Cinetopia Golden Ticket: May 2013

Ever since Steven Spielberg swept the box office with the release of JAWS in the later half of June 1975, the season for summer Hollywood blockbusters seems to have started earlier each year. By my calculations, this year’s summer movie line-up began the first weekend in May and it looks like next year they’ll be starting in April with the release of the next installment of Captain America. It won’t be long before the summer movie season starts right after it ends. In any case, here are the early birds I deemed worthy of checking out in the month of May. I was pleased that none of them were particularly awful (unlike too many selections from my two previous posts), but there are few you can skip and not lose any sleep over.

Movie Fourteen: Iron Man 3 – I absolutely loved the original Iron Man, but I wasn’t terribly fond of Iron Man 2. That doesn’t mean I disliked it, it just didn’t invigorate me the way its predecessor did. We all know sequels are almost never as good as the originals and that seems especially true of superhero movies because their origin stories are almost always more compelling than their subsequent adventures. That means the burden for a superhero movie sequel’s level of quality rests most heavily on the villains. Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight really delivered in those departments, but most others fail to deliver a compelling enough villain to cover the deficit. When you add a third movie, you’re facing an even bigger challenge (Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises, for example, being the weakest installments of their respective series). Iron Man 3 kinda painted itself into a corner since it’s not only a follow-up to Iron Man 2, but The Avengers as well. That said, they didn’t do too bad a job. It’s just a bit familiar and unspectacular is all. I will applaud them for being creative, though. As I said, villains are the fulcrum with superhero sequels and Ben Kingsley delivers a grand performance as The Mandarin (in a way you least expect). Still, I’m not sure we need an Iron Man 4. I’ll take an Avengers 2, though.

Movie Fifteen: The Great Gatsby – I’m not sure I’m really qualified to critique this movie since I have never read the book, I haven’t seen the 1974 film version, nor have I seen any of Baz Luhrmann’s other films (except Romeo + Juliet back when it first came out). So, I have no real basis of comparison. Although, on the other hand, maybe that makes me the ideal person to offer an opinion since a good movie should stand on its own, correct? With that in mind, I found it compelling enough. Anyone who’s seen the trailer will know it’s quite flashy, but it has enough integrity not to drown in its own style. In fact, the best things it has going for it are the performances (especially Elizabeth Debicki, who – if she chooses the right roles in the years to come – could become a big star) and that’s a pretty impressive stand-out in a movie this visually abundant. The earnestness of the performances actually makes the overwhelming use of CGI less distracting and even the obvious anachronisms didn’t bother me. I was, of course, aware the entire time that I was watching a movie, but that’s not necessarily a drawback as long as it’s interesting enough. The movie’s nearly two-and-a-half hours long and I didn’t look at my watch once, so what does that tell you?

Movie Sixteen: Star Trek Into Darkness – This is probably the easiest movie in the world to recommend or dissuade. It really boils down to one question: Did you enjoy J.J. Abrams’ previous Star Trek movie? If you did, you’ll like this one. If you didn’t, you won’t. Star Trek Into Darkness is pretty much more of the same, but cranked up a notch so none of it feels rehashed or repetitive. There are, of course, the cynics and die-hard trekkies out there all too happy to tear it apart and that’s their right (I’m prone to the same tendencies when it comes to other certain movies), but really this is pure escapism done right and I had an absolute blast watching it. Gene Roddenberry seemed more interested in social allegory and philosophical commentary, but J.J. Abrams has opted for space opera. That’s probably what’s divided the fans. I grew up in a “Star Trek” household in that my mom and brother were huge fans of the show, so I have a vicarious appreciation for its roots, but don’t feel betrayed by the tangents this new series is exploring. In fact, I’m probably poised to appreciate the changes as much as anyone possibly can since I’m familiar with its origins, but not married to them. We’ll see what I think of STAR WARS after Abrams gets his hands on that.

Movie Seventeen: Epic – To really get my “money’s worth” out of my Golden Ticket, I try to see one movie a week, if I can. However, even though new movies come out with every week, it’s often a challenge to find one I’m willing to watch even for free in a high-end theater. Sometimes, even the drive out isn’t worth it. Ten days had gone by since I saw Star Trek Into Darkness and I was starting to have symptoms of withdrawal. So, a rainy day and a favorable review from the Willamette Week got me to go out and see Epic. Unfortunately, despite what the paper said, I found all my reluctant preconceived notions to be met. It wasn’t god-awful, but it was pretty prosaic and did indeed come across as a Ferngully off-shoot. Its intentions are good and it’s certainly endurable, but - thanks to PIXAR - I don’t really have much patience for movies that appeal to kids but not adults.

Movie Eighteen: After Earth – I think of myself as someone who’s hip to the scene when it comes to movies. I was a bit surprised, though, at the end of this movie (which had no opening credits) to find out it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. After being surprised, I was amused. Clearly, the lackluster performance (both critically and financially) of his last four movies have influenced the studios to withhold his identity from all promotional materials for this film when, ten years ago, his name would have been as prominently placed as Will Smith’s. Also missing from this film are his Hitchcock-ish suspense, his Spielberg-ian sentimentality, and his Serling-esque endings. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, but this film isn’t anything special either way. The action sequences are okay, the special effects are pretty cartoony, the acting is very dry and the story’s real predictable. I liked Will Smith’s speech about fear, but you can hear that in the trailer. As far as post-apocalyptic movies go, this one’s not as good as Oblivion. And Oblivion’s not that good.

Movie Nineteen: Now You See Me – I like a good heist movie. Some try too hard to impress you, though. This one has a good excuse (being that it’s about magicians), but it’s still pretty hard to swallow. I condone suspension of disbelief under most circumstances, but sometimes that’s inconvenient when you give the audience a convoluted scheme to follow. Basically, you’re saying “pay attention, but don’t think too hard”. Anyone willing to do that for this movie, though, will have a good time. It’s totally ridiculous, but remains entertaining. The more I watch Ocean’s Eleven, the less I believe it, but I love it every time. This movie’s trying really hard to be Ocean’s Eleven (just look at the poster), but it doesn’t quite measure up. It’s not as smart, not as funny, and the characters aren’t as interesting, but it’s a good try. It has a great scene that beautifully illustrates how masters in sleight-of-hand could be good at hand-to-hand combat. More scenes like that would have made this film better than it actually is. A stronger script would’ve helped, too.

So, now that the summer’s opening act has played, we’ll see what else it has in store for us. Looking ahead at June, I count about nine movies I’m interested in seeing. So, it looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me and probably won’t be getting a tan anytime soon.

Cinetopia Golden Ticket: April 2013

I’ve always admired Roger Ebert. “Adored” would be a better word, actually. I’ve been reading his reviews for so long, I really felt like I knew him. In fact, his death made me about as sad as I think one could be for the loss of someone they’d never actually met. He caught my attention early on when I discovered his syndicated movie review show as a kid. I was every bit as much of a movie fan back then and I was in awe of the concept that somebody could have a career (and even their own show) of watching movies and then talking about them. It never occurred to me that there could be a drawback to that kind of arrangement.

Two months out of a year’s worth of free movies has shown me that drawback. The truth is, for every great movie, there are probably nine bad ones. It’s an interesting position, to have unlimited free movies whenever you want them. As a normal paying customer, you exercise discretion because you obviously don’t want to spend money on something you don’t think you’d enjoy. Some of that discretion still remains, in my case, because I certainly don’t want to spend time on something I don’t think I’ll enjoy (I have absolutely no intention of ever seeing Scary Movie 5, for instance, no matter how free it may be), but I am more inclined to indulge in something I wouldn’t normally pay for. As I stated in my previous post, I have been pleasantly surprised in some cases by movies I had little to no expectations of (I still stand by my ascertainment that Snitch is a great movie despite my own prejudices) and never would have seen in the first place were it not for my Golden Ticket, but – just like good movies I would have paid to see – those are few and far between.

In case that last paragraph sounds too cynical, let me be clear: I’m not in the least bit sorry I have a year’s worth of free movies at my disposal and I’m still excited about what remains in the year to come. I’m merely pointing out that, the more movies you see, the percentage of movies that impress you decreases exponentially. So, let’s take a look at the past month of mediocrity, shall we?

Movie Eight: Evil Dead – The original Evil Dead never had a claim on quality or dignity, but it did have one thing going for it: Excess. Probably 90% of its shoestring budget was dedicated to gory special effects that were impressive enough to earn the film a permanent standing in the horror hall of fame. With that in mind, you would think a remake would be something spectacular with a huge budget behind it. Yeah, baby! Crank that sucker up to 11! Unfortunately, I thought the same thing about the Godzilla remake 15 years ago (which was terribly botched in ways that, to this day, still mystify me) and the Evil Dead remake suffers the same fate. It’s really quite simple folks: Get some teenagers up to a secluded cabin, make them likeable enough so we can at least stand them for 90 minutes (this version’s first mistake was failing to manage even that), find a way to unleash evil spirits, then an hour’s worth of special effects, freaky monsters and gruesome deaths (each one more impressive than the last) that accumulates into a finale that makes us say “whoa.” How hard is that? It’s pretty pathetic when you take a movie that wasn’t very good to begin with and do away with whatever it had going for it to make something even worse. I’m having PTSD flashbacks of The Amityville Horror remake.

Movie Nine: Jurassic Park 3-D – Some movies were made for the theater. Not just because they have breathtaking scenery and fantastic sound effects, but because the presentation is integral to the experience. Lawrence of Arabia, for instance, is a movie I will only see in the theater because to watch it any other way is to undermine its greatness. It makes me shudder to think that there are probably people out there who have actually watched it on an iPad. I used to own Jurassic Park on video years ago, but got rid of it before too long because I never watched it. I always assumed it was because it just wasn’t a good enough movie to stand up to multiple viewings. But now, having seen it in the theater again 20 years later, I see it’s all about the presentation. It was every bit as impactful as the first time I saw it in the theater as a teenager, which is impressive given all the movies we’ve seen since then. That’s Spielberg, I guess. JAWS holds up, so why wouldn’t Jurassic Park? As for the 3-D aspect, the conversion is pretty spectacular and looks about as realistic as it possibly can, but the fact is Jurassic Park is a good enough movie that it doesn’t need it at all. Although, that scene when the velociraptor leaps up at Lex hanging from the ventilation shaft seems like an even closer call with the 3-D.

Movie Ten: The Place Beyond the Pines – Here’s one I went to see just because I’d heard it was good. And, man, was it good. It’s a compelling arrangement of three movies in one with stories and characters (and their connections with each other) overlapping within a span of about 15 years. Movies like this usually separate the chapters into a series of vignettes, but this film has a nice flow where the viewer just rides along with the story as it unfolds in unpredictable tangents. Much like real life. It has an especially beautiful ending that suggests that life comes full circle and the character who exits in the final scene is likely to go on and eventually enter as another character does in the opening scene. It’s a pretty powerful movie. The set-up, relationships and pathos of this film reminded me of a Dan Chaon novel. If haven’t read Dan Chaon, do yourself a favor and seek out his work. But, do yourself a more immediate favor first and seek out The Place Beyond the Pines.

Movie Eleven: 42 – When Red Tails came out, it was almost unanimously deemed prosaic by critics. That bummed me out, but I went to see it anyway in the hopes that I would like it regardless of public opinion. Unfortunately, the critics were right. It was unfortunate not just because I wanted to like it, but because the story of the Tuskegee Airmen is such a great one and they deserved a better telling of their legacy, especially since the service of black soldiers in World War II is so grossly overlooked. 42 is a better movie than Red Tails was, but it still falls short as far as the kind reverent tribute Jackie Robinson deserves from a film. I was hoping for a more sentimental and moving baseball flick like The Natural or The Pride of the Yankees. Maybe part of the problem was that Jackie Robinson lived a very straight and honorable life. He was faithfully married to the same woman for over 25 years. He didn’t have any problems with drugs or alcohol. He didn’t have any debilitating illnesses (unless you count diabetes, which he was diagnosed with after he retired from baseball). He wasn’t even traded from the Brooklyn Dodgers during his entire major league career. So, basically his story is that he was a good ball player, they let him into the major leagues, racists didn’t like that, but his prowess and talent combined with the changing of the times made people think differently and, eventually, he became a legend. That’s about it. Makes for a good milestone in the history of civil rights, but lacks some punch as a movie. I’m not saying it’s a bad film, but I would have liked it to be better. As a footnote, I’d just like to point out that there was some controversy surrounding Tarantino’s Django Unchained and its overabundance of the word “nigger”. Now, I wasn’t keeping a tally, but it seemed like 42 used the word about as many times as Django did. How come nobody made a fuss about it this time? Is it because baseball is a less inflammatory subject than slavery and therefore racial slurs are more acceptable in a sports movie? Or is it just because 42 wasn’t as popular a movie?

Movie Twelve: Oblivion – This kind of movie is exactly what I was referring to in the third paragraph of this blog post. Oblivion is a perfectly competent science fiction film. It’s tightly directed, beautifully shot, well-acted, has amazing special effects, good action sequences, realistic dialogue and an original enough story to not feel redundant. Plus, Morgan Freeman. Yet, even with all those elements in place, I walked out of the theater feeling little more than that it was a decent way to kill a couple hours. Is that because I’m seeing so many movies that my standards are too high or was it merely a garden-variety sci-fi flick that didn’t deserve much acclaim? Probably a little of both. In any case, I’m glad I saw it, but by the time next spring rolls around and I’m compiling my top ten favorite films of the year, Oblivion will surely be omitted. Not because it wasn’t good, but because it was forgettable.

Movie Thirteen: Pain & Gain – Apparently, some of the real life victims (and families of victims) portrayed in this movie have come forward complaining that this movie glorifies the criminals depicted and makes them likeable and “sympathetic”. I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Everybody in this entire movie (with the possible exception of Ed Harris’ character and his wife) comes across as a world-class grade-A bag of douche, in my opinion – bad guys and good guys. There isn’t a single likeable or sympathetic person or action in the whole movie. In fact, I’ll even take it a step further and say that anybody who even liked this movie is probably kind of a dick. Let’s face it, the movie was made by Michael Bay and we all know he’s a dick. It really is an insufferable movie made worse because it’s over two hours long. Interestingly enough, you could probably trim it down to 90 minutes by simply letting all of the slo-mo scenes play in real time.

There were a number of days last month (especially the rainy ones) where I actually wanted to go to the movies, but I had seen everything I conceivably wanted to see (as I said before, I never had any intention of seeing Scary Movie 5 or any film of its caliber), so I had nothing to do but wait for something new to come out. Thankfully, the studios tend to get a jump on the summer market by releasing some of their blockbusters as early as May. So, here’s to hoping I’m in for some better stuff in the months ahead.

Cinetopia Golden Ticket: March 2013

For the uninitiated, Cinetopia is small chain of theaters in Vancouver, Washington (with one in Beaverton, Oregon) that has made high-end movie-viewing its ceaseless goal. In addition to more comfortable seats with extra leg room and full-service dining from its in-house restaurant, they have ginormous screens with digital projection and state-of-the-art sound systems that seem to be comprised of speakers carpeting the walls and ceilings. It’s quite impressive.

As if this wasn’t enough, owner Rudyard Coltman has been spear-heading new ways to get film fans into Cinetopia to share their appreciation other than merely watching movies. Most recently, they experimented in having a movie-themed game show in promotion of A Good Day to Die Hard. Contestants answered trivia from the Die Hard franchise as well as completed physical challenges inspired by the movie series, winning various prizes with every round. The grand prize winner of the championship trivia round received a Golden Ticket, which allows for an entire year of unlimited free movies at any Cinetopia location, any day, any show, any way he wants. Lucky bastard.

At the end of that video, you can see a dorky picture of the lucky bastard in question and that lucky bastard is me. Who’da thought watching all those Die Hard movies over and over would actually pay off (outside of being their own reward, I mean)? After winning the Golden Ticket, I was in full-on “too good to be true” mode and was looking for a loophole (as if the pass was ineligible for premieres or special engagements or not for use in the movie parlors or could only be used a few times a month or whatever), but no – this is the real deal and I’m like a kid in a candy store.

My Golden Ticket officially went into effect at the beginning of March and I saw two movies that first day alone. It seemed to me that, after having received such a generous prize, I owed it to the people (or, at least, to myself) to keep track of the free movies I’ve seen this year and review them as I go. So, for the remainder of this year (and into winter 2014), I will be using this blog to look back on the movies of the past month that I probably never would have seen without my Golden Ticket.

Movie One: 21 & Over – Unfortunately, after Oscar time, movie studios kinda lose their ambition and have a tendency to release stuff they’ve been sitting on for some time or don’t have much confidence in (or both). I can’t say for sure that 21 & Over fits into that category specifically, but it’s a pretty mediocre and forgettable movie. That’s a shame, because movies like this are poised to be hilarious and exhilarating. The Hangover was exactly that and this film was made by the guys who wrote The Hangover. But, it was also made by the guys who wrote The Hangover Part II, so I guess they’ve already exhausted the premise. 21 & Over wasn’t altogether bad; it just wasn’t very good, either. It started out pretty promising with likeable characters that had good chemistry and amusing banter, but, ironically, once they started partying, it actually became less interesting. Ultimately, the movie just seemed lazy. There were so many gags where the punchline was somebody simply ending up naked (which, in itself, is not funny) that it got old real fast. I’d say more about the movie, but frankly, I don’t remember much. And I saw it just a month ago.

Movie Two: Jack the Giant Slayer – It’s my understanding this movie didn’t do so hot in theaters. Can’t say I’m surprised. It’s not a bad movie (certainly much better than 21 & Over), but I could tell while I was watching it that this would be a film that would probably slip through the cracks. I didn’t see John Carter last year (and it seems nobody else did, either), but I suspect Jack the Giant Slayer had the same problem. There were all the ingredients of a blockbuster: An accomplished director doing a classic story with good actors, a decent script, well-crafted action sequences, excellent special effects and some humor sprinkled throughout. So, what went wrong? I think people just weren’t interested in seeing a movie about “Jack & the Beanstalk” any more than they were “John Carter of Mars”. Not right now, anyway. That’s the real trick, I think. It’s like the stock market. Who knew that Lord of the Rings would be such a huge success being made about 45 years after the books were published? Nobody did. Audiences were just ready. Speaking for myself, I enjoyed Jack the Giant Slayer enough to be glad I watched it, but it certainly didn’t blow me away as much as the filmmakers clearly intended it to. And that’s not even the filmmakers’ fault. I just wasn’t really in the mood for it. I probably will someday, though.

Movie Three: Side Effects – Don’t worry, this month’s entry won’t be entirely comprised of expressing my disappointment in sub-par films. This movie I knew very little about going into, but was told that’s the way to see it. Given it was a Steven Soderbergh opus; I knew I was in good hands, so that was enough to pique my interest. As I said, going in to this movie cold seems to enhance the experience, so I’ll say very little about the movie as far as details. It has a very small cast and all of them turn in very compelling performances (Yes, even Channing Tatum) making it almost feel like a play. Intimate stories like this can be quite powerful with the right script and an accomplished director and this film has both, in spades. In fact, this is the best movie of the year so far (and by far). If you missed it in theaters (although, Portland people can catch it at the Hollywood Theatre this week), don’t worry. It won’t suffer much from being seen on DVD.

Movie Four: Snitch – In some ways, I enjoyed this movie even more than Side Effects, largely because I expected so little from it. The way the film was marketed (mostly from the trailer) and given the fact it stars The Rock, I was anticipating a brainlessly macho action extravaganza harkening back to the 80’s-era Stallone/Schwarzenegger nonsense. What I got instead was a very well-constructed suspenseful drama. In fact, it’s barely an action movie because it’s trying so hard not to be. The Rock plays a man who takes it upon himself to gather incriminating evidence on drug dealers on behalf of his son who is caught receiving narcotics in a sting operation that borders on entrapment. The story does a good job of showing (quite plausibly, I thought) how this father won’t take “no” for an answer to the point where the DEA says “Well, we might as well use him, then.” And when the obligatory speech comes around about two-thirds into the movie where the dad confesses to his son in the visitation room that he realizes he hasn’t been an attentive enough father, but is going to try to make things right, it doesn’t feel forced or hokey. Indeed, it’s quite appropriate at that point in the story and even surprisingly touching. People often don’t give professional wrestlers much credit for being good film actors, but let’s not forget: that’s what professional wrestlers are. I think, over time, if he chooses the right roles, The Rock… No… Dwayne Johnson will be well respected as an actor and will have earned that respect.

Movie Five: Dead Man Down – Crime thrillers where the characters are double-crossers and not everything is as it seems have ceased to be surprising because we all pretty much walk into these movies expecting to be surprised in the first place. Outside of completely changing genres midway through the movie (like having an alien burst forth through Colin Farrell’s chest or having Noomi Rapace suddenly jump into a choreographed song and dance number), there’s not much more filmmakers can do to catch us off guard in movies like this anymore. That said, this isn’t a bad entry in that category. I think they tried a little hard to make a fairly simple premise seem complicated, but it’s still a worthwhile ride. Again, I don’t wanna say too much in the off chance you’re the type of person who is caught off guard by the kinds of plot twists this movie contains, so I’ll keep it short. The set-up of the movie is that a gangster (played by Terrence Howard) is being anonymously tormented out of revenge while one of his underlings (played by Colin Farrell) is being blackmailed by his neighbor (played by Noomi Rapace) who has an agenda of her own. If that kind of scenario sounds like something you’d enjoy, you’d probably enjoy this movie. I did. But I probably wouldn’t watch it again.

Movie Six: Spring Breakers – I could never tell the difference between Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. Still not sure I can, but they at least are capable enough actresses for me to be able to tell them apart in this movie. Clearly they’ve both reached that rite of passage where child actresses attempt to transcend their wholesome images by playing hedonistic hell-raisers (as Alyssa Milano and Drew Barrymore did in the early 90’s). I gotta say, they do a good job, too. Not merely in playing unscrupulous sluts, but actually adding some depth to their characters as well. Gomez is particularly good in a scene where she pleads to James Franco (who practically disappears in his role as a small-time gangsta) that she feels they’ve gone too far and wants to go home. I have mixed feeling about this film because it succeeds so well in some scenes and falls short in others. For instance, there’s a mesmerizing shot where the girls’ first robbery is viewed through the windows of a restaurant from the getaway car as it circles around the front door to the back, but they ruin it later by revealing the details of what went on inside through flashbacks. There’s also a great set-up to the climactic scene and, when it’s over, you’re like “That’s it?” Bottom line, though: This movie accomplishes what it sets out to do and anybody expecting to see lotsa T&A won’t be disappointed.

Movie Seven: Olympus Has Fallen – And we’re back to lame movies, this one being the worst on this whole list. I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare, of course, but I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare with Snitch, either. Besides being an all-around stupid movie, there were other things that bothered me even more about this one. Mainly, it seemed to have an almost cynical disregard for human life. Now, I’m not such a pansy that I shake my head disdainfully at a high body count (for crying out loud, I won the Die Hard Game Show, so what does that tell you), but this movie seemed to say that dozens - even hundreds - of human lives are disposable so long as the President survives. Really, is any one person’s life that valuable? There’s a scene in the movie where the Speaker of the House as acting President goes on television assuring the American People that the chain of command is still intact. After having seen the White House obliterated, the Secret Service almost entirely wiped out, a significant amount of the upper tier of government officials executed, and everything the terrorists are demanding on top of that, you’d think there’d be a point where the remaining functioning government would say, “Screw it, what good is the President to us now?” I’m not trying to downplay the importance of the role of Commander-in-Chief nor his significance as a man, but seeing as how he is this movie’s “MacGuffin,” I didn’t feel like whether he lived or died really mattered in the grand scheme of things, particularly when he was the terrorists only real bargaining chip and their ultimate agenda seemed to be to kill more Americans anyway. There’s also a particularly tasteless scene where the top of the Washington Monument is ripped off after a terrorist plane crashes into it. The debris crushes fleeing bystanders and the remaining structure is left smoldering. Clearly the filmmakers were trying to underhandedly strike an emotional chord with the audience by using imagery reminiscent of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. I wouldn’t have been as offended if it had anything to do with the plot, but it was just there to make us upset about something fictional by reminding us of something actual. Pretty sickening.

I saw Olympus Has Fallen on March 29^th and I’m aching to wipe it out of my memory with something good for April. Unfortunately, I’m unable to find anything I’m interested in seeing even for free this week (at Cinetopia, anyway). Hopefully, I won’t hafta wait ‘til May to see something good, but stay tuned.

Well, the world didn't end...

Every year around Oscar time, I become reflective of the films I’ve seen from the previous year and start finalizing my top ten favorite movies within that timeframe. I don’t know if it’s my exponentially waning interest in the Oscars with every passing year that makes the task more and more difficult, or if the quality of films is gradually declining in general. Probably a little of both. That’s why it’s taken me a month to finally sit down and write this and, even now, it feels like a chore.

Not that this year was devoid of good movies. There were plenty. However, it did seem harder to prioritize them in order of how much I enjoyed them. It seemed like every time I sat down to weigh my opinion of each film, I was forced to rearrange the list almost entirely. It got to the point where I thought I might do this year’s list alphabetically. That seemed like too much of a cop-out, though. So, in being aware that this is not the ten commandments being carved into stone tablets and that I’m merely one out of a million online jackasses spouting off about which movies I liked better than all the others, I said “screw it” and finally settled on an order that I’m happy with. For the moment, anyway. By this time next week, I could have the list completely redone again. It’s certainly true that my previous lists are all in a constant state of flux and often changed significantly after catching up with movies I missed the first time around. So, with that in mind, here are my top ten favorite films from 2012 in the order that makes the most sense to me right now at this very second:

#10: Moonrise Kingdom – Here’s a perfect example of why compiling this year’s top ten list was like pulling teeth. Of the ten listed, I probably saw this one first (earliest in the year, I mean) and, consequently, I remember very little about it except that I really liked it a lot. Seeing it again and reacquainting myself with its magic would probably bump it up further, but given the fact I don’t recall many specifics indicates it didn’t leave that much of a lasting impression. So, my conscience dictates it be relegated to the number ten slot. It just barely edged out Argo, which I had seen more recently, do remember, and did really like, so that should give some perspective on how good Moonrise Kingdom was given that Argo won the Best Picture Oscar. What I remember most about Moonrise Kingdom was its overall impression. It felt like a live-action “Peanuts” comic strip. Very charming and sweet but also rambunctious and kinda dark. I’ve always appreciated Wes Anderson’s work, but, with the possible exception of The Royal Tenenbaums, I think this could be his best film. I’ll hafta see it again, though, to make sure.

#9: Silver Linings Playbook – Romantic comedies are tricky. They have an automatic tendency towards schmaltzy sentiment. In fact, they almost can’t exist without it. Silver Linings Playbook has it in bits and pieces, even ending with the male lead literally running after the female lead once she’s walked out and he realizes he loves her (if you think that’s a spoiler then I’m afraid I’ve spoiled the ending of pretty much every romantic comedy ever made), but the ways it differs from garden-variety romantic comedies outweigh the similarities and thus justifies itself. The lovers in question are flawed to the point of literally being mentally ill which makes their romance more powerful and volatile. It’s brilliant, really, because their instability makes for a suspenseful relationship while at the same time making you root for them more than you would a well-adjusted couple. That’s about as good a complication as any romantic comedy has to offer.

#8: Kon-Tiki – I read this book back when I was in sixth grade and remember very little about it except that it had a lot of sharks. Naturally, that memory was enough for me to want to see the movie many years later. I had also read “Life of Pi” many years ago (not as early as sixth grade, obviously, but probably about a decade ago) and saw that movie as well. While I enjoyed the book for “Life of Pi” more than the book of “Kon-Tiki”, I definitely liked the film version of Kon-Tiki more than the film version of Life of Pi.  Not only did it strike me as a more authentic portrayal of being adrift at sea (due in no small part to being a true story, I’m sure), but I found Kon-Tiki to be much more visually breath-taking. This is largely because the special effects seemed so much more realistic. Watching Life of Pi, I was thinking, “Wow, the CGI for that (insert name of any of the many animals that appear in the film here) looks pretty real.” Watching Kon-Tiki (which, although no tiger, had just about as many sea creatures in it as Life of Pi did), it didn’t even occur to me that they were using CGI, although they must have, right? Even the scene where they pull a great white shark onto the deck must have been a model of some kind, but I’ll be damned if I could tell the difference. That kind of authenticity makes all the difference. Plus, it’s just a great movie.

#7: Brave – I usually try to see PIXAR movies in the theater because they’re always such a feast for the eyes. This one somehow got by me, though, and I saw it on DVD a couple months ago. Maybe I didn’t make it a priority because a lot of critics seemed to say it was a fairly pedestrian and unspectacular PIXAR flick, inferring that they’d reached some kind of plateau and were just kinda going through the motions at this point. At least that was the impression I was getting from the press. I don’t know what they were talking about, though. This film is fantastic and meets all the requirements of the high bar that PIXAR has set for itself: A great story, vivid characters, beautiful imagery, exciting action sequences, intelligent humor, truly touch moments and, most importantly, an uplifting and valuable message. It even had the heroic female lead that audiences specifically asked for. I loved it and was mad at myself for not going out of my way to see it in the theater. I don’t know where the disappointment other movie-goers experienced came from. Maybe I’m just easier to please than most other PIXAR fans, but, if that’s the case, I’m totally okay with it.

#6: Flight – I often roll my eyes whenever somebody (usually Spike Lee) accuses Hollywood of overlooking exceptional work of black people in filmmaking. But, given the track record of Denzel Washington, sometimes I wonder. It’s not that he’s gone unappreciated, but let’s review: Mr. Washington has been nominated for six Academy Awards throughout his acting career and, of those six, he’s won two. Not too shabby, right? However, the roles he won for were Glory, where he played a Civil War slave, and Training Day where he played a corrupt ghetto cop. Those were both great roles that he was amazing in, but I’m reminded of a speech Eddie Murphy’s character gave in Bowfinger: “White boys get all the Oscars. It’s a fact! Did I get a nomination? No, and you know why? ‘Cuz I ain’t played none of them slave roles and get my ass whipped. That’s when you get the nomination. Black dude play a slave role, get his ass whipped, he get a nomination. White boy play an idiot, they get the Oscar. Find me a script as a retarded slave, then I’ll get the Oscar.” That’s all for laughs, of course, but when you look at the roles Denzel Washington has been nominated for and didn’t win, it’s a bit odd. There’s no doubt that Daniel Day-Lewis is a fine actor, clearly one of the best actors alive today, but let’s face it; for the role of Abraham Lincoln, 50% of that performance is putting on the hat and the beard. Watch Denzel Washington as a hopelessly addicted yet somehow functional chronic alcoholic dealing with conflicting emotions of being both a hero and a culprit in the midst of a highly-publicized tragedy and tell me that his wasn’t the best performance of the year.

#5: Django Unchained – This film probably bounced up and down the list more than any other, so I finally settled on putting it right at the halfway point. At times, it feels like the best movie of the year and, in other places, it feels incomplete and slightly awkward. Ultimately, I think the film is either too long or too short. Some characters and scenes seem undeveloped to the point where I think they should have been cut out altogether. But, at the same time, I feel like there’s more there we’re not seeing and the movie would greatly benefit from it. Could this be because it’s Tarantino’s first film made without his usual editor, the late Sally Menke? Tarantino has said that there’s an “Extended Cut” that he may or may not release after the film has completed its international screenings. That’s what I wanna see. After that, I’ll feel better about my final verdict. Either way, though, this is an incredible and impressive flick that further illustrates Quentin Tarantino’s ever-growing talent and even maturity as a writer/director. He just may be too big for the movies and better suited for mini-series. I, for one, am sick of filmmakers being forced to snip their films in order to fit some pre-determined cookie-cutter timeframe. Anybody who’s seen the extended director’s cuts of The Wild Bunch or Das Boot would have to agree with me. The theatrical cuts of both those films are tragically inferior, as is Django Unchained, I suspect. As Roger Ebert says, “No good film is too long and no bad film is short enough.”

#4: Sleepwalk with Me – I’m not sure what to say about this film, honestly. It came to me through word of mouth and I knew very little about it when I finally sat down to watch it. I’m reluctant to say much about it and deprive anyone who hasn’t seen it of the same experience. It has all the traits and ingredients of a semi-autobiographical independent film. You can take that as either a plus or minus. It’s very quirky (some friends of mine thought it was too self-indulgent and, while I can’t argue with them, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing in this case) with lots of dry humor and amusing, albeit highly clichéd, characters. Overall, it’s an interesting look at one man’s search for himself and his passion – which, throughout most of the movie, he’s not even sure exists. That’s a pretty good way too sum it up without revealing too many details. I also thought it was modestly profound (even accidentally, perhaps) and could be very inspiring to the right person. What kind of person I couldn’t say any more than I could effectively describe this movie without telling you the entire story. It’s a “ya had to be there” kinda thing.

#3: Celeste and Jesse Forever – I’ve been waiting for years to see a romantic comedy where the leading characters are broken up and don’t get back together. They came close with (500) Days of Summer, but that film had too many flashbacks of when they were together and in love. This film only glazes over the real relationship via photos shown during the opening credits. When the movie begins, Celeste and Jesse are broken up and the rest of the movie explores what a couple does when they seem to everyone (including each other) to be a perfect match yet still cannot be together. It begins modestly by going for easy laughs and light conflict, but it sneaks up on you with matters that are simmering below the surface of its gregarious façade culminating into a pretty deep and insightful dramedy about the complexity of relationships, whether they be romantic or platonic. There are times where we, the audience, want Celeste and Jesse to get back together and other times when we feel they shouldn’t. Best of all, at the end, when the past has been set and the lessons have been learned, we’re left with a sense of hope rather than happiness. Isn’t that the best life has to offer us most of the time? When romantic comedies (even ones as good as Silver Linings Playbook) tend to finish with either living happily ever after or tragically broken-hearted split-ups, it’s refreshing to see one that’s realistic enough to acknowledge that, in many cases, people usually end up somewhere in between.

#2: Chronicle – Movies wherein people possess superpowers are appealing to us for a variety of reasons, first and foremost because of escapism. We all want to be powerful and we all like to fantasize about what we’d do if we were. Most times these scenarios are manifested in such ways as the wizards of “Harry Potter” or the Jedi of “Star Wars” or the mutants of “X-Men”, but occasionally, somebody’s ambitious enough to take a step back and look at the more human elements of superpowers. This was done with great hypothetical insight in such films as Unbreakable and Hancock, but Chronicle is much more thoughtful and surprisingly haunting than any other rendition I’ve seen. The stroke of brilliance is making the lead characters teenagers. Already brimming with their own social angst and changing bodies, when they stumble upon powers that they learn can be harnessed in a variety of ways, they’re faced with the conundrum of realizing that what they want doesn’t often line up with what is right. With the first-person “found footage” technique employed here, we see the once powerless teenagers using their abilities to go from amusing themselves to playing pranks to self-serving indulgences that escalate into mass destruction. Another significant aspect of using teenagers is that, in that period of experimentation that all adolescents go through, we see first hand how some kids, with even the most seemingly inconsequential behavior, will evolve into conscientious adults while others will inevitably destroy themselves, whether it be through drugs or sex or telekinesis.

#1: The Avengers – As good as Chronicle was, you just can’t beat The Avengers. This was a throwback for me, not just because it contained superheroes I grew up admiring, but because it reminded me of those kinds of movies (prolific in the 80’s) when action/adventure flims were fun and light-hearted and more akin to rollercoaster rides than merely stories. Superhero movies like this are hard to pull off, too. Not only are they as naturally inclined to be campy every bit as much as romantic comedies are inclined to be sappy, ensemble casts like this are often spread too thin and not given enough to do. That’s what killed the X-men series, in my opinion. In The Avengers, everybody’s given their moment to shine. Ask anyone what their favorite part of The Avengers was and you’ll probably get a different answer every time because there’s so much good stuff. If movies are meant to entertain, this has to be the most economical movie in years because there truly is never a dull moment. I enjoyed this movie so much that I didn’t particularly care for The Dark Knight Rises when it came out a month later. “Lighten up, Batman. Otherwise that Justice League movie's gonna be a real downer.”

2013 ought to be an interesting year for me personally. I won a year’s worth of free movies at any Cinetopia location, so I’ll probably see every movie that comes out this year (that I can stand to sit through, that is). So, next year’s list will be nothing if not thorough. Until then: So long, 2012. And thanks for the movies.

The Oscars have their list, I have mine.

According to my calculations, I saw 52 films from the year 2011. That averages out to one movie a week. I don’t know what my usual haul is, but that seems like a lot. Unlike most years, this past one didn’t contain any flicks I was really anticipating impatiently. Even Captain America (whose comics I have been reading since before I even knew how to read) didn’t really incite that “hurry-up-and-be-released” feeling I usually get. My general dissatisfaction with the films of 2011 (the mainstream ones, anyway) was perfectly summed up by my overwhelming ambivalence of the Academy Awards. I didn’t even watch the show this year. Not even the multitude of Oscar parties I was invited to could make me care. As I compiled my top ten list throughout the passing year, I wasn’t very impressed with it. They were decent movies, sure, but nothing I was particularly excited about. I knew I was gonna have a hard time writing about how much I liked these movies when my longstanding number one film was Cowboys & Aliens.

Thankfully, I spent the early part of this year tracking down those more obscure films from last year that had caught my attention, but eluded me when (or even if) they played in the theaters. I think that’s probably why my view count was so high this year: I kept watching ’til I found something good. In previous years, when I thought That’ll do it, this year, I thought C’mon, you can do better’n that. And I’m glad I did because amidst 2011’s sea of mediocrity, I found some real treasures. It always makes me feel good when my top ten list contains great stuff my readers have probably never seen, but should.

#10: Martha Marcy May Marlene – The Academy’s complete shut out of this film in the Oscar nominees is a big part of why I didn’t really care what actually was nominated this year. This is such a brave and powerful film, how could it be totally ignored? My guess is because the writing, acting, directing, and editing (all of which it should be highly praised for) are so subtle, that they’re virtually unnoticeable. One watches this film and feels almost as though it’s a documentary. Plus, the ending is so disturbingly vague that, while most conventional movie-goers who insist on being spoon-fed their stories probably hate it, it really is a brilliant “conclusion” that drives home the intensity of the film’s message. And what a spectacular debut from Elizabeth Olsen. Let’s hope that despite the public’s lukewarm reception of this film, she still manages to land roles as bold as this one and move out from under her sisters’ shadow into the spotlight.

#9: Bridesmaids – Kristen Wiig finally lands a starring role and proves she has the chops to be a star - not only as a comedienne, but possibly a serious actress as well. While this film could have settled for being a showcase of dirty jokes and absurd situations going from bad to worse, Wiig (who also wrote the script) fits in a good amount of authentic sentimentality and melancholy without feeling forced. I was actually taken aback by how much I not only sympathized with her character, but identified with her as well. I wasn’t expecting that and, as funny as the movie was, I found those sweet scenes to be the best of the film. Another refreshing change was how the comedic situations were allowed to develop and unfold at their own pace. A frivolous movie like this tends to cram in one joke right after another with very little cohesion, but Bridesmaids was willing to indulge the possibilities of consequences and aftermath even when it wasn’t particularly necessary. Most female alumni from “Saturday Night Live” end up settling for sitcoms, but let’s hope Kristen Wiig sticks to movies and raises the bar accordingly.

#8: Green Lantern – I suspect most people would think my inclusion of this film would render this top ten list null and void, but Green Lantern did not deserve to be as thoroughly crucified as it was. It deserves defending and I’m happy to do it. First of all, superhero movies are a huge gamble to begin with. It’s really hard to translate something that’s awesome in the comics into something that’s awesome onscreen and, trust me, this film could’ve been much, much worse. I, for one, thought it was an exemplary summer popcorn flick. The action scenes were exciting. The special effects didn’t feel cartoony. The dialogue wasn’t insulting. The characters were likeable (even the bad guys). The romantic subplot didn’t feel forced or pointless. Okay, so it didn’t measure up to the caliber of The Dark Knight or even the original Iron Man, but it didn’t have to, either. A movie should be judged on how well it attains the goals it sets for itself and Green Lantern delivered exactly what I wanted from it: I found it entertaining and exciting, which is more than I can say for Thor (which, for some bizarre Twilight Zone reason, most people seemed to like more than Green Lantern).

#7: The Artist – As dissatisfied as I was with the line up of Oscar nominees, I’m glad that this film took the grand prize. Rewarding such a lovely film is a step towards renewing my faith in the politically-sapped, self-congratulatory Academy Awards (but that’s still a long road, I’m afraid). I was a big fan of the director’s previous work with Jean Dujardin in the two OSS 117 spoofs and I hope their respective Oscar wins don’t keep them from making more additions to that hilarious series. Although, if they continue making more films like The Artist, I guess I can’t really complain. Anyway, while it seems like such a corny cliché to compliment a movie by calling it “magical”, that really is the best word to describe The Artist. A lot of critics have been comparing it to Singin’ in the Rain, and Sunset Boulevard and rightfully so. Offhand, I can’t think of a recent film that so lovingly pays tribute to the origins of filmmaking than this one. Hollywood needs to be reminded of its roots once in a while.

#6: My Week with Marilyn – I’ll admit it: There’s a good possibility that the reason this movie rated so high on my list is because I’m a heterosexual man. I was pretty mesmerized whenever she was onscreen and never got tired of it. In fact, I think I felt just about every emotion the lead character felt about Marilyn Monroe as he was feeling it: awe, respect, sympathy, affection, frustration, concern, pity and, not love, but possibly the potential to love her if she let me. Marilyn Monroe is not an easy role to play (particularly because she had something that no woman before or since has ever had), but Michelle Williams really rocked it – particularly in her ability to devour a man with her eyes. This movie also made the right move by doing a biopic on a specific part of a person’s life rather than trying to cover the whole gamut. I think that’s why J. Edgar and The Iron Lady weren’t as good (that, and because they weren’t about Marilyn freakin’ Monroe).

#5: Win Win – With every movie he makes (Win Win being his third), Thomas McCarthy gets closer and closer to joining my (short) list of directors whose work I will check out without even bothering to learn what the film’s about. This is largely due his writing more than his directing, but since he’s written everything he’s directed, I’m hoping this will be an ongoing package deal. He has an uncanny knack for making his characters remarkably human to the point where after seeing them onscreen for merely 30 seconds, you feel like you know them. Consequently, most of the humor and tragedy in his films comes across as accidental. Case in point, every film he’s made so far (including Up, actually, which he co-wrote) is about characters circumstantially finding surrogate families with people who start out as total strangers with whom they have almost nothing in common. You’d think that scenario would become tiresome, but McCarthy’s films are as uniquely individual as the eclectic characters that inhabit them. I realize I’ve said nothing about Win Win specifically, but I’ve done you a favor. The less exposition you know going into it, the better.

#4: Our Idiot Brother – Like Win Win, the strength of this movie comes from the realism of the characters and the players in Our Idiot Brother are so wonderfully authentic that I’m wondering how much of the film was inspired by real life. It was, after all, co-written by a guy, his sister and her husband. This film is consistently funny and, after a certain point that I’d be hard pressed to identify, becomes even funnier from just being familiar with the relationships of the characters. I’m not sure it was meant to be a “feel-good” movie (another term, along with “magical”, I am loathe to use), but it’s certainly one that makes you feel like life will be okay no matter what. It’ll also probably make you appreciate your family more. There’ve been a number of movies that I’ve enjoyed so much I wish they were longer, but I actually wish Our Idiot Brother was a television series so it could go on indefinitely.

#3: Red State – When Kevin Smith first departed from what’s been called the “View Askewniverse”, he made Jersey Girl, a romantic comedy that failed miserably (although, I personally didn’t think it was all that bad). His penultimate film was the aptly-named Cop Out, which also flopped but, in Smith’s defense, he didn’t write that one. Red State didn’t do much better than either of those films, but that’s a damn shame because it is one hell of a movie. The only acceptable reason I can think of as to why audiences didn’t identify with this film is because it was way out of their comfort zone. Although, on that level, it measures up to the intensity of “theoretically this could actually happen” horror flicks like Deliverance and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and it’s just as gut-wrenching. Doing a horror movie (especially an action horror film) is as big a departure as Smith has ever done, but now I wish he’d tried one sooner. His writing and directing on Red State are so effective that I think that Smith should not only make another horror film, but maybe try his hand at a war movie as well.

#2: Tales of the Night – Just like My Week with Marilyn ranked high with me ‘cuz I’m a dude, Tales of the Night scores big probably because I’m a graphic designer. That’s not to say it isn’t a superb film with a great story, but in this age of highly-detailed, meticulous 3-D computer animation, it’s nice to see an equally gorgeous animated film that could’ve been inspired by flannel board story-telling. The film is nothing more than a series of fables and folk tales being performed by stark silhouettes in front of colorful backgrounds, but it’s an absolute feast for the eyes. And the stories themselves are quite poignant and engaging for as short as they are. I have no idea if they’re based on actual fairy tales, but the film’s credits indicate it’s an original screenplay, which is all the more impressive. This is a French film scheduled for a wider release in America later this year. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but hopefully when it comes out, it will be dubbed rather than subtitled. I say that because, first of all, given the character design, it’s pretty insignificant if their lips don’t match the words (indeed, I doubt the viewer would be able to notice) and, secondly, if the viewer isn’t dependent on the subtitles, they’ll be able to take in all the visual wonders of this film even more effectively.

#1: The Lie – One of my favorite comedy routines is the schtick of the person who tells a horrible lie and tries to stick to it no matter how out of control it becomes, even if only as an attempt to save face. Chevy Chase had this down pat in the 80’s and Steve Carrell perfected this during his stint on “The Office”. I had heard of this modest film (a film seemingly dedicated to that scenario) and was interested in checking it out for some time before I actually found it on DVD. It was not what I expected, but I’ve never been so pleasantly disappointed with a film in my whole life. Yes, this movie’s about a guy who tells a bad lie that gets worse and, yes, it’s funny, but that’s only about maybe 10% of the movie. The heart of it is a beautifully reflective film exploring what one has and what one wants and what one does about it. I’m deliberately being vague here as I was with Win Win for essentially the same reasons. You could probably find out what the titular lie is by reading a synopsis of the film (in fact, I think they reveal it in the trailer), but you’d be better off not knowing and just let it present itself in the context of the film. Don’t be dissuaded by the fact that the poster makes it look like a garden-variety chick flick. This is a delightful movie and a fairly unconventional one at that.

So, I guess the key to a good year of movie watching is to ignore the masses and seek out what interests you personally. While I intend to do that again for 2012, let me just say thank god Christopher Nolan has another Batman movie coming out.