The Hot Shots of 2012

As the year comes to a close, let's take a look at the people who had a successful or exciting year. The list is in alphabetical order.

Ben Affleck
Directing his third movie, Affleck chose a movie with a bigger scope and more locations than his two Boston-set crime thrillers. And he pulled it off quite well with a suspenseful but rather humorous political thriller/Hollywood satire. And with universal critical acclaim and strong box office returns, Affleck is proving that he is a directorial talent with a distinctive voice and staying power. 2012 was a good year for Affleck as he finds himself at the forefront of the 2012 Oscar race and deservedly so.

Jessica Chastain
She was on the list last year and again she earned a spot on this year's list. Chastain, fresh off her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Help last year, showed a different side with a comic voice performance in the animated hit Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and then wowwed audiences with an acclaimed performance in Lawless. But her biggest achievement this year is again being at the forefront of the Oscar race with Zero Dark Thirty but this time her celebrated performance is the frontrunner to win Best Actress.

Zooey Deschanel and the cast of New Girl
Last year, I was impressed with Deschanel's work on New Girl. This year, with episodes like "Menzies," "Eggs," and "Santa" as well as many of the late season 1 episodes earlier this year, Deschanel proved that she is a brilliant comedian who effortlessly captures the existential crises of the late 20s set. But New Girl has turned into one of the best ensembles on TV as each cast member (Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone, Jake Johnson and Lamorne Morris) brings a fresh comic perspective to the show. New Girl was a star vehicle that morphed into a star-driven ensemble and it's become one of the best comedies for that reason.

Lena Dunham
As the creator, star, writer, director and producer of the HBO smash Girls, Dunham emerged as one of 2012's most intriguing talents. While her show is polarizing, there's no denying that it has a distinctive voice and point of view. With a film in the Criterion Collection and 4 Emmy nominations to her belt, Dunham haa risen out of nowhere and become one of the year's most interesting success stories.

Anne Hathaway
When Anne Hathaway was announced as playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's 3rd and final Batman film, the news was met with skepticism. She was too nice, too brainy for the slinky role. But girlfriend proved them wrong, garnering almost universal praise for her layered, funny and sexy portrayal as a woman torn between herself and the greater good. Hathaway is also getting acclaim for her role as Fantine in Les Miserables. Her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," first heard in the teaser trailer, already earmarked her for an Oscar nomination and she may be the frontrunner to win. Considering she began 2011 being ridiculed for her Oscar hosting gig, Hathaway turned it all around for herself in 2012.

Abraham Lincoln
The man died 147 years ago and yet he is still a topic of discussion. Considering his achievements as the 16th President, that is not really surprising. But while most Presidents get a biopic once in a while or an HBO miniseries every now and then, Lincoln was the subject of not one, but two mainstream movies. And both are wildly different. One envisioned Lincoln as a determined vampire hunter (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and the other was one of the prestige pictures of 2012 and a frontrunner for most of the major Academy Awards.

Seth Macfarlane
Family Guy celebrated its 200th episode. Ted broke box office records for R-rated comedies. And he was asked to host the 2013 Oscars. It's been an incredible year for voice actor/show creator/director Seth Macfarlane, who's finally getting to shine for himself and not just for his talents as a voice actor. It's no surprise that his shows and movie were so popular (they're funny in a way that's hard to pull off--sweet, raunchy and just on the right side of off-color). But Macfarlane will be a great Oscar host because he both loves and is able to parody the best and worst of pop culture.

Matthew McConaughey 
No one really expected McConaughey to have a career resurrection but his reemergence as a viable actor capable of surprising performances was one of the best surprises of the year. With Bernie, Killer Joe and Magic Mike, McConaughey delivered a trio of varied, nuanced acting jobs that show he's more than a bland romantc-comedy hero. I especially liked him in Magic Mike, where he parodies his sunshine, carefree persona but shows a hint of danger and menace. Killer Joe is a bizarre trailer-park neonoir and he does great, intimidating work. I hope McConaughey keeps up the good work in 2013 and continues to surprise his audience.

Channing Tatum
The ChanMan released 5 movies this year. Three of which, The Vow, 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike, grossed over $100 million dollars at the box office. In an era where the box office draw of the A-list celebrity has come into doubt, Tatum proved them all wrong. Each of those hit movies played to a specific target audience and, more impressively, each had some crossover appeal. The common denominator is Tatum himself, a male sex symbol who has been accepted by both men and women. Only time will tell if the ChanMan's power at the box office will continue, but I have no doubts.

Joss Whedon and the Avengers team
Starting with Iron Man in 2008, the Marvel film universe has been rebooting itself with a new superhero movie every year or so. And it all led up to the magnum opus, The Avengers, which would feature everyone from Iron Man to Hawkeye. While pre-release buzz was high, no one could expect that The Avengers would be the mammoth box office hit it was. Of course writer/director/geek god Joss Whedon should get most credit. Wrangling diverse but powerful actors Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner,Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg and their respective screen personas would have been tough but Whedon pulled it off. The Avengers is a fun, funny, exciting, and very cool superhero movie and rightly the highest grossing movie of the year.

Those are picks for the hot shots of 2012. What are yours?

The Trouble with 'Hitchcock': A Rear Window View of Hollywood's Most Notorious Psycho

Based on the book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by film critic/author Stephen Rebello, Hitchcock is the narrative feature debut by Emmy-winning documentarian Sacha Gervasi. The biopic stars Anthony Hopkins as the Master of Suspense and Helen Mirren as his wife and collaborator Alma Reville and the movie focuses on how the making of Psycho caused a major strain on their relationship.

The film has a large supporting cast of recognizable names including Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, Toni Collette as Hitch's assistant Peggy Robertson, Jessica Biel as Vera Miles, Danny Huston as Strangers on a Train screenwriter Whitfield Cook, Michael Stuhlberg as Hitch's agent Lew Wasserman, James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins, Kurtwood Smith as MPAA director Geoffrey Shurlock and Ralph Macchio as Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano. 

After the success of North by Northwest, Hitchcock was asked by a pesky reporter if he should quit while he was ahead. Desperate to prove he's still relevant, Hitchcock finds the ghastly pulp novel Psycho and decides to make that his next project. His circle of friends and colleagues balk at the idea but Hitchcock ignores them and starts setting up the production. Hitchcock casts America's sweetheart Janet Leigh, teen heartthrob Anthony Perkins and no-nonsense Vera Miles in the lead roles. He battles the censors for various graphic details in the book and battles his own health issues. Meanwhile, Alma furthers her friendship/writing partnership with Whitfield Cook both out of jealousy over Hitchcock's admirations for his icy blondes and out of a desire to carve out her own creative identity. Alma's new friendship ignites jealousy in Hitch and the two start to reevaluate their place in each other's lives.

I knew going in that Hitchcock was going to focus more on the Hitch and Alma love story. It's a love story that deserves to be told. The two of them were partners and collaborators, amazingly in tune with each other both behind the camera and at home. But the trouble with Hitchcock is that Alma's partnership with Cook isn't particularly interesting. Danny Huston plays Cook as the stereotypical rascal who hits on married women by being disingenuously charming and Mirren plays Alma Reville as being too smart to fall for such nonsense. So basically there's no tension or suspense because at the end of the day, this friendship doesn't stand a chance of being turned into an affair.

The other trouble with Hitchcock is that Gervasi and screenwriter John J. McLaughlin chose to feature Hitchcock having imaginary conversations with the serial killer who inspired Norman Bates, Ed Gein (Michel Wincott, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). These scenes are utterly pointless because they depict Hitchcock as some sort of sexually-repressed psychopath (like Gein and Bates). It's too on the nose to be believable (like Hitch having a peep hole into an actress's dressing room) and it contradicts the rest of the film's depiction of Hitch as a determined but maybe a little mad genius.

Having said that, however, Hitchcock is an amazingly strong movie when it focuses on the making of Psycho. It's somewhat rewarding to see Hitch and Alma fight for what they believe in and put everything on the line for this passion project. We know Psycho goes on to become a game-changer in Hollywood and Hitch's most recognizable film. It's fun to see his naysayers doubt him, knowing that Hitch always knows what's right when it comes to filmmaking.

I already mentioned that this film has an incredible supporting cast. Scarlett Johansson plays Janet Leigh with respect and affection, portraying the Oscar-nominated actress as warm, funny and extremely professional. There are a lot of great stories about her in Rebello's commentary on the Psycho DVD and they made it into the movie. I also liked Jessica Biel's performance as Vera Miles. Miles and Hitch shared a frosty relationship and it's fun to watch Biel and Hopkins sniping at each other. James D'Arcy looks just like Anthony Perkins and has his nervous energy. There's a joke where Perkins, one of Hollywood's many closeted actors, says he liked both Rope and Strangers on a Train which are known to be Hitchcock's two gay films. It's the best of the in-jokes for Hitchcock fans. Toni Collette and Michael Stuhlberg are terrific as Hitch's two biggest supporters but I wish more time had been allotted for their screen time.

Stars Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren are such legendary actors that they don't need much praise. Hopkins is wonderfully droll and sarcastic as Hitchcock, giving the man a zesty love of cinema and its audiences. Helen Mirren also offers a layered, lived-in performance of a woman questioning her own self-worth.

Hitchcock isn't perfect. Gervasi's direction can be a little drab and his documentarian style doesn't really suit Hitchcock's love of creative cinematic techniques. The script is witty and emotionally honest for the most part, but some of the scenes fall flat (especially the Cook and Gein scenes). But if you can look past that and if you love movies about movies, then Hitchcock is a small but rather enjoyable film about the making of one of the landmark achievements of American cinema.

As a reminder, here's my world-famous ratings system:
1. Buy it on Blu-Ray (must see ASAP)
2. Redbox the DVD (highly recommended)
3. Save it for HBO (deserves commercial-free viewing)
4. Catch it on TBS (doesn't deserve commercial-free viewing)
5. Don't touch it with a 10 foot pole (speaks for itself)

As for Hitchcock, I think you should Redbox the DVD.