Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Monday, March 6, 2017
My 15 Top Obsessions of 2012
My 15 Top Obsessions of 2012
You know me...I get obsessed with things rather easily. Like seriously, I have obsessive issues that sometimes need to be dialled back before people think Im crazy (case in point: I get asked to put Christmas decorations up. The first thing I think of is to put up tinsel Batmans in honour of The Dark Knight Rises which came out four weeks before Christmas). However, heres some which I havent been able to control over the year. The fact that Ive made a list of 15 and still missed out a whole lot of them is rather disturbing.

15. Independent cinema
Ive always loved independent cinema, but moreso this year, because it has become increasingly easier to get my hands on. Luckily, a lot of the stuff is going through Madman (a supplier here in NZ), meaning I get to catch up on them a bit earlier on the preview discs. While I may not have seen bigger films like Argo or The Hobbit just yet (nor will I until they come out on DVD), I have seen wonderful films like Your Sisters Sister and Bernie already thanks to that wonderful preview drawer. Just keep em coming, Madman.

14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ive always loved JGL, too, but the guy has been really flying this year. Sure, there was Premium Rush, which must have been quite a big flop since it has been delayed until March next year here (meaning it will go straight-to-DVD), but he was also in Steven Spielbergs Lincoln, and in The Dark Knight Rises - in a performance which I thought had its own wonderfulness about it. By far the best thing of his year, though, was Looper, which was a freakin awesome film itself, but JGL, weird eyebrows and nose and all, was so badass it almost hurt. I also saw 50/50 for the first time this year, where I completely fell for him. Hes also doing awesome stuff with his HitRecord project and hes just finished shooting his writing/directorial feature debut. Do the wonders ever cease? It would appear not - he also did some Magic Mike moves on SNL. Lawd.

13. The Great Gatsby
I finally read this whole book this year and it is safe to say, it is probably my favourite book of all time. F. Scott Fitzgerald really had a way with words. Also falling under this umbrella is Baz Luhrmanns forthcoming adaptation, which was my most anticipated movie for the year after The Dark Knight Rises. Why? Because a) haters gon hate but I love Baz Luhrmanns films, b) the trailers were just effing divine and they literally inspired a 1920s phase I had going on for a little while, c) Leonardo DiCaprio looks fiiiiiiiiiiine and d) that poster with Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker also looks fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. Im honestly so excited for this film I combust everytime I think about it.

12. Michael Fassbender
I loved him last year but seeing Shame and Prometheus this year just reaffirmed my love. Shame was by far the best performance Ive seen all year, and one of my favourites ever. And even though David had a few issues in Prometheus, I couldnt believe I was watching my darling Fassy up there. Seriously, he is one of the best actors out there right now.

11. Daniel Craig
When I was 11, I had a huge crush on Daniel Craig. With Skyfall and last years The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo being released this year, that crush came right on back. He was brilliant in both of those films, but heres why I love him:

10. Princess Merida
I loved Brave more than most it would seem, and theres one huge reason for that: Princess Merida. With her curly red hair (who definitely made me appreciate my ringlet curls a lot more), cute Scottish accent and badass archery skills, it is hard not to love Disneys latest heroine. Which is also why I dressed up as her for the Christmas parade.

9. Tom Hiddleston
Easily my favourite part of The Avengers. Also, he seems like the nicest person on Earth apart from someone else on this list. And his tweets are incredibly sweet, especially around Oscar time when he got almost as excited as I did when Rooney Mara got nominated for Best Actress. I imagine he and Loki couldnt be more different.

8. Shame
This film floored me in a way that no film has ever done before. It was just so wonderfully put together that it is just about flawless. Plus, Steve McQueens style has left me in a daze that I still cant click out of. That guy knows how to set up a camera.

7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
While The Great Gatsby is my favourite book ever, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky pretty much changed my life. I definitely wasnt expecting it to be that affecting, but by the end, I was bawling my eyes out. I dont need to remind anyone of how excited I am to see the movie, and how high the expectations that I have for it. Which Im sure will be more than met.

6. Lana Del Rey
I rarely branch outside of movie music (terrible, I know), but in September, I decided to give Lana Del Rey a go. Then I bought her album Born to Die, and I pretty much havent listened to much else ever since. I got the Paradise edition for Christmas, so guess what will be accompanying me while I clean shelves? Seriously, I love her style, her voice, and her rather different music. Shes the best.

5. Ezra Miller
Ever since I saw We Need to Talk About Kevin on that earthquakey night of July the 3rd, I have been in love with Ezra Miller. I tried to deny it for a long time because that was just weird as he played a killer in that movie, but after seeing the trailer a few too many times, Ezra Miller became my husband. Hes just so worldly, even though he is so young, and so different. And then theres his cheekbones. Sigh.

4. Matthew McConaughey
This may come as a surprise, but I must say, nothing has brought me joy quite like Matthew McConaughey turning his career around. He used to be one of my least favourite actors, but I saw The Lincoln Lawyer last year which just hinted at what hes capable of. But when I saw the wonderfully crazy Killer Joe last month, I was completely stunned by his work. And then there was Magic Mike and Bernie to back up his roll into becoming a sought after actor. I cant wait to see what he does in The Dallas Buyers Club next year - his dedication to that role is kind of scary.

3. The Dark Knight Rises
I know, you probably all thought that this would be number one. Alas, while I loved going to see this and Ive been pretty much obsessed with it all year, there a couple of others that beat it. However, I would love to go back in time and see it that first time again. Even on my fourth watch earlier this week, I still cried like a baby and had my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Nolan, you beast.

2. Downton Abbey
Before the end of the Christmas holidays earlier this year, I decided I would finally watch Downton Abbey to see what all the fuss was about. I was finished those first two seasons a lot faster than I thought I would be. I just love this show so much - it is well written, performed, put together. It has everything. And no, Im not to be deemed as an old lady for loving it so much. Most of my friends are really into it now. But I still cant forgive it for that terribly awful thing that happened in season three (I cried so much for a whole hour after seeing it - and it wasnt just tears, it was full on crying), and now I hear the Christmas special for this year was quite sad. I honestly dont know why I keep watching it when all it does is break my heart.

1. Jessica Chastain
The most wonderfully perfect human being on this Earth. Words cant even describe how much I love her so Im not going to try.
What do you think? Got any favourites here? Or any obsessions of your own for this year?
Available link for download
Friday, March 3, 2017
MTV VMA 2012 Awards Red Carpet Best Dressed Celebrities
MTV VMA 2012 Awards Red Carpet Best Dressed Celebrities
MTV VMA 2012 Awards Red Carpet Best Dressed Celebrities
10 Eye-Catching Looks from Last Nights MTV VMA Awards
10 Eye-Catching Looks from Last Nights MTV VMA Awards
This years MTV Video Music Awards didnt feature a big reveal like last years, but there were plenty of surprises and debuts. Rihanna, who took home Video of the Year for "We Found Love," unveiled a new gamine pixie cut. Gabby Douglas did back flips onstage while Alicia Keys sang her new single "Girl on Fire." The rest of the Fierce Five was in attendance, too, presenting and then shown dancing and singing along during One Directions performance.
Taylor Swift premiered her latest hit, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," live, as the camera suggestively panned to her former paramour Taylor Lautner in the audience. And speaking of former beaus, Robert Pattinson took the stage alongside the male Twilight contingent to premiere an exclusive clip from Breaking Dawn - Part 2. (Kristen Stewart, meanwhile, is in Toronto to promote On the Road.) As for the nights red carpet style, check out the top lookswith an emphasis on "look" for a fewbelow.
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Alicia Keys picked a high-slit Alexandre Vauthier creation and Gucci shoes. Photo: Getty Images |
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Emma Watson went bright with a mixed-print mini dress from Peter Pilotto. Photo: Getty Images |
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Also experimenting with sheer: Katy Perry, in a transparent-skirted Elie Saab number and Jimmy Choo shoes. Photo: Getty Images |
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Miley Cyrus complemented her new punky do with a sheer-paneled black Emilio Pucci gown. Photo: Getty Images |
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Nicki Minaj wore a sparkly, form-fitting trompe loeil jumpsuit and highlighter yellow hair. Photo: Getty Images |
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To complement her new haircut, Rihanna chose an elegant white gown. Photo: Getty Images |
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Rita Ora changed into an edgy, cut-out white gown to present onstage. Photo: Getty Images |
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Stella McCartney dressed Pink in a demure, longsleeved metallic dress. Photo: Getty Images |
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Taylor Swift swapped her usual girly look for a sleek J. Mendel suit paired with Tom Ford sandals. Photo: Getty Images |
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Presenter Zoe Saldana donned a textural Salvatore Ferragamo mini dress. Photo: Getty Images |
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
My Unofficial 5 Worst and 10 Best Films of 2012
My Unofficial 5 Worst and 10 Best Films of 2012
Oh hey, so since the year is ending and Ive seen less than five 2012 movies (okay, thats a lie, but seriously, I havent even seen Argo), I thought I may as well still do list the films I loved and loathed from the small selection Ive seen. As I explained last night, these are films that had their American release date (or in the case of one of them, will probably not have an American release date so it is the NZ release date) this year, because Ive already cleaned up 2011. First, lets look at the five worst films Ive seen this year.

5. Rock of Ages
I really liked Adam Shankmans last musical, Hairspray. All I wanted was a nice, groovy musical with toe-tapping, feel good, sing-along songs. I got auto-tune piled upon more auto-tune. Gee thanks, Glee.
Tom Cruise was at least okay and really seemed to be in his element as filthy rocker Stacee Jaxx, but the rest were just people singing and dancing like theyd been boosted up on energy drinks. In other words, nothing was very good at all.

4. Battleship
Forgive me when I say that I didnt have very high expectations for this film, based on the board game. And those expectations were met: there were a lot of explosions for two hours, accompanied by a lot of slow-mo, and not much else. Oh Liam Neeson, what were you thinking when you decided to be in this movie for five minutes? You too, Alexander Skarsgard. I practically watched it just to see you being hot and you got killed off so I had to spend the remaining five hours with Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna. Yay.

3. Iron Sky
The fact that some great indie films like, I dont know, Margaret, struggle to get made and then we get a movie about Nazis coming back to Earth from the moon straight away. Theres probably a place for this movie but Im not entirely sure of where that is.

2. Project X
Aside from Magic Mike and Ted, this movie has been the most popular one to hit Dannevirke teendom this year. Im fairly sure everyone has seen it, which is a little depressing because as much as I love films and all, this movie is literally a piece of dog poo wrapped up in even more poo. Just poo poo poo is what Im saying. I mean, wipdeedoo, youre a group of dumb teenagers who think the only way to be popular is to throw a huge party which destroys literally everything. Id probably like this movie a little more if I was at all into drinking (which Im not, unlike everyone else my age). But as it stands, I am greatly offended that this is what people think of teenagers as.

1. Thats My Boy
Just the most offensive, unfunny and over-the-top thing that Adam Sandler has ever graced us with. It is so terrible that I want to gouge my eyes out every time I see the cover of it.
Now we have all of that negativity out of the way, here are my unofficial ten best...

10. The Most Fun You Can Have Dying
I honestly cant believe how well-made this NZ film was. It was just so different to what Im used to seeing for this country - a film that is in touch with just about everything, and is so beautifully shot, ringing back to the days of the French New Wave movement. Heralded by a great central performance by Matt Whelan and an interesting supporting performance from Roxane Mesquida, The Most Fun You Can Have Dying will likely only get an audience from NZ (and Australia, as it showed at one of their film festivals), but it deserves so much more than that.
9. 21 Jump Street
Honestly, I just love this movie because it is so damn funny. I dont even like either Jonah Hill or Channing Tatum all that much but theyre just so damn funny. And Brie Larson is so adorable. I dont really have much else to say other than I laughed and laughed and laughed at this movie, and even on my fourth watch I still had plenty to laugh at.

8. Bernie
Richard Linklater is a much better filmmaker than I think people give him credit for. He has one of the most strangely intricate filmographies out there - he doesnt have a distinctive style or genre, but is films are consistently good. Bernie is no exception. It tells the bizarre true story of Bernie Tiede, a do-gooder who kills his partner, an elderly widow, after hes had enough of her manipulative ways. Filmed in a documentary style way, even featuring interviews with some of the people who knew Tiede and his story, Bernie is a rather interesting project that was certainly a lot more different than I had expected. Jack Black, Shirley Maclaine and Matthew McConaughey are all so great in their roles, too.

7. The Raid: Redemption
A film where the actions speak louder than words, and it is all so awesome to watch. People just beat the crap out of each other and somehow, this makes for some of the most visceral, entertaining scenes of the year. It is just endlessly fantastic.

6. Your Sisters Sister
I didnt have a clue of what this film was about when I started watching it, but that didnt matter - the less you know about it, the more surprised youll be by it. This film is driven by conversation and a couple of acts which end up meaning a lot more than you thought they would, and this is all driven home by stunning performances from Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt.

5. The Avengers
I can honestly say that I havent had a better time at the movies than I did with The Avengers. It was just so fun and entertaining, with plenty of stellar comedic punches and great action sequences to match. I cant really say that it is the best superhero movie ever, but I had a damn good time watching it, which is all I could really ask for.

4. Brave
This film has stayed with me since I first saw it in June, mainly because I find it to have one of the best messages for the younger generation to surface in quite some time. It is a simple film, and it gets its message across simply - and we have to remember that thats what kids movies are supposed to be like. This isnt a Pixar failure. Sure, Toy Story 3 is a masterpiece, but Im fairly sure that worked better for an older audience. Brave hits all the right notes, particularly because of the unique heroine, Princess Merida.

3. Looper
What is so amazing about Looper is that it has all of the blockbuster trimmings, but it is made like a true indie. It sometimes feels as if it is in a league of its own, being both glossy and rustic at the same time. It is a stunning vision of the future, without delving into the dream-like fantasies that most people use when trying to imagine the future. Plus, it features one of Bruce Willis best performances in years.

2. Killer Joe
I dont even know where to begin with this film. It is so batshit insane that I had to watch most of it through my fingers, but still, it is strangely comic and terrifying and...just everything. The film needs to be praised first for Matthew McConaughey, then by the work of its brilliant cast, and then by the fact that it is so brave and it doesnt shy away from ANYTHING. The only thing Im worried about is the fact that one day, Matty Ms kids (apparently his wife had another child today, congrats!) will see this film, and then hell have a lot of explaining to do. Im not even related to him and I honestly cant handle how amazing he was in this film.

1. The Dark Knight Rises
Im kinda over explaining why I love this film so much, but I will say that this time last year I knew that this would top my list, and I wasnt disappointed. Everything about this film, apart from maybe Marion Cotillard before her reveal and her death scene, is just so magnificent. That is all.
What do you think of my selections? What are your favourite and least favourite films of 2012?
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Sunday, February 12, 2017
My Movie Biography Where Its At Now in 2012
My Movie Biography Where Its At Now in 2012

(2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) Well, were heading into the home stretch now. Tomorrow is the big day. Just to let you know, you will probably have trouble visiting the site for a while. Dont worry, (fingers crossed) everything goes fine and Ill be back up and running this time tomorrow. Hope to see you there! Anyway, 2012 in my movie biography...
- By some small coincidence, all of the movies I got at one time from Fatso were by Roman Polanski. So I started off the year with Chinatown, Repulsion and Rosemarys Baby. That was...fun.
- I saw The Muppets and The Adventures of Tintin on the same day. I felt so awkward being this 16 year old all alone in cinemas filled with children. Funnily enough, I preferred Tintin a lot more, but now The Muppets is pretty much my go-to movie when I want to feel better about life.
- I finally got out of NZ! My father and I went to Melbourne, Australia for a week and that was exciting. I was pretty excited for the plane trip, because Drive was playing on the plane and I hadnt seen it because it was an R18. I did really like it when I saw it, but I completely forgot about the fact that it was censored, so I was left wondering what was so R18 about it. Then I looked it up on the internet and apparently there were 70 swearwords in it, but I hadnt heard any of them. When I got the film on DVD, I finally embraced it and it became my second favourite movie of 2011. While I was in Melbourne I bought a crapload of movies because they had everything that Id been looking for. And theres like, five JB Hi-Fis in the city, so I was in heaven. Also heavenly was the Pancake Parlour, but thats another story. I also went to the cinemas a fair bit because I wanted to escape the heat. I only really wanted to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, because I thought it was going to be an R18 in NZ and it was only an MA15+ in Australia. I was so excited to be all rebellious. Then I got back to NZ and I found out that it was only an R16. Which was somewhat disappointing. I also saw The Descendants and Hugo just because I could. I really miss Melbourne. It was such a nice place. One day I hope to go back.
- While I wasnt as excited for the Oscars as much as I was last year (I blame the fact that I hadnt watched many of the movies), I still thought it was a good idea to wake up at 3am and watch the Oscar nominations for fun. It wasnt all that fun until I saw that Rooney Mara got nominated, in which case I let out this weird squeal that woke up everyone in the house. I stayed up until at least 4.30am ranting with people on Facebook about them. Which probably wasnt the best idea, because once the morning hit we were going to Palmerston North to watch War Horse. It didnt affect the experience. I still spent the entire film crying my eyes out. And when I say the "entire film", I mean the entire bloody thing. As soon as I saw that horse I was in tears.

- The Oscars themselves were kinda exciting. Mainly because I made them more exciting than they were. I just jumped up and down all day, then I took peoples phones so I could search up photos of the dresses. When I saw Jessica Chastains, I almost cried. It was so beautiful. I spent my entire Bio period checking my phone to see who won stuff, which was pretty good because the teacher was always helping other people so I could sneak my phone out. I just about ran home to see the rest of the awards being handed out, which was pretty exciting. When Bret McKenzie won, I was doing little happy dances around my room. What can I say? The Oscars just get so much excitement out of me.
- Another exciting part of this year was being told that I was going to direct the school production. I was so excited that I even laughed at something in I Dont Know How She Does It. Alas, that didnt turn out too well.
- I made the mistake of watching Contagion while I was sick. Take it from me: it makes you feel ten times worse.
- LOL, I saw I Melt with You. I just cant forget how jaw-droppingly bad this movie was, even while it wasnt bad in a bad movie kind of way. Christian McKay, I still love you.
- June was my French New Wave month. That was kinda exhausting. But I did love the fact that I was introduced to films like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Vivre Sa Vie and Breathless.
- Hey, I did this speech. I was actually so stressed about it. Mainly because I didnt feel as ready as I usually do for it. And I was first up because the teacher "wanted to start off with some real quality". And it was like, 16 minutes long. But everyone loved it, which was something I really wasnt expecting. That day I also got to go and see Brave, which I cried a lot in. That was nice.
- I won a LAMMY for Best Rating System and also got runner up for Best Blog. That was exciting. I found out literally minutes before I had to go for school, and I was so excited about it that I just ran to my friends house. Unfortunately it was raining and blowing a gale outside, and I forgot to put my phone in my pocket. Later that day, my phone stopped working. I blame all of you who voted for me. Jokes, that was a very exciting day.

- I saw Shame!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved that movie so much. At the end I sat on the couch like kinda crying, kinda howling. It was a bizarre noise I was making. My pets were very worried. Ironically, that night I had watched Jack and Jill, which became my least favourite film of 2011. Shame was my favourite.
- We Need to Talk About Kevin became the scariest film ever when that earthquake hit. Since then I havent dared to turn the lights out when Im watching a movie. I still cant believe that there was another earthquake the second time I watched it. For a long time after it I was in denial over the fact that I found Ezra Miller VERY attractive in that movie. After a while I was just like "stuff it". Now Ezra and I are going to get married. LOL.
- July happened. BEST MOVIE MONTH EVER. Especially when there were so many releases one week that I had to take six movies home at once to watch them all. They were 50/50, Like Crazy, The Skin I Live In, J. Edgar, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and John Carter. The quality of those movies was insane. Ive never seen a week like that before in my life.

- The Dark Knight Rises happened. I was so excited that Id just be doing something random like selling someone a Lotto ticket, and then Id have this mini excitement surge go up my spine because I knew I was getting closer to seeing it. Im in the minority who absolutely loved it. Seeing it was so magical. At the beginning of the film, I would casually just squeeze my friends hand when someone exciting came on, like Bane or Batman. But then after the first thirty minutes, my hand didnt leave his hand because things were getting too intense. When he checked the time, I saw that we only had an hour of the film left and I started getting so sad - I didnt want it to end. Then once the end hit, I was crying like a baby. It was so beautiful.
The next day, though, something strange happened. I felt so empty and sad, and I didnt know whether this was because I felt sad because the excitement was over or because I thought I was disappointed by the film (I wasnt). I couldnt shake that strange feeling. Then, that night, as I was watching Spirited Away, I found out about the Aurora cinema shootings. This shocked me to the absolute core. I just couldnt process any of what was going on. It just felt very close to home because it happened in a place which I love so much, and during a movie which I love so much. I know it didnt really "affect" me, but for weeks after that, I was haunted by the face of the shooter and of the thoughts that it could happen here. It was just such a depressing time. - My birthday happened. That was exciting. The weekend after my birthday I thought it was all over, but I arrived home from work and my friends were there to give me my first surprise birthday party. That was cool. They made me a Captain America cake to go with the Batman cake I got a few days before. It was really nice.
- Little Shop of Horrors happened in September so I didnt get to do a lot of anything. But Im still extremely proud of that production, even though I didnt really feel like a big part of it.
- One of the best things about this year was that I met Lena, our German exchange student. She flew out of NZ today which makes me extremely sad. She is just the coolest, happiest person ever. I felt really bad though because we had this beach gathering for her which was overnight. That weekend I got really sick with influenza and all I wanted to do was go home because I was pretty much dying. Still, I managed to keep the illness at bay and proceeded onto being the funniest person I know for the large majority of the trip. It wasnt so nice that I got absolutely no sleep because I couldnt breathe and I looked like a train had hit me. But yes, I do miss you Lena, and hopefully you still read my blog while youre in Germany!
- Watching Prometheus this week with my friends was the funniest thing ever. Before I begin, I must say that I really liked the movie. But it seemed to run along on people being really stupid. Seriously. We were yelling at the screen most of the time. Especially at David, because he just had to touch EVERYTHING, which would ruin EVERYTHING. Had we watched that film in cinemas, we would have been those annoying people that everyone complains about.
- I have 12 days left of year 12. Next year is my last year of school. Im terrified of that fact.
- I guess I should end this with what Im doing right now: I dont think Ill be watching a movie tonight because I have so much planned for tomorrow that I should get an early start. My foot is really hurting but I have no idea why. Today is the two year anniversary of The Last Station being on the new release wall, which makes me laugh because it isnt exactly a new release anymore. And yeah.
Thanks for reading this long series! Hope to see you all back tomorrow. Meanwhile, how has 2012 been for you? What movie has been the highlight of your year?
Available link for download
Thursday, February 9, 2017
My 15 Favourite New To Me Films of 2012
My 15 Favourite New To Me Films of 2012
Sure, there are still four days left in the year and usually I manage to fill these last days up with some great movies, but I might as well list down my 15 favourite new-to-me movies Ive seen this year. It was a rather hard task to whittle these down to so few, especially considering there were over 300 movies in contention - meaning that I achieved my New Years resolution of seeing at least 300 new-to-me movies (how I found the time, Ill never know). So here we have my 15 favourite new-to-me films of the year, and what a good movie watching year I had.

15. The Heiress
Admittedly, this 1949 classic starring Olivia De Havilland and Montgomery Clift was one I watched because I couldnt go and see Jessica Chastain and Dan Stevens in the stage production of it, currently on Broadway. However, this was a more than worthy substitute. Olivia De Havilland gave a firey performance as Catherine Sloper, a woman who is all too vulnerable to everything but eventually comes into her own. A really interesting portrayal of society ideals put to the test in the 1800s.

14. The Red Riding Trilogy
So technically these are three films, but you cant really judge the separate films on their own merits - they must be viewed as a whole. I watched the three British made-for-TV films over one night before I started school again, and I was so impressed with how intricately detailed this was and how everything came together. It was a stunning achievement for a made-for-TV project - in fact, TV just keeps getting stronger and stronger every year.

13. Breathless
I checked out Jean-Luc Godards masterpiece as part of my French New Wave month, and I really enjoyed it for its simplicity and of course, people just talking to each other. Sadly, now, if I should ever talk about this film with anyone, theyd probably get it confused with the straight-to-DVD Ray Liotta film of the same name. Oh, Ray Liotta, you have to take the fun out of everything.

12. My Neighbour Totoro
This movie was just so cute that I wanted to hug it. And when I go to Japan I will probably buy every Totoro related thing I can find. Well, every Totoro thing that will be able to fit in my suitcase without difficulty.

11. Mystic River
I wouldnt say Im exactly an expert on Clint Eastwood films (but seeing J. Edgar has made me a little uneasy towards his films), but Mystic River is the finest film of his that I have seen. It is a rather depressing, gritty tale of how everyones lives end up colliding and how the past comes back to haunt them. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon were all fantastic in this film.

10. Alien
Amongst all the Prometheus buzz (that was both good and bad in equal measure), I felt like the only person on Earth who didnt really care about that film, but it did serve as a pleasant reminder for me to get off my butt and watch Alien. And what a good thing that was, because I absolutely loved this film, despite the fact that Im really not all that fond of sci-fi films. It is probably one of the greatest horror movies of all time - and sometimes when I feel ill, I wont deny that the thought of that alien bursting out of John Hurts chest doesnt cross my mind.

9. Belle De Jour
Among my New Years resolutions was to watch more foreign films. I cant say if I really succeeded in that (I should have set a number or something), but I did start early - I remember watching Belle De Jour, starring the divine Catherine Deneuve, all the way back in February. Luis Bunuel created a simply beautiful, mysterious piece of film that was quite different from anything Id seen at that point.

8. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Another Catherine Deneuve film (shes been a big player in my 2012, as in one of the first days of the year I also saw Repulsion, which only just missed out on a place here), but this time, we have a musical. Thats not to say that it is all happy. Even though it is one of the most colourful films Ive ever seen, it is doused in sadness. Kinda like Les Miserables. Okay, it is nothing like Les Miserables.

7. Vivre Sa Vie
Thanks to that French New Wave month, I saw some great films, and this one was the best of them. Again, there are people just talking with each other, but then theres that scene between Anna Karina and the man at the restaurant is still pretty much the best conversation Ive ever seen.

6. Days of Heaven
I waited around eight months for this to finally become available on Fatso, and I just about died when it was. And then I just about died when I actually watched it because it was so beautiful. I did things somewhat backwards - The Tree of Life was my introduction to Terrence Malick, even though everyone was like "if youre not familiar with Malick, it just wont work for you." It actually did work for me, but that film and Days of Heaven are two extremely different films. Theyre joined by beauty, but Days of Heaven feels much more natural. I just adore every sunset shot in it.

5. Grave of the Fireflies
I remember when I watched this, having a nice Friday night to myself. At the end of it, I was crying so much it hurt. It definitely rivalled that terribly awful thing in Downton Abbey as the most heartbreak a screen has ever caused me.

4. The Dark Knight Rises
This movie is amazing. That is all.

3. Mulholland Dr
This was another movie that took its time to become available on Fatso, too. It was also my introduction to David Lynch, and what an introduction it was. I just dont know how hed be able to sleep at night knowing that hed made a movie like this. Because it is so intricately great and beyond any realms of any imagination.

2. Shame
My favourite film of last year, easily, and one of my favourites of all time. It is as close to a modern masterpiece as well get: an observation of anguish, of a life teetering on the edge, performed with true bravura by Michael Fassbender. The film is beyond wonderful, and it is ground-breaking without trying to break any ground in the first place.

1. Goodfellas
I had to watch it a second time to fully appreciate its awesomeness, but it is right up there as one of my top favourites. Martin Scorseses masterpiece is thrilling, epic, and certainly makes the most of its 150 minute running time. Even Ray Liotta is really good in this film...it is a shame that he was never really able to carry that one on.
What do you think of these films? What were some of your favourite new-to-you films you saw this year?
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