Sax von Stroheim writes:

I was thinking of writing up a snarky take on the Academy Award nominations, but then decided I didn’t really want to participate in that even as a joke. (I believe the official Uncouth Reflections editorial policy on the Oscars is, “Who cares?”). So here’s my list of five movies from last year that (a) I enjoyed immensely and (b) were in no danger of ever being nominated for any kind of award.

Contraband (Baltasar Kormakur, 2012)

An American remake of an Icelandic thriller, directed by the star of the original movie. It combines the best parts of Euothrilllers – a lack of sentimentality, muted melodrama, a sense of place – with the best parts of Hollywood thrillers – flamboyant bad guy performances (here given by Giovanni Ribisi and Diego Luna) and Mark Wahlberg.

Resident Evil: Retribution (Paul W.S. Anderson, 2012)

Egghead reason: a formally playful exploration of the way contemporary 3D/CGI technology has infected the way we think about the world. Non-egghead reason: Milla Jovovich in bondage gear killing zombies.

Alps (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2011)

Lanthimos made a film called Dogtooth that a lot of folks other than me liked. Dogtooth, a European art house movie, made in 2009, took a daring and controversial stand against the bourgeois patriarchy (like just about every European art house movie from the last 60 years). Alps, though, moves beyond sociology to something really dangerous and daring – the idea that even our most intimate relationships might be built upon theatrical play-acting. It’s weird and wrenching.

End of Watch (David Ayer, 2012)

This is a very good Joseph Wambaugh-type look at police culture, with lots of funny/true observations and some exciting action scenes done in a well-executed version of the contemporary shaky-cam-heavy style. Most movies about L.A. police officers are about corrupt L.A. police officers, but here they’re presented as working/middle class heroes. Not perfect ones, maybe, but guys and gals driven by a desire to help people. The movie’s subject is how crime in L.A. is becoming more like crime in Mexico, and what that change is doing to the police force that’s trying to fight it.

The Vow (Michael Sucsy, 2012)

Magic Mike is the Channing Tatum movie liked by audiences and critics alike. This is the Channing Tatum movie liked just by audiences, but I think it’s the better movie. It isn’t actually based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, although it’s genre still seems to be “Nicholas Sparks Movie”. Having said that, it’s quite moving and it (surprisingly) doesn’t smooth out all of the emotional wrinkles. I’m still waiting for someone to come along to be the new Douglas Sirk – i.e., a guy or gal who turns Hollywood weepies into world historically great art. Michael Sucsy isn’t it, but in this movie he comes closer than anyone else has in quite a few years.