Best & Worst Films of 2012

It seems 2012 has come and gone! We have gone through the best and worst of Hollywood and I am here to bring you my personal favourites and least favourites of the year that was apparently and supposedly to doom us all! I should note that I have not yet seen some movies that may (or may not) have ended up on this list, such as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Battleship for examples.

(Note: In alphabetical order)

– BEST –

1) Argo: Ben Affleck has not only grown to be a very sophisticated actor but also an exceptional filmmaker. It’s a movie that is so bizarre that it could only work as a true story. The cast nothing short but fantastic, Alan Arkin and John Goodman bring great performances and the tension is absolutely thrilling. A great authentic thriller that feels like it belongs to the great thrillers of the 70s like All the Presidents Men.

 

2) Amour: Making a film about love is quite hard to pull off, without having the emotions feeling forced or contrived. Michael Haneke delivers one of the most heart-breaking but inspiring pieces of work he has made to date! Emmanuelle Riva’s performance is astounding, really capturing the effects of old age and truly pulled my heart strings. The film may leave audiences cold but it has that brutal honesty about the themes of age, time and (inevitable) death. It certainly left me touched on a personal level (which is a rarity in this day of age).

 

3) Skyfall: Bond certainly came back with a bang! Sam Mendes promised to deliver a respectful tribute to this 50th anniversary of the film franchise. Not only was it one of my favourite Bond films but it was my favourite blockbuster of the year (yes, even found it better than The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man). Javier Bardem makes one of the most memorable Bond villains in a long time and it is quite refreshing the film overall is having fun rather than being grim (i.e. Quantum of Solace). The cinematography by Roger Deakins is beautiful as ever and Thomas Newman’s score all sounds very modern but also rings back to the classic Bond we know and love. I am certainly looking forward to Bond’s return.

 

4) Zero Dark Thirty: Quickly making a film about the manhunt of Osama bin Laden was going to be a hard task. Though with director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal (the same team behind the Oscar winning The Hurt Locker), all made sense that they were suitable with this material. Jessica Chastain delivers a strong and memorable performance that actually comes across as a character that has a lot of depth and subtlety. The fact that Bigelow knows how everything is going to end but still makes it one of the most exciting sequences on film. The huge plus about the film is it doesn’t glorify their success, they show you how it was done and you decide how you feel about it.

 

Honourable mentions; The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Looper and The Master.

 

– WORST –

1) The Amazing Spider-Man: I really wanted to like this film, I really did but it was even worse than Spider-Man 3. Andrew Garfield is a really good actor (see The Social Network for proof) and the idea of casting him as Peter Parker/Spider-Man did actually sound really good. Although the material he’s been given is awful, and it doesn’t help he’s going against one of the most one-dimensional villains I’ve seen. The visual effects looks terrible, as if they came out of a PS2 cut-scene and it also features one of the most cheesiest scene since Spider-Man. The only decent part of the film is Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy was a smart and self-dependent character rather being the damsel-in-distress.

 

2) The Expendables 2: This macho rubbish has gone on a bit too long, even whilst I was watching the first film. The Expendables are once again on a mission to fight one man and his army, and that bad guy is played by Jean-Claude Van Damme as Vilain (no, really! That’s his name). We still know nothing about the characters, the most we get is a running gag that Gunnar has an advance degree of chemical engineering (when in real life, Lundgren has a master’s degree in chemical engineering). This isn’t a case of ‘it’s so bad, it’s good’, it’s just a bad action movie that doesn’t separate itself from the next. This really wants to be a nostalgic trip of the action movies of the 80s and 90s, when all it makes me want to do is watch the movies that made them famous!

 

3) Taken 2: I was never a fan of Taken to begin with. It’s a mediocre action film that’s taking the story from Commando but is treated like an episode of 24. Liam Neeson looks incredibly bored and seems to being doing this sequel waiting for a cheque. The villains this time round are a lot dumber and don’t even make sure he has any chance of escaping. The worst part is there’s somehow going to be a third one in the works!

 

4) This Means War: For someone like McG that is still making movies to this day still shocks me! After the dreadful Charlie’s Angels movies and the incredibly underwhelming Terminator Salvation, he really brings his career to a whole new low! You have three talented actors from Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon in this unfunny, misogynistic and boring action/rom/com. The fact we’re supposed to be rooting one or the other when they’re clearly a bunch of juvenile agents who wasting the agencies time and effort to impress a woman is something I find really cringe worthy.

 

Dishonourable mentions: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dark Shadows, Lockout and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2

 

– SURPRISE MOVIE OF THE YEAR –

Dredd: I was not expecting anything from this film but hearing the (somewhat) positive buzz, my curiosity grew and decided to give it a go! To my much surprise, it was really entertaining and very well done. The film is grim and violent but what did you expect from a Judge Dredd movie? Karl Urban makes the character worth rooting for and at least brings some charisma (despite going all Dirty Harry on his perps). The interactions between Dredd and Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) is the most interesting part of the film, showing the different perspectives of the law. It is a shame it wasn’t a box-office success but I believe it’ll have a cult-following in the near future.

 

– DISAPPOINTING MOVIE OF THE YEAR –

Prometheus: Now I’m not saying the film is bad (though depends how you look at this film), the production design, costumes and visual effects are top notch. The idea about faith and creation are all interesting but if only it had nothing to do with the Alien franchise. The mysterious derelict ship from Alien has lost its intrigue and the result is a bit puzzling. Not to mention the characters aren’t as memorable as Dallas and his crew in Alien (or even James Cameron’s Aliens). The reason I didn’t really put this on the worst list is because it did have some positives to the film (i.e. Michael Fassbender’s David was the most interesting character in the entire film).

 

– MOST ANTICIPATED FILM OF 2013 –

Man of Steel: 2013 is going to have another hefty year of comic book films, with Marvel initiating phase two to lead up The Avengers 2 with Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3 (Captain America: Winter Soldier will be released in 2014). Though my interest is the upcoming Superman reboot, why you ask? Well it has been seven years since Superman Returns (remember that movie?) and it’ll be the first time that is not part of Richard Donner’s Superman. Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, the team behind The Dark Knight Trilogy, has created a story that feels relevant and interesting for a Superman movie. Zack Snyder is sitting on the directors chair and British actor Henry Cavill will be donning the suit (first time for a non-American actor to play Superman). What interests me is how this film will be received? It was just as intriguing back in 2004 that a Batman reboot was going to be made, and expectations were a bit low since the last Batman film at that time was Batman & Robin (remember THAT movie?). I’m very excited to see this version of Superman and I really do hope he soars this time round.

The Most Searched 2012

 

who did brits search for in 2012?

TULISA HAS THE X FACTOR, KATE AND HARRY REIGN, VIC PENDLETON GOES FOR GOLD AND BIEBER LOSES HIS GRIP AS BING RELEASES ITS UK MOST-SEARCHED LISTS FOR 2012

 

Bing UK searches show 2012 was a year in which Britons clamoured to see more (literally) of their favourite people than ever before. The search engine today releases its most-searched lists, based on the aggregation of billions of search queries conducted by Brits on Bing.com this year.

 

Singer Tulisa Contostavlos shows she has the X Factor as the UK’s most searched person in 2012, beating 2011 winner Justin Bieber, who dropped to fifth place this year. And while Tulisa’s singing career and role as X Factor judge no doubt inspired many of these searches, the leak of a certain video in March might also have played a part.

 

It was also a big year for 2012’s second-most-searched person, Kate Middleton, with not just the Royal Wedding but some unauthorised holiday snaps sending people online in their droves to find out more. Prince Harry also got people searching after his right royal Vegas antics. The third in line to the throne was the UK’s sixth most-searched person, behind Cheryl Cole, the late Whitney Houston and Justin Bieber.

 

Robert Pattinson, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and disgraced TV presenter Jimmy Savile round out the top 10.

 

In the afterglow of the Games, it’s to be expected that Olympics and London 2012 were the most-searched events of 2012, with Olympians leading the most-searched sports stars list. Gold-winning cyclist and Strictly Come Dancing star Victoria Pendleton raced to the top, followed by sprinter Usain Bolt and gold medallist tennis star Andy Murray. Stricken footballer Fabrice Muamba was the fourth most searched sportsperson, with heptathlete Jessica Ennis in fifth place.

 

Most-searched celebrity couple Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart kept Britons guessing with their on-again, off-again romance this year, but their new movie, Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2, could only muster fifth place in the most-searched movies list, with the top spot taken out by The Avengers. EastEnders beat out reality TV rivals Big Brother and X Factor to become 2012’s most searched TV show.

 

Bing UK Director of Search Dave Coplin says: “Every year, the Bing search results give us a unique insight into what and who is top of mind for Brits. It’s always fascinating to see which celebrities have had the biggest impact on Britons throughout the year, and of course it’s no surprise to see that the 2012 Olympics and Olympians have captured our hearts and minds after such a golden summer.”

 

See below for more fascinating insights into what Brits searched for – from fashion to Facebook to food to festivals – this year on Bing.com.

 

2012’s most searched people
1.       Tulisa Contostavlos

2.       Kate Middleton

3.       Cheryl Cole

4.       Whitney Houston

5.       Justin Bieber

6.       Prince Harry

7.       Robert Pattinson

8.       Rihanna

9.       Kim Kardashian

10.   Jimmy Savile

 

2011 results1.       Justin Bieber

2.       Kim Kardashian

3.       Lady Gaga

4.       Jennifer Aniston

5.       Pippa Middleton

6.       Katy Perry

7.       Kate Middleton

8.       Tulisa Contostavlos

9.       Scarlett Johansson

10.   Angelina Jolie

 

2012’s most searched sports stars1.       Victoria Pendleton

2.       Usain Bolt

3.       Andy Murray

4.       Fabrice Muamba

5.       Jessica Ennis

6.       Tom Daley

7.       Cristiano Ronaldo

8.       Lance Armstrong

9.       David Beckham

10.   Mo Farah

 

2011 results1.       David Beckham

2.       Ryan Giggs

3.       Lewis Hamilton

4.       Andy Murray

5.       Maria Sharapova

6.       Wayne Rooney

7.       Cristiano Ronaldo

8.       Usain Bolt

9.       Jessica Ennis

10.   Jenson Button

2012’s most searched events

1.       Olympics

2.       London 2012

3.       Euro 2012

4.       Diamond Jubilee

5.       Paralympics

6.       Wimbledon

7.       Tour de France

8.       Hurricane Sandy

9.       US election

10.   Leveson Inquiry

iggs

2012’s most searched movies

1.       The Avengers

2.       The Hunger Games

3.       Prometheus

4.       Skyfall

5.       Twilight Breaking Dawn II

6.       Dark Knight Rises

7.       The Amazing Spiderman

8.       Snow White & The Huntsman

9.       Taken 2

10.   The Dictator

 

2012’s most searched TV shows

1.       EastEnders

2.       Big Brother

3.       X Factor

4.       Doctor Who

5.       Coronation Street

6.       Strictly Come Dancing

7.       The Only Way Is Essex

8.       Celebrity Big Brother

9.       Game of Thrones

10.   The Walking Dead

 

Most searched social networks

1.       Facebook
2.       YouTube
3.       Twitter
4.       LinkedIn
5.       Tumblr
6.       Spotify7.       Pinterest
8.       Myspace
9.       Instagram
10.   WordPress

 

 

Top searches:

Celebrity couple               Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart

Celebrity wedding           Jessica Biel’s pink wedding dress

Celebrity death                 Robin Gibb death

Celebrity divorce              Katie Holmes divorce

Celebrity baby                   Robbie Williams baby pics

Celebrity pregnant          Imogen Thomas pregnant

Celebrity chef                    Jamie Oliver

Girl band                              Little Mix

Boy band                             One Direction

Lyrics                                     Call Me Maybe

Festival                                 V Festival

Fashion brand                   Next

Store                                     Argos

Supermarket                     Tesco

Football club                      Liverpool FC

Movie trailer                      Skyfall

Politician                              David Cameron

US politician                       Barack Obama

Car model                           Nissan Qashqai

Car make                             BMW

Airline                                   Ryanair

Holiday destination         Turkey

Viral video                           Gangnam Style

Diet                                        Cambridge diet

Recipe                                  Pancakes

Astrologer                           Jonathan Cainer

Who…                                   unfollowed me

What…                                  car

How…                                   I met your mother


Taken 2 – Movie Review

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you….”

For anyone who doesn’t know, these now unforgettable words come from Taken; the surprise hit action movie of 2008, a film which saw Liam Neeson; an established actor in his own right become one of the most proficient killing machines and not to mention professional throat puncher since Bourne. What set this film apart from other action movies? Well a number of reasons, it was impeccably acted, superbly directed and (bar one or two questionable scenes) had an incredible screenplay. What’s more it had heart, it was hard not to feel for Liam Neeson’s character the humble, yet deadly Brian Mills in his struggle to rescue his daughter. If you haven’t seen Taken then I highly recommend you do so now.

Taken 2 sees Liam Neeson once again become Brian Mills, however this time the key motivation is simple revenge. Mills finds himself being hunted by Murad (played well by Rade Serbedzija) the father of one of the kidnappers he tortured and killed in the first film. He has sworn revenge on behalf of the families whom Mills destroyed in his attempt to get his daughter back and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their vacation in Istanbul. Thus the scene is set for more fights against the clock as time for Mills and his estranged wife runs out.

Things start nicely enough, at the beginning we are introduced to teen issues and daughter Kim, we see Mills ‘subtle’ reactions to his daughter having a boyfriend which can only mean one thing. At the same time his ex-wife, Lenore (played by the lovely Famke Janssen who never seems to age at all) is recently separated from her husband and there are hints of a possible reconciliation between her and Brian. However it isn’t too long before there is trouble and Mills ends up using those ‘unique special skills’ he talked about and his daughter Kim (played well by Maggie Grace) has to learn new skills of her own to help her dad.

This all sounds very good and believe me it is. However there are a couple of shortcomings – new director Olivier Megaton just isn’t as snappy on the editing as his predecessor Pierre Morel was. It is nearly 30 minutes in before we see anything in the way of ‘real’ action. Then there is of the absurd choice to make this film a 12A certificate – a choice, that to be honest baffles me. Taken earned a 15 rating for its ‘strong violence and scenes of torture’ so why would you choose to limit yourself by a 12A? What this means is that bullets enter walls rather than flesh, blades are brandished instead of utilised, while a supposedly life-threatening slash to Janssen’s neck is left to the imagination. By and large fight sequences have ‘just’ lost their spark and the shaky cam used in fights was just a plain bad idea. All of these issues just detract from what the film should have been.

On the plus side there is some really good car chases especially a good one from Kim who is about to sit her driving test and ingenious set-piece, involving a map, a shoelace and grenades whose detonations allow our Mills to ascertain his location. Yes he still has the grey matter.

The Verdict

Taken 2 was always going to be a predictable film, firstly for the context and then secondly because purely and simply the first film was so damn good. A common question between myself and my friends was ‘how on earth are they going to improve upon the first film?’ it would simply be too hard to supersede the original in terms of memorable scenes. To a certain extent this film doesn’t even try; of course there’s hairy situations that the family barely get through, big explosions and great action sequences and like the first film this one tries to mix all out action against a backdrop of family relationship issues. But whilst it is good, it is not great, whilst it is still a must-see, it does not come across as legendary as its predecessor. What it does accomplish is being a satisfactory conclusion to a remarkable story.

8 out of 10