My year in film: January – February 2012

Image via Wikipedia

Despite all the new-fangled technology now available for watching films at home and on the move, nothing quite beats seeing a movie on the big screen while chowing down on some nachos or a bag of Revels. As Ray Winstone says in the ad: I go for the experience.

I try to see a new film every week or so. This post is the first in a series that will chart what I see at the cinema during 2012.

1st January: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The New Year’s Day trip to the cinema has become something of a tradition. I haven’t read the original book by Stieg Larsson, so can’t comment on how well this adaptation stacks up to the source material. However, I enjoyed it immensely and found it packed full of suspense. Rooney Mara was amazing as Lisbeth Salander.

8th January: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Guy Ritchie’s film provided an interesting contrast with cerebral TV drama Sherlock. This was a good old-fashioned action flick. In the title role, Robert Downie Jr had some fantastic disguises, particularly the ‘invisibility’ bodystocking. He should definitely be considered for the role of Inspector Clouseau in any future remake of The Pink Panther.

15th January: The Iron Lady. Meryl Streep was brilliant, of course, as Margaret Thatcher (and the hair and make-up was certainly Oscar-worthy). However, the film itself didn’t do that much for me. It was like sitting through a very long infomercial for Age Concern or Help the Aged. Thanks to all the hoopla surrounding Meryl, Alexandra Roach’s performance as the young Maggie T has been overlooked. 

22nd January: War Horse. Much maligned by the critics for being too sentimental. Bah humbug! I loved War Horse and cried buckets during the film, in the car on the way home and while I was cooking fishfingers for tea afterwards. The equine actors were awesome. I would really like to see the play now.

26th January: The Artist. Most hyped film of the year? I mostly enjoyed it but felt that it could have been edited down by about 10 minutes or so. The cast members were all very engaging—especially Uggy the dog— but I doubt The Artist will start a trend for silent film…

5th February: The Descendants. The trailer didn’t really sell this film to me, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. George Clooney may have got the Oscar nod but Shailene Woodley stole the show as his wayward older daughter. Hawaiian shirts are not a good look, though.

12th February: The Muppets. I was beyond excited when I heard that the cast of The Muppet Show were reuniting to make a movie. However, given that we were bombarded with Kermit et al. in the pre-release media frenzy, there was always the worry that I’d be all Muppeted out by the time I got to see the film. Not so. The Muppets was everything that I wanted it to be and more. My favourite film of the year so far.

26th February: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. A veritable Who’s Who of acting royalty, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the kind of bitter-sweet comedy that the British film industry does so well. Utterly charming.