Best of 2012 Performance by an Actress: Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty"

"Who are you?" Asks C.I.A. Director James Gandolfini. "I'm the motherfucker that found this place sir", answers Maya played by Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty." This little piece of dialogue came out of nowhere in a film that plays more like a sombre bit of hard boiled investigation. "Zero Dark Thirty" is fascinating in the way it pulls out the layers in the true life account of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. It sounds more like it's coming from an action movie than in a film which is probably the most controversial film of the year based on its depiction of torture. I'm not meant to debate the topic of torture in the film, perhaps I will keep that for another entry, this is to focus on the anchor of this film, and that is Jessica Chastain.

As with most procedural dramas of this nature, we are given the person who lets us follow the action and pick up clues where ever they see it. Think of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in "All the Presidents Men", or Jake Gyllanhaal in "Zodiac". These people are the ones who are obsessed with a mystery that engulfs their whole lives, and so it is with Chastain's C.I.A. analyst Maya.

We don't learn much of who Maya is, she isn't given a backstory really, other than a brief dinner sequence where she spares time out of her hunt to indulge in some small talk with one of her colleagues, but even that is interrupted by a bomb that goes off in the restaurant. Maya is defined by her job, her pursuit of Osama Bin Laden, it becomes her life, so much so that after she experiences a few setbacks and deaths of friends and colleagues, it becomes more of a personal vendetta.

There is a moment late in the movie, where Maya seems to be the only one still hell bent on finding Bin Laden, while the rest of the world seems to have moved on. She becomes more and more isolated but still being a pain in the ass to her higher bosses.

We watch Maya all the way through finally finding Bin Laden and when they have actually found him, the film takes an unexpected turn and focuses on the team who actually bring him down. Maya is left at the sidelines as a spectator, but she is given her moment of satisfaction when she gets to see the body.

"Zero Dark Thirty" was a film I had to ease into when I saw it. At first, I felt the torture scenes at the beginning were obligatory and not even offensive. I dared it to show me something I hadn't see before, and I think it eventually did with the help of Maya, she's the rock of the film, the emotional connection we get. It's difficult, at least for me to feel any emotional connection with a film that is more or less procedural, I like a good investigation as much as the next person, but it's the special ones that make you feel you've been through something with someone else, that's what Chastain does in "Zero Dark Thirty", and that's why I think it's the best female performance of the year.

It was a great year for women in film this year, I could've easily added Chastain's main Oscar competition Jennifer Lawrence who has shown just what a great actress she is by giving great performances in both "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Hunger Games". I would also mention Michelle Williams as an unconventional modern women who is tempted to cheat on her husband in "Take this Waltz", Rachel Weiz giving perhaps what is her best performance as a woman who attempts suicide after leaving her husband for a young man in the army in the dreamy "The Deep Blue Sea", and I'll give props to young Quevanzhane Wallis as Hushpuppy, a ten year old girl who acts and looks as if she has seen it all in "The Beasts of the Southern Wild". I regret to inform readers, I have not seen the films of Oscar nominees Naomi Watts( The Impossible) and Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) so I can't give my opinion of their performances, but despite missing them, I would say not a bad year for women in film.

Best of 2012 Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken in Seven Psychopaths

It had to be Christopher Walken, it had to be. "Seven Psychopaths" is a brilliant film, and the heart of it lies in the performance of Christopher Walken. As Hans, the partner of Billy (Sam Rockwell) who's cockeyed plan of stealing people's dogs and returning them for the reward money gets them into trouble with a local mob man (Woody Harrelson), Walken brings his usual quirky sense of humour to the role, but also a certain melancholy. Also like my pick for best supporting actress Sarah Silverman, Walken's character gets the final word on what the movie is all about. In one of the most poignant scenes I've seen all year, you don't have to look further than Hans' speech into Marty's (Colin Farrell) tape recorder. That's all I'm going to say because I don't want to spoil it, but it was that moment where to me the film went from good to great.

"Seven Psychopaths" has been somewhat written off as some meta-joke about a screenwriter (Farrell) suffering from writer's block when he's writing a movie entitled "Seven Psychopaths". Yet the film goes much further than the meta-joke trappings it sets itself up for.

I believe the movie has much to say about violence both in movies and in life in general and how we are affected by it. "Seven Psychopaths" is looking for a silver lining about violence and it comes from Hans. We learn about Hans' past and it is as tragic as one can get, but he does get his moment of grace, which is the moment of grace for the film. The film is darkly comic, yet I came out of it with a life affirming attitude and it's because of Walken's performance.

The very, very, very close runner up would be Walken's co-star Sam Rockwell who gave probably the funniest performance of the year, and who wouldn't give anything to see him finally get a nomination for something. In fact I will say it is a shame neither Walken or Rockwell were nominated for this film.

But let's move on, there were a lot of great supporting performances this year, I would say all of the best supporting actor nominees are worthy of their nominations even if they couldn't make room for Walken and Rockwell. Christoph Waltz completely stole the show in "Django Unchained", and most of my favorite scenes in "Lincoln" usually included Tommy Lee Jones. Robert De Niro was brilliantly understated in "Silver Linings Playbook" and reminds us why he is such a great actor. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the second half of the greatest acting scene of the year in "The Master", and even though I don't think Alan Arkin has much to do in "Argo" other than give the movie it's few humorous moments, he's the perfect man for the job.

Other supporting actors that gave memorable performances this year would be Bruce Willis both in "Moonrise Kingdom", and "Looper" showing that he's one of the few action heroes who have depth, Also from "Moonrise Kingdom", I would add Edward Norton's loyal scout leader, and Bill Murray's concerned parent. Plus I would add Matthew McConaughey's prosecuting attorney in "Bernie" was a pleasant surprise, and it's just a delight to see John Goodman show up in both "Argo" and "Flight" doing his thing, rock on John, rock on.

Best of 2012 Supporting Actress: Sarah Silverman in Take this Waltz

2012 for me was a great year for supporting roles, so much so that I had to add a category to this years Best of...celebration. There were often times supporting performances were highlights of entire movies, but the best ones were the ones that did what they were designed to do: support the film.

As far as supporting actresses go, we got our full of great ones. Just off the top of my head I would name such Oscar nominees as Amy Adams in "The Master", Sally Field in "Lincoln", and Jackie Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook" all of whom had worthy performances. I thought Anne Hathaway was nominated for the wrong film, her Selina Kyle in "The Dark Knight Rises" was highly entertaining and one of the bright spots in that film. Other contenders for me would be Shirley MacLaine as the domineering rich widow in "Bernie" and Nadine Velazquez as the drug addict who turns her life around in "Flight".

But my choice for the best supporting performance is probably the one that surprised me the most this year, and that came from Sarah Silverman in "Take this Waltz". I'm actually not sure I have seen a film that has featured Silverman before, and if I have, the name of any such film eludes me at the moment. However I have seen some of her stand-up and parts of her television series, "The Sarah Silverman Show". A lot of what she did impressed me, but again, I guess I never really gave her much notice.

But in "Take this Waltz" which is a far more interesting and complicated film than most people gave it credit for, Silverman, for my money gets the most sympathetic role as the recovering alcoholic sister in-law to Michelle Williams' lead character Margot. The film is very much Margot's story as a woman who is happily married and in love with her stable, nice and dependable husband (Seth Rogan) but fantasizes about an extra marital affair with her new neighbour (Luke Kirby) Silverman's character Geraldine is also married to a man we don't really get to know in the film, but by the end of it we get an understanding that he has no doubt seen her at her worst and continues to stick by her even if she relapses.

Geraldine is the perfect counterpoint for a character like Margot, in fact she needs her in a way Margot probably doesn't know. I felt Geraldine was a real person, and Silverman never overplays the idea of being a recovering alcoholic even in the inevitable relapse scene where she could've gone overboard. Silverman gives Geraldine an anger inside of her which she represses for most of the film, and we root for her to make the right choice and hope she does, just as it is with Margot and her somewhat more selfish and shallow choice of either staying with her husband or giving it up for an exciting fling.

The film shows that even with choices that should seem obvious as to which is right and which is wrong, life is never that clean cut.

Silverman's character gets the final word to what the film is all about, that we always feel like there's a piece that is missing in our life, that's just something you have to accept.

Silverman's character is integral in understanding the whole ideas of what "Take this Waltz" is all about, and because she creates such an honest and true character is why I think she was the best female supporting performance from last year. Too bad the Academy didn't take notice.

Best Old Film of 2012: M. Hulot's Holiday

We start off the Best of 2012 celebration with a look back at some of the old films that were new to me of last year. I am a self-proclaimed movie collector, my father who has seen my collection has said on more than one occasion that I could open my own film store, and perhaps I will if it weren't for my some what compulsive desire to keep my films all to my self. I have this paranoia that if I lend out my films to anyone, they will not get returned, and there has been a presidense set, I had to re-purchase two films that were lost by lending them out. But that is neither here nor there, plus this is supposed to be a celebration!

My collection of films has grown tremendously over last year as I continue my search for classics or just simple titles that I have always been curious about and simply needed to own.

There have been a lot of great movies that were new to me from last year, among them were Busby Berkley musicals such as "42nd Street", "Dames" and especially "Footlight Parade", the Joan Crawford classic noir "Possession", Douglas Sirk's 50s melodrama "Imitation of Life", John Carpenter's horror sci-fi "The Thing", Robert Altman's television movie "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial", D.W. Griffith's early silent films "Intolerance", and "Broken Blossoms", Fritz Lang's newly restored silent masterpiece in two parts "Die Nibelungen", and one of the best Hollywood weepies I've ever seen King Vidor's "The Champ" with Wallace Beery's Oscar winning role as a drunk boxer and Jackie Cooper in one of the best child performances ever put on screen as his son who looks out for him.

There was something about these films I loved, and I probably could make an alternate top ten list with all of them, and was difficult trying to figure out which one I would pick as my favorite, but out of all of them, the one that remained the most interesting, and the one I would want to revisit right away would be Jacques Tati's 1953 comedy "M. Hulot's Holiday".

Jacques Tati was a filmmaker who didn't make a lot of films, I believe only six, I have only seen one other of his films, the brilliant "Playtime", which is a comedy labyrinth where Tati created a whole high tech city for himself to play in and make his observations on getting lost in the fast paced technologically advanced modern world. I have seen "Playtime" at least four times now, and I it always surprises me with its comic invention. One thing about it though that remained a mystery to me was the M. Hulot character that Tati played in the film.

Not knowing much about the cultural impact Tati's character had in the context of film, "Playtime" left me curious about who this Hulot fellow was all about. Hulot actually isn't very prominent in the grand scheme of "Playtime", one reason was because by that time, Tati was perhaps not interested in showing off the character as much anymore, and not wanting him to get in the way of his more ambitious ideas.

"M. Hulot's Holiday" however was the first time Tati played the character, and even though he doesn't dominate every scene like other screen comedians might do, he is no doubt the star. The film plays like a bunch of comedic vignettes all strung together through the characters and situations Hulot meets and gets into while on holiday at a seaside resort.

Tati was a student of the silent comedy of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel and Hardy, he makes the film almost completely silent. There is dialogue said, but most of it is entirely inconsequential. Hulot is a comic character, but unlike Keaton and Chaplin, he seems more like an observer who just happens to occasionally get himself into trouble. While Hulot does provide most of the gags, he doesn't instigate all of them. Tati seemed to be more interested in the world itself and the people in it, he seemed to find humour in everyday things.

The film is not as ambitious as "Playtime", but it's just as inventive, this is one of the great comedy films, and Jacques Tati was one of the great comic filmmakers, I will probably get more in depth with "M Hulot's Holiday" as I revisit it, but I would say it's the best old film I saw last year just for the fact that it's so much one of a kind much like its creator.

FEBRUARY: CELEBRATING THE BEST OF 2012 PLUS THE OSCARS

Once again, Jeremy and the Movies will dedicate the month of February as a look back to the best that film had to offer in 2012 according to me. This is the time for me to indulge in what I think are the best films, and performances over the past year. Most movie critics have already done away with their ten best lists last December, but I always feel the need to play catch up with some of the films that haven't hit my humble Red Deer home yet.

For those of you familiar with my Best of formula, I like to break it down in categories, plus I HAVE A FEW NEW CATEGORIES THIS YEAR.

The run-down, or should I say the FUN-DOWN will go as follows, BEST MALE PERFORMANCE, BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE, BEST MALE SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, BEST FEMALE SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE, 2012's MVP, BEST MOVIE MOMENTS OF 2012, and finally THE ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO DOUBT ABOUT IT 10 BEST FILMS OF 2012!.

This will be the first time I'm adding in supporting performances this year, as I was looking into it, I found that some of my favorite performances I had seen were mostly in the supporting category, so why not give them their due.

The other category that is brand new, will be BEST OLD MOVIE WHICH I HAD NOT SEEN BEFORE, this is a movie that was not originally released in 2012, but I had not seen before last year.

All of my categories will be announced prior to the big Oscar night, on February 24th, plus I will also give a run down of the nominees and what I think should take home the big prize!

So I sure hope that you join me in this month of movie celebration! Stay Tuned!

An Open Letter to Marilyn Monroe

Dear Miss Monroe

Basically I'm in love with you, but you've probably heard that before. Granted, I never met you, you died 22 years before I was born, and I know nothing about you other than what I've seen from the movies you were in, and the very public accounts of your rather tragic and short life.

But get this Miss Monroe, I am a lover of movies, I have been for as long as I remember, if I count the times I've been in love in real life over the times I've been in love with the movies, then the movies would win every

time. And personally I don't find anything wrong with that, I have my both of my feet planted firmly in reality, I know of the hardships, the disappointments, the downright cold loneliness the real world can bring, I am fully aware of its imperfections, but then someone like you can come along and show me through the movies that life can be beautiful.

I have seen most of your films Miss Monroe, right from the very beginning where you were George Sanders' guest in "All About Eve", and Louis Calhern's mole in "The Asphalt Jungle". Your appearances were brief, but left us wanting to know more about you. Your small parts became bigger, you were a secretary in "Monkey Business", going for a joyride with scientist Cary Grant who had just stumbled upon a miracle serum to make him more youthful (Perhaps you were the true fountain of youth for him). Looking at that film again, it's a shame you weren't pared again with Grant, I could almost imagine you as Grace Kelly's somewhat less refined and exciting younger sister in "To Catch a Thief".

Your big break was with "Gentleman Prefer Blondes", playing a golddigger along with best gal pal Jane Russel. There are no apologies for your character, largely because she is so upfront about what she wants, and while it's true you may have ushered in a new "Dumb Blonde" movement with your role, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know you were in on the joke, how you could not be, the performance is full of many nuances and perfectly timed moments, all comic actresses should take note.

Your star climbed higher with "How to Marry a Millionaire", a stuffy, and sometimes static comedy that seemed to be getting used to its Cinemascope surroundings. The movie died, when you or William Powell weren't on screen. You were playing the foolish blonde yet again, this one was embarrassed to be seen in public without her glasses, yet when they weren't on, she was blind as a bat, a simple overdone premise, but I must admit, the highlight was of you walking into a wall, but you did it with such poise, I figured this is a girl I could go for.

By the time "The Seven Year Itch" came around, you were Marilyn in full form, of course your character was only known as "The Girl", it was obvious to us who you were supposed to be. In that film, more than any other, you were the ideal Marilyn, everyone wanted you to be, sexy, funny, sweet, kind, and bubbly. The irony of that film is the censors completely cut out the idea that you were supposed to have an affair with a married middle aged man, so you were left as more of a tease for the audience, someone who could not be touched despite your best efforts.

For those early films Marilyn, you exuded sex, it was just natural as can be coming from you, and I think that comes from your awareness of the camera, and your own influence on it. You knew what the camera could do, you were photographed more times than any other movie star, even in news footage, there was no denying the fantasy you embodied. You probably didn't want that type of attention all of the time, and it's probably why your real acting abilities weren't taken seriously, you became a cardboard image for people to ogle, to them you may have just as well have been an empty shell.

After "Seven Year Itch", you had exhausted the Marilyn image enough, you had more to prove, and to express, you studied with Lee Strasberg in the Actor's Studio, and came back to movies two years later with "Bus Stop" which was like night and day. This time, you weren't Marilyn, but a fully formed character, one who was a bit lost, confused, and hurt by the real world, and in comes a naive brute of a cowboy who falls in love with you at first sight. You don't know what to make of it, he harasses you, keeps you, even lassos you into not getting away. You try to get away, but what you don't realize is this is a man, albiet a bit rough around the edges who will treat you like the Angel you deserve to be.

This was a new dawn of Marilyn, the type who's vulnerable, and hasn't been treated right her whole life. The simple act of the cowboy covering you with his jacket at the end of the film seemed like something you have been waiting for all of your life.

"Bus Stop" showed a vulnerability that would last through the rest of your career, even when you were asked to bring that bombshell image back with your greatest success "Some Like it Hot". As Sugar Cane, the unlucky in love ukelele player, you were the straight person to Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis' cross dressing musicians, but in a film full of slapstick, you offered the film's most poignant moments, when you sing "I Wanna be Loved By You", and "I'm Through with Love", you could always sell a musical number, and if "Some Like it Hot" has any kind of heart, you were it baby.

You were perhaps never more alluring than you were in "Let's Make Love, a silly musical comedy which concentrated too much on Yves Montand trying to make you fall in love with him. Like in your earlier films, you were too often moved to the background, but again the film came alive with your musical numbers, but there was a grown maturity with this character, you looked more sophisticated and savvy, there was almost a feeling of you being more relaxed, like you didn't have anything to prove anymore.

Your final word in film was in John Huston's "The Misfits", where you played the film's conscience, someone who didn't understand why people hurt other people, or hurt themselves. Near the end, there is a long wide shot of you in a dessert valley giving off a primal scream, you broke my heart in that film. You shared the film with Clark Gable, who died soon after, also Montgomery Clift who, like you was a damaged star, he would survive longer than you, but not too long.

You would die a year after "The Misfits" was released, it was too soon, it was as if you were just hitting your stride as a serious actress, perhaps someone who could've ranked with the likes of Brando, and to me that's not too hard to believe.

To those who say you were not that strong of an actress, I don't think were paying attention. You gave your all when you were performing for the camera, you created an image which stood as a work of art, and it was no coincidence, you made it all happen, the camera loved you, and we did too.

Miss Monroe, I will always have a crush on you, the way people who love the movies could. I imagine me being that naive cowboy in "Bus Stop" giving you his coat, or even Monty Clift in "The Misfits", who frees all those horses for you, because those actions seemed like they meant the world to you, and perhaps if you had more of those experiences in your life, you could still be with us.

Jeremy and the Movies Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2013

Well another movie year has come and gone, however, I still have to play catch up with some more films before I unveil my best of 2012. In the mean time, I thought I'd mention a few films that have already gotten me excited about this year. Here are a few movies that will be released in 2013 I can't wait for.

1. Inside Llewyn Davis: For a while there, the Coen Brothers were working steadily, giving us a movie a year from "No Country for Old Men", to "True Grit", along with giving us some of their best films ever. It's been two years now since "True Grit", and it looks like The Coens will return this year with their new film "Inside Llewyn Davis". Not much is known about this film, other than it's loosly based on Greenwich Village 60s folk singer's Dave Van Ronk's memoir "The Mayor of MacDougal Street". As a longtime fan of anything Coen related, I will be waiting in line for this film to be sure.

2.Before Midnight The sequel to Richard Linklater's romantic dramas "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset", with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. I was completely blown away by the first two films after having seen them for the first time about three years ago. After how "Before Sunset" ended which in my mind was perfect, it'll be interesting to see what's in store for these older and perhaps wiser middle aged lovers.

3. To The Wonder Terrence Malick's latest was given a release last year which was mostly limited to a festival run. He is not everyone's cup of tea, but I always find him fascinating even if a bit flawed. I can't wait for this.

4. Only Lovers Left Alive Not sure if I'll be able to see this in movie houses since its director Jim Jarmusch doesn't have movies often shown here. Jarmusch is one of the great indie directors with his "Stranger Than Paradise" as one of my favorite films. I love to see what he has planned next. This one is extra interesting as he plunges into the world of vampires. Knowing Jarmusch this won't be "Twilight".

5. Man of Steel Finally I just have to add my one most anticipated wide release movie of the year. I hold the original "Superman" in high esteem as still the best super hero movie of all time. However I'm intrigued to see what director Zach Snyder has in plan for this version. Plus when has Amy Adams not been good in anything since "Junebug"?