As this year comes to an end, I thought I would throw out who/which movies I think should get awards for being great and being disastrous. Among some of the more notable movies I didn’t see: Mud, Fruitvale Station, The Conjuring, The Butler, Prisoners, Gravity, Captain Phillips, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Let’s get to it.
Best Picture and 4 Runner-Ups
1) 42
This really isn’t even a competition. A revolutionary biopic about the great Jackie Robinson, 42 presents its audience with an honest true story, highlighting not just how important Jackie was to the sport, but how important he was to the Civil Rights Movement and to the world. It’s a biopic done right.
“When you look at the cast and director, it looks like a bunch of nobodies getting together to make a movie (except for Harrison Ford of course), but at the end of the day they prove to be an underdog phenomenon. All of the supporting cast did a great job. Definitely a must-buy and a must-see.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
2) Iron Man 3
Despite all the hate this movie may have gotten, Iron Man 3 grossed over $1.2 billion dollars, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of all time and the 16th film to surpass the billion dollar mark. Robert Downey Jr. had a great show of talent in the third installment of the Iron Man trilogy and I really liked where director Shane Black took this movie. I can’t stand it when people say they hated it because it wasn’t like the comics. If you want to see the comics, then read the comics!!! The director’s job is not to make an exact copy of the comics. His job is to make a film that centers around a character from a comic, but has free reign to make a story that is original and unique. That’s what Iron Man 3 is, a new variation superhero movie that gave audiences something never seen before.
“Stark says something to the effect of ‘in the end, the suit was just a cocoon. I am Iron Man.’ I really liked this quote because the suit helped shield his true self from the outside world and when he didn’t have the suit in the third movie, it allowed his personality to truly shine.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
3) Olympus Has Fallen
I haven’t written a review on this yet but it was easily one of my favorite films this year. Every year action addicts like myself long for the next big action bonanza. There is bound to be at least one every year and this year, Olympus Has Fallen was it. Gerard Butler makes things go boom and whoops the keesters of anybody that gets in his way. Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart have solid supporting roles and while there are a decent amount of plot holes, you can’t complain because of the pure adrenaline that’s being depicted.
4) World War Z
A suspenseful, post-apocalyptic masterpiece that zombie fanatics like myself drooled over in the months prior to its release, World War Z is one of the best zombie movies I’ve seen. Director Marc Foster makes the action happen at the outset and doesn’t hold back any blows. It’s suspenseful and keeps you on your toes.
“Despite going against the grain of popular zombie movies, World War Z kept me entertained throughout. Brad Pitt was as good as ever and took the burden of being the star actor, supporting actor(because there isn’t really anybody else), and producer of this film like a boss. The filmmakers brought a new idea for a zombie movie to the big screen and I loved it.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
5) Star Trek: Into Darkness
The sequel to the Star Trek reboot directed by J.J. Abrams was a grand success, demonstrating the underrated acting abilities of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto once again as Kirk and Spock respectively. The cast included some new faces, while the ones that have already begun to grow on us continued to add new sparks to the firework display that is the modern Star Trek franchise. While J.J. Abrams will be missed for the next one because he will be directing the next Star Wars films, I have faith that this cast will keep the ship afloat and stay the course on the road to becoming possibly one of the best sci-fi movie series ever made. They’ve got a long way to go to getting there, but this cast has the potential for greatness.
“When I was younger, I watched the Star Trek movies with my dad and overall, I found them really boring. Abrams recognized this is how many young people today would view the original Star Trek series and modernized it, using more action scenes and special effects to wow young audiences.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
Worst Picture and 4 Runner-Ups
1) Thor: The Dark World
Winning the award for Worst Picture by a giraffe’s neck, Thor: The Dark World was an egregious atrocity that was an insult to the concept of film itself. Director Alan Taylor takes a huge dump on a Thor film series that was already running out of gas, instead electing to slash the tires and puncture the gas tank. With one of the most convenient plots I’ve ever seen, the movie can’t be taken seriously and can only be made a mockery out of and not even in an entertaining way.
“The filmmakers try to intertwine the story with earth’s fate except that it’s far too confusing to accomplish. The scientists try to explain the situation through complicated scientific jargon that no one who isn’t in that area of expertise can follow, which means that we miles be listening to babies trying to shout off the theory of relativity because that happening has the same chance of success as the audience understanding what the heck is going on. There’s no character connection to speak of and it is subplot and plot hole galore up in here. I haven’t done that many facepalms during one movie in a long time.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
2) The Great Gatsby
The visual remake of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel sent me into a state of vexation. The character connection as well as the characters themselves had an indefinite “out to lunch” sign on both of their respective offices. Di Caprio is uncertain of what goal he is striving for with Gatsby’s character and the supporting cast includes some less than admirable figures that I have no care in the world for. Maguire stays constant for most of the film to try to provide any sort of consistency, but does not hold enough screen time to do so.
“This movie’s pace is slow to begin with, and even if you manage to wait for something to happen, you probably won’t be happy with what the film gives you. As I said before, there’s no character connection here, and because it’s a drama, the movie relies on its characters and the plot, and for me, neither was worth watching.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
3) Oz The Great and Powerful
The great Wizard of Oz finally got a sequel after a 74 year hiatus, one that all looked forward to and all walked out of disappointed. James Franco displays one of his worst performances, one that was doomed from the start by writers David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner. A corny production that hugely disrespects the original, there was little admiration to be had with this.
4) After Earth
Despite all the hate M. Night Shymalan’s next theater bust received, After Earth was not worthy of a suckage label. However, this movie was far from special. A script that left the movie on the shoulders of a 14-year old Jaden Smith, some could say it was capsizing from the beginning. A lack of action and people, it seemed like the film was striving to be a bore.
“Aside from Will and Jaden’s characters, there are truly no other characters in this film. There are no supporting actors in this film, unless Will would be considered one. In that case, there would be one. This is bothersome for me because that means if you can’t relate to either of these two characters you’re left relating to nobody. As I mentioned above, Will Smith is practically a robot in this movie, so basically, it’s relate to Jaden’s character or relate to nobody. Perhaps this isn’t as big a deal as I’m making it out to be, but tell me how many movies look like this in the credits:
Cast:
Cypher Raige| Will Smith
Kitai Raige| Jaden Smith
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
The End
If you know anything about movies, the answer is not many. Seriously, Google search “after earth cast” and see what comes up. There’s seriously nobody in this movie with more than five minutes of screen time, aside from Cypher, Kitai, and maybe Kitai’s sister, but she’s dead, so no character development there. There aren’t as many action scenes in this movie as I would have liked and the ones that were there were disappointing.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
5) G.I. Joe: Retaliation
A movie decimated by recasts saw a large group of newbs come into the franchise and fail to match the success of the original group of actors. Most of the main characters in the first one had no want to do a sequel but Paramount decided to make one anyway. Despite what many including myself thought was a successful franchise starter, Paramount declared director Stephen Sommers would not be returning for the sequel, the reins instead handed over to John Chu. According to Wikipedia, “Chu would later declare that Paramount wanted a reboot that also served as a sequel to The Rise of Cobra since ‘a lot of people saw the first movie so we don’t want to alienate that and redo the whole thing.” While Paramount said they didn’t want to alienate people, they did just that, killing off main actor Channing Tatum within the first 20 minutes. If you went to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation, you weren’t looking at a sequel, you were looking at a reboot. Aside from a weak plot connection to the first film, the two films had very little in common and it felt like I had watched two entirely different movies. The first was much better. Paramount turned what could have been a profitable, popular franchise, into a disappointing cluttered cluster of second-rate actors and subplots. It may have made a significant amount of profit, but I’ll be surprised if they get half as much as that from the third one.
Best Actor and 2 Runner-Ups
1) Chadwick Boseman- Jackie Robinson, 42
“Jackie Robinson is played by Chadwick Boseman. Your reaction is probably the same as mine: Who? Prior to 42, Boseman guest starred on various TV shows, but was never a regular. He did nine episodes on the show Lincoln Heights and thirteen episodes on Persons Unknown. Aside from those two shows, he has never done more than one episode for any one show. As for experience on the big screen, Boseman only has been in four movies and I haven’t heard of any of them (Date, Ladylike, The Express, and The Kill Hole).
Despite having limited experience, Boseman delivers an outstanding performance in this, one that is very believable and so convincing that I looked at him as Jackie Robinson the whole film. Sometimes I’ll look at a character and while they are convincing, I’ll still have a voice in the back of my head reminding me who the actor is. This was not the case here. Boseman depicts Robinson in such a clear light that it was impossible for me to doubt him. His portrayal is almost hypnotizing it’s so good. Character connection is very strong and I have a genuine care for Robinson here. It’s truly some of the best acting I’ve ever seen. In my opinion, an amazing performance that should definitely win a Best Actor award.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
2) Ashton Kutcher- Steve Jobs, Jobs
I wasn’t wild about this movie, but that doesn’t take away from Kutcher’s nomination-worthy performance. Kutcher illustrated the mind of one of the most influential people of the last 50 years on the big screen and reached new heights while doing so.
“Despite Ashton Kutcher being known for his comedy work, his representation was convincing and I found no major faults with it. I’d say it’s worthy of a Best Actor nomination.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
3) Robert Downey, Jr.- Tony Stark/Iron Man, Iron Man 3
Robert Downey, Jr. had to pull out some new tricks in the latest installment of the Iron Man franchise, bringing a new aura to the character of Tony Stark.
“I think you really get to see more into the character of Tony Stark. In the first two movies, he’s more of a cocky, doesn’t-take-anything-seriously guy. I felt the first two movies focused more on the plot line then on the development of the characters, while in this one, you can see different elements of his personality, and one could say, who Tony Stark really is.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
Worst Actor and 2 Runner-Ups
1) James Franco- Oz, Oz The Great and Powerful
Some of the most tasteless acting I’ve seen, Franco could not have given a care less about this material. With zero flares, zero surprises and zero acting skills, Franco jumped into the hole entitled “Epic Fail Actor of the Year”.
2) Leonardo Di Caprio- Gatsby, The Great Gatsby
Di Caprio delivers one of the most annoying performances of the year. For every “old sport”, I grimaced. For every stupid, illogical decision he made, I facepalmed. The only reason Leonardo avoids the award is because I think the material is partly to blame, where as Franco had some room to work with.
“I can honestly say after watching this movie that I still don’t really know who Gatsby is. The whole movie Carraway as well as the audience is trying to figure out who Gatsby is, and while Carraway apparently finds out, the audience is never gifted with the details. We only get the main points. I want to know who he is, what he does, what makes him tick, and I’m never really satisfied with the answers the filmmakers give me to these questions.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
3) Jaden Smith- Kitai Raige, After Earth
After Earth wasn’t the worst movie of the year, but it wasn’t good. A trailer that promised a future earth survival fight instead gave us a cast with like two people and that’s it. Jaden Smith’s soar to greatness with the Karate Kid remake was apparently short-lived as he acted like a little girl when danger came lurking. A warrior that acts like he’s on a menstrual cycle, it was some bad acting.
“There’s probably more scenes of Kitai running in this movie then there are action scenes.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
Best Actress and 0 Runner-Ups
I can honestly say that I didn’t see an exceptional actress role this year, so I’m going to play it safe and just not say anything for this one.
Worst Actress and 2 Runner-Ups
1) Natalie Portman- Jane Foster, Thor: The Dark World
One of the most annoying characters of the year, Jane Foster is one of the most unintelligent scientists I have ever witnessed. She gets herself into every predicament imaginable, I mean talk about a damsel in distress! Foster is a tasteless character and Portman falters in this year’s worst actress performance.
“Natalie Portman makes me want to throw up she’s so bad.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
2) Michelle Williams- Glinda the Good Witch, Oz the Great and Powerful
Screenwriting is to blame to an extent, but Michelle Williams interpretation comes across as incredibly corny and cheesy and strides far away from the heartfelt emotion she was supposed to be portraying.
3) Kim Bassinger- Sally Rose, Grudge Match
Bassinger really needed to get off the screen in this one. Boring, dull, stupid and insensitivity are a good recipe for a worst actress nomination.
Best Director: J.J. Abrams- Star Trek: Into Darkness
J.J. Abrams will be missed for the next Star Trek installment, especially after directing a top-five film and making it look awesome, narrowly missing the special effects award from me. While I’m nervous about the new Star Wars movies, I’m a little more at ease knowing the series is in the more than capable hands of Abrams.
“The action scenes in this movie by the way were epic, so epic that I bet Michael Bay is asking for a paternity test to make sure that Abrams isn’t his long-lost brother or something. Regardless of whether you’re a die-hard fan of the original series or not, I think the cast that Abrams has brought in has done a fantastic job.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
Best Special Effects: Man of Steel
This movie’s visual effects were especially noteworthy, giving audience’s more than a bird’s eye view of what it means to be Superman. Star Trek: Into Darkness gets an honorable mention.
“Hundreds of buildings fall over, with destruction and action scenes that Michael Bay would approve of.”
-Excerpt from my review. Check out the whole thing here.
Best Score: Man of Steel
This music gets me pumped for whatever’s next. It’s the type of music I’d want to be listening to before I went out on the football field for the big game. The type of music that makes me believe in myself and go the distance. Not going to lie, the trailer for this movies reeks of awesomeness, so much so that I have it favorited on YouTube.
That’s it guys. Thanks for reading. I’ve been getting a lot of views over the last couple weeks and seeing how far I’ve come in just half a year, it’s really impressive. I’m really happy I started blogging, and thanks to all of you who have jumped on for the ride. Here’s to 2013 2014.
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I hadn’t planned to see this but happy I did.
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