For Discussion: 22 Jump Street and the Blessing or Curse of Expectations

Every time I told someone I saw 22 Jump Street last weekend, I felt judged. When I would instantly praise the virtues of 2012's 21 Jump Street as evidence that its sequel was something worth getting excited about, I was still met with skepticism. Then I remembered something, my experience, and judging by the internet, most critics' experience of 21 Jump Street benefited from low expectations. Movies, especially comedies, succeed or fail based on audience expectations. Even Rotten Tomatoes in its aggregate summary noted that the movie "offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite." "Surprising" is the key word here.

Why are we surprised? Simply, it's because we see a trailer and instantly judge what kind of experience we assume we'd have watching said advertised movie. How that movie meets or fails those expectations directly affects our enjoyment. 21 Jump Street is an objectively well-made movie. The writing is clever, the actors are committed and the direction is confident. However, going in the audience was conditioned to expect the worst based on the fact that the movie is a reboot of an old TV show. We'd lived through Dukes of Hazzard and Charlie's Angels, after all. Even someone who'd never seen the TV show could still learn from past experience that these movies are usually terrible. But I somehow found myself giving it a chance and I'm so glad I did. Now the sequel is here and it again surpassed my expectations. We've been conditioned to expect sequels to be inferior movies. This one embraces that expectation and then has so much fun proving it wrong.

The tricky part comes now. I've talked these movies up so much that people who have watched them based on my glowing recommendation inevitably find themselves underwhelmed. What can we do?! How can we watch a movie without any expectations in order to have a more pure movie-going experience? I'm open to suggestions.

What about you guys? What's a movie that has defied your expectations lately, either for the good or bad? My other recent case of defied expectations was Godzilla. That movie's trailer sold me a lie (Cranston's importance) and I couldn't recover from it for the rest of the movie. 

2014 Oscar Picks

I was on FIRE this year and was able to see most of the Best Picture movies more than once. Will it help in my predictions? We shall see. WE. SHALL. SEE.

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Let's start with the WHY nominees. Philomena, you are a very sweet and affecting little movie. But I'm afraid no one will remember you after ... wait no one can remember that you are even nominated period. Sorry, Dame Judi. Everyone else, you are all worthy and welcome in this category. Her is the movie I swoon just thinking about (see here), but I have equally strong feelings on The Wolf of Wall Street, Gravity and 12 Years a Slave. Conventional wisdom has this category as a tight race between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave, and for good reason. Both are incredibly powerful films and crowning achievements in cinema, but I give the edge to 12 Years a Slave. The academy loves its Best Picture winners to honor "important" films, but more than that, while Gravity has visuals that will be rightfully remembered, 12 Years a Slave has a story that everyone should be REQUIRED to watch for many years to come. That makes is sound like homework, but I don't mean it to. It should be required not only because of it's subject matter, but also because it is a completely engrossing and beautiful piece of movie making.

My vote: Her
Will in: 12 Years a Slave

Best Director
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Man, what a category! I wouldn't be mad if any of these guys took home the prize. How did a 71-year-old create the insanity that is The Wolf of Wall Street? Well, he was Martin Scorsese, that's how. Alexander Payne captures the Midwest in devastating detail in Nebraska. David O. Russell has proved himself to be a ringmaster of absolutely mental performances in American Hustle. But this is where I think Gravity will and should succeed. Yes, without Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave would be a very different, and probably a less impactful film. However, without Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity simply wouldn't exist. He literally invented technology that could give him the film he wanted. But the best part is, the film feels effortless when really it took an herculean amount of work to make, and that is something definitely worth honoring.

My vote: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Will in: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Best Actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Some media I've read is still saying this category is up for grabs. Granted, I'd be incredibly happy to see Leo collect his first well-deserved Oscar or even watch Chiwetel thank the real-life Solomon Northup at that podium, but those writing that either of those scenarios are still a possibility are underestimating the power of the McConaissance. And unlike the annoying "It's time" story line assigned to Sandra Bullock for that travesty The Blind Side, McConaughey actually really deserves his Oscar for his heartbreaking performance as AIDS-afflicted Ron Woodruff. Yes, there are shades of his classic Wooderson accent, but otherwise, he's almost completely unrecognizable. Considering the majority of his career was spent playing the same womanizing beefcake, it's really is McConaughey's time.

My vote: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Will in: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

This category is tougher than it looks at first glance. Cate Blanchett is widely considered a lock for her staggering portrayal of an unraveling former socialite in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. And while I won't be mad if she collects the award, I'm more impressed by the craft of two other nominees: Sandra Bullock and Amy Adams. Being able to hold an audience's attention almost completely on your own for 90 minutes is a feat worth celebrating, and Sandra Bullock just killed it. I'd say the same of Joaquin Phoenix had he been nominated for Her. The movie only works because we care if she lives or dies. That's at the root of why it takes your breath away, and I'm not sure how well it would have worked with it's original casting of Angelina Jolie or Natalie Portman. I wish Bullock hadn't already won for an incredibly subpar movie. Then, there is Amy Adams. How has she not won an Oscar yet? The five-time nominee really deserves it this time. As the center of much of American Hustle's drama, Adams plays two characters beautifully, easily slipping in and out of each one with ease. Her scenes with Bradley Cooper, first in a bathroom stall, and later in her apartment are a masterclass in manipulation and heartbreak. So while Blanchett will probably win for her flashier turn, my heart belongs to the best hustler in a movie filled with them.

My vote: Amy Adams, American Hustle
Will in: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

I would make an impassioned defense of Michael Fassbender here because he is absolutely magnificent in 12 Years a Slave, even better on a rewatch, but this category rightly belongs to Jared Leto. I was even surprised how much more I enjoyed Bradley Cooper on my second viewing of American Hustle and Jonah Hill and Barkhad Abdi are both wonderful surprises, but Leto's performance was simply transformative. And not just in the physical sense, which is obvious and less interesting to me. But in the sense that I completely forgot about any other role I'd ever seen him in. More so than McConaughey, Leto is the heart of Dallas Buyers Club. When I watched Rayon make herself the epitome of uncomfortable by putting on a suit, I couldn't help but be astounded by the brilliant sadness and steeliness of Leto's performance. It's something incredibly special and it deserves the Oscar it will surely receive on Sunday.

Should win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Will in: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

The nomination is gift enough for Sally Hawkins and even more than that Julia Roberts name here is a simple star placation, much like her costar Meryl's place in Best Actress. Then there is June Squibb, who is hilarious and wonderful in Nebraska. However, I know I am not alone in being over the trope of older women playing crass and getting praise. You can almost hear the squeak of "Oh look how cute that mean old lady is." I don't want to take away from her performance, because it is so fun and strong, but eh, I'm just over roles like that. In the other corner is Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle, which is clearly just the latest stop of her charm offensive. I join the world in loving Lawrence on and off screen. She's probably the funniest part of American Hustle and she moves easily from the comedy to the drama, just like she did for her Oscar-winning role last year in Silver Lining's Playbook. However, I couldn't help shake the feeling that she was playing dress-up most of the time. I actually think she is put to better use in Catching Fire for a JLaw 2013 performance worth lauding. That leaves Lupita Nyomg'o, who was my favorite part of 12 Years a Slave even before she showed herself to be a fashion powerhouse and just an utterly charming young person in interviews. Her Patsey is a mountain of beautiful played sadness and desperation in a film filled with it. Her dynamic with both Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender is stunning, with special mention for the scene when she (SPOILER) begs Ejiofor's Solomon to kill her. She is so resolved in her decision that we almost hope he actually does it for her. She is simply brilliant and I hope the Academy can see through its crush on Lawrence to reward her for it.

Should win: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Will in: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave

Other Category Predictions

Best Original Screenplay: Her

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave

Animated Feature: Frozen
Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty
Production Design: The Great Gatsby
Makeup: Dallas Buyers Club
Sound Editing: Gravity
Sound Mixing: Gravity
Visual Effects: Gravity
Cinematography: Gravity
Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom
Documentary Short Subject: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Film Editing: Gravity
Short Film, Animated: Get a Horse!
Short Film, Life Action: Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Actually saw these and this one was by far my favorite)
Costume Design: The Great Gatsby
Original Score: Gravity (But I wish Her)
Original Song: "Let It Go" from Frozen

2013 Movies: Top 10

Ranking movies is always tricky because you are inevitably looking for something different from each film. The common denominator I've tried to stick to when ranking these picks — obviously beyond if I felt the movie was worthy — is the film's re-watchability. That factor helps me determine rank better than arguing other points that aren't as easily measured. This normally works great, but this year there were exceptions, which I address below. With that, I present my favorite films from 2013 (here is your SPOILER warning):

1. Before Midnight
Before Sunset has a PERFECT ending. When Before Midnight was announced I was both thrilled and terrified. What if they messed it up? I should have had more faith. Director Richard Linklater and his cohorts Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have created something truly remarkable. We've watched these two fall in love, find each other and now it's time to get down and dirty with what that love actually means. We meet up with Jesse and Celine nine years after Jesse missed his flight in Before Sunset. The partners (they never got married) are vacationing in Greece with their twin daughters. A date night intended as a gift starts them on their usual walk-and-talk and turns into something we haven't seen before from these two — a fight and a doozy of one. Was it hard to watch two characters I've rooted for over 18 years throw vitriol at each other? God, yes. But it was so wonderfully written, both funny and heartbreaking, real and raw that it made me fall for them all over again. While the fight in the hotel room has gotten most of the attention, it's the final scene that really is the key to the film. Both actors so fully inhabit their characters at this point that it almost seems moot to praise them but watch them both closely in that scene. It starts with charming Jesse trying to warm up an icy Celine. And you watch him grow more and more frustrated with her stubbornness, so much so that he is ready to give up. Then there's a moment during a loaded silence where you see her choose. She chooses him again, after everything. And isn’t that what long-term relationships are all about? Choosing each other over and over again? It's so beautifully done that it's honestly hard to even write about. Some say this film is too hard to watch, but on repeat viewings I've chosen to marvel. Jesse and Celine are fighting because they have something worth fighting for, and I can't think of anything more romantic than that.

2. Her
Clearly I'm a sucker for a love story, but I wasn’t expecting Her to be so much more than that. It’s a love story that can actually surprise and provoke questions about the fundamentals of what's at the root of two people's connection. And based on sheer ambition the film deserves all the praise it can muster. Spike Jonze has created a film so lovely, so heart-breaking and yet so weird that it's tough to imagine any other director who could master all the parts of a story like this. Everything from the delicate music to the fashion (I’m on board with the high-waisted pants gentlemen) to the Instagram filter-like haze emboldens his vision of the future as a place that is familiar and yet still slightly out of  our grasp. The film leaves you full of questions and lets you decide the answers for yourself. Phoenix's lovelorn Theodore's journey to connect with his Scarlett Johansson-voiced OS works on so many levels that it's almost exhausting to think about it, but I don't think anyone who has seen it will be able to stop.

3. 12 Years a Slave
This is where ranking based on re-watchability gets tricky. I've never seen a movie like 12 Years a Slave and I'm not sure how soon I'm ready to see it again. I want to see many parts of it again. There is a scene that still haunts me where the incredible Chiwetel Ejiofor has a moment of silence for what he's just witnessed, and for just a second he looks right in the camera. There's just so much greatness like that amid all the stuff that's just so hard to watch. And it should be hard, shouldn't it? But just because it's difficult to sit through doesn't make it any less beautiful. Steve McQueen, whose movie Shame I found similarly difficult to watch for completely different reasons, has created the movie about slavery that we didn't know we were missing. Finally, we see slavery from the point of view of not only unspeakably evil white characters who aren't just stock villains, but also fully developed African-American characters that show slavery in several different stages. From Alfre Woodward's slave mistress turned wife to Lupita Nyong'o's devastating "chosen one," the film feels well-rounded with characters we haven't seen before. I'm confident in saying I have never felt so emotionally drained after seeing a film. Its greatness lies in the fact that as time has passed and I remember all its brilliance, I'm willing to put myself through it again.

4. Gravity
Gravity is the closest I think I'll get to what people must have felt like when they saw the original Star Wars in 1977 — dumbstruck with awe at the images and sounds on the screen. But to say that Gravity is just a special effects showcase would be unfair. Sandra Bullock deserves all the accolades she's received for completely holding the screen, usually all on her own, in a movie that knew that it didn't have to be three hours to be mesmerizing. There's also been plenty said about how the dialogue is clunky and no one cares about Bullock's character's back story, and at first I was inclined to agree. But I think the movie wouldn't have been as affecting without it. Yes, the fetal position emergence from the space suit made my eyes roll, but that didn't mean it wasn't a beautiful image. The tears floating toward me in 3D were a gimmick, but that didn't mean I didn't feel for Bullock's character as she cried them. The dichotomy of the film's message of "Don't Let Go" in the physical space against how Bullock's character must let go of her past is an interesting one that I don't think can (or should) be so easily dismissed in the face of such stunning visuals.

5. This is the End
The concept could have gone horribly wrong. The idea of a bunch of actor's playing versions of themselves could have quickly felt self-indulgent and relied too much on inside jokes. However, the brilliance of This is the End is that we're in on the joke. We've watched these actors in enough movies (and know enough about their public persona off screen) to be able to revel in all the pointed jabs and jokes they make at each other's expense. The plot is relatively thin — actors are stranded at James Franco's house after Judgment Day starts during his Hollywood party — but it gives the actors more room to create sequences that are worth watching as their own short films. From the Pineapple Express 2: Blood Red trailer to Jonah Hill's serious actor turned demon to the final glorious heavenly dance party, This is the End just keeps building to its ridiculous and awesome conclusion. Sure, it probably could have lost 20 minutes near the end, as most films of this ilk could, but that hasn't stopped me from rewatching it more times than any other film on this list.

6. The Wolf of Wall Street
The fact that this brash, brazen, madcap black comedy was made by 71-year-old Martin Scorsese is just one of the things to marvel at as you are sucked into the world of swindler Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). Set in the decadent days of martini-and-cocaine-lunches, the film tells the story of how Belfort sold his lifestyle of drugs, sex and money to thousands of people, getting rich in the process. I don't know if DiCaprio has ever been this fun to watch. He's playing with a (who would have guessed it) equal in Jonah Hill as his bucktooth partner in crime. Does the film promote or indict the behavior on screen? Absolutely not, and anyone who says it is reveling in it must have forgotten the terrible scene where Belfort punches his wife and tries to flee with his daughter after doing enough coke to kill a normal man. How can anyone watching that scene think the film thinks this guy is great? Yes, we laugh at all the ridiculous things he and his cohorts get up to, but we still cringe every time they turn to drugs and whores over and over. The movie probably didn’t need to be three hours, but I believe that the what some have called monotony of watching Belfort and his cohorts keep making the same reckless decisions over and over again is kind of the point. These guys never learned to change, never thought about their victims or felt remorse even after stints in prison. Even at the end, Belfort is still selling, and unfortunately, America is still buying.

7. Inside Llewyn Davis
Since seeing the trailer I was obsessed with the soundtrack, so when the movie turned out to be just as lovely and considered as the music I rejoiced in a Cohen-induced euphoria. Llewyn Davis is a jerk. There's no reason we should care what happens to him, and yet Oscar Issac soulful eyes and completely enchanting voice make it too difficult to resist him. Though many complained the film had no plot, what feels like a casual check-in on a week in this man's life tells his story of failure and artistic disappointment much better than a traditional biopic might have done. Also, I plan to watch Adam Driver sing his part in "Please Mr. Kennedy" on repeat whenever I'm in need of a pick-me-up.

8. Drinking Buddies
It's clear from some of the other choices on this list that I have no problem with films where nothing much happens. Just two characters talking is more than enough for me. So even though this small and lovely story about friends who work at a Chicago brewery may seem odd to include on a list with such IMPORTANT productions as The Wolf of Wall Street or 12 Years a Slave, I loved it just the same. Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson as a pair of best friends have both never been better, and as the two friends move through their relationships with their respective significant others, Ron Livingston and Anna Kendrick, questions about their feelings for each other inevitably crop up. The naturalistic dialogue and camera work really makes you feel like you are encroaching on something intimate and real. So though the movie may feel small or even inconsequential to some, I found it to be one of the most rooted-in-real-life film experiences of my movie-going year.

9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
I didn't LOVE the first Hunger Games as much as I wanted to. As a huge fan of the books, something just wasn't right the first time around. With Catching Fire, all is forgiven. Based on my favorite book of the trilogy, Catching Fire finds heroine Katniss Everdeen thrown back into the arena, but this time with a much more experienced group of killers. But the fun of this movie isn't just what is happening in the arena as much as what's happening outside it. Katniss has become a symbol of hope for the oppressed people of Panem and the scenes showing the growing unrest are some of the film's most powerful. All the shaky-cam annoyance from the first film is gone and the two-hour-plus run time sails buy without notice. Jennifer Lawrence may be getting more praise for American Hustle, but I think her Katniss is much more in her wheelhouse, and is actually the better performance. The last shot where every nuance of her face goes from devastation to sadness to resolve is nothing short of incredible.

10. Captain Phillips
The last scene. The. Last. Scene. It was at the moment where the movie turned from a Zero Dark Thirty on the sea to something infinitely more interesting. Has Tom Hanks ever been better than when all the tension of the past two hours is finally released? I think not. It's just so refreshing to see an actor actually react to all that has happened to his character over the course of a movie, especially after watching countless movies where the hero never even acknowledges all the trauma he's witnessed. Then there's the entire first part of the movie, which despite a real clunker of an opening scene between Phillips and his wife, is a nail-biting thriller with a hopefully star-making performance by Somali-born Barkhad Abdi. Director Paul Greengrass presents the pirates as fully-formed characters with motivations and desires all clearly communicated. While the journey is full of classic Hollywood storytelling, by the time Phillips is taken into that medical exam room, we're ready to authentically crumple right along with him.

2013 Movies: Trailers

Best trailer: Her



Best music change: American Hustle



Most insane: The Wolf of Wall Street (with an assist by Kanye)



Best cut to movie title: Inside Llewyn Davis



Greatest restraint (It only teases the first half of the movie): The Hunger Games: Catching Fire



Best line read: Captain Phillips (Three way tie between "They're not here to fish." "Look at me. Look at me. I'm the captain now." and "Maybe in America. Maybe in America."


Unexpectedly and awesomely dark considering the movie: Iron Man 3


Sentimental favorite: Before Midnight


Sexiest without doing much: Much Ado About Nothing


Creepiest: Stoker


Excited for 2014: X Men: Days of Future Past

Worst Trailer: The Big Wedding

2013 Movie Rundown

So this year I decided to count all the movies I saw that were released during the calendar year instead of just the ones I saw in the theater. The ones I saw in the theater are marked by a (T). To compare with last year's count, I saw 54 movies in the theater over last year's 44. However, using the new system I saw 60 2013 releases. I credit this record high number to my new job, which during the summer allowed me to leave early on Fridays and sometimes sneak in two movies before anyone else was even out of work for the night. All movies are listed in categories in alphabetical order. Stay tuned for my actual top 10, to be posted soon.

Perfect
12 Years a Slave (T)
Before Midnight (T)
Her (T)
Jurassic Park 3D (T)

Greatness
All is Lost (T)
American Hustle (T)
Captain Phillips (T)
The Dallas Buyers Club (T)
Drinking Buddies (T)
Enough Said (T)
Frances Ha
Gravity (T)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (T)
Inside Llewyn Davis (T)
Iron Man 3 (T)
Nebraska (T)
This is the End (T)
The Wolf of Wall Street (T)
Warm Bodies (T)

Solid
About Time (T)
Blackfish
Blue Jasmine (T)
Blue is the Warmest Color (T)
Fruitvale Station (T)
The Heat (T)
In a World (T)
Kill Your Darlings (T)
The Kings of Summer (T)
Mud (T)
Philomena (T)
The Place Beyond the Pines (T)
Rush (T)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (T)
Side Effects (T)
The Spectacular Now (T)
Star Trek: Into the Darkness (T)
The Way Way Back (T)
The World's End (T)

Silly but Fun
Anchorman: The Legend Continues (T)
Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (T)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (T)
Now You See Me (T)
Thor: The Dark World (T)
The To-Do List (T)
We're the Millers

Moments of Greatness but Should Have Been Better
August: Osage County (T)
The Butler (T)
The Bling Ring (T)
Don Jon (T)
The Great Gatsby (T)
Identity Thief
Man of Steel (T)
Saving Mr. Banks (T)
Spring Breakers
Stoker
Trance (T)

Terrible
Elysium (T)
The Counselor (T)
Oz: The Great and Powerful (T)

Just too Upsetting
The Act of Killing

I am TERRIBLE at Blogging

This year has flown by and I haven't written ANYTHING since the Oscars. That is ridiculous. I logged in to see I had three drafts from earlier this year, but just had to delete them at this point. However, I did see way more movies than last year so stay tuned for a movie rundown and top 10 to be posted later this week. And once more I'll resolve to write more in the new year.

2013 Oscar Picks

My work's conference is a weekend later so, for the first time in two years, I get to watch the Oscars live! YAY!! I'm having a viewing party, complete with ballot betting. This year has some categories that could go in several ways, so it should be an exciting one. As for the TV show, God help us survive all the Family Guy voices Seth MacFarlane unleashes on us all.

Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Like I said in my yearly roundup, I’ve been unable to rank this year’s movies, having liked a lot of them, but not definitively LOVED any of them. Conventional wisdom has Argo losing because of Ben Affleck’s snub, but I’m convinced that snub helped the film more than it hurt. The Academy wants to reward him, and this is where they’ll do it. As for me, I’ve gone back and forth between Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook for weeks trying to decide my personal favorite. It’s a moot point at this juncture, so I’ll say the move that should win is the one that I’m most anxious to see again, which at this point is Zero Dark Thirty. Note: I’ve seen Argo twice and Silver Linings Playbook three times.

Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty
Will Win: Argo

Best Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

I really liked Lincoln. I saw it twice, and enjoyed it both times. I respect Spielberg’s commitment to bringing this version of Lincoln’s life to the screen. I appreciate his direction to writer Tony Kushner to focus just on the amendment’s passage. I just can’t muster up much enthusiasm for the film besides Daniel Day-Lewis' performance. So I guess he gets credit for hiring him? Eh, I’m more impressed with Ang Lee. He directed a massive movie, in 3D, which featured water, animals, unknown actors and what many called an unfilmable novel. That’s enough reasons for me. Yes, most of what I’ve read calls this category for Spielberg, but I’m letting this be my wild card category.

Should Win: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Will Win: Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

This category was over when Day-Lewis’ casting was announced. Better luck next time gentleman, but thanks for playing.

Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

The Impossible is one of the few movies in major categories that I haven’t seen, so I can’t speak on Watts’ performance with much authority. Emmanuelle Riva broke my heart in Amour and I would not be mad if she won. Quvenzhané Wallis is adorable and was fantastic in a kid-actors-are-usually-terrible way. So that leaves Lawrence and Chastain. Lawrence has this category pretty much sewed up, and she deserves it. Hers is the performance with the most diversity. She’s funny, heartbreaking, crazy and sexy, all in the same role. She has the most to do character-wise, hence why she’s as close to a frontrunner as the category has. Personally, I’m more impressed with what Chastain was able to do with so little. We don’t get to know her Maya. We just get to see her laser focus on accomplishing her mission. It’s a quieter performance, but I think that makes it the more powerful. Especially, at the end, when she’s accomplished her mission and we get the payoff of two hours of her stoic, determinism—a human moment that completely saved the movie from being completely cold.

Should Win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

I had the most fun watching Alan Arkin, and I wish he’d gotten more push in this category. However, it was not meant to be. I see it as a toss-up between De Niro, Lee Jones and Waltz. I think PSH’s is critics’ actual favorite, but critics don’t vote for the Academy. He is remarkable, but I think the polarizing nature of the film as whole counts against him. As for the frontrunners, I enjoyed Lee Jones the most, so I have him taking it.

Should Win: Alan Arkin, Argo
Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Another lock, and for good reason—Anne Hathaway is the best part of an overstuffed, hyper-emotional act-off. In another year, Helen Hunt would have my vote. I really enjoyed The Sessions and am still smarting from John Hawkes snub for Best Actor. But this is Hathaway’s to lose, and she just won’t.

Should Win: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Will Win: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables

Other Category Predictions

Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Original Screenplay: Django Unchained
Animated Feature: Wreck-It Ralph
Foreign Language Film: Amour
Production Design: Anna Karenina
Makeup: Les Misérables
Sound Editing: Skyfall
Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Cinematography: Life of Pi
Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man
Documentary Short Subject: Mondays at Racine
Film Editing: Argo
Short Film, Animated: Paperman
Short Film, Life Action: Curfew
Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Original Score: Life of Pi
Original Song: “Skyfall”

2012 Movies: Scenes that Stuck

Sometimes one or two scenes/sequences can really make a movie. They can even save a mediocre one. Here are 9 that really did both from 2012’s movies, plus a few other notables that I liked. Obviously, a SPOILER ALERT is needed here.

Best Decision to Use Less Dialogue: “Flight”

When the sound of a fridge clicking to life can make an audience gasp, you know you’ve done something special—a scene just as tense as anything in “Argo” or “Zero Dark Thirty,” but a wonderfully wordless one. Late in the film, all Denzel Washington’s Whip Whitaker has to do is not drink for one night. Then we hear the whir of a motor and realize there is a mini fridge beckoning him to destroy himself. We watch in agony as he opens the door and surveys all the glittering liquor bottles, takes one out and, eventually, sets it on the counter. Everything about the scene is elegantly framed and the pacing is so perfect that you can feel everyone in the audience collectively, silently screaming DON’T DO IT!!!!

Creepy but Captivating: “The Master”

I had some problems with “The Master” as a film overall, but there is nothing wrong with the performances. They are incredible, practically on another level than the film itself. Nowhere is this more evident than the first “processing” scene where PSH’s religious leader asks Joaquin Phoenix—a broken and volatile WWII vet—a series of questions. The questions, which are often repeated, start with the simple “what is your name?” and build to the deeper, “are you often consumed by envy,” which slowly but surely enrapture Phoenix’s Freddie. When PSH’s Dodd tells him they are finished for now, Freddie begs him to continue. Then comes the interesting part, the pair start on a series of questions Freddie must answer without blinking or Dodd says they must start over. This series takes place in one long take as we watch Freddie struggle with both keeping his eyes open and telling the truth. It’s a deeply unsettling scene that illustrates, if only for a moment, why Freddie continues on his insane path for the rest of the film.

Best Use of Matthew McConaughey Ever: “Magic Mike”

The scene only last maybe two minutes, but it tells you all you need to know about the kind of movie you are about to watch. The movie opens on McConaughey’s strip club owner, on stage, in leather chaps, going over what the ladies in the audience can and cannot touch. But it’s the way he delivers the line “The law says you cannot touch…but I think I see a lot of lawbreakers up in this house,” that is so brilliant I can’t even pinpoint why exactly. Then he does a little shimmy and the scene cuts to black. I remember seeing the line in the trailer, and it’s what sold me that the movie had the potential to be great. It’s the line modern McConaughey—the one who forgot how talented he could be per “A Time to Kill” and the one who has become more famous for being shirtless than possibly any other actor in history, except perhaps Taylor Lautner—was born to deliver. The rest of the movie is him chewing scenery, reminding us all how good he can be. And it starts with that line and a shimmy, all at the right moment.

Most Upsetting: “Prometheus”

Almost too upsetting to even mention, but something I definitely did not think I’d see in a movie this year: a self-administered alien c-section. Note: I never need to see it again.








Biggest Surprise: “Skyfall”

He enters deep in frame, just a smudge of blond hair and light suit, slowly walking toward camera. He delivers a story about rats eating each other. But I don’t think anyone could have expected what happens next. In Javier Bardem’s quest to make Daniel Craig’s James Bond as uncomfortable as possible, he unbuttons his shirt, strokes his chest and face and touches his leg. It’s both unintentionally hilarious until you realize you are only laughing because of how uncomfortable you feel. About the time Bond makes a crack about it perhaps not being his first time, Bardem and Craig have created one of the best Bond and villain scenes in the series 50-year history.

Oscar that Should Have Been: “Django Unchained”

 Leonardo DiCaprio obviously holds a special place in most girls of my age’s hearts. His status as dreamboat has never wavered, but his career choices have been so impeccable as of late that he has overcome that label to be known as just a damn fine actor. He’s flirted with Oscar three times before, but when I saw the trailer for Django I thought for sure this was his year. The Supporting category is where Clooney won, so it makes sense that DiCaprio could find similar respect there. My hope for his Oscar was turned to near certainty with one particular scene in the film—the dinner scene where he explains of the three dimples found in African-American skulls. His Calvin Candie has just discovered that Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx have entered his plantation under false pretense, and instead of confronting them directly; he weaves a tale about his papa’s old slave Ben’s skull. Throughout the monologue he is all courtesy and grandeur on the outside, but it’s his eyes that sell it. You can see the years of hatred in those eyes. When the scene turns and we see him do one of his trademark screams and slam his hand on the table and cut it—which I had read he did on accident and just went with, which, of course, meant Tarantino couldn’t resist that take—I was in complete awe of him. To watch an actor you’ve loved for what feels like your whole life go to a place where you almost can’t watch him means he is doing something very right. And curse Oscar for overlooking it.

Most Emotional from Unexpected Place: “Ruby Sparks” 

From the trailer you might expect “Ruby Sparks” to be just a cute little movie, made by a real life couple, but you’d be very wrong. It does have those elements, which hooked me from the beginning, but what it really is is something much darker. Its concern is control. Paul Dano’s Calvin creates Ruby and can make her do whatever he wants with the tap of his typewriter keys. This idea is at its most terrifying toward the end of the film when he tries to make her understand she literally can’t leave him. He sits at the typewriter, bathed in shadows, and writes despicable things for Ruby to do—speak French, act like a dog, tell him over and over how much she loves him and that he is a genius. Each slam of the typewriter with its patented ding is like a dagger to both Calvin and Ruby, cementing that what is to come is going to be even more unpleasant. By the end, both are completely broken that the truth of what can happen when you lose yourself in a relationship or when you crave a certain level of control over someone you love is palpable. The scene is a go-for-broke acting exercise for both Dano and screenwriter Zoe Kazan, and just thinking about it makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Most Emotional (fan girl edition): “The Dark Knight Rises”

I’m a sucker for closing the loop. I love callbacks or anything that can make me feel gratified for paying attention, or at least, being there from the beginning. After suffering a broken back courtesy of Bane, Bruce Wayne recovers in a pit of a prison, where the prisoners are tortured by the possibility that they might be able to climb out. He tries and fails to climb out twice, but once his sage-like prison mate tells him to try it without the rope, the real good stuff begins. We watch him climb up a pit just like we watched him fall down a pit in “Batman Begins”. It is in that pit that a young Bruce Wayne is inspired to become Batman. Then present-day Wayne gets to the platform where he must make the jump without a rope, and a swarm of bats escape from the pit’s walls. Hans Zimmer’s score swells, the chanting of the prisoners escalates and then he jumps… all sound is sucked out of the scene until he lands on the platform safely. It made my heart full of joy with its perfectly calibrated comic book cheese, done in a way that only Nolan’s Batman films could pull off.

Most Emotional (musical obsessed edition): “Les Misérables”

I have a weakness for “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” in the stage version of “Les Misérables”. It’s where I lose whatever composure I had left and become a balling, heaving mess. However, the film version, while still powerful didn’t destroy me in the same way. Probably because Anne Hathaway had already destroyed me with her endlessly discussed performance of “I Dreamed a Dream.” It made me tear up with just the trailer, but the actual scene itself is the one place in the movie where Director Tom Hooper’s annoying obsession with close up actually works for me.

Other Notable Scenes:
“Silver Linings Playbook:” Jennifer Lawrence destroys Robert De Niro’s Eagles theory.
“The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey:” Gollum and Bilbo play riddles in the dark.
“Looper:” Torture victims lose their limbs in past and affect their future selves.
“Zero Dark Thirty:” After a decade of hunting Bin laden, Jessica Chastain has nowhere to go.
“Argo: The hostages get pulled aside at the airport.

2012 Movies: Trailers

Everyone is well aware that I love a good trailer. Here are my favs from this year.

Trailer that made me weep repeatedly: Les Miserables

Trailer that made me nervous even though I knew how it turns out: Zero Dark Thirty

Trailer that made my heart burst with happiness: Moonrise Kingdom

Trailer that I loved but never even saw the movie: Snow White and the Huntsman

Trailer that made me read the book first: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Trailer that made me root for an Oscar for a performance: Django Unchained (Leo)

Trailer that succeeds because of one line: Magic Mike

Trailer that made me grateful I never hated Ben Affleck: Argo

Trailer that made me swoon: Skyfall (the cuff adjustment heard round the world)

Best trailer of 2012: The Dark Knight Rises 

2012 Movie Rundown

This year was a fantastic year for movies. However, for the first time, I can't really anoint any of the movies I saw as "Perfection." I feel passionately about all the movies under "Excellent," but not to the degree that I could make an argument for any of them being perfect. So you only get "excellent" movies this year.

Note: I was running behind last year's total until my flight got cancelled and I had three extra days in New York before coming home for Christmas. Those three days allowed me top last year's total of 42 by two, with 44, which includes a viewing of Titanic in 3D that is not ranked below because I think everyone knows my feelings on that movie by now. I also decided to mark which movies I saw more than once in the theater and to include movies I watched on the plane to Paris since they were fairly current in theaters. What did I miss? Where did I go wrong? Speak up . . .

Excellent
Argo
The Avengers (2)
The Dark Knight Rises (2)
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Ruby Sparks
Silver Linings Playbook (2)
Skyfall (3)
Zero Dark Thirty

Solid 
The Amazing Spiderman
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Flight
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hunger Games (3)
Lincoln (2)
Looper
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Pitch Perfect
21 Jump Street
The Sessions

Fine
Anna Karenina
Celeste and Jesse Forever
The Five-Year Engagement
Friends with Kids
For a Good Time Call…
Life of Pi
Lola Versus
Prometheus
Safety Not Guaranteed
This is 40
The Woman in Black
Wreck-It Ralph

Eh
The Campaign
To Rome with Love
Wanderlust

Just Silly
Magic Mike
Ted
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2

Just Bad
Hitchcock
John Carter
What to Expect When You’re Expecting