Review of 2012

Happy new year people! Shall we start the year with my review of the last one? 2012, what a year it was! My top ten films list may just be the hardest I have had to compile! Other lists include my top 5 TV shows of the year and my top 3 albums of the year. So please take a look at my post and I hope you enjoy my review of an outstanding year of film! Starting with my top ten films of 2012:

10. Liberal Arts

Funny, charming and very sweet. One of the films I saw at Sundance London and it sure did leave an impression. Check out my review of this film and the festival here: Sundance London

9. Dredd 3D

The biggest surprise of the year. I saw this film just to pass away time one day whilst waiting for my phone to be repaired. I went in with low expectations but came out very happy! It was super cool and featured some of the best 3D I have seen. Read my full review here: Dredd 3D

8. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I didn't realise how much I missed Middle Earth until I saw the first part of The Hobbit earlier last month. A very good film but unfortunately the higher frame rate let it down a bit, making it only 8th in my top 10. I wonder if the second part will make into my list for 2013? Read my full review here: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

7. Looper

The most original sci-fi film of the year! Featuring some excellent performances and a very smart storyline that changed the way I felt about each character all the time. An example of brilliant film making. Read my full review here: Looper

6. The Hunger Games

Being a massive fan of the book, I was extremely happy at how faithful the adaption was on the big screen. An excellent approach to a film that could have been a disaster. A standout performance from Jennifer Lawrence and top notch direction from Gary Ross. Although I am worried for the sequels, at least this film was awesome! Read my full review here: The Hunger Games

5. Skyfall

The best Bond film yet! An excellent way to celebrate 007's 50th anniversary! I couldn't have asked for anything more from Skyfall! Read my full review here: Skyfall

4. Your Sister's Sister

The first of two films starring Mark Duplass in my top 10 list. The guy sure knows how to play lovable losers. I am a sucker for new takes on the romance genre and this film is one of them. A great film with some great performances from all 3 leads. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Not as good as The Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolans final Batman film was nothing less then spectacular! A great finale to one of the best trilogies we have seen. I feel sorry for whoever has to take on the next Batman film. Read my full review here: The Dark Knight Rises

2. Safety Not Guaranteed

Mark Duplass's second film in my list and second on my list! Another film I saw at Sundance London and what a treat it was! An awesome and heartfelt film that every time I've watched it has never failed to put a smile on my face. A well deserved second place! Read my review of the film and the festival here: Sundance London

1. The Avengers

The ultimate superhero film! Never before have I been so happy and excited in the cinema and the feeling has not declined every time I have seen it! The ultimate geek feast for your eyes! I could not have wished for anything more. The best film of the year and one of my favourites ever! Read my full review here: The Avengers

Some of you may be surprised to see that The Amazing Spider-Man did not make the list considering I am a giant fan of the character. Although I did not think it was a terrible film, I was however disappointed with it. A good film, but not the best of the year. There were loads of films that could have made the top 10 in 2012. It was such a good year for films and lets hope 2013 can continue the trend!

2012 wasn't just a good year for film, it was also a great year for TV. Here are my top 5 TV shows of the year:

5. Doctor Who Series 7

Matt Smith continues his brilliant run as The Doctor. The latest season shows off why, in my opinion, he is the best man yet to play the time lord. Not every episode was amazing but the majority of them were awesome. I look forward to the second half of the season coming later this year.

4. Sherlock Series 2

The first season was good, but the second was on another level! Sherlock proved Benedict Cumberpatch and Martin Freeman were top class actors, and look where it's got them now. We're going to have to wait a little while for the third series as they are only just about to film the episodes this month. I for one can't wait!

3. Game of Thrones Season 2

Game of Thrones is Lord of the Rings but the adult version. This show brings the fantasy genre to a new level. Truly is one of the best shows on TV and it has some adorable looking dragons. Such an epic TV show!

2. The Walking Dead Season 3

After some people disliked the second season (not me), the creators really tried their hardest to make the third season much better. And their hard work really paid off. Season 3 has created some of the best TV moments I have ever seen and has even reduced me to tears in parts. The Walking Dead is something special indeed.

1. Breaking Bad Season 5

I have never been so hooked on a TV show in my life! This show is the reason that posts have been slow for the last few months on the blog! Well that and University life! Breaking Bad is like nothing I have ever seen before, the story lines are great and the characters are awesome! Such a clever and truly incredible TV series and the latest season has been no exception. I can't wait to see the final 8 episodes coming this summer. I highly recommend!

Now on to my favourite music albums of the year:

3. The Killers - Battle Born

Although it wasn't everything I had hoped for from my favourite band, it still had some great tunes!

2. Mystery Jets - Radlands

The Mystery Jets change their tune a bit in their latest album, which has a very American feel to it. Maybe because it was produced over there! Very catchy!

1. The Vaccines - Coming of Age

The Vaccines take first place for a second year in a row! Both the band's albums have been great, I hope they will only get better!

Well that concludes my review of 2012, I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did! 

Did you enjoy 2012? Do you agree with my lists? Are you looking forward to 2013? Feel free to comment and share with me your top films of year!

Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!

Looper

It's great to see an original sci-fi film come out, that isn't a part of a franchise or a comic book adaption. Looper must have been a difficult film to get made because studios don't take risks on films like this anymore. Which is probably why this film has a small budget compared to other films of this scale. Not that the lack of money shows in this film, apart from a couple of slightly dodgy CGI shots, not that you could notice whilst watching this incredible story be brought to the big screen.

'In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.' Joe hesitates when seeing his future self which leads to his older self running away, making whole load of trouble and a brilliant sci-fi film.

The two Joe's are played by Joeseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, and through the miracle of make up and prosthetics are made to look like each other... kind of. This does work in most of the film but sometimes isn't completely believable. Though both actors give off terrific performances which confuse you on which Joe you should be routing for, that's if you should be routing for them anyway! I believe this is Bruce Willis's best role in a very long time and for JGL it's just another film to add to his list of awesome films.

The whole film has a pretty impressive cast including, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels and Paul Dano. But the star actor of the film was the young child Cid, played by Pierce Gagnon, who held his own against all the top notch actors and proved himself as one to watch!

The time travel element was interesting and the director Rian Johnson added some genius new ideas to sci-fi element that haven't really been done before. These great scenes are the standout moments of the film and live up to the hype that a lot of critics and cinema goers have been giving the film.

The film was not perfect though, the near future was great but not very well set up in terms of conflict between the general public. In many a scene we see a vast amount of people living on the street, for what reason we do not know. A romance was also set up that didn't really contribute that much to the films finale. There was also a mute who disappeared somewhere in the second act but that's just me being picky now.

The world did look great though, the cinematography also. Although a few dodgy CGI moments, most of the film was believable and really added to the plot.

Looper is the best sci-fi film to be released this year, it is also one of the best films of the year too! It's not perfect but extremely enjoyable, with a very good plot, great acting and some very interesting ideas. I'm giving Looper a rating of 4/5.

What did you think of Looper? Does it live up to the hype? Comment below and thanks for reading!

Stick With Me

Hello readers! I am sorry it has been a long time since I have posted something on my blog but I have been spending the last week moving and settling into Falmouth University. Due to this new transition in my life, things may sometimes get a bit slow on the blog, but don't worry, I'm not giving up yet! Doing a film course at university, hopefully means that I will learn new things about the subject which I can share with you guys, maybe even new films which I have been shown which I can advise you all to watch or avoid!

Now this post isn't really film related but I do have some goodies in store for you, including reviews of Moonrise Kingdom and Looper if I can get to watch them this week! Also next month is the 1st Birthday of my blog, so hopefully some more great stuff will be getting posted then as well!

I apologise again for the site being slow on posts, but I leave you know with some very funny videos I have come across which I thought you guys might enjoy. Thanks for sticking with me!

 

 

5 Films To Still Look Forward To In 2012

Well the summer of movies is over and what a summer it was! You may be feeling a bit down about the rest of the year and the films it has to offer, but don't fret we still have some pretty awesome stuff coming our way! These are the films I am excited about that are coming out this year in the UK. So Django Unchained will not be on here unfortunately.

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Some of you may be surprised this is not at the top of my list but unlike the other films, I know what to expect of this one. I expect it to be great, however I have been put off my the recent splitting of the story into three films. I feel like it's a bit of a money grabbing thing but Peter Jackson has denied this. Either way it's going to work because there is no way I'll be missing it.

 

4. Seven Psychopaths

If the hilarious trailer isn't anything to go by then the director Martin McDonagh 's previous film just might. In Bruges was a brilliantly funny film that was different to anything before it. That is why a lot of people are looking forward to what McDonagh does next, including myself.

 

3. Skyfall

A new James Bond is always a good thing, even if the last one was pretty bad. But things are looking better, especially for those who want a return to form, as Sam Mendes is on board as director and looks to be making an epic. Daniel Craig also says he feels better about and has signed on for more films which could see him becoming the actor to have played 007 the most! Bond and Mendes seems like a perfect match really!

 

2. Ruby Sparks

From the people who made Little Miss Sunshine what more can I say?

 

1. Looper

Bruce Willis playing Joseph Gordon-Levitt! Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing Bruce Willis! A time travelling sci-fi directed by Rian Johnson!

 

 

 

So do you agree with me? If you like you can post your top 5 in the comments below.

 

Thanks for reading!