Ada's Top 10 Films of 2012

It's that time again boys and girls!  Just when you thought everyone and their monkey had posted their top whatever lists of 2012... here's mine!

There's nothing like Awards Season to entice me to watch a final few Best Picture contenders before making my picks.  But seriously, how is your average movie-goer supposed to make a proper list by Dec 31st when something like Zero Dark Thirty (which qualifies under 2012 for the critics) doesn't even open in theatres until January?  Should I even include that in a 2012 list, when 2013 might be more appropriate?  I've had problems in the past with January releases.  Luckily ZDT is an honourable mention at best so we don't need to have a debate about it.

Then there's also the matter of films from major festivals like TIFF and Hot Docs, for years friends would accuse me of cheating by listing films they had no hope of seeing.  But as I see it... a) it's *MY* list and b) a sizable chunk of movies that I see are at festivals.  If I see an average of 28 films at TIFF, that's easily equal to or more than the number of films I see at regular theatres the rest of the year.  So to disqualify them would put me at a severe disadvantage.  My argument is still mostly point a) though ;)

So let's recap... what qualifies for Ada's Top 10 list:

- any film from a film festival that I attended in 2012
- any film with a Canadian theatrical release dated in 2012
- is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2012


1. Django Unchained (USA)
2. The Dark Knight Rises (USA)
3. Cloud Atlas (USA/Germany)
4. Argo (USA)
5. The We and the I (USA)
6. Perks of Being a Wallflower (USA)
7. Much Ado About Nothing (USA)
8. 2 Days in New York (France)
9. Moonrise Kingdom (USA)
10. Silver Linings Playbook (USA)


Narrowly missing the top 10 were:

The Master (USA)
The Avengers (USA)


Honourable Mentions go to:

What Maisie Knew (USA)
Disconnect (USA)
Aftershock (USA/Chile)
The End (Original title: Fin) (Spain)
Zero Dark Thirty (USA)


Normally I'd just launch right into the films but this year I felt the need to point out that 2012 was an endless chain of enjoyable films.  Unless your last name is Cronenberg, if I saw your film this year I likely thought it was watchable.  What I struggled with through most of the year was finding outstanding films, of which there were few and this fact is reflected in my Top 10 list, which I'm ashamed is see is an almost solid wall of USA-produced titles (even the one French-produced film was in English and took place in New York).


(clicking on titles will bring you to the IMDB page)

Up until early December I was still lamenting about the year's lack of outstanding movies and it was pointed out to me that Django Unchained was going to top my list by default anyway so I should stop worrying.  So here it is, because you guys said so, because I do genuinely love the movie, and because Tarantino is my f'n hero.  However, do I think it's far superior to #2 on my list?  No, not really.  The writing, the direction, the supporting performances by Christoph Waltz, Sam Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the gratuitous violence... all part of what makes this film terrific.  Must see it again before it leaves theatres.

The Dark Knight Rises, thought enjoyable from the first viewing, grew on me the second time I saw it, and I'm anxious to see it yet again (always a good sign that you can't get enough).  I loved The Dark Knight but at this point I still can't decide if I like the 2nd or 3rd chapter better.  It's rare to find a solid trilogy where each is continuously impressive, not that I doubted Christopher Nolan could deliver.  Really it would've made more sense to me if Anne Hathaway was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in The Dark Knight Rises than Les Miserables.  Yeah, I said it.

Nobody wants to show Cloud Atlas any love?  I will.  This movie has the best special fx make-up of the year, don't let a little "yellow-face" controversy distract you from that fact (if you don't know me personally, I'm yellow, and I wasn't offended).  The Academy is blind not to recognize this.  As well the most beautiful score out of any film I've seen this year, partially composed by one of its multi-talented directors, Tom Tykwer.  If you want linear logic, go watch Lincoln, if you want to fill your mind with existential and philosophical ideas amidst a backdrop of visual wonder, go watch Cloud Atlas.

Ben Affleck has done a lot of stupid things in his life, both on and off the screen, but Argo pretty much puts everything right.  It's an intelligent crowd-pleaser with a good mix of humour, suspense, Canadiana, play-on-word profanity, and even a splash of truth.  Why these complaints about authenticity of the story?  If they'd stuck with the facts 100% it would've been a documentary and I think it's clear that was never the intent.  Affleck has really found his niche in directing, though I'd like to see him at the helm of something that he doesn't also star in.  That's ok though, a little narcissism is fine as long as you're good enough.

The We and the I is another film that didn't get a warm reception and I don't understand why.  Indie fav Michel Gondry rounds up a group of non-professionals from an after school program to star in this tale of inter-woven stories that take an intimate look at teenage life in the Bronx with events unfolding over one long bus-ride home on the last day of school.  My own high school experiences were probably closer to this than John Hughes' version.  I grant you it's not a film for everybody, but it's a film for me.  I like it best when Gondry doesn't have a budget.

My first tweet as I was leaving the threatre after seeing this movie: "Perks of Being a Wallflower teaches us that geeks and weirdos make the best kind of friends. #moviesdontlie #tiff12" (incidentally, my most retweeted tweet to date)  Easily relate-able and easy to like, going to see Perks of Being a Wallflower is like going to meet your wacky friends at the theatre.  Screw trying to be cool, trying to fit in, it's about flourishing despite your flaws and weaknesses and finding others that compliment your eccentricities.  Maybe I just like the movie because it reinforces my belief that I'm doing the right thing.

Now we're deep into festival territory.  I do hope that audiences will get a chance to see Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing in theatres some time though, it's probably the best modern take on Shakespeare since...uhm... Ten Things I Hate About You (haha).  Shot in crisp black and white in Whedon's home, the tale feels fresh and the (added & built-in) humour really comes off, even with the preservation of the original language.  I think it's quite the accomplishment.  

I didn't see 2 Days in New York until earlier this month and I'm sorry I waited so long.  While it follows in the formula of 2 Days in Paris, Delphy's directorial debut, and as such lacks a certain degree of innovation, it still had me in fits of giggles. Also I'm a sucker for family dysfunction and Delphy kicks that up a notch in her sequel.  Set it in yet another city that I'm fond of, and you've pretty much got my attention and admiration.

In my opinion, Moonrise Kingdom was the best love story of 2012.  No vampire weddings and blood-sucking spawn (though the latter doesn't sound too bad if only those Twilight movies had more fangs and gore), just a couple classic misfit pen pals in love.  Signature Wes Anderson cinematography, production design, and perfect balance of camp (pun intended).  As I get older, I seem to have increasing issues with those who are purposefully weird, and Moonrise Kingdom began that way but the story really won me over.  Which makes it that much more impressive.

Yes, Moonrise Kingdom is a better lover story than Silver Linings Playbook, but that doesn't detract from the spirit and message of this movie.  On one hand Silver Linings is a prime example of how 2012 was filled with good movies but not great ones, in my initial review I considered it easily digestible and predictable.  However the script and heart of this movie probably would have won me over regardless for a top 10 spot anyway.  After all, aren't movies ultimately about enjoyment?







I can't help but compare the performances of Joaquin Phoenix in The Master and Daniel Day Lewis in Lincoln despite the movies being quite dissimilar.  It has something to do with DDL generating an oscar-winning performance in P.T. Anderson's last film There Will Be Blood and the fact that Phoenix did an equally amazing job in The Master (but enough to beat out his predecessor in another film?).  Months after seeing The Master, I admit I cannot readily recall too many details of the supposed story of Scientology and only remember being mesmerized by Phoenix and Seymour Phillip Hoffman's embodiment of their characters.  That and the 70mm projection of some beautiful camera work and production design.  I don't know if I'll ever see The Master again, but it has left it's impression on me.

The other film that just missed the top 10...The Avengers!  C'mon, tell me you didn't have a great time at the theatre watching Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk (mine and veryone's fav), Scarlett Johansson kicking ass in a skintight suit, and Chris Helmsworth (uh...I know he does stuff in the movie but right now I can't envision anything past his muscles for some reason...) all under the spirited direction of Joss Whedon.  In the over-saturation of superhero movies, this one manages to stand out.


Honourable Mentions:

This year's honourable mentions are almost exclusively from TIFF.  I have no information about North American release dates but they are worth checking out if they ever come to your town.  Late in the festival, I had one day of movie-going which featured my celeb-future-husband Alexander Skarsgard, I just scheduled my movies so I could stare at him all day, but turned out I saw two pretty memorable films... Disconnect (directed by Oscar-winning director of Murderball, Henry Alex Rubin) is an intense movie with a multiple storyline, looking at the terrifying consequences of online identity fraud.  It's a very relevant topic and a good demonstration of how little everyday interactions can escalate to unspeakable acts.  In a completely different vein, What Maisie Knew provides intimate insights from the eyes of an adorable 7 year old about her parents' bitter divorce and selfish custody battle.  With star power the likes of Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Skarsgard, etc. I hope to be able to catch this again on the big screen sometime.

Of the genre films, Aftershock by Nicholas Lopez is a gruesome scare based on some of the directors' own experiences during the earthquake in Chile.  It stars Eli Roth, severed limbs, psychological terror, and a lot of blood.  The End (Original title: Fin) from Spain is far from perfect but stuck a chord with me as I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic survival stories, as well as tales of friendship/reunions.  There are some pretty major flaws with pacing and I didn't like the ending, but it awakes my middle school desire to write the perfect tale of friendship and horror.

Depending on who you talk to, Zero Dark Thirty is either over-hyped or partially snubbed in the recent round of Oscar nominations.  I think it's a combo.  I don't get the Jessica Chastain hype, she's a good actress, but Oscar-worthy?  I'm not sure.  Kathryn Bigelow should have gotten a nomination for best directing, truly the film would have slogged on rather uneventfully if not for her brilliant direction.  The final product is engaging, powerful, and worthy of its Best Picture nomination.  At first I was indecisive about whether I should see this movie, now I'm glad I did.

From Hong Kong to Hollywood: Infernal Affairs vs. The Departed

I've never been a big fan of remakes and reboots, but every once in a while someone will do a remake that's almost as good as the original....

The Departed, the remake of the 2002 Hong Kong modern classic, Infernal Affairs, is not one of them ;) But it is a finely crafted film, and I do think Martin Scorsese did his best, as did his cast.  In some small aspects he even brought new dimensions to the core story, which is admirable on his part.

When the making of The Departed was first announced I was really excited.  As a proud Hong Kong film supporter (well, I was prouder then) I went about making sure everyone knew that legendary director Martin Scorsese's new film was actually a remake of a Hong Kong cinematic masterpiece starting huge talents such as Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong etc.

Infernal Affairs, in my opinion, it is one of the best pieces of writing in Chinese film history, and one of the few movies I’ve seen where the sequel is almost better than the original (this is an amazing feat because the first movie is spectacular)  I implored all who were interested in seeing the Hollywood version, to see the Chinese original as well.  Of course this was easier said than done, for years the only way to pick up a copy of Infernal Affairs was at your local Chinatown bootleg store, not a source that everyone can be convinced to patronize. By the time the Infernal Affairs trilogy had a North American DVD release, the Departed had long screened in theatres and was quickly becoming a faded memory in our amnestic society.  Needless to say, Infernal Affairs didn't exactly see any big screen time in Toronto...

...until now!  As part of The Event Screen shows at Cineplex Yonge & Dundas this month, there will be two double bill screenings of Infernal Affairs, followed by The Departed -- this coming Sunday, January 27th starting at 2:45pm and again on Wednesday, January 30th starting at 7:30pm.  Screenings are $6 (each movie?), quite the bargain for an opportunity to see 2 finely crafted films on the big screen in the comforts of reclining chairs & stadium seating.  If you've been enjoying films like Gangster Squad or Broken City, you'll likely appreciate the similar content in Infernal Affairs and The Departed.

I'll be checking out the Sunday afternoon screenings, whether you know me or not, I invite to you come along.  It's a big theatre, you don't have to sit anywhere near me.  If you do recognize me and want to say hello, I promise to be nice :)

Back when Hollywood first bought the rights to Infernal Affairs, I was so obsessed I even came up with my dream cast for the remake (I don’t think a single person wound up in the film lol, so much for my career as a casting director).  I'd also like to add a further disclaimer that I made these pics 9 years ago, many actors were churning out performances of a different calibre or at different stages (and ages) of their careers at that time!  (Though I still stand by most of my choices)  Here are my original notes (some spoilers):

January 25, 2004

I’m curious whether Hollywood purchased the rights to remake just the first Infernal Affairs, or the 2nd & 3rd one too? It’s just amazing, it’s gonna be really hard to find a Hollywood cast to do this film justice, but here is what I’ve come up with for the main characters....now if only they’d let me direct it!

• Inspector Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau)- the cop who is the triads’man on the inside should be played by Ed Norton
• Chen Wing Yan (Tony Leung) - the mole infiltrating the highest ranks of the triads to stand next to the head boss should be played by Benicio Del Toro
• SP Wong Chi Shing (Anthony Wong) - the police chief who has black society alliances and bends the rules a bit to get certain ppl killed or behind bars should be played by Kevin Spacey
• Hon Sam (Eric Tsang) - formerly in alliance with the police chief until his opportunity came to rise to become the head boss should be played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman 

• Young Chan Wing Yan (Shawn Yue) could be Colin Farrell (but in my dream version, they would have to work on making him look like Benicio Del Toro…)
• Young Lau Kin Ming could be Jared Leto 

• the female roles are easy to fill… some suggestions include Scarlett Johansen, Jennifer Connelly, Charlize Theron, Clea Duvall, Julianne Moore, etc (subsequently in the The Departed they reduced the number of female roles anyway...)

To further demonstrate my compulsion, after seeing The Departed, I just randomly wrote a blog/article comparing the two.  Not because it was an assignment, nor a job, nor even posted to a blog that had much of a movie/entertainment following... just because I felt like it.  This one contains many details and should be read after you have seen both movies.  Enjoy, and hope to see you at the movies.

October 17, 2006

The following is a contrast & comparison between The Departed & the original Hong Kong verson Infernal Affairs, it includes HUGE spoilers for both movies and I recommend you not read this review unless you've seen at least one of the movies or have no intention of seeing either.

Please feel free to leave me long elaborate comments as I would be absolutely delighted to discuss these films in detail. [btw...no one ever did...]

The Departed is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong cinematic smash Infernal Affairs (and greatly anticipated and possibly superior prequel Infernal Affairs 2) about two individuals working undercover within the mob and police force. One has ties to the mob but has infiltrated the police force and holds a respectable title; the other is a cop who has blood ties to the mob and masquerades as one of their own.

Casting in both versions contain powerhouse talent: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Dillon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese’s Hollywood version The Departed; and critically acclaimed international talents Tony Leung and Andy Lau (and Anthony Wong) in the original Infernal Affairs.

The story traces the lives of the two moles, their history, motivations, desires, and race to discover the identity of the other in a battle of good and evil where all the lines are blurred. The Departed has a 30 min longer running time than Infernal Affairs because it encompasses all of Infernal Affairs and parts of Infernal Affairs 2. The Departed delves into DiCaprio’s character’s family ties to the mob and how he infiltrates slowly over time. Matt Damon’s character’s back-story was not nearly as developed, though almost equally as interesting in Infernal Affairs 2. The Departed only took a small chunk of Infernal Affairs 2, so there was no back story on Martin Sheen/Mark Wahlberg, and no part of Mary at all (which is a shame because she was my favourite person in Infernal Affairs 2, she was a very cool mob chick who executed her own hits and took matters into her own hands)

The two cops in charge – Martin Sheen & Mark Wahlberg (vs. Anthony Wong & partner in Infernal Affairs) had some changes made to them in the Hollywood version. I absolutely loved Mark Wahlberg’s character, he was the single best written character in The Departed. His character was kept alive to the very end in order to wrap up things up neatly in Scorsese’s vision, which by the way, is the first time I’ve seen Hollywood up the body count from an Asian film version. I was actually quite surprised. All of this is fine I suppose, but what is with Hollywood’s need for the bad guy to die? Their logic is still predominantly black and white compared to other countries. They did not even make any attempt to make Matt Damon’s character want to be good and just killed him. I guess there couldn’t have been a sequel/prequel anyway since they already took a chunk out of Infernal Affairs 2 for The Departed, what’s left isn’t enough for a whole movie.

There were a good number of scenes in The Departed that were almost shot for shot identical to Infernal Affairs, it is proof that powerful cinematography transcends cultural barriers. But naturally some poignant dialogue had to be changed as its meaning was lost in translation otherwise. Although English is my first language, I found myself more moved by the Chinese dialogue. The slang used by gangsters in Hong Kong is a specific type of dialogue and the English just doesn’t have anything nearly as distinctive (think ‘hit’, ‘whack’, & ‘cement shoes’ only more elaborate).

The scene I hated most in The Departed was the scene in which they exchanged the microchips with the Chinese gangsters. First of all, why electronics/microchips? That speaks of James Bond and espionage to me, it should be drugs or weapons otherwise it’s just not the mob in my eyes. And why make the exchange with the Chinese? Especially ones that spoke simplified bungling Cantonese? It completely destroyed the image of Asian gangster slick for me. I really could’ve done without Chinese characters at all instead of this quarter-assed (not even half-assed!) tribute to the movie’s original heritage. Alternatively, I thought it would’ve been cool if they’d hired a few guys who were in Infernal Affairs to do a cameo. The Chinese characters only spoke Chinese anyway, so any of the Infernal Affairs cast could’ve done it. Now that would’ve been a tribute!

On the flipside, The Departed really got it right by combining the two female characters from Infernal Affairs – Tony Leung’s psychologist and Andy Lau’s fiancée. I always thought Andy Lau’s fiancée in Internal Affairs was a really pointless role. By combining the characters in The Departed, it compacted the story and provided a connection between the two main characters. (In Infernal Affairs the two met at the stereo store, which was a good scene too.) Vera Farmiga also gave a very good performance.

The following is a huge spoiler and a bit hard for me to judge because I already knew what was going to happen by the time I saw The Departed. When Martin Sheen was thrown from the building, his death was shocking but there didn’t seem to be as much at stake for DiCaprio’s character because Mark Wahlberg’s character was still alive and knew his identity. In Infernal Affairs you’re shocked that Anthony Wong dies, but your stomach also drops because you realize that’s it for Tony Leung, that was the only person who could’ve restored his identity.

Overall, The Departed was a bit too long for my liking. The first third of the movie (the part taken from Infernal Affairs 2) was slow and I thought for the most part it was unnecessary. Infernal Affairs conveyed the story and the history of the two men just fine without revealing that portion to the audience; The Departed could have done the same. I would have to say I still enjoyed the original Infernal Affairs much more, but as far as remakes go, this one is actually fairly impressive.

What were you watching 9 years ago?

A stark reminder that I still need to get my Top 10 list of 2012 put together... I was digging through an old private blog for some movie write-ups that I want to use in a future blog here and found this... lol... I will stand by most of these films (with the exception of 8 and 10... surely there must've been better films that year...)  

What were your stand-out films of 2004?

Ada's Top 10 Films of 2004

(Film listed in the top ten are one of the following: from the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, had a North American release in 2004, or is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2004.)

Ada's Top 10 Films of 2004
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (USA)
2. Kill Bill Vol 2. (USA)
3. Before Sunset (USA)
4. Closer (USA)
5. Shaun of the Dead (UK)
6. Mysterious Skin (USA)
7. It's All Gone Pete Tong (UK/Canada)
8. The Libertine (UK)
9. 2046 (Hong Kong)
10. When Will I Be Loved (USA)

Just missing the top 10 was Mean Girls (USA) and Sideways (USA)

This list was compiled without my having seen Garden State, The Barbarian Invasions, or Hotel Rawanda

IMO a lacking year in film, or perhaps it was just me (note all the USA films! ). #1 - #4 are genuine masterpieces. #5 - #7 were well made and deserving of some sort of recognition (whether it be #’s 5, 6, and 7 I’m not sure…), #8 - #10 normally would get a mention of some sort but not be on the top ten list at all.

The following are honourable mentions, films that I saw in 2004 but were released in years prior, so good were they that I felt bad I was unable to include them on my list for this year:

Intermission (2003/UK)
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003/China)
Infernal Affairs 2 (2003/Hong Kong)
Goodbye Lenin (2003/Germany)
The Safety of Objects (2001/UK/USA)

New year, more movies!

Happy New Year movie lovers!  It's a brand new year with brand new movies, nevermind that I still have so much catching up to do with last year's movies.  With a blink of an eye Awards Season is upon us again, my list of "must-see's" continue to grow (I'm digging deep for some American patriotism because I'd like to see Lincoln before the Oscars) and the holidays blew by so fast, I didn't even have a chance to write about my holiday movie escapades.

Every January I suffer from the same internal struggle... at what point do you draw the line and post your top movie list?  One can only say "I just need to watch ________ before I make my list" so many times.  As I mentioned above, I still haven't seen Lincoln, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, etc. I want to give all the major award contenders a fair shake, yet at the same time, while I'll make allowances to see Lincoln despite my not being very interested in the story, I am still completely dismissive towards Life of Pi (even if it is directed by Ang Lee, whose work up to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I was very fond of).  Movie obssessors do this by-the-way, you just never know where your next all-time fav may be lurking and you don't want to look back and say "I missed throwing that on my top 10 list"  Back in January 2008, when it came time to make our lists for 2007, my friend Alex put There Will Be Blood in his number 1 spot without having even seen it.  He went on blind faith that it would be the best film of 2007 while I left it off my list, and I've been jealous of his wisdom and foresight ever since.

To help facilitate getting through more movies is the annual... 30 Films in 31 Days!  I hate to admit, but I'm off to a slow start out of the gates.  I've only finished 2 movies in 2 days and I was starting to nod off at the end of movie number 2 last night (I will re-watch the last half hour of Fantastic Mr Fox tonight for good measure)  While it doesn't look like we'll be much of a trending topic on Twitter (#30films31days), our facebook group is definitely abuzz with activity.  In the past couple years we've had some enthusiastic members join in,  I'm happy to say that the group has official expanded beyond my circle of movie fanatics, though I love them still (and there are plenty of us).  Even if you just want to read some opinions and participate in discussions rather than watch 30 films, I would still encourage you to join the group.

It's been a while since we've had a 30 Films group outting, I'm personally going to take advantage of the $6 movie screenings at Cineplex Yonge & Dundas this month.  There's lots of Hitchcock in the line-up and it's been a while since I've seen The Birds, so I might go catch a show.  I'm also rather fond of Vertigo but I did pick up a copy of the movie last year and have yet to take off the plastic.  I am mosted excited for Jan 27th's afternoon screenings of Infernal Affairs (the Hong Kong original, which I have never seen on the big screen) and The Departed (aka the Hollywood remake).  They will be playing the double bill again on the evening of Jan 30th, but given that I'm a 9-5er, the Sunday will be better for me.  Anyone who'd like to join me is welcome, it's a movie theatre, I couldn't care less whether we know each other or not, just come out! :)

December was a busy month for me on all fronts.  My day job ramped up for the fist couple of weeks instead of down, which led to long days and much mental exhaustion. The number of dinners, parties, cookie exchanges, and other planned social events went up, and my holiday staycation because a steady stream of eating.  Not that I'm complaining, I just think it's a miracle I got in any movies at all!  I even had a chance to combine said eating with movies in a brunch meet-up with the other writers from iheartmoviesTO.com.  Ever show up to to a get- together where the only thing you're expected to talk about is movies?  It's awesome.  Beats fielding questions like "how's work going?" and/or "so are you dating anyone new?" any day!

I mentioned I did squeeze in some movies.  What's quality of life would I be living I couldn't get in a few movies a week right?  Earlier in the month I'd gotten some passes from friends to advance screenings like Rust & Bone and The Guilt Trip.  I've been intrigue with the former since it premiered at TIFF this past September.  People seemed to have such a strong reaction to it, eitdher loving it or hating it.  Most raved about it.  One volunteer in particular that I'd spoken with about Rust & Bone told me how she was enthralled with the movie and ready to recommend it to the world until 15 mins before the end, when her entire opinion of the movie changed and she wound up disliking it.  With hype and opinions like those, I've been dying to see Rust & Bone since. 

For those not familiar, Rust & Bone is a French film centred around two people.  He's an aimless, negligent father, who finds a bit of purpose in fucking and fighting.  She's a killer whate trainer who's struggling to rebuild her life after suffering a horrible accident on the job. Ok, to be honest, I can't really discern what happened in the last bit of the film that was so opinion-altering.  And because the film has had so much hype, I guess I was really expecting something mind-blowing and I did not get that.  I don't hate the movie in any way, I'd watch it again if the opportunity arose, but I was really expecting something more.  Marion Cotillard is a terrific actress, this performance was no exception.

I didn't know much about The Guilt Trip, but perhaps it was indicative that my mom did.  It was a little bit out of guilt that I went to this screening with her, despite my being exhausted from work and having to struggle to stay awake.  The lackluster camera work is what I used to justify 'closing my eyes' mid-scene, I argued to myself that I could still hear the jokes, but let's face it, I did nod off for some of the first half.  I enjoy Seth Rogan in the same way that I enjoy Vince Vaughn, the circumstantial humour, somewhat dry remarks with moments of incredulousness (reminds me of myself), and always in small doses or the laughs get old real fast.  This humour plays well off Barbara Streisand's character, I genuinely thought they were a good duo (though many may disagree).  The jokes are funny and relatible for those who grew up with a somewhat protective, OCD mom, which I did.  My own mother was in hysterics most of the way through, it really is a good movie to take your mother to as the content is never objectionable.  Anyway, I'm glad she had a good time.

The most anticipated film of the season (for most, not me) was The Hobbit, which has had some pretty mixed reviews.  I made sure to catch a high frame rate screening (The Hobbit was shot in 48 fps, double the usual 24 fps in convential film) and was impressed by the hyper-real 3D.  All the descriptions are true, the video-game feel, the clarity and detailed textures.  I can see arguements both for and against it, but only real complaint was that it somehow made me blink less, which severely dried out my eyeballs during the almost 3 hour movie.  As for the story itself... I've never read any Tolkien (and have little desire to, though I do have some of his books now) but that has never kept me from enjoying the LOTR trilogy.  I miss out on the delight in the details, and have none fo the background, but the trilogy stands on its own as movies.  The Hobbit is the same, I think I'll enjoy it more as the trilogy progresses, because story set-up is necessary.

My own movie Christmas came early when I had the opportunity to attend the premier of Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's new movie.  The man himself was in attendance and naturally I went to the limits of crazy in order to get his attention again.  One day I'd like to have a conversation with him, to show him that I'm an intellegent woman capable of more than waving dolls around and squealing non-sensical things, maybe even ask him to marry me, but in the meantime I'll do what I can to distinguish myself from the hoardes.  He either did remember me from the Basterds permier or else faked it well.  He signed my photo of the two of us (that was in the paper last time), and accepted the artword by my friend Jae Korim that I gave to him.  You can read my review of Dajngo Unchained here.  When I saw Django initially, I enjoyed it but wasn't as bowled over as I was after Inglourious Basterds.  After having seen a few other holiday movie offerings though, I'm starting to see just how superior it is most of the other stuff on the big screen right now.  Now I'm excited to see it again.

Though I was interested in checking it out too, Jack Reacher was not my pick the night I saw it.  Tom Cruise is in the staring role in this movie based on a series of novels.  There's promise in the characters, and I think it could potentially become a good series.  However Jack Reacher just didn't grip me like the way The Bourne Identity (and the two that followed) did.  Not even like the way Bond captures my attention, and we all know I'm not huge on 007.  It suffered from painfully boring cinematography and often equally dull dialogue, when you want to rest your eyes during an action/thriller, there's a problem.  Rosamund Pike was probably the best thing in the movie, even then I felt she was still under-utilized.  I get that excessive violence isn't the goal of the movie, but there was room was flashier 'beat-up-the-bad-guys" action choreography, and a few more stunts.  They were just lazy.  Not gonna lie, I was replaying scenes from Django Unchained in my head during parts of Jack Reacher, it's just so much more interesting.

The other holiday blockbuster release I caught was of course Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, based on the very popular musical of the same name (which is based on the book etc.).  While somewhat familar with the story, admittedly I've never been priveliged enough to see the musical (don't even ask me how that's possible), but there's an unmistakable Tom Hooper mark on the movie version that's hard to miss.  He doesn't shy away from dwelling on intricacies and drawing out moments, and that can be a hit or miss with me (as it was in his previous film The King's Speech).  I also have a limited patience with musicals on the big screen (as I do with operas on stage sometimes), what can be said in four lines of dialogue is often stretched out into a 4 minute song, which can get tedious (unless it's a Beatles songs, of course I'm very biased and been itching to watch Across the Universe again for some months now... completely off topic!).  Critics and PR rave on about Anne Hathaway's performance, which is good, but not earth-shattering.  Hugh Jackman is another whose singing I've heard so much about, but came up a little short when I was expecting it to fill the theatre.  Every performer did their numbers live on the soundstage, which is impressive, but the talents that stood out for me were actually the unknowns... ie. Smantha Barks as Éponine, Daniel Huddlestone as Gavroche, and even Isabelle Allen as young Cosette.   It's a worthwhile watch, especially if you're a fan of the show.  The performances, the sets and costume, all commendable.

In conjunction with the Django Unchained release, I decided to go through the entire Quentin Tarantino catelogue just for the fun of it.  So that was a lot of what I watched at home during December.  I didn't pick up the Tarantino XX collection because I already had all his titles on Blu-ray, instead I wrote this article about my Top 5 QT movie music moments.  Ok, fine, the two aren't really related but I needed some sort of segue.  Check it out though.  I also had a couple friends over for a QT movie day where we screened Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown. 

Every Christmas (or thereabouts) I bust out my collection of favourite holiday films, and the collection is always growing.  This year I had less time than usual to get them all watched, so regretfully I really had to pick and choose.  I'd finally replaced my VHS copy of The Muppet Christmas Carol so I gave that a whirl.  Muppets Letters to Santa was on TV and it was as horrible as I'd expect but it still warranted watching.  Squeezed in some Home Alone because it felt like everyone on my GetGlue list was watching it.  And of course, it's just not Christmas until I've watched my all-time favourite holiday movie:  Bad Santa.  It's vulgar, messed up, yet touching, with the greatest classical music soundtrack. 

And for my Christmas finale... I finally went to the Sound of Music Sing-a-long at TIFF Lightbox (tried to get tix twice last year but it was sold out both times!)  We were sitting behind some fun hecklers, which gave us a few extra chuckles.  Unlike the Grease sing-a-long, I'm less inclined to clown around during Sound of Music and just sing along to the actual songs.  At some point the props seemed unnecessary.  But others' participation didn't bother me, and I'm glad I got to go this year.

Speaking of Lightbox, they also have some fun programming in the upcoming months.  Some may frown upon them choosing to screen the films of Keanu Reeves, but come on eh? He's Canadian and all.  Also this will be my chance to see My Own Private Idaho (my favourite Gus Van Sant movie, arguably not my favourite Keanu Reeves because that is probably Dracula - also on the line-up) on the big screen.  It also reminds me that I haven't seen River's Edge in many years, that is also worth a re-watching, perhaps during 30 Films in 31 Days.

Gangster Squad and Zero Dark Thirty are also opening in regular theatres this month.  Clearly there is no shortage of entertainment on the big screen in Toronto.  That's all from me for now, see you at the movies!