In a slightly-too-late mad dash to see 2012’s best films, we’ve been slashing and burning our way through the list of Rotten Tomatoes’ most praised of the year. In the last few days we’ve watched four films (in addition to The Loved Ones and The Angels’ Share):

• Monsieur Lazhar (imdb | rotten tomatoes) came out quite a while ago — it was nominated for a 2012 Oscar — but we hadn’t seen it yet. That’s a shame — it was a beautiful film, even if the subject matter was tragic. My sister-in-law, and everyone I know who became a teacher, really should watch it.
• Rian Johnson is on the list of directors I will always make time for, and such was the case with Looper (imdb | rotten tomatoes). In fact I was mad at myself for not seeing it in theatres. Johnson’s ability to blend two genres — sci-fi and western, in this case — is always fun to watch, and the film just looked incredible. All the leads were good, but I think I enjoyed the supporting parts of Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano, and Garrett Dillahunt the most.
• The Queen Of Versailles (imdb | rotten tomatoes) made me angry becausejesusfuckingchrist WHO NEEDS A NINETY GODDAMN THOUSAND FOOT MANSION ANYWAY??!?!!??!? Oy.
• Compliance (imdb | rotten tomatoes) made me really tense and unsettled, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen. Little wonder it had audiences so riled at Sundance…I really wanted to yell at the screen. A lot. People who can’t separate actors from the characters they play are likely to throttle co-lead Ann Down if they ever meet her in person.

We still have to see Moonrise Kingdom, Bernie, Skyfall, Lincoln, Django Unchained, Life Of Pi (maybe; Nellie’s dubious), and documentaries like This Is Not a Film, The Invisible War, Chasing Ice, and The Central Park Five to feel like we’ve really covered the best of the year. Gotta get a move on!

.:.

Photo by Tricia Wang 王圣捷, used under Creative Commons license