Spider-Man 3

I'm a huge fan of Spider-Man 3. The movie gets hated on by just about every other person, but I personally feel that it is, by far, the best Spider-Man movie to date, and remains one of my most favorite movies of all time. The main conflict in these movies has always been with finding that balance between being a superhero and being a regular person, and I feel that Spider-Man 3 is the ultimate culmination of this idea that "with great power comes great responsibility". Now, I did have certain reservations concerning the changes they were making to Peter's backstory, by having the Sandman be the guy who actually killed Uncle Ben. And even after my first few viewings I wouldn't have rated it quite as up to par as its predecessors. But the more I've revisited this film, the more I was able to look past any preconceived expectations based on other Spidey properties and take the movie based solely on its own merits. And once I was able to do that, I saw the sheer brilliance that was hiding deep inside this darker Spider-Man story.

I honestly believe a lot of the negative reception for this movie comes from said expectations going in. For instance, one of the biggest complaints I hear about the movie is the way the movie misuses Venom. And I actually shared that complaint for a long time at first. It bugged me a bit that Venom was only technically in the movie for about ten minutes, and that even then, he acted very little like how the Venom we know from the comics is supposed to act. But then I was watching it again one day when it suddenly hit me: Venom was never intended to be a villain in this movie. At least, not in the traditional sense that one would expect.

The movie was never building up to an introduction of the Venom character as we know him from the comic books or other media. And even when Eddie Brock does obtain the suit, at no point is he even referred to by the name of Venom in the movie. And that's because the movie's not about Venom. No, Spider-Man himself is the villain in this one. The movie chronicles Peter's inner battles with himself, and it uses the black suit symbiote as a means to express that battle in a physical form. And the only reason he's even separated from the suit in the end is for him to have that last climactic one on one physical fight.

Another complaint concerning Venom was the casting of Topher Grace to play Eddie Brock, a character who is known for being a fairly large musclehead in the comics. But I, again, found this casting to be brilliant. By getting a guy of similar build as Tobey Maguire, and by giving the character a bit more of a similarly dorky personality as Peter Parker, it only furthers the idea of a mirror match that the movie is setting out to accomplish. Hell, all of the promotion hints at this, with Spider-Man looking at his reflection on the sides of buildings wearing the black suit, an image that was perfectly portrayed throughout the course of the movie. And taking all of that into account, I think that the execution of this entire scenario was handled very well. In fact, my own personal complaint that stuck out on multiple views was how convenient it was that the symbiote just happened to attach itself to Peter Parker of all people. But sitting back and giving it a little thought, it actually makes sense that it would seek out someone like Peter, who would be able to provide it with the kind of strength that no one else could. And the fact that Eddie Brock is so similar to Peter makes equal sense why the symbiote would be attracted to him as a suitable replacement.

That the movie was juggling too many villains is another one I hear all the time, especially the inclusion of the Sandman. And I mentioned how I had reservations concerning this character initially, but I again thought that his story arc was pulled off really well. It gave Spider-Man a villain to contend with while he was still wearing the black suit, and the fact that the Sandman was now responsible for Uncle Ben's death gave Peter a personal vendetta against him that allowed the character to reach those darker places in his personality.

But I also liked how they made the Sandman a character in personal conflict over his actions as well, someone who Peter could relate to, which furthers the mirror match parallels in the movie. Sandman wasn't necessarily a villain. Sure, he was doing bad things, but there was a noble purpose behind them, and he didn't see that he had any other choice. There was just such a surprising amount of depth behind this character, without any added "mind warping" effects determining his actions, like has been the case for the villains in all the other Spidey movies, which was a refreshing change of pace this time around. Not to mention the scene in which he gains his sand powers, which is one of the few things that even people who hate the film will agree was a strikingly beautiful moment. So all things considered, I was very impressed with how the Sandman turned out.

And as much as the movie was about personal conflict, it was also about how that conflict can affect and ruin your relationships you have with other people. The issues between Peter and Harry Osborn have been brewing for two films now, and while it may seem like a bit of a cop-out for them to pull the amnesia angle here, I still like the way their story played out, with Harry coming full swing with his realization of who both he and Peter really are. And the problems between Peter and Mary Jane had all the potential to be something that was constantly annoying and uncomfortable to sit through, yet they balanced it out well enough so that you could feel the very real contention on screen driving these two apart, without feeling driven away from the movie itself.

I also loved this movie's sense of style. It definitely still resides in the world that Sam Raimi has built for us, but he appropriately darkens the tone just enough, without losing any of the awesome campiness. I liked the direction he chose for Peter's "black suit" personality, as I could definitely buy that this more dorky version of Peter Parker would totally go for that exact "emo" style, thinking it made him look cool. The scenes with him strutting down the streets, pointing at the ladies, just had me dying. And if you were to ask most people, the movie's biggest offense would, hands down, have to be the dance scene in the jazz club. Yet, in my opinion, that scene is actually the highlight of the movie, and is what originally dragged me out to a second viewing in theaters. I just found Raimi's choice to go with the jazz scene so appropriate, as it definitely fits the movie's dark yet campy tone, and I love how he totally ran with it all the way through, even playing a jazzy little number when Peter and Harry were brawling through his house.

So yeah, I thought this movie was great, and it's one that's only gotten better with each viewing. I can see where people continue to hate on this, and there were certain aspects that I initially wasn't a big fan of either. And by no means am I trying to call this a perfect movie. It certainly does have its share of flaws, but I just don't feel they're as big of flaws as people make them out to be. But overall, I feel this was a tightly woven, thematically well structured and well written finale to the original Spider-Man trilogy, with strong characterization all around that goes deep without taking itself seriously at all, which is a rare find indeed. It's one of my favorite movies, and by far the best in the series as a whole. Give it another chance, and see if you can't see some of the same brilliance that I do.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Oh my, this sure was something! The classic tale of Hansel and Gretel has been brought to the big screen, and boy is it packin'! This movie follows Hansel and Gretel after they've grown up to become famous witch hunters. And by the end of the movie you might be left wondering just how in the hell these two actually managed to survive to adulthood in this line of work. But just so long as you remember to turn off your brain upon entry, then you'll be sure to have a blast in the meantime.

This movie really was something else. Pretty much, it's as ridiculous as the premise suggests. And it's a bloody, gory affair all throughout, with the movie finding new and inventive ways to either blow up or squash somebody's head every five minutes or so. Hell, the action sequences are even more over the top than I was expecting. But what's more impressive is how the movie somehow manages to one-up itself in levels of absurdity with every passing scene. I really knew I was in for something special when the first big action scene saw our two leads chase off a witch who essentially ran on all fours like a dog, for no apparent reason at all. But crazy as that was, it's nothing compared to what the rest of the movie throws at us, for in addition to the action, the witch designs themselves become more and more bizarre as the movie progresses as well. They start off with your typical ugly old witches, but the further along we get, the more grotesque they become.

I mentioned before how you might question how these two managed to live so long, and the reason I ask that is because, well, quite frankly, for people who have been doing this whole professional witch hunting thing their whole lives, Hansel and Gretel kind of suck at their job. Poor Hansel spends the majority of the movie getting shoveled in the face and dragged all over the place by witch after witch, and I lost count of the number of times that Gretel gets kidnapped. In fact, if it weren't for all the help they received from their various stalkers, they probably wouldn't have even survived past the halfway point. And yes, you read that right, these two both have their very own stalkers (in fact, Gretel manages to get two stalkers!). And yes, it is a bit creepy to watch at times. But Hansel and Gretel eventually warm up to them and put them to good use, and it's just as well since, like I said, it'd likely be a much shorter movie otherwise.

As ludicrous as the movie is, it's very aware of itself, and the cast seem to be enjoying themselves quite a bit as such. Well, everyone except for Jeremy Renner that is, who I still can't decide whether or not he's just embarrassed to be a part of this at all. But he at least plays his part well, and he and Gemma Arterton, who plays Gretel, have some seriously awesome one-liner delivery throughout. But either way, if there's one thing that's clear, it's that Jeremy Renner gives absolutely no shits in this movie, which was a joy all its own to watch.

But yeah, if nothing else, this was definitely a fun movie. Yes, it's stupid and ridiculous, and it's filled to the brim with logic flaws. (Like, for instance, why did they clearly start that big ritual at the end at like 6:30 in the morning instead of earlier in the evening if it was no good once the sun came up? Either that, or that battle scene lasted for a hell of a lot longer than they made it out to be!) But no, it's just one of those movies where you really shouldn't try to put too much thought into it and just enjoy it for what it is, else your head might be like to burst.

Silver Linings Playbook has issues...

As I walked out of Silver Linings Playbook, I felt the movie was generally good for the most part, though it definitely had a few problems, most notably in the third act. However, this movie really doesn't sit well, as the more it settles in, the more its glaring issues really start to surface and take the whole thing over. Now I'll be getting into spoiler territory here, so heads up on that.

The plot basically follows Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, as he just returns home after being released from a mental health facility, where he was sentenced due to his uncontrollable anger issues. His main priority upon being released is to reconnect with his cheating wife, but everyone around him urges him to move on with his life. He's eventually introduced to Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who's dealing with her own, similar issues, and who spends the rest of the movie manipulating Bradley Cooper like the obsessive bitch that she is.

I'm not even kidding when I say this girl's obsessed. During a scene in a diner, Bradley Cooper comments how she's clearly a different level of crazy from him, and you initially feel for the girl in the moment, but by the end of the film, you'll come to find that he was actually not too far off in his assessment. I swear to god she's gotta be spying on the guy or something throughout the whole movie. Somehow she just happens to conveniently know every single thing that he's up to before he even has a chance to tell her, and he even asks her how she always knows when he's out running after the second or third time she jumps from out of nowhere to tag along on his runs. And there's nothing necessarily bad about a character like this in a movie such as this. But where it gets bad is in the way the film decides to suddenly flip the script near the end.

Like I said before, the movie is honestly generally good for the most part, but then everything sorta starts to completely crumble apart in the third act. Suddenly, this serious, sometimes even charming dramedy decides to take a play out of a more trashy comedy's book, taking a forced rout into this whole betting scheme that feels entirely misplaced. And not only does the movie abandon the plot in this tonal shift of gears, but it leaves its established characters behind as well.

As I was saying before, Jennifer Lawrence's character is a lying, manipulative bitch. But while that's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, Bradley Cooper's reaction when he finds out that she's been lying to him and manipulating him this entire time is. Basically, he's perfectly, completely fine with it, which goes entirely against his character as we've grown to know him throughout the course of the movie. When he figured it out, I swore his reaction was going to be to storm back into the house and tear her a new one, but he didn't. Instead, he decides to end his crusade to get back together with his wife in favor of getting together with Jennifer Lawrence instead. Um... what?! Did whoever wrote this last third of the movie not even bother reading the script that preceded it?!

The only excuse that I can possibly come up with for that final act is a scene earlier on when Bradley Cooper is ranting about an Ernest Hemingway novel. He complains how the book takes a turn for the worse in the end and concludes on a down note. So I wonder if they didn't force this "happy ending" on us as a result of that rant, to provide the storybook ending that Cooper's character was after. Yet, the thing is, the movie still ironically ends on a sour note anyways once everything that transpired truly starts to sink in.

But, again, the movie honestly isn't all bad. Up until the final act, the movie is completely intriguing, and the character interactions are pretty fascinating to watch. And, being a comedic drama, there's actually quite a few good laughs in here. Cooper's rants and unfiltered dialogue certainly have their moments, and I especially got a kick out of the recurring appearances from Chris Tucker. And even with my major issues with the last act, I actually quite enjoyed the dance scene near the end of the movie as well.

That said, good as the movie is at times, I can't say that I can see where all of the awards recognition is coming from. Of all the Best Picture nominees at the Oscars this year (save for Amour, which I haven't seen), while I might not like them all, I can at least see where their nominations are coming from. However, I really don't understand the nomination for this one at all. I mean, sure, it's good, but aside from Bradley Cooper's performance (and he's definitely awesome here), there's nothing at all extraordinary about this movie. And even then, I don't really get all of the actor nominations either. The supporting cast played their roles well, but I'd hardly consider them amongst the year's best.

And Jennifer Lawrence I actually felt was flat out miscast. She looks (and is) far too young for the part she's playing. Her character had apparently been married to a man for over three years at some point before the start of the movie, yet she's only 22 years old and looks it. I mean, I know that teenagers getting married at a young age does happen sometimes, but it's a rare case to find, especially when there aren't kids involved. But even her age aside, I had a hard time buying her in the role anyways, as I felt she oftentimes over-acted the part.

But yeah, anyways, the movie's not all bad (at this point it probably sounds like I'm just trying to convince myself of that), and honestly, if it weren't for that severe off-road turn at the end, I'd probably be able to ignore all of this movie's other flaws. It's just such a shame, too, as I was just talking to a friend the other day about movies that overstay their welcome, and this is definitely one of them that should have probably found a way to wrap things up sooner, before it could have a chance to spiral out of control like it did.

Chris' Christmas Box

Okay, so I usually don't like to show off about this kinda thing, but I just got so many awesome gifts for Christmas this year that I just have to share them with you. So let us open up my Christmas Box and take a look at what's inside!

Usually my brothers and I don't tend to exchange gifts, so I totally didn't expect it when my younger brother, Billy, said that he got a present for me. And when I opened it up to find a Tails doll, I was thrilled! He said that when he happened upon it in a store that he just had to get it for me. That was the coolest thing, and definitely a nice little Christmas surprise.

Also, a group of friends and I decided to take part in a Secret Santa exchange for Christmas this year, and my friend Rachel and I happened to pull each others names out of the hat. Now, for this Secret Santa, everyone was supposed to write up a list of things we're into and such so as to give whoever pulled your name an idea as to what to get you. I'm really uncomfortable making lists asking for specific gifts, so I decided to have fun with this list and be of no actual help at all, listing things such as the following:

- I like cats
- I like staring up at the clouds
- I like the beautiful view of the vast blue ocean on a nice sunny day
- I like chicken

Well, Rachel followed up on that list in the most awesomest way imaginable:

Yes, that is, in fact, a framed picture of a chicken staring out into the vast blue ocean on a cloudy day. So as you can see, she took my list quite literally. I mean, really, how the hell did she even do that? But she didn't stop there, as she also gave me this bad boy that I'm going to be having fun with all year long:

This cat calendar is going to be the gift that keeps on giving, and I've already started said "Cat Every Day 2013" on my facebook and twitter pages. And as if that wasn't enough cats, I received one last late gift in the mail today, this one from my Grandma who lives in New York:

Holy crap! What you see there is a seven page long, handwritten letter describing all of my Grandma's cats that she's ever owned. In detail. I just... what?! And I didn't even request such a list, which makes this present that much more bad ass! I was already planning on including some of her critters in a later installment of my Velcro series, but having this list handy will make the characterizations that much easier and that much more accurate. Grandma's so cool!

And that about wraps things up. So now you see why I felt the need to share? Seriously, these gifts were freaking awesome! So I hope you all had a good Christmas as well, and here's to a catacular 2013!

My Top 5 Awesomely Bad Movies of 2012

So, by special request, I've got one more end of year list for you all, and this one's focusing on something a little different. This time around, I'm going to count down the Top 5 Awesomely Bad Movies of 2012! That's right, the best horribl-awesome movies of the past year! The top movies that were so bad, they were actually kinda good! And rather than writing up a little piece on each of these movies, I'm going to instead include an anonymous reaction that either myself or one of my friends I saw each movie with had towards the movie. So without any further ado...

#5

Paranormal Activity 4

"Most unintentionally hilarious movie of the year? I think so!"

#4

Stolen

"It's like they took every Nic Cage movie ever and combined them all together."

#3

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

"He threw a freaking horse!"

#2

Battleship

"Horrible film, but it was gleefully preposterous."

#1

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

"Well that happened."

My Top 5 Worst Movies of 2012

Last time I looked at the best, and now it's time to look at the worst. But before we get to the list, some dishonorable mentions include Haywire, Hit and Run, Prometheus, Underworld: Awakening, and The Woman in Black. Now lets get this crap over with, onto the list!

#5

Ted
(Seth MacFarlane)

Yeah, just, no. This movie was freaking horrible. Seth MacFarlane has truly lost it with this one. I was hoping for at least a decent Family Guy level of comedy here, but my god, this was worse than even the worst of American Dad episodes. What I don't think Seth MacFarlane understands is that you actually need more than just a talking animal in order to constitute as comedy. Brian is funny in Family Guy despite being a talking dog. Meanwhile, his stupid alien and goldfish haven't spoken a single humorous line in the entirety of American Dad's run, and that's precisely the case here.

He thinks that just because the teddy bear uses foul language that it automatically gives him a pass from having to actually say anything funny. Hell, the funniest part of the movie was the opening scenes when Ted and Mark Wahlberg's character were still young and innocent, before they became the foul mouthed imbeciles that the movie lazily relied on in place of humor. Granted, the audience I saw it with loved it, yet all I could do was sit there and silently cringe to myself at one horrendously unfunny joke after another. I just don't get it, I really don't (and this coming from a guy who typically likes shitty movies!).

I did get a nice chuckle from a very random Ryan Reynolds cameo though.

#4

The Dark Knight Rises
(Christopher Nolan)

I can no longer say that Christopher Nolan has a perfect track record, because this movie was just terrible. After The Dark Knight released, Nolan spoke on how he was hesitant to make a third movie, since a lot of third movies had recently had a bad stigma attached to them (Spider-Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand), and after seeing this heap of garbage, I think he should have taken his own advice. The new characters are unremarkable and largely pointless in the grand scheme, the returning actors clearly quit giving a damn anymore, and the writing is just so unfocused and all over the place, like its suffering from a really bad case of ADD.

And in addition to all of those issues, the movie also abandons the world that Nolan has spent so much time and effort building up to this point. I always get a kick when people call this the conclusion to a "perfect trilogy", because that would imply that it's even a trilogy at all. The Dark Knight may as well not even exist, as it bears absolutely no consequence on this movie, which is essentially a direct sequel to Batman Begins. The Dark Knight was a brilliant film, and had an epic sense of scale without getting stupid about it. And yeah, there was "scale" in Rises, but only in the sense that it was overly bloated, and it never had an epic feeling to it, like I kept hearing so many proclaim about it. Rises was just stupid. Sure, it would like you to believe that it's a smart film, what with the way it needlessly complicates a fairly simple plot and draws things out to the point of absurdity. But, unlike the prior films, this one is completely mindless. This movie is littered with so many idiotic moments and ass-pulls that it almost becomes overwhelming.

And as I said, it didn't even fit in with Nolan's established world either. Where the first two feel very much grounded in reality, this one suddenly wants to decide that, hey, now it's a comic book movie! Only, unlike other comic book movies, this one doesn't have a lick of fun to go along with it. And that's the thing, because despite all of these issues, I might have let the movie slide as just another awesomely bad movie if it weren't for one thing: This movie is flat out BORING! It seriously has some of the worst pacing I've seen in a movie this year. I felt like I had just sat through a Lord of the Rings movie by the time Bruce Wayne was still trying to figure out how to get out of his damn prison hole, and all I could think was, god damn, once he's actually out of that stupid thing we're gonna have to sit through another dull half hour long action sequence to finally wrap things up. AHHH!

This is not only Chris Nolan's worst movie, but I'll even go so far as to call it the worst Batman movie to date. Say what you will about Schumacher's films, they're at least fun to watch in their own campy way. Meanwhile, The Dark Knight Rises is dull, boring, convoluted, and more than anything, un-watchable. Original review.

#3

Silent Hill: Revelation
(Michael J. Bassett)

So since I already covered everything this movie did wrong in my original review, this time around I'll instead list everything that that this movie actually did right:

#2

John Carter
(Andrew Stanton)

I already wasn't a fan of this movie, but certain aspects of the story actually intrigued me enough to check out the books. And after doing so, I can say that I not only feel this movie is god awful, but it's also flat out offensive. See, the books pretty much act as Edgar Rice Burroughs' atheist bible. Their sole purpose of existence is to essentially disprove the idea of a religious deity and to encourage people to think for themselves instead of relying on their religion to make their choices for them. The movie, however, decides to ignore this aspect entirely, and from the very first scene introduces supernatural beings who essentially act as gods. Um, bullshit.

There was so much opportunity here to use this source material in such a way as to act as somewhat of a social commentary on current day issues concerning religion in politics that we're still dealing with today. There was so much potential for this to be a powerful movie with an important message, but instead they just decided to shit all over Burroughs' ideology and make this an unoriginal, mindless, cliche filled dump. And what gets me most is that, from what I've heard, this was apparently a passion project for director Andrew Stanton. Yet, I can't see how that could possibly be, seeing as he clearly never even opened the book up to page one.

But even ignoring the shift in direction from this story's original intent, this movie was still a cringe-inducing chore. The love story between John Carter and Dejah Thoris is the most forced and unbelievable romance in the entire history of cinema. The two don't have a lick of chemistry together, and we're suppose to believe that, over the course of a single day, not only do these two fall head over heels for each other, but so much so that John Carter actually asks for her hand in marriage by the end of that day, and she accepts! What, did this movie suddenly become Romeo and Juliet all of a sudden? 'Cause if so, then this movie series is suddenly in for one hell of a morbid conclusion (though, then again, that might actually make this putrid romance plot a little interesting). And see, the romance in the book wasn't nearly so forced. What happened in a single day in the movie was stretched out over the course of an entire year in the book, giving the two an appropriate amount of time to actually get to know one another and fall for each other, and making for a much more believable love story.

It's just as well that this movie tanked in the box office and likely won't be spawning off any sequels, because all of the changes made for the adaptation makes it literally impossible to adapt the following entries in the story. It would have to be an entirely original work, and seeing what they did with this one, I'd hate to bare witness to whatever crap they'd come up with. Original review.

Now I was all ready to easily call this my #1 worst movie of the year, and I said that it was gonna take a hell of a lot to topple this beast. And, well, I didn't expect this, but...

#1

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
High Frame Rate Version
(Peter Jackson)

I had no choice but to declare this the worst movie of the year. Now, the actual movie itself is quite good, but the new gimmick that director Peter Jackson was so intent on implementing is what kills it. I decided to give the 48fps version a chance out of sheer curiosity, and what I stumbled into was an unexpected journey into uncanny valley. I literally could not sit through this. The higher frame rate made it look like the characters were constantly moving in fast forward, and it was so unnerving and looked so unnatural that it took me completely out of the movie. I've never been more distracted during a movie in my entire life, and I was constantly having to remind myself to stop focusing on the gimmick and pay attention to the movie. And then I'd instead start focusing on how I'm still not paying attention, and all the while not a single bit of the actual movie was registering with me.

In fact, when I went to see it again, this time the normal version, I was shocked at just how much I missed the first time around. The entire prologue was just a blur, and all I remembered was something crumbling in the castle. And as for the scene where all the dwarves are introduced, all I could recall was when they were tossing dishes. I couldn't believe how I was able to miss them rummaging through Bilbo's pantry and all that.

But in my initial viewing, I was only able to make it about 40 or 50 minutes into the film before I was fuming in my seat, and I had to get up and walk out. There was just no way in hell I was gonna sit there for three hours and attempt to look past the awful gimmick at hand. I can appreciate filmmakers trying out new things, and honestly, the higher frame rate has been getting mixed reactions, which I suppose ultimately comes down to eye sensitivity. But in my opinion at least, this one's a bust, and I really hope it doesn't catch on. But in any event, here's my original, unrelated review.

So there you have it, my picks for the very best and worst that this year had to offer in film. I'm sure there'll be a lot of you who disagree with some of my picks (there always are), but I hope you enjoyed taking a look at these films with me nonetheless. And as I said, 2012 was overall an awesome year in film, and I ended up liking far more movies than I disliked. And 2013 ain't looking too shabby at the moment either, so here's hoping for another good year to come!

My Top 10 Movies of 2012

It's that time again, time to count down the year's best and worst in film. And this was definitely an awesome year for movies. There were so many super fun flicks released this year that it's easy to lose track of 'em all. And where as most years are relatively easy enough to round it out to a Top 10, narrowing it down to just 10 films gave me a bit of trouble this time around. I had a pretty solid enough Top 8, but I had to wrack my brain to decide which films should fill in those last two slots. But I finally managed to do it, and even I'm a bit surprised by what I ultimately went with. The films that just missed the cut include 21 Jump Street, Django Unchained, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Les Misérables, and Looper. So consider those my honorable mentions for the year, and lets move on to the list.

#10

Resident Evil: Retribution
(Paul W. S. Anderson)

This is probably my most surprising inclusion to the list. But when it came down to it, this beat out all the others if only due to the sheer ambition and creativity of Paul W. S. Anderson. On top of all the over-the-top action, music, visuals, and everything else, this latest Resident Evil is also one of the most inventive and imaginative movies I've seen in some time. Not to mention it's also by far the best in the Resident Evil franchise, satisfyingly tying in all the others while single handedly correcting a lot of the issues present in the previous movies. While they're all essentially just dumb, fun movies in the end, this is the closest I'd come to additionally calling a legitimately good, quality movie in its own special way. Original review.

#9

Chronicle
(Josh Trank)

In a day and age when we're being overwhelmed by superhero origin movies, this one, instead, presents the origin story of a super-villain. And considering how we totally got jipped out of a Magneto origin movie, I'll take what we can get! In what is probably the best found-footage movie since The Blair Witch Project, this one focuses on a group of kids who acquire telekinetic powers. Our main character, a troubled kid named Andrew, happens to be particularly adept with these new powers, and we get to witness as he uses them to rise in fame and popularity amongst his peers, only to fall back down in disgrace and frustration. And, now utilized with an outlet with which to unleash his anger, he goes on a rampage, letting the world feel his pain. It's a fascinating look at the way that various aspects of the world can gradually chip away at someone until they've reached their breaking point, and one that hit a personal note with me. Original review.

#8

The Raid: Redemption
(Gareth Evans)

This movie is bloody, brutal, and unrelenting. And once the action starts, it never lets up, in what some are hailing as the best action movie of all time. And I can definitely see where they're coming from with that claim. Not only is the action intense, but there's a whole variety of it. Want guns and explosions? This movie has it. Wanna see machete wielding thugs clash steel? Got it. Or wanna just see some bad ass balls-to-the-wall martial arts? Yup, this one has all of that in spades. It's everything you could ask from an action flick and then some, all backed by a pulse pounding score that'll keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Original review.

#7

Magic Mike
(Steven Soderbergh)

Yup.

#6

The Amazing Spider-Man
(Marc Webb)

This was a big year for superhero films, and of the big three, I expected the least from the new Spider-Man. But it managed to surpass my every expectation, and easily stands up against Raimi's originals without making them feel irrelevant, the way Batman Begins did to the original Batman movies. The movie manages to still feel fresh despite essentially retreading old ground, which is quite the accomplishment from the appropriately named director. It takes a more serious approach, but it does so while still maintaining a good level of fun all around. But as fun as the action can be, the characters are what bring this movie to life. Andrew Garfield's snarky Spidey is a breath of fresh air, and his various relationships with the rest of the cast have a surprising level of depth to them for a film of this nature. So yeah, I was impressed. In fact, one might even say that I was amazed by this movie (because you haven't heard anyone use that one yet!). Original review.

#5

Seven Psychopaths
(Martin McDonagh)

The director of In Bruges did it again with Seven Psychopaths, delivering an awesomely dark comedy with a totally unique feel to it. And when you're dealing with a movie about psychopaths, you better believe that it's going to be crazy. This movie is exactly that, and with performances this good, it's a believable level of crazy at that, which is the scariest part about it! Somewhat of a satire on ultra-violent films, the movie is about a man writing a screenplay about seven psychopaths (hence the name). But the more he writes, the more his script starts to come to life. And before you know it, everybody (you, me, everybody) gets sucked into this brutally hilarious roller coaster ride of insanity! With clever writing and a stylized editing technique, this is a movie that'll entertain you while you're watching, and leave you wondering if you really just witnessed that after the credits roll. Original review.

#4

The Avengers
(Joss Whedon)

The fact that this even happened at all is an achievement all itself. The fact that its as good as it is makes it all the more impressive. I still have a hard time comprehending how Joss Whedon actually managed to balance out this movie as well as he did. Handling this many big name characters is no joke, but he did it, and he put out one of the most fun movies of the year in the process. Where as Nolan's been taking the Batman franchise to darker and darker places, Marvel's taken the opposite approach, focusing on fun factor above all else, and that's never more prevalent than in The Avengers. In many ways this is very much the Anti-Dark Knight, lightening up the mood and providing an entirely different experience from all the gloomy heroes we see today. And in this incarnation, these characters have never been better. It's an exciting experience from start to finish, with awesome exchanges of dialogue in addition to the hammers and shields and what have you.

Oh, and Loki!

Oh Loki... (Original review.)

#3

Lincoln
(Steven Spielberg)

I'm actually surprised by just how much I liked this movie. Looking at the rest of these movies, you really wouldn't expect this to land so high on this list. And yet, here it is, up there in the Top 3. But I really, really enjoyed the hell out of this movie. It's basically two and a half hours of pure dialogue, and yet it's presented in such an interesting way, and elevated by such phenomenal performances, that the running time just flies by. And this really is a showcase of some amazing acting, so much so that even trying to name off the actors who stood out becomes pointless, 'cause I'd be sitting here all night typing out the names of the entire cast. But I was impressed by this movie, not only with the content that's here, but also by what Spielberg left out. This could have easily become another artificial "tear-jerker", but Spielberg thankfully showed restraint in this department and kept his focus on strengthening the story on its own merits. Original review.

#2

Cloud Atlas
(Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski)

Even after reviewing it earlier in the year, I'm still not sure I quite have the right words to properly describe this film. It's an emotionally stirring sci-fi epic with a message of love and hate that sprawls throughout the ages. The different time periods almost act as individually broken up puzzle pieces, which are then placed in such a way that manages to intricately weave the narrative back together again. And the cast finds new ways to hide within each piece of the puzzle, and they're so good at it that when the credits roll and show you who played who, you'll be shocked by more than one reveal. It's just ridiculous the amount of detail they put into the editing and makeup. But all of these technical aspects, in addition to some great performances all around, tie the themes together and deliver an extremely powerful and moving experience. Original review.

#1

Dredd
(Pete Travis)

For those of you who know me, this one comes as no surprise at all. Quite frankly, never in a million years would I have expected to be as impressed by Dredd as I was. I went in expecting just another dumb, fun action flick, but this movie completely floored me, and what I walked away from was truly something spectacular. Every single thing about this movie just clicks. The action is crystal clear and exciting throughout, and the film constantly finds new ways to increase the stakes around every corner. The plot is strongly written, leaving little room for nitpickers to find flaws, and with a nice level of depth not usually found in this sort of film. And the movie is filled with so many awesome one-liners, brought to life by Karl Urban, who is Judge Dredd. But on top of it all are the visuals. This movie is absolutely gorgeous. One of the most stunningly beautiful films I've ever seen. And the visual effects are all cleverly written into the plot, and used in a way that delivers a strong message on drugs.

I really wish more people could have gotten out to see Dredd, since it got screwed over by theaters playing such limited showings. But I showed my support at least, and I ended up seeing this bad boy four times in theaters (more times than any other movie), and I even broke my anti-3D stance for one of those viewings. The 3D was admittedly underwhelming, which was a bit of a shame, as there were definitely scenes that I thought could have looked awesome in 3D, but they really didn't deliver. So for now, I'm back to avoiding 3D movies (until the inevitable Magic Mike 3D re-release that is, lol). But in any event, like I said, I never would have imagined I'd love this film as much as I do. Not since The Dark Knight have I been this thoroughly impressed by a movie, and more so than any other movie this year, it stands up extremely well in post-viewing analysis. So if you get a chance, see this movie. It's easily the best movie I've seen this year. Original review.

So there you have it, my Top 10 Movies of 2012. And now that we've gotten the good out of the way, next time we'll take a look at the bad. See ya then!