Since we’re halfway through the year, and Kinnemaniac has been taking a poll of 2012’s film’s so far, I’ve put together a top five of my own.
Looking back at the films I’ve watched this year I was a little underwhelmed. Overall it’s been a pretty poor cinematic year, particularly from the American mainstream. The lacklustre Avengers has been the year’s biggest success story but doesn’t feature here, and whilst visually impressive and pretty entertaining, Prometheus is too flawed to make the cut.
It has actually been a relatively good year for comedy though, with Damsels in Distress (which I saw last year, but was released in 2012), Goon, Carnage, The Muppets and 21 Jump Street all challenging for my fifth spot.
But without further ado, here are my top five in reverse order:
5. Young Adult –Charlize Theron has a great time playing a character approximately as mature as those in the Young Adult novels she writes. A comedy that’s big on laughs but is also poignant, Diablo Cody’s script is mature and heartfelt as well as clever.
4. Martha Marcy May Marlene – A psychological horror about being held at the will of not only a cult, but also family. It’s a film that stays with you.
3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia – A subtle slow police procedural gives way to an even subtler and slower study of an intelligent man isolated in a rural community. Give in to its rhythm and be impressed by the filmmaking and moved by the acting.
2. The Kid with a Bike – No one does thoughtful arthouse films about childhood abandonment better than the Dardennes. Like Anatolia it’s slow and subtle but utterly enthralling.
1. Moonrise Kingdom – My number one film is so full of charm it hurts. Basically I’m a sucker for quirky indie films and movies about kids, so for me Wes Anderson’s latest ticks all the right boxes. It’s a film I was not only absorbed by, but I watched the whole thing with a huge grin on my face.
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