Best Movies of 2012: #1

For me, this was an easy decision. Looking at a list of all the movies I saw, I already knew this would be #1. 

When you go see a movie, there are always expectations. A comedy movie is supposed to make you laugh, an action movie is supposed to keep you entertained and a horror movie is supposed to scare you. When a  movie like Life of Pi comes along, you're not too sure what you're going to get and maybe that's the beauty of it.

Life of Pi is a brilliantly told story about an Indian man' journey to America and how it all went wrong, how he became shipwrecked with a tiger and did everything he could to survive.

We've certainly seen movies where people have been shipwrecked and abandoned before, but this one is unique in the sense of its storytelling. It's hard to say what I love about this movie without giving away too much, but I will say the analogies made in the story are perfect.

The story created and fully imagined on screen are wonderful to watch, even though most of the film is pretty doom and gloom. The ending may leave some confused at first, but with time it all makes sense and is a pretty good twist on everything you had seen. 

Best Movies of 2012: #2

You've got to be pretty damn special to be ahead of the 2 most hyped movies of the year, and Looper was.

Besides providing Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt in their tremendous cast, the sci-fi setting and story presented was some of the best around in 2012, if not a long time. The idea of time travel has been around for a while and seen in movies plenty of times, but I can't remember seeing it like this.

Looper stars JGL as a hired gun, hired to kill people who are sent from the future who have done something detrimental. JGL discovers that they've sent his future self for him to kill, meaning his "loop" is over and he'll be dead in 30 years. From the shock of it, he doesn't do it, allowing his future self to go free, creating a big problem with the mob.

I don't want to confuse you and go on into detail about the next motives in the movie and whatnot, i'll say that is clever storytelling, and a good amount of action takes place. Each actor played their role perfectly, playing up the drama of the film.

With the perfect blend of storytelling, action, drama and a few shocking moments, Looper is #2 and there is only one movie that beat it out. 

Best Movies of 2012: #3

It's only mere coincidence that I have The Dark Knight Rises right ahead of The Avengers. I think.

It's easy to compare both movies just because of the comic book company rivalry, both movies are superhero movies and both came out just a couple months apart. TDKR won the critics war, getting slightly better reviews than The Avengers won the financial war, beating out TDKR by $500 Million dollars.

Nonetheless, I do have TDKR ahead by a small margin. After The Dark Knights tremendous success in 08', most thought it would be difficult to follow up that performance as a whole and of course, going to a 3rd movie in a franchise has seemingly been a death threat to the franchise involved. For Batman, it may not have been the best movie of the trilogy, but it was still great.

The drama of this film was certainly heightened as the movie progresses, with Bane (Tom Hardy) planning the demise of Gotham City and with Selina Kyle (Anne Hathway) lurking around, doing her business, it's an unsettling time for Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). And it was a different twist for a superhero movie to see a superhero, especially one of Batmans stature, in a such broken state. By the end of The Dark Knight, we see Batman has lost the woman he loves, has lost Gothams respect and is now turned into a fugitive. Eight Years later and it seems that Batman is gone, but Bruce Wayne remains as the broken shell of what he once was. It's rare to start a superhero movie with such gloom.

From here on out, we get great acting from the whole cast, some surprises (that are somewhat seen coming) and the climax to probably the best trilogy for a Superhero of all time. In the end, we know there will be more Batman films. Seemingly, none will reach the emotional level or even dramatic level that TDKR reached. 

Best Movies of 2012: #4

So many years in the making, having to sit through some great (and not so great) Marvel films, all for it to culminate into a full fledged Avengers film. Between 2000-2008 we sat through 3 X-Men films, 2 Fantastic Four movies, 2 Blades, 3 Spider-Mans, 1 Hulk, 1 Punisher, 1 Daredevil, 1 Elektra and a Ghost Rider film. Most of the movies above didn't do so well, and an Avengers film seemed unlikely.

Out comes Iron Man in 2008 and everything changed. Not only did we get a great introduction to Iron Man, but the ending sparked the beginning of what became the Avengers. Out came the Hulk, Thor and Captain America films (along with a 2nd Iron Man flick) and so assembled The Avengers.

With so much hype, with so many different characters and storylines, how could each character get enough time to shine and would it be a jumbled mess anyway? Thankfully, what we got was the complete opposite of that.

All the important characters got their time, all the secondary characters got their time, the action was great, the villain was top notch, tidbits of comedy here and there, and lots of potential for future movies were revealed (even if not so clearly). The acting was top notch and at this point, it seems pretty easy to believe that no one else can play these characters anymore. They've been cemented into these roles and cannot and should not be replaced.

Whatever is in store for future Avengers flicks and Marvel flicks as a whole, this movie is a superhero classic.

Best Movies of 2012: #5

All 21 Jump Street was supposed to be was a buddy cop movie with a memorable "franchise" attached to it. What it ended up being, due to expectations being tremendously low, was a truly funny, more than decent action flick.

Complaints will always come Channing Tatum' way, but put him in a role where he isn't the sole focus and he can really thrive. Especially putting him with someone like Jonah Hill (who is funny as a skinny person I might add), Hill really takes the pressure off Tatum.

21 Jump Street is certainly one of the more complete movies of the year, featuring a nice balanced dose of action, comedy and drama.

Best Movies of 2012: #6

From the moment I saw the trailer for Wreck-It Ralph, I knew it would be something special. How could it not? It combines all the things in life that make it awesome. Animation, video games, video game characters in therapy, candy and John C. Reilly.

The clever and witty storyline put forth is part of what makes Wreck-It Ralph great, but its charm is really what gives it that extra push. How you could really feel for characters like Ralph, Felix and Vanellope and like when they succeed and feel sad when things go down hill.

Many animated movies came out in 2012, but none will entertain you like Wreck-It Ralph will.

Best Movies of 2012: #7

The legacy of James Bond was always cemented, Bond will always be the best secret agent, the man with the gadgets, the man who gets all the babes. Skyfall however, really changed the Bond formula we were used to seeing. That ended up being a good thing.

Skyfall was exceptional at being un-Bond like. While we're used to seeing Bond with tons of gadgets and almost using minimal force to get the bad guys, the Daniel Craig Bond really goes all out. Not many gadgets, big shootouts, being "old" and out of shape, and more importantly, it looks like he doesn't get a girl. Maybe out of being focused or losing his "mojo" but the man doesn't get a Bond girl.

The story and action are done very well, making it the best action movie of the year as well as one of the years overall best. On top of that, when you have a villain that can challenge Bond action for action, you have a great movie period. I'm hoping Craig does a few more Bond films.

Best Movies of 2012: #8

What happens when you mix the best actress of 2012 and a nominee for best actor of 2012? The #8 movie of 2012, Silver Linings Playbook.

A drama filled story following two young people in completely different situations, but sharing some common traits. Being alone, and being a bit off is something they regrettably share. In a movie like this, more important than anything is the chemistry between the actors. Does it look like it would truly work in real life, do they make it seem like this isn't a movie. For Cooper and Lawrence, it's flawless.

Throw in other great actors like Robert De Niro and the return (odd return) of Chris Tucker and you've got a great movie. If only the oscars cared about movies, Silver Linings Playbook and its stars would be recognized for it.

2012 Award Season: Most Disappointing

Every year, you look through the list of movies and you pick out a bunch that are going to be awesome. The most dejecting feeling as a movie goer is to spend the money on waste your time on movies you thought were gonna be awesome and end up bombing, sucking, stinking, under-performing, not living up to expectations.

This year, I got 4 movies that did that for me, only 1 did more than the rest.

Project X was built up to be this immense party movie, in the spirit of the Hangover, only for teens. While I still thought it was an OK movie, and somewhat did its job, it was over-hyped from the beginning and really only catered to young teens.

The Secret World of Arriety, from the makers of classics like Spirited Away, Ponyo and Howl's Moving Castle, lacked that same charm that made all of the said movies classics. It's still watchable, and not bad, but I expected a bit more.

Lastly, before we get to the winner.....loser..., American Reunion could have been more. 9 years after the original casts last film, too much time in between has meant a lot of things. Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott aren't funny anymore, Chris Klein was never funny and outside of Alyson Hanigan, everyone on the cast is past their prime for these kind of things.

LOSER:

After having a strong Paranormal Activity 3 showing, PA4 was supposed to be just as good, if not better. It was supposed to explain what the prior movies did not. Instead, what we got was more killing, less story and so much left unanswered. It seems like the producers and writers are leaving out enough to continue making more movies but not enough to keep their fans satisfied. 

2012 Award Season: Best Drama

         

I know that the sexiest movies around are the ones that either make you laugh or the the ones that pack the most action. However, it's usually the movie with the most drama and best story that end up being considered best movie of the year.

This year may or may not be different, but I will not spoil that for you.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was fitting for the year, with all the hoopla surrounding the end of the world as we know it. Of course, we're still here and Seeking a Friend was a great film.

Silver Linings Playbook does have a spot on our top 10 movies of the year, as you will see later and that's mostly due to the story and chemistry that Lawrence and Cooper have.

Looper, mostly considered to be a sci-fi brilliance is also a dramatic brilliance as well. The constant emergency surrounding JGLs character at all times is apparent throughout the whole movie and the drama it creates for the end is epic, but not winning this award.

WINNER:

Unlike the other movies nominated, Life of Pi is an emotional dramatic tale, not just dramatic. It's one that most of us won't be able to connect with, but just the idea alone and the concepts presented are enough to make you think and appreciate the story.