2013 - Unlucky for some?

So 2013 has started off with a bang, or in the case of Tasmania, where I reside, a blaze.  Half the state is on fire and we have experienced some of the hottest days on record which of course makes for a good excuse to remain indoors in air conditioning and watch movies.  Not quite how I wanted to start the year though and I do feel for all of the families affected by these devastating fires.  It has made for some interesting sunsets here of late.. here is a pic I snapped just before going to see Life of Pi last Friday night:

Anyways, as with the seeing in of any new year, I thought I might post my favourite flicks from last year.  Given that I live in Australia, quite a number of the "so-called" blockbuster films have yet to arrive on these shores and some of the films on my list were in fact made back in 2011, but did not get a theatrical release here until 2012 - thus for some folks it may seem a bit odd for them to appear on this list.  I am not good with "best of" or "favourite lists", so these are not in any particular order, but they are five films I enjoyed seeing in 2012

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Occasionally in my line of work I have the privilege of getting to see films I have heard nothing about, Safety Not Guaranteed was one of these films last year.  Great performances and an interesting premise make this film a treat to watch and one of the better sci-fi dramas made of late.

From Up On Poppy Hill (2011)

From Studio Ghibli and master director Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro comes this luciously animated drama about first love and school life in the small Japanese town of Yokohama in the 1960's. This film is a joy to watch from beginning to end and as usual reminds us that animation has so much to offer outside entertaining the children for a couple of hours.

God Bless America (2011)

From writer / director Bobcat Goldthwaite comes this treat of a film.  I suspect a lot of people may not find this as thoroughly entertaining as me (especially in light of some of the more recent gun violence in the United States), but I think the film was very carefully crafted and goes out of its way to display everything that is wrong with our society in its current climate!  With some great acting from the two leads and some wonderful dialog the film is definitely one that you will either love or hate and personally I loved it!

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Wes Anderson and I have an on again off again relationship.  Rushmore is one of my favourite films of all time, but I can't stand The Royal Tenanbaums.  Moonrise Kingdom however gets everything right and will give you a smile on your face for most of its duration.  Great cast, great story, excellent music, wonderful cinematography and a great sense of humor make this one of the best comedies in the last decade.  If you are only going to check out one film on my list, may I suggest that this be it!

Margaret (2011)

Not everyone's cup-o-tea this amazing character driven drama was certainly one of the best films I had the pleasure of seeing last year, I have still yet to see the extended edition, but I am sure the film can only be better with a longer running time.  You can check out my full review here.

So there you go, five films I highly recommend from last year, but I can't go without panning at least one and here it is:

The worst film of the year was easily  Resident Evil: Retribution, so much wasted potential and an absolute train wreck of a film, shame really, but that is the way the cookie crumbles.

I will be very interested to see what the year 2013 has in store for cinemas goers with some very interesting trailers floating around of late, hopefully it will be a great year!!