TOP TEN MOVIES SCREENED IN BALTIMORE CITY IN 2012
by the Charm City Cineaste
USER’S GUIDE: Films were cut from the list that did not play Baltimore, even if they were worth noting. Revivals were excluded. The (recently re-located) Charm City Cineaste is a blog where I keep track of all the movies I see and briefly comment on them. Quotes are from said blog.
1. Holy Motors
“Holy Motors is why I go to the movies, to see and experience something new. A man goes about his job in Paris, enacting roles and scenes in an odd tribute to the particular artificial magic of film. No plot to clearly follow (a group walked out of my screening at The Charles), but plenty to puzzle over and take in. Leos Carax does not make movies often, but when he does, run, don’t walk to your local arthouse.”- Films Viewed, December 2012
2. The Turin Horse
“In The Turin Horse, a man and his daughter endure against nature. They begin to lose the fight, as we all do. A wonderful introduction to the films of Bela Tarr via his final opus. Long takes, nothing happens, hypnotically paced… why aren’t these ‘viewing preferences’ on Netflix?” – Films Viewed, May 2012
3. The Master
“Ah yes. The Master has arrived. A gang was gotten up to go see it in 70mm in Silver Spring. Mesmerizing, tantalizing… vital cinema. Id meets Ego in the form of the two main characters. I enjoyed it. The best release this month? One of the best this year? In a wan early fall season, I feel this is so, but I have been severely limited in my movie-going as of late, and there are the usual heavy hitters coming out in the next few months.” – Films Viewed, September 2012
4. God Bless America
“God Bless America is a dark ride, and I enjoy a dark ride. A man diagnosed with terminal cancer decides to eliminate all the people in America who annoy him, especially those on reality television. Sharp satire, probably the most enjoyable dark comedy since Idiocracy. Makes me want to be better about seeing the films of noted auteur Bobcat Goldthwait.” – Films Viewed, August 2012
5. We Need to Talk about Kevin
“We Need to Talk about Kevin was an exploration of the terror of the late 1990s, the realization that the success America had achieved was soon to fade and that the kids weren’t all right. A mother lives in the aftermath of a senseless slaughter perpetuated by her psychopathic son. Could have been the worst sort of melodrama, instead came alive coldly and precisely under the direction of Lynne Ramsay.”- Films Viewed, April 2012
6. Wanderlust
“Wanderlust had me in hysterics in the (otherwise empty) Landmark Harbor East theater in which I viewed it. Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston’s characters stumble into a commune after their Manhattan life crumbles in the new economy. David Wain directs a stellar supporting cast. Perhaps made more resonant to me by how often I have rubbed elbows with the ‘other’ American music and arts underground (the one with the jam bands and the drum circles).” – Films Viewed, March 2012
“I meant to just take in a bit of Wanderlust when it was on in the apartment, but got sucked in and had a very good time watching it again. A bit miffed that the Bluray rental copy did not have the extra features, especially the ‘bizarro version’ of the film that I would very much like to see.”- Films Viewed, August 2012
7. Pina
“Pina 3D is a tribute to an artist taken suddenly and too soon. Wim Wenders coordinates a tribute to her brand of groundbreaking and transgressive dance and artistry with the help of her surviving troupe. A tribute to the power of collective artistic action and a guided tour of the work of an underappreciated artist.” – Films Viewed, February 2012
8. Django Unchained
“Sure, it’s too long. And sure, it’s indulgent. But Quentin Tarantino continues to make films that get you thinking, my friends and I engaging in vigorous analysis and debate as we left a sold-out screening of Django Unchained on Christmas day. A slave is freed and is given the ability to kill white people by a kindly bounty hunter. Jamie Foxx’s Django serves as the blunt dialogue counterpoint to Christoph Waltz’ ever-so-wordy Dr. King Shultz as they go on various adventures, the last and longest being a quest to free Django’s wife from slavery in the deep South.” – Films Viewed, December 2012
9. Cloud Atlas
“You have to admire the ambition of the creators of Cloud Atlas, taking a sprawling complex novel some have called ‘unfilmable’ and turning it into a sprawling yet cogent film. So many excellent thought-waves and sequences to get lost inside for a while. Preposterous things happen and I just went with it. Sometimes I cannot do that. This time, I could.” – Films Viewed, November 2012
10. 21 Jump Street
“My students recommended 21 Jump Street by constantly acting out scenes from it in class. Two cops go undercover at a high school and find out much has changed since 2005 (2005? 2005 was seven years ago!). I enjoyed the film’s lucid profanity and as a continuation of the work of Jonah Hill and company. Channing Tatum nails the dumb jock like no other. The film was punching above its weight and surprised me more than once.”- Films Viewed, October 2012
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