Iron Man 3 is Deeper than the First Two, the Action Sores, but the Comic Book fan in me Feels Partially Betrayed

Iron Man 3 (3 out 5 Stars)

Directed by: Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)

Written by: Drew Pierce, and Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheedle, Guy Pierce, and Ben Kingsley

I always walk into comic book films attempting never to be a fan boy.  I even walked out of X-Men: The Last Stand with mild optimism.  I have read X-Men comics since I was five years old (23 years), and was excited to see the Phoenix on screen.  Of course looking back this is one of the worst comic book films, of course nothing is worse than Wolverine: Origins.  The character of Iron Man never crossed my path until later, but Tony Stark soon became one of my favorite Marvel characters, and I devoured almost all of his stories from alcoholism to the Civil War.

Iron Man 3 is set in post Avengers world, the battle in New York City is over, and Tony (Downey Jr.) is having a bit of PTSD with regard to all of the events from that day.  The film opens on Tony back in 1999 where he was a playboy bedding Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), and meeting an admire Aldrich Killian (Pierce) who runs AIM and wants Tony of board to help advance his plans.  Tony flashes to the present insomnia filled and thinking about the way the past and mistakes define his future.  There is a new villain out to get Tony, named the Mandarin who is this dangerous terrorist plotting to blow up places and people on American soil.

Enter Shane Black the new director, and screenwriter for the film series.  The original Iron Man was directed by the film's star Jon Favreau who plays Stark/Potts bodyguard Happy.  The original film had four different writers namely because the the film had numerous re-writes one script, which actually included the Mandarin, but his character was axed.  The sequel was also directed by Favreau, and written surprisingly by Justin Theroux (the future hubby for Jennifer Aniston).  Black obviously had his work cut out for him after the Avengers film, and a quality first film in the series (2 was not good).

Black has only directed one other feature film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a pretty good film, but different from the Marvel popcorn fair.  Yet the direction is one his greater strengths; he knows the characters well, and sets up some great action sequences which succeed.  Black's direction is more emotional than the first two films, namely because his screenplay, which he wrote with first time screenwriter Drew Pierce explores this character on a much deeper level.

When I was watching Tony Stark grapple with his anxiety it was as though they were tackling a version of his alcoholism story within the comic books.  The concept of Stark as an alcoholic will never be a part of the film series (that I can see).  Downey Jr. excels in this role as a narcissist, but there is also something more humbling within the character he has grown, and matured something which this script gets spot on!  I think the deeper, and more emotional level helps make a comic book film feel real, and allows you to become attached to the characters on different levels.

Now changing an entire character around and playing with a villains history, that's where script takes a turn and shows weakness.  I tried not be a fan boy (sorry Shane and Drew) but your big twist almost ruined the entire film.  Spoilers after this part so stop reading if you do not want to know anything.  While it was clear from the beginning that Aldrich Killian was working with the Mandarin (Kingsley) making Killian the big bad, and Mandarin laughable actor who was playing a part is a slap in the face to Marvel history.

For a brief history on the actual representation of both Aldrich Killian and the Mandarin here you go.  Mandarin is character created long ago by Stan Lee way back in 1964.  Mandarin is a pathological egotist who is a genius in science, and marital arts.  Mandarin wields 10 rings which he adapted from alien technology.  These rings could have been tied to the incident in New York City and the future story which centers around Thanos who also wields rings.  Yet you did not go there?  Instead Black and pierce along with producer Favreau took a little known character who was scientist and created a disease, Aldrich Killian, and made him into something he was not, all for the sake of realism.  Fan boy rant over.

Even outside of being a fan, this plot twist felt forced and proved that the battle with the big bad showed that there was little at stake with the actual villain.  Sure Killian took things away from Tony, but the action sequences which were out of this world almost seem pointless because of the way the villain within this film.  A hero is only as interesting as the villain he or she battles.  In this film I think the greatest battle was Stark's inner demons, which was fascinating, and well done.  The actual villain, and the way it was constructed was a total misfire, and lowered the bar for this film.

Iron Man 3 was better than 2 (not hard to be(, had more emotional depth than the first but is still quite flawed.  I can see why some people hate this film, and can understand why other praise the film.  This doesn't even seem like a build up to the Avengers 2, which is good that this is more than that but they could have made it fit into place naturally rather jam the pieces into the puzzle.  Even the closing scene while funny just fell flat.

On a film level Iron Man  explores a much deeper subject matter, but as a fan of the characters and for the sake of the journey this is middle of the road.  

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"

Oscar Roundup 2012: Where Have all the Genre Films Gone

The year is coming to an end, the critics have named their top tens, the Globe and SAG nominations have been announced, soon the other Guilds will announce their nominees, and the Oscar nominees will be right around the corner.  If we look at all the precursors, and experts predictions, which align for the most part. These are the top ten pictures (if there are ten) which most likely be nominated for Best Picture (in alpha order):

Argo 
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
The Master 
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln 
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

These are the most predicted top ten, but there are two spoilers still in contention, but genre fans should not get excited because those two spoilers are The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (nominated at SAG and the Golden Globes), and Flight, which could get attention from numerous branches and had a great box office take.

So I have to ask the Academy does this list of ten "serve the purpose" they intended?  After the 2008 Oscar debacle nominating The Reader over The Dark Knight Rises (or any other better film that year), the Academy knew they had reached their precipice. The Academy wanted to become more "audience friendly" and changed their rules to nominate 10 films, the following year.  Although this rule has been revised and their could be any combination between 5 and 10 now.

In 2009 the year after the rule change took effect the addition of five extra nominees added more genre films: Avatar (Sci-Fi/Action), District 9 (Sci-fi/Action), Up (Animated).  Avatar would have been a nominee no matter what, in fact it was probably the second place film, losing to The Hurt Locker.  The other two films District 9, and Up would never have made the top five, and these two films provided a greater film landscape, proving their new system was starting to work.  You could argue Inglorious Basterds may fit within a "genre" but to me this film fits more a classic drama style with intense action (the same way this year's Django Unchained does).

In 2010 two films would fit within the genre world, Inception (Sci-fI/Action), and Toy Story 3 (Animated).  With Nolan missing out on Best Director (again), I am going to argue that without 10 nominees both of these films would have missed out on the top five.  Now this is merely a hypothesis, and there is no proof, but I think if there were only five nominees it would have been Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network, and True Grit.  Another way the ten nominees helped change the system.

In 2011 (after the rule change) there only nine nominees, and no genre nominee, there was no animated film the merited breaking into this group.  There were two "genre" films that could have broken into the Best Picture race, but were left off.  Drive is an action film, but was never taken seriously by the Academy and missed out on a nomination.  A Separation was the eventual winner in the Best Foreign Language Film category film from Iran, but did not make the top 9.  No foreign language film has ever made it into the top 10 since the rule change.

This year has the most potential for action or sci-fi films ever, with The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, and Skyfall.  These four films could shake up the system, and all could be considered for this Best Picture race, but are any of them serious contenders?

Let's look at the super hero flick first. The Avengers will make it into the Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects category, but will go no further.  The Dark Knight Rises may get a Cinematography, Editing, or Original Score nomination, in the major technical categories, and like The Avengers will most likely score nominations in both Sound categories and the Visual Effects category.  Neither of these super hero tales will be taken seriously enough to make this list.

Looper a true science fiction action adventure film is being ignored left and right by many groups.  The Guild nominees will help determine if this is a viable contender.  Looper could sneak into the Best Original Screenplay category, and become Rian Johnson's first nomination, but may be passed over for more traditional fair, like Django Unchained, Moonrise Kingdom, Flight, The Master, and Zero Dark Thirty.  Looper could also make the Sound and Visual Effects categories, but has a lot of competition.

The biggest action film with the biggest chances at Oscar is the often forgotten James Bond, and Skyfall.  Of these four films Skyfall makes the most "sense" and deserves to make it into the Best Picture race, but at the moment is a major long shot.  Skyfall could score one major nomination with Javier Bardem in Best Supporting Actor, and will most likely get a nomination for Cinematography, Editing, Original Song, Sound, and Visual Effects.   No James Bond film has received an Oscar nomination, and this will be the first one.  Oscar has the chance to reward this film, and make a statement, but voters will unfortunately not put this into the Best Picture category.

No animated film has a shot like last year, but this year is filled with strong foreign language films, but only one has a shot, Amour.  With no foreign language film shaking up the box office like Crouching Tiger,  Amour has an uphill battle.  Amour has a shot in the Best Actress category, the Best Original Screenplay category, and of course will be nominated for Best Foreign Language film, but without any major support this film like most others will be contained within the foreign language category.

Have the more traditional voters monopolized the newer system, and brought even more traditional films into the fold?  The answer is still up in the air because the nominations have not been announced, but based on statistics none of the genre films are going to make the top ten.  This has been one of the best years in film in a long time, and I would hate for the Academy to play it too safe yet again, but it looks as though history will repeat, and comedy, action, sci-fi, animated, and foreign films will be left in the lurch.

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!

The People Have Spoken and The Avengers Lead the the Pack with Movie Nominees

Here are the nominees for the People's Choice Movie Awards 

FAVORITE MOVIE
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Avengers 
The Dark Knight Rises 
The Hunger Games 
Snow White and the Huntsman

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTOR
Channing Tatum, Magic Mike
Johnny Depp, Dark Shadows
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper
Robert Downey, Jr.. The Avengers
Will Smith, Men in Black 3

FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises
Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games
Mila Kunis, Ted
Scarlett Johansson, The Avengers

FAVORITE MOVIE ICON
Emma Thompson
Maggie Smith
Meryl Streep
Michelle Pfeiffer
Susan Sarandon

FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hunger Games
Men in Black 3

FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE STAR
Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth, The Avengers
Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises
Will Smith, Men in Black 3

“FAVORITE FACE OF HEROISM”
Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises
Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games
Kristen Stewart, Snow White and the Huntsman
Scarlett Johansson, The Avengers

FAVORITE COMEDIC MOVIE
21 Jump Street
Dark Shadows
Pitch Perfect
Ted
What to Expect When You're Expecting

FAVORITE COMEDIC MOVIE ACTOR
Adam Sandler, That's My Boy
Ben Stiller, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Channing Tatum, Magic Mike
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, The Campaign

FAVORITE COMEDIC MOVIE ACTRESS
Cameron Diaz, Bad Teacher
Emily Blunt, The Five-Year Engagement
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses
Mila Kunis, Ted
Reese Witherspoon, This Means War

FAVORITE DRAMATIC MOVIE
Argo
The Lucky One
Magic Mike
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Vow

FAVORITE DRAMATIC MOVIE ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, The Words
Channing Tatum, The Vow
Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch
Liam Neeson, Taken 2
Zac Efron, The Lucky One

FAVORITE DRAMATIC MOVIE ACTRESS
Charlize Theron, Snow White and The Huntsman
Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Keira Knightley, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Rachel McAdams, The Vow

FAVORITE MOVIE FRANCHISE
The Avengers
The Dark Knight
The Hunger Games
Madagascar
Spider-Man

FAVORITE MOVIE SUPERHERO
Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man
Chris Evans as Captain America
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Christian Bale as Batman
Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man

FAVORITE ON-SCREEN CHEMISTRY
Emma Stone / Andrew Garfield, The Amazing Spider-Man
Jennifer Lawrence / Josh Hutcherson / Liam Hemsworth, The Hunger Games
Kristen Stewart / Chris Hemsworth, Snow White and the Huntsman
Rachel McAdams / Channing Tatum, The Vow
Scarlett Johansson / Jeremy Renner, The Avengers

The Oscar Race (so far) a Video Entry Part 1

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.