Step Up: Revolution (2012)

The first Step Up film where the protagonist doesn't explain that his passion for dance is part of youthful rebellion and/or a search for self-identity and actualisation.

Also: the first Step Up film where the crew dances not because they want to express themselves. They're just internet pranksters who want to win a $1 mil. contest.

Damn right, this Step Up is revolutionary.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 29 August 2012.

Iron Sky (2012)

The director who gave us Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning returns with an actual movie budget to make a film about Space Nazis.

It's a spoof of a sub-genre of B-grade sci-fi flicks and also a wickedly sharp satire of American culture and politics in the vein of Idiocracy.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 22 August 2012.

Marley (2012)

What do we remember about the 70s? Free love, weed, and rock and roll? Musicians addicted to weed?

Going from the birth of Robert Nesta Marley in rural Jamaica to his childhood in Kingston and growth from a young man and novice to a spokesperson for reggae music, Kevin MacDonald's documentary puts Bob Marley and his music in proper personal and historical context.

Marley reclaims not just the musical legend but also an entire decade from demonisation.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 22 August 2012.

Girl in Progress (2012)

An annoying precocious, socially awkward girl in a Gilmore Girls relationship with her immigrant mum decides to accelerate her road to adulthood and independence.

The Wrong Genre Savvy comedy does require you to have a taste for very nonsensical schemes that result in very obviously telegraphed, debasing punchlines.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 22 August 2012.

Hotaru the movie (映画 ホタルノヒカリ) (2012)

A very unlikely couple get hitched and go on honeymoon. In particular, a Wrong Genre Savvy recreation of Roman Holiday.

Things don't gel together. It's a film sequel that doesn't utilise the gimmick of its TV serial, while the Wrong Genre Savvy comedy concept is abandoned halfway in the film.

Watch: only if you're a fan of the Hotaru TV series.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 22 August 2012.

The Silent War (听风者) (2012)

War thriller involving a blind man who becomes an intelligence expert because of his very keen hearing.

It's an espionage drama without espionage, suspense, paranoia, conflicting loyalties, or even dangerous romance. It's a film about ham radios and cryptography that doesn't understand how spy channels work or even how RADIO works.

For a genre that depends on psychological realism and a recognisable real-world, this film has several fundamental failings.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 15 August 2012.

Magic Mike (2012)

Channing Tatum, real life former stripper, is a male stripper in Magic Mike.

It's a typical coming of age story - the newcomer is initiated, discovers possibilities, as well as the dark edges of the strip business.

Watch for: male eye candy performing striptease acts while dressed like every macho male stereotype popularised by the Village People.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 15 August 2012.

Life during wartime (2009)

Todd Solondz perfects his cinema of misanthropy in Life during wartime, where an ensemble of characters create their own hell even as they convince themselves they're out of it.

Eschewing the surreal, over the top feel of his previous attempts, Life during wartime is actually enjoyable and funny because of the its perfect timing and understated humanism.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 8 August 2012.

Brave (2012)

Disney's most untraditional princess isn't interested in boys, doesn't want to get married, and doesn't want to be a proper lady.

This untraditional Disney animation doesn't have her change any of what she stands for in her Hero's Journey either.

Watch for: How far storytelling and gender norms have changed since Walt Disney made cartoons.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 24 April 2012.

Total Recall (2012)

The sci-fi setting may be further away from Philip K Dick's short story but this remake is still a plot point for plot point, action scene for action scene retread of the Arnold flick, made with CGI instead of props and pyrotechnics.

Creatively though, it's a very unambitious film, which suggests Len Wiseman was more of a hired hand than a visionary for this project.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 8 August 2012.

Seeking a friend for the end of the world (2012)

A depressingly funny film where faced with the end of the world, humanity decides to go out with a whimper and a silly party hat while on a high rather than with a bang.

The road trip movie format provides most of the excellent vignettes of the last days that are just as depressing as they are funny. It's far better written than the romcom element.

Watch for: excellent storytelling. Watch as: a companion to Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid in the World or Melancholia.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 1 August 2012.

The taste of money (돈의 맛) (2012)

Like Kim Sang Joo's previous film and the one before that, this one is a family drama exposing the baroque excesses, corruption, and hypocrisies of Korean elites.

Just like the previous film, this one centres on how every member in a household end up abusing one of their servants. This time, it's their valet and oddjob man.

Watch: only if you thought JB Priestley's An Inspector Calls was too subtle and subdued.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 1 August 2012.

SPEC: Heaven (劇場版 SPEC ～天～) (2012)

It's definitely a Japanese scifi when the ending of the world is foretold in a Catholic prophecy while shadowy forces play out their Gambit Pileup. All while the personification of Walter Benjamin's Angelus Novus watches on.

Yet SPEC literally reverses the genre convention that protagonists are the aberrations in an otherwise normal universe populated by very normal human beings with their very mundane agendas.

Watch for: a crazy premise taken to its logical, absurdist extreme.

Read my full review at Fridae, first published on 1 August 2012.