Palooza's Top 125 Films of 2012

[NAHSTE]

I enjoyed Five Year Engagement but I watched it on a five hour plane (to San Francisco, coincidentally enough) so I kind of had no choice. Agree Pratt/Brie stole the show from our two charming and lovable leads.

 

[Palooza]

65 . Premium Rush

Joseph Gordon Levitt, Dania Ramirez, Michael Shannon, Jamie Chung, Wole Parks, Christopher Place, Aasif Mandvi, Henry O, Brian Koppelman​

Director(s) - David Koepp
Writer(s) - David Koepp and John Kamps
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - PG-13
Release Date - August 24
Runtime - 1 hour, 30 minutes
RT Score - 76%
Metacritic - 66/00
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - "Suck it, douchebag."
Review -
This movies rating is pretty much the combined reasoning behind the reviews for Contraband and The Five-Year Engagement - it's highly entertaining and it has a great cast. Like mentioned a million times, Joseph Gordon Levitt is my man crush. You will see further down the list with more of his movies that I am a very big fan. All the corniness or lame, unbelievable bullshit that accompanies a fucking bike parkour movie is erased with the casting of one of the most charismatic actors around. He's slick, he's cool, he's likable, he's good looking. There is not one thing that is not to like about JGL and his involvement in this movie, along with Michael Shannon as the films bad guy, really brings this movie up from what could be potentially one of the worst films ever made. This movie seriously has no business being any good, but it takes all the lame chase/race against the clock movie elements and elevates them to a level of entertainment that wouldn't be accomplished without these actors involved. OH! And Dania Ramirez is really, really hot. This movie is super fun and the right level of corny. If you're a JGL superfan like me, you've seen it already, but if it's on Starz or HBO or sumshit ever, I don't suggest turning it off. It's a quick watch, too. Definitely an easy movie to watch, especially if you have time to kill.
Rating - C

 

[Buzzman]

I have to say Premium Rush is one of the biggest pieces of garbage I've ever seen. Especially Michael Shannon.

 

[Palooza]

I have to say Premium Rush is one of the biggest pieces of garbage I've ever seen. Especially Michael Shannon.

Stop that.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

I loved Premium Rush. It's not gonna be on my top 10 all-time great movies or anything lol, but for what it was, it was fucking awesome.

 

[Palooza]

64 . Arbitrage

Richard Gere, Brit Marling, Susan Surrandon, Tim Roth, Laetitia Casta, Nate Parker, Stuart Margolin, Chris Eigeman, Graydon Carter , Bruce Altman​

Director(s) - Nicholas Jarecki
Writer(s) - Nicholas Jarecki
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - September 14 (limited)
Runtime - 1 hour, 47 minutes
RT Score - 85%
Metacritic - 73/100
Views - torrent
Viewed - 1
Quote - "You're not my partner, you work for me! Everybody works for me!"
Review - Nothing. Really. Happens. Outside of some pretty great acting (except for Tim Roth's horrible accent), especially Richard Gere, who I usually fucking loathe. Why did I see this movie, you ask? Was it for the silly, pitch perfect family man is actually a lying, cheating, sleazy businessman plot? NOPE. I saw this movie for the lovely Brit Marling, who does as well as she can as Gere's daughter/employee who is kept in the dark about his shade-ball activities. She isn't given much to work with, but it's refreshing to see her as the only normal person who isn't painfully boring. Hello, Susan Surandon, why are you even in this movie? Oh yeah and so they throw a death in the middle of the story to complicate things, but it's forced and unnecessary and there's this weird mysterious relationship with this black dude who helps him and he knows his dad or something. Besides that death, nothing really happens at all. Tim Roth comes in as a cop who knows Gere is guilty of the woman's death but doesn't have the evidence to convict him. Roth is atrocious here, really cliche cop, his accent is horrible, he looks like shit.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

63 . The Invisible War

​

Director(s) - Kirby Dick
Writer(s) - Kirby Dick
Source Material/Connections - REAL LIFE
MPAA Rating - Unrated
Release Date - June 22
Runtime - 1 hour, 37 minutess
RT Score - 100%
Metacritic - 75/100
Views - 1
Viewed - netflix
Quote - "Today, a female soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire with the number of assaults in the last decade alone in the hundreds of thousands."
Review - I don't really want to discuss this movie too much because it will just make me sad. It's an extremely important and well made documentary about sexual assault in the US military. It's absolutely disgusting and the movie is extremely hard to watch. There are countless women who have been victims and it is extremely brave for the half dozen or so who had the balls to feature themselves in this. The one woman almost made me cry every second she was on screen with her constant pain and struggles to get herself help because she is still being shunned by the military for what she has come out about. Absolutely horrible. This is one of these documentaries that is so close to home that it is hard to watch. Everybody needs to see this movie, just once. I know I'd never be able to sit through it again, way too emotional and painful. Really good job by the filmmakers., but the tough nature of the subject and my hatred for myself afterward, even though I am not in anyway involved certainly brought it down.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

62 . The Imposter

​

Director(s) - Bart Layton
Writer(s) - n/a
Source Material/Connections - REAL LIFE
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date -
Runtime - 1 hour, 35 minutes
RT Score - 95%
Metacritic - 77/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote -
Review - This movie is actually really good, but I'm letting my personal feelings cloud its ranking. The story is incredibly fascinating and it is coming from the source - the primary storyteller is the man in question, Frédéric Bourdin, the "Imposter". The problem though is that there are all these questions presented and explored that all of a sudden come a halt with an "I don't know" answer. It's extremely unsatisfying and disappointing and crushed me. I was so involved, drawing the same conclusions as the private investigator but his pursuits are left unanswered. We find nothing. About half the movie, the part that draws you in, is flawless. Bourdin's con is absolutely brilliant. So once he "returns" to their home, looking older, different with an accent and an elaborate story in tow, the questions are posed. Why are they so accepting of this boy to be THEIR boy? There are two options - 1.) They want so badly for their son to return to their family, they are blinded by emotion. or, the more logical approach - 2.) They had something to do with the boy's disappearance from the get-go and this was the perfect opportunity to cover it all up. It's once these questions are posed that a movie starts to hit an emotional high. Once I had the private investigator on my side I was ecstatic, so when we came up with nothing. Denial from the family, speculation from an old P.I. and the word of a con artist was all that we had at the end. No evidence. No body. No revelations. Questions with "IDK" answers. Extremely frustrating, even though that's life there aren't any bows to tie on this one.

This movie also gets points for bringing Hanni el Khatib to my attention. The awesome "You Rascal You" plays over the movie's intense trailer.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

61 . Not Fade Away

Joe Magaro, Jack Huston, Will Brill, Dominique McElligott, Brahm Vaccarella, Gregory Perri, James Gandolfini, Bella Heathcote, Molly Price, Meg Guzulescu, Christopher McDonald, Brad Garrett, Isiah Whitlock Jr​

Director(s) - David Chase
Writer(s) - David Chase
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - December 21
Runtime - 1 hour, 52 minutes
RT Score - 70%
Metacritic - 65/100
Views - 1
Viewed - in theaters
Quote -
Review - Pretentious and over done 60’s music scene plot, even if it is based on Chase’s life. I appreciate effort, it was extremely well directed, looked cool, had great music. Really well made it just wasn’t a good movie. The actual story within the frame of the movie is really what brings this down. He captures the major events of the 60s really well, it's just the eye we see it from isn't ideal. The autobiographical elements make me think that maybe I wouldn't like David Chase very much IRL. I'd imagine he's grown up in 50 years, but who knows.

Joe Magaro as the main character was a penis, Jack Huston was great as the retarded douchebag who loses his spot as the lead singe after accidently swallowing a joint at a show. Main character steps in and he can sing! They try to make the band work, but he's become too full of himself, fucking a hot piece of ass, being too cool for everybody, stepping on Jack Huston's sensitive toes because he's not the man anymore. Thing's don't work out, but it doesn't matter Joe dreams of hitting it big in Hollywood and directing movies, but not before alienating his girl and his friends/bandmates and eating a lovely dinner with Tony Soprano himself, the penis's father, who passes the reigns on to him as man of the family, because Tony's getting old you see.

So there's a lot of nothing going on that gets tossed around into a sloppy mess. David Chase obviously had an idea, not a story and tried to turn it into a movie. I hope his post-Sopranos career gets better beyond this because I am a huge fan of the series. The music is good, the directing is pretty fantastic, it's just missing a story to tell. Maybe next time.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

60 . 10 Years

Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Oscar Isaac, Kate Mara, Justin Long, Chris Pratt, Max Minghella, Lynn Collins, Ari Graynor, Scott Porter, Brian Geraghty, Anthony Mackie, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Zano, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Ron Livingston, Aaron Yoo, ​

Director(s) - Jamie Linden
Writer(s) - Jamie Linden
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - PG-13
Release Date - September 14 (limited)
Runtime - 1 hour, 30 minutes
RT Score - 59%
Metacritic - 61/100
Views - torrent
Viewed - 1
Quote - "I got fat?! What did you do, eat one of your kids?"
Review - This is like Valentines Day or New Years Eve but for 30 year olds who like to party. It’s more mature, has actual heart and some decent acting and laughs. Pretty funny and great cast that works really well together. The AV Club review put it perfectly - This is like a sequel to Can't Hardly Wait. Everybody has a point they need to get to, which I will discuss and even though the movie is corny at times and predictable, it works because the cast is so fucking brilliant together.

Oscar Isaac absolutely steals this movie as the singer friend. His plot line, even though it may be the corniest, is that he has come to the reunion to connect with his high school crush. He is a famous musician and he is known for one hit song, which is about her. The climax of their story is great when he sings the song in front of everyone and she watches, connecting the dots. It's quite possibly the cheesiest part of the movie, but Isaac is so fucking mesmerizing while singing the song and you watch Kate Mara's sexy ass figure everything out. You get caught up in the moment, forgetting about the corny bullshit. That's what this movie is - a moment to get lost in. It's a shitty ensemble comedy that is entirely forgettable after seeing it, but while you are watching it, you're like damn this is pretty entertaining. I don't mind this. Also, Oscar Isaac showing off a bit of his vocals here, a preview of what he will do as the title character of the Coen's latest Inside Llewelyn Davis

The first of the Channing Tatum trifecta in this top 125. He is in classic Tatum here, but he has my respect so I can appreciate it here. He is the “main character” but he is given just as much screen time as the others. He is there with his new girl, his real life wifey who he is about to ask to marry him. Howeva, the love of his life will be at the reunion (Rosario Dawson) so that puts a wrench in things. An old plot that is acceptable because there are so may other things going on. Rosario Dawson is also fine as shit, so being caught up on her makes a ton of sense. Her being married to Ron Livingston, doesn't. The two reconnect but not sexually and this plot line is the easiest to wrap up and move past, even though they keep jumping back to it.

Justin Long and Max Minghella are potentially homosexual best friends who have an obsession with the former hotty at the school. They also spend most of the movie overexaggerating their happiness. Minghella is about to get a divorce and Long has a single bed. Tough life. This is probably this most juvenile, annoying and frustrating plotlines. Justin Long has become one of the most annoying people in Hollywood and this movie totally makes the case for that. Lynn Collins looks great though as the hotty with some secrets and mistakes on her resume. They TP her house and then they meet her kids and they all eat and have a swell time. Moving on...

Jason Street from FNL gets the least amount of screen time as the fun, cool, smart guy who came from Hong Kong for this and is deciding to live there forever and never coming back to the states. He's the generic guy who jumps from group to group giving out advice because he is so international. Felt good to see him use his legs in this.

Chris Pratt and Ari Graynor are the couple who got married and settled down, staying in the town they grew up in and had a family. They're the epicenter of the whole thing, everyone is going to visit them and then head to their reunion. They are the home base. Pratt and Graynor have great chemistry and make total sense as a couple. Pratt's problem is that he was an asshole in high school and now he's a miserable, yet happy drunk man child who constantly apologizes to these nerds he bullied, making the situation worse and worse for him. Ari Graynor's problem is her husband is an embarrassment. I forget what happens in this one, but Pratt is great as always I fucking love that guy.

Brian Geraghty and Anthony Mackie from The Hurt Locker reteam in this one, except this time they are old high school buddies who used to dance their asses off to impress the bitches. Aubrey Plaza plays Geraghty's wife who is having the hardest time accepting the fact that her husband used to be a "Wigger". This plotline is fun and nothing is more attractive than Aubrey Plaza being a bitch.

I think that's everything. Like I said, forgettable but good while you are in the moment. The cast is completely believable as old friends and with a cast this deep, it's impressive they pulled it off so swimmingly.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

59 . Sinister

Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Clare Foley, Michael Hall D'Addario, Fred Thompson, James Ransone, Vincent D'Onforio​

Director(s) - Scott Derrickson
Writer(s) - Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - October 12
Runtime - 1 hour, 49 minutes
RT Score - 63%
Metacritic - 53/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - " Is there anything you won't do for your goddamn book?!"
Review - The best way to describe this movie is if The Ring and 1408 had a baby. It's the shitty parts of 1408 (minus John Cusack) and the good parts of The Ring. Ethan Hawke is perfect for the main role, he is the rich man's John Cusack. He can act - be a dick and still be likable. The movie is suspenseful and interesting, I admittedly jumped multiple times. A really fun, cynical ending is the best way to go about concluding a film like this. Really solid supporting cast with James Ransone (Ziggy from the Wire) as a Deputy who Hawke's character uses to his advantage, Fred Thompson (Law & Order, REAL LIFE POLITICS) as the Sheriff who is of NO help and Vincent D'Onforio as an expert of (insert weird shit) here that Hawke skypes with. The movie is more creepy, chilling and shocking than scary and feels like a breath of fresh air from the gory horror or corny ghost handy-cam films we've been subjected to as of late. Thar be spoilers ahead, mateys.

So we start the movie with a cool, beat up Super 8 video of four people getting lynched. We move on from that and into a bit of cliche. Ethan Hawke is a down-on-his-luck true crime writer whose chasing the success of his first novel and simultaneously running away from the controversy of his last. He moves his family (wife, 2 kids). He is writing about the aforementioned murders and the disappearance of a fifth member of the slain family. Little does his family know, they are living in the actual house that the murders took place in. This lie will obviously come into play later and probably ruin his marriage and force him to lose his mind. So he starts digging and he finds a set of 8mm films in his attic and we get into the art of snuff films! Hawke watches all of the films in the box and comes to realize they are all a string of families murdered in their home. We'll skip through the meat and jump into the potatoes - after some digging and some help from Deputy So and So (Ransone), Hawke thinks moving out is the successful choice and goes back home to where ever the fuck. WRONG! (SPOILER ALERT)! Moving is exactly what got them killed, if you live in the house where the last murders take place, the next house you move to you will die and will become the next stop on the death train. Each family was linked by having lived in the house of the ones murdered before and then moving and dying in their new house, creating a never ending cycle. Pretty cool to see Ethan Hawke realize it and get himself killed seconds after. Really well done, IMO. Totally leaves you with a great taste in your mouth, something necessary for horror films. The ending will make it or break it for you. And for someone who is super critical of the turd horror films that come out that I endlessly ignore, seeing this one was nowhere near a mistake or a regret. Very entertaining movie.

The "twist" is pretty cool, even though it's pretty extreme. It's well executed and while not refreshing, per se, it always feels better when films like this stay consistent and keep a pattern going or allow an unknown, unstoppable force carry on. The death of the central character is always a ballsy move and it proves extremely effective here, but with a planned sequel, it's interesting to see where they will go. I'm only excited for the sequel is if James Ransone is back in some capacity, but I'm sure they'll just create a new scenario and new characters to thrive within the realm of the patterned deaths. It'll become an easy cash grab and it will suck. Oh dear.
Rating: C

 

[Palooza]

58. Being Flynn

Paul Dano, Robert DeNiro, Olivia Thirlby, Julianne Moore, Lili Taylor, Dale Dickey, Victor Rasuk, Liam Broggy, Wes Studi​

Director(s) - Paul Weitz
Writer(s) - Paul Weitz
Source Material/Connections - Based on the memoir "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City" by Nick Flynn
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - March 2 (limited)
Runtime - 1 hour, 42 minutes
RT Score - 53%
Metacritic - 53/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - "I'm Jonathan Flynn. Everything I write is a masterpiece."
Review - As a huge fan of the book, I was pleased in terms of an adaptation, but Robert DeNiro's hamming it up and over-the-top acting kept it from being as good as it could have been. A lesser known actor would have been more suitable although he did look almost exactly what I envisioned him to be. What also greatly disappoints me is that they had to change the title to a really, really indie family drama title. Another Bullshit Night in Suck City is an amazing title and it’s unfortunate that we as a society aren’t ready for publicly displayed cursing. David O Russell’s upcoming project is now “formerly titled American Bullshit” for the same reason. Beat. Oh well. As much as Paul Dano looks like a little weasel he has done a good job of picking roles that fit that creepy look of his. Here, he is a perfect Nick Flynn a young man who, even though he knows nothing of his alcoholic, delusional, homeless father (DeNiro), can’t help but slowly become. The film did a good job of capturing the book’s depiction of the inevitable reconnection of the two as pity rather than warmth. A lot of nothing happens and I can totally tell that the personal connections and interest I gained from the book helped me coast through some of the boring parts of the film. Paul Dano does a pretty perfect job as Nick Flynn, his ugly, raggedy look is exactly what the character needs. Like I said earlier, though, Robert DeNiro is his own worst enemy, trying too hard to capture of the eccentricities of the delusional homeless man. Mediocre at best.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

57 . Cloud Atlas

Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Wishaw, James D'Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Surandon, Hugh Grant​

Director(s) - Tom Twyker, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Writer(s) - Tom Twyker, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Source Material/Connections - based on the 2004 novel of the same name by David Mitchell
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - October 26
Runtime - 2 hours, 43 minutes
RT Score - 66%
Metacritic - 55/100
Views - 1
Viewed - in theaters
Quote - "What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”
Review - As a whole, the term "beautiful disaster" was never as appropriate of a title for anything than it is for this film. An ambitious project made by some people who aren't afraid of a movie as impossible to adapt as this film. Behind this adaptation we have the Wachowskis of The Matrix fame and Tom Twyker, the genius behind Run Lola Run, one of my favorite foreign language movies. Together they make an extremely ambitious attempt at adapting the 6-part epic that spans centuries. The plot gets extremely sloppy and contradictory toward the end but you've had so much fun and have been blown away by visuals of the the past, present, and future that it makes it all okay. This movie has so many problems but so many enjoyable aspects that it the absolute definition of mediocre. It's flaws don't ruin it but the impressive parts of the film don't elevate it up anymore than it can. The basic theme that runs throughout the film is that of ever lasting love and the connections people have span throughout multiple lifetimes, each effecting the other in some way. Each actor plays about 6 characters, with only a few being left out of each. I'm not going to go into each storyline individually, but I will list them and give a brief, spoiler-y summary -

1849 - South Pacific Ocean (dir. Wachowskis)
Jim Sturgess meets Tom Hanks on an island and sees some negro whipping first hand. He doesn't like it. On the voyage back, Sturgess becomes ill and is actually being poisoned by Hanks. The negro who was whipped is actually on board and Sturgess helps him. He's actually a monkey so they free him and he becomes the best worker ever! Sturgess and his wife become anti-slavery advocators. Hanks is beat up by the negro.
1936 - Cambridge, England - (dir. Twyker)
A period drama where Ben Wishaw is gay, young and free. He is also a composer. He abandons his lover, Sixsmith (D'Arcy) to work for an aging, genius composer (Jim Broadbent). They hit it off and create some great music. Wishaw creates his masterpiece "The Cloud Atlas Sextet". He and Broadbent have a moment while playing and then Wishaw kisses him, they fight, threaten blackmail and then Wishaw shoots him, runs away and kills himself upon finishing his masterpiece and just before Sixsmith can stop him. The entire time Wishaw had been reading the diary of Sturgess's character in 1849.
1963 - San Francisco, California - (dir. Twyker)
Halle Berry is a journalist who uncovers a conspiracy of a nuclear reactor that is unsafe and being hidden from the public by Hugh Grant and his evil hitmen (Hugo Weaving, Keith David). Keith David actually knew Berry's pops, he saved his life, so he jumps sides and helps her expose the truth in a solid thriller. Twyker does a good job of keeping this one tense. Berry gets the initial story from an elder Sixsmith from the previous storyline, who is now a nuclear physicist.
2012 - UK (dir. Twyker)
After the gangster-turned-writer (Tom Hanks) throws a critic of his newest book off a roof at a party, he becomes an infamous star, but also goes to jail. His agent, Jim Broadbent, is sitting pretty until Hanks boys come after him for a ton of loot. He can't pay obviously because he's a bum who sucks at money. So he goes to his brother (Hugh Grant) who tosses him in an old folks home. There, Broadbent is tortured by theNurse Ratched esque head nurse (Hugo Weaving). Along with three other people, they escape in elaborate fashion. This storyline could have easily been The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gone wrong. I dunno how awful that movie is, but this portion of the film is really lighthearted and funny, ending in a bar fight with futbol fans on their side, beating up Weaving and the rest of the staff. Once Broadbent gets out, he publishes a novel based on his experiences and also a novel about the life of Halle Berry's character from the previous storyline.
2144 - Neo Seoul, Korea (dir. Wachowskis)
The most visually stunning of all the stories, here we have a clone who is a servant in a futuristic world that is segregated. Sonmi-451 tells an interrogator her story leading up to her execution. After witnessing some things happen to her clone friend by a human, the human dies and she escapes with a resistance soldier (Jim Sturgess). Sturgess dies fighting the good fight, but not before Sonmi can record the gospel of their people and she becomes a martyr and a symbol for the resistance. She is executed, but not before watching a film about Jim Broadbent's character from the previous story.
2321 - The Big Island (dir. Wachowskis)
The most frustrating of all the stories, this one has Hanks as a tribesman in a post apocalyptic world. He is completely untechnological, relying on ancient voodoo and hunting to support his family. These people also believe Sonmi-451 to be a goddess and she is pretty much their Jesus. Enter Halle Berry from the futuristic part of the world where they are dying and hoping to send a signal from a point near their tribe where supposedly the devil lives. So the two trek together after Hanks owes her a favor and they struggle, but achieve their goal, but not after Hanks's tribe is slaughtered by cannibals. Hanks kills the leader (Hugh Grant), defeats his hallucination (Hugo Weaving) that feeds him his fear and escapes with his niece to the new world with Halle Berry. Jump ahead some time and they have made it to where they sent the signal to and now they are in love and Tom Hanks has been telling all these kids these stories.

Obviously the Twyker storylines are more plot driven and work well storytelling wise. The Wachowskis are visually stunning and extremely sloppy. The long runtime may seem like a drag, but the film works in like 5 minute intervals at each storyline. We jump and jump and jump. It's an ADD kids dream. They keep things flowing really well and it keeps you engaged. You cannot look away or get up. Sure the plot is extremely sloppy and completely contradictory at certain points (example - EVERYONE CAN BE GOOD AT SOME POINT, except Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving play a villain every time and Susan Surandon is consistently useless). Each story has something really good and really "Wtf" about it, but it all seems to work for the sake of "art". This movie is completely experimental and, like I said - it's quite the beautiful disaster.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

I'm not going to go into each storyline individually

I totally lied.

 

[NAHSTE]

I am so into these. Gosh, you are great.

 

[Palooza]

56 . Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Steve Carrell, Keira Knightly, Rob Corddry, William Peterson, Melanie Lynskey, Adam Brody, Tonita Castro, Mark Moses, Derrick Luke, Connie Britton, Patton Oswalt, Melina Dillon, Rob Heubel, Gillian Jacobs, T.J. Miller, Amy Schumer, Jim O'Heir, Martin Sheen, Nancy Carrell​

Director(s) - Lorene Scafaria
Writer(s) - Lorene Scafaria
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - June 22
Runtime - 1 hour, 41 minutes
RT Score - 55%
Metacritic - 59/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - "I won't steal anything, if you promise not to rape me."
Review - Even though this movie relies heavily on the "end of the world" scenario, backs itself into a corner and relies heavily on formula, the unlikely chemistry between Steve Carrell and Keira Knightly paired with some quirky side characters keeps this movie from falling flat on its face.

The movie is actually pretty damn funny, but it relies so heavily on the gimmick of the end of the world. The reactions to the recently announced end of the world are pretty hilarious. Carrell's wife literally runs away and leaves him, people are rioting out in the street, there is a half assed orgy with drugs and recklessness, among other things. Patton Oswalt relishes in the fact that women no long care who they are having sex with and he's loving the end of the world. Characters like Rob Corddry have lost all sense of anything and have simply fallen into a life of I-don't-give-a-fuck and his neglected wife (Connie Britton) wants to fuck Carrell as he sulks in a tub during the orgy. It's fun to see that everyones lives have gone into these two directions (I don't give a fuck and sex/drugs wahoooo) except Carrell's Dodge. Nothing has changed for him except now he is sad and lonely, not just sad. He even goes as far as to go to work like selling insurance means anything with 3 weeks left to live.

This movie actually starts off really funny with everyone's initial reaction to the impending doom, but once we get past that this movie feels tired, just trying to over do each ridiculous end of the world scenario. Even though it is one of my favorite scenes, the Friendzy's scene completely represents everything about this movie. It is taking a bleak situation and making an obnoxious joke out of it. If Keira Knightley and Steve Carrell weren't so damn likable, I'm sure the relationship between them would have seemed forced. What Steve Carrell promises Knightley in helping him find his true love before the world ends (ugh, horribly cliche rom com bullshit) is completely unrealistic. "Yeah, I haven't spoken to my dad in FOREVER, but he has a plane he will fly you from New York to England on his one passenger plane." Well, they all have a serious bonding experience before and after they meet Dodge's dad (Martin Sheen) and Knightley decides against going home to England and instead stays with Dodge.

But where does it all go? It starts off promising, but then it's just one ridiculous situation after the next after the next and it just feels so much like we're watching a movie it is hard to get caught up in the characters and the situation. You know how it will all end and these two best friends turned lovers would never exist without the situation that is ending their lives and even so, it's equal parts heartbreaking and forgettable. Since watching this movie I don't think I've thought about it once.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

55 . This is 40

Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Jason Segel, Charlyne Yi, Tim Bagely, Melissa McCarthy, Megan Fox, Albert Brooks, Ryan Lee, Lena Dunham, Chris O'Dowd, Rob Smigel, Billy Joe Armstrong, Annie Mumolo​

Director(s) - Judd Apatow
Writer(s) - Judd Apatow
Source Material/Connections - somewhat sequel to 2007's Knocked Up
MPAA Rating - R
Release Date - December 21
Runtime - 2 hours, 13 minutes
RT Score - 52%
Metacritic - 59/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - "What's the difference between a straight mustache and a gay mustache? The smell."
Review - While Judd Apatow's films usually have this genuine feel to them, they are always way too bloated, way too long and always some sort of sappy conclusion that only kind of fits within the spectrum of the film. The main problem with this film and with all of Apatow's movies is that he has fallen too much in love with what he is creating. He is blinded by the passion that he puts forth into his movies and there is never anyone there to bring him back to reality because he's always the big dick. This no more obvious than this movie, his exploration of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) and their kids (Maude and Iris Apatow) a few years after the events of Knocked Up. Do you see those names up there? Leslie Mann. Maude Apatow. Iris Apatow. Do you see how Judd Apatow is too caught up in this things he loves? Yeah, he forces his family on the audience and they're easily the worst parts of the film. Leslie Mann, who has some pretty impressive range, is just a manic mess. She's happy then she's sad and nagging and annoying and bitchy and then Paul Rudd makes her happy but then a second later she's back to being a mess. Maude and Iris fight constantly and are easily some of the most annoying human being to grace god's green Earth. Iris is more tolerable because, even though she is no longer googling murder, she isn't the emotional mess that emulates their mother. She is a young girl trying to find her place in the family. I will admit though, Maude's side story about being obsessed with LOST is pretty funny if outdated.

What pissed me off more than anything is that you have allllllllllll these celebrity cameos. From Lena Dunham's fat ass to Robert Smigel to Melissa McCarthy to Megan Fox and you can't manage to get Seth Rogen in the movie for ONE SECOND?! I hate Katherine Heigl with great vengeance and furious anger, but the fact that she doesn't even exist a few years after being a staple in their life is ridiculous. Yeah sure, there is a picture of her in the living room and Rogen's Ben plays Words with Friends with Pete while he is taking a dump and Ben hooks Pete up with hash brownies, but WHERE ARE THEY?! Not even a nonchalant, "I can't believe Ben and Bitchface aren't at your party." "Oh yeah, Ben got deported to Canada." NOTHING. Fuck you, Judd.

All in all, Paul Rudd and the supporting characters essentially carry this movie through it's ups and deep lows. Just look at Leslie Mann's character for a representation of what this movie's feel is like. It's up and its down and it has many flaws which all stem from the complete control and stubbornness of the filmmaker. Don't think Apatow will be changing his formula any time soon, which is a shame because I used to look forward to his movies.
Rating - C

 

[Palooza]

54 . People Like Us

Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Hall D'Addario, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde, Jon Faverau, Mark Duplass, Philip Baker Hall​

Director(s) - Alex Kurtzman
Writer(s) - Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, Jody Lambert
Source Material/Connections - n/a
MPAA Rating - PG-13
Release Date - June 29
Runtime - 1 hour, 55 minutes
RT Score - 56%
Metacritic - 49/100
Views - 1
Viewed - torrent
Quote - "Most doors in the world are closed, so if you find one that you want to get into, you damn well better have an interesting knock."
Review - Sometimes you watch a movie and you're like.. damn, this is such a movie. This is one of those cases. Here we have a family drama whose plot is based solely on a piece of knowledge one character is keeping from another. I can absolutely see where this frustrates people to the point of hatred toward the film. Usually, that would force me to hate a movie, but here Chris Pine is as smooth as ever and Elizabeth Banks shows off some of her acting chops and they carry the movie very well. Well enough to help you get over the secret-driven plot. So, Chris Pine is estranged from his parents, most notably his dad and we begin the movie where he has just found out about his passing. Pine is a salesman who has seemingly botched a deal and he is struggling to recover. He runs away to his mom's (Michelle Pfeiffer) for a weekend, mostly because he is forced by his hot girlfriend (Olivia Wilde). There he finds out there is no money for him, just for this lady named Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) and her son (Michael Hall D'Addario). Pine soon finds out that Frankie is actually his sister and he forces himself into their life, struggling to reveal the truth after becoming so close. Obviously, this is where the secrets come into play because he is being such a nice guy and leading her on, being a father to her son and when the secrets finally come out (after she tries to hook up with him, yuck!), they fight blah blah blah, you know how movies work. Now we have to reconnect in someway that is relevant to things we've seen in the movie. They finally make up and Pine gets the girl and everyone is happy that they're a family. It's actually really emotional and entertaining stuff. I really enjoyed it, but you have to be able to accept the plot for what it is and the tiring movie conventions it exploits. I'm a huge fan of Pine, Banks and Wilde, so it was not hard for me to get into this. Pine has that coolness that oozes out of him, no homo, that makes the movie very easy to watch. Surprisingly written and directed by the sci-fi action guys of today Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Fringe, Transformers, Mission: Impossible III). It's a really strange change of pace for these guys but you can tell it was something of a passion project. It doesn't fail but it doesn't necessarily deliver either. Without Pine and Banks charisma, I wonder how bad of a movie this really would have been.
Rating - C

 

[Cornelius]

Entertainment Weekly gave This is 40 an A. I haven't seen it, but it seemed like a 'Judd Apatow casts his wife again' type movie. I'll watch it without judging it any more.

 

[Palooza]

Entertainment Weekly gave This is 40 an A. I haven't seen it, but it seemed like a 'Judd Apatow casts his wife again' type movie. I'll watch it without judging it any more.

Leslie Mann is tolerable, it's Maude who sucks. An A is ridiculous, though, Entertainment Weekly is beat.

One, maybe two more Cs left. Been on the fence about a few and have been seriously rearranging the rankings as I go. A ranking isn't set in stone until I post it. How fun!