Films of the year - 2012!

My review for Skyfall will be appearing shortly. In the meantime however, I give you my personal picks of 2012!

I have five excellent movies for you (all 5/5) and five terrible movies (all 1/5)!

First of all, the bad ones. I saw the following five films on DVD this year. Admittedly some of them are a couple of years old now, yet they still represent the worst of 2012 for me!
I figured it was high time I listed some movies I hadn't enjoyed, seeing as all the movies I've reviewed so far have been 3/5 and higher.
I offer up the following as a public service - avoid at all costs!

Piranha 3DD

Follows the formula of the first one too closely - and sets events in a pool rather than a large, expansive lake (how long does it take to get out of a pool, for christs sake)?! Neither gory nor titillating - not even the Hoff can save this one!

30 Days of Night: Dark Days

The best bits in this terrible sequel were the shots they pinched from the original. Melissa Georges character was recast, yet they endeavour to find a look-a-like for Hartnett at the end?! I don't know how closely this resembles the book, but I'd hazard a guess and say the book was better!

Hobo with a Shotgun

Another film which thinks it can get away with anything, while under the moniker of "Grindhouse". A total car-crash of a movie - nothing to see here!

In Time

Probably the most disappointing on this list - directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca). This had a crazy premise which should've worked in the hands of someone like Niccol. Unfortunately the execution was terrible, the running time too long and with plot-holes visible from space!

And Soon the Darkness

This film lost me from the very beginning. It is impossible to side with heroines in peril, when they cock-tease their way through a foreign country! The remainder of the film was filled with plot-twists and red herrings-a-plenty. Not bad for a laugh, but impossible to take seriously!

And now to my favourites - in order of release. No pictures this time, but feel free to click on each individual title for a review in full!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

A Separation

The Raid: Redemption

I hate how reviewers re-view their own material based on the popularity or criticism a product received upon and after release. 

I originally gave The Raid 4/5, so in a sense I'm becoming what I hate most! I'm making an exception this time due to the technical fault that accompanied my first viewing of The Raid.

Having recently seen the movie again on DVD, I had no alternative but to reassess my rating.
The audio was in sync this time - and those milliseconds of harmonious synchroneity made all the difference! A non-stop adrenaline-fuelled action extravaganza!

The Dark Knight Rises

Excision

I would have to pick Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows as my over-all favourite!
Considered a film of 2011 for most, it wasn't released in Australia until early January. Having seen it many times over on DVD, it never fails to entertain - nor deliver on crowd-pleasing spectacle!
I really hope they make a third entry to this series. As successful as the series has been so far, it seems to have been somewhat over-shadowed by other, less deserving franchises.
Guy Ritchie and his team really stepped up to the plate with Game of Shadows and delivered a movie in league with Nolans Batman trilogy - just sayin'!


2013 is looking to be just as an eventful year for movies as 2012 was - with perhaps more original material filing the blockbuster void this time around. Movies like Pacific Rim, Elysium and Gravity are sure to make a huge impact - here's to an exciting new year in film!