Theme(s) of 2012: Sadly, lack of time and funds forced me to get selective on number of flicks to watch this year. This was good, because a lot of mediocrity went out the window. Unfortunately for all the films, they happened to release three films made just for me.
Favorite Action:
The Avengers. It didn't wow me, but it wins out for being most enjoyable and re-watchable. Shout-outs to: The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained, The Expendables 2, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hunger Games, Looper, and Skyfall.
Wreck-It Ralph, the first of the movies unfairly biased towards me, bringing back great video game nostalgia. Shout-outs to: Brave, ParaNorman.
Favorite Chick Flick:
Les Miserables, another movie unfairly biased towards me. Hello, high school show choir memories! It should've been Silver Linings Playbook.
I give slight edge to consistently funny 21 Jump Street over Ted's uneven, but edgier, humor. Shout-outs to: Silver Linings Playbook.
Favorite Dark Comedy:
Django Unchained. I almost felt like making a new category out of fairness: "Fave non-Tarantino dark comedy". Shout-outs to: Seven Psychopaths, Ted.
You Don't Know Bo, the last of the three movies unfairly biased towards me. The Announcement or The Dream Team should've won, but they couldn't hold off my favorite athlete of all time.
Favorite Drama:
Lincoln. This contest was over about ten minutes into the film. Shout-outs to: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Flight, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty.
Favorite Dramedy:
Silver Linings Playbook. Even though it won by default, it would've owned this category regardless of competition.
Wreck-It Ralph again. Shout-outs to: Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits.
Favorite Fantasy:
Brave. Shout-outs to: Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.Favorite Horror:
ParaNorman. Shout-outs to: Frankenweenie, Prometheus. Yeah yeah, none are straight up horror. Bite me.
Favorite Musical:
Les Miserables by default.
I'm going to cop out and call it a tie between ambitious Prometheus and the creative Looper. My head will explode if I try to decide.
Favorite Sports:
You Don't Know Bo. See Favorite Documentary section.
Favorite Suspense:
Zero Dark Thirty. I've never experienced a "you could hear a pin drop" moment until the last hour of this film. Shout-outs to: Argo, Looper, Prometheus.Favorite Trippy:
The Master. I still think it's artsy-fartsy drivel, but damn it drivels so well. Shout-outs to: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Looper, Prometheus, Seven Psychopaths.
Favorite 3D:
Sorry, Life of Pi's excellent use of 3D, but I was too busy clawing my way out of that C-section pod to get away from the xenomorph. Prometheus wins. Shout-outs: Frankenweenie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
NA
Favorite Western:
Django Unchained by default.
Wreck-It Ralph! Which is odd, considering I clearly love it too much. Shout-outs to: John Carter (for not deserving the B.O. hate), ParaNorman, 21 Jump Street.
Most Overrated/Disappointing:
I'll go with the best picture winner Argo, since it also has the highest Rotten Tomatoes ratings compared to Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, and Looper. I liked all four (they're all good to very good movies), but they're all overhyped. Additional shout-out to my eyes for not adjusting to 48 FPS. As for actually bad movies...
Least Liked:
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. I know their comedy is an acquired taste, but this was boring and gross, and I'm creating a "pantheon of flicks I want to un-see" just for this turd ball of suck.
21 Jump Street. Really, the idea to make this remake just screams of utter stupidity. Yet somehow it was genuinely a very funny movie, and put Channing Tatum on the map (until Magic Mike showed up). Shout-outs to: ParaNorman, Seven Psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Wreck-It Ralph. (Wait, Wreck-It Ralph finally lost a category?!)
Three-way tie between The Dark Knight Rises, Django Unchained, and Les Miserables. They're all so different and excellent it was hard to choose. Shout-outs to: Brave, Lincoln.
Favorite Acting:
Lincoln. Was there ever any doubt? Shout-outs to: Flight, Looper, The Master, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty.You Don't Know Bo. Hint: the subject is about an athlete was ran along a wall PARALLEL TO THE GROUND and played NFL games AS A HOBBY!
The Expendables 2 for manly guilty pleasure. Shout-outs to: Django Unchained for making all the white people in the audience uncomfortable, The Dream Team for 1990's nostalgia, Lincoln for power acting.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance won this the moment they green-lit the project.
Favorite Movie Moments:
"Argo f**k yourself", ragdoll Loki, Hushpuppy's primal screams, Merida's hair, "I count two guns, n****", Tupac blasting during cowboy shootout, Samuel L. Jackson as greatest Uncle Tom ever, Dream Team Monte Carlo practice footage, Chuck Norris self-meme, Denzel's final breakdown in Flight, saucer-eyed girl & cat from Frankenweenie, "He's scraping at the doooooooooooooor!", Thorin Oakenshield's last stand on a tree on a cliff in 48 FPS, Katniss' eff-you curtsey, adorable Martian doggy, anything sung by Anne Hathaway/Samantha Barks/Colm Wilkinson, flying fish scene from Life of Pi, all of Lincoln, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's sneakily channeling Bruce Willis, the moment when you realize JGL and Willis aren't going to be time-travel buddies, Philip Seymour Hoffman "processing" Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams grabbing Hoffman by the balls, "I'm Not Crying" song from The Pirates! Band of Misfits, giving yourself a C-section!, Jennifer-effing-Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook, komodo-effing-dragons in Skyfall, the parody of Airplane!'s parody of Saturday Night Fever in Ted, non-exploding trucks in 21 Jump Street, all of Wreck-It Ralph, Bo Jackson's NFL and baseball footage, Jessica Chastain's obsession, Mark Strong stomping through his scene, Seal Team 6 dropping in on bin Laden's compound. Did I mention ragdoll Loki?
Notable Missed Movies:
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2
The Amazing Spider-Man
Men In Black 3
Taken 2
Safe House
Magic Mike
Pitch Perfect
The Bourne Legacy
This is 40
Chronicle
The Campaign
Battleship
The Grey
Red Tails
Moonrise Kingdom
The Cabin in the Woods
End of Watch
Cloud Atlas
Haywire
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Bernie
Hyde Park on the Hudson
The Sessions
Hitchcock
The Raid: Redemption
Bully
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Killer Joe
The Invisible War
The Invisible War
Amour
Lincoln. Shout-outs to: Django Unchained, The Dream Team, Silver Linings Playbook, Wreck-It Ralph.
Favorite Best Picture Nominee:
Lincoln.Wreck-It Ralph. Duh.
Wreck-It Ralph. Was there ever a doubt?
Thanks for reading!
