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So as you know, I stopped writing lengthy reviews on this site this year, keeping the blog as more of a film diary of sorts.  Lo and behold,...

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The 2012 RyMickey Awards - Best Cinematography

Remember, Best Cinematography isn't just the framing and composition of a shot, but also the lighting going on within that shot.  Some nice stuff this year, but there was simply no competition this year for the number one spot.  #2 was nice as well, but my top pick was the stand-out.

 Best Cinematography of 2012

Honorable Mentions
#7 -- Django Unchained -- Robert Richardson 

#6 -- Skyfall -- Roger Deakins

And the Top Five...

#5 - Holy Motors - Caroline Champetier
Most impressive here is that Holy Motors is broken up into a series of vignettes and Caroline Champetier manages to create a distinct feel for each.

#4 - Lincoln - Janusz Kaminski
It's always quite obvious to me when Janusz Kaminski is the cinematographer of a film.  The way he lights things is simple, yet incredibly elegant, and it always impresses.

#3 - The Loneliest Planet - Inti Briones
This is here not so much because of lighting, but because of the exquisite shots of nature that Inti Briones brings to the screen.  Although the film didn't impress, I wish I had seen it on the big screen.  Oddly enough, during some of the more intimate moments, Briones brings us uncomfortably close to the main players which is in stark contrast to the wide shots of the landscape.


#2 - Life of Pi - Claudio Miranda
Last year, Rango made my list of Top Cinematography despite being an animated film.  This year, the Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography Life of Pi also heavily utilized computers to get the job done.  To me, that's not cheating in the slightest.  Many shots in this film could serve as paintings and that's to Claudio Miranda's credit.

#1 - Anna Karenina - Seamus McGarvey


Anna Karenina may not be remotely close to being my favorite film of 2012, but it was exquisitely shot.  Whether it be large, sweeping group scenes or close intimate moments, Seamus McGarvey's cinematography kept me interested even when the story itself felt a bit stunted.  For the cinematography alone, I may give this flick another watch and that's why it takes the #1 spot in this year's RyMickey Awards.


Previous RyMickey Award Winners

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this great content, I really enjoyed the insign you bring to the topic, awesome stuff!

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  2. I honestly think Skyfall is the best of the year. It's so damn beautiful.

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  3. Justin - Here was my one issue with Skyfall and I realize it wasn't an issue with anyone else but me, but here it goes:

    There was the scene in the high rise building that had the fight and whatnot. I thought that whole scene was brutally dark and, at times, incomprehensible to me. For that reason alone, it placed outside of the top five. I look forward to watching the flick again, however, and seeing if I was just feeling loony for those ten minutes of the movie.

    That being said, I agree with you that I thought it was beautiful looking overall.

    You'll see Skyfall pop up on a pretty major list in a pretty major spot before these awards end.

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  4. That fight scene is the one of the major reasons I think it's so beautiful. It's the first action scene since the spinning hallway in Inception that I forgot to breathe during. That was a bad sentence.

    That, the boat ride in Macau, Bardem's intro and the Scottish moors in general.

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  5. I know...I know...I got home and read a few articles/reviews about how much they loved that scene. I'm gonna watch it again one of these days and maybe I'll appreciate it more.

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