2012 Movies I've Seen

Big surprise with this one. Probably the only movie I'll ever say Channing Tatum was very good in. He and Jonah Hill are an effectively funny duo, the writing is sharp, smart and hilarious and it has one of the best movie cameos in recent memory.

A-

I love movies like this. It's always fun to watch horror anthology movies like Creepshow and Trick 'r Treat and this is in good company alongside those awesome horror flicks. The segments are creative, unsettling, funny, fucked up, and all unique from each other. There were two or three I didn't think were very strong in comparison, but they weren't awful and it's a great time to watch all these different shorts from around the world. I think my favourites were T is for Toilet, U is for Unearthed, B is for Bigfoot, and D is for Dogfight. Great horror movie I plan on putting on around Halloween.

A-

I expected to like this more than I did. There were just too many things that bothered me throughout the movie watching experience. I didn't like how little we saw of the traditional looking Lincoln that we all think of whenever his name is uttered fighting vampires. Instead we see a lot of him killing vampires as a young man before becoming president. Which was cool at first but it is more fun to see Abraham Lincoln as president fight and slaughter vampires which would've worked to the film's advantage given its ridiculous premise. Another thing that bugged me is that all the vampires in the movie walk around in the daylight without a single thing happen to them. At least they don't sparkle. Overall, it was a decent effort but not one I'll remember all that well.

B-

For the first hour this movie epitomizes the phrase: "been there, done that". I only say that because the first Spider-Man film from back in 2002 hit pretty much the same beats of Peter Parker's origin story which is left me feeling a bit disconnected from the film because I knew everything that would happen. Not that there was any way around that but it just felt like I was seeing the same movie again. However, it does pick up in the 2nd half with the introduction of Spider-Man's nemesis The Lizard which is a well done character and fun to watch duke it out with Spidey in action sequences. I did also buy the romance between Gwen Stacy and Peter and liked it just as much as the Mary-Jane/Peter love story in the original trilogy. I also thought that Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker was just as good as Tobey Maguire's but it was different enough. Overall, I felt this to be a well-shot, well-acted movie that is at times a redundant mixed bag of a film. Despite the negatives the film offered a good villain and cool action, but it did feel redundant and I do still prefer the Sam Raimi trilogy more.

B-

A welcome entry into the comedy saga that ended up making me laugh hard in several places and that's about all I can ask for from an American Pie sequel that isn't straight to DVD.

B+

Ben Affleck once again proves that he is a powerfully talented director and reminds us how good an actor he really can be given the right role. Argo is a superbly acted from everyone in the entire film from Affleck himself to John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston and the rest of the cast. The movie is a well constructed thriller that delivers in nearly every scene. It's tense, intriguing and entertaining. It is one of the best movies of the year and if you don't like then Argo fuck yourself.

A-

Joss Whedon had a lot on his plate when it came to delivering a movie for the fans of this franchise that has been built up for nearly five years and there was a lot riding on this to be a enormous hit that not only would have to please the fans of these characters and all movie goers alike. Thankfully this movie didn't go the way of The Phantom Menace and collapsing under the weight of all the hype. Joss Whedon not only met the expectations of all movie fans he surpassed them exponentially. Each member of the cast gets their moment in the sun. It isn't just the Tony Stark show or the Captain America show. Every character is important and integral part of the Avengers. The entire cast does great work from Robert Downey Jr. to Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg and even Mark Ruffalo makes for an equally good (though quite different) replacement for Edward Norton as Bruce Banner a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk. Tom Hiddleston does a terrific job as the film's villain Loki and serves as a legitamate and intimidating opponant for the Avengers. The other thing that stands out a great deal is the action. Not just the amount of action in this movie, that the scope and scale of some of the major action set-pieces. The final hour is pretty much its own action movie and it kicks so much ass! Seeing Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow all work together is so much goddamn fun to watch. The movie has a great deal of hilarious moments as well and ends up being one of the funnier movies in recent memory. I've seen this movie 3 times in the theatre and that is the most I have ever seen a single film in the theatre. But, with this film, I made an exception. Why? Because, it is The Avengers! Need I say more?!

A+

This isn't up in the high ranks of Pixar's previous efforts like Toy Story, Wall-E, Ratatouille, The Incredibles and Up. But, this is an enjoyable, funny and well done animated film.

B

As much as I surprisingly actually enjoyed Wesley Jonathan's performance as the title character, the rest of this movie is down-right retarded. There have been lots of stoner comedies and they can sometimes turn out great. This one just seemed lazy, uninspired, and unfunny.

D+

This movie drips with bloody originality. Writer/Director Drew Goddard and Producer/Writer Joss Whedon turn the horror genre on its head and crafted an intriguing, scary, funny and immensley entertaining ride that I hold on par with horror/comedy classics like Evil Dead II. One of the best films of the year by far.

A-

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are both immensely talented comedic actors and The Campaign shows off their talents in ways that are both hilarious and entertaining. It's not up there with their some of their other work like Ferrell's Anchorman, Step Brothers or The Hangover with Galifiankis, but it is truly a funny film that aims to be nothing else but funny.

B

A lazily shot and directed, poorly acted,and predictably written horror film that contains gaping plot holes, a good number of unintentionally funny moments and stupid moments all rolled into a big bomb of disastrous proportions.

D+

An audacious, completely immersive, complexly crafted, well-acted and admirably ambitious piece of cinematic art and a truly unique and entertaining experience that leaves you wanting more. I felt like I could watch this movie for another two or three hours on top of the already nearly 3 hour runtime that to me just zips by and when a director (or rather directors) can do that then you know that you've made something outstanding.

A+

This is one of the most immensely enthralling, brilliantly acted, amazingly shot, well written, and ingeniously directed epics of all time. It hits every moment effectively jumping from very tense, to dramatic, sad, bleak, and funny; especially with the stuff between Batman and Catwoman. The performances across the board are all phenomenal. Christian Bale's third outing as Bruce Wayne aka Batman is as good as he's ever been as the character and he is in top form here. Batman regulars such as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Cillian Murphy all do exceptional work in their roles but it's some of the newcomers to the cast who steal the show. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does great supporting work as John Blake reminiscent of a younger and more optimistic version of Jim Gordon. Tom Hardy's Bane is one of the most memorable, intriguing, and menacing villains in cinema history. He's not quite as good as Heath Ledger's Joker, but that was an extremely tough act to follow and Hardy did a fantastic job. But it was Anne Hathaway as Catwoman that was the surprising stand-out performance of the film and I believe that she gives the best performance of the character ever put to film. Yes, even better than Michelle Pfeifer in Batman Returns. The scope of this epic finale and the surprises the story has to offer are what makes this film a fitting conclusion in every way imaginable and I couldn't have asked for anything more from Christopher Nolan and his team. I'm not yet sure whether I prefer this one or The Dark Knight more, but what I am sure of is that this movie is nothing short of brilliant in ever regard and it is an Oscar-worthy film of monumental scale and it is one of the biggest and best achievements in cinema and succeeds in everything it sets out to be and will be looked on as a classic for decades to come. Thank you, Christopher Nolan. You have made one of the greatest cinematic trilogies of all time. Well fucking done, sir.

A+

Normally I am not a fan of Tim Burton's movies. To me he seems to be a director that favors style over substance and that often bothers me and takes away from my enjoyment of his films. I've seen all his work and have liked only 4 other movies of his: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, and Sweeney Todd. This film, Dark Shadows, makes for his 5th film I have actually enjoyed. For the most part the things about Burton's films that I don't enjoy are in this one, but they are overshadowed by a very clever and funny script and a comitted performance by Johnny Depp who is very funny in this role and sells it completely. The humor is what this film has going for it and on that level I enjoyed it very much and would like to own it on blu-ray.

B

Not only did I not expect this to be nearly as funny as Borat, but I even expected to hate it. What was most funny about Borat in that film was that he was getting genuine reactions and responses to this idiot racist stereotype character from real people. This one takes a more traditional linear narrative that is pure fiction with actors, sets, etc. So, naturally I was not impressed and didn't expect much from it. Man was I proven wrong. The Dictator is not only funny but it is downright hilarious. There were moments I was laughing so hard I missed a lot of what happened next. This is on par, if not possibly better than, Borat and is certainly much better than Bruno. The movie's comedy also isn't built on just racist stereotypes or dick/fart/shit jokes. The movie's comedy is also very smartly written and clever, especially at the end.

B+

I expected nothing less than amazment in this epic cinematic achievement and that is exactly what Mr. Tarantino gave us. Master of genre cinema, God of Great Movies Quentin Tarantino crafts an awesomely entertaining film from start to finish that offers great action, signature Tarantino dialogue, stellar performances, some genuinely really funny scenes, and a varied and effective soundtrack all while putting the horrors of slavery in the America under a microscope for an audience. Jamie Foxx is entirely badass as the title character and he is surrounded my an awesome supporting cast like Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson but the one who steals the show was Leonardo DiCaprio as the sinister plantation owner Calvin Candie who is surprisingly truly terrifying in certain scenes. Never thought I'd ever be scared of DiCaprio in a movie. A truly brilliant movie with Tarantino's best soundtrack since Pulp Fiction.

A+

A rare case where the sequel is actually better than the original. In almost every way this sequel is superior to the first Expendables. The action and fight scenes are better shot, better chroreographed and set on a much larger scale. Also, the addition of Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the increased screen time of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger adds a lot to the fun of the movie.

B

Nicolas Cage is never boring to watch, even when he's giving a terrible performance. That is the case in this film. While it's not as bad as some comic book to film adaptations, it is better than the first Ghost Rider film from back in 2007. But, that's not saying much. I view these movies as guilty pleasure films because there are little redeeming qualities about them aside from Cage's way over the top performance that is equal parts goofy, ridiculous, and bad. I was hoping this didn't go the route of the first film seeing as they got Mark Neveldine and Bryan Taylor of Crank fame to direct this movie. Their signature fast cutting action style seemed like a perfect match for this type of movie. But, the story is formulaic and predictable and the acting is horrible. However, the effects used to create the Ghost Rider himself are far superior to the first one and actually looks damn cool. Other than that its pretty mediocre and in 3D its even less impressive.

C

Liam Neeson owns this role in every way and writer/director Joe Carnahan does a fantastic job in utilizing Neesons talent to great effect as well as creating a real sense of dread and tension throughout the story. My only gripe at all with the movie is the ending. Others like it, I don't. Overall however, The Grey is still a good man vs. nature survival story with brutal kills and a great performance by Liam Neeson.

B

From the opening shot onward I was immediately transported back into Middle Earth. This was an intensely enjoyable moviegoing experience that flooded my mind with flashbacks of me watching the original LOTR movies when I was younger over and over and over again (the extended cuts). Martin Freeman was a fantastic Bilbo and I couldn't imagine anyone else playing this role. Ian McKellen like in the other Middle Earth stories is awesome as always. While it took a little getting used to at first, the choice to shoot these film in 48 fps as opposed to the traditional way of shooting film at 24 fps for me added to the whole experience. It was different, it was fascinating, and it added another level of realism to the film for me at least. This was one of the best movies of the year and I can't wait for The Desolation of Smaug next year!

A+

This is a sequel that aims to be nothing but a feature-length babysitter for your kids. But, I actually enjoyed the first two Ice Age films and for what it aims to be it isn't that bad at all. I've seen a lot worse when it comes to animated kids films. This fourth installment doesn't have nearly enough laugh, nor does it have a consistently engaging story. But, the animation and voice acting is solid and the 3D was cool. So, over all, Continental Drift is alright but it won't leave that big an impact on you later.

B-

A funny movie with good performances from Jason Segel and Ed Helms and good character driven writing. It is a bit predictable at times and it is a bit meandering in the middle but overall enjoyable.

B