2012 in Review: Cinema
Ten years ago, when I was reviewing films fortnightly on the now defunct 3RRR program Mercury Rising , I saw well in excess of 130 movies at the cinema (at both festivals and in general release) every year. These days, as listeners to my own RRR program SmartArts would know, the performing arts have become my primary focus; consequently the number of films I see each year has declined considerably - which is ironic in a way, as I know far more film critics now, thanks to Twitter , than I did in my film reviewing heyday. This year, I saw a grand/shameful total of only 40 films in cinemas, compared to - at the time of writing - 121 live productions on stages large and small across Melbourne in 2013. I'll blog about my favourite performances of the year tomorrow, once I've seen War Horse tonight, but for now, let's talk film. Normally I'd see at least 20 films alone at MIFF; this year I was struck down by a virus and missed most of the festival, primarily by choice -...