The Best Movies of 2012 (Part II)

Jeremy BeckTop 10 Lists

In case you missed it, you can find Part I of the Manifesto’s countdown of the 16 best movies of 2012 here. And now, the final octet.

8. Silver Linings Playbook. Until he made The Fighter, David O. Russell was pretty much the last director I could have imagined helming a pure crowd-pleaser. But while that boxing flick was a sturdy enough piece of genre execution elevated by a tremendous performance from Christian Bale, it nevertheless represented a step backward for Russell, sacrificing the angularity and unpredictability of his earlier work in favor of stock characters and easy sentiment. Silver Linings Playbook doesn’t shy away from uplift—it’s arguably the most thrillingly happy movie of 2012—but it derives its emotional impact through a delightfully haphazard mix of screwball comedy and disturbing family drama, as well as a provocative examination of mental illness. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence make a pretty pair, but each suggests real sadness; Cooper’s constant gesticulation conveys the whirlwind of thoughts assaulting his fraying mind, while Lawrence’s flashing eyes and uptilted chin mask quiet vulnerability and heartache. This frenzy of feeling culminates in a landmark scene, which Russell stages with symphonic élan, in which Lawrence goes toe-to-toe with the legendary Robert De Niro (in his best form in years) and shifts her long-simmering passion into overdrive. On one level, it’s just a bunch of crazy Philadelphians rehashing the Eagles. On another, it’s a madcap marvel, a winning illustration of how movies can take pain and fury and desperation, mix them together, and turn them into joy.

Read More

Read more

The Best Movies of 2012 (Part I)

Jeremy BeckTop 10 Lists

After the astonishing year at the movies that was 2011, it was perhaps inevitable that 2012 would regress to the mean somewhat. The result is that, whereas last year I felt compelled to extend my annual year-end list to include 25 different films, this year I’m limiting myself to 16. Whether this is because the quality of the cinematic output declined slightly or because the Manifesto has a bizarre preoccupation with perfect squares, it doesn’t matter. In the end, 2012 was a year like any other, one that featured plenty of good movies, just as many bad movies, and a handful of spectacular movies. In the Manifesto’s eyes, here are the 16 best:

Honorable mention: Cloud Atlas, Compliance, The Flowers of War, Michael, Miss Bala, The Secret World of Arrietty, Sleep Tight, Smashed, Take This Waltz, Your Sister’s Sister. Read More

Read more

March Madness 2013

Jeremy BeckUncategorized

There’s a moving scene in the first season of “The West Wing” in which Toby convinces President Bartlet to cut from his State of the Union Address a line that reads, “The era of big government is over.” Toby admits that it’s a catchy slogan that will give Bartlet a bump in the polls, but he’s sickened at the thought of disparaging the federal machine solely to score political points. “Government can be a place where people come together and where no one gets left behind,” he pleads, and as string music swells to support the truth of his words, Bartlet turns to Josh Lyman and asks him what he thinks. Josh considers briefly, then answers, “I make it a point never to disagree with Toby when he’s right.”

March Madness, too, is a place where (or at least a time when) people come together. Pools are illegally filled out, Internet traffic booms, productivity stalls, and across the nation the conversation turns to whether Gonzaga really deserved a #1 seed, or whether Bucknell can flip the script on Butler. But while the era of big government may not be over, the era of top-tier dominance in college basketball is assuredly extinct. With the game’s most talented players fleeing for the NBA after a single season, collegiate teams struggle to build any sort of chemistry, as frustrated coaches ultimately allow scheme and strategy to yield to on-floor talent. (This also might explain why most close games are invariably decided by either (a) free-throw shooting, or (b) a final possession in which the team’s best player dribbles for 25 seconds, then heaves up a step-back, off-balance three-pointer.) Setting aside Gonzaga (a team with its own unique set of question marks), every legitimate contender for the 2013 title has lost at least five games. There’s just no such thing as an elite team anymore. Read More

Read more

Oscars Analysis 2012: Show recap

Jeremy BeckOscars

Writing a post-Oscars recap always feels a bit odd, as the Manifesto’s area of expertise is not the telecast itself. (Of course, given the success rate of my predictions this year, it’s questionable whether the Manifesto has any area of expertise. No matter.) So if you’re looking for analysis on just how adorable Quvenzhané Wallis looked, or whether Kristen Stewart was hammered (nope, she just had a broken foot), or the awesomeness of Anne Hathaway’s nipples, you’ll find plenty of fodder elsewhere on the web.

I do, however, want to comment briefly on Seth MacFarlane’s turn as host. From the beginning, MacFarlane made it clear that he knew he was an outsider (“It’s an honor that everyone else said no”), and a prolonged skit with William Shatner – partly painful, partly very funny, particularly the “Flight in sock puppets” bit – instantly established his sheepish, near-apologetic demeanor. In the era of instant micro-analysis and trends on Twitter, where a rabid online audience will ravenously seize on the latest mishap or malfunction, the hosting gig at the Oscars is virtually predetermined for failure. MacFarlane seemed amusingly resigned to that fate from the get-go, with Shatner displaying fake screenshots from the future that read, “MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever”. It’s the sort of self-insulating shtick that can come off as preemptively defensive, but it showcased a cute self-awareness in which MacFarlane acknowledged that he was swimming over his head. Read More

Read more

Oscars Analysis 2012: Prediction roundup

Jeremy BeckOscars

For your annotated pleasure, below are the Manifesto’s official predictions for the 85th Academy Awards. I strongly recommend printing the list out and following it while watching tonight’s telecast – it will allow you to make fun of me that much more quickly when these predictions turn to dust.

One note: I’m changing my prediction for Best Adapted Screenplay from Lincoln to Argo. I made my initial pick way back on January 27, just after Argo had won at the Producers’ Guild and before its momentum really got rolling. Since then, the movie has cleaned up everything in sight, including a critical win with the Writers’ Guild, which has correctly forecast seven of the past eight Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay. I still think Tony Kushner’s more visible screenwriting has a chance to take home the gold, but I’d be foolish not to back Argo at this point.

On to the picks, organized by level of confidence. Remember, I’m omitting the three short categories because I’m as knowledgeable about them as I am about cooking. Read More

Read more