A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

"Hard"ly Working

As a straight forward action film, "A Good Day to Die Hard" serves it's purpose well, and for that I could not fault it. It jumps straight into the action with a couple of explosions and a very well shot car chase. John McClane gets in some good one-liners, and some more things explode. The thing that really bugged me about the film was the inability to drudge up any emotion toward the relationship of the characters. The thing that made the first "Die Hard" work so well is that on top of an amazing action piece, it managed to make you care about McClane, his deteriorating marriage, and the possibility of orphaning their children. "Good Day" gives the relationships, and how you are supposed to feel about them, but the writers breeze by them so fast that it doesn't register, and Jai Courtney (playing Jack McClane) is such a lifeless actor, that it's hard to care about anything he does. At only 97 minutes, it felt too short to sustain anything between action sequences, but the action was a lot of fun, if not completely unbelievable.

Grade: C-
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch
Director: John Moore
Writer(s): Skip Woods - Original Characters: Roderick Thorp
RT: 97 min
Rating: R for violence and language

Upside Down (2013)

Juan Solanas has written and directed an wonderfully imaginative sci-fi/romance about two worlds that share the same space, but not the same gravity, and the two lovers caught in the middle. "Upside Down" has many bumps and some poor execution at points, but despite some the clunky dialogue, I found myself constantly getting lost in the story, and hoping for a positive outcome. Jim Sturgess, however, was the wrong choice for the romantic lead. I don't think there has ever been a point in his career that he has shown any aptitude for acting. Without him there is a wealth of qualities to admire about this film: the performances of Timothy Spall and the rest of the supporting cast, the visual effects, and Pierre Gill's impressive cinematography. For most of its short-comings, it really is quite a film.

Grade: B-
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kirsten Dunst, Timothy Spall
Director: Juan Solanas
Writer(s): Juan Solanas
RT: 107 min
Rating: PG-13 for some violence

Spiders (2013)

Where the Wild Things Arachnid

Sometimes I find it impossible to tell if a movie is trying to be awful, or it is an earnest attempt to make a good film gone horribly awry. In the case of "Spiders" I'm going to review it as the latter and hope that it was the former. The film focuses around giant spiders from space (you read that right) attacking New York City, and the lone transit worker that must stop them. I'm going to ignore the corny special effects for this review, because they didn't really affect the outcome of the film much, but unfortunately everything else was equally as bad. Patrick Muldoon, playing the transit worker, is flat and boring, and his wife, played Christa Campbell, seems lost through half of the film. Tibor Takacs' directing is stale, and the team of writers who came up with this took every sci-fi cliche they could pack into the film, and ran with it... straight into the ground. That being said, this is the kind of bad film that is fun to watch for how bad it is. The kind that making your own MST3K track to, can be a good time.

Grade: D-
3D: No, but the 2D isn't worth it either
Easter Egg: No

Starring: William Muldoon, Christa Campbell, William Hope
Director: Tibor Takacs
Writer(s): Joseph Farrugia - Story: Tibor Takacs, Dustin Warburton
RT: 89 min
Rating: PG-13 for creature violence and disturbing images.

Side Effects (2013)

Personal "Effects"

Scott Z. Burns has now written two films that have made me incredibly uneasy about their subject matter (as if I wasn't uneasy enough about them going in). Where "Contagion" was successful at frightening people into washing their hands to avoid outbreak, "Side Effects" makes great use of paranoia about improper medication, and the dangerous effects (I tried to think of a better word) they could have on the body. Director Steven Soderbergh makes Burns' script pop with beautiful visuals, and by assembling a great cast. Jude Law is at his very best, and Rooney Mara continues to prove why she has become such hot commodity in Hollywood these days. The things I would really like to talk about in this film are the kind of things that require me to put the words spoiler alert in my review, and I don't want to do that. See this one. Trust Me.

Grade: A
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer(s): Scott Z. Burns
RT: 106 min
Rating: R for sexuality, nudity, violence and language

Pass or Fail: Strange Magic

There are two trailers out right now that have me intrigued. Both of them are about magicians... or illusionists... or whatever they call themselves today. There have been some great films about these performers, including "The Prestige" and "The Illusionist", and I always wish that these two will be as good as that, but this blog wouldn't be near as fun to write if they were.

Pass: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (March 15)

I don't want to enjoy this trailer near as much as I do, but I laugh at it every time I see it. It is so wonderfully absurd, and silly in all the right places. Steve Carrell plays an aging magician who has named himself Burt Wonderstone, and Steve Buscemi plays his life-long best friend, and partner. Their bad tans and horrible hairstyles are automatic laughs and a nice tribute to a style of showmanship that has become antiquated. Jim Carrey looks like he is going to be a riot as a parody of the Criss Angel/David Blaine generation of illusionists, and Alan Arkin should be great as the old cape and top hat magician who inspired Wonderstone (but when is he not great?). Also, I could look at Olivia Wilde all day. Director Dan Scardino has an impressive television resume, and the four writers have a very odd one, including John Francis Daley, the kid who played Sam on "Freaks and Geeks".

Fail: Now You See Me (June 7)

I am really hoping I am wrong about this one. I like everybody in this film, but it looks absolutely horrible. The premise of this film, a group of illusionists become bank robbers through the use of some sort of teleportation, seems extremely flimsy. The writing, especially lines like "The first rule of magic: be the smartest guy in the room," feels corny, and has been put in the hands of the men responsible for "Safe" (Boaz Yakin), "Imagine That" (Ed Solomon), and... actually the third writer has only co-written this. Not to mention, it has been directed by hit-or-miss director Louis Leterrier (Miss: the first two "Transporter" films. Hit: "Unleashed", "The Incredible Hulk"). I don't have a lot of confidence in this one. Seriously.

Extra Pass: Arrested Development: This is a little low res, but watching Gob make a complete ass of himself is always so much fun.

The ABC's of Death (2013)

Spell-bound

"The ABC's of Death" is a collection of short films arranged alphabetically about the many ways someone could die, all made by different directors. Ranging from the bizzare to the funny to the disturbing, it is, at times, a lot of fun. I would only highly recommend this to fans of extreme horror, however. There were times when I even found myself flinching, and I don't do that often in film. The extreme nature of some of the films is entertaining, while in a few it was just perplexing. Going through each film would be a waste if you're planning on seeing, which some of you should, so I'm going to hit on the five letters that were truly exemplary or the opposite.

The first truly awe-inspiring piece is Marcel Sarmiento's "D is for Dogfight". It is so well shot, and absolutely nerve-wracking without a single word spoken. It was possibly the highlight of the entire piece.

"F is for Fart". Noboru Iguchi directs a short about the dangers of young girls farting in public that is surreal and laugh-out-loud funny.

I found "M is for Miscarriage", by Ti West, was a entirely too short, and lazy. It unravels without a stitch of intrigue or humor.

The mockumentary short "Q is for Quack" is both funny and well made. Adam Wingard directs and stars as himself making the film, and the results are fantastic.

"W is for WTF?" is also a mess, and kind of a cop out of a film. Jon Schnepp tries to create a head-trip of short film, and crams too much dumb crap in to hold any interest.

Grade: B
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Complete list of Directors/Writers/Cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935896/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_wr#writers
RT: 123 min
Rating: R

Bullet to the Head (2013)

I have a giant soft spot for Sylvester Stallone. For some reason I just enjoy him, even if the film he is in is complete garbage (and let's face it, that is a lot of movies). "Bullet in the Head" is far from the worst film I have seen him in, but it is quite a distance from his best. His film "The Expendables" seems to have opened up this old man action genre in which over-the-hill stars try to prove that they are still capable of kicking ass, while making jokes about the whole situation. This is a pretty predictable, straight-forward action flick. You know, the kind that when you meet certain supporting characters, you can guess their entire arc before they show it. The acting is fair to poor, and the writing is funny at times, but otherwise very stale. The one thing that actually impressed was Lloyd Ahern II's cinematography, and the lack of music during some of the action sequences made the violence a bit more jarring. If you watch the trailer, and make up your mind about the film, you will get exactly what you think you are going to get.

Grade: C-
Easter Egg: No
3D: N/A

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Sarah Shahi
Director: Walter Hill
Writer(s): Alessandro Camon - Graphic Novel: Alexis Nolent
RT: 91 min
Rating: R for strong violence, bloody images, language, some nudity and brief drug use.

Warm Bodies (2013)

Body Count

The zombie genre has gotten a little stale as of late. It almost seemed like they could nowhere else with it; then came a romantic comedy mash-up. Jonathan Levine directs, and adapts the screenplay from Issac Marion's novel, this amusing tale of an abnormal undead young man who happens to fall in love with a living girl. While falling for her, R, the zombie who can't remember his own name, begins to turn human. Nicholas Hoult, playing R, was a surprisingly charming leading man. For most of his dialogue being in voice-over,or grunts and broken speech, he does a fantastic job keeping the audience engaged throughout the film. As his best friend, Rob Corddry, who often plays the most annoying guy in the film, gives a solid, scene-stealing performance, while Teresa Palmer and Analeigh Tipton are hysterical together, and John Malkovich also turns in another top notch job. I was majorly impressed by Javier Aguirresarobe's cinematography, as he beautifully captured each frame of Levine's script. My major complaint? I realize it is a film aimed at young adults, but I thought it could have used a little more gore. Though the make-up effects were fine, I just could have used a lot more.

Grade: B+
3D: N/A
Easter Egg: No

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovic
Director: Jonathan Levine
Writer(s): Jonathan Levine - Novel: Issac Marion
RT: 98 min
Rating: PG-13 for zombie violence and some language.

Electric Boogaloo: The Haunting in Connecticut

This past Friday saw the release of "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia", which just seems like a really stupid idea. I was hoping that for my first foray in reviewing prequels I would get a much cooler film to do. Unfortunately, I got one of the single most boring haunted house films known to man.

The plot revolves around a family that moves into a old house in order to move their son closer to his cancer treatments. They find out that the house was once used as a funeral parlor run by a man who had a sick obsession with stealing corpses and cutting off their eyelids. That is when the strange things begin to happen. The son, being close to death, begins to see visions from the other side, and the ghosts haunting him seem to want him to join them.

Peter Cornwell directed a clod of a horror film, using the same simple scare techniques used ad nauseum, that produces zero frights. He focuses on being so gory and disturbing that it almost goes into spoof territory. The moment that you see a seance being preformed by the mortician and his medium is one of the single funniest moments in any horror film I have ever seen (and yes, that includes "Cabin in the Woods"). The ghost effects are so bottom of the barrel that they look more like something in a Roger Corman film than in a big budget horror flick. In fact, about the only thing worth watching in this movie was Virginia Madsen. She serves as the heart of the story, and tries her absolute best to keep they plot moving along, though Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe's script drags along at such a slow pace, it's a wonder we ever see ghosts at all.

Kyle Garner, playing the cancer stricken son, gives such a ham fisted performance, it is hard to care about his character for a second. The rest of the children seem to only be in the film for the purpose of revealing plot twists, and the sake of child screaming noises. The father in the film, played by Martin Donovan, was such a poor character that Cornwell didn't even find it necessary to put him in most of the film. Overall, the script lacks any characters worthy of watching, and even the loud noises when revealing "scary" things feels like they are just going through the motions. If you haven't seen this one, don't bother.

Grade: D

2012: My 20 Favorite Films of the Year

Another year is done, and I have watched entirely too many movies... yet again. This was an interesting year filled with all sorts of superheroes, video game characters, incarnations of dead presidents, and end-of-the-world love stories. 2012 was a banner geek year that brought forth newly revived properties, and saw some hit a fever pitch. I was damned happy to witness this year in film, and start a film blog during it. Last year I gave you 20 films from the year that I thought were the most exemplary, so I thought I might do that again. I will only be choosing from films I have seen.  Along with this, I also wrote a list of the 15 films I really wanted to see this year, and I'm going to put the ranking from that list on here so you can see the reality versus the expectation (I also wanted something a little different this year).

21. Wreck-It Ralph (Must See: Not Listed)(I wrote this, and saw a few more movies, so I kept it in here.)

Disney made one of the best animated films under its own label in over a decade, and it featured about every video game that most of us grew up playing. John C. Reilly plays Wreck-It Ralph, the villain in the video game "Fix-It Felix", who is tired of being ignored and abused, so he leaves his video game for greener pastures. The plot is clever, the actors were spot on (especially Sarah Silverman being adorable), and the writing was funny and heartfelt. It was one of many family films I absolutely loved this year.

The Moment I Fell in Love: A support group for video game bad guys leads to some mighty big laughs.

20. Looper (Must See: Not Listed)

Tense, fast-paced, and downright awesome. "Looper" was everything you would want in a science-fiction, action film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays an assassin who specializes in killing the enemies of the mob... from the future. When they are finished with his contract, they send back his future self... which is Bruce Willis, and he's pissed! Writer/Director Rian Johnson creates an alternate reality that plays fast and loose with the rules of time travel, and every second is as thrilling as the last.

The Moment I Fell in Love: The montage showing the span of time between Young Joe and Old Joe.

19. Perfect Sense (Must See: Not listed)

This Scottish gem came out at the beginning of the year, and stuck with me through most of it. Ewan MacGregor and Eva Green play a couple finding each other as the world begins to lose all of its senses. Literally. Everybody in the world loses all five of their senses, one by one. It is a beautiful love story surrounded by so much tragedy, and yet it still somehow manages to be very uplifting.

The Moment I Fell in Love: After losing the sense of taste, McGregor discovers that texture can provide a decent substitute.

18. The Avengers (Must See: #6)

Geek God, Joss Whedon, added Marvel Comics' banner team-up title to his list of great things he has done. This film was everything it should have been: the perfect kick-off to the summer blockbuster season, a loud, fun shoot 'em up action film, and the perfect vehicle for the Hulk to smash! This more than made up for the stumble that was "Iron Man 2", and the formulaic, yet still slightly entertaining, "Thor". Comical and action packed, it was hard not to have as much fun as possible while watching "The Avengers".

The Moment I Fell in Love: Cobie Smulders.

17. The Raid: Redemption (Must See: Not Listed)

I don't know what it was about this film that made it a cut above most other martial arts films I have seen, but it just was. It was fast-paced, violent, and unflinchingly impressive. The acting wasn't top-of-list good, but it worked well enough to tie the piece together. I was lucky enough to see this before I saw "Dredd" this summer, because the premises were very much alike. Cops get stuck in a high rise controlled by a vicious gang, and the gang's leader turns the tenants on them. The fight to get out becomes, to steal kind of cheesy phrase, a pulse-pounding ride that doesn't let up until the credits role.

The Moment I Fell in Love: While hiding in a wall, two cops have to evade getting stabbed without making a sound.

16. The Secret World of Arrietty/Brave (Must See: #7)(Must see: #3)

Studio Ghibli has made some of my favorite films. Their imagination knows no bounds, and their visuals are usually more striking then anyone else in the medium. "Arrietty" felt like a much safer film than the likes of some of the other titles they have released, such as "Princess Mononoke" or "Howl's Moving Castle". However; this take on the classic children's book "The Borrowers" is still magical. Great voice acting (I saw it with the British and American voice casts), and fun dialogue make for a highly enjoyable outing for anyone.

Speaking of safer options from Disney affiliates, Pixar's latest was certainly that, but it was still better than "Tangled", and still very moving. Pixar may not have reached their highest peak with "Brave", but they gave us a  beautiful tale of a royal Celtic family and the bonds they share. A young princess curses her mother, turning her into a bear (the very animal that took her father's leg, and continues to haunt them). What follows is a story about forgiveness and acceptance that knocks out most other family films this year.

The Moment I Fell in Love: Arrietty - The lush animation did it for me in this one.
                                               Brave - The retelling of Fergus losing his leg.

15. The Sessions (Must See: Not Listed)

I didn't realize how invested I was in Ben Lewin's "The Sessions" until I hit the end and began welling up. The emotion I felt for the film's protagonist, poet, and author of the source material, Mark O' Brien, crept up on me, and caught me off guard when I really wasn't expecting it to. John Hawkes embodies the role so expertly, you almost forget that he doesn't actually have polio. Helen Hunt, Moon Bloodgood, and William H. Macy, among others, give equally great performances, and let Lewin's (and O' Brien's) words flow onto the screen in a beautiful tale that is less about sex than it is about human connection and perseverance.

The Moment I Fell in Love: John Hawkes' brilliant performance was all I needed for this one to grow on me.

14. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Must See: #12)

Smiling isn't something I get to do through a lot of movies. Either they're so damn serious, or they have Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler in them. So, when a feel good film like John Madden's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" comes along and just keeps a smile plastered across my face, it is bound to end up on a list like this. I love the entire cast. Between Dev Patel, playing a young Indian man trying to run a crumbling elderly community, and the group of aging British actors including Dame Judi Dench and Bill Nighy, there isn't a bad performance in the bunch. I said in my must-see list last year that this was going to be fluff, but it is such great piece of fluff.

The Moment I Fell in Love: The group arrives at the Motel, and Dev Patel tries to convince them all to stay.

13. ParaNorman (Must See: #9)

Laika, the studio who made the wonderful "Coraline", has once again done a (somewhat) family friendly film that was worth taking the family to. Norman, an outcast in a small town famous for being cursed by a witch, can talk to the dead, and it is this fact that leads to him being the unlikely hero of the town when the dead being to rise. Though, much like "Coraline", it may be a little too scary for the young kids. However, the beauty of the stop-motion animation and the simplicity, and hilarity, of the script, really makes this film a joy to watch. If this is the standard the rest of their films will be held up to, we may have a new Pixar on our hands.

The Moment I Fell in Love: Norman has a conversation with his grandmother, and then his father reveals she's dead.

12. Flight (Must See: Not Listed)

Now for another feel good film. And by feel good, I mean exactly the opposite. "Flight" is one of the single most depressing looks at addiction and self-destruction that I have seen on the big screen. It was almost hard to believe that it was brought to us by the same guy who directed "Forrest Gump" and "The Polar Express". Denzel Washington brings his A game to the table, and gives a broken, troubled, Oscar-caliber performance as a drug-addicted pilot who saves the lives of almost every passenger on his plane while drunk. At no point does this film try to make you feel good, and no point should it.

The Moment I Fell in Love: The plane crash sequence.

11. Argo (Must See: #15)

So, Ben Affleck does have an Oscar for writing 1997's "Good Will Hunting", and 15 years later he has found himself the recipient of some major awards directing his third film. "Argo" is a tense political thriller based, somewhat loosely, on true events. A group of American diplomats get stuck inside of the Iran borders after the country falls into chaos, and Affleck is the CIA agent sent in to save them. His ensemble cast is one of the best of the year. The script is riveting and amusing, and flows so well with Affleck's style. His directing is so solid that it is hard to tell fact from fiction. After it is all said and done, however, it's even harder to tell if you want to.

The Moment I Fell in Love: The seamless editing between the actual footage and the staged sequences.

10. Jeff, Who Lives at Home (Must See: Not Listed)

Mumblecore. I love it. And no one has a better grasp on the genre than the Duplass Brothers. This bittersweet comedy about a family on the brink of destruction is them at their very best. The understated performances of the cast compliment the script perfectly, and Jason Segel continues his string of wonderful roles in top-notch films. Ed Helms is better than he has ever been as Segel's brother, and Susan Sarandon is marvelous as his mother (of course). Great things came from this low budget film that starts with a monologue about the film "Signs". Also, a small shout out to the other Duplass Brothers' film about estranged brothers, "The Do-Deca-Pentathlon", which was also released this year, but didn't have the punch of this movie's climax.

The Moment I Fell in Love: The aforementioned monologue about M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs".

9. The Dark Knight Rises (Must See: #1)

Nolan brought his Batman series to a close this year, and it wasn't perfect, but it was phenomenal. The scope was so grand, the story was so epic, and it was simply exciting in all the right ways. Many fan boys seemed to only want a remake of the previous film, or just didn't seem to care enough to give this film a chance, but for all the nit picking, this is still a solid film. The actors are all on top of their games, the stakes have been significantly upped from "The Dark Knight", and the climax was as emotional as the trilogy has been so far. Well played, Nolan. Well played.

The Moment I Fell in Love: Bane hijacks a plane to kidnap a scientist.

8. Life of Pi (Must See: Not Listed)

Ang Lee is a very capable director, and I don't think this has ever been more evident than this year's survivor tale "Life of Pi". First time actor Suraj Sharma carries this movie with extreme talent and charm. He handles the complex range of emotions without a glimmer of inability. The animal effects are jaw-droppingly impressive, and I'm not easily impressed by special effects. David Magee's script is a heart-wrenching tale that grabs hold, and keeps it. By the time you reach the end, you have experienced an emotional spectrum so wide, that you feel like you were the one stuck on that raft.

The Moment I Fell in Love: Pi's near fatal introduction to Richard Parker.

 7. Skyfall (Must See: #4)

This is easily the most well-rounded James Bond made to date. Director Sam Mendes took what the last two films started, and made Bond human. Craig has never been sharper, and Dame Judi Dench gives her best performance since her last role (#'s "Best Exoctic Marigold Hotel"). Better yet, Javier Bardem's villain is a burnt spy (stealing a phrase from one of my favorite shows) with a grudge, and he couldn't be better in this role. It was so chilling that it brought up images of his Oscar-winning turn in "No Country For Old Men". The film starts on the best cold open in the series, and then rolls through a wonderful opening credit sequence scored to a soulful theme song by Adele. The film was vibrant, exciting, and emotional. I wonder how the next film would ever top this.

The Moment I Fell in Love: Naomie Harris takes the shot.

6. Django Unchained (Must See: #5)

I don't have enough good words in my vocabulary to praise Quentin Tarantino with. "Django Unchained" is wild in all the ways it should be, and disturbing in all of the ways you would not have expected to be. A revenge film, set a couple of years before the American Civil War, about a slave who is set free and working along-side a German bounty hunter. Tarantino takes our nation's violent, sordid history, and puts it on bloody display in a wonderful historic fiction, that is essentially a companion piece to 2008's "Inglorious Basterds".
His casting is as solid as ever, and his writing is dark and comical, switching at the drop of hat. This movie is awesome!

The Moment I Fell in Love: Schultz gives a group of shackled slaves a very humorous ultimatum.

5. Moonrise Kingdom (Must See: Not Listed? How did this happen?!)

Dear Wes Anderson,
It is so hard to pick the film of yours I love most, but "Moonrise Kingdom" was trying its hardest to make a case for the top spot. You have such a great body of work, that your wonderful tale of young, innocent love just blends into it perfectly. Your young leads are so genuine that it is a wonder we haven't seen them before now. The script drips with the sly wit that you are known for, and bursts with beautiful dialogue that carries a great cadence, that almost reads like a bizarre poetry. There isn't a thing I would change about this film.
Adoring fan since "Bottle Rocket",
MCH

The Moment I Fell in Love: Bob Balaban gives a tour of the island in which the film takes place.

4. Zero Dark Thirty (Must See: Not Listed)

Before 2008 the biggest thing that Kathryn Bigelow was known for was "Point Break". She made action films that were fun to watch, but were mostly forgettable. Now she is making not only the best films of her career, but probably the best film of her ex-husband's (Oscar-winner James Cameron) career. This political thriller is so tense that during the last 30 minutes, I'm pretty sure I forgot to breathe. Laying out a just-the-facts account of the hunt for Taliban leader Osama bin Laden, taken from the people involved, Bigelow has captured a piece of history (less than two years after it happened) with a beautiful tenacity.

The Moment I Fell in Love: I was so immersed in this film, I honestly don't know...

3. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Must See: Not Listed)

I want to say up front that Quvenzhané Wallis, the young star of this picture, ranks as my favorite performance of the year. She proved more than capable of handling the weight and emotions of such a intricate film. Here is a story about a young girl named "Hushpuppy", from a small island in Southern Louisiana they call "The Bathtub", and her strained relationship with her father, "Wink". "Wink" is ill, and trying to raise his daughter to survive on her own. When the island floods, they are forced to deal with each other as the battle the elements. The writing is honest, the performances are real, and the directing is visceral. With a hint of fantasy mixed into the story, there is truly something for everyone.

The Moment I Fell in Love: "Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in The Bathtub." 

2. Seven Psychopaths (Must See: Not Listed)

This was hands down the funniest, goofiest, and most shocking film of the year. Martin McDonagh has written a dark comedy about a screenwriter and his dognapping friend who get caught up in mob business, starring what is possibly the greatest ensemble of the year. "Seven Psychopaths" is at one minute gut-bustingly funny, and the next it is in-your-face violent. Colin Farrell plays a wonderful straight man to Sam Rockwell's goofy fall guy, and Christopher Walken and Tom Waits are solid as always. I can't say enough great stuff about this film, so I will just say that if you haven't seen, you should.

The Moment I Fell in Love: Sam Rockwell opens his mouth, and every time golden nuggets of awesome drop out.

1. Lincoln (Must See: #14)

After "War Horse" and "The Adventures of Tintin" Spielberg HAD to be out of steam. Those were two great films, and there was no way he was going to be able to follow them up with something even better. Right? WRONG! "Lincoln" was not only better than his two films from last year, but could be put beside "Jaws" and "Saving Private Ryan" as some of his best work to date. Not to mention that Daniel Day-Lewis may be the only choice for best actor this year. I can't express enough how perfect this film was. Not a single bit of of screen was wasted, and Tony Kushner's script was so tight, that it never seemed to droop. Not for a second. The Wunderkind is back in the swing, and I hope he directs equally phenomenal films for another couple of decades.

The Moment I Fell in Love: A black soldier, after questioning Lincoln, walks away from him quoting the Gettysburg Address.

2012 "Must See" Films That Didn't Cut it:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (#14) - Mostly style, and little substance. This may be destined for cult classic status, but that is hardly a good thing.

The Hunger Games (#13) - Bad acting, poor scripting, and lack of nuance made this mostly a bore of a film that left the audience wishing that, somehow, every character would die.

American Reunion (#11) - It had most of the cast, and the very capable directors, but it was missing something that made it less than the best of the series (which was "American Wedding").

The Amazing Spider-Man (#10) - A lot of fun, but just a step behind the excitement of "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2".

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (#8) - I LOVED this film. I was sad that it didn't make it, but some films are just better.

Prometheus (#2) - The "Alien" series is one of my favorite series, but this was more on the side of "Alien: Resurrection" than "Alien" (my favorite of all five films).