All Films Watched in 2012


All films are rated on a scale of **** (A+), *** 3/4 (A), *** 1/2 (A-), *** 1/4 (B+), *** (B), ** 3/4 (B-), ** 1/2 (C+), ** 1/4 ( C), ** (C-) , * 3/4 (D+), * 1/2 (D), * 1/4 (D-), * (F)

Links are to longer reviews on site.  A film defined as 70 min.+  visual event. 
The year included with the film is the year I watched each film.
  (V) =  TV, Video or DVD    ( +) = repeat viewing      (W/O)= walked out
  January, 2012
JOSÉ AND PILAR (d. Miguel Gonçalves Mendes, Portugal)  ** 3/4
BULLHEAD (Rundskop)  (d. Michaël R. Roskam, Belgium)  *** 1/4
VOLCANO (Eldfjall)  (d. Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland)  *** 3/4
MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, THE (d. Jim Kohlberg) V. Amnesiac brought back by 70s rock, true story, moving nostalgia. Lou Pucci & J.K. Simmons really fine. *** 1/2
ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA  (d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey)  ** 1/2
WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW  (d. Wei Te-Sheng, Taiwan)  *** 3/4
MISS BALA  (d. Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico)  *** 1/4
AMNESTY  (d. Bujar Alimani, Albania)  ** 1/2
LUST  (El Shooq)  (d. Khaled El Hagar, Egypt)  W/O
BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD (d. Liz Garbus) V. Illuminating, comprehensive docu about Fischer, whitewashes some aspects, but nicely made. ***
CHANTRAPAS  (d. Otar Iosseliani, Georgia)  * 1/2
ELENA  (d. Andrey Zvyagintsev)  ***
LAST WINTER  (d. John Shank)  ** 3/4
SIMON AND THE OAKS  (d. Lisa Ohlin)  *** 3/4
FOREVERLAND  (d. Maxwell McGuire)  *** 1/4
MORGEN  (d. Marian Crisan, Romania) ** 1/2
ABALLAY  (d. Fernando Spiner, Argentina)  * 3/4
MY BEST ENEMY  (d. Wolfgang Murnberger)  *** 1/4
SALT OF LIFE, THE  (d. Gianni Di Gregorio) ** 1/2
NORTH SEA TEXAS  (d. Bavo Defurne) *** 1/4
MONK, THE  (d. Dominik Moll) ** 3/4
COUSINHOOD  (d. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo)  **
SAL  (d. James Franco)  ** 1/2
MY AUSTRALIA  (d. Ami Drozd)  *** 1/2
HAYWIRE (d. Steven Soderbergh) Somewhat repetitive action flick with a fine cast and a kick-ass female protagonist. The boys were fine, too.  ***
FIVE FINGERS (d. Laurence Malkin) V. Interesting STV rendition flick, Ryan Phillippe vs. Laurence Fishburne in a political terrorist battle of wits. *** 1/4
DRESDEN (d. Roland Suso Richter) V. Soapy, romantic, horrifying, involving German 3+ hr. mini-series of Dresden fire-storm bombing raid as disaster flick. ***
RIO (d. Carlos Saldanha) 3D animated film with some fast, pretty sequences (esp. jungle birds flocking), but a silly, predictable story. ** 1/4
SHERLOCK: GREAT GAME (d. Paul McGuigan) V. + Timely re-play of final epi of series 1 leading to May start of season 2. I love the villain Moriarty!  ***
   February, 2012
DRIVE (d. Nicolas Winding Refn) + Few movies worth 2nd view; but Refn's direction is so stylish & Gosling so interesting + great music, had to see again. *** 1/2
TREE OF LIFE, THE (d. Terrence Malick) + The gorgeous, impressionist take on raising 3 boys is impressive. The pretentious history of life still stultifies.   *** 1/4
CAT IN PARIS, A (d. Felicioli & Gagnol) Stylish, French style 2D animation with a rather ordinary "cat burglar" plot à la To Catch a Thief.  ** 1/2
CHICO & RITA (d. Errando, Mariscal, Trueba) Moving, involving, wonderful tribute to Cuban music & jazz with a sassy love story. Animation for adults!!  *** 1/2
CHRONICLE (d. Josh Trank) Loved it! Wish fulfillment fantasy+Greek tragedy+mysterious superpowers+very talented young director+ Dane DeHaan *** 1/2
RANGO (d. Gore Verbinsky) Inventive animal characters & fine animation doesn't make up for director's excesses & hackneyed fake western plot. ** 1/2
KUNG FU PANDA 2 (d. Jennifer Yuh Nelson) Over amped, predictable, unfunny, soporific non-stop action 3D animation had frequent flaws.   * 1/2
PUSS IN BOOTS (d. Chris Miller) Story & vocal acting well done; flawless 3D animation. Too many familiar chase scenes! (but unusually inventive).  ** 3/4
MIDDLEMARCH (d. Anthony Page) V. 6-part Masterpiece costume mini-series, complex, informative but rather cold. I've always wanted to read the book.  ***
HUGO (d. Martin Scorsese) + 2nd time still magical, wonderful flick with fabulous 3D and a palpable love for cinema which brings me to tears. *** 3/4
THAT'S WHAT I AM (d. Michael Pavone) V. I read that this unknown coming-of-age '60s film was good. It's better than that! Superior Wonder Years stuff. *** 1/2
PROFESSOR, THE (Il camorrista) (d. Giuseppe Tornatore)  ***
20 CIGARETTES (d. Aureliano Amadei)  ***
SOME SAY NO (C'è chi dice no)  (d. Giambattista Avellino) ** 3/4
EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM, THE (Il mattino ha l'oro in bocca) (d. Francesco Patierno) *** 1/4
INDUSTRIALIST, THE (d. Giuliano Montaldo)  ** 3/4
TALK TO ME ABOUT LOVE (Parlami d'amore) (d. Silvio Muccino) ** 1/2 (but I loved it.)
INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION (d. Elio Petri) ** 3/4
ON THE SEA (d. Alessandro D'Altari) ***
HEREAFTER (d. Clint Eastwood)V+ Still one of the best films ever, incredibly moving, brilliantly written and acted, and Clint's score is special. An upgrade. ****
YOU'LL GET OVER IT (d. Fabrice Cazeneuve) V. Outstanding gay teen coming of age tv "afternoon special" French style. Julian Baumgartner, wow!  *** 1/4
SOMETHING BORROWED (d. Luke Greenfield) V. Girl loves best friend's fiancé and the morally suspect consequences. Enjoyed the actors. ** 1/2
   March, 2012
LIKE A BROTHER (Comme un frère) (d. Alapetite & Legann) V. Boy comes out in Paris while pining for straight chum from past. Involving, cute guys. ** 1/2
BIG MIRACLE (d. Ken Kwapis) Gripping film based on true story of family of whales trapped under Arctic ice. Fine cast, well directed, predictable.  *** 1/4
VOW, THE (d. Michael Sucsy) If this weren't based on true story, it would be unlikely because stars mismatched w/ little chemistry. But I enjoyed anyway ** 1/2
BEING FLYNN (d. Paul Weitz) Fabulous acting by DeNero and Dana; but film is such a downer it's hard to love. Crazy, homeless, bad father. Ugh. *** 1/4
8 (d. Rob Reiner) V. Streamed web reading of Dustin Black's play...great cast, unrehearsed, but strong. Book needs shaping. Still, moving & important. ** 1/2
SAFE HOUSE (d. Daniel Espinosa) Endless spy/chase flick about corruption high up in CIA etc. etc. Reynolds best foil for Denzel in a while.  ** 1/4
AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT (d. Lorenzo Gabriele) V. Too broadly acted French farce about closeted professor chosen to foster a troubled teen boy. * 3/4
APPROPRIATE ADULT (d. Julian Jarrold) V.  True story of serial killing couple & woman chosen to represent man. Well acted, overlong. ** 3/4
CHOCOLATE WAR, THE (d. Keith Gordon) V. YA book about war of nerves among students at a private school: starkly shot with fine acting & adaptation. ***
FÖGI IS A BASTARD (d. Marcel Gisler) V.  Finally watched the DVD of my all-time #1 gay film and it still blows my mind! Honest, unsparing, sexy. *** 3/4
THIN ICE (d. Jill Sprecher) A con game thriller with more plot holes than Swiss cheese.  Some good actors defeated by a terrible, gimmicky script.   * 1/4
JOHN CARTER (d. Andrew Stanton) Good 3D f/x; but that's the last praise. Overlong, hero with no charisma, ridiculous dilemmas, bombastic. Ugh.  * 3/4
THIS MEANS WAR (d. McG) A dismal excuse for an action/romance flick. I love Tom Hardy; but he's miscast. Worst editing in a major film ever!  * 1/4
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN (d. Lasse Hallström) Smart, heartwarming, entrancing & ecumenical ecological adventure. Fine script & direction.  *** 1/4
SEBASTIAN (d. Svend Wam) V. Norwegian gay coming of ager from '95. Naive, unrealistic & poorly acted (though the 2 main boy actors are attractive.) * 1/2
GAME CHANGE (d. Jay Roach) V. Julianne Moore & esp. Ed Harris are quite good in this political evisceration. Docu feel with actual news footage. ***
JOHAN (d. Philippe Vallois) V. '75 daring gay Fr. Warholian film with no story, but lots of sex.  "Making-of" on DVD much more interesting than the film. ** 1/4
FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD, THE (d. Joshua Marston) Slow developing, involving story of Albanian teen boy caught up in fatal family feud. *** 1/4
FRIENDS WITH KIDS (d. Jennifer Westfeldt) Adult rom-com, nicely played by great cast; but dialog misfires & leads' chemistry isn't convincing.  ***
STRAPPED (d. Joseph Graham) V. Gay version of No Exit, with real philosophical plot, lots of soft-core sex & some fine acting (Bonenfant a find). ***
LAST DEADLY MISSION, THE (d. Olivier Marchal) V. Gritty French policier, superbly played by Auteuil, Se7en like serial killers & realistic angst. ***
TIMES HAVE BEEN BETTER (d. Régis Musset) V. Fine, insightful Fr. tv dramedy: bourgeoise "liberal" couple flip out when 30ish son comes out. *** 1/4
GONE (d. Heitor Dhalia) Well done strong-damaged-young-women in peril thriller; but so predictable that it really didn't need to be made.  ** 1/2
CASA DE MI PADRE (d. Matt Piedmont) Spoof on mexi-narco western genre. Purposely shoddy; but still really shoddy and incredibly unfunny.  * 1/2
WANDERLUST (d. David Wain) Nouveau hippie commune comedy, ribald and at times tasteless; but gross-out fun, too. Paul Rudd is quite good.  ***
DAVID'S BIRTHDAY (d. Marco Filiberti) V. Overwrought story of married man yearning for gay affair with friend's son. Massimo Poggio one to watch. **
GAME OF THRONES (d. various) V. Season #1 on Blu-ray. Spectacular epic production, perfectly cast, event programming at its best.  ****
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (d. Edgar Wright) V.+ Comic book meets video games. Fine f/x. Cera perfect nerd hero, but just too silly for me. ** 1/2
JUDAS KISS (d. J.T. Tepnapa) V. Queer cinema at its most pretentious, with an ambitious, but unsatisfying timebinding plot. Cute, realistic gay guys is it. **
HOUSEBOY, THE (d. Spencer Schilly) V.+ Despite hard drugs, sex & despair, this is a sweet & life affirming gay film. Nick May is a find. *** 1/4
MIRROR MIRROR (d. Tarsem Singh) Gorgeous costumes, uninspired script & cheesy f/x. Armie Hammer is a convincing prince. **
   April, 2012
21 JUMP STREET (d. Lord & Miller) Grown up Superbad, but this one was funny more than stupid. Too many cock jokes! Hill & Tatum fine pairing. ** 3/4
STRANGER IN US, THE (d. Scott Boswell) V. Gay film to support, realistic relationships, authentic S.F. setting. But inept editing & pedestrian direction. ** 1/2
HUNGER GAMES, THE (d. Gary Ross) Disappointingly low key PG-13 action...but good acting (Josh Hutcherson fine) overcame story flaws.  ** 3/4
IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY (d. Boden & Fleck) V.+ Lovely, moving humanistic story with great perfs by Gilchrist & Galifianakis. 2nd time as good. *** 1/2
DEEP BLUE SEA, THE (d. Terence Davies) Ponderous, dark adaptation of Rattigan play. I felt no connection to story of obsessive, destructive love.  ** 1/2
CAMPFIRE (d. Bavo Defume) V. 4 short Belgian films of youthful male longing. Combine Fassbinder & Todd Haynes & no overt content & you have this. **
HERE (d. Braden King) Aimless travelog (Armenia) + love story with pretensions of indie cred. But Ben Foster is wonderful & vistas were beautiful.  ** 1/2
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (d. Whit Stillman) Smart comedy about college doufuses. Whimsical and slight; but Stillman's style still appeals to me.  ***
EARLY ONE MORNING (d. Jean-Marc Moutout)  ** 3/4
MICHAEL PETRUCCIANI (d. Michael Radford)  *** 1/2
ADOPTED, THE  (d. Melanie Laurent)  ***
GREAT EXPECTATIONS (Brian Kirk) V.  Nicely staged, if too concised, version of the novel. Fine acting, but Gillian Anderson was over the top.  ***
17 GIRLS  (d. Delphine & Muriel Coulin)  ** 3/4
WELL DIGGER'S DAUGHTER (d. Daniel Auteuil)  *** 3/4
MINISTER, THE  (d. Olivier Gourmet)  ***
MEN IN THE NUDE (Férfiakt) (d. Károly Esztergályos) V. Serious, well-played drama: older straight writer falls "Death in Venice" style with teen boy. ** 3/4
AMERICANO  (d. Mathieu Demy)  ** 1/2
GOODBYE FIRST LOVE!  (d. Mia Hansen-Love)  ** 3/4
ART OF LOVE, THE (d. Emmanuel Mouret) *** 1/4
LITTLE DANCER (d. George Jecel) V.  ** 3/4
CLAPHAM JUNCTION (d. Adrian Shergold) V.+ Involving & depressing drama of one full moon night of sex, lies & gay bashings in London. *** 1/4
DELICASY (d. D. & S. Foenkinos)  Affecting, perceptive office based rom-com...can a C-grade man make it with an A-grade grieving widow? *** 1/4
MESKADA (d. John Sternfeld) V. Atmospheric straight-to-video policier about murder/robbery in small town & the detective whose roots lead to killer. ** 1/2
POLISSE  (d. Maïwenn)  *** 1/4
GRIND (d. Casey La Scala) V. Medicre 2003 skateboard exploitation flick with (in retrospect) A-list cast. Mike Vogel's debut & he lights up the screen. ** 1/4
38 WITNESSES  (d. Lucas Belvaux) *** 1/2
HAPPY EVENT, A  (d. Rémi Bezançon) ***
GUILTY (Présumé coupable) (d.  Vincent Garenq) *** 1/2
COME AND SEE (d. Elem Klimov) V. Russian WWII intimate epic of orphaned 14 yr. old boy's battles in partisan group. Too histrionic for my tastes. W/O
FREEWAY  (d. Christophe Sahr) **
SKYLAB, LE  (d. Julie Delpy)  ** 1/2
LOUISE WIMMER (d. Cyril Mennegun)  ** 3/4
PARIS BY NIGHT  (d. Philippe Lefebre) *** 1/4
HEADHUNTERS (d. Morten Tyldum) Norwegian thriller where antihero is chased by implacable evil. Fun, provocative, stylish; story maybe too slick. *** 1/4
WE WERE ONE MAN (d. Philippe Valois) V. WWII Vichy France story ('79) of weird affair between simpleton Frenchman & handsome German soldier. ** 3/4
LUCKY ONE, THE (d. Scott Hicks) Romance/drama -soldier seeks out woman he thinks saved him. Nicely underplayed by Zac Ephron, or it wouldn't work. ***
SHORTBUS (d. John Cameron Mitchell) V.+ Unique, better, more focused, beautiful & important on video than I recall watching in public 6 years ago. *** 1/2
     May, 2012
SEX OF THE ANGELS, THE  (d. Xavier Villaverde) *** 1/4
ACACIAS, LAS  (d. Pablo Giergelli)  ** 3/4
VALLEY OF SAINTS  (d. Musa Syeed)  ** 3/4
EDEN  (d. Megan Griffiths) *** 1/2
MEXICAN SUITCASE, THE (d. Trisha Ziff)  ** 3/4
SLEEPWALK WITH ME  (d. Mike Birbiglia) *** 1/4
LUV  (d. Sheldon Candis)  ** 1/2
TEY (Aujourd'hui) (d. Alain Gomis)  * 3/4
WETLANDS  (d. Guy Édoin) *** 1/4
BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, THE (d. John Madden) Elders do India in this fun dramedy. Dames Judi & Maggie are splendid.  *** 1/4
AVENGERS, THE (d. Joss Whedon) Comic universe makes little sense; but film holds together & f/x are nifty.  Ruffalo & Evans are particularly effective.  ***
GIMME THE LOOT (d. Adam Leon)  ** 1/2
HEMEL  (d. Sacha Polak)  * 1/2
IMPOSTER, THE (d. Bart Layton)  *** 1/4
EYE OF THE STORM, THE (d. Fred Schepisi)  ***
LIBERAL ARTS (d. Josh Radnor)  ***
YEAR OF GRACE  (d. Ventura Pons)  ** 1/2
MOONRISE KINGDOM  (d. Wes Anderson)  ***
ANY DAY NOW  (d. Travis Fine)  ***
STEP UP TO THE PLATE  (d. Paul Lacoste)  ** 1/2
UNFORGIVABLE  (d. André Téchiné)  ***
HAIL  (d. Amiel Courtin-Wilson)  3/4*
HOW TO STEAL 2 MILLION  (d. Charlie Vundla)  ** 1/4
DAAS  (d. Adrian Panek)
INTOUCHABLES, THE (d. Eric Toledano, Olivie Nakache)
CRACKS IN THE SHELL (d. Christian Schwochow)
FOUR SONS (d. Bohdan Sláma)
TAKE THIS WALTZ  (d. Sarah Poley)
FAT KID RULES THE WORLD (d. Matthew Lillard)
REBELLION  (d. Mathieu Kassovitz)
MY BROTHER THE DEVIL  (d. Sally El Hosaini)
TRISHNA  (d. Michael Winterbottom)
UNDER AFRICAN SKIES  (d. Joe Berlinger)
LOVERBOY  (d. Catalin Mitulescu)
     or
BEL AMI  (d. Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod)