Games – a career-making role for rising star Jennifer Lawrence. It was a movie that treated its target young audience as intelligent beings, while providing superb entertainment for the older ones.
Life of Pi – Ang Lee’s visually stunning, emotionally fulfilling and spiritually enlightening take on Yann Martel’s prize-winning novel is proof positive of the pure magic of cinema.
Marvels The Avengers Assemble – Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye came together to save the world in an astonishing ensemble which showcased director Joss Whedon’s inimitable talent of combining charactor development with strong narrative.
Skyfall – proved to be a worthy commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first Bond film. It was an exciting and emotional celebration of the best aspects of Bonds of old while cementing 007 as a 21st-century hero.
We Need to Talk about Kevin was a searing and emotionally disturbing look at the sort of crime we hear about all too often in the news, brought to dark life by exceptional performances by Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller.
Special mentions – The Amazing Spider Man, Brave, The Cabin in the Woods, Coriolanus, The Descendants, Frankenweenie, The Hobbit, In A Better World, My Dog Tulip and War Horse.