MTV Movie Awards get a Quality Face Lift with Django Unchained and Ted Leading the Nominations

Over the past few years the inclusion of Twilight, it's actors and their many wins seemed to take this award show down negative path.  Last year this award show decided to add "an academy" of their own, and things started to change ever so slightly, but this group of nominees reminds me of the the way the nominees used to look when I was growing up.  The show blended popularity and quality, rather than just letting popularity dictate things.

Both Ted and Django Unchained have 7 nominations a piece including Movie of the Year.  Other Movie of the Year nominees are Silver Linings Playbook (6 nominations-mostly all for J-Law, and Bradley Cooper), The Avengers (4 nominations), and The Dark Knight Rises (4 nominations).  Without Twilight in the mix predicting the winner will be tricky, but with Rebel Wilson as a nominee and host I am going to watch this year!

MOVIE OF THE YEAR
"Django Unchained"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Ted"
"The Avengers"
"The Dark Knight Rises"

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Mila Kunis, "Ted"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emma Watson, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Rebel Wilson, "Pitch Perfect"

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Ben Affleck, "Argo"
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Jamie Foxx, "Django Unchained"
Channing Tatum, "Magic Mike"

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Ezra Miller, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Eddie Redmayne, "Les Misérables" 
Suraj Sharma, "Life of Pi" 
Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" 
Rebel Wilson, "Pitch Perfect" 

BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Alexandra Daddario, "Texas Chainsaw 3D"
Martin Freeman, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Jennifer Lawrence, "House at the End of the Street"
Suraj Sharma, "Life of Pi"

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO
Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson, "Django Unchained" 
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane as Ted, "Ted" 
Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, "The Avengers"
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, "The Campaign" 

BEST SHIRTLESS PERFORMANCE*
Christian Bale, "The Dark Knight Rises 
Daniel Craig, "Skyfall 
Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2" 
Seth MacFarlane as Ted, "Ted" 
Channing Tatum, "Magic Mike"

BEST FIGHT
Jamie Foxx vs. Candieland Henchmen, "Django Unchained" 
Daniel Craig vs. Ola Rapace, "Skyfall" 
Mark Wahlberg vs. Seth MacFarlane as Ted, "Ted"
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson & Jeremy Renner vs. Tom Hiddleston, "The Avengers" 
Christian Bale vs. Tom Hardy, "The Dark Knight Rises" 

BEST KISS
Kerry Washington and Jamie Foxx, "Django Unchained" 
Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman, "Moonrise Kingdom"
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook" 
Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg, "Ted" 
Emma Watson and Logan Lerman, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

BEST WTF MOMENT
Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson, Candieland Gets Smoked in "Django Unchained"
Denzel Washington, Final Descent in "Flight" 
Anna Camp, Hack-Appella in "Pitch Perfect" 
Javier Bardem, Oops… There Goes His Face in "Skyfall" 
Seth MacFarlane as Ted, Ted Gets Saucy in "Ted" 

BEST VILLAIN
Javier Bardem, "Skyfall" 
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Django Unchained" 
Marion Cotillard, "The Dark Knight Rises"
Tom Hardy, "The Dark Knight Rises" 
Tom Hiddleston, "The Avengers" 

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT*
Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"
Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Adam Rodriguez, "Magic Mike" 
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean & Hana Mae Lee, "Pitch Perfect" 
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook" 
Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

2012 Entertainer(s) of the Year

Although we are only in the last week of November, this year's entertainers of the year would be hard to topple.  Here is my list of entertainers of the year (2012): 

1-The Avengers

The biggest box office hit of the year, was the product of numerous contingencies, including Disney, Marvel, the cast, the crew behind the scenes, and of course the ensemble.  Let’s start with the master behind the marketing, Disney.  Disney did an amazing job making sure that everyone of these films connected at the end, and the story tied together to make sure this built up to one large scale event, and the event will continue. 

Enter the comic genius/director Joss Whedon.  Whedon who has written for Marvel before (Astonishing X-Men), was the perfect choice to direct this film; he loves the comic world and transformed the Marvel world’s greatest heroes into tangible well made film.  This man’s vision along with people who worked behind the scenes on the visual effects, sound, and editing constructed one power house action flick!

Once you have a great marketing strategy, an amazing director, and creative team, it’s time for the actual Avengers to Asemble!  Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man (Tony Stark), Chris Evans as Captain America (Steve Rogers), Chris Hemsworth as Thor,  new addition Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk (Bruce Baner), through is Scar Johannsen as the Black Widow, and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeyes, and you have one solid team.  Then bring back Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, the man behind SHIELD, and Tom Hiddleston as the mischievous villain Loki, and you have one great ensemble.

Bringing all of these elements created one of the most entertaining films of the year, and brought a comic book fan’s dreams come true.

2-HBO

HBO has had some good/great years, and depending on their new programming  slate that can push them over the top.  This year HBO also had some of the best original films along with their original series putting this network miles above the rest (as usual).

Game Change, which won the Best Movie/Mini-Series at the Emmy Awards, and also took home the Lead Actress Award (Julianne Moore) and Writing, and Directing prizes.  The film centered around John McCain, and Sarah Palin’s bid for the White House in 2008, and of the all the of all the television films this one was truly the best of the year.

HBO has been focused on successful Drama’s for most of its time, and they have been the most successful for the network aside from Sex and the City, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.  This year HBO proved they can be the king/queen of comedy.  HBO had two hits with audiences, and critics, the shows Veep and Girls.  One of the best parts about these shows being solid for the network is that they are female driven, which is also rare for HBO.

Along with these two new brilliant shows, HBO still has Game of Thrones, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, and Enlightened to help make this one of the best networks on the air because of its wide array of programming.  This may be the best line-up the network has ever had!

3-Channing Tatum

 

The man was a beast at the box office this year, and had three films: 21 Jump Street made 138 million, The Vow made 125 million, and Magic Mike made 113 million.  This is a rare feet, there are no longer stars that bring people to the box office the way they did in the past (or well as many).  Having three films make over 100 million, and be based on the popularity of a star does not happen as often either.  Channing Tatum is one popular guy, with whom both the ladies and men swoon over; he is the leading man of the year.  Tatum was also voted the sexiest man alive by People Magazine, and star of the year by GQ, with all these accolades this guy is unstoppable. 

4- The Ensemble from Homeland

Homeland’s season one had strong popularity, and the ensemble worked well together.  In September Homeland won 4 key Emmy awards including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama (Damien Lewis), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama (Claire Danes), and Outstanding Writing.  While Danes and Lewis, and the creative team were singled out for their contributions the who ensemble is what makes this show tick.  Brody and Carrie would be nothing without their counterparts.  Brody’s wife (while grating sometimes) plays Jessica well, and she balances out much of the show.  Carrie finds her stability with Saul Berenson a co-worker played by Mandy Patinkin, Hollah!  These four folks along with David Harewood, keep the energy going within this show.  I have to exclude Brody’s children, as they drive me nuts!

 5- Taylor Swift

She may be never getting back together, with whoever she dated :cough Jake Gyllenhaal cough: and he single is one of the catchiest I have ever heard.  Taylor Swift may have to realize that one of these days these break-ups is about her,  but for now as long as she keeps getting dumped, that’s right dumped, she is going to be making lots and lots of money.

Taylor Swift’s album Red sold 1,280,000 copies in its first week, artists do not accomplish these anymore, there are very few who succeed as much as this young lady does on the album sales charts.  Sift has also sold 623,000 digital downloads from itunes of her single “We are Never Getting Back Together.”  These two numbers make her the most entertaining musician of the year!

6- Jennifer Lawrence

From The Hunger Games to Silver Linings Playbook this girl has it all the box office power, and the ability to act circles around everyone.  The Hunger Games was no Twilight, the film was much better, and let Lawrence turn in a great/convincing portrait as one of the most memorable characters in recent films/literature Katniss Everdeen.  After re-watching the Hunger Games again recently I was blown away even in this film that Lawrence gave a solid performance.

Yet she will be recognized for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook come award season, and rightfully.  Lawrence is funny, and heartbreaking within this film, and you feel for her as she finds companionship in a man who is lost within his life, like her.  The award season has not started but Lawrence is an early favorite to win at the Globes, and even to be a favorite in the Lead Actress category at the Oscars.  Lawrence is force to be reckoned with, and there is no stopping this woman!

7- James Bond

This was the 50^th anniversary of this character in film, and there was a special edition box set released, which has been flying off the shelves like gang busters.  Along with this special edition box set, there was of course the main reason this character made the list this year, and that is release of the 23^rd film, entitled Skyfall.  Skyfall, is now the highest grossing bond movie of all time, the film is incredible, and it has taken the character along with his current portrayer Daniel Craig.  During Thanksgiving weekend, Skyfall was going toe to toe with the box office powerhouse Twilight.  The quality of the film along with the strong support has brought this character back on top, metaphorically speaking.

8- Ben Affleck

This was a tough call between Steven Spielberg, and Ben Affleck.  Spielberg’s Lincoln is taking off bigger than anyone would have expected, but it’s this younger director/actor/writer who has captured audiences across the globe with his film Argo.  Affleck is one of the most talented men working today, and Argo is one the best/most entertaining films of the year.  In front of the camera Affleck gave one of the best performances of his career (too bad in this crowded category he will get lost) he was subtle, and yet unnerving with his actions as the CIA agent turned fake producer.  Behind the lens Affleck’s direction was brilliant; he was able to make a film that was thrilling, captivating, and hilarious, three hard elements to achieve within one film, bravo!

9-Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, and Even Peters

While the first edition of American Horror Story aired in 2011, and the cast was brilliant then, but Ryan Murphy brought back a few of the best from season one, proving five folks to be some of the most entertaining folks of 2012.

Together Lange, Quinto , Paulson, Rabe, and Peters and fiercely wonderful as the have taken on new personas in this second mini-series from Murphy.  These are the folks who will most likely return for part III next year, and entertain television audiences once again.  Ryan Murphy has a knack for finding good talent, and using them well amongst his ensemble, and these five actors are some of television’s hardest working folks, proving scary works even on the small screen.

10-Seth MacFarlene and Ted

Raunchy comedies do well these days, and MacFarlene who brings the raunch to television on a weekly basis with Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show is the man to fill these shoes.  MacFarlene has humor, which many would call crude, but he is one of the funniest, and most talented men working today.

MacFarlene toppled the myths that R rated films can’t do well (once again, although people keep forgetting).  Ted the talking bear himself may get more credit than MacFarlene, but the two are one in the same (obviously) and they bring the laughs all the time. 

MacFarlene also took to the stage at Studio 6H with SNL, and was season’s best host thus far; he can sing, dance, and do great impersonations.  With all of these things going for him MacFarlene was asked to be the host of the Academy Awards next year, and incredible honor.  This made me a thunder buddy for life!

Summer 2012 Movie Wrap Up

Summer movie season has had different start dates in different years, often journalists and bloggers have decided these numbers based on major box office achievements.  For example last year Fast Five mad a great deal of money in April, however this could be seen as a fluke.  I am going to use the prescribed notion that May (even though the first day of Summer is in June) starts the Summer movie season.

May 

The Avengers (2012) cleaned up!  Not only did the film rake in enough money to become the second highest grossing film of all time, but the movie lived up to its expectations.  Disney made up for the flop that was John Carter, and saved their massive bank.  The Avengers was well reviewed, number one at the box office for several weeks, and started the Summer on a great path.

Little did audiences know that The Avengers incredible start would provide audiences with one of the few watchable films from this month.  May provided numerous box office flops. and all of them were a mess in terms of quality.  Dark Shadows, Battleship, What to Expect When Your Expecting, and The Dictator all were financial failures, and sucked the life out its audiences.  Men in Black III escaped the poor quality of the second film, and while it did out perform the other films had the box office the film did well.

May drummed up some quality films with two small gems in Moonrise Kingdom, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  Both films had much smaller theatre counts than many of the summer releases, but they both had some pretty solid box offices.  Kingdom is one of the best reviewed films of the year, while Hotel had middling reviews it still was a breath of fresh air compared to the other low brow material.

June 

I was pretty excited about June, there were a lot of films on my radar that may not have looked like Oscar calibre films, they looked like they would still be fun.  Unfortunately I faced a bit of a letdown.

June started with Snow White and the Huntsman, the film was a flop creatively (although Charlize is one of the fairest in the land), but performed solidly at the box office.  Who knew that not long after we would find out how K-Stew got the part, what an awful miscast.

I skipped both animated films from this month, but both Madagascar 3 and Brave performed excellent at the box office.  I heard some mixed things about both films )in regard to the quality.  This is the year of Abraham Lincoln as well, and while I am intrigued to see Daniel Day Lewis portray this former president, I had no desire to see him as a vampire, and most of America did not either.

Prometheus proved to be ethereal, the film pulled me in with the concept of directing a film that tied back to the lore of the Alien films, but could not gain massive audiences once people figured out the film was just as cryptic as Lost.

America and critics did not love rock and roll.  Rock of Ages which could have had mass appeal, was a commercial and critical flop, proving that musicals need more than relate able songs.  Adam Sandler appeal has also been fading as well.  People did not want to watch him player a loser dad to someone who was not much younger than him in real life in That's My Boy.

June had its share of small films released, To Rome with Love, and Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Allen fell flat with a change of location from Paris to Rome, and could not charm audiences or critics with his film.  Meanwhile Beasts has done the exact opposite, and has garnered a lot of buzz which could carry the film to numerous Oscar nominations.  Proving quality wins over the name.

June closed things out with two different things strippers and a teddy bear.  Magic Mike worked magic on audiences and critics (although I thought it was terrible) proving that Channing Tatum to be one of the biggest stars of the year.  Seth MacFarlene took his own magic from television to the big screen with Ted, and had the largest R rated box office of the year (so far).  June had a much more interesting end than beginning.

July 2012

July 2012 proved the theme of the summer was super heroes.  The reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man did not match the original series, but made hefty some of money, and bested the quality of the original as well (in my opinion).  The much anticipated conclusion to the reboot of the Batman franchise was finally released 4 years later, and while The Dark Knight Rises was not as good as The Dark Knight, nor will it make as much money, the film was solid, and still will make a massive amount of money.

The rest of films from July feel like a blur to me, while Ice Age made money, the film never floated my boat, skipped.  Oliver Stone's Savages seemed to go up in smoke, get the munchies, and forget where it was.  Step Up should really go with the straight to DVD track like Bring it On.  The biggest failure was The Watch, which was panned by the critics, but their marketing campaign failed them even more, and the film did not fill any seats.

August

August is the month that starts to slow things down with less explosions and hodgepodge of random films.  August is the island of misfit toys for the "ideal summer film."  The Bourne Legacy tried to change this by attempting to change things up with a new story for the the franchise.  The film fell flat on its face with critics (the first time in the franchise), and has not performed well at the box office.  Total Recall tried to capture the fun of the original film , but never quite got there either.  Ironically the film sequel about a bunch of old school action stars has been the film which has had more people talking, and doing better at the box office.

With only three films containing major action/explosions the rest of August was like a grab bag ranging from Premium Rush (a pseudo action flick) to Hope Springs with Meryl Streep, both which got decent reviews, but under performed at the box office.  The Campaign filled the role of the token comedy, which also had decent reviews, but no one seemed to interested in the schtick.  Lawless tried to be the first serious drama/Oscar contender leading into September, but looking at their opening weekend numbers the film has garnered only solid reviews, and poor box office receipts, which means forget it! How can you forget the kids? August has give us Paranorman, which has not given the same numbers as Ice Age, but seems a shoe in to a major contender for the Animated feature Oscar.

As the Summer drew to a close I was plagued with the concept that year and year out Hollywood rebukes the concept of making the film experience fun by attempting to try and win audiences over with cheap ploys.  Hollywood has started to lose this battle as box office numbers, and film quality go down.  The average audience viewer can't afford to see a terrible film because of a major celebrity, they have to be choosier.  The summer of super heroes has proven that these are bankable enough, but that depth matters as well.  Many of the smaller films paid off for the companies proving that audiences never want to thinking (per say), but they do want something good making them feel like leaving the warm summer sun was worth their time.

Ted Extends the Fun of Family Guy into a Live Action, Implausible, Film

Ted (3 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by Seth MacFarlene (Family Guy)

Written by Seth MacFarlene, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild 

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlene

I am avid fan of Family Guy, and although its brand of humor is off putting to many I think creator Seth MacFarlene has pushed the envelope and made a creative television series.  As of late the show has become more stale, and even MacFarlene himself would say that the Griffin family has done what they needed to do, but the show is a juggernaut, and helped his film become the highest grossing film at the box office this weekend.  Ted is able to the put the R rated spin on MacFarlene's humor, and that let's the film spread its wings and be itself, mindless fun.

Ted is about a young boy named John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) who is unpopular and as Patrick Stewart narrates even someone the Jewish boys make fun of.  On Christmas John gets a Teddy bear, and with bear he finds a new best friend, and wishes for it to be real.  When John wakes up he finds that Ted has come to life and he runs to tell his parents, with one of my favorite cameos being Alex Borstein (his mom) that Ted has come to life.  Ted runs into the room, and rightfully so freaks out his parents, but they soon realize their son has found a new friend, and let him have his toy.  They also have him do the talk show circuit.  As the years pass by Ted and John remain friends, and never seem to grow up.  In the meantime John meets Lori (Mila Kunis) they are four years into their relationship, and looking to move forward, but a grown man with a teddy bear for a best friend is not an easy thing to deal with.

Ted is irreverent, crude, mindless, pointless, lacks depth, much like most of MacFarlene's other work, and yet it is similarly hilarious.  MacFarlene knows what he is doing; he knows his audience, and how to create something that is meant to be exactly what its supposed to be.  Ted does not pretend to be anything other than a mind numbing comedy, and I say way to go.  I thought the film was entertaining, and I laughed a lot.  Wahlberg and Kunis have great chemistry, Marky Mark is pretty damn hilarious, and should do more comedy; he was so great in I Heart Huckabees too.  Yet MacFarlene steals the show off and on screen; he does the voice for Ted, and is hilarious, he even makes fun of the fact that his voice does not sound like Peter Griffin.  

The film is no masterpiece and has a lot of flaws, but in a film like this flaws are not the point.  The film is meant to be fun, and that exactly what Ted is.  MacFarlene knows funny, and Ted is one of the funnier movies I have seen this year, all I have to say is do not do a sequel or a television show.

June Movies to See and Skip!

May was a bit of a bust, The Avengers is on track to beating The Dark Knight, and maybe even Titanic at the box office.  The perk was that it is a great film.  I wisely skipped Dark Shadows, Battleship, and a bunch of the other bland films.  Men in Black III was shockingly better than the preview made it appear to be, and I was glad to see Will Smith back in movies; he really is a great modern day star I enjoy watching.

June looks the be the most promising summer month.  There appears to be a great film opening every weekend, which makes incredibly happy.  Here is a week by week analysis with June's great prospects, and some of the future Razzie nominees, Adam Sandler will be back again.

June 1st 

Snow White and the Huntsman

With two movies about Snow White this year and the television series Once Upon a Time centering on the fairytale princess Snow White; she is seeing a lot of play this year.  I have to say the television show did not do it for me, and Mirror Mirror with Julia Roberts looked bland, but this version looks dark/fun.  I am not excited about Kristen Stewart as the the title character, but Charlize Theron as the wicked queen is enough to get me into the theatre. See it!

June 8th 

Prometheus 

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

I am beyond excited for Prometheus, this is the film I am most excited about this month (and there is a movie about male strippers).  The Prometheus trailer is one of the best for the year so far, it really builds a thrilling experience that makes the viewer want to see the film.  I am always baffled how these animated features make it to a third or fourth film.  The massive campaign in theatres is brilliant, and looks charming but the preview proves otherwise.

June 15th 

Rock of Ages

That's My Boy

I had no desire to see Rock of Ages on the broadway stage, but there is something about the preview and the cast that makes me excited about this film.  I have been singing 80s rock this past week.  Adam Sandler has made another crap film, and That's my Boy proves this "star" is on auto pilot; he will continue to isolate his audience and push people away.

June 22nd

Brave

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

To Rome with Love

Pixar has finally centered one of their films on a strong female character (it's about time), I am intrigued to see this film, and Pixar can usually do no wrong, but Cars and Cars 2 prove they have their duds.  Is this a dud?  The trailer reminds me more of Disney film than a Pixar film.  Another vampire film?  This one looks just plain bad, that's my simple analysis.  Woody Allen was on fire with Paris last summer, and Rome looks to be a fun adventure as well.  The Woodman is on fire (hopefully).

June 29th 

Magic Mike

Ted

Beasts of the Southern Wild 

Take this Waltz

What a week!  So much variety.  Magic Mike looks terrible, but a movie about male strippers, I hate to say it but i have to see it.  Seth McFarlene finally makes it to the big screen, and his first venture has Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and McFarlene voicing a dark teddy bear, I am there.  Beasts of the Souther Wild is a Cannes favorite that looks beautiful.  Seth Rogen and the lovely Michelle Williams battle with a struggling relationship in this film.

See it: Snow White in the Huntsman, Prometheus, Rock of Ages, Brave, To Rome with Love, Ted, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Skip it: Madagascar 3, That's My Boy, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter