10 Favorite Films From 2012

I wanted to do a year end list of best or favorite movies from 2012. There's two ways to go about a list such as this; I could do what I thought were the best films of the past year but I won't even pretend that I've seen a fraction off all the films that come out in any one particular year. So, I decided to do a list of favorite movies that I saw for the first time in 2012. Then, after compiling my list it turned out almost all the movies were from the past year. Oh well! Here's what stood out to me as my favorite films that I saw for the first time in 2012...

The Avengers (2012; dir. Joss Whedon)

The amazing thing about this summer's biggest Super Hero flick is how they were able to make a movie with so many characters (four of them being major characters who've anchored their own movies) and put them all together in one tight story that was never boring, not hard to understand, action-packed and funny as all get out! I think this film, single-handedly, made me more of a Super Hero fan than I have even been in my entire life!

 

Brave (2012; dirs. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman)

Anyone who knows me knows I love Pixar films. They are magical, hilarious and breathtaking all at once. When Pixar's 13th film rolled around to theaters this summer, I wasn't as excited as I had been for almost every previous film from the studio. It didn't look as lighthearted and funny as some of their best work. Even seeing the picture didn't get me too excited and I placed it near the bottom of the rankings of Pixar Feature Films. Then I watched it again on DVD and I loved it. It's not Pixar doing Pixar, it's Pixar doing Disney...this is a more traditional Walt Disney Pictures kind of picture and it totally works that way. It is very magical, very funny and as always extremely breathtaking. Instead of comparing Brave to Toy Story and Monsters Inc, it needs to be taken for what it is - and it is a very well done, fantastic piece of film making.

 

The Descendants (2011; dir. Alexander Payne)

Some movies are just so good, you want to crawl inside them and live there. I don't know what that really means, but The Descendants was good as coconuts! (It takes place in Hawaii.)

 

(500) Days of Summer (2009; dir. Marc Webb)

One of my favorite things in movies is when something happens that not only don't happen in real life, but shouldn't happen in the movie. Case in point, there is an old fashioned musical number out of nowhere in the middle of this picture and I was instantly hooked on this movie from that point. There are alot of other neat, genre bending gimmicks used in this romance story told out of sequence. It's one of the very few movies that I felt the need to track down a DVD copy to own immediately after seeing it.

The Help (2011; dir. Tate Taylor)

Every once in a while I'll see a movie that I equate to the cinematic version of a fine steak dinner. The Help is a delicious meal of a movie about prejudice in the South towards white folks' black housekeepers. There are so many great characters here including Emma Stone's aspiring writer, housekeepers played by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. Socialites Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain are also amazing to watch as is Allison Janney and the great Sissy Spacek. Beyond the great performances is a movie filled with humor, drama and a really thoughtful script. There's a reason this was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

 

 The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012; dirs. Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt)

There's a difference between making a funny movie and "doing comedy" and this might be one of the first films to come down the pike in a while that really had sharp comedy writing. Tucked away in this family appealing claymated comedy is some really funny bits. It's one of those projects where you can tell the filmmakers were just trying to make each other laugh. The animated adventure finds Pirate Captain and his crew on a perilous journey to accept the coveted Pirate of the Year Award. Perhaps my sights were set low for a non-Disney animated film, but my kids and I were all really blown out of the water by how funny this movie was.

 

 

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010; dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi)

Boy, do I hates me some anime! I always have since I was a little kid. Japanese animation is usually devoid of everything I love about cartoons. That being said, Arrietty, which is a retelling of the famous tale The Borrowers, was really good. I think what made it so good is the simple fact that it is slow and quiet; two things no American piece of animation is every allowed to be! The U.S. voice cast in neat:  Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett and Carol Burnett.

Superman Vs. The Elite (2012; dir. Michael Chang)

 This is just about everything a super hero movie should be...at least in my book. First, there's no origin back story. I like a film that knows that we know who Superman is and I don't have to watch him grow up on a farm for the 30th time. The plot is direct and simple. There's action and there is plenty of doses of humor. For an animated film, it's nice to see some adult material without being inappropriate for older kids. There is a little bit of mild swearing, the usual violence and some slightly stronger than suggestive innuendo. The action sequences packed a punch and never stepped into the territory of Saturday morning cartoons. This direct-to-DVD flick had my favorite opening credits sequence of the year - which payed homage to animated Superman shows of my youth and this movie also has the single best opening scene of any Super Hero movie ever...at least in my book!

 

 Step Up 2: The Streets (2008; dir. Jon M. Chu)

The only thing goofier than me watching all four Step Up films this past year was for me to really take an extra liking to the second chapter. The first movie in the series is about a guy from the streets trying to fit in at a snooty arts school. The second movie is about a girl from the streets trying to fit in at a slightly less snooty arts school. Actually, it might have been the same school from the first movie...I don't remember. But the first movie tries to tell a story while the second movie is just mostly a bunch of dancing. There's just a silly kinetic energy to this movie that is really catchy. It's one of those movies that knows it's nothing special and just tries to entertain the hell out of you. It worked for me. The big giant dance battle in the streets and in the rain is one of the cinematic highlights of my movie watching year!

 

21 Jump Street (2012; dirs. Phil Lord, Chris Miller)

There's no reason a movie based on an 80's cop show from the FOX network should be any good, yet 21 Jump Street is brilliant! It's an action movie, a comedy, a high school movie and a story about friendship. It plays on all of these notes wonderfully and then throws in some self-mocking on top of that. The movie even manages to parody the entire concept of basing a movie off a TV show and throwing in all kinds of references and stunt casting. This movie is hilarious and jaw dropping amazing in a number of different ways.

 

please comment with some of your favorite films from the past year...

10 Great Summer Movies

Every year I intend to do a list of my favorite Summertime Movies, and every year I don't do it. So here it finally is...10 movies that are all great at capturing the spirit, fun and warmth of the Summer!

Blue Crush (2002) Surfing is one of the few sports I can really sit and watch it. It amazes me. I've always loved a good surfing movie too. According to Sports Illustrated, wearing a bikini is also a sport. If that is the case, that too is another sport that I could sit and watch. It too amazes me. So when they put surfing together with bikini clad gals, I was all in. Blue Crush is the story of a group of girls who take their surfing very seriously. Awesome surfing footage is mixed in with a couple of auto-pilot story lines involving crappy jobs and a strained relationship between two sisters, but it's all so fun. If you can't make it to the beach, Blue Crush defiantly brings the beach to you.

Ernest Goes To Camp (1987) Folks, with Ernest P. Worrel on the scene, you just can't go wrong. Ernest takes charge of a group of juvenile delinquents at Kamp Kikakee and teaches them a thing or two about the great outdoors. And in the process, he teaches us all a little something about ourselves. If you like parachuting turtles then this movie is for you. If you don't like parachuting turtles, they why are you even reading this blog?

Hoot (2006) I guess, technically, this isn't a Summer movie, since it takes place somewhere in the school year - but they are in Florida and it's hot and sticky and that comes across loud and clear in this family film about a trio of kids who stop the construction of a new pancake house to save an endangered species of owl. A few weeks ago when we were at the National Zoo, we saw the Burrowing Owls featured in the movie and my kids and I all simultaneously exclaimed, "Those are the owls from Hoot!" A proud fathering moment.

Jaws 3 (1983) Obviously, the original Jaws is a classic. But for my money Jaws 3 is where it's at. High on my list of summertime activities is Amusement Parks and Jaws 3 has plenty of great footage of Sea World Orlando circa 1983. True, this third instalment in the franchise has nothing at all to do with the other three flicks, but it sure is a good time. Bess Armstrong, Dennis Quaid, Lou Gosset Jr., and Lea Thompson try to save the guests at Sea World from another killer shark. It's even all the more fun when you realize it was originally released in 3D and several shots in the film serve no purpose other than to stick things into theatre goers faces. It doesn't work on TV, but if they ever put out a 3D Blue Ray of this movie, I'm upgrading my entire home theater system - TV and all!

Kidco (1984) Kidco is about a group of kids who spend their summer working. Not exactly the kind of thing a good summer movie is made of, but these kids work together to make a little more money then a paper route or lemonade stand would allow. This was required summer viewing every summer when I was a kid. It was a time when kids movies were loaded with cursing. From Kidco I took away the phrase "crock of shit" which I still lovingly use to this day.  The film hasn't had a release in years, never popping up on DVD and the VHS copies that are out there are hard to come by. It pops up on the movie channels every now and then and is definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

Meatballs Part II (1984) By the time I had seen the original Meatballs (just a few years ago) I had already seen so many rip-off's that the original now seemed stale. Part II of the Meatballs saga is the version that I grew up with and I LOVE this movie. I would have to crown it as THE BEST SUMMER MOVIE OF THEM ALL! Wacky hi jinks at Camp Sasquatch include the discovery of an alien ( as seen above.) The fantastic cast includes Richard Mulligan, John Larroquette and Paul Reubens. Meatballs Part II really makes me nostalgic for summer camp...which is odd because I never went to summer camp.

One Crazy Summer (1986) This is director Savage Steve Holland's lesser known, and lesser loved follow up to the cult classic Better Off Dead. Although it's not a direct sequel, it has the same tone and sense of humor as John Cusack, Demi Moore and group of other semi-recognizable faces descend on a Nantucket, Mass. for the summer. The flick perfectly captures the feeling of having the whole summer in front of you as an empty slate for all sorts of adventures.

Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) The Peanuts Gang's third big screen outing finds them spending the summer at Camp Remote, which like the rest of the Peanuts universe has very little adult supervision. As such, some bullys push Charlie Brown and his friends around until they all have a showdown with a raft race on the open river. This flick was broadcast, without fail, every summer of my childhood. Sometimes more than once in a single summer. I never missed it and to me it's as much of a summer tradition as the beach and cook-outs. However, one thing has bothered me since I first saw this movie at 6 years old....why does it snow while they are away at SUMMER camp?

Summer Rental (1985) John Candy and his family rent a run down beach house for the Summer in this light and breezy comedy that is perfect for popping in the DVD player on a rainy night during your stay at the beach. This was one of John Candy's first independent staring vehicles and it's a perfect spotlight of his gentle humor and warm personality. Like most good summer movies, it ends with a race on water based vehicles.

Summer School (1987) For those of us that may have spent more than one summer sitting back in school, this is a film near and dear to our hearts. Even if you were some sort of smarty pants and managed to pass your classes each year this is a really funny movie with slacker Mark Harmon taking charge of a group of other slackers sentenced to Summer School. It's hard to believe there was a time when Mark Harmon could headline a movie, but it's captured on film for historians to note.

Useless Movie Watching Trends From 2011

This is utterly pointless, but since I've kept track of every movie that I watched in 2011 - I was curious to see how my viewing habits broke down as far as movie ratings and the age of the films I've been watching. Who cares, right? This is just the kind of thing I like to do...

Decades; movies from
the 1930's - 2
the 1940's - 11
the 1950's - 12
the 1960's - 19
the 1970's - 20
the 1980's - 31
the 1990's - 14
the 2000's - 17
recent years 2010 & 2011: 80

For a movie buff, it's kind of lame that I watched so many more recent flicks than older ones, but I really burn through the Netflix discs and my wife and I have finally started watching a lot more movies together. She's not quite as interested in the older fare as I am, but I'll jump at the chance to watch a film with her - and I can stomach romantic comedies so we don't have a hard time finding things to watch.

Ratings:
G - 30
PG - 46
PG-13 - 26
R - 56
made for TV movies - 7

Honestly, I'm really surprised I watched that many R rated films. My tastes in film run rather immature but I did get into a big streak of watching 80's teen comedies and 70's drive-in flicks, so I guess that explains that high number. Since I have kids, I get a pass at seeing 30 G rated flicks but let's be honest - the number would probably be around the same even if I were not a father.

Seven Shows I'd Like To See In Vegas

The videos in this post contain scantily clad bodies and suggestive imagery.

I could spend months on end in Las Vegas going to see a different show every night and never get bored. There are just as many show options in the Neon City as there are places to loose your money. Unfortunately, I'm only ever in town for a few nights which leaves time for just a couple of shows. If I could see more, here's what would be at the top of my list...

#1) Jubilee - Bally's The first time I went to Vegas I was all about doing all the traditional, classic, tacky Las Vegas things. We saw all the sights, I had my 99 cents shrimp cocktail, we even got married in a Vegas wedding chapel. Unfortunately, we had children in our traveling party so I wasn't able to see a classic Las Vegas Topless Review. Nothing sexual or sleazy, just the pretty girls with the big feather head dresses dancing and hi-stepping down a flight of light up stairs - that's all I wanted to see. We didn't see any shows at all on that first trip but when we went back a few years ago - without kids - I was all about seeing the classic Las Vegas Showgirl. Unfortunately we picked a show called Burlesque X, mostly because it was in the hotel we were staying at. It was basically a strip-joint with faux art. It was kind of sleazy, low rent and we literally had to sit at little tables with old men in trench coats. It was pretty awkward and unenjoyable. Now that I've done my research, I'd pick Jubilee which at this point is just about the only venue left in Vegas where you can see the classic traditional Showgirl review.



#2) Absinthe - Caesar's Palace Absinthe is a recent addition to the strip's offerings. It's a circus/freak show performance in a very intimate setting of about 600 seats. Some of the acts are performed right over the audience. It's also somewhat of a parody of all the Cirque du Solei shows all over town. It sounds pretty cool. It also happens to feature Angel Porrino, Holly Madison's BFF and co-star of Holly's World. (Have I mentioned I love that show?) In Absinthe, Angel does a tap dance number inside a giant bubble. Oh, she also happens to be topless while doing so.



#3) Viva Elvis - Aria I've been dead set against ever stepping foot inside a Cirque du Solei show for many years. It's way too freaky for me! But their new show, which pays tribute to the music of Elvis, looks pretty cool. It looks like the Cirque folks put away the funny looking noses, the sad looking clowns and their endless supply of troupes of tiny Asian kids doing acrobatics and just got down to some good ol' fashioned singing and dancing. It looks like alot of fun...



#4) Crazy Horse - MGM Grand Here's a really cool looking burlesque show where they use all sort of lighting effects to make some outstanding eye candy. Currently the show occasionally stars Claire Sinclair, Playboy's 2011 Playmate of the Year and another one of Holly's friends who can been seen on her show.



#5) Zumanity - New York New York Ok, so if I'm going to break my long standing ban on Cirque du Solei shows I might as well go see the dirty one too...right?



#6) Donny & Marie - Flamingo I loves me some Donny & Marie! They are just a part of my being, having watched them when I was a kid and listening to their records - they are just great. We actually had them on our radar to see when we were in town a few weeks ago but sadly Donny and Marie were out of town. The girl at the ticket counter told us they are on vacation more than they perform. Hey, they've been showbiz icons for decades! They deserve it.



#7) Penn & Teller - Rio Last but not least, I think Penn & Teller would be an incredible night's worth of entertainment. I've always enjoyed their act on television, not to mention their Showtime show Bull$#*!. They've been a Vegas fixture since the late 80's so there never seems to be an urgent need to see them, but I should probably get around to it before they are gone.



Leave us a comment with any good Vegas shows you've seen or would like to see!

Cinematic A to Z

I've been seeing this on a few other blogs and as always I thought I'd jump in; a visual presentation of favorite movies for each letter of the alphabet. This list does not represent my favorite movie for each letter, but they are mostly movies that I love. I tried to stay away from titles that I talk about alot. In some cases, I had to get a little creative for some of the more difficult letters. When you're done reading, waste a half hour of your life trying to come up with your own list. Enjoy!

A is for Adventures in Babysitting

B is for Bananas

C is for Center Stage

D is for The Day The Earth Stood Still

E is for Easy A

F is for Fraternity Vacation

G is for The Gnome-Mobile H is for Hey There, It's Yogi Bear

I is for The Island at the Top of the World

J is for Josie and the Pussycats

K is for The Kentucky Fried Movie

L is for Love at Stake

M is for The Muppet Movie

N is for National Lampoon's Class Reunion

O is for Once Upon A Crime

P is for Police Academy 3: Back in Training

Q is for Quarterback Princess

R is for Rustlers' Rhapsody

S is for Spaceship

T is for Twilight Zone The Movie

U is for UHF

V is for A Very Brady Sequel

W is for The World's Greatest Athlete

X is for Xanadu

Y is for Young Doctors in Love

Z is for Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century

Hey Kids Look! A Charlie Sheen Post

After catching up with the whole Charlie Sheen story on Dateline NBC Friday night, I see why the country is talking about him and paying attention to him. He's a nut job! He's putting on a show for the public, but it's a darn entertaining show because he appears to be out of his freakin' gourd! And my thing is...who does he think he really is? He did a handful of good/popular movies in the 80's and somewhat into the 90's but other than that his body of work is made up of mostly direct to DVD movies over the past decade or so. And his show, Two and a Half Men, is only the most popular situation comedy on television because it's really the only old fashioned traditional sitcom on right now that plays to the lowest common denominator. I guarantee that show could go on for another couple of years without him! Anywho...I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you my opinion of the five best films Mr. Sheen has done. Nope, I never saw Wall Street or Platoon...I didn't even see The Three Musketeers. In fact, the only time I've seen Two and a Half Men was on a plane! But I do love these movies...


Scary Movie 3 (2003) Scary Movie 2 was possibly one of the worst follow-ups in comedy history. That movie is terrible. But what a comeback with the third instalment where they got Airplane! director David Zucker on board and brought this franchise to new heights. Charlie Sheen spoofs the Mel Gibson role from Signs and it's a pretty darn funny movie. Sheen's ex-wife Denise Richards is also in the cast along with Queen Latifah, series regular Anna Faris, Leslie Nielsen and George Carlin in one of his last on screen performances.

The Chase (1994) This is a really fun movie where Chuck holds up a gas station and then takes Kristy Swanson as his hostage. Most of the film is a chase, hence the title, and it all is sort of reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson car chase that happened not to long before this flick came out. The highlight of this action comedy is a love scene between Sheen and Swanson, not necessarily because it's sexy or anything like that but because for 2 or 3 minutes the front seat of the getaway car apparently stretches out to the size of a hotel room. Also, they have sex going down the highway at 104 MPH?!?

Major League II (1994) Ok, this movie is actually not very good...in fact it's awful. But it's on my list simply because I was an extra in this limp comedy. Somewhere near the one hour mark, look in the stands behind 3rd base and you can see me and a bunch of my buddies from college. You won't really see me unless you have me standing next to your TV with a pointer and my hand on the freeze button, but I'm definitely in there! What a fun evening it was, sitting around watching a baseball game without a baseball being used. (I guess the balls were CG'ed in later.)

Hot Shots! (1991)/Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) These two films are comedy masterpieces brought to us by another Airplane! director, Jim Abrahams. The first film is a hilarious send up of Top Gun, the second sets it's sights more on the Rambo films. In each, Charlie Sheen plays Topper Harley along with Lloyd Bridges and Valeria Golino. There are plenty of brilliant sight gags, witty word play and cameos galore. Several other films are spoofed along the way including a classic Lady and the Tramp homage in the second film. Both these films did big business at the box office and are required viewing in the Ed South School of Movie Comedy.

Men At Work (1990) A quirky dark comedy with Sheen and his brother Emilio Estevez as trash men who stumble upon a dead body while doing their job. I believe this film popularized the classic "golf clap" bit. It's been a while since I've seen this one, but I remember enjoying quite a bit when I saw it in the theatre and watched it several times on home video.