Oscars 2013 pt 2

So earlier this week, I posted my thoughts on the Oscar winners in the categories of acting and screenwriting, and now I am going to get more into the ones that I took issue with. Starting with

Best Animated Movie

Who won: Brave
Who should have won: Frankenweenie or Wreck-it Ralph
Now, I'm not going to go into some anti-Pixar rant, because I am a huge fan of their work and while I did like Brave, I thought it was extremely underwhelming, especially for Pixar standards, and I thought that my two picks were far superior and underappreciated, especially Wreck-it Ralph. In fact, I was kinda shocked when I found out that it wasn't made by Pixar, that's how damn good I thought it was.

Best Director

Who won: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Who should have won: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
I have nothing against Ang Lee, but his movie this year seemed to have alot of pretense to it, and to be honest, there were a few people who I felt got the shaft when it came to getting nominated. The 3 specific ones are Ben Affleck, Katherine Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino. If those 3 were nominated, I would be alright, if Spielberg had won, I would be okay because I was blown away by Lincoln and I have said numerous times that I think it ought to be shown in history classes.

Who got forgotten?

This is mostly in the acting category, because I thought that a number of people had some overlooked performances. Namely Michael Fassbender as the android in Prometheus and Tom Hardy for either Lawless or The Dark Knight Rises. Fassbender joked that he took the role of David because it gave him an excuse to turn in a wooden performance. But the thing is, he really made it work, and Tom Hardy had one of those performances as Bane that made me forget that he was acting, and I could accept that Bane was on the screen. Sure it helped that he had a mask, but the fact that he was able to deliver an emotionally powerful performance using only his eyes is really saying something.

As for Seth Macfarlane as host, I was really impressed. I often feel with Seth, there are times where he thinks he is funnier than he really is, or that it doesn't matter what he puts up there, because people will find it funny because it's Seth Macfarlane, and the fact that he has that kind of ego annoys me. But, when he hosted, I found myself rolling on the floor at some points and I really liked how he made fun of the actors, but not to the degree of Ricky Gervais where it just got mean after a while.

And another thing, I'm not going to get political on you guys, but I have to ask what was the point of having Michelle Obama announce the best picture? Nothing against the woman, I'm sure she's a nice lady, but I often get the feeling that the media is trying to build her up as the next Jackie. I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it but either way, it seemed kind of unnecessary

2013 Oscar Reactions

It's that time of year again, that time when people yell at their TV's about how corrupt and liberal Hollywood is... Actually, come to think of it, there was only one time where I thought that, and it was at a pretty obvious moment. I don't really even need to say it because you probably thought that too, but we'll get to that later. The Academy Awards have now past and it's now my job to tell you who should have won.

Best Supporting Actor.

Who won: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Who should have won: Christoph Waltz actually. I was betting that either him or Tommy Lee Jones would get it. Being that all of the people who were nominated tonight had at least one other Oscar back at home, the competition was fair game for this category, and I don't think that any of them winning would cause controversy or hate.

Best Supporting Actress

Who won: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Who should have won: Kristen Stewart... I couldn't even type that with a straight face. Anne Hathaway, because she is an angel. Moving on

Best Actress

Who won: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Who should have won: Anybody but the kid. All the other actresses were seasoned and had years and years of training and preparation and the 9 year old just came out of nowhere. I don't doubt that she had a good preformance, but I think she has to work more before she gets the trophy. And if I have to be honest, I was really pulling for Jessica Chastain, who has really become one of my favorite actresses

Best Actor

Who won: Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln

Who should have won: Personally, I was rooting for Hugh Jackman, since this was his first nomination and it was for doing what he does best. Though again, I don't have any gripes about Daniel Day Lewis winning because apart from being one of the best actors ever, he gave a superb portrayal as Abraham Lincoln

Best Screenplay

Who won: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Who should have won: Again, no argument here... Did Oscar get it right this year?

So that's the first bit of my Oscar reaction, I'll give you the rest tomorrow

Mama

January is a bit of a weird month. Christmas is gone, but the cold is still here. Everybody's back in school and almost everyone is trying to get in shape again after being wracked with guilt over their indulgence of the holiday season. January is also one of the worst months of the year. Why? Because the movies that come out in January always suck! Every now and then, though, you get one movie that is actually really good. It may not be anything special, but it's at least entertaining and it gives you some hope that there will be more good movies to come this year. Mama is one of those movies. Now, I know that I listed this as one of the movies I was most looking forward to, but to be honest, I was really just looking for padding so the list wouldn't look so flimsy. I just wanted to see it because it looked entertaining. And it was.

The one complaint that I've heard about this movie is that this is all material that we have seen before in other horror movies in terms of scares. And I would not debate that. It's true, this is all stuff we've seen before and while that may be a turn off to some folks, I didn't really complain. For starters, this movie may not be groundbreaking or a game changer, but it never claimed to be. What you see is what you get. And as far as this all being familiar, we may have seen this stuff before, but this movie did it better than a lot of other movies I've seen, mainly for M. Night Shyamalan.

So what's the story? Well, we start with a father who goes nuts because his business and his marriage are failing. He snaps, kills two of his partners and his wife and runs away with his two daughters to an abandoned cabin in the woods. Before he commits murder-suicide on his two daughters, he is grabbed and killed by a phantom who then raises the two girls in the cabin as its own. Five years later, the girls are discovered in the cabin and taken to live with their uncle (who is their father's twin) and his girlfriend played by Nikolaj-Coster Waldau of Game of Thrones (who doubles as both brothers) and a punk rocker Jessica Chastain, who continues to impress more and more. Things seem okay and the girls' recovery seems to be going alright, except for the fact that both are still obsessed with this Mama character, who has followed them back to their uncles' house. From there, freaky ass thing after freaky ass thing occurs and the couple race to find out what the deal is with this ghost and why she is out to get them. If you like ghost movies and are just looking for a solid thriller, then Mama would be the perfect movie. It's nowhere near being a new horror classic like Cabin in the Woods, but it's an entertaining flick and many would and have found it enjoyable.

Final Grade: B, See it in the theater

Most anticipated movies of 2013

Now that 2012 is behind us, let us now look onward to the coming year and what exciting movies await us in the coming months. Unlike last year, there aren't as many movies that I am dying to see the way I was dying to see The Dark Knight Rises or The Avengers, but all the same, here are some movies that I am anxiously awaiting

The Wolverine- It's been a couple years since we last saw Wolverine on the screen, not counting his cameo in X-Men: First Class, and sufficed to say, his last few appearances were less than subpar. Hopefully though, with The Wolverine this year and Days of Future Past next year, we'll get to see him as the fast healing claw wielding badass that he is. And the best part is that he is on his own in this movie. He doesn't have to share the screen with the rest of the X-Men, he gets to stand center stage in this one.

Man of Steel- I've never been a big Superman fan, in fact even from a young age, I thought he was kind of lame, but now that we have Christopher Nolan producing and Zack Snyder directing, I think we might actually get a badass Superman movie. Plus, I love the casting choices of Russell Crowe as Jor El, Michael Shannon as General Zod, and Kevin Costner as Pa Kent.

Star Trek: Into Darkness- Again, never been a huge Star Trek fan, but I enjoyed the JJ Abrams movie from 2009 and from what I've seen, this upcoming sequel looks pretty badass, especially with Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain. It's also nice to see that he has been growing in popularity over the past few years

The Last Stand- All I really know about this one is that it has Arnold, and that it looks super badass. Nice to have you back, Arnie

A Good Day to Die Hard- You can't go wrong with Die Hard, they are some of the most awesome movies ever made

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- Do I really need to say why? Admittedly, I am kind of nervous since this was supposed to be the only sequel to Unexpected Journey, and it was supposed to be called There and Back Again, which has now been deemed the title of part 3. But hey, Peter Jackson is still at the helm, so I still have faith. In Jackson we trust.

Mama- I love Jessica Chastain, and I love horror movies. I also love Nikolaj-Coster Waldau, aka Kingslayer from Game of Thrones. I also like Guillermo Del Toro. A lot of likes are going into this movie for me. It's either going to be really good or suck hard.

Evil Dead- With remakes, especially remakes of cult favorites, I tend to tread carefully. But if Sam Raimi, the director of the original, and Bruce Campbell, the star of the original, have both hopped on as producers and have given their blessings, then who are we to judge?

Worst Movies of 2012

Well, you knew this one was coming. Here are the 10 worst movies of 2012. Some of these movies make me wish the world had ended. Before I start listing them, I will say that some of these I never got around to seeing, but I could tell from the trailers that it was going to suck hard. And if Rotten Tomatoes has any value behind it, it would appear I was right.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance- The first movie was okay, but I think there was a lot of wasted potential with it. This movie was just a failure right from the start. Maybe it's because I was sick with the stomach flu when I saw this, but some of the action and chase scenes were just a headache to watch, and there were a number of speed up then slow down shots that had no purpose whatsoever. This was also Nic Cage at his most Nic Cagest. It's almost like he not only doesn't give a crap, but wants to be known for being this terrible actor who hams and overacts the shit out of his characters. It was much more fun when he was the only one not in on the joke, now it's just ruined. Oh well, we still have Keanu Reeves.

John Carter- Since the success of the Pirates franchise, Disney seems to have really been trying to find another major hit, which would explain why they financed National Treasure (twice), Prince of Persia and now this. This movie wasn't necessarily bad, but for what they were going for, it did not deliver at all.

Battleship- I didn't even see this movie... I had other people go see it for me. As soon as I saw what looked like Michael Bay Decepticons and Rihanna, I thought "Boy, this movie is gonna suck" and then I saw Liam Neeson in the credits and my heart just broke

Underworld: Awakening- I only saw part of Underworld before I had to turn it off. Personally, I never really liked movies about vampires forming armies. Vampires are cool creatures but they are far better working by themselves as a solo villain. Anyway, the kiss of death on this one was that Charles Dance was in it (that's not the kiss of death, he's a fantastic actor and he kicks ass on Game of Thrones), and the vampire teeth they gave him impaired his speaking ability. He sounded like he was trying to talk with food in his mouth. And keep in mind, we are talking about an actor who was able to salvage some dignity from Alien 3

Paranormal Activity 4- Again, not one that I saw, but I really included it here for one reason. I have to ask "Didn't we say all that we needed to say with the first one?" It was a cool idea and now they are just milking the shit out of it

Silent Hill: Revelation- 3 words: Video game movie

Breaking Dawn Pt 2- yeah I said I enjoyed myself immensely while watching it, but that doesn't matter, it's still a shit film

10 Best movies of 2012

Here we stand, having survived the apocalypse and ready to begin another year on this planet. And as we struggle to rebuild our society after being decimated by the zombie uprising, I have decided that the time has come to give you the countdown of the 10 best movies of the year. And, just to throw a fast one at you, I've decided that I am going to leave off The Hobbit, The Avengers, and The Dark Knight Rises from the countdown. Why? Well, for starters, you guys already knew that I would list them, and on top of that, I'm not the only one who is doing that either. So here they are, my top ten movies of 2012. And a little reminder, these are not the movies that I found artistically brilliant or groundbreaking, these are just the movies that I enjoyed the most. A few of them I list because the made me piss myself I was laughing so hard. So, here we go


10. Lawless- A movie with pure badassness and not much else, even Shia LaBeouf had some cool moments
9. Ted- One of the funniest movies of the year and it only gets funnier when I watch it again, it may take a spot on my favorite comedies actually
8. Wreck-it Ralph- Another Pixar gem to make up for any shortcomings from Brave. This is definitely in the top 3 for Pixar movies for me
7. Paranorman- A movie I only heard about a week before I saw it, this stop motion homage to classic zombie and slasher flicks is another one that had me laughing myself silly
6. Frankenweenie- Tim Burton reminds us why stop motion is such a cool form of animation with this homage to horror flicks like Frankenstein and Dracula, among others. It also makes up for Dark Shadows.
5. Les Miserables- A star studded movie adaptation of one of the most beloved musicals of all time, great work done by all
4. Lincoln- I honestly think they should show Lincoln in history classes. It's a very well made movie with an absolutely superb performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, who I am sure will get the Oscar nod for his work here
3. Skyfall- The best of the Daniel Craig Bond films, and one of the best Bond films overall. It's seriously up there with From Russia with Love
2. Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino doing a western. That is all. PS- Dr. King Schultz is one of the most badass characters in any western
1. Cabin in the Woods- Yet another salute to horror flicks, although this is probably more of a satire than a salute. Either way, it has a creative premise and sets it up to not have any sequels, but to have a million prequels and tie-ins.


Stay tuned for my 10 worst movies of 2012

Les Miserables

Also known as A Guy Steals a Loaf of Bread and Shit Goes Down

Back at the Oscars in 2009 when Hugh Jackman was hosting, there was a moment when he declared that the musical had returned, being that there were so many musicals coming out at the time. Here's the problem, they all sucked. For all the musicals that were coming out one after another, few were actually memorable, even if at all good. With that said, let's talk about Les Miserables, which has had a ton of hype behind it for the past year. Let's do a run down: You have one of the most beloved stage musicals of all time with a cast that includes Hugh Jackman, one of the most famous broadway and film stars there is, Anne Hathaway, who we discovered, almost on accident that she could sing. You've got Russell Crowe playing Javert, who a lot of people didn't even know could sing, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter playing the comic relief characters. And on top of that, you have an Oscar winning director at the helm.

On top of that, this was also one of the first movies to have all of there actors sing the vocals live as opposed to recorded then lip synched, a very risky move that would either make or break the movie. So, did it live up to the hype?

I'd say that it did. Keep in mind, I'm not much into musical theater, so I can't really critique it as a musical, but as a movie, I thought it was really well done. The cast all did their parts beautifully, especially Sacha Baron Cohen who I think was the best casting choice when it came to him singing "Master of the House". It's just so over-the-top and weird that you'd have to be a fool to not cast him as the part. The rest of the cast was just as good, I would be surprised if one or not both Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway received Oscar nominations. And Russell Crowe, even though he seemed a bit uncomfortable singing at first, really grows into the part of Javert and by the time he sang his solo "Stars", I thought he sounded really good. Keep in mind, he's an actor first, and a singer second. I would say his only problem was that he didn't benefit from singing live. The rest of the cast did a good job, though I feel like Eddie Redmayne may have been trying too hard at some parts. I guess my only complaint about the movie is that I didn't realize that 99% of it was all sung which again, not a bad thing, seeing as how the music is good and the cast does a good job singing it. As for singing live, even though Russell Crowe struggled at the beginning, I think it really helped the movie because since, with the exception of Hugh Jackman, the cast has more experience acting then singing, it allowed them to focus on their acting while also focusing on their singing at the same time rather than recording it a few months in advance and already having to make their acting choices a few months before they are even on camera. And the emotions of some of the actors, particularly Anne Hathaway felt really genuine and not forced or over exaggerated.

Now keep in mind, this is a long ass movie, clocking in at about 3 hours. But again, I never minded really long movies, so I don't care. Though I will say my ass began to feel a little numb by the time they sang "One Day More", but that's not important.

Final Grade: A