
Top 20… err 23 movies of 2012 part 1
#’s 21-16
As the year comes to a close the steady stream of “best of the year” lists have already started and will continue well into the first part of 2013. We in the film criticism business are not exempt in this practice; in fact a lot of the most read and regarded critics will be adding their opinion to the arena or already have. While this critic is still relatively new to the game and hardly expecting to battle it out with the heavy weights, my opinion is humbly offered regardless. The list will be made up of films seen in the calendar year of 2012, whether during a regular theatrical release or the film festival circuit.
Just a quick preface, there will be a handful of films that will not appear on this list simply due to the lack of being able to see them before this list was made. These include critical favorites Argo, The Imposter, Lincoln, Life of Pi and The Impossible. Now on to the list.
#21 – [Tie] My Father and the Man in Black and Ping Pong (more…)
January 2, 2013 | Categories: Editorials, Lists | Tags: Amour, Barbara, Best Movies of 2012, Chronicle, Film criticism, Graceland, Josh Trank, Michael Haneke, My Father and the Man in Black, Nina Hoss, Ping Pong, Ruby Sparks | 2 Comments

The winner of the Silver Bear for best direction at the 2102 Venice Film Festival and Germany’s entrant for the best foreign language film Oscar this year, Christian Petzold’s Barbara starts an exclusive run at the Tiff Bell Lightbox in Toronto and select theaters across Canada on Friday Dec 28. The story of a disgraced nurse in early 1980’s East Germany features another very strong performance from the emerging powerhouse that is Nina Hoss. A relative unknown to the majority of North American audiences, Petzold’s muse (she has starred in 5 of his productions) may finally breakthrough with this strong and intimate portrayal of a woman forced to make a life altering decision and decide between following her head or her heart.
Barbara
Starring: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Mark Waschke and Rainer Bock
Written and Directed by Christian Petzold
After being removed from a prestigious medical post in East Berlin and reassigned to an underfunded (more…)
December 29, 2012 | Categories: Reviews, Theatrical | Tags: Christian Petzold, East Germany, Germany, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Mark Waschke, Nina Hoss, Oscar, Rainer Bock, Ronald Zehrfeld, Silver Bear, Tiff Bell Lightbox, Venice Film Festival | 5 Comments