Movies to Look For

Now on to my most anticipated movies of 2012! I don’t think I’ve ever had more movies that I’m anticipating than I do for this year.

First, the ones that didn’t make my top ten:

• All those fairy tale knock-offs (Jack the Giant Killer, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman). I’m not too keen on any of them yet, but they always intrigue me. I will probably regret having these on here if they’re anything like Beauty or whatever that teen knockoff of Beauty and the Beast was called, but for the meantime I’m optimistic. I mean Julia Roberts is in Mirror, Mirror, so it can’t be TOO bad.  
• Lincoln (starring Joseph-Gordon Levitt and about Abe Lincoln. What’s not to love?)
• The Bourne Legacy and the latest Bond, Skyfall. I'll see them both, but I'm not getting overly excited about them. I stayed in line for four hours to see Quantum of Solace on opening night and was thoroughly disappointed.
• The Lorax (I love the concept and I support it, but the trailer really doesn’t look too promising. I have every intention of seeing it, but I’m too nervous to be excited.)

Now, on to the real stuff.

10. Brave – Pixar has been promo-ing this one for a really long time (I’m pretty sure I saw an ad for it well over a year ago). If it’s anything like anything else that Pixar has made, I’m 98% sure I will love it.

9. The Amazing Spiderman – Meh, I’m not a die-hard but I’m still a sucker for a good super hero movie, therefore I am the perfect demographic for a revamped Spiderman. Plus—and this is a massive, giant, overwhelming plus—Emma Stone is going to be the new Mary Jane. Eh? AmIright?

8. Les Miserables – I’ll be honest, I’m excited about this one purely because of outside influences; I have not actually read Les Mis. BUT, in my defense, I am a hardcore musical supporter and an advocate of literary classics. Also, this gives me a good excuse to buckle down and finally plow through it. Fingers crossed that I finish before the movie comes out. Negatives: It’s featuring Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, and Sacha Baron Cohen. I really am not a fan AT ALL of any of them. Positives: It’s also featuring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Helena Bonham Carter. I am a HUGE fan of all of them. Should be interesting.

7. Perks of Being a Wallflower – Another book to film adaptation. I really enjoyed the book so I’m curious to see how the movie turns out. It could turn out to be really teeny-bopper, but I’m still pumped. That and—and this is a really big ‘and’—Emma Watson is Sam. Eh? AmIright? (I’m the classiest, I know.)

6. The Great Gatsby – Bam, based on a literary classic that I’ve read and loved, 200 points. Bam, it’s directed by Baz Luhrmann, the same guy who did Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet AND Australia, 400 points. Bam, it’s starring Leonard DiCaprio, the same guy who did EVERY GOOD MOVIE EVER, 800 points. I can almost absolutely guarantee this will be up for nominations in 2012.

5. The Hunger Games – Read ‘em. Loved ‘em. Lookin’ forward to the movies. It’s Truman Show meets Gladiator meets Survivor meets Twilight. Don’t worry though, by Twilight I just mean the love triangle and the teen demographic. That being said, it will attract the same crowd as Twilight which will inevitably lead to the rest of the world hating on it. But I believe that Jennifer Lawrence will get us through the screaming tweens. (I mean, she just came off of Winter’s Bone; she obviously has a lot of talent).

4. The Avengers – I’m pretty sure that in the history of movies, no movie has been lead up to this much (not counting movies in a series). The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America have all referenced it, building up to one great superhero love fest. Plus, let me throw down some names. Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders (from HIMYM), Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans and they’re even bringing back Lou Ferrigno as the voice of the Hulk. This much anticipation could make it really suck (that and they’re using Loki, the bad guy from Thor, as the ultimate bad guy whom personally, I thought was the weakest bad guy of them all), but regardless, I still giggle like a school through the trailer. I’M SO EXCITED!

3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – I really don’t need to talk about this one. You know what it is and you’re excited too. Let’s all just cross our fingers for Peter Jackson and hope he can pull a fourth masterpiece out of that brilliant directorial mind of his. No one in the world wants this movie to do poorly.

2. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - This really isn’t my number 2 choice. It’s my number 100^th. Because I’m not excited about it at all. I’m not excited that it’s based off my favourite novel of all time. I’m not excited that it’s featuring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, two Hollywood powerhouses. I’m not excited that they pulled out a nobody for the main character instead of trying to force it on that August Rush kid or something. I'm not excited its nominated for Best Picture. I’m definitely not excited that it’s directed by Stephen Daldry, a guy who has been nominated for an Oscar for every movie he’s directed. And I’m DEFINITELY not excited that the screenplay was influenced by Jonathan Safran Foer himself, and written by Eric Roth, who also did Benjamin Button, Forrest Gump, and Munich. Nope, I’m not excited because if I get excited, I will expect something from it, and there’s no way it will be able to meet my absurdly high expectations. So, for the sake of saving this movie in my mind, I think it’s going to completely and utterly suck.

1. The Dark Knight Rises – Yeah, you all saw it coming. This is one that I am absolutely letting my imagination get carried away on. The Dark Knight had me grasping for words (I invented “epicocity” immediately after watching it—as in, ‘the level of epicocity in that movie was off the charts’) and Christopher Nolan has proved to me that I can trust him. I don’t care what anyone says, this movie will be epic (and I mean that in the non-overused sense of the term). Nolan will not crack under pressure. Anne Hathaway will not drop the ball. Christian Bale will improve his stupid Batman accent. And the RIDICULOUSly stacked cast (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotlillard, Michael Cain) will pull a Love Actually not a Valentine’s Day, if you know what I mean. It will be the Return of the King of the Batman Trilogy.

So there you have it. Let’s hope 2012 is everything I’m expecting it to be :)

My Best Movies of 2011

I lost my file that had all my blog post ideas and countless blog posts that I'd started.

To me, losing a file is like losing a small child. A really really small child. Like a child that's thin enough to be 2D and can fit on my desktop.

It takes me longer than it should to recover from losing a file. Like, if I am playing a video game and the file doesn't save after working on it for an hour or two, that's it. I'm done. I quit the game and stop playing it entirely. It's bad enough that I'm spending my time doing something that's entirely unproductive, but it's a billion times worse when I have to spend time doing non-productive things that I've already done. The lack of productivity multiplies itself in an exponential fashion and results in a complete implosion of unproductive regression. It's not pretty.

It got to the point where if ever I would want to stop playing a video game I would just intentionally not save a game, even after like 10 minutes of game play, and I would not return to it.

I think this is also what sparked my terrible email response time. One time I wrote a huge, heartfelt email and the whole thing deleted right before I sent it. We've all been there. That realization that you've lost all of your heart-infused work makes you want to curl up in a corner and never got near technology again. It took me four months before I re-wrote that email because it was so hard to come to terms with all of those lost words. This is why I now save as much as I blink and write all of my emails out on Word before sending them.

So, that is all to say, I lost my file and that's what sparked a month of not blogging. Let's move on.

Tomorrow's the 24th and we all know what that means!! It's the day we've had marked on our calendars all year!! Why? The Academy Award nominations come out tomorrow!! How excited are WE!?! But before we celebrate all those movies that other people tell us we're supposed to celebrate, I gave myself two tasks: 1) To name my top ten from 2011 and 2) To name the movies I'm most excited for next year.

For my list of Memorable Movies of 2011, I'm cheating a little because a lot of the movies I saw in 2011 weren't necessarily released in 2011, but I made a list and I'm going to share it with you regardless.

10. Citizen Kane – I finally got around to watching what a lot of people say is the best movie ever made and, shock and amazement, it was actually pretty good. At first I didn’t entirely get it, but once I read a lot more about it I began to understand why it was so amazing for its time. A lot of the things that made it huge have been insanely overused since then, making it seem less impressive. But once you realize that this was the pioneer for a lot of those things, you can’t help but applaud.

9. Rabbit Hole – A lot of these movies are on here because they made me think after the movie was finished. This is one of those. It’s really haunting and not optimistic in really any way. But it’s good. Really good.

8. A Serious Man – Oh, Coen brothers, I have a man crush on your brains. This movie ended and I said “What the heck??” and then I read up all about it and then I said, “WHAT THE HECK??” I like a movie that makes me say what the heck. Also, I was really proud that my Jewish class had prepared me for a lot of the dialogue. Go Goldie Morgentaler!

7.It’s Kind of a Funny Story – This movie gets props for re-watchability. It’s based off of a great novel, and it’s simple, easy, and nice. Not mind-blowing, not revolutionary, but fun.

6. The Tree of Life – Another one that made me think of it after the fact. Perhaps it was because I watched it alone, but all I wanted to do for a month after was find someone to talk about it with. It still intrigues me and I applaud the originality. It stuck with me and therefore I liked it. Teaser: the first half-hour is basically pictures of the Earth. So, there's that. Also, there's a dinosaur.

5. No Impact Man – This one’s a documentary. It’s not the best documentary ever I’m sure, but I found it really interesting and the content exciting. I love the idea of challenges and I feel like I can relate to a man who would put his family through some ridiculous experiment for the sake of his own experience. It’s pretty short and I would definitely recommend it to other people; it certainly got me thinking.

4. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – I feel like I would never recommend this to anyone for fear of immediate judgment, but I really really loved this movie. It’s so ridiculously clever and creative and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. If you haven’t seen it yet, you probably won’t like it, because anyone who would want to see it knew exactly when it came out.

3. Limitless – I don’t know if it was because it was about an author, or because it gets me really excited to be productive, or because just watching the one scene where the camera “falls” off the edge of the building gave me butterflies, but this was another of my favourites. I could have done without all of the gore at the end, but I still enjoyed it enough to re-watch it more than once.

2. 50/50 – Oh boy. I watched this movie by myself, in my room, on my floor. I had just been biking so I had taken off my shirt and was just wearing shorts (yes, this pertains, don’t worry). As the movie progressed, I began bawling my eyes out. The closest thing within my grasp was my backpack, so naturally I grabbed it and clung to it as I collapsed in my puddle of tears.

I tell you this because if ever there is a time when I become too proud, or where you’re angry at me for something you deserve to be angry about, or if you are jealous of me in any way, shape or form, I need you to conjure up this image. I need you to think of me, lying on my floor, wearing nothing but shorts, cradling my backpack, rocking back and forth, and bawling my eyes out like a newborn baby (like fresh-out-of-the-womb baby—it adds to the grotesqueness), like a sobbing, sweaty, leaking, snotty ball of mess. There, now we’re even.

Sooo, yeah, it’s a good movie. Check it out. You’ve been warned.

1. Synedoche, New York! – All right, so I know this is kind of anticlimactic, but this one does come with a disclaimer. I saw this movie at the VERY beginning of 2011 and to be entirely honest, I really don’t remember it that much. I just remember being completely blown away by it. The parts I do remember were brilliant and I’ve been intentionally forgetting it so I can watch it again and be blown away again. I’m 82% sure that I would recommend it to anyone, but let me watch it again before I fully confirm that.

Also, as a side note I should probably put a disclaimer on all of these movies by saying that they’re not all squeaky clean. Let your own standards be a stronger guide than my opinion.

So here’s to 2011! I know a lot of the movies that are going to be nominated aren’t on that list, so I’m looking forward to making a whole new list tomorrow. AREN’T LISTS THE GREATEST!? I'll save my top ten anticipated movies for tomorrow.

Also, a bit of housekeeping. I cleaned up a couple things on the site and updated my life list. I also added a search feature so you can scan through everything I've written (which is scary, considering I've had this blog since 2007), and I added a feature where you can add yourself to an email list if you want to be notified whenever I post. I'm not that narcissistic; it's mostly for my anti-Facebook father. Enjoy!

The 68th Annual Golden Globes!!!

All right ladies and gentlemen, movie buffs and movie buffettes, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for!! The Golden Globes are tonight!! I know you’ve all been sitting in eager anticipation, preparing your living room for hours of unimaginable entertainment and suspense!! Pop that popcorn!! Stir that Ice Tea!! It’s time for the red carpet!!!!

I get it. Nobody really cares about award shows. And to be honest, I don’t even care about them enough to actually watch them, I’m just going to get the results tomorrow morning. I’ve wasted way too many hours of my life listening to the Lifetime Achievement award about someone who did something back when my grandparents were courting. But I still appreciate them, for the mere fact that they bring immortality to a lot of movies. I am one of those people who uses Best Picture lists to choose what movie to watch next. I judge an entire year based on the movies that were picked out as “the best”, so I want the movies representing 2010 to be deserving of that title. Perhaps it’s a little melodramatic, but, meh, I’ve got nothing else to do on a Sunday evening (oh wait, except read 200 pages from Ulysses. SHoooot.)

So, as referenced multiple times in the last couple of posts, I had intended to see Inception one last time before the awards but unfortunately, it was just not meant to be. I tried to hide my views and appear impartial so as not to seem biased when comparing other nominees in the Best Picture category, but I am glaringly aware that I failed massively. I love love love Inception, and I want the world to know. Instead of a huge long review, here are 6 solid reasons why I can’t get enough of it (and why you should watch it, if by some freak chance you haven’t.)

1. Juno, Tom, and Jack. Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio are all extraordinary actors and this movie is no exception.
2. The soundtrack. The soundtrack. The soundtrack! Hans Zimmer is brilliant and this movie will definitely go down as one of my favourite soundtracks. If you’ve seen the movie and haven’t figured out why the music is awesome, check out this link. Blasting this soundtrack in my car automatically makes me feel like everyone on the road is out to get me – and I love it!! It’s powerful, dramatic, inspirational, and brilliant. LOVE it!
3. Originality. I realize that the plotline isn’t 100% original, but in this day and age it definitely comes close…er. This movie strives to go to new places and it doesn’t disappoint. Considering three of the five movies in the Best Picture category are biographies, Inception definitely gets points for being unique.
4. It doesn't need to be sexy. The closest thing it comes to any form of sexuality is a brief and comical kiss. It still has a PG-13 rating for it's violence (though, is it really violence, because if you get shot in the dream world, does it happen in real life? OH MY! brain ninja), but I appreciated that it didn't go over the top for the sake of going over the top.
5. Brain Ninja. This is the very official term for the effect that occurs after the last scene ends and the credits start rolling and you are sitting there in hopeless desperation, contemplating reality, unsure of what you’re supposed to do next. Does it even matter anymore? Were you even watching a movie? Do you even EXIST? These are wonderful feelings, matched in greatness only by love.
6. Freaking Amazingness. Again, a very official term that I deem appropriate for the sake of describing this movie. It has humour, it has thrills, it has action, it has drama. I watched this movie three times in theatre (don’t worry, I didn’t pay every time) and I don't regret it at all. Like I said previously, I giggled through the entire movie the first time out of pure joy, and then just waited in anticipation for the inevitable groan from the audience at the end of the movie the second and third time. 

So there you have it. Again, not very official, but I needed to make my love for Inception public (in fact, as soon as I finish this blog I’ll even go make it Facebook official).

Below are my official thoughts on what is going to go down tonight at the Golden Globes. I tried my absolute best to be as informed as I could on the nominees but there were some categories that I missed out entirely, so I just didn’t include them. I really regret not being able to see 127 Hours because I heard it was amazing but, oh well. Maybe I’ll catch in time for the duh duh duh duuuh: 83^rd ACADEMY AWARDS!! Just kidding, I’m kind of tired of award shows now and I can’t see my opinions changing that drastically, but who knows? Maybe I’ll have run out of new blog post ideas by then. Stay tuned for exciting drama!!!

Michael’s Very Informed, Perfectly Opinionated, 100% Accurate Guide to the 68^th Annual Golden Globe Awards!!!!

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Should win: Inception

Will win: The King’s Speech

(This is the big one and honestly there’s some tough competition. Black Swan has a high chance of winning due to its massive theatrics and sensuality, but I think The King’s Speech will win out for its purity and amazing acting. I always think the movie I choose is the underdog so that way I’m that much happier if it wins.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Should win: Colin Firth – King’s Speech

Will win: Colin Firth – King’s Speech

(I think this one is pretty much a shoe-in. Unless James Franco’s acting in 127 Hours is mind-blowing, Colin Firth wins this one by a landslide.)

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical:

Should win: Burlesque

Will win: Burlesque

(I commented previously on this category and I’m still just as impartial. I am opinionated because I know which ones shouldn’t win, so that left Red and Burlesque. I haven’t seen either but I know that I, along with most movie critics, generally favour musicals (it's just hard to resist someone singing show-tunes). Either way there are just WAY too many Cher lovers out there so it will probably win.)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical:

Should win: Emma Stone – Easy A

Will win: Julianne Moore – The Kids are All Right

(This is kind of the same as the last category. I just don’t want The Kids are All Right to win, though I’m fairly confident they will. That and, I’m not going to lie, I have a bit of a moviestar crush on Emma Stone. Easy A was hilarious and while it was more focused towards a teen demographic, I think it was clever and deserves some respect. Plus, the whole movie is a massive allusion to an old English text, what's not to love.)

Best Animated Feature Film:

Should win: How to Train Your Dragon

Will win: Toy Story 3

(So I know that I’ll probably gain some enemies by saying that I don’t want Toy Story 3 to win, especially considering the chances of it losing are the same as the chances of my father voting for Sarah Palin in the next election. But, I hate to say it, I just really didn’t enjoy this movie. It was good and reminiscent during its sentimental moments, but it was terrifying and absurd for the rest of it. I have to go with my gut, and my gut says Dragons.)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Should win: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Will win: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

(While this movie didn’t particularly blow my mind, Melissa Leo was pretty incredible at being a crazy mother. She scared me, ergo, she wins.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Should win: Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

Will win: Christian Bale – The Fighter

(Geoffrey Rush’s character was lovable, confident, and risk-taking, and all of these characteristics were portrayed perfectly. That being said, movie critics tend to favour drug-induced characters and Christian Bale will probably snag it.)

Best Director – Motion Picture

Should win: Christopher Nolan – Inception

Will win: David Seidler – The King’s Speech

(I have a mancrush on Christopher Nolan. The man has directed Dark Knight, Prestige, Memento, and Inception. Every single one of those movies place in my top favourites, therefore the man deserves some credit.)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Should win: David Seidler – The King’s Speech

Will win: David Seidler – The King’s Speech

(It is deserved.)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Should win: Inception

Will win: Inception

(At least I’m really really hoping so. This soundtrack is phenomenal and I would be very sad if it is not given the recognition it deserves.)

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

Should win: “There’s a Place for Us” – Carrie Underwood – Chronicles of Narnia

Will win: “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” – Burlesque

(I have not actually seen any of the movies on this list but I listened to the songs independently from the film on Youtube. In my opinion, Carrie Underwood has the better song, plus I have a subconscious need to support Chronicles of Narnia as a Christian... weird. That and, like I said, there are way too many Cher fans out there. She still sounds like a man, 90 years later.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Should win: Hugh Laurie – House

Will win: Jon Hamm – Mad Men

(I don’t really think House has a fighting chance in this category, but I will always be a fan of Hugh Laurie. Regardless of how typical House’s plot line gets, all it takes is for me to watch a couple of interviews of Hugh Laurie in real life and I am re-blown away all over again. The man has a British accent for crying out loud!! On the other hand, Mad Men wins everything.)

Best Television Series – Comedy Musical

Should win: Glee

Will win: Glee

(I am still on the fence about my attraction to this show. I may not agree with it entirely, but I can’t deny that it has become a massive success in only one season. If 30 Rock takes this award, I give up.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical

Should win: Steve Carell – The Office

Will win: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock

(Poor Steve Carell. Every year I cheer for him in support of my favourite show on TV and every year I get disappointed. He won’t win this award, but I still believe in him. Did you hear that Stevey? I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU!!

… stupid 30 Rock.)

Done and done. With only 90 minutes until the beginning of the awards, my tally is finally in. I have probably dedicated way too much time on this but, hey, somebody's got to do it. Where would the world be without millions of entirely uninfluential bloggers voicing their completely futile opinions for the whole of the internet world? Amiright!

Good night, and good luck.