End of My Year Review 2012

FILM

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Honourable Mention:
Looper, To Rome With Love, The Raid, Marvel Avengers Assemble, The Cabin In The Woods, Haywire




TELEVISION

Bunheads
Honourable Mention:
Game of Thrones, Homeland, The Walking Dead, Parenthood, Treme, Breaking Bad, Young Justice, Dexter, Borgen, The Bridge.




COMIC BOOK

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 
Honourable Mention:
Angel & Faith, Aquaman Vol. 7, BPRD, Daredevil Vol. 3, Voodoo Child, Fairest,  Hawkeye Vol. 4, Punisher Vol. 9, Saga, Shade Vol. 2, Supergirl Vol. 6, Wonder Woman Vol. 4

Tom Brooks’ list of the top ten films of 2012

Ten
Skyfall

Nine
My Brother the Devil

Eight
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Seven
Searching for Sugarman

Six
Anna Karenina

Five
Life of Pi

Four
Beasts of the Southern Wild

Three
Argo

Two
The Master

One
Amour

Jason 'spoiler' Solomons

Jason Solomons who was standing in for Mark Kermode on Film 24 [BBC News channel] spoiled Amazing Spider-Man #700 and he did it on purpose, the only reason he mentioned it was to give that spoiler. Fortunately I don't read that comic. He did a similar thing years back with I Love You Phillip Morris.

Life Of Pi 3D

Cast
Irrfan Khan
Tabu
Suraj Sharma
Adil Hussain
Rafe Spall
Screenwriter
David Magee
Director
Ang Lee
Running Time
126 mins

Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zookeeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.[Metacritic]

The lifeboat section is great but over all it's kind of disjointed and unsatisfying. The visuals are beautiful and the possible truth of the second story and how that changes the first is interesting but doesn't really work.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Cast
Martin Freeman
Ian McKellen
Richard Armitage
Benedict Cumberbatch
Hugo Weaving
Elijah Wood
Cate Blanchett
Christopher Lee
Billy Connolly
Andy Serkis
Lee Pace
Ian Holm
Aidan Turner
Mikael Persbrandt
James Nesbitt
Barry Humphries
Ken Stott
Sylvester McCoy
Screenwriters
Fran Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Peter Jackson
Guillermo del Toro
Director 
Peter Jackson
Running Time
169 minutes

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know. (Warner Bros.)

I love the LOTR films and it was great to be back in that world, whether it's a good idea to have made this as more than one film I'm not sure. I was happy for the film to be long but less so for the pacing being so stretched but time will tell how well the whole thing works. I saw the 2D 24FPS version.

March Comics

CBR has the new DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and Image solicitations for March.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.

SLEDGEHAMMER 44 #1
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), John Arcudi (W), Jason Latour (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Mar 13
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
August 1944: a man in a suit of iron armor drops from an American warplane onto a French battlefield, where he attempts to fight his way through an army of Nazis and the massive war machine they keep protected in an armory.
• Cover by Mike Mignola!
• Mike Mignola’s version of Iron Man!
• Artwork by Jason Latour (Captain America).
“Mike Mignola's vast world of Hellboy, the B.P.R.D. and other characters have taken on a life of their own.” —USA Today

Anything by Mignola is great.

WILD ROVER FEATURING THE SACRIFICE
Michael Avon Oeming (W/A/Cover) and Victor Santos (A)
On sale Mar 20
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
One-shot
Like his mother before him, Shane’s an alcoholic. But his family curse goes deeper than that—Shane needs to overcome the black magic at the heart of his addiction by killing a liquor demon if he hopes to reclaim his soul.
• New cover, 24 story pages, plus a fantasy short written by Oeming with art from Victor Santos!

Maybe this.

Seven Psychopaths

Cast
Colin Farrell
Woody Harrelson
Sam Rockwell
Christopher Walken
Abbie Cornish
Olga Kurylenko
Gabourey Sidibe
Tom Waits
Screenwriter
Martin McDonagh
Director
Martin McDonagh
Running Time
110 minutes

The comedy Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster’s beloved Shih Tzu. (CBS Films)

It's interesting and funny but light weight. Olga Kurylenko is only in one scene and isn't one of the psychopaths despite what the advertising suggests.

Silver Linings Playbook

Cast
Bradley Cooper
Jennifer Lawrence
Chris Tucker
Jacki Weaver
Robert De Niro
Julia Stiles
Screenwriter
David O Russell
Director
David O Russell
Running Time
138 minutes


Life doesn’t always go according to plan...Pat Solitanohas lost everything -- his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat’s parents want is for him to get back on his feet - and to share their family’s obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives. (The Weinstein Company)

Clever and well performed but I didn't buy them as real people.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

Cast
Kristen Stewart
Robert Pattinson
Taylor Lautner
Peter Facinelli
Dakota Fanning
Maggie Grace
Michael Sheen
Jamie Campbell-Bower
Ashley Greene
Kellan Lutz
Nikki Reed
Elizabeth Reaser
Mackenzie Foy
Screenwriter
Melissa Rosenberg
Director
Bill Condon
Running Time
115 minutes

After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.[Metacritic]

I went in with low expectations. Having seen the others, only really liking the first, I thought I might as well see the last one and I was surprised how much I did enjoy it.

February Comics

CBR has the new Dark Horse, DC, Marvel and Image solicitations for February.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.

FEARLESS DEFENDERS #1
CULLEN BUNN (W) • Will Sliney (A)
Cover by Mark Brooks
Variant Cover by MIKE DEODATO
Variant Cover by MILO MANARA
Sketch Variant by MILO MANARA
Blank Cover Also Available
NEW TEAM! NEW VILLAINS! NEW CREATORS! Valkyrie and Misty Knight are the Fearless Defenders and not since Power Man and Iron Fist has an unlikely duo kicked this much—well, you know. Writer Cullen Bunn (Venom, Sixth Gun, The Fearless) and new-to-Marvel artist Will Sliney (MacGyver, Star Wars) bring you the book everyone is going to be talking about on Thursday morning.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

Not sure about the art but maybe.

SNAPSHOT 1 (of 4)
story ANDY DIGGLE
art / cover JOCK
FEBRUARY 6
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$2.99
Jake Dobson is your typical nerd; works at the Near-Mint Rhino comic-book store in San Francisco. But when he finds a lost cell phone, he's horrified to discover it's full of snapshots of a murder victim. Suddenly he finds himself hunted by a vengeful hitman who wants his phone back... and Jake in a body bag! And then things start to get *really* complicated...
Don't miss the first ever creator-owned thriller from the team behind THE LOSERS and GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE!

The Scalped covers that Jock did were great so interested in this.

SON OF MERLIN 1
story ROBERT NAPTON
art ZID
cover A ZID
cover B STJEPAN SEJIC
FEBRUARY 6
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$0.99
THE BATTLE BEGINS ANEW
Simon Ambrose is a brilliant young professor at MIT. Always somewhat out of sync with the rest of the world, Simon is a man of science and does not put much stock in faith. When he discovers that he is the bastard son of the world's greatest wizard Merlin, he is forced to put his skepticism aside and embrace a world of magic and the mayhem it embodies.
Science and magic collide in this introductory priced first issue! For $1, you can't afford to miss this next step in a battle that has been waged for ages!

The price is great and the art looks good.

Argo

Cast
Ben Affleck
Alan Arkin
John Goodman
Bryan Cranston
Rory Cochrane
Scoot McNairy
Clea DuVall
Tate Donovan
Kerry Bishé
Screenwriter
Chris Terrio
Director
Ben Affleck
Running Time
120 minutes

Based on true events, “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis—the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies. (Warner Bros.)

Tense, funny and exciting although the airport stuff becomes a little too 'Keystone cops'.

Rust And Bone

Cast
Marion Cotillard
Matthias Schoenaerts
Armand Verdure
Céline Sallette
Screenwriters
Jacques Audiard
Thomas Bidegain
Director
Jacques Audiard
Running Time
120 minutes

Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

Engrossing with great performances but unfocused and sprawling in the way it tells the story. The injury of Cotillard's character was very well done.

Skyfall

Cast
Daniel Craig
Javier Bardem
Ralph Fiennes
Naomie Harris
Bérénice Marlohe
Judi Dench
Albert Finney
Ben Whishaw
Helen McCrory
Ola Rapace
Rory Kinnear
Screenwriters
John Logan
Neal Purvis
Patrick Marber
Robert Wade
Director
Sam Mendes
Running Time
143 minutes

In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. (Columbia Pictures, MGM)

A pleasant mess. It tries mixing together the old bond  style with the new post-bourne style which for me don't fit together at all. The villain was well played but reminded me of the last Star Trek villain in that his motivation was being really angry which isn't that interesting.

Frankenweenie 3D

Cast
Charlie Tahan
Catherine O'Hara
Martin Short
Winona Ryder
Martin Landau
Atticus Shaffer
Screenwriter
John August
Director
Tim Burton
Running Time
86m 51s

After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor's fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new "leash on life" can be monstrous. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Pleasantly enjoyable.

January Comics

CBR has the new Dark Horse, DC,  Marvel and Image solicitations for January.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.



STAR WARS #1
Brian Wood (W), Carlos D'Anda (A), Gabe Eltaeb (C), and Alex Ross (Cover)
On sale Jan 9
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
This is Star Wars as you remember it... and as you have never seen it before! We're taking you back to those heady, adventure-filled days following the destruction of the Death Star—when the Empire ruled, the Rebels were on the run, and the galaxy was a dangerous place where anything might happen!
• Writer Brian Wood (The Massive, Conan the Barbarian).
• Artist Carlos D'Anda (Batman: Arkham City).
• Cover artist Alex Ross!
• Classic era, classic characters, all-new Star Wars!

Wood is a good writer and it's an ongoing with the original characters.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Cast
Logan Lerman
Emma Watson
Ezra Miller
Mae Whitman
Nina Dobrev
Paul Rudd
Joan Cusack
Screenwriter
Stephen Chbosky
Director
Stephen Chbosky
Running Time
103 minutes

The Perks of Being a Wallflower captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. (Summit Entertainment)

Atmospheric with a delightful vitality to the whole thing. However I thought the darkest elements which had happened in the past to the characters seemed at odds with the rest and rang false.

Looper

Cast
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Bruce Willis
Emily Blunt
Paul Dano
Piper Perabo
Jeff Daniels
Screenwriter
Rian Johnson
Director
Rian Johnson
Running Time
118 minutes

In Looper, time travel exists, but it is illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe – is waiting to mop up. Joe is doing good as a looper until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self for assassination. (TriStar Pictures)

Imaginative, gripping and unexpected.

To Rome With Love

Cast
Woody Allen
Alec Baldwin
Roberto Benigni
Penélope Cruz
Judy Davis
Jesse Eisenberg
Greta Gerwig
Ellen Page
Ornella Muti
Flavio Parenti
Alison Pill
Alessandro Tiberi
Pierluigi Marchionne
Screenwriter
Woody Allen
Director
Woody Allen
Running Time
111 minutes

To Rome with Love is a kaleidoscopic comedy movie set in one of the world's most enchanting cities. The film brings us into contact with a well-known American architect reliving his youth; an average middle-class Roman who suddenly finds himself Rome's biggest celebrity; a young provincial couple drawn into separate romantic encounters; and an American opera director endeavoring to put a singing mortician on stage. (Sony Pictures Classic)

I enjoyed it a lot. I couldn't quite figure out Alec Baldwin's character which seemed to change from real to symbolic with no explanation.

Hope Springs

Cast
Meryl Streep
Tommy Lee Jones
Steve Carell
Screenwriter
Vanessa Taylor
Director
David Frankel
Running Time
100 minutes

Kay and Arnold are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple's specialist in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place. (Columbia Pictures)

Funny and probably truthful but I didn't emotionally connect with the characters which made it hard to care what happened to them.

December Comics

CBR has the new Dark Horse, DC, Image and Marvel solicitations for December.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.

BLACK BEETLE: NIGHT SHIFT #0
Francesco Francavilla (W/A/Cover)
On sale Dec 19FC
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
One-shot
When a powerful totem of dark magic shows up at the Colt City Natural History Museum, Hitler sends his fearsome Werwolf Korps to collect the piece. Unfortunately for the führer, Colt City’s protector, the Black Beetle, is on the case!
From the mind of 2012 Eisner Award winner Francesco Francavilla (Batman: The Black Mirror). Collects three Dark Horse Presents stories from issues #11–#13.
• Features a brand-new cover, 24 story pages, and bonus sketch material and art!

He did lots of covers for Mignola books which I liked.

Death was only the beginning!
HELLBOY IN HELL #1
Mike Mignola (W/A/Cover/Variant cover) and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Dec 5FC
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
After saving the world in The Storm and The Fury, but sacrificing himself and Great Britain, Hellboy is dead, cast into Hell, where he finds many familiar faces, and a throne that awaits him.
Mike Mignola returns to draw Hellboy's ongoing story for the first time since Conqueror Worm. It's a story only Mignola could tell, as more of Hellboy's secrets are at last revealed, in the most bizarre depiction of Hell you've ever seen.
• Mike Mignola writes and draws the next phase of Hellboy’s story.
• Dark Horse horror gets under your skin!

I normally don't do entries for all the Hellboy, BPRD, Lobster Johnson etc. mini series. I get them all but they're all kind of ongoings, some perhaps more so than others, but this seemed to merit special attention.

JSA: THE LIBERTY FILES – THE WHISTLING SKULL #1
Written by B. CLAY MOORE
Art and cover by TONY HARRIS
1:10 Variant cover by TONY HARRIS
On sale DECEMBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 6, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. See the order form for details.
• A new series from acclaimed creators B. Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick) and Tony Harris (EX MACHINA, STARMAN)!
• In 1940s Europe, the Nazi war machine is on the move…but crimes are still committed in even the smallest hamlets. Can one heroic duo solve the most bizarre mystery of all?
• From the world of the JSA: THE LIBERTY FILES, witness the birth of a new hero for the ages!

Love Tony Harris' art.

The Sweeney

Cast
Ray Winstone
Ben Drew
Hayley Atwell
Damian Lewis
Paul Anderson
Kara Tointon
Screenwriters
John Hodge
Nick Love
Director
Nick Love
Running Time
112 minutes

While under scrutiny from Internal Affairs for their unorthodox methods, maverick Flying Squad detectives Jack Regan (Winstone) and George Carter (Drew) investigate a combined robbery and homicide. Inquiries turn up a familiar felon, but their suspect has the perfect alibi...[Empire]

Shambles.

Anna Karenina

Cast
Jude Law
Keira Knightley
Aaron Johnson
Matthew MacFadyen
Kelly Macdonald
Olivia Williams
Alicia Vikander
Domhnall Gleeson
Emily Watson
Michelle Dockery
Screenwriter
Tom Stoppard
Director
Joe Wright
Running Time
129 minutes


The story unfolds in its original late-19th-century Russia high-society setting and powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, from the passion between adulterers to the bond between a mother and her children. As Anna questions her happiness, change comes to her family, friends, and community. (Focus Features)

Much too stylised. I hoped I'd get used to it but never did. The director seemed more interested in this artificiality than telling an engrossing story.

Shadow Dancer

Cast
Andrea Riseborough
Clive Owen
Domhnall Gleeson
Aidan Gillen
Brid Brennan
Gillian Anderson
Screenwriter
Tom Bradby
Director
James Marsh
Running Time
101 minutes


Belfast, 1993. Having been caught leaving a bomb on London’s Tube network, Colette (Riseborough) is coerced to spy on her IRA brothers (Gillen, Gleeson) by MI5 agent Mac (Owen). But it’s not long before a deadly net closes around her.[Empire]

Good up until the end where it ended oddly and kind of undid what came before.

The Expendables 2

Cast
Sylvester Stallone
Jason Statham
Jet Li
Dolph Lundgren
Terry Crews
Randy Couture
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Chuck Norris
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Bruce Willis
Sylvester Stallone
Liam Hemsworth
Screenwriters
Richard Wenk
Sylvester Stallone
Director
Simon West
Running Time
103 minutes

Barney Ross, Lee Christmas, Yin Yang, Gunnar Jensen, Toll Road and Hale Caesar -- with newest members Billy the Kid and Maggie aboard -- are reunited when Mr. Church enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. (Lionsgate)

Enjoyably daft.

Arme Riddere - Jackpot

Cast
Kyrre Hellum
Henrik Mestad
Marie Blokhus
Mads Ousdal
Screenwriter
Magnus Martens
Director
Magnus Martens
Running Time
85m 48s

Norwegian Oscar Svendsen (Hellum) explains to the police how he became sole survivor of a shoot-out in a Swedish roadhouse/strip-cub. A foreman in a factory staffed by ex-offenders, Oscar partnered with three former crooks in a football pool which won a large sum of money — prompting a chain of cash-snatches and murders.[Empire]

Silly, gory and entertaining.

Brave

Cast
Kelly Macdonald
Emma Thompson
Billy Connolly
Julie Walters
Robbie Coltrane
Craig Ferguson
Screenwriters
Irene Mecchi
Steve Purcell
Brenda Chapman
Mark Andrews
Directors
Brenda Chapman
Mark Andrews
Running Time
100 minutes

Brave follows the heroic journey of Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to change her fate, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land: massive, surly Lord Macintosh and cantankerous Lord Dingwall, unleashing chaos in the kingdom. When she turns to an eccentric Witch, she is granted an ill-fated wish and the ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her resources—including her mischievous triplet brothers—to undo a beastly curse and discover the meaning of true bravery. (Pixar)


It's fine but for a simple story it went on too long which made parts of it dull.