Essential Film Hit List: Prelude

Very late last year, December 21st to be exact, I finally accomplish something that has been haunting myself during my entire lifetime: I finally got around to watching It's a Wonderful Life. In an old movie theater (complete with a mezzanine), a packed crowd, and even on actual film no less. Of course, this seems really stupid and scandalous for someone like myself, an avid cinephile who praises and berates so many films yet has never seen one of the greatest and most popular films of all time. Hell, I was even in film school and we didn't touched the film hardly at all; one of my classes had it on the schedule towards the end of the semester only to instead just watch a bit of the "Pottersville" sequence and call it a day. I guess we needed more time watching boring and terrible Argentinean films, such as The Hour of the Furnaces and The Holy Girl respectively, than to watch Capra work his magic.


So, instead of finally nixing something off my bucket list and ending it there, I had the bright idea to continue moving forward and make a new year's resolution of 2013: For the rest of the year, I will finally make time and watch many of the highly anticipated works of cinema I have constantly skipped over. These are the types of film that are in many serious film discussions, classes, books, and lists as well as the movies that flood airwaves, DVD racks, casual conversations and recommendations. To make it more interesting, this hit list will feature only one film from each year; it can be of any genre, any language, and any quality. The last one is important to making this project fun for myself, since I could just have a list consisting of nothing but Buñuels, Bergmans, Antonionis and Godards and lose my mind with all of the art. Sometimes a person just wants to watch things blow up real good or examine the best worst film of the year. Also, some of these films are in my video collection and I just want to finally break the seals.


Another rule/goal is the final count at the end of the year: I want to watch a minimum of 40 of the following films, including one entire decade. At different times of the year, I will write up a post of my thoughts after watching a group of them.

Gangster Squad - Review

GANGSTER SQUAD has been known for its troublesome delays when it should have instead be placed in turnaround. It's a defective crime film that swings back and forth between serious film noir and gory comedy, neither of which are ever charming to watch. It's so tacky and unprofessional that it makes the poverty row era a golden age of cinema. Hell, I shouldn't mock it as that; at least those filmmakers who cut their teeth in the business help create some stellar films, such as the now classic DETOUR.


The plot is embarrassingly quick to summarize: Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) wants to take control all of Los Angeles and it is up to an assembled group of cops to work off the books and destroy his growing empire. I should be easily telling you the cops' names and the highly respectable actors unfortunately cast in their roles but all I have are complete stereotypes. Let's start with the worst first: Anthony Mackie and Michael Pena, two of the best non-Caucasian actors in Hollywood today, are reduced to being "the black cop" and "the Latino cop" respectively. No genuine back-stories or insights into either of them except that Mackie has a somewhat talent with knives that is painfully underutilized and noticed. The irritation of these two racial blanks is more dire when discussing Pena, since he played an exceptional, well-fleshed out L.A. beat cop in last year's very underrated END OF WATCH. Here, he pops up whenever in the background, having no say or presence, simply because he is labeled as "the boy", despite looking like a sufferer of a mid-life crisis.


Next up are the old man and the nerd. Robert Patrick plays a cowboy cop literally ripped from the pulps; his entrance in the film is preceded by a character intensely staring at the mustachioed gunslinger on the cover of a "true crimes" magazine. He quacks wise and farts up behind the others unless he needs to show off his dime-store tricks with a six-shooter. As for the glasses-wearing nerd, the expected meatbag for the others to cry over later, Giovanni Ribisi is just there to speak techno babble and mope like a hurt dog at all of the brutality. Since all of the undesirables are given nil to work with, that leaves more for the mighty white duo of Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling's characters. Despite being set in 1949, these two act just like Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs, causing a bumbling or vicious ruckus and suffering from the problems of dames. If you think that their female lovers (Mireille Enos and Emma Stone) get the same level of characterization and depth as those two do, you have been watching too many Bogart and Bacall films. Though I appreciate the work Stone was able to dig up and flaunt from her shallow character, I still couldn't believe what a boring femme fatale screenwriter Will Beall came up for her.


Though the script is an eye-rolling, printed press gangster movie, bordering on being a complete swipe of THE UNTOUCHABLES, it is made worst at the hands of director Ruben Fleischer and his editors. Still riding and banking on the goodwill from ZOMBIELAND, Fleischer has assembled a poorly crafted brew, where the film's slick taste is mixed in with objectionable and confusing ingredients. Scenes and plots are skipped over and never fully explained, such as when Brolin's character raids a building he previously barraged through or how exactly Cohen found out who were the cops attacking his business. Every major attack done by the squad is always bookended with a Cohen crony getting savagely murdered while Cohen himself just shakes his arm ever tighter. By far the most heinous thing, however, is the sheer hypocrisy that these cops, several of whom were WWII soldiers, would endanger and/or cause the death of civilians while embarking on their vigilante missions. This becomes a major point in a sequence set in Chinatown, a sequence that should be noted as the re-shoot for the controversial movie theater scene cut from the final cut, only to be dropped and never elaborated because the last third needs to be a wide display of bloodshed, complete with the heroes carrying army-issued weaponry.


All of this bile makes the film a horrible ride to experience. Though this is true, I still was entertained by the big-named cast despite the limitations placed on their shoulders. The only ones able to break free and generate some much needed laughs and excitement were Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling. They relish the hell out of being goofy black and white characters, adapting odd yet vibrant mannerisms. Also, some of the shootouts and action thrills were a bit delightfully B movie-ish. Still, I think I rather immerse myself in MOBSTERS, complete with that acting thespian Christian Slater, than give GANGSTER SQUAD an appeal.



FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5

Initial Reaction to the Oscar Nominees

Let's start with the big controversy: Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck completely shutout of the Best Director race. This is truly unbelievable; granted, there were a lot of big names and great direction to limit to just five picks. For instance, I knew Quentin Tarantino would be excluded. However, these were two of the biggest, most talked about directors all of last year. Spielberg was a given and Michael Haneke was a nice inclusion but I would have removed Benh Zeitlin and a toss-up between Ang Lee and David O. Russell (leaning more towards Lee) to include these two more deserving people.


The Best Picture nominees were a definite given. Of course, LES MISERABLES has the Stephen Daldry award for the worst film to be up for the highest honor. I wasn't able to see AMOUR and I still need to convince myself to buy a ticket for a 3D screening of LIFE OF PI. Also, just because Affleck is nominated as a producer, it doesn't forgive the exclusion in Director.


I didn't really expect Hugh Jackman in Best Actor for his work in LES MISERABLES, instead thinking of Richard Gere, John Hawkes or a very dark horse Jack Black. He was the second best actor of that troubled production though. However, it will be a triple threat match between Daniel Day-Lewis (the extremely expected winner), Bradley Cooper (the wunderkind and my favorite actor of last year), and Joaquin Phoenix (the underdog who could snatch the win).


I have no qualms at all for Best Actress. Four of the best were there, along with the surprising Emmanuelle Riva for AMOUR. Riva has been riding high ever since last year's Cannes Film Festival and has a chance of winning. The problem is, as noted by Emma Stone during the announcement, that Riva has the gimmick of being the oldest nominee ever, which could cancel her out along with the youngest nominee ever, Quvenzhané Wallis for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.


Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone said it best: the race for Best Supporting Actor is really no fun, since every single actor has already won an Oscar (four of them in this exact field!). It's like a battle royale consisting entirely of Walter Brennans. Phillip Seymour Hoffman might be the holder of the award come February, though it is more expected to be given to Tommy Lee Jones and to a lesser extent, except for myself, to Christoph Waltz.


No Matthew McConaughey anywhere. How sad. Also, given all of the love for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (4 nominations), no Dwight Henry?


Jacki Weaver with the shocker in Best Supporting Actress. I did like her, giving her the distinction of being an underrated and underappreciated actress last year for her two very small roles in film. Anne Hathaway is of course the front-runner and likely winner, with Amy Adams sneaking in the background to possibly upset her.


If you couldn't figure it out, AMOUR will obviously win Best Foreign Language. If it doesn't, then the majority of the Academy is going through dementia.


Woo! WRECK-IT RALPH in Animated Feature! PARANORMAN would be the reasonable pick to win and I agree with it. Having BRAVE in the category stirs up very mixed feelings, just like the overall reaction to the movie itself.


Speaking of RALPH, the short before the film, PAPERMAN, is up for consideration in Best Animated Short. I think it will be the winner, most notably for its advancement of animation technology.


LINCOLN has the most nominations with 12. It will turnaround with 4 at best: Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Costume or Production Design, and including the possibility of taking Best Picture.


HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the top selection for Documentary, though it could go to THE INVISIBLE WAR and the very much acclaimed SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN.


Any superhero films at all nominated? Only in Best Visual Effects for THE AVENGERS.


Hey! Look! A real pop song under Best Original Song! "Skyfall" should win, especially over the crap that was "Suddenly".


Though I'm still annoyed a lot by the Best Director category, I am glad that this year's Oscars could go to anyone and any film.

Film List of 2012

These are all of the movies I have watched throughout last year and were qualified to be judged for my awards.

If I didn't watch a film at all or in its entirety, it is disqualified and ineligible. A few examples of films I wanted to see but couldn't before the mandated deadline were Amour, The Master, Bernie, Life of Pi, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.


21 Jump Street
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Act of Valor
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Apparition
Argo
The Assault
Atlas Shrugged: Part II
ATM
The Avengers
Battleship
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Beyond the Black Rainbow
The Bourne Legacy
Brave
The Cabin in the Woods
The Campaign
Casa de Mi Padre
A Cat in Paris
Chronicle
The Dark Knight Rises
Dark Shadows
Dark Tide
Darling Companion
Detention
The Devil Inside
Django Unchained
Dredd
End of Watch
The Expendables 2
The Five-Year Engagement
The FP
Gerhard Richter Painting
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
The Grey
Haywire
Hit & Run
Holy Motors
House at the End of the Street
The Hunger Games
The Impossible
The Innkeepers
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
John Carter
Joyful Noise
Kill List
Killer Joe
Killing Them Softly
Last Ounce of Courage
Lawless
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Lockout
Looper
The Lorax
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
Man on a Ledge
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
Men in Black 3
Moonrise Kingdom
October Baby
The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure
ParaNorman
People Like Us
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Polisse
The Possession
Premium Rush
Project X
Prometheus
The Raid: Redemption
Rise of the Guardians
Rock of Ages
Safe House
Savages
The Secret World of Arrietty
Seeking Justice
Seven Psychopaths
Silent House
Silver Linings Playbook
Skyfall
Smashed
Snow White and the Huntsman
Ted
That’s My Boy
This Means War
A Thousand Words
The Three Stooges
Total Recall
V/H/S
Wanderlust
The Woman in Black
Wrath of the Titans
Wreck-It Ralph
Zero Dark Thirty


Overall Count: 96 Films

Joke Film Awards of 2012

Most Accurate Film Title: Gerhard Richter Painting (Runner Up: Man on a Ledge)

A Movie More Confusing than Holy Motors: V/H/S' "The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger"

Same Dress, Different Hairstyle: The Raid: Redemption and Dredd

Palm Dog Award: Bonny, Seven Psychopaths

Best Animal Duel: Tiger vs. Wolf, Casa de Mi Padre

Best Cinematography of Boogers: Danny Cohen, Les Misérables

Most Suspenseful Sequence Involving Film Storyboards: The Iranian airport in Argo

Most Suspenseful Sequence Involving People Sitting and Staring at Each Other: The last third of Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

Most "Suspenseful" Sequence Involving a Vending Machine: Nic Cage ordering a hit in Seeking Justice

Worst Use of the 80's Nerd Girl Trope: Maïwenn in Polisse

Best Use of the 80's Valley Girl Trope: Anna Kendrick in ParaNorman

Dumbest Head of a Major Agency: Agent X, the 1969 xenophobic boss of MIB in Men in Black 3

Best Product Placement: "K-Fried-C" in Killer Joe

Worst Product Placement: Costco in The Apparition and The Watch

Best Use of Vaio Computers: Skyfall

Worst Use of Vaio Computers: The Amazing Spider-Man

Worst Use of a Ton of Computers: Paranormal Activity 4

Best Use of a Katy Perry Song: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Best Use of a Rita Coolidge Song: Ted

Oddest Use of a Flight of the Concords Song: The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Most Boob-tastic Poster: Dark Tide

Most Butt-tastic Poster: The Avengers' Black Widow Character Poster (Runner Up: One for the Money)

Best Raunchy Tagline: "The only thing getting blown tonight is their cover.", 21 Jump Street

Worst Raunchy Tagline: "The jizz is up", The Babymakers

Best of the Rest of 2012

BEST BREAKTHROUGH: Gina Carano


Honorable Mentions: Dane DeHaan, Frank Grillo, Iko Uwais, Quvenzhané Wallis, Genesis Rodriguez, Kara Hayward, Dwight Henry


BEST ENSEMBLE: The Cast of The Avengers


Honorable Mentions: Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, End of Watch, Polisse, The Hunger Games


BEST DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon, The Avengers


Honorable Mentions: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), Ben Affleck (Argo), Sam Mendes (Skyfall), Leos Carax (Holy Motors), Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible), Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods)


BEST SCREENPLAY: Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon, The Cabin in the Woods


Honorable Mentions: Chris Butler (ParaNorman), Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty), Max Landis (Chronicle), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Seth MacFarlane, Allen Sulkin, & Wellesley Wild (Ted), Chris Terrio (Argo), Phil Johnston & Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph)


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Roger Deakins, Skyfall


Honorable Mentions: Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty), Robert Yeoman (Moonrise Kingdom), Matt Flannery (The Raid: Redemption), Oscar Faura (The Impossible), Ben Richardson (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Rodrigo Prieto (Argo)


BEST EDITING: Jay Cassidy, Silver Linings Playbook


Honorable Mentions: William Goldenberg (Argo), Bob Ducsay (Looper), David Blackburn (Detention)


BEST SCORE: Hans Zimmer, The Dark Knight Rises


Honorable Mentions: Alexandre Desplat (Zero Dark Thirty), Henry Jackman (Wreck-It Ralph), Paul Leonard-Morgan (Dredd), Cecil Corbel (The Secret World of Arrietty), Dave Holmes (Haywire), Mike Shinoda & Joseph Trapanese (The Raid: Redemption), Thomas Newman (Skyfall)


BEST SONG: "Skyfall" by Adele, Skyfall


Honorable Mentions: "Abraham's Daughter" by Arcadia Fire (The Hunger Games), "Sugar Rush" by AKB48 (Wreck-It Ralph), "Ancora Qui" by Ennio Morricone & Elisa Toffoli (Django Unchained), "Who Did That to You?" by John Legend (Django Unchained), "Bug Hunt (Noisia Remix)" by Skrillex (Wreck-It Ralph), "Breath of Life" by Florence + The Machine (Snow White & the Huntsman), "Casa de Mi Padre" by Christina Aguilera (Django Unchained), "Undercover Love" by Diego Boneta (Rock of Ages)


BEST OPENING CREDITS: Casa de Mi Padre


Honorable Mentions: Django Unchained, Skyfall


BEST STINGER: The Avengers


Honorable Mentions: The Grey, Wreck-It Ralph, Casa de Mi Padre


BEST POSTER ART: Django Unchained


Honorable Mentions: Zero Dark Thirty, The Dark Knight Rises, V/H/S, Moonrise Kingdom, Chronicle, The Cabin in the Woods, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Wreck-It Ralph, Prometheus, ParaNorman, Savages


BEST TRAILER: Prometheus Teaser


Honorable Mentions: Zero Dark Thirty, Wreck-It Ralph


BEST ANIMATED FILM: Wreck-It Ralph


Honorable Mentions: ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians, The Secret World of Arrietty, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, The Pirates! Band of Misfits


BEST DOCUMENTARY: Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present


Honorable Mentions: Jiro Dreams of Sushi


BEST GUILTY PLEASURE: The Possession



FUTURE CULT AND APPRECIATION

Films that I feel will grow on me beyond my initial expectations and opinions and become the great films that they sought to be.


Casa de Mi Padre
Dredd
Haywire
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Kill List
Looper
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
Premium Rush
Skyfall
Ted


UNDERRATED AND UNDERAPPRECIATED

Actors and Actresses that gave great performances in terrible films and/or in roles with little material and screentime.


Josh Brolin (Men in Black 3)
Michael Caine (The Dark Knight Rises)
Jessica Chastain (Lawless)
Lynn Collins (John Carter)
Eva Green (Dark Shadows)
Tom Hardy (Lawless)
Richard Jenkins (The Cabin in the Woods, Killing Them Softly, Darling Companion)
Karen Maruyama (The Campaign)
Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House)
Guy Pierce (Lawless)
Rihanna (Battleship)
Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games)
Mark Strong (Zero Dark Thirty)
Vanilla Ice (That's My Boy)
Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook, The Five-Year Engagement)

Best Performances of 2012

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook


Honorable Mentions:


Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe

Denis Lavant, Holy Motors

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Dane DeHaan, Chronicle

Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty

Ewan McGregor, The Impossible

Jaime Foxx, Django Unchained

Karl Urban, Dredd

Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch

Liam Neeson, The Grey

John C. Reilly, Wreck-It Ralph

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games


Honorable Mentions:


Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Hannah Fierman, V/H/S

Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Olivia Thirbly, Dredd

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained


Honorable Mentions:


Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Javier Bardem, Skyfall

Tom Hiddleston, The Avengers

Tom Holland, The Impossible

Michael Shannon, Premium Rush

Mark Ruffalo, The Avengers

Michael Peña, End of Watch

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained

Alan Tudyk, Wreck-It Ralph

James Spader, Lincoln

Jude Law, Rise of the Guardians

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Chris Pratt, The Five-Year Engagement

Bryan Cranston, Argo

Best Supporting Actress: Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman


Honorable Mentions:


Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables, The Dark Knight Rises

Jodelle Ferland, ParaNorman

Jane Lynch, Wreck-It Ralph

Samantha Barks, Les Misérables

Penelope Wilton, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Alison Brie, The Five-Year Engagement




Next Up: Best of the Rest of 2012