This is the time of the year where I look back at my favorite movies of
the past year. I’ve seen several new
releases in 2012 and these are my pick of the top 10 movies of the year. Please note that these are the movies that I’ve
watched at the theatres and if there is a great movie that I’ve missed, that’s probably
because I could not find time to watch it at the theatre.
10) Life of Pi – May be I was expecting too much out of this. Based on an acclaimed novel and directed by Oscar
winning genius Ang Lee, this movie had some rave reviews on the festival
circuit. But, for me, it was visually
stunning but the spiritual message of the book did not reflect on screen. Nonetheless, there were a few scenes that were
absolutely breathtaking. The scene where
the boy finds a floating island and the one where he sees an illuminated whale
were pure genius.
9) Vicky donor – The surprise hit
of 2012. Being a Punjabi Dilliwala, I
could totally connect with this one.
Solid performances by Ayushmann and Yami Gautam, they’ve displayed a lot
of promise. But, the true gems of this
movie were the support cast, everyone from the Dadi to Ayushmann’s mom. A big shout out to Annu Kapoor for the
funniest performance I’ve seen in years.
This one is number 9 on my list and had me laughing all the way to the
end.
8) The raid redemption – This is an Indonesian film and I saw it dubbed
in English by Indian voice over artists.
The movie had a special mention at the Sundance film festival and I was
very excited to see it. The movie is
based in Jakarta, where a team of commandos raid a building owned by a crime
boss to take him down. Apart from the
video game feel of the movie, it had some great action set pieces and would be
a treat for action movie junkies.
7) Gangs of Wasseypur – Anurag Kashyap’s 2 part movie about the gang
wars in Bihar/Jharkhand were one of the best Bollywood movies of the year. The 2 part movie was spread across decades
and showed the rivalry between Khans and Quereshis. It was also a generational war between Sardar
Khan (Manoj Bajapayee) and Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Both movies had no dearth of quirky
characters and funny situations.
Breakout performances by Manoj Bajapayee, Richa Chaddha and Nawazuddin
Siddiqui and amazing story takes this to number (( 7 )) on my list.
6) Talaash – This movie co-written and directed by Reema Kagti was probably
the best suspense thriller to come out of Bollywood in recent years. This subtle and emotional journey of a couple
who has witnessed the death of a child and is now going through a crumbling
marriage was quite refreshing. All the
performances were top notch and special mention goes to Ram Sampath for an
excellent background score and wonderful music.
5) 21 Jump Street – This movie
was by far the best comedy of 2012. The last
time I laughed so much in a movie was
when I saw the Hangover part 1. The 2
lead actors Jonah and Channing totally nailed it. The movie was consistently funny throughout
the roughly 100 min running time and if you’ve not seen this movie yet, rent
the DVD now! It will be the most fun you’ve had in a long time.
4) Skyfall – This bond movie is the highest grossing
007 movie ever. Quite different from the
other bond movies, it had a soul and was high on emotional quotient. From Adele’s soundtrack to the incredible
chase scene of Istanbul. For me, this
one was one of my favorite bond movies ever.
Not to forget, Javier Bardem as the villain and ex agent was scary and
the best villain of the year.
3) Argo
– Ben Affleck has matured as a director, like good Whiskey over time. In 2010, I saw his Boston based crime drama
The Town and was very impressed by his direction. After seeing Argo, I’m convinced that he is
going to be one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. The story about the Iranian revolution in
1979 where 6 American diplomats escape the embassy and hide at the Canadian
ambassador’s house. One agent from the
CIA, played by Ben himself creates a fake movie unit and gets them out of
Iran. Based on a true story, this movie
had many great moments. After the end
credits rolled and they showed pictures of real people and events and the
actors, it was hard to make out the difference.
2) The Dark Knight Rises
– Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to the Batman trilogy. This one had a great star cast and a very
interesting theme. The story about the
rich v/s poor and us v/s them had a lot of parallels with the occupy Wall
Street movement. The movie also had a
great ending about the whole batman story and one of the major highlights was
Anne Hathaway in a cat woman suit.
1) The Artist – I saw this movie in early 2012
and it just below my mind. It was a
tribute to the silent film era of the 1930s and 1940s. The movie showed the downfall of a silent
film actor due to the introduction of audio films. The most interesting this is that this
tribute to Hollywood’s silent film era was directed by a Frenchman named Michel Hazanavicius with French actors. Jean Dujardin got the Oscar for best actor and won
millions of hearts, so did the dog that played his faithful pet in the
movie. All cinema lovers should see this
movie.
A big
shout out to these movies that did not make the top 10 but were pretty
deserving and well made movies.
Looper – Bruce Willis,
Joseph Gordon-Lewitt, director Rian Johnson and time travel. I was hoping that this would be an
exceptional film, which it was until the first half. I thought during the 2nd half,
Rian Johnson went on holiday and the producers just shot the movie on a farm
with a kid and a woman. All said and
done, interesting story and solid performances.
Jatt and Juliet – What can I say about this movie, it was the first
Punjabi movie that I saw in theatre and all I can say is that its definitely
not going to be my last. Crackling
chemistry between Diljeet and Neeru Bajwa, nice music and a solid support cast
of acclaimed Punjabi artists. More than
anything, Diljeet’s goofiness and screen presence were very good. It was like a good Punjabi meal and is I was
satisfied after it.
To Rome with Love – To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Woody Allen’s
cinema but this seemed like a tribute to Rome.
Also, multiple stories meant you were introduced to several
characters. The story which had Alec
Baldwin and Jesse Eisenberg was the best one.
Overall, a nice rom com for a lazy Sunday afternoon
1. Hunger Games
2. The most exotic marigold hotel
3. Rock of Ages
4. HORRIBLE BOSSES
5. English Vinglish
Until next time, its good bye and good luck at the movies.
