A Geek’s Month in Review: December 2012

What a month! Dividing our time between various countries and cities, we survived another apocalypse, more holidays, and writing the month’s reviews.

This December, we did something different. We’ve already done traditional favourites, Canadian picks, and the unconventional Christmas thing. This year we took the phrase “Yuletide gay” to heart. I focused on CanCon candidates, and Gru took everyone else.

The only downside has been the death of some familiar celebrities: Harry Carey Jr (Back to the Future 3, Gremlins, Knight Rider, Red River, The Searchers, and Tombstone), Charles Durning (Dick Tracy, Dog Day Afternoon, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Muppet Movie, The Sting, and Tootsie), Jack Klugman (The Odd Couple, the new Outer Limits, Quincy, Twelve Angry Men and numerous Twilight Zone episodes), and legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck.

That said, we ring out the old year with the following five, my favourite, surprise, disappointment, least-liked, and a pick from Gru’s list to check out.

Gay happy meetings to all!

Favourite
Gods and Monsters (1998) on 2012/12/23

* * * *

“It’s not quite My Dinner with Andre . . . if anything, it’s more Sunset Boulevard. 

“Gods and Monsters lacks Sunset’s noir, but also its histrionics, an absence which proves immeasurably appealing.”

Surprise
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) on 2012/12/09

* * * * *

“I didn’t expect to love I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing, but I did. Whether you bask in its exploration of creative impulses and unrequited passions, or its challenging-yet-rewarding trio of leads, it’s a brief investment for comparatively great rewards.”

Disappointment
The Event (2003) on 2012/12/30

* * *

“I had highly conflicted feelings about The Event. It straddles a valuable line between education and edification. Still I found it neither entertaining nor watchable . . . overall, I’ll remember only an occasional good scene, and an off-putting presentation, too uneven to hold together as either drama or mystery.”

Least-Liked
Where the Truth Lies (2005) on 2012/12/07

* * *

“What might have been a period gangster flick crossed with Citizen Kane instead came across as an erotic thriller, and direct to video at that. By the end, I thought, ‘film unnoir’.”
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Show Me
Tarnation (2003) on 2012/12/31

* * * *

“This documentary about the life of Jonathan Caouette is a rare and intimate look into the life of a troubled family. Caouette brings the viewer in close — really, really close — with 88 minutes of Super 8 film footage, interviews, photographs that chronicle 19 years of the filmmaker’s life.”