Ted

Ted

Directed by Seth MacFarlane

The story starts off as a sweet fable, and after the opening turns into your typical drinking, partying buddy comedy -- with the noted exception of one of the "buddies" being a talking teddy bear. Here is a concept that wears out its welcome the moment it is introduced. For a short segment, it might have been marginally entertaining, but as it is, this movie is far too long for all the more it has to offer.

Here Comes The Boom; Zero Dark Thirty; The Impossible; The Sessions

Here Comes The Boom
Frank Coraci

A very inoffensive movie. Kevin James is never unwatchable (hey, I actually liked Paul Blart), and he brings his usual likeability to this movie. The premise is slightly shaky, but there are a few good laughs and some nice moments throughout, so I'm not gonna complain. It was perfectly innocent entertainment, just don't get caught up in trying to take any of it seriously, or it will destroy you.

Top 25 Best Movies of 2012: Part II (#10-1)

Alright, I think I've wasted enough time in-between posts, let's get going on this thing. Without further ado, my top 10 favorite movies of 2012.

Killing Them Softly; Amour; Berberian Sound Studio

Killing Them Softly
Directed by Andrew Dominik

Generally forgettable and unnecessarily political, but made watchable thanks to some strong performances. Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini give it their best, but the material they have to work with doesn't allow for much. The story is slow, but luckily the movie isn't long enough for it to become boring. I would say this a well-made movie, but it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. The result is a bit of an unfocused mess.

Top 5 Movie Images of 2012

And now, a swarm of countdown lists of my favorite movie [BLANK]s of 2012! Since I started with the most basic, simple list (best movies of the year), I will now move on to one slightly less conventional, that I'm hoping to make a future tradition of mine to post a list of each year: my favorite movie images of the year.

Sometimes when I'm watching a movie, a certain frame, whether held for a long period of time, or just a second, really sticks with me for a long time. Sometimes it's because the image speaks on the film's behalf in ways words could never describe, and other times it's just because of how fantastic the framing of the shot is, or just how striking the image is. Readers be warned: Some spoilers ahead.

Top 25 Best Movies of 2012: Part I (#25-11)

As a firm believer in keeping with traditions (as long as they're fun/good traditions), I have created my list of the 25 movies I feel are the best, most entertaining, interesting, etc. As is always the case with something like this, this is just my own personal opinion, so the entire ordering and contents of this are chosen and arranged solely by me. I have found this year to be amongst the most upsetting when it comes to movies I went into with high expectations and was ultimately let down by, so don't be surprised if you don't see one of your personal favorite movies of the year on here, because odds are I just didn't like it. So, just as a final reminder, this list is the product of a cynic. Consider yourself warned.

Here, at the beginning of 2013, instead of looking forward to what is yet to come, I'll be looking back at what I've seen from 2012. I have 25 movies I want to remind people of. They are as follows:

Beasts Of The Southern Wild; The Perks Of Being A Wallflower; Silver Linings Playbook

Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Directed by Benh Zeitlin

Typical emotionally-exploitative Oscar bait in the vein of 'Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close' and 'Precious'. The only difference is that this movie is actually really good. This is largely due to Quvenzhane Wallis, whose performance easily stands as one of the best of the year. Dwight Henry, who plays her father, is also quite good, though he does tend to go a little over-the-top at moments. Fueled by emotion, this movie somehow transcends simple tearjerker status and becomes something far more resonant. Its fantastic cinematography and musical score only add to the overall effect, making this one of the most well-rounded and powerful movies of the year.

Django Unchained; Cloud Atlas; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Django Unchained
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

The question you have to ask yourself going into this, is: do I like Tarantino? If you do, you'll probably love it. He delivers his usual witty dialogue and over-the-top thrills, but this time in an excess I found at times distracting and monotonous. Most people seem to point to DiCaprio as the film's highlight, but I personally found his performance incredibly hammy and felt Waltz was the one to watch. Foxx felt like a placeholder for someone more interesting, and ultimately does nothing spectacular. But it's not the acting I have problems with here: my problems revolve around Tarantino himself. His style overwhelms his movies in a way I don't much care for. Still, it's a pretty entertaining movie, even if it falls apart in its second half and does nothing to add to Tarantino's artistic palette.

Flight; Trouble With The Curve; Arbitrage

Flight
Directed by Robert Zemeckis

It's really nice to see Denzel Washington playing an actual character again. In Flight, we see him taking on a role I didn't think I'd see from him: a character with true conflict. I didn't know if I was rooting for, or against him. As a character/performance piece, this is an excellent movie, however it falls flat in other ways that make it hard for me to appreciate it as much as I feel I should. The obvious musical cues and elongated ending, for starters, distracted me from what I feel could have been one of the better movies of the year. Still, this is definitely worth watching, even if just for Washington.

The Pact; The Possession; The Man With The Iron Fists

The Pact
Directed by Nicholas McCarthy

There exists a horror movie named 'The Pact'... and that's almost all there is to say about it. The concept is vague, performances unspectacular, and though there are a few suspenseful scenes, they often end abruptly and with little payoff. The movie starts too quickly, explains itself too slowly, and doesn't give the potentially horrifying villain much to work with. I'm sure this movie has as audience that would appreciate it more than me, but I found it too uninspired to be fully drawn into.