my films of 2012

These are the films I saw in 2012 (at the cinema) in chronological order. With links. Language indicated if not English. First tranche:

The Iron Lady = Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, directed by Phyllida Lloyd  Terrific. And affecting. Meryl Streep's usual staggering performance. Wildly inaccurate re Parliament and some of the political events of the 1980s though. I saw it twice.

J. Edgar - Leonardo di Caprio as J.Edgar Hoover, directed by Clint Eastwood
 Clint has never made a boring film. Here the makeup was probably the star.

Une Separation - Leila Hatami as a wife with a serious dilemma in modern Iran, directed by Asghar Farhadi. Magnificent stuff. A couple at war, a parent with Alzheimer's, class and conflict in the Tehran of today. In Farsi with French subtitles. I saw it twice.

The Descendants - George Clooney as a Hawaii lawyer with an inheritance who is trying to restore his lost connection with his family, directed by Alexander Payne. Families are complicated,and this film is complex. Wonderful performances, real, and no easy solutions. I subsequently read the book, by Hawaiian writer Kaui Hart Hemmings, new to me, which is recommended.

Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows - Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, directed by Guy Ritchie. Load of terrible old tosh. I only went to see it because it was partly filmed in Strasbourg.

Millennium - Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, directed by David Fincher. Pretty good, but once you have seen the Swedish films and the TV series - this film is exactly the same. They tried so hard not to Hollywoodise this totally European story that they made the European film again, which made it forgettable.

More to come. I'll try and post these daily to limit the suspense. I know you can't wait.