My Own Subjective Top 10 Movies of 2013

Hello, faithful readers.

I told you I'd be back.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I still plan on occasionally posting. I've just given up on regular posting for now. So I've decided to reappear, momentarily, to present to you my top ten list of movies I saw this past year. Remember, these films on this list don't need to have been made in 2013 to qualify, that just has to be the year that I watched them for the first time. Make sense? If not, you can check out past years' lists from 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Truth be told, I thought it was going to be hard to populate my list with ten exceptional movies this year. For a while there in 2013, I went through a string of movies that disappointed me, movies that I was completely indifferent about, movies I disliked and movies I absolutely hated, and yet I still found more than 10 movies to which I gave a rating of four stars or more. And here they are, in a very particular order:





10. Strangers on a Train (1951) - The reason that Strangers on a Train succeeds is because of its antagonist. Robert Walker plays a character that is both charming and terrifying. Plus, Hitchcock does an excellent job of creating suspense and making the viewer feel anxious for the protagonist as well as the antagonist. The climax is a little silly, but this film, overall, is another example of why the name of Alfred Hitchcock will always be remembered.







 



9. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon brings a fresh feel and a fresh face to the slasher genre. It's quite entertaining how this film points out how much planning, how much preparation and how much luck would be needed for the murders in those types of horror movies. It also lets us enjoy a full-fledged slasher movie after showing everything that is going on behind the scenes. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. 





 



8. Life of Pi (2012) - Life of Pi is a beautiful movie, both visually and thematically. This film reminded me of how much I enjoyed the book. Also, I was impressed with Suraj Sharma, who carried his first movie mostly on his own. The CGI is cartoony at parts, but it's easy to get lost in the story and forget that most of what you're seeing is nothing more than visual effects. This is a wonderful adaptation of an excellent novel.






 



7. Looper (2012) - Looper is a clever film. Time travel is always a sticky issue, but this movie embraces the impossibilities and invites the audience to just enjoy the ride. Whatever flaws this movie may have, it makes up for it with its creativity. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a great Bruce Willis. We need more movies like Looper -- creative and smart movies.







 




6. The Impossible (2012) - If you're not sure if your tear ducts are working, watch The Impossible. This movie will inspire terror, despair and, perhaps most of all, hope. However, this movie doesn't feel sappy or emotionally manipulative. The acting is superb - even the child actors give amazingly realistic performances - and the special effects are horrifying. This is an amazing true story brought to life on the big screen, and it is a good reminder of what truly matters in this world.









5. The World's End (2013) - The World's End isn't as comedic as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, but it's still a solid action flick. It's interesting to see Nick Frost play the sensible character and Simon Pegg play the screw-up. Plus, it features a good ensemble cast. The plot is simple, yet fun, and the special effects are spectacular. It's not a perfect movie, but it's an entertaining movie and a suitable end to the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy.













4. Argo (2012) - Argo is a well-made movie based on a fascinating true story. No, it's not 100-percent historically accurate, but it presents the plot in a way that works on the big screen. This drama is also subtly comedic, and it features excellent acting by the entire cast. I'll be interested to see if this one holds up as well on subsequent viewings.









 

3. Wreck-it Ralph (2012) - I enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph more than I thought I would. Even though the trailer spoiled most of the funny stuff, this movie features a heart-warming story about accepting who you are. The animation is literally full of eye candy, and it features enough nerdy video game references to keep me happy. Yes, Wreck-It Ralph has some flaws (e.g. Sarah Silverman); however, as I learned from this movie, we should try to look past the flaws and see the good. I've seen this film multiple times and it holds up quite well.











2. Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - Silver Linings Playbook is technically a romantic comedy, but I hesitate to lump it in with all of the other cookie-cutter rom-coms out there. It is one of the most unique romantic comedies I've ever seen. Plus, it doesn't have that pretentious "quirky for quirky's sake" feel that many independent films do. Bradley Cooper is surprisingly good in his role and Jennifer Lawrence is impressive as always. This is an intelligent movie with an entertaining story about broken people who are trying to help each other become whole.







And the best movie that I saw in 2013 was...
















1. Gravity (2013) - Gravity isn't just a movie, it's an experience. It's an experience of sight, it's an experience of sound and it's an emotional experience, as well. This film makes you feel like you are drifting among the stars, instead of just showing you a story set in space. The visual effects are unique, awe-inspiring and terrifying, and while the plot is simple, there is beauty in its simplicity. I've never seen a movie quite like Gravity.

Also, as an honorable mention, this past year I enjoyed World War Z (2013), Jack Reacher (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) and The Dirty Dozen (1967), as well, but they weren't quite favorite enough to bump out anything in my top ten.

Let's hope 2014 brings about even more difficult choices as to what to include in my top ten list! Thanks for reading!

Why I Watch Edited Movies

I love films.

I watch edited movies.

Those two statements are not mutually exclusive.

Contrary to popular belief, you can be a big fan of film and still not be a fan of vulgarity, sexual content, excessive violence and nudity. Much like how you can be a fan of pizza, but not like pineapple on your pizza (or anywhere, for that matter, because pineapple is disgusting). Yet there seems to be this stigma out there that if you're watching edited movies, you're not a real fan of cinema.

I disagree.

So I'm going to take a moment and talk about some of the misconceptions, accusations and general responses that I get whenever I mention that I prefer my movies cleaned up a bit. I want to let you know why I watch edited movies. Before I do, I would like to mention up front that I don't get up on a pedestal and call someone a sinner whenever they mention that they saw an R-rated movie. I reserve that behavior for whenever someone mentions that they voluntarily watched a Tyler Perry movie. But seriously, I don't judge others (vocally) for watching unedited movies, and I hope that you would extend me the same courtesy.

"You watched it edited? Then you didn't really see the movie."

Imagine that you go to visit Paris in the spring. You see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe and other famous French landmarks found in The Da Vinci Code. You come back and tell everyone how much you enjoyed Paris and then someone pipes up and says "Well, did you see the sewers of Paris?"

"No. I didn't see the sewers."

"Well, then, you didn't really see Paris."

And that's how those people sound when they tell me I didn't really see a movie when I saw it edited. When I watch an edited movie, I still see the characters, I still am able to watch the plot unfold, I still hear all of the important dialogue (swear words are just unnecessary adjectives and adverbs anyway), so I've seen the movie. Just because I choose not to watch what I consider to be "the crap" doesn't mean I wasn't able to enjoy the movie.

Now yes, some movies may lose a scene here and there, and the plot can get muddled at times, but that rarely happens and, when it does, that's what Wikipedia plot summaries are for.

"How dare you ruin the director's art! You're ruining a piece of art!!"

No. I'm not ruining anyone's art. I'm not driving to Hollywood, walking into a studio and snipping out sections of the original film (or hard drive, in the case of George Lucas). I have my own copy, at home, in my personal collection. Some of these DVDs in my personal collection are physical edited copies that I bought from a place like CleanFlicks. I can edit other copies that I own, or copies that I rent from Netflix, on my ClearPlay player. The keyword there is "copy." Meaning that the original remains intact for anyone who wants to watch it. Once again, to use a simile, it's as if I purchased a replica of Michelangelo's statue of David and dressed him up in Bermuda shorts, fingerless gloves and a beret. The actual statue is still in Florence, Italy and it's still safe and sound (and nude) for everyone to enjoy. However, back in my house, David is still wearing the shorts, but we've now replaced the beret with snorkel gear -- simply because we can. I choose to appreciate the art in my own way, and it doesn't affect anyone else.

"Wow. I bet [insert movie title here] was, like, five minutes long!"

Believe it or not, swearing, nudity, violence and sex make up a very small portion of mainstream movies. There have been a couple times when the run time of the edited movie was drastically different than the original run time (Team America: World Police comes to mind, but the CleanFlicks version I own still runs over an hour), but, for the most part, edited movies only shave off a few minutes, if that.

"Do you watch every movie edited?"

Yes. Every movie. Even Disney cartoons. They can be so vulgar and vile at times.

I'm kidding, of course.

I don't watch every movie edited. I'll usually check out the Parents Guide on IMDb and see what a movie has in it. Then I will determine if I want to wait to see it edited or not. If there's excessive amounts of sex, offensive language or nudity, I'll wait until it comes out on DVD, so I can watch it on my ClearPlay player. There are some R-rated movies, like The Matrix, that I'll watch without editing because, in my opinion, there isn't much to edit. On the other hand, though, there are some PG-13 movies, like Anchorman, that I prefer to watch edited. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings are a good guideline for me, but they're not the rule.

In my opinion, the MPAA does a pretty good job of classifying what is appropriate for what audience, but I do have issues with some of their ratings. For example, I will never understand how a movie like Slumdog Millionaire, which is a beautiful movie with an inspiring message of hope and love, has the exact same rating as Hostel, which is essentially torture porn. In the early 80s they created a new rating (PG-13) to fit the needs of the gap between a movie that was appropriate for most audiences (PG) and a movie that might traumatize children (R). I think it's time for another revamp of the rating system to distinguish between the Slumdogs and the Hostels. Although, I really don't like it when the MPAA retroactively rates a film. Psycho (1960), for instance, is currently listed as rated R. This classic Hitchcock film should not be rated R. It's a tame PG-13, if anything. The R rating wasn't even created until 1968. But I digress. . .

"Why do you watch edited movies?"

Ah. Now there's a good question (and the point of this entire post). Thanks for asking, faithful readers. Basically it comes down to distraction. It's difficult for me to enjoy a movie when I'm distracted and annoyed by cussing or nakedness. I don't enjoy having these in my movie, and so, by taking them out of the picture (literally), I feel like I can better enjoy the film. And I'm grateful for the different editing options I have so I can enjoy movies I normally wouldn't want to watch.

The nice thing about having a ClearPlay player is the fact that I can choose my level of filtering depending on the audience. Each filter has four different settings (no filtering, least filtering, medium filtering and most filtering), so when my kids are watching a movie, I can have all of the filters on high and not worry about them hearing anything that I'm going to have to stop them from repeating. When it's just my wife and I watching a movie, I can put the Vulgarity, Blasphemy, Sex and Nudity filters on medium (which seems to edit out most of the offensive stuff without over-editing), turn off the other filters and enjoy the movie that way. And, since the ClearPlay player doesn't alter the actual DVD in any way, it doesn't even "ruin" any director's precious "art."*
*see above paragraph titled  "How dare you ruin the director's art! You're ruining a piece of art!!"

I also don't understand why filmmakers don't market edited movies to the masses. There is obviously a market for it (when one edited movie store closes, another one always seems to open), so money and demand aren't the problem. I'd wager that movie studios would make a ton of money selling edited versions to the public. Plus, the studios already make an edited version for television broadcasts and use on airlines, so resources and technology aren't the problem. Yet the filmmakers remain stubborn on this issue of selling professionally edited movies.

For the record, I would prefer a studio-created edited version of films. These edits would be less jumpy than ClearPlay or CleanFlicks, and the audio dubbing is less distracting than the muting when it comes to dialogue. As much as I (rightly) mock Avatar, James Cameron actually put an "Optional Family Audio Track" on the DVD and Blu-ray discs that cuts out all the swearing -- and I applaud that decision. I just wish he would have put an "Original Plot" option on those discs for that movie, as well.

In closing, I'd like to state once more that just because I watch a movie edited doesn't mean that I'm not a lover of film. I love movies, I just don't like some of the stuff Hollywood puts in movies -- and I'm not alone. In fact, one of the foremost film experts I personally know (he's a professional cinematographer with a BA in Media Arts who has worked on such films as Napoleon Dynamite and 127 Hours) is another edited film watcher. And I'd like to share with this quote from him from when I asked him why he watches edited movies:

why i watch edited movies is a big question, and one that has shifted somewhat over time. . .generally [I] still hold to the "no R" rule. but, more than that, i try to seek out good media.**

And that's what I'm trying to do, as well -- seek out good media. After all, movies and TV shows can inspire us and educate us as they entertain us. Film is art. Art is subjective. And I choose not to subject myself to those things that I, personally, find offensive in my quest to find compelling stories told in interesting and beautiful ways. That is why I watch edited movies.

**(Note: The above quote has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this screen and edited for time and content.)

Where the Street Scenes Have No Name

Long ago, my brain made a conscious decision to reserve some real estate for movie trivia. When that community began to thrive, my brain allowed the movie trivia subdivision to expand to more areas of the brain, and evicted the lesser-used residents of the brain such as world history and long division. They were barely making rent, anyway.

Now that my brain is essentially a thriving metropolis of movie trivia (with small outlying villages for basic motor functions and limited social skills), I love finding a good movie quiz. And Google Street Scene is just that. The guys that run this website have taken movie scenes and merged them into Google Street view. It is then up to the viewer to figure out what movie or TV show is being portrayed.

Here are some examples. The picture isn't the only clue, look at dates, locations and the caption below each image, as well. Some will be easier than others. You can find the answer by clicking on the caption.

Rest easy, son. You’ve had a busy day.

Maybe this is Heaven.

Either no one told me or no one knows.

You better get up now if you want to see the lake.

Dukes up; eyes peeled; ears to the ground.

Listen here, you dipstick.

We’ll drive home backwards.

Slower than the molasses in January.

Well, faithful readers? How did you do? Did you get all eight right? I did. But that's because I picked the ones I knew to put on this blog post. I'll admit that there were a bunch on the actual Google Street Scene site I didn't know. *sigh* I guess my brain is going to have to evict basic chemistry for the new movie trivia housing project. Worth it!

Movies By the Numbers

When it comes to movies, I have a pretty good memory. No, I won't be able to quote a line by heart after the first viewing (like some alert readers I know), but I can tell you, from memory, that Ferris Bueller skipped school nine times, that there are 12 cabins at the Bates Motel, and that Sauron created one ring to rule them all. However, I can't even fathom how long it would take to research and create a video like this:



Impressive, no? I tip my hat to you, AlonzoMosleyFBI for your dedication in finding 100 different movies that happened to mention a number and putting them in numerical order. He's even insightful enough to know that inquiring minds like myself will want to know which movie is which in that montage, so he created a list on his blog. Sidenote: I've seen 64 of the 100 films he chose.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, two years after AlonzoMosleyFBI created that "100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers" he decided to do it again, this time with the characters mentioning dates from 1900 to 2000. Yes, certain ones like 1955 and 1985 might be obvious, but I was amazed that he found a film for every year within that century.



Well done, AlonzoMosleyFBI! Once again, here's the list of movies he used in that video. I've seen 59 out of the 100.

AlonzoMosleyFBI, if you're out there, and if you're a faithful reader of this blog, and if you're taking requests, might I recommend doing a montage of seven different movies that each mention a different color in our visible spectrum of light. In fact, I've already done the research and I have your list, right here:

Red - This one was easy.
Orange - I couldn't decide whether to use this clip for "orange" or "blue."
Yellow - Nobody tells me I can't get a clip for yellow. Nobody!
Green - Careful, this clip features some spoilers from this classic 80s comedy. 
Blue - I couldn't use my first choice, so I went with this one.
Indigo - Uh. . . does this work?
Violet - Triple points!

Impressed? I thought so. I didn't even use Google! These were all from memory, and it was a little harder than I thought it'd be. I don't know how AlonzoMosleyFBI does it.

Five Movies I Didn't Finish

Faithful readers, I have a hard time walking away from a movie before it's over. I tend to watch films until the bitter end, even if it makes me miserable. I mean, I have watched both The Day of the Dolphin AND The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer in their entirety! And neither one of those movies should have been created, let alone watched. Nevertheless, there's always a part of me that needs to know how the story ends, no matter how dumb the movie may be. Also, when I'm watching a bad movie (like Lady in the Water), I just keep hoping that it will have some redeeming moment at the end (which Lady in the Water doesn't have), and it's that hope that drives me to the finish (and makes me finish movies like Lady in the Water).

However, out of the 4,815,162,342 films I've seen in my lifetime, there are a handful of movies I didn't finish. These aren't my worst hated movies -- after all, it's not really fair to pass final judgement on half-watched movies -- but here are some of the films that I found to be so bland or intolerable, that I stopped watching them and don't care to ever finish them.

High School High

I remember watching this one with my family at my sister's basement apartment when I was a teenager. We had no idea what we were in for, but soon discovered this movie is nothing more than one tasteless joke after another. I truly believe that the "inspirational teacher" genre needs to be mocked and mocked often, but this movie crossed the line too many times, and it wasn't humorous enough to justify us keeping it on. Jon Lovitz is a funny man, but this movie would not be useful evidence of the aforementioned statement in a court of law. And since I watched this movie back in the 90s, I didn't even have the internet resources to look up the ending and satisfy my curiosity. Maybe I'll do that now. Hold on one sec. . .
 . . .Yup. I'm glad we turned it off. That was stupid. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the worst movies in the world are comedies.

The Aviator
I feel somewhat ashamed of not finishing this one because it's a Best Picture nominee and it stars Kate Beckinsale. I hope that the lovely and talented Ms. Beckinsale can forgive me. However, after watching the first four and a half hours of The Aviator, I was bored and sleepy and decided to turn off the movie and do something more productive. My plan was to go back and finish this movie later, especially because of the potential of another Kate Beckinsale scene, but I never got around to it. There always seemed to be something more interesting to do than watch Leo DiCaprio brood at the camera. Personally, I preferred it when Howard Hughes was portrayed by John Locke in The Rocketeer.

Dreamgirls
Now, some of you out there may disagree with this one, but I found Dreamgirls to be utterly boring. So boring, in fact, that I didn't even remember watching it until I found it in my Netflix viewing history. To be fair, I'm not the target demographic for this movie -- I'm not black, I'm not a woman and I'm not entertained by two-hour music videos. This movie seemed to be nothing more than a showcase for the vocal chords of Beyoncé and Jennifér. Eddie Murphy boldly stepped out from behind Donkey's shadow and gave a dramatic, live-action performance. But who wants to see Eddie Murphy do serious drama? If I want to see Eddie Murphy not be funny, I'll watch . . .anything he did after 1988. I don't remember what, exactly, drew me away from the TV when watching this movie, but I do remember being relieved that I didn't have to finish it.

Post Grad
My wife chose to rent Post Grad. I agreed to watch it because it starred Michael Keaton, who is fun to watch, and Alexis Bledel, who is nice to look at. I fell asleep during this movie. I made it through about two-thirds of Post Grad before the lack of laughter dragged my eyelids down. This movie tried to be original, but it followed the predictable path of the rom-com to the point where I knew exactly where it was going -- which is why my brain no longer felt compelled to watch it. When I woke up the next morning, I asked my wife how the movie ended. She told me, and then apologized for wasting a Netflix shipment on it. I forgave her, and I also forgave Vicky Jenson, the director of Post Grad. After all, she was a storyboard artist for He-Man, (The Not Real) Ghostbusters AND Jem. My childhood thanks you, Ms. Jenson, but please just stick to drawing.

Once

I will now explain to you the plot of Once: a street performer meets a girl and they sing together. Then they talk for a bit. Then they go somewhere and sing together. Then ***spoiler alert*** they go somewhere else and sing together. That's about as far as we got before my wife told me she was too ill to continue watching it, so we turned it off and went to bed. I sent it back to Netflix the next day without finishing it, but I did look up the ending on Wikipedia. ***spoiler alert*** They wander around and sing some more. Much like Dreamgirls, this movie bored me because it felt like I was watching the movie's soundtrack. This was just a vehicle to get people interested in the music of Glen Hansard, and to help people pronounce the name of Markéta Irglová (Won-HEET-Won-Dur). It's such a boring story that they don't even bother to name the main characters! Hansard plays "Guy" and Irglová plays "Girl." Other character names in this film include, and I'm not making this up, Guy's Dad, Girl's Mother, Bassist, Lead Guitarist, Man Watching TV and, of course, Heroin Addict. I do like the song Falling Slowly, but as far as the movie goes you could say Once. . .was enough.


So there you have it. There are five movies I didn't finish. There's nothing drawing me back to them, either, so unless any of you have some strong feelings toward any of these films and/or have a powerful rebuttal, I'll probably never finish them. . .except maybe for the one with Kate Beckinsale in it.

What about you, faithful readers? What movies have you stopped watching mid-way through and never finished? And do you think you'll ever go back and finish them?

My Own Subjective Top 10 Movies of 2012

2012 was the year of the television series for me. I spent so much time watching TV series on Netflix such as Psych, Breaking Bad, Prison Break, Battlestar Galactica, Raising Hope, Monk, Malcolm in the Middle, Phineas and Ferb, Portlandia, Downton Abbey, How I Met Your Mother, Sherlock and Futurama (all of which I recommend) that movies took kind of a backseat for me. Nevertheless, I still managed to watch more than my share of films this year. So, much like I did in 2009, 2010 and 2011, here is my own subjective top 10 list of movies I saw in 2012.

Please keep in mind, faithful readers, that these are not films that were necessarily released in 2012. These are movies that I saw for the first time in 2012. Also, keep in mind that I normally have to wait until these movies are out on DVD, so I'm a little behind the curve. And keep in mind that art is subjective and your opinions may differ from mine. And let us never forget that Kate Beckinsale is strikingly beautiful.

Now, on to the list:

10. The Seventh Seal (1957) - Yes, it took me 55 years to see this movie. Although, in my defense, I wasn't even alive for 23 of those years. However, as a film geek, I felt it was my duty to watch this classic piece of cinema by Ingmar Bergman. The Seventh Seal is a special kind of film because it deals directly with the reality and indifference of death, yet it oddly retains a feeling of hope. Ingmar Bergman projects his fear of the unknown on the screen and, as an audience, we are able to relate because we've all felt the same type of fear. It is a beautiful film and it features iconic images and ideas. This is truly a classic and I'm glad I saw it.

9. Warrior (2011) - I have three brothers, so the idea of working out some fraternal aggression in the octagon is somewhat appealing. I was worried that Warrior would be a cliché-fest, but it's actually a fairly impressive movie. It's not every day that you find a story that makes you truly feel conflicted about who should win in the end. The fights are raw and realistic without being excessively violent. Plus, Warrior has as much of an emotional punch as it does actual punching. My wife and I both enjoyed this film.

8. Chronicle (2012) - Finally! A movie I saw in 2012 that actually came out in 2012! Now, truth be told, I am absolutely tired of "found footage" films. I didn't have much hope for this film, but I walked away pleasantly surprised. This movie is actually quite good. If a group of teenagers suddenly got superpowers, this is exactly how they would act. Dane DeHaan gives a performance that is both vulnerable and frightening, and the rest of the cast does a fantastic job making this far-fetched story seem a little more realistic.

7. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) - I can describe this movie in two words: Fun. I love the premise of Tucker & Dale vs Evil, and the execution (pun totally intended) is great. However, I wish they wouldn't have given so much away in the trailer. Almost every major joke and plot twist is revealed in the preview, which I watched multiple times before seeing the movie. All of those trailer spoilers lessen the impact of when you actually see the story unfold onscreen. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this film. It features great performances from both Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk, and it's a fresh take on a tired story. I would definitely watch this one again.

6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Much like the final Harry Potter movie, The Dark Knight Rises is good, but it's not the best of the series. Although, to be fair, I like The Dark Knight so much that "Rises" couldn't possibly live up to my expectations. However, this final installment ends the trilogy well. It gives us inspiring heroes, intimidating villains and plenty of dramatic action. However, some important plot points seem glossed over and, if you stop and think about what is actually going on in the movie, you'll find a few plot holes. Plus, there are some overly cheesy moments. Anne Hathaway's character, for example, seems out of place when compared to the rest of the cast. Nevertheless, I liked it and I will be proud to have all three of Nolan's Batman films in my collection (that, sadly, does include Batman & Robin).

5. The Avengers (2012) - I know there are a lot of haters out there, but I still say the Avengers is an entertaining and satisfying film. I was worried that, with so many characters, the story would be messy or rushed, but everyone seemed to get equal time and the plot flowed smoothly. Yes, it does have its flaws and yes, it does have long stretches of slow moments, but this movie mixes nerd-fantasy action with sharp-witted humor, and it does it well -- but who would have expected less with Joss Whedon at the helm? No, it wasn't as amazing the second time through, but it's still a fun ride and I loved watching it with my 3-year-old son. Yes, I let my 3-year-old son watch a PG-13 movie. You know what the "PG" in PG-13 stands for? Parental Guidance. And I'm the parent -- so there!
. . .and I got my wife's permission.

4. The Help (2011) - I was worried that The Help was going to be a heavy-handed, one-sided, racially-charged film, but it surprised me. It wasn't a "black people are good, white people are bad" kind of film. There are good white characters (other than Emma Stone) and there are bad black characters. The Help is full of touching scenes, humorous moments and interesting, complex characters. And while I was happy to see Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain get Oscar nominations, I also think Bryce Dallas Howard does a fantastic job as the villainous Hilly Holbrook. She really makes that character fun to hate. I liked this movie much more than I thought I would. Plus my wife loved the book and she said the adaptation was very well done.

3. The Descendants (2011) - Not only did this movie make me miss Hawaii, but it also made me very grateful that I haven't had to deal with the problems that Matt King has to deal with. The Descendants does a great job of dealing with a variety of complex emotions. This movie manages to maintain a lighthearted feel, despite the dark and depressing subject matter. Each one of the performances feels genuine and heartfelt, and I felt myself getting caught up in it all. This movie definitely deserved the Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. My favorite line of the movie: "You give your children enough money to do something, but not enough to do nothing." I hope to one day have enough money to be able follow that advice.

2. Attack the Block (2011) - Once you get used to the heavy, heavy British accents, Attack the Block is a lot of fun. At first, I was a little put off by the young thug protagonists, and I could barely understand what anyone was saying (ClearPlay muting every other word didn't help), but soon I got caught up in the story. I'm not normally that big of a fan of alien movies, but this one is very entertaining. I also don't normally root for street gangs, but when they're pitted against aliens, you have to cheer for someone. This movie features some awesomely creepy creature effects. The aliens were unique and terrifying. Plus, it ended up having a heart, too, which I didn't expect. I would definitely watch this one again.








And my #1 favorite movie of 2012 is. . .

1. The Hunger Games (2012) - I know. I know. I sound like a teenage girl by putting this as my #1 of the year. Heck, I feel like a teenage girl for putting this as my favorite film of 2012. But the fact remains that when I was reviewing my ratings of the past year, this movie had the most stars. It got four and a half stars, which is the highest rating that I will give a movie after the first viewing. I was very impressed with The Hunger Games. Of course, I love the book, so I may be a little biased. I wonder how enjoyable it would be to someone who doesn't know all of the background information. I think I was most impressed by how well the book was adapted to the screen -- I guess it helps when the author of the book writes the script. The story is compelling and the violence is suitable for the target teenage audience -- it isn't excessive or gratuitous, but it's enough to get the brutal point across. Jennifer Lawrence once again proves herself as a talented actress, and the supporting cast is enjoyable to watch, as well. This is a powerful, well-made drama. Please stop associating it with Twilight.



Now there maybe some of you who disagree with the order of my rankings on this list, but you can't possibly deny. . .that I watched these movies!

I would also like to give an honorable mention to the following films, which I also watched and enjoyed in 2012: The Cabin in the Woods (2011), Iron Monkey (1993), 50/50 (2011), Seven Samurai (1954), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), The Thing (1982) and Les Miserables (2012). Sorry you didn't make the top ten list, gang, maybe next year. . .except I've already seen you in 2012, so. . .yeah. . .

Until next year!

A Movie Snack to Tide You Over

Faithful readers, I'm cooking up my lengthy, annual, subjective 2012 movie list for next week, so this week's post is just going to be something to wet your whistle. However, this video deserves a post of its own anyway. I've featured the work of Gen Ip on Slice of Fried Gold before, but every year I am amazed how she can take a plethora of films and piece them together in a beautiful way that brings out common themes and ideas -- and that plus the music make these yearly Filmographies strangely inspiring. Every time I watch Gen Ip's Filmography videos, I feel inspired to do something more with my life. . .and I feel the urge to watch more movies. Those two things aren't mutually exclusive, right? Right??

So, without further ado (because I said this post was going to be short), here is Gen Ip's Filmography 2012:



How many of these have you seen? I've only seen about 21 out of the 300+ portrayed in this video.

P.S. If you want to figure out which movie is which in that montage, here you go.

Movie Trailers that Give Away the Ending

First of all, let me say Happy October, faithful readers! Can you believe it's finally here? Let's get to the semi-quasi-Halloween-related weekly posts!

 So I just saw this trailer for a horror movie called The Bay:


And while I roll my eyes at almost every "found footage film" these days, it was the ending of this trailer that caught my attention. It's not that the final few seconds of this trailer are amazing or even original -- movie trailer viewers expect this kind of stinger these days -- but it reminded me of a horror movie trailer I saw a few years ago:



Now, Quarantine wasn't a horrible film, but this trailer is particularly notorious because ***spoiler alert*** the last shot in the trailer is, in fact, the last shot of the film. Yup. Quarantine ends with that girl getting dragged off into the darkness. It's not a very good ending, but it's what you can expect from the run-of-the-mill found footage films. But why would the trailer makers decide to spoil the ending like that? Probably because it's one of the few memorable shots in the film. However, the ending loses 86% of its power if you've seen the trailer already.

And I have a feeling that the last shot of The Bay trailer is the same story. I haven't seen it yet, so technically that isn't a spoiler, but I'm willing to bet that the final shot of that woman in the car with the zombie-like creature popping up is how the film ends. Anyone want to take me up on that bet?

Anyway, The Bay trailer and its possible relationship to Quarantine led me to think about other movie trailers that give away the ending. Needless to say, this post deserves this kind of disclaimer:

*****WARNING! THIS POST WILL DISCUSS MOVIE TRAILERS THAT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING (AS YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM THE TITLE OF THIS POST). THEREFORE, THERE IS A STANDING SPOILER ALERT FOR THE REST OF THIS POST!*****

Now, I haven't seen Apparition yet (I've been cautioned by a couple of friends to avoid it, in fact), but I was told that, once again, the last clip of the trailer is, in fact, how the movie ends. Take a look:



So the film apparently ends with a bunch of zombie hands groping Ashley Greene. But the filmmakers didn't stop there; they also spoiled the ending in the poster.

Smooth.

Now, lest you think that this spoiler-trailer-y thing only applies to horror films. Check out this family-friendly classic from the 90s:



Yup. The most iconic shot of Free Willy is, in fact, the moment at the end of the movie when the killer whale is let loose on the open waters once more. And, once again, it's spoiled by the poster as well as the trailer. But, I guess with a title like "Free Willy," you can probably guess that Willy is going to be free at some point in the film.

Back to horror:



Now, I like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, but I was disappointed by how many deaths were spoiled in the trailer. There are seven people in that group of teens, and the trailer shows how six of them are killed. "But, The Former 786," you exclaim loudly, "this trailer doesn't give away the ending! Why would you include it on this post?" A fair question, faithful reader. My answer is that it's my blog and I can do what I want. Boo-yah.

But let's back to the point at hand:



To be honest, Carrie comes from a time when people were just starting to understand what a movie trailer should be. In the early days of film until about the mid-60s, movie trailers were much longer, much more boring and gave away almost the entire plot of the movie. Still, this movie would have been much more effective on viewers if they didn't know that a blood-soaked Carrie went telekinetically berserk on a room full of prom goers. However, if it wasn't for that part of the trailer, a lot of men probably wouldn't have gone to see it because it would just look like an angsty awkward teen girl film.


But Carrie doesn't give away the stinger ending where ***do I really need to say "spoiler alert" again?*** Carrie's dead hand shoots up from her grave and grabs Sue's arm, So it doesn't give away everything -- that honor belongs to this movie trailer:



Let me just run through how this trailer would play out with someone that hasn't seen the movie yet:

"Yikes! I wonder if he survives that plane crash! Oh. . .I guess he does."

"Hmmm. I wonder if a guy like Tom Hanks could survive on an island like that. Oh. . .I guess he can."

"Ha! He made fire."

"Whoa! He's skinny! I wonder if he's going to try and get off that island. Oh. . .I guess he does."

"I wonder how long he was on that island for. Oh. . .four years."

"And I guess since that guy on the plane is talking to him about getting off the island. . .he must get off the island at some point. Probably four years after he got there."

"It'd probably be hard to adjust to normal life after being on a desert island for four years. Yup. I was right." 

"Oh yeah! Helen Hunt! I wonder if they're going to work out. Well. . .based on her new haircut, probably not."

And then the end of the trailer shows us the very last shot of the film, with Tom Hanks standing at the crossroads, pondering what to do with his life. But Robert Zemeckis probably figured it didn't matter if he gave away the ENTIRE PLOT in the trailer, because people would go see it anyway. And they did.

So, there you have it. These are just a few of the movie trailers that ruin the ending of a film. I'm sure there are others, but I didn't want to dig around too much more on this subject. I don't like getting spoilers for movies I haven't seen. Like that time, years ago, when I mentioned that I wanted to see The Sixth Sense to someone else who hadn't seen the movie (thinking I was safe) and he replied, "Oh, is that the movie where Bruce Willis has a big ol' shotgun wound in his back at the end and you find out he's been dead the whole time?". . . . .

Jerk.