THE MASTER [2012]

Director Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't spoon feed the viewer in his L. Ron Hubbard inspired drama The Master. 

The film layers itself with so many subtle nuances and seemingly confusing pointless moments, it challenges the viewer to search for the answers and seek out meanings on their own.  Each shot and moment isn't without reason, like an establishing shot of the water or laying one's hands on a wall.  It's there for a reason and will more than likely alienate anybody looking for a good time.  Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are astonishing as unlikable but ultimately fascinating characters. It's an eerie and engrossing film that reminds you how great a challenging film can be.

4 tasty poisonous shit-mixes out of 5

BRAVE [2012]

Pixar regulars Mark Andrews & Brenda Chapman with some heavy help from Sam & Max mastermind, Steve Purcell, direct the fantasy adventure Brave.

It teaches the hilarious lesson of the best way to understand your mother is to turn her into a bear.  Take notes, kids, as you find out whether or not your mom shits in the woods.  Unlike Pixar's other films, where the premise and settings are usually quite different, Brave settles itself into more a traditional Disney style and never really offers anything different from what we've seen before.  It's probably the most beautiful looking film to come out of the company but also the most cut-and-dried as well.

3 will-o'-the-wisps out of 5

WRECK-IT RALPH [2012]

Veteran The Simpsons & Futurama director Rich Moore colors the animated Disney film Wreck-It Ralph with enthusiastic nostalgia and energy.

A visual feast for the eyes and a high-octane thrill ride for the kids, Ralph is packed with video game character cameos and in-jokes for the older crowd to enjoy as well. The plot gets a little muddy in spots but it's so much damned fun it won't matter too much.  John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman deliver some wonderful voice performances, complimented with the film's wild imagination and thoughtfulness. 

3½ Bad Anonymous meetings out of 5

A ROYAL AFFAIR [2012]

aka En kongelig affære

Nikolaj Arcel, the screenwriter of the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo directs the rich & compelling romantic period drama, A Royal Affair.

Set in Denmark in the 18th Century, during the reign of the mentally ill King Christian VII, the story follows the queen who begins a romance with the kings most favored physician.  Aided by some solid performances by the 3 core cast members, the film not only revolves around the romance but a interesting and at times infuriating story about a political & religious revolution  It's a delicately detailed and absorbing period piece that will either win you over with it's intriguing story or scare you away with it's "old stuffy" historical storytelling.

4 kings in a tree out of 5

REBELLE [2012]

aka War Witch

Canadian writer/director Kim Nguyen crafts a brutal and disturbing tale in Rebelle.  It's about a young girl telling her unborn child of the times she spent as a forced soldier in the Rebel Army in Africa.

It's a difficult film to enjoy but still a tale that needs to be told and acknowledged.  Rachel Mwanza stars as the young girl and deserves recognition for her haunting and powerful performance.  Beautifully shot and paced with perfection, Rebelle is a film one won't soon forget.

3½  white roosters out of 5 

THE IMPOSSIBLE [2012]

Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and newcomer Tom Holland deliver some powerful performances in The Orphanage director Juan Antonio Bayona's The Impossible.

Following the story of a family separated during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the film never tugs at the heartstrings for the sake of drama but grounds itself in a reality that is all too frightening and emotionally draining.  A realistic retelling of a story about family, the will to survive, glimmers of hope and life & death that's tastefully done.

4 loose pages from a book out of 5

KON-TIKI [2012]

Kon-tiki is a thrilling drama based on the true story of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdal & his team that set out to sea on a raft to prove that South Americans were able to settle in Polynesia in the pre-Columbia times.

Max Manus directors Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg craft a beautifully shot adventure story that packs just enough emotion to keep the characters grounded and easy to relate to.  The visual effects are absolutely stunning as I didn't realize they were FX until after the film was done.  A highly enjoyable film that will leave you in awe.

3½ possibilities of needing a bigger boat out of 5 

AMOUR [2012]

Writer/director Michael Haneke goes against his usual cold & distant tones and opts for the close & intimate in his heart-wrenching drama Amour.

It's a story about an elderly couple that has their love put to a most difficult test in their final days due to the wife suffering a paralyzing stroke.  Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva do a fantastic job at carrying the film as the couple that feels so natural you think you'd been watching them for years.  The photography, while not too variable in angles or shots, is effective and somewhat mysterious.  It's the type of film that completely crushes your heart and sometimes just too difficult to watch but somehow life reassuring at the same time. 

4½  stories never told out of 5

THE SESSIONS [2012]

Director Ben Ewin's The Sessions tells the story of Mark O'Brien's struggle to lose his virginity as he's paralyzed from the neck down due to polio.

The always fantastic John Hawkes takes the role of O'Brien and soars with it, while being restricted to only performing using only his face.  Helen Hunt brings a comfortable warmth to her performance with a gentle touch that I'm sure many would find difficult to portray the way she does.  Even the though the film brings some great soft-hearted laughs and tears, it's still pretty light on depth and dramatic arcs.  It's purely a performance driven film that is thoughtful and life re-assuring but doesn't pack the punch it could have.

3 cats on the iron lung out of 5

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD [2012]

Every now and then a movie comes out of nowhere and floors you with it's beauty, originality and imagination, the way a film should.  Director Benh Zeitlin's feature film debut Beasts Of Southern Wild does just that.  

An emotionally powerful journey through the mind of a little girl living in a poverty stricken Southern Louisiana community, Beasts is a magical blend of drama and fantasy that reminded me of The Fisher King.

Without a recognizable name in sight, the film was produced on a tight budget but the filmmakers knew what they were doing and it doesn't hurt the production even in the slightest.   

5 bathtubs out of 5

MOONRISE KINGDOM [2012]

Moonrise Kingdom is an oddball romantic-comedy of another kind from writer/director Wes Anderson.

Anderson sets out a funny little story that looks and plays sort of like a children's story, with the adults confused, unaware of their surroundings and clueless to how love works.  It's the kids who have a firm grasp on things and know exactly what they want with life, which hilariously reflects on real life without ever getting too heavy.  It floats around in soft colors, bizarre fashions senses and flighty music that only makes the experience that much more enjoyably surreal.

3½ buggy earrings out of 5

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK [2012]

Director David O. Russell goes against his usual and makes a quiet & sensitive little drama about mental illness in Silver Linings Playbook. 

Normally I haven't enjoyed Bradley Cooper in...well...anything but here he excels with a wonderfully layered performance opposite Jennifer Lawrence who is equally as good.  Backed by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, the actors all play off each other with exceptional believability.  It's a story that could have easily fallen into shitty rom-com territory but with the direction, characters and actors, the film rises far above that genre with the perfect amount of warmth and thoughtfulness.

4 midnight meat trains out of 5

LES MISERABLES [2012]

The King's Speech director Tom Hooper succeeds in adapting a spectacular film version of  Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boublil's musical butchering of Victor Hugo's epic novel, Les Misérables.

It's filled with beautiful set-pieces, colorful photography and strong performances, particularly Hugh Jackman and the all too brief appearances of Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter & Sacha Baron Cohen.  Sadly, the stage musical itself is a poor adaptation of Hugo's novel, being as it only covers about 1/3 of the actual story, therefore loses most of it's purpose and complete emotional punch.  Still, the film itself is quite the spectacle that's filled with passion and dedication.  

3½ empty chairs at empty tables out of 5

ZERO DARK THIRTY [2012]

Director Kathryn Bigelow tells the true story of the manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in the controversial procedural spy-thriller Zero Dark Thirty.

Like The Hurt Locker, she carries the film with uneasy tension, only instead of thrilling tension, it's an emotional one that made me feel queasy in some of its more intense moments.  Utilizing effective camerawork that gives the appearance of a human eye watching, rather than a camera, the film never ceases to allow the emotional tension to break until it's final moments.  Viewers might be turned off looking to be entertained because this technical film is far from entertainment. It might be nearly 3 hours long but not a minute is wasted on filler which I can't say for a few of the other "critically acclaimed" films of the year.

4 motherfuckers who find places out of 5

DJANGO UNCHAINED [2012]

Writer/director Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is a violent love story given the cosmetic makeover of an exploitation Western.  

It's filled with geysers of blood, hypnotizing villain monologues, great music and some fantastic performances but in the end of it's near 3 hours it leaves much to be desired.  Jamie Foxx has the acting charisma to carry it for the first hour but after awhile you realize Tarantino wrote him with hardly any depth or attempts to explore the potentially interesting inner conflicts he faces, which has no excuse considering the insanely long running time.  With maybe 25 minutes shaved off and some better scene set-ups I might have been a little more pleased with the end results.

3 horsey dances of victory out of 5

SKYFALL [2012]

Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in director Sam Mendes' first journey into the world of 007 for Skyfall.

Craig takes the role of Bond and makes it his own, adding layers of varied emotion and vulnerability to the character that's been mostly absent in past incarnations.  While Javier Bardem is able to ham it up a bit, seeming more like a Nolan Batman villain rather than a Bond baddy, with his motives and cunning ideals.  Thankfully, Mendes is concerned with building up character arcs just as much as he is with throwing some extravagantly entertaining action pieces at us as well.  Skyfall does threaten to fall apart under it's own weight near the end but wraps up nicely as it looks back at it's roots.

3½ wastes of good Scotch out of 5

LINCOLN [2012]

After being spoonfed emotional fluff in War Horse it's nice to see Steven Spielberg go back to the thinking man's historical drama for Lincoln.

Daniel Day-Lewis delivers an informative, warm performance that is both commanding and sensitive resulting in a poignantly powerful execution.  Spielberg assumes the viewer is already well versed in their historical knowledge and spends no time explaining things to the uneducated, so anyone not unaware of the events surrounding the story will be lost in it's dryness and long scenes of dialogue.  The few historical inaccuracies can be forgiven as the meaning and purpose is met by the final reel.  

4 Bixby Letters out of 5

FLIGHT [2012]

Director Robert Zemeckis makes a bold return to his first live-action film since 2000's Cast Away for the surprisingly quiet character drama, Flight. 

Normally Zemeckis isn't particularly subtle with his work but with the help with some finely subdued performances from Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle and Kelly Reilly, Flight is able to stay grounded and focus on wonderful & complex character moments.  It's wonderful to see Zemeckis drop the motion-capture animated films for something a little more quieter and hardly depending on any FX at all.

3½ upside down planes out of 5

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY [2012]

The first part of director Peter Jackson's questionably drawn out 2nd Middle Earth Trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a welcome return to the world by fans.

There's a familiar air about the film that is both comforting and tense but Jackson fills it up with more than enough background info to destroy some of the mystery of the world.  Martin Freeman & Ian McKellen are absolutely wonderful in the lead roles, as are the ensemble dwarf cast but there's only so much little people partying one would care to see in one film.  As for the controversial 48fps deal?  It's quite effective in some scenes and is in dire need to iron out the kinks in other scenes.  

Being a fan of Jackson and his work, I can't help but anticipate the next two instalments, no matter what little qualms I have with this first part.

3½ dwarf burglars out of 5

THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS [2012]

Director Peter Lord & Aardman Animation brings Gideon Defoe's The Pirates! books to life in The Pirates! Band Of Misfits.

The colorful characters and gorgeous sets are beautifully animated with the always dazzling stop-motion technique. With a wonderful voice cast and rousing music, The Pirates! manages to entertain leaving a smile on the face from beginning to end.  It's not particularly up to par with Aardman Animation's other feature but it's still pretty darned fun.

3 monocles on monkeys out of 5