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.