Top 10 (Now 11) Films of 2012

It’s that time of year again where all your favorite movie websites, cinephile friends, and film journalists start posting their flashy year-end lists. After narrowing it down from 13 titles, below are my 10 Favorite Films of 2012. I know it’s early and there are a few big films that haven’t been released yet. And I’m certain at least one is going to be unchained and awesome, but these are the films I’ve seen over and over this year (as much as possible, anyway.) There are some big, bad studio movies on here, but the independent ones dominate it. They are the reason why my heart beats. I want to shout about these films on top of a mountain, then get ice cream and watch all of them back-to-back.

Collectively, these films have a cabin with tricks up its sleeves, game-changing fight scenes, young alcoholics, time traveling assassins, a mother’s undying love for her son with Down syndrome, Avenging superheros, The Bathtub, sleepwalking comedians, Denis Lavant at his best, and a rich 35-year-old bum. All of these rolled with the punches and moved me in one way or another. This is perhaps my favorite Favorite list that I’ve ever compiled. Enjoy.

(Note: these are in no particular order.)

(Note #2: Adding OSLO, AUGUST 31ST to this list. I put it on my Top 10 last year (Best Undistributed FIlm) but just remembered it finally got picked up this year. OSLO deserves the recognition more than most films currently getting attention. Watch the trailer HERE.)

THE RAID - REVIEW - TRAILER

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS - (Skip the trailer and see it without a hint.)

LOOPER - TRAILER - INTERVIEW

SMASHED - REVIEW - TRAILER

CAFÉ DE FLORE - TRAILER

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD - TRAILER - INTERVIEW

SLEEPWALK WITH ME - REVIEW - TRAILER - INTERVIEW

THE AVENGERS

HOLY MOTORS - REVIEW - TRAILER

THE COMEDY - REVIEW

Favorite Festival Movie Unreleased in 2012

THE LAST ELVIS - TRAILER (Spanish, no subtitles)

'The Raid: Redemption' Is a Roundhouse Kick to the Head

Have you ever wondered what “Die Hard” would be like if John McClane knew how to roundhouse-kick people in the face and disarm bloodthirsty, machete-wielding henchmen? If so, "The Raid: Redemption"is your answer.

Indonesian martial arts movie “The Raid” is set up almost like your favorite video game. A SWAT team needs to secure and lock down an overcrowded, run-down building seized by a ruthless crime lord. While getting debriefed on the way, our hero, Rama (Iko Uwais of “Merantau”), learns this raid has never been successfully done before, and chances are slim everyone will make it out alive.

In order to seize this building and its owner, the team must silently power through 30 floors infested with killers, gangsters, mobsters and pretty much anyone this cruel man has in his pocket. And all of these people are armed with guns and blood-stained machetes. The plot thickens, as they say, when the bad guys find out the good guys are there and seal the place off. Things quickly turn into a body-breaking game of survival.

What sells “The Raid,” and what we are here to see, are the incredible fist-pumping fight scenes everyone’s been gushing over. You will be left slack-jawed. Every once in a while, a new filmmaker comes along and turns a genre upside down. Writer-director Gareth Evans has just opened a new floodgate for action films using the innovative Indonesian martial art Pencak Silat, which consists of controlled body movements and literally means “to fight artfully” (thanks, Wikipedia!).

Evans and star Iko Uwais (who’s trained in Silat) collaborate for a second time, combining this art in the most claustrophobic areas of a broken-down building with knifes, guns and pretty much any weapon that’s likely to give you tetanus. Imagine you’re at the dead end of a skinny hallway empty-handed, and a handful of goons are coming at you with dirty machetes — your only choice is to use your surroundings and adopt or die. Kill or be killed.

Uwais and his choreography team construct these fights in an unbelievably violent, raw and exciting manner; at the same time, Evans is using the camera like an invisible person, just there watching this mayhem as it happens. Every long take and shot is impressive, and Uwais, as the lead, has the heart and passion of a young Bruce Lee. He was born to be an action star.

Our only complaint about “The Raid” is that it ended.  Good thing this is Part 1 of a trilogy.

Source: MTV NextMovie.com

VIDEO INTERVIEW: THE RAID: REDEMPTION WRITER/DIRECTOR GARETH EVANS

We have been quite loud about our love for Gareth Evan’s second feature, The Raid: Redemption. That’s because, well, this movie is just plain badass. Science doesn’t lie!

I haven’t seen a film this adrenaline-fueled in a long time and was super jazzed when I got some time to sit down with writer/director Gareth Evans to talk about the film and its much anticipated sequel. Among the few things we discuss in this interview, Evans breaks down how he creates a fight scene - from writing to figuring out the choreography to shooting — it’s very fascinating.

Source: Twitch Film

VIDEO INTERVIEW: THE RAID: REDEMPTION COMPOSERS MIKE SHINODA AND JOSEPH TRAPANESE

As if The Raid: Redemption wasn’t already cool enough when it got picked up by Sony Pictures Classics immediately after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, writer/director Gareth Evans and company wrangled in musicians Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese to revamp the film’s score. As one of the front men in Linkin Park, you already know who Shinoda is. He was hand-picked to take on this project as his first film score, and he brought in Trapanese, who collaborated with Daft Punk for Tron: Legacy. Trapanese’s work can be heard in the latest M83 album, “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.” Long story short, this guy also knows his shit.

I sat down with the two to talk about their collaboration process. What’s so engaging about their collaboration is that these guys come from completely different musical backgrounds but have teamed up to create one of the best scores of the year. Also, Shinoda liked my self-award winning bright blue corduroy pants, which is what we are talking about at the beginning of this interview. Enjoy!

Written on Twitch Film