Tomorrow is February 24, and that means it's the night of the annual Academy Awards. It's the night where all of film-making's most celebrated and prestigious individuals come together to honor Hollywood's greatest achievements of the year. Well... at least on paper, that's what the event entails. In reality, it's a night fake smiles, politics, and backstabbing full of audiences and members bitching and moaning about who should have won, who shouldn't have, who was snubbed from the nominees, and the general ugly side of the industry. But you know what, none of that really matters. In this industry, there is no award or honor more prestigious, lovely, and celebrated than the good old Oscar, and whether you agree with the picks or not, you have to admit that it's always an exciting evening. The mystery, the anticipation, as well as the often event itself (as long as James Franco never hosts again) is at the very least, an enjoyable experience. So will this year's show live up to the name of Oscar??? We'll find out tomorrow, for now, here are my picks and predictions of the Oscar nominees.
While I haven't seen all of the nominated films this year, 2012 is easily the most I've seen from any respective year. I'm not going in any particular order here, and I won't give detailed responses to all of the categories (but I will give a rundown at the end). That said, I'll save Best Picture for last. Without further ado, here are my thoughts and predictions of this year's nominees.
Best Actor in a Leader Role
Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln"
Hugh Jackman for "Les Misérables"
Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master"
Denzel Washington for "Flight"
Pretty good and diverse list, I have to say. There were tons of great actors this year and way too many to choose from, and that said, I have no real issues with this list. There's a bi-polar trying to get his life back together, a portrayal of America's 16th president, a musical turn for performer best known to US audiences as an action star, a career best for Phoenix as a mentally unstable war vet, and a troubled pilot fighting the demons of alcohol abuse. Prior to the nominees announcement, I was sure that Joaquin Phoenix was going to get snubbed (because of the dude's questionable career moves, it seemed like a for sure thing), but to the Academy's credit they knew it was a great performance, and they honored it. Personally, my ideal line-up would have included John Hawkes for The Sessions instead of Bradley Cooper (though to Cooper's credit, he was quite good in Silver Linings Playbook), but I have no real objections. Still, my personal favorite is Joaquin Phoenix's unhinged portrayal of Freddie Quell, an disturbed WWII vet who gets mixed up with a self-help movement slowly morphing into a cult (ie Scientology metaphor). As far as predictions go, there's really not a whole lot of mystery to this category. Daniel Day-Lewis looks like he's inline for his third Oscar victory for his role as president Abraham Lincoln. No real objections to that choice, it was a damn good performance and the guy is a damn good actor.
Who Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis
My Pick: Joaquin Phoenix
Best Actress in a Leader Role
Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva for "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis for "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Naomi Watts for "The Impossible"
Pretty good choices here too, no real objections. I don't think it's a coincidence that this year just so happened to have the category's youngest nominee of all time (Quvenzhané Wallis) competing with category's oldest (Emmanuelle Riva). While both great actresses, I wouldn't bet on seeing Watts or Wallis take home the award, because this looks mostly like a two-way race between Chastain or Lawrence with Riva as an outsider contending for a possible upset. While these are all strong roles and great actresses, my personal pick is still Jessica Chastain as the CIA recruit bent on finding Osama bin Laden. Emmanuelle Riva is very close second though as the elderly French woman struggling to recover from a recent stroke. It's tight race, but I'm going to say Jessica Chastain will probably be taking home the award. That said, if Lawrence got picked, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. If she did win, I could live with that.
Who Will Win: Jessica Chastain (maybe)
My Pick: Jessica Chastain (with Emmanuelle Riva a very close second)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin for "Argo"
Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln"
Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained"
This was one of the more controversial categories of the year, second only to the choices for Best Director (I'll get to that soon). It's also the hardest to predict. Five nominees, all of whom have won Oscar gold in the past, and all who seem to have a strong chance of winning. Three of these picks have fairly recently (Waltz, Hoffman, and Arkin) so they probably won't get called, but you never know. The two most likely contenders seem to be Robert De Niro and Tommy Lee Jones, both whom are great. While I am actually a HUGE De Niro fan, I'm not exactly on board with him winning this year. His performance in Silver Linings Playbook was great, don't get me wrong, I don't think it was strong as the others choices, or even actors that got snubbed, namely Samuel L. Jackson for Django Unchained, Dwight Henry for Beasts of the Southern Wild, and especially Leonardo Di Caprio for Django Unchained, who for me personally, is the biggest acting snub of the night. Among what we have though, my personal favorite is Phillip Seymour Hoffman in The Master, though I'm anticipating Tommy Lee Jones will win. De Niro might come through, but my money's still on Jones.
Who Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones
My Pick: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for "The Master"
Sally Field for "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway for "Les Misérables"
Helen Hunt for "The Sessions"
Jacki Weaver for "Silver Linings Playbook"
This category has been unofficially dubbed "The Anne Hathaway Award" this year, since there's little doubt that anyone other than Hathaway is going to win. I have no major issues with that, since Hathaway was legitimately great in the role, but it was really too small of a part to compare with some of the other nominees. If there is going to be an upset, it's probably going to go to Sally Field, whose cute story of how campaigned for the role of Mary Todd Lincoln is usually the kind of sap story the Academy eats up. Still, I would be very surprised anyone other than Hathaway won. Personally, my choice would either come down to Sally Field or Helen Hunt, both of whom I thought were excellent.
Who Will Win: Anne Hathaway
My Pick: Sally Field
Best Director
Michael Haneke for "Amour"
Ang Lee for "Life of Pi"
David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln"
Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Oh boy, the controversy surrounding this category is still an issue. The baffling snubs of Ben Affleck (who for a while seemed like a high contender for the win, let alone a nomination), Kathryn Bigelow, and Quentin Tarantino are ridiculous. I have no problems with Spielberg, Haneke, and Lee making the list, but I'm not exactly on board with Russell and Zeitlin making the nominees. Zeitlin less so, since I really did like Beasts of the Southern Wild and admired it's creativity. David O Russell on the other hand, while a very talented filmmaker, doesn't belong on this list. Granted, Silver Linings Playbook had some really strong performances, due in no small part to the director, but aside from that, it was a very straightforward, by-the-numbers, directorial effort. He was by no means as creative as Tarantino, as precise as Bigelow, or as ambitious as Affleck. Oh well, what are you going to do? With Affleck out of the way, this award looks like Spielberg's to loose. Among these guys, he would be my choice too.
Who Will Win: Steven Spielberg
My Pick: Steven Spielberg
Best Original Screenplay
Michael Haneke for "Amour"
Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained"
John Gatins for "Flight"
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for "Moonrise Kingdom"
Mark Boal for "Zero Dark Thirty"
I like these choices. It was nice to see Moonrise Kingdom get at least one nomination. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Flight get recognized for it's script in addition to Washington's performance. As far as predictions go, it seems like this is the only category where Django Unchained seems like it has a good shot at winning. The controversial nature of the script might turn off some members, in which case it would probably go to Moonrise Kingdom, but I'm thinking Django has it.
Who Will Win: Django Unchained
My Pick: Django Unchained
Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio for "Argo"
Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar for "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
David Magee for "Life of Pi"
Tony Kushner for "Lincoln"
David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Not too bad either, but I'm not quite as on board with these choices as the Original Screenplay category. Argo seems like the likely victor for this category, both for it's suspenseful and intruiging concept, as well as the "America! Fuck Yeah!" vibes plus a touch of Hollywood's role as the hero and a good opportunity to pat themselves on the back. I'll admit that Argo had a really clever script, but the major thing that has been holding me back from calling the film a bona-fide masterpiece is it's retooling of facts and historical events for the sake of Hollywood drama. Granted it didn't ruin the movie, but it's there. Life Of Pi, both the book and script, were creative, if not a bit pretentious. Silver Linings Playbook was at best, a made-for-TV sitcom style movie with a cliched ending and really doesn't belong among the others. Beasts of the Southern Wild was quite good, but personally I'm rooting for Lincoln this time around. While Lincoln's script may have fudged the facts a bit too, it nonetheless took a fairly routine Oscar-bait concept and turned it into a clever, thrilling, and sometimes funny, analysis of the political system. For that reason, it gets my vote.
Who Will Win: Argo
My Pick: Lincoln
Best Animated Feature
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Bands of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
I only saw three out of the five movies from this category. Unfortunately, every time I went to a Redbox to find Pirates or Frankenweenie, they were already checked out. So I can't personally speak for either of those. I will say though that the three I did see were quite good, though like last year Pixar isn't the obvious choice for the winner, as they usually are. That said, it seems like it's going to come down to either Brave or Wreck-It Ralph. While my choice would be ParaNorman with Wreck-It Ralph as my second pick, most of the predictions and analysts I've been reading have been leaning toward Brave. ParaNorman and Frankenweenie are too strongly associated with the horror genre and Wreck-It Ralph's video game themed subject matter probably doesn't jive with the mostly senior-aged Academy members. So... while it's not a for sure thing, Brave is my prediction.
Who Will Win: Brave
My Pick: ParaNorman
Best Foreign Film
Amour
Rebelle
No
A Royal Affair
Kon-Tiki
The only film I saw in this category is Amour, so I can't really choose a personal favorite. That said, it seems like that's the likely winners anyways.
Who Will Win: Amour
My Pick: Amour by default
Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Hey look! Skyfall made the list! While some were predicting that a James Bond actually stood a chance at getting picked for some of the major categories, it looks like the film is going to have to settle for the technical categories. Overall, these are good choices. My personal pick would probably either come down to Life Of Pi or Skyfall, though Django Unchained had some great camerawork too. Still, I think Life of Pi will ultimately emerge as the winner here.
Who Will Win: Life of Pi
My Pick: Skyfall
Best Editing
Argo
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Once again, Silver Linings Playbook snuck it's way into an undeserved nomination. It's all more insulting when you consider that a far more deserving film like Cloud Atlas (who got snubbed all the way) or Skyfall could have taken it's place. Oh well. Out of these choices, I think Argo is going to take the trophy. That would be my pick too... or maybe Zero Dark Thirty. Both are well edited films that deserve to be recognized.
Who Will Win: Argo
My Pick: Argo
Best Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Nice to see The Hobbit make the ballot in some way. Anna Karenina made quite an impression some of the technical categories too, not that I have any major issues with that. This one is tough to predict. Life Of Pi mostly takes place at sea, created mostly through cgi, though the scenes that do take place on land look pretty spectacular. My personal choice would either be Life of Pi or Lincoln. Though the winner will be... either of Life of Pi or Les Misérables. I guess I need to chose one, let's say Life Of Pi.
Who Will Win: Life of Pi
My Choice: Lincoln
Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman
Oh great... Mirror Mirror got an Oscar nod... PFFT!!! Well, to the film's credit, the costumes were quite good... BUT THE REST OF THE MOVIE SUCKED!!! Anywho... I think Anna Karenina is going to take home this Oscar, which is fine by me.
Who Will Win: Anna Karenina
My Choice: Anna Karenina
Best Original Song
Before My Time from "Chasing Ice"
Suddenly from "Les Misérables"
Pi's Lullaby from "Life of Pi"
Skyfall from "Skyfall"
Everybody Needs a Friend from "Ted"
It would be kind of funny if the song from Ted won, since Seth Macfarlane, the song's lyricist, happens to be hosting the event. That won't happen though, since this Oscar has Skyfall's name written all over it. Skyfall will win, Skyfall should win, case closed.
Who Will Win: Skyfall
My Choice: Skyfall
Best Visual Effects
The Avengers
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
Here's the category that typically is the only area where blockbusters and crowd-pleasers stand a chance at getting recognized. I would have preferred to see Cloud Atlas here instead of Snow White, but these aren't bad choices at all. It would be nice to see The Avengers or Prometheus take home this award, but I have a feeling it's being reserved for Life of Pi. That's cool.
Who Will Win: Life of Pi
My Choice: The Avengers
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Seriously... you nominated Les Miz, and to a lesser extent Hitchcock, for this award while snubbing Cloud Atlas??? Yeah, I call bullshit on that! The Hobbit had some great makeup effects while Hitchcock's were good but nothing amazing all while Les Miz's were very very very passable. Unlike Cloud Atlas, which had some of the most ambitious and incredible makeup I've ever seen! Oh well, I have a feeling that film is going to be a Blade Runner-like cult classic down the line, so we'll wait for it's recognition then. For now, let's Hope The Hobbit gets this award instead of Les Misérables... which will probably win unfortunately.
Who Will Win: Les Misérables
My Choice: Cloud Atlas... but it wasn't nominated, so The Hobbit
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Alright, I know I skipped a few categories, but I'll include my predictions in the rundown below. Now we come to the category for the best film of the year. This one has been a tough one to predict. When the nominations were announced, it seemed like Lincoln was the likely choice. The logic that because Bigelow and Affleck were snubbed for a director nod, that their chances of winning Best Picture were slim. There have been three films in the history of the Oscars to win Best Picture and not receive a director nod, the last of which was 1989's Driving Miss Daisy. Over the last couple weeks though, Argo has emerged as the film's most likely victor, possibly because the Academy realized they screwed up by neglecting to nominate Affleck, who has been winning award after award for his work on the film... which itself has been winning countless awards including the Golden Globe for Best Drama. So yeah... Argo looks like this year's Best Picture. If you're betting on an upset though... Lincoln is probably second in line, but I wouldn't count on it. Me personally, I would choose Django Unchained. Not only is it Quentin Tarantino's most ambitious film in years, it's also one of the most challenging and well-made movies the many years. That said, it's too damn controversial to actually receive the accolade for Best Picture. I'm kind of surprised it got as many nominations as it did to be honest. But there you go, Best Picture, it's going to be Argo.
Who Will Win: Argo
My Pick: Django Unchained
I'll list my predictions for the films I've mentioned plus the categories I didn't get around to. Keep in mind, below are my predictions, not necessarily my personal choices. Who will win? We'll find out tomorrow!
Best Picture: Argo
Lead Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Lead Actress: Jessica Chastain
Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones
Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Director: Steven Spielberg
Original Screenplay: Django Unchained
Adapted Screenplay: Lincoln
Animated Feature: Brave
Foreign Film: Amour
Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Editing: Argo
Cinematography: Life of Pi
Production Design: Les Misérables
Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Makeup: Les Misérables
Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
Original Score: Life of Pi
Original Song: Skyfall
Animated Short: Paperman
Live Action Short: Curfew
Documentary: Searching For Sugar Man
Documentary Short: Open Heart
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Zero Dark Thirty - Review
As mentioned above, Zero Dark Thirty chronicles the United States efforts to find and take down the Al Qaeda terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden. Most of the story is told through the eyes of Maya (Jessica Chastain), a young CIA operative who has dedicated her brief time with the agency in the futile pursuit of finding bin Laden after 9/11. She follows every lead, looks into every clue, and acts on nearly every possibility (no matter slim) hoping that whatever she finds will be the key needed to unlocking the secrets of bin Laden's whereabouts. As the hunt becomes increasingly more hopeless, Maya becomes more emotionally damaged, reluctantly observing and allowing extreme tactics, including prisoner torture, to achieve her goal. After 10 years, her findings lead her to a house in Pakistan... and the rest is, how you say, history.
I'm going to start this review with a couple of disclaimers. For starters, while I won't outright spoil anything, I might divulge a few more bits of pieces of the film's ending and plot elements than I normally do.
If you've turned on the news in the last 10 years, few of the film's story elements will be all that surprising, but if you hate spoilers as much as I do, there's your warning. Secondly, throughout the review, I will be addressing some of the controversy surrounding the flick, namely Zero Dark Thirty's depiction of torture. I don't want to make this review a political discussion or a debate, so I'm not going to offer my own personal views on such subjects but in order to properly review the movie, I will have to discuss them a bit. If you would like to leave a comment regarding the political or moral undertones surrounding the flick, I won't stop you, but let's not make this flame war or heated debate. With all that out of the way... let's get to the review.Zero Dark Thirty is not an uplifting movie, in fact it's the very opposite. It's kind of interesting to compare and contrast the timeline of American made war movies. It seems like most can be lumped into one of two categories. There's the "America, Fuck Yeah!" variety (Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor) and "War Is Hell" (Platoon, Apocalypse Now). Zero Dark Thirty leans a bit more toward the second category, but includes bits and pieces of both... without taking too many sides.
In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this movie could have easily become a cut-rate US propaganda film or a statement of self-indulgent patriotism. Instead, the film is a compelling character study and analysis of politics, terrorism, and warfare that presents facts (well, "facts" in the sense of the information that has been released) and basically allows you to interpret what you see how you like. As mentioned, the hot button topic surrounding the movie was the film's depiction of torture. Early in the movie, Maya accompanies a fellow officer in Pakistan, and observes his interrogation of a detainee with suspected links to Al Qaeda. The interrogation consists of numerous forms of torture, including methods of a physical, mental, and emotional nature. On the other hand, it also depicts non-torturous methods of coercion, and the results that come with those. Which methods are more effective... well, to be honest, both and neither, at least according to the movie. I suppose it leans a little more to an "anti-torture" stance, but it certainly isn't a black and white contrast. As for the rest of the movie's topics, it basically takes that same approach. In this day and age, there's rarely anything that's 100% good or bad, but instead contain varying degrees of right and wrong, with no clear answers. This all makes for a very intriguing and thought provoking movie... which, in my opinion, are the best kind.All of this comes compliments from the combined works of director Kathryn Bigelow, screenwriter Mark Boal, and actress Jessica Chastain. Bigelow's history as an action director has come in handy here, staging some fantastically suspenseful action scenes and dramatic moments. The realistic tone and environments lead to some compelling drama through character interactions, a relentless and hopeless hunt, and some truly suspenseful action scenes that avoid the typical Hollywood excess. The finale, where the Navy Seals raid bin Laden's compound, is one hell of a nail-biter, even though you know exactly how it's going to end. That's just a testament to Bigelow's skills, whom I'm just about ready to call one of the best filmmakers of this generation (time will tell I suppose on that one). I already discussed many elements Mark Boal's script, so I discuss that much more than I already have, but I will say that it's a damn fine piece of writing. It makes some solid observations, moves at a good pace, and has some great interaction between characters. It's hard to gauge just how accurate it is (other than the fact that the character names were made up for this movie), especially since so much information regarding the investigation is still classified, so there's really no way to be sure of that quite yet. Maybe when the information is finally revealed to the public, the film can be re-evaluated. Until then, it works.
The central element the holds the movie together, has got to be Jessica Chastain's flawless performance as Maya. Chastain is quickly climbing the Hollywood ladder of super-stardom after two critically acclaimed performances last year in The Tree of Life and The Help.
Her role as Maya, is hands down the best work of her's so far (that I've seen at least). Every moment she's on screen, you feel her obsessive dedication to her cause. Ultimately why Maya remains so devoted to finding Osama is the ultimate question. She's not some super patriot nor is she a crusader for good or anything like that. She remains so fiercely devoted to the crusade for reasons I don't even think she fully understands. Chastain just sells every single detail of that inner conflict as she relentlessly pursues bin Laden. I was happy to see Chastain receive another Oscar nomination this year. We'll find out in a week whether she'll be taking home Oscar gold, and I'm hoping that she will. The rest of the actors all do a fine job, I have no complaints on that front.Zero Dark Thirty is neither an easy watch or a timid film. I can all but guarantee that everyone leaving this movie will have strong opinions on it one way or another. Still, in addition to being one of the year's best films, it's also one of the year's most important. So unless you don't think you can handle of the movie's more graphic content, I strongly recommend it.
My Score: 5 out of 5!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Worst Movies of 2012
Alright! I've finally sat through enough of 2012's filth to assemble what I believe is a reasonably accurate list for the worst movies of 2012. There were a few critical flops that I didn't get around to seeing, so your list may differ quite a bit from mine. I'll say this, I didn't get a chance to see Piranha 3DD though I liked the first one, I heard the sequel lacked the bite of it's predecessor (sorry, that was a bad pun, but I couldn't help it). I also missed This Means War. I couldn't find a place to rent it and there was no way I was going to buy the DVD. Also didn't get around to seeing That's My Boy, namely because I have just given up on Adam Sandler. There are a few others I didn't get around to checking out, but I feel like I got most of them. So without further ado, here are my picks for the worst movies of 2012.
10. Alex Cross
Tyler Perry's first major break away from comedy... is probably going to end up being his last. I'll be honest, I've never been a fan of Perry's work. He seems like a nice enough guy and it's pretty cool that he has written, directed, and acted in a number of successful comedies. Still, they're just not my kind of films, and neither is this one. Perry was trying hard, I could tell, but he was let down by a miserable script and a director who just phoned in his directorial duties. The only thing that kind of bordered on "so-bad-its-good" was the equally miscast performance of Matthew Fox, who was so over the top that he was, at times, somewhat hilarious. The rest of the movie is just dull and forgettable. On the bright side for Tyler Perry, it doesn't look like the Madea films are going away time soon... so, good for him I guess.
9. Paranormal Activity 4
I've been pretty forgiving toward the not-so-subtle flaws that has plagued this series from the beginning, but I finally drew the line with Part 4. I don't expect much from these movies, so long as each entry delivers a few memorable moments of shocks and suspense. Paranormal Activity 4, however, in addition to falling victim to flat acting, a lame story, and weak ending, just isn't all that scary. Aside for one or two passable scenes, it's just too damn boring to make any real impression. Well, the series was fun while it lasted.
8. The Watch
You would think a film directed by The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer and starring Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, and Richard Ayoade would have a few laughs, wouldn't you? While it did get an occasional chuckle here and there, it was mostly a huge waste of time. The film never found a consistent tone, switching back and forth between crude adult-oriented jokes, juvenile teen boy humor, and uninspired sci-fi action. Even the film's few honest to God laughs were mostly taken from previous and better movies. In short... it blows.
7. House at the End of the Street
Normally I hate to see talented actors starring in terrible movies, but honestly, I don't think Jennifer Lawrence is going to have any trouble sweeping this stinker under the rug. Lawrence does what she can with such a boring character, and while her natural skill brings a touch of credibility to the film, it doesn't save this horror dud from sucking. The premise had some interesting ideas, but the execution was just forgettable and generic as it's uninspired title. No scares, little suspense, and some of the worst dialogue I've heard in years hold back this piece of crap from amounting to anything other than forgettable. Normally, a film like this would have pulled down it's star with it, but like I said, Jennifer Lawrence is going to do just fine. With a well-received role in The Hunger Games (though I personally didn't care much for that one) an Oscar nominated part in Silver Linings Playbook (possibly a win, we'll find out soon), she'll have no problem rebounding from this.
6. The Lorax
Can we please not get any more feature-length Dr. Seuss adaptations? While I'll always say that you can make a good movie out of anything, I've run out of hope in believing that studios will ever actually invest the necessary time and resources into pulling off a decent adaptation. The Lorax is a dumb and annoying cgi family flick that dilutes the message of it's source material to make room for an uninspired story, stock characters, grating humor, and annoying songs. Eeesh... at least some of the animation was nice. Don't bother with this one. If you've got kids who want to see it, read the book to them instead.
5. One For The Money
I'll come out and say it... I'm not a fan of Katherine Heigl. Sure, Knocked Up was good, but the rest of her filmography, namely her numerous romcoms, have ranged from forgettable to flat-out infuriating (in case you were wondering, no I've never been into Grey's Anatomy either). While she's not a terrible actress per se, she lacks a certain personality and has virtually no comic timing. One For The Money might be her worst film ever, with a script and premise that almost borders on sexist when it's not boring you to death. Katherine Heigl is a bounty hunter... no, that doesn't sound like it would be a good movie now does it? The concept is uninspired, the jokes aren't funny, the film isn't exciting... it's just an all around terrible movie. Even if your a fan of Heigl, skip this one.
4. Gone
Like I said about House at the End of the Street, I hate to see talented actors brought down by shitty movies. Amanda Seyfried has shown that she possesses some real acting ability, but keeps getting cast in God awful movies. She does her best in Gone, but even her talent can't salvage much out of this forgettable thriller. I'm having trouble thinking of things to even say about the film, because honestly, it made practically no impression whatsoever. It has an uninspired concept, the mystery isn't all that interesting, and... that's about it. It's a pretty fitting title though, I must admit. One day, you'll watch it, and the next day, your memories of the film will be as the title implies... Gone.
3. Mirror Mirror
It's a nice looking movie, no doubt about that. Director Tarsem Singh has a good eye for visuals. The production and costume designs are quite creative, I'll say that much. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is just awful! Julia Roberts is just too reserved to convincingly pull of campy humor, and unfortunately the movie puts a lot of faith in her role. In the long run, I don't know if any actor, no matter how talented, could have pulled off much entertainment value with a script this bad. What could have been an enjoyable camp fest or cute retelling of a classic fairy tale is instead an annoying, infuriating, and God awful snooze-fest. If you haven't seen this one... keep on doing that.
2. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
I admit that Ghost Rider isn't an easy superhero to adapt to film, but come on! The sequel to the only somewhat remembered 2007 film manages the rare feat of being both stupid and boring. The effects are a bit better this time around, but they're still pretty dodgy in most spots. The action is too damned erratic, the characters aren't interesting, and the story is predictable as hell. Even another psychotic performance from Nicolas Cage couldn't save this one... honestly, his shtick has been really wearing thin for a while now. The only positive thing I can say about Ghost Rider 2, is that it's not THE worst movie of 2012. That title goes to the following...
1. The Devil Inside
Wow! What a mess of a film we have here! I will say this, the idea of a horror film that explores the scientific and religious theories behind possession and exorcism is actually an interesting idea. Not to mention, the concept of renegade/underground exorcists is intriguing (mainly in a B-Movie kind of way, but whatever, a good idea is a good idea). Unfortunately, any promise this movie may have possessed (no pun intended) was let down by terrible execution. The actors... crap, the suspense... non-existent, the story... derivative, the ending... AWFUL!!! This film, has what might be the worst, cop out, "screw you" of an ending I've ever seen. Everything up until then was bad, but it was that ending that not only reserved it a spot on my "Worst Of" list but my choice for the worst movie of 2012! It's that bad folks.
So those are the worst movies I saw from 2012. If you haven't seen these movies and are thinking about checking them out... I wouldn't recommend it. Agree or disagree with my list? Leave a comment below and tell me your choices for the worst of 2012.
10. Alex Cross
Tyler Perry's first major break away from comedy... is probably going to end up being his last. I'll be honest, I've never been a fan of Perry's work. He seems like a nice enough guy and it's pretty cool that he has written, directed, and acted in a number of successful comedies. Still, they're just not my kind of films, and neither is this one. Perry was trying hard, I could tell, but he was let down by a miserable script and a director who just phoned in his directorial duties. The only thing that kind of bordered on "so-bad-its-good" was the equally miscast performance of Matthew Fox, who was so over the top that he was, at times, somewhat hilarious. The rest of the movie is just dull and forgettable. On the bright side for Tyler Perry, it doesn't look like the Madea films are going away time soon... so, good for him I guess.
9. Paranormal Activity 4
I've been pretty forgiving toward the not-so-subtle flaws that has plagued this series from the beginning, but I finally drew the line with Part 4. I don't expect much from these movies, so long as each entry delivers a few memorable moments of shocks and suspense. Paranormal Activity 4, however, in addition to falling victim to flat acting, a lame story, and weak ending, just isn't all that scary. Aside for one or two passable scenes, it's just too damn boring to make any real impression. Well, the series was fun while it lasted.
8. The Watch
You would think a film directed by The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer and starring Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, and Richard Ayoade would have a few laughs, wouldn't you? While it did get an occasional chuckle here and there, it was mostly a huge waste of time. The film never found a consistent tone, switching back and forth between crude adult-oriented jokes, juvenile teen boy humor, and uninspired sci-fi action. Even the film's few honest to God laughs were mostly taken from previous and better movies. In short... it blows.
7. House at the End of the Street
Normally I hate to see talented actors starring in terrible movies, but honestly, I don't think Jennifer Lawrence is going to have any trouble sweeping this stinker under the rug. Lawrence does what she can with such a boring character, and while her natural skill brings a touch of credibility to the film, it doesn't save this horror dud from sucking. The premise had some interesting ideas, but the execution was just forgettable and generic as it's uninspired title. No scares, little suspense, and some of the worst dialogue I've heard in years hold back this piece of crap from amounting to anything other than forgettable. Normally, a film like this would have pulled down it's star with it, but like I said, Jennifer Lawrence is going to do just fine. With a well-received role in The Hunger Games (though I personally didn't care much for that one) an Oscar nominated part in Silver Linings Playbook (possibly a win, we'll find out soon), she'll have no problem rebounding from this.
6. The Lorax
Can we please not get any more feature-length Dr. Seuss adaptations? While I'll always say that you can make a good movie out of anything, I've run out of hope in believing that studios will ever actually invest the necessary time and resources into pulling off a decent adaptation. The Lorax is a dumb and annoying cgi family flick that dilutes the message of it's source material to make room for an uninspired story, stock characters, grating humor, and annoying songs. Eeesh... at least some of the animation was nice. Don't bother with this one. If you've got kids who want to see it, read the book to them instead.
5. One For The Money
I'll come out and say it... I'm not a fan of Katherine Heigl. Sure, Knocked Up was good, but the rest of her filmography, namely her numerous romcoms, have ranged from forgettable to flat-out infuriating (in case you were wondering, no I've never been into Grey's Anatomy either). While she's not a terrible actress per se, she lacks a certain personality and has virtually no comic timing. One For The Money might be her worst film ever, with a script and premise that almost borders on sexist when it's not boring you to death. Katherine Heigl is a bounty hunter... no, that doesn't sound like it would be a good movie now does it? The concept is uninspired, the jokes aren't funny, the film isn't exciting... it's just an all around terrible movie. Even if your a fan of Heigl, skip this one.
4. Gone
Like I said about House at the End of the Street, I hate to see talented actors brought down by shitty movies. Amanda Seyfried has shown that she possesses some real acting ability, but keeps getting cast in God awful movies. She does her best in Gone, but even her talent can't salvage much out of this forgettable thriller. I'm having trouble thinking of things to even say about the film, because honestly, it made practically no impression whatsoever. It has an uninspired concept, the mystery isn't all that interesting, and... that's about it. It's a pretty fitting title though, I must admit. One day, you'll watch it, and the next day, your memories of the film will be as the title implies... Gone.
3. Mirror Mirror
It's a nice looking movie, no doubt about that. Director Tarsem Singh has a good eye for visuals. The production and costume designs are quite creative, I'll say that much. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is just awful! Julia Roberts is just too reserved to convincingly pull of campy humor, and unfortunately the movie puts a lot of faith in her role. In the long run, I don't know if any actor, no matter how talented, could have pulled off much entertainment value with a script this bad. What could have been an enjoyable camp fest or cute retelling of a classic fairy tale is instead an annoying, infuriating, and God awful snooze-fest. If you haven't seen this one... keep on doing that.
2. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
I admit that Ghost Rider isn't an easy superhero to adapt to film, but come on! The sequel to the only somewhat remembered 2007 film manages the rare feat of being both stupid and boring. The effects are a bit better this time around, but they're still pretty dodgy in most spots. The action is too damned erratic, the characters aren't interesting, and the story is predictable as hell. Even another psychotic performance from Nicolas Cage couldn't save this one... honestly, his shtick has been really wearing thin for a while now. The only positive thing I can say about Ghost Rider 2, is that it's not THE worst movie of 2012. That title goes to the following...
1. The Devil Inside
Wow! What a mess of a film we have here! I will say this, the idea of a horror film that explores the scientific and religious theories behind possession and exorcism is actually an interesting idea. Not to mention, the concept of renegade/underground exorcists is intriguing (mainly in a B-Movie kind of way, but whatever, a good idea is a good idea). Unfortunately, any promise this movie may have possessed (no pun intended) was let down by terrible execution. The actors... crap, the suspense... non-existent, the story... derivative, the ending... AWFUL!!! This film, has what might be the worst, cop out, "screw you" of an ending I've ever seen. Everything up until then was bad, but it was that ending that not only reserved it a spot on my "Worst Of" list but my choice for the worst movie of 2012! It's that bad folks.
So those are the worst movies I saw from 2012. If you haven't seen these movies and are thinking about checking them out... I wouldn't recommend it. Agree or disagree with my list? Leave a comment below and tell me your choices for the worst of 2012.
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