Best of Fest: Los Angeles Film Festival 2012

BEST OF FEST 2012 LAFF:
1. It’s a Disaster – Dir. Todd Berger (US)
2. The Banishment – Dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev (Russia)
3. Sister – Dir. Ursula Meier (Switzerland/France)
4. The Breaking Point – Dir. Michael Curtiz (US)
5. Four – Dir. Joshua Sanchez (US)
6. Neighboring Sounds – Dir. Kleber Mendonca Filho (Brazil)
7. Gayby – Dir. Jonathan Lisecki (US)
8. Call Me Kuchu – Dir. Katherine Fairfax Wright & Malika Zouhali-Worrall
(US/Uganda)
9. Bear – Dir. Nash Edgerton (Australia)
10. Easy Money – Dir. Daniel Espinosa (Sweden)

Best of the Rest:
Teddy Bear – Dir. Mads Matthiesen (Denmark)
The Queen of Versaille – Dir. Lauren Greenfield (US)
Unforgiveable – Dir. Andre Techine (France)
Dead Man’s Burden – Dir. Jared Moshe (US)


Of Interest:
Searching For Sugar Man – Dir. Malik Bendjelloul – Sweden/UK
To Rome With Love – Dir. Woody Allen (US)


Worst:
Crazy & Thief – Dir. Cory McAbee (US)
People Like Us – Dir. Alex Kurtzman (US)
Pincus – Dir. David Fenster (US)


Already Seen:
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Sundance 2012
Middle of Nowhere – Sundance 2012
Bunohan – TIFF 2011
Killer Joe – TIFF 2011
LUV – Sundance 2012
Robot and Frank – Sundance 2012

Out of the Past: The Month In Film, May 2012

Top 10:
10. Heart of Glass (1976) Dir. Werner Herzog – West Germany
9. Lake of Fire (2006) Dir. Tony Kaye – US
8. Death Watch (1980) Dir. Bertrand Tavernier – France/West Germany
7. Thirteen Women (1932) Dir. George Archainbaud – US
6. Nobody Knows (2004) Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda – Japan
5. A Time To Love and a Time to Die (1958) Dir. Douglas Sirk – US
4. Mysteries Of Lisbon (2010) Dir. Raul Ruiz – Portugal
3. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) Dir. David Lean – UK
2. Amelie (2001) Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet – France
1. The Baby of Macon (1993) Dir. Peter Greenaway – UK/France


Recommended:
Anything For Her (2008) Dir. Fred Cavaye – France
Flowers In the Attic (1987) Dir. Jeffrey Bloom – US
Eye of the Devil (1966) Dir. J. Lee Thompson – US
Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) Dir. Jack Arnold – US
This Happy Breed (1944) Dir. David Lean – UK
Battle In Heaven (2005) Dir. Carlos Reygadas – Mexico


Of Interest:
Cry Wolf (1947) Dir. Peter Godfrey – US
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) Dir. Brad Furman – US
The Woman In Red (1935) Dir. Robert Florey – US
Untamed (1929) Dir. Jack Conway – US
Presumed Innocent (1990) Dir. Alan J. Pakula – US


Theatrical Screenings:
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) Dir. Wes Anderson – US 10/10
Natural Selection (2011) Dir. Robbie Pickering – US 10/10
Elena (2011) Dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev – Russia 10/10
Sleepless Night (2011) Dir. Frederic Jardin – France 10/10
Lovely Molly (2011) Dir. Eduardo Sanchez – US 9/10
God Bless America (2011) Dir. Bobcat Goldthwait – US 8/10
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2011) Dir. Panos Cosmatos – Canada 8/10
5 Broken Cameras (2012) Dir. Emad Burnat & Guy Davidi – Palestine 7/10
360 (2011) Dir. Fernando Meirelles – UK 7/10
Snow White & the Huntsman (2012) Dir. Rupert Sanders – US 6/10
Dark Shadows (2011) Dir. Tim Burton – US 6/10
The Perfect Family (2011) Dir. Anne Renton – US 6/10
The Intouchables (2012) Dir. Olivier Nakache & Eric Toldeano – France 5/10
Mighty Fine (2012) Dir. Debbie Goodstein – US 4/10
Wallander: The Revenge (2009) Dir. Charlotte Brandstrom – Sweden 4/10
A Little Bit of Heaven (2011) Dir. Nicole Kassel – US 3/10
Mother’s Day (2010) Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman – US 1/10
John Carter (2012) Dir. Andrew Stanton – US 1/10
The Tortured (2010) Dir. Robert Lieberman – US 0/10


The Banal:
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011) Dir. Todd Strauss-Schulson – US
My Name is Khan (2010) Dir. Karan Johar – India
Ghost Rider (2007) Dir. Mark Steven Johnson – US
Underworld: Awakening (2012) Dir. Mans Marlind & Bjorn Stein – US
Just Go With It (2011) Dir. Dennis Dugan – US
The Muppets (2011) Dir. James Bobin – US
Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (2012) Dir. Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim – US
Mum & Dad (2008) Dir. Steven Sheil – UK
The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) Dir. Roger Corman – US


Rewatched:
Mommie Dearest (1981) Dir. Frank Perry – US
Suspiria (1977) Dir. Dario Argento – Italy
Young Adult (2011) Dir. Jason Reitman – US
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011) Dir. Tom Six – Netherlands/UK


Cess Pool Cinema:
Joyful Noise (2012) Dir. Todd Graff – US
Gone (2012) Dir. Heitor Dhelia – US