Palooza's Top 125 Films of 2012

[Palooza]

VSN's movie of the year is coming up next!

[Palooza]

But not before.. a recap!

125. Alex Cross
124. Man on a Ledge
123. Friends with Kids
122. The Words
121. About Cherry
120. House at the End of the Street
119. Piranha 3DD
118. Resident Evil - Retribution
117. High School
116. The Babymakers
115. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
114. The Watch
113. American Reunion
112. Lola Versus
111. Chernobyl Diaries
110. The Raven
109. Hit & Run
108. The Dictator
107. Lockout
106. Taken 2
105. Deadfall
104. Ghost Rider - Spirit of Vengeance
103. Total Recall
102. The Details
101. The Trouble with the Curve
100. Brave
99. Why Stop Now?
98. Battleship
97. Savages
96. John Carter
95. Snow White and the Huntsman
94. The Awakening
93. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
92. For a Good Time, Call...
91. Butter
90. The Campaign
89. Wanderlust
88. Cosmopolis
87. The Do-Deca-Pentathlon
86. Frankie Go Boom
85. Project X
84. Ted
83. Haywire
82. Hitchcock
81. This Must Be The Place
80. Flight
79. The Comedy
78. Promised Land
77. Safe House
76. The Amazing Spider-man
75. The Hunger Games
74. Men in Black III
73. The Grey
72. God Bless America
71. Frankenweenie
70. The Bourne Legacy
69. Collaborator
68. Game Change
67. Contraband
66. The Five-Year Engagement
65. Premium Rush
64. Arbitrage
63. The Invisible War
62. The Imposter
61. Not Fade Away
60. 10 Years
59. Sinister
58. Being Flynn
57. Cloud Atlas
56. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
55. This is 40
54. People Like Us
53. The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey
52. Bachelorette
51. ParaNorman
50. Jack Reacher
49. Pitch Perfect
48. Lawless

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

If only that was the criteria with which Palooza was judging his movies. Fuck your couch, fanboy.

Listen here, fagface...

Die.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

FWIW...ParaNorman was my favorite animated film of the year. Sinister was my favorite horror film.

Lawless was incredibly watchable. It was one of those flicks you will end up watching 20 times once FX has it in rotation.

Pitch Perfect was the drizzling shits.

[BigHouseUSA]

Get in line, buddy. Been waiting since she broke stuttering hearts in Rocket Science.

I fucking crushed so hard on her after I saw Rocket Science. Now she's way skinnier but I still feel like she'll be my wife one day. You motherfuckers need to step off.

[Goober]

I'm a big Tolkien fan.

The Hobbit movie was totally forgettable. I watched it online, and have no desire to ever watch it again.

[Palooza]

Sorry guys - got high, wanked it and passed out last night, didn't even get to see Justified. Will kick things bak off once I am out of work.

[Palooza]

I fucking crushed so hard on her after I saw Rocket Science. Now she's way skinnier but I still feel like she'll be my wife one day. You motherfuckers need to step off.

Rocket Science is absolutely fantastic. It's crazy that the little stuttering kid from tht movie is also the jerkoff "i'm so college" guy in Perks of Being A Wallflower

[MvP]

I'm saving myself for Anna Kendrick.

[Palooza]

I'm saving myself for Anna Kendrick.

Valid reasoning for being a virgin.

[Pitty]

I can't wait for the Safety Not Guaranteed write-up, for some reason I feel like it's in your top 25.

[Palooza]

I can't wait for the Safety Not Guaranteed write-up, for some reason I feel like it's in your top 25.

[Palooza]

47 . Magic Mike

Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, Kevin Nash, Olivia Munn, Gabriel Iglesias, Mircea Monroe, Riley Keough, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Betsy Brandt

Director(s) - Steven Soderberg
Writer(s) - Reid Carolin
Source Material/Connections - based on the youth of Channing Tatum
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - June 29
Runtime - 1 hour, 50 minutes
RT Score - 80%
Metacritic - 72/100
Views - 1
Viewed - Redbox
Quote - "The law says you cannot touch, but I see a lot of lawbreakers up in this house."
Review - Where do you even begin with a movie like this? Sure, it's a movie but male stripping. Sure, Buzzman is gay for liking it so much. It's not JUST a movie about male stripping, but it's a movie about male stripping. It's so much more than that and Soderbergh does a great job of conveying it, but at the same time is it really possible to get around the idea of A MOVIE ABOUT MALE STRIPPERS?! Soderbergh made this movie as a smooth transition into his next (and final) film, a Liberace biopic that will be the gayest movie ever made. Until then, this is the gayest straight movie ever. It's not Brokeback Mountain, but it's gay. Dudes are naked, pumping their dick and flapping their sweaty asscheeks in ladies' faces and as a young guy, that's hard to get past. Obviously I did because I watched the entire movie, but it's still what lingers after the film ends. None of Soderbergh's themes of individuality and independence really stick with you. The concept of floating through life unambitiously isn't what you are thinking about after the movie, even though they are almost perfectly portrayed, it's the overabundance of naked dudes you just saw. Still, outside of a handful of dance numbers for the ladies, this movie is more about the characters. The film follows Channing Tatum's Magic Mike, a hot shot who lives extremely comfortably as one of the top male dancers at Matthew McConaughey's club in addition to a collection of side jobs. One of these side jobs is a supervisor for a construction company, where he meets Alex Pettifyr, later nicknamed "The Kid", who he sees a lot of himself in. Sidebar - the character of "The Kid" is based on Channing Tatum's experiences as a male stripper prior to becoming an actor. End side bar - The Kid is a young kid who is also a loser, skating by with shitty job after shitty job that he can't seem to hold. On the other hand, is The Kid's sister (Cody Horn) who Mike starts to get a crush on after the start to become friendly. She is unlike the two of them, acting as a responsible adult and more of a mother than a sister. Pettifyr is Sasha Grey levels of robotic acting. He's extremely unlikeable and all his childish actions that lead to the near-downfall of Mike really pissed me off. Tatum is solid here, shedding off another layer of that shitty acting reputation, but the real star here is McConaughey. He was born for this role. I talked about Tatum shedding off the reputation of a shitty actor, but McConaughey. Oh my. 2012 was this dude's year and it only seems to be getting better for him come 2013. He was completely snubbed from an Oscar nomination for his perfect performance in this movie. Absolutely perfect. This movie doesn't work without him. He is the heart of the film and does not disappoint. Either way, at the end of the day the story seriously lacks and is essentially The Girlfriend Experience but with dudes and actual actors. However, the themes (and obvious Soderbergh feel) have laid out are what truly makes this a good film, but it will never get beyond the focus of the story - male stripping. I respect the hustle from all involved, except Alex Pettifyr who sucks. Also - extremely unsatisfying ending.

OH also - OLIVIA MUNN'S TITTIES IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF THE MOVIE
Rating - B-

[Palooza]

46 . Ruby Sparks

Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Steve Coogan, Eliot Gould, Deborah Ann Woll, Alia Shawkat, Toni Trucks, Aasif Mandvi

Director(s) - Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer(s) - Zoe Kazan
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - July 25
Runtime - 1 hour, 43 minutes
RT Score - 79%
Metacritic - 67/100
Views - 1
Viewed - theaters
Quote - “You manifested a women with your mind.”
Review - Do you know what the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is? Coined after Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown, it's described by its inventor (critic Nathan Rabin) as "that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures." She exists to specifically aid the main character in finding himself and growing up, but it also creates a conundrum in the development of these characters. Other great examples of the MPDG is Kate Hudson's Penny Lane from Almost Famous as well as Natalie Portman's Sam from Garden State. The major problem in this type of character is that she is the fantasy of every male writer and can never be fully developed because she is not a real person. So what screenwriter and star Zoe Kazan did was she decided to make a movie about what would happen to a writer of their MPDG came to life. What this turns into is a really genuinely sweet, sad and interesting look at the relationship between characters and their creators. It’s a really smart and clever movie and for an indie dramedy, it plays with the right emotions at the right times which is key, but the ending leaves a lot to be desired. A really cheap, cinematic ending that I certainly didn't care for.

I still have this weird problem with Paul Dano as a romantic lead, even though this film should be where it is most believable because he is not only playing his signature genius weirdo, the other romantic lead is his real life girlfriend, screenwriter Zoe Kazan. Kazan was born for writing and Hollywood, being the granddaughter of Molly Thatcher and Elia Kazan, a playwright and film/theater director, respectively. Her parents wrote Matilda together and got to work with Danny DeVito on that, so that's awesome. Either way, she pretty much has writing in her blood and she delivers, minus the flat ending. Like I said, it hits the right emotional keys, the characters feel genuine and real, even Kazan's Ruby who is a character out of a novel. Chris Messina shows up for his first time on our list and he is absolutely great as Dano's brother and confidant.

The few problems I had with this movie, although somewhat ridiculous, kinda weighed it down for me. I really liked this movie, but between the ending, the few obnoxious, yet unavoidable movie tropes and a plot that is designed on a secret/lie, it all only takes you so far. I really like Kazan's future as an adorable indie dramedy actress and as a screenwriter. I wouldn't be surprised if she went behind the camera in due time as well. I wish her the best. Paul Dano, on the other hand, eh.
Rating - B-

[Buzzman]

The first 5 minutes of Magic Mike is so damn good. I quote MM way too often.