Palooza's Top 125 Films of 2012

[Goober]

edit - I'm also not caught up in the omg Liam Neeson biggest badazz evar hype, either.

Serious question, when was the last time that Liam Neeson stared in a movie that didn't suck? 2005?

 

[NAHSTE]

Serious question, when was the last time that Liam Neeson stared in a movie that didn't suck? 2005?

Never.

 

[Palooza]

Holy shit, looking at his IMDb how does this guy get work, most of these are terrible.

Priest Vallon is my nigga tho

 

[Pitty]

Never.

Schindler's List.

 

[Palooza]

Schindler's List.

RALPH FIENNES

 

[Pitty]

RALPH FIENNES

BEN KINGLSEY!

AMIDOINGITRITE?!?!??!

 

[Palooza]

BEN KINGLSEY!

AMIDOINGITRITE?!?!??!

No.

 

[Palooza]

70 . The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney, Oscar Issac, Scott Glenn, Corey Stoll, Stacey Keach, Željko Ivanek, Joan Allen, David Straithairn​

Director(s) - Tony Gilroy
Writer(s) - Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy
Source Material/Connections - Fourth film in the "Bourne" franchise. First film without Jason Bourne (Matt Damon); takes place at the same time as The Bourne Ultimatum
MPAA Rating - PG-13
Release Date - August 10
Runtime - 2 hours, 15 minutes
RT Score - 53%
Metacritic - 61/100
Views - 2
Viewed - theaters, ondemand
Quote - "We are the sin eaters. It means that we take the moral excrement we find in this equation and we bury it down deep inside of us, so that the rest of our case can stay pure. That is the job. We are morally indefensible, and absolutely necessary."
Review - Once announced, I expected next to nothing from this movie. The addition of Jeremy Renner as the new Bourne, essentially, didn't really add to my interest, either. I love the Hurt Locker, but Renner has been seemingly robotic since then. Here, it works for him in terms of being a stone cold killer, but once he has to actually show emotion, you're left scratching your head. Once I heard Tony Gilroy, the writer of the first two was on board to direct, I couldn't help but get a bit excited. Add Ed Norton one of my favorite actors as the villain and I got a bit excited for it. I still tried to keep my expectations down and I wasn't especially satisfied nor disappointed. Could have been better, could have been a lot worse.

Jeremy Renner pulls off the badass, kick ass portion of the new-Bourne role very well, but the vulnerable, confused part doesn't go over as well. I was more curious about the other Bourne-esque guy in Oscar Issac's character, who is only in the movie for about 10 minutes but his scene with Renner's Aaron Cross is really well done. Both super-spy artificially made genius-warriors helping one another while also keeping each other on their toes was a lot of fun. You can tell Tony Gilroy was pretty dedicated to the Bourne world and is a really smart dude, but his subtle cleverness is lost, everything seems to be forcibly connected to the Bourne series with David Strathairn's Noah Voson and Joan Allen's Pamela Landy as minor characters just to keep you familiar. At some points there is so much lingo and references to previous Bournes and missions that it all gets a little too involved with itself. Not unlike The Grey, you can totally tell this movie is trying to be much more than it is and it can't overcompensate for the loss of Matt Damon, not even with Edward Norton coming on as the villain. Even though he disappears about 2/3 of the way through, which is extremely frustrating, he handles the role perfectly. The threat that Aaron Cross faces to the gov't is tired and was covered three times in the other Bourne films. We get it, there are security breaches with these top secret agents and you're gunna wanna close it by killing those responsible. Oh, you mean Jason Bourne is that breach? Thanks quick shot of Pamela Landy! On top of all of this, it takes really long to get to the point of where Aaron Cross is now that threat, too. With the spoiler-heavy trailer, you'd think they'd cut to the chase sooner. The movie is about a half hour too long and the part where Željko Ivanek snaps is really forced to get Rachel Weisz and Jeremy Renner together. Oh and the fact that Jeremy Renner comes out of nowhere at some point to save her life. We have no clue how he gets to where she lives, how he finds out, etc. Just shows up and saves her life. It's shit like that that keeps this movie back from being on the first three Bourne's radar. Either they get Damon back to cross over with Renner or don't make any more of these. The choice is yours, studio who owns the rights to the Bourne franchise!
Rating - C

 

[Glenbino]

72 . God Bless America

Joel Murray, Tara Lynn Barr, Melinda Paige Hamilton, Rich McDonald, Mackenzie Brooke Smith, Maddie Hasson​

Director(s) - Bobcat Goldthwait
Writer(s) - Bobcat Goldthwait
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - May 11 (limited)
Runtime - 1 hour, 34 minutes
RT Score - 67%
Metacritic - 56/100
Views - 1
Viewed - netflix
Quote - "Why have a civilization if we are no longer interested in being civilized."
Review - I kind of had a hard time rating this movie. I liken this movie to last year's Hobo with a Shotgun - it's a violent, over the top "revenge" B-movie. Joel Murray stars as Frank a guy who after being diagnosed with some sort of terminal illness, finally snaps and begins a cross country road trip killing everyone who represents something that is wrong in this world, concluding at an American Idol spoof with guns a-blazing. What's good about this movie sometimes turns bad. It blends the aforementioned elements of violence and redemption with satire and black comedy, so what's wrong with it? Well, it's over-the-top, too ambitious and angry. The targets are obvious and Goldthwait winds up being his own worst enemy here, getting self involved. It's essentially Goldthwait's way to blow off steam about all the shit he hates in the world. It's preachy and a bit hypocritical at times. The entire thing has a low budget feel, but not ironically like Hobo with a Shotgun. The acting, outside of Joel Murray, is borderline embarrassing and it gets ridiculous at certain points.

Rating - C

Agreed. The girl they got to play Murray's sidekick was a big letdown especially after Goldthwait nailed it when he cast the kid in World's Greatest Dad.

 

[Palooza]

69 . Collaborator

Martin Donovan, David Morse, Olivia Williams, Katherine Helmond, Eileen Ryan, Julian Richings​

Director(s) - Martin Donovon
Writer(s) - Martin Donovon
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - Unrated
Release Date - July 6 (limited)
Runtime - 1 hour, 27 minutes
RT Score - 75%
Metacritic - 56/100
Views - torrent
Viewed - 1
Quote - "I was thinkin' you and I should have a beer man."
Review - Before his BRILLIANT role as Ezra Stone on Boss, Martin Donovan was always that DEA guy Nancy Botwin was fucking on Weeds or Al Pacino's partner in Insomnia. Now, I go out of my way to see his directorial debut. That happens to be this movie Collaborator in which a struggling playwright (Martin Donovan) goes back to his childhood home to visit his mother, he is taken hostage by a batshit crazy neighbor (David Morse). Seeing as how the two are pretty much polar opposites of one another, which leads to some really interesting and thought provoking stuff. Unfortunately, even though the movie is less than 90 minutes long, it gets a bit stale after a while, with some plot lines outside from the two men being underdeveloped and brought up only when necessary. The movie shines the brightest when the two men are arguing or debating or digging into each other. It's extremely well acted and has a great play-like setting and feel but it unfortunately kind of wears you down and bores you at points, which ultimately hurt the film in the long run. Good first effort for Martin Donovan.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

68 . Game Change

Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, Woody Harrelson, Sarah Paulson, Ron Livingston, Peter MacNicol, Jamey Sheridan, David Barry Gray, Bruce Altman​

Director(s) - Jay Roach
Writer(s) - Danny Strong
Source Material/Connections - based on the book of the same title by Mark Halperin John Heilemann which is based on a true story.
MPAA Rating - Unrated
Release Date - March 10 (HBO)
Runtime - 1 hour, 58 minutes
RT Score - 63%
Metacritic - n/a
Views - 1
Viewed - HBO
Quote - "There are unknowns with Palin, and ah, certainly it could go bad. But if it were me, I'd rather lose by ten points going for the win than lose by one point and look back and say 'Goddamn, we should have gone for the win'."
Review - As if the Sarah Palin bullshit hadn't been beaten into our skulls enough, Hollywood found it necessary to bring a made-for-HBO movie about the 2008 Republican Campaign for the White House by John McCain and Sarah Palin. If you don't know who Sarah Palin is, then piss off and go back into your hole and live your happy life. Everyone else knows everything about her. So why make this movie? I don't know, maybe Hollywood has an agenda?! dun dun dun! It seems to me any middle aged actress needs to do to pull in a Palin performance is the obnoxious accent and makeup/hair/wardrobe and make sure you don't go full retard. Golden Globes and Emmys later and you're welcome. Woody Harrelson absolutely steals the show as the campaign manager who swung for the fences for "his guy" John McCain and missed, which is something Woody does more often than not. Ed Harris brings his old man A-game and does such a good job it seems like he just coasted his whole way through. Sarah Paulson of American Horror Story fame also pulls in a good performance. Unnecessary movie with solid acting and a played-out celebrity at its core. It's just some bullshit to get Americans interested in the upcoming election. This is inferior to Jay Roach's 2008 movie Recount about the 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. What's good about that is the characters we knew so well from the election were the focal point of what was happening in the movie. Woody Harrelson and Sarah Paulson play the best characters in Game Change because they're the ones you don't know. Wouldn't watch again.

Rating - C

 

[NAHSTE]

I enjoyed Game Change, and Sarah Paulson is of Deadwood fame in my telling of the events :lesmug:

 

[Cornelius]

Serious question, when was the last time that Liam Neeson stared in a movie that didn't suck? 2005?

Ethan Frome, 1993

 

[Youk]

Wanderlust is on HBO right now, and my family is watching. I think the fact that I'm posting on here instead shows a lot.

Fucking hippies.

 

[Palooza]

Been super busy lately. Gunna post my Oscar predictions real quick then get back to everything tomorrow.

 

[Palooza]

This will be quick since I just got home.


Best Picture
Amour
Argo - WINNER
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln” - WINNER
Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook” - WINNER
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”

Actor in a Supporting Role
– Alan Arkin, “Argo”
– Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
– Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
– Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
–Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained” - WINNER

Actress in a Supporting Role
– Amy Adams, “The Master”
– Sally Field, “Lincoln”
– Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables” - WINNER
– Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
– Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Directing
– Michael Haneke, “Amour”
– Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
– Ang Lee, “Life of Pi” -- WINNER
– Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
– David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
– “Argo,” Screenplay by Chris Terrio -- WINNER
– “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
– “Life of Pi,” Screenplay by David Magee
– “Lincoln,” Screenplay by Tony Kushner
– “Silver Linings Playbook,” Screenplay by David O. Russell

Writing (Original Screenplay)
– “Amour,” Written by Michael Haneke
– “Django Unchained,” Written by Quentin Tarantino - WINNER
– “Flight,” Written by John Gatins
– “Moonrise Kingdom,” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
– “Zero Dark Thirty,” Written by Mark Boal

Animated Feature Film
– “Brave” - WINNER
– “Frankenweenie”
– “ParaNorman”
– “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
– “Wreck-It Ralph”

Cinematography
– “Anna Karenina,” Seamus McGarvey
– “Django Unchained,” Robert Richardson
– “Life of Pi,” Claudio Miranda - WINNER
– “Lincoln,” Janusz Kaminski
– “Skyfall,” Roger Deakins

Documentary Feature
– “5 Broken Cameras”
– “The Gatekeepers”
– “How to Survive a Plague”
– “The Invisible War”
– “Searching for the Sugar Man” - WINNER

bold = prediction
italics = I didn't see the movie
green = correct pick
red = incorrect pick

 

[Palooza]

3 wrong, pretty not fucking bad. I was torn between Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain, so I ain't mad atcha. More Oscars for Argo the better and FUCK THE WORLD BRAVE WAS TRASH. Wreck It Ralph is one of the best animated movies ever.

 

[Palooza]

Getting back on my grind now. I will be doing my own awards around the time I get to the top 10.

 

[Palooza]

67 . Contraband

Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, Caleb Landry Jones, Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, JK Simmons, Robert Wahlberg, Jacqueline Fleming, William Lucking, David O'Hara​

Director(s) - Baltasar Kormákur
Writer(s) - Aaron Guzikowski
Source Material/Connections - Based on the 2008 Icelandic film "Reykjavik-Rotterdam" which director Baltasar Kormákur played the Marky Mark role
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - January 13
Runtime - 1 hour, 49 minutes
RT Score - 51%
Metacritic - 51/100
Views - 3
Viewed - Torrent, Starz
Quote - "This is no fucking bueno."
Review -
There is nothing great or spectacular or amazing about this movie. It's extremely mediocre, hence the score, but what helps its cause is that it has no business being good or entertaining or any of that. A second weekend of the year release is built to be one of the worst of the year, see Man on a Ledge. This movie defies the odds by hitting all the right buttons at the right moments. What helps is that even though Marky Mark coasts through this movie in his sleep, he still does it extremely well. Like Will Smith in Men in Black III, he's really good at it, mailed in or not. You can tell with the director's connection to the original film, he has a passion for the source material and does a really fantastic job of figuring out what translates well enough for American audiences to create one of the more entertaining and fun heist movies of the past few years. This is on the same level as the Italian Job in terms of heist-fun, but throw in a shootout 2/3 of the way through and you have elevated the entertainment value. As you can tell a movie that is supposed to be terrible, but overcomes the odds and is surprisingly well made, highly entertaining, fun and cool. My main man Ben Foster kinda gets the works, but he deserves it after some of the shit roles he has taken lately. This is a step in the right direction if only because it's not terrible. His arc in the film felt really forced and even though he seemed like a cool dude, his villainy felt unnecessary. That's one of my only few genuine gripes with the film. Well, that and how Kate Beckinsale has the ability to come back from the dead, that was annoying. Giovanni Ribisi's over the top awfulness is incredible here and fits perfectly because he exists only to be a villain and to hate him. He pulls it off with such ease, it's unfortunate we don't get to see him more often. His raspy annoying voice gets old, obviously, but I like the quirks to add fuel to my hatred. The whole Jackson Pollack storyline was really corny and forced, but I accepted it. Diego Luna's over the top psycho cartel guy was great because Luna is a good enough actor to keep his ridiculousness in the realm of the movie. Plus he generated that cool shootout 2/3 of the way through that put this movie onto another level of fun.

So this is pretty much The Italian Job version of a Gone in 60 Seconds sequel where Nic Cage is dead, Charlize Theron is Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi's character has broke bad and dropped stealing cars for drug smuggling, but in a highly entertaining way.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

66 . The Five-Year Engagement

Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, Jacki Weaver, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Brian Posehn, Chris Parnell​

Director(s) - Nicholas Stoller
Writer(s) - Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - April 27
Runtime - 2 hours, 4 minutes
RT Score - 64%
Metacritic - 62/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - "The first important thing to remember about marriage is that it requires commitment. The second is that so does insanity."
Review -
Before having seen this film, I remembered seeing Gooby's quick hate-filled review of this film and it completely dropped my expectations to zero. This film defied those odds and wound up actually being a cute little rom-com, albeit annoying and overly-sappy. Written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller is always a good sign as they've been pretty damn successful so far in their collaborations - Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppets. Here they blend what worked with both of them, but it doesn't work as well. It's a really odd subject for the two as they've pretty much focused on passion projects up until this point, but this seems like a studio-friendly cash grab. It certainly shows, but with the names attached, they make it work.

As a Freaks and Geeks and Forgetting Sarah Marshall fan, I can handle Jason Segel's mopey-ness for longer than most people as long as there is plenty of his adorable and pathetic raunch in between. I prefer him as a looking for love loser than a make love work loser, but whatever. Emily Blunt is cute as fuck with her British accent, weird face and charisma. The real passion from this movie comes with the power couple that is Chris Pratt (Parks and Rec) and Alison Brie (Community) two of my favorite human beings on Earth. This is a match made in internet heaven and while they don't get the screen time they deserve, they still pull off their relationship incredibly well. Alison Brie does this the entire time with a British accent, no less. They definitely need to be doing their own thing a la This is 40, but better.

The story is actually really paint by numbers, cliche, rom com bullshit, which brings the experience down. I can totally understand why Gooby hated it, but with the names involved, I was okay with all the sappiness, tired, overdramatic plot. They definitely made the best of their situation and I hope that Segel and Stoller put more heart and soul and passion into their next collaboration.
Rating - C