What is the best film I have seen this year?

And so my first year as a 'Big film man' (As my wonderfully articulate younger brother so acutely puts it) comes rolling towards its satisfying climax. At the moment, I'm only a particularly good run. My best of the year, in fact. My last seven films have been my last seven good films. It feels like the world is trying to compensate for the two-and-a-half hours I spent watching Battleship. The interesting thing, however, is not the run itself -perhaps simply having less time means I've hand-picked the good films rather than just watching everything, stinkers 'n' all- but the films in this run.





Amongst the magnificent seven are two black comedies, four dramas and a buddy-cop flick. (I hate that word. I'm disgusted in myself.) Three 8/10s, two 7/10s and two 6/10s. Seven Psychopaths, which netted a 7/10, is terrific fun. A smart, sharp script is combined with dead-on performances to create an inherrently enjoyable two-hour experience, for which the inclusion of a Half Man Half Biscuit song is just a bonus. The Hunt is completely the opposite. Uncomfortable viewing, it is a film with the rare ability to fire up the emotional cauldron lurking within me. As scenes topple in, with sprinklings of paedophillia-tastic dialogue for flavour, I began to bubble. The internal score-ometer also bubbled, right up to an 8/10. I enjoyed watching Seven Psychopaths a thousand times more than I did The Hunt. If a fellow 'young person' wanted a recommendation from the pair, I'd point them towards the Colin Farrell dog-napping caper. But if asked which is the better film, I wouldn't hesitate in presenting you with non-paedo Mads Mikelson and his life story. I like to think that, in my year viewing the vast majority of movies on wide release, has been something of a crash course in film criticism. Obviously, I'm not exactly Mark Kermode, but nor do I claim to be. I have always, however, had an eye for the esoteric, and am enjoying celebrating that now. I am enjoying the irony of every over-descriptive sentence I write about every arcane arthouse picture I watch on my own. The one thing that still remains a mystery to me, however, is what makes a film a success?


I don't mean financially, or even in the eyes of a filmmaker. Instead, I'm talking about for me. I can tell when I've just enjoyed a film, and I can tell when I've just seen a good film. The problem arises when the two don't overlap. The worst culprits for either side came, funnily enough, as a double bill. Step Up 4: Miami Heat (Which, in a tragic feat, I saw on my own) was very entertaining. Why? Because it was so, so bad. Every other line was ripped straight from a book so hackneyed, were it at Hogwarts, it'd've been locked away in the restricted section. If ever opened, it'd probably cause the Cruciatus curse to now be triggered by the words 'Abra Kadarba!'. The acting, meanwhile, was of Didiae Drogba standards. The dancing was great. It was what I wanted it to be. Ludicrous, daft and plenty of fun. I left the packed screening without a trace to see Shadow Dancer in a far more sparsley-populated screen. It was slow-paced. And, truth be told, a bit dull. However, I could tell that the lady on the screen was doing some good acting, even if I wasn't quite sure what I was going on generally as I began to fade. I think I switched off for about two minutes, and suddenly, I was lost. Or maybe I was anyway. But the film didn't seem to be making any sense. I could tell what I was watching was good, well-told and well-acted, but I just wasn't having a good time.

In the end, I gave both experiences 5/10.

And so, we get onto the question that gives the post its name. We're approach the time of year where people stop and consider what the best film of the year has been. For me, I've been doing it all year round. As we stand, I hold that The Muppets is my favourite film of the year, even if I am spoiling the result of the first Grand Owen Awards 2012. The reason is simple. It is the most I have enjoyed a film all year. However, if you're asking for the best film of the year, I feel as though I have to pick A Royal Affair. Another Mads Mikelson picture, another masterclass in award-baiting acting. It's an absolutely marvelous film, and that's not a word I use often. It deserves any recognition it gets.

There is, though, a part of me that thinks the best film of the year is Paranorman. Of the 87 films I have seen this year, only four or five actually live with me, inside my skull. The likes of Liberal Arts and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World seem to have a life that extends beyond the time I spent with the characters on the silver screen. And Paranorman is the pinnacle of these. It blew me away. I was expecting, perhaps, a middle-of-the-road kids animation, with a slightly darkened twist. No more than a pleasently surprising 6/10. I left with tear residue on my face, cheeks aching from laughing, and my brain awash with endorsements. I gave it an 8/10 in the end, but I was oh so close to popping up to a 9. A score virtually unheard of from me. The best animated film since Up, and possibly the best on the other side, too. And yet, as it did seem to transend the gap between enjoyment and admiration, I felt a bit confused as to how I treat it. The Muppets deserves more credit than it gets, for being so bloomin' entertaining. A Royal Affair deserves anything is does get, for being so bloomin' good. Paranorman finds itself left in the cold somewhat, as I struggle to campaign for one side or the other.

Ultimately, though, it's more than a three-horse race. The Dark Knight Rises. Wasn't that good? I've already mentioned how Liberal Arts lived with me. The Imposter is the best documentary I have ever seen. The charm-juice Moonrise Kingdom oozed is still dripping off me, whilst The Avengers remains a masterclass in how to do comic book movies without ripping off Christopher Nolan. I'm going to make the big announcement here, probably, in early Janurary. And it's going to be very, very exciting. I'm even going to make an award. And hopefully it'll go somewhere, unlike this post.

Thanks for reading it regardless. You're a good human being.