Family Friendly

Total Pageviews

Friday, December 28, 2012

the Best/Worst Films of 2012

Hey guys, Clayton here. Well, 2012 is nearly over, the world didn't end, and 2013 is near. So before New Year's, how about we count down my Best/Worst of the Year. Unlike last year, I will do the Best first, and save the Worst for last. Now keep this in mind, I did not see EVERY movie this year so if you don't see a movie you like such as "Perks of Being a Wallflower" or "the Hunger Games" it's because I didn't see it. So without further adu, here is...

Clayton's Top 12 Best Films of 2012!

12.
 
        Ok, I'm aware that people either like this movie or really hate it, I'm sort of mixed of this movie because even though some of the characters are annoying and unlikeable and the plot is unoriginal, but the reason I like is because of some of the jokes and the party scenes can be entertaining and insane. Be lucky that this movie's at the bottom of the list because there are much better movies on this list.


11. 
           
               After just getting in to the American Pie trilogy, my family decided to give the newest one a look and we were not disappointed. Though some jokes don't work, it still had it's great cast of characters, really raunchy jokes and a satisfying ending to the saga. All I have to say is, if you liked the other American Pie movies, you'll like this one.


10.
             

                     When I heard about a sequel to the Expendables is near, I was excited to see more awesomeness from the greatest action stars out there. And surprisingly, it happened. The movie is really fun, action packed and the action stars (even Schwarzenegger) still got it. If you're a fan of cheesy action movies, you'll love this one
                       

9.           
        
                                Now I know what you're thinking, "Seriously, dude? Why this movie? Why not Cabin in the Woods?" Well, first of all, I haven't gotten a chance to see Cabin in the Woods yet. And second of all, this movie is frankly, not that bad, I even think it's hilarious. As a fan of the classic Three Stooges shorts, I think this movie resembles the shorts well, even the actors who portray the Stooges themselves. I especially like how at the end they inform the children watching not to attempt the stunts, which is atcually a smart move from the Farrelly Bros.

8.  
                      
      
                                              Pixar's more recent attempt may be better than last year's disappointment that was "Cars 2", but even for Pixar standards, this movie was pretty average. The plot was unoriginal at times and while some characters are a mixed bag, the third act makes the movie work. Not only the tird act, but the animation as well (again, this is Pixar). Overall, not a bad movie, but not a great one either. Let's just hope that "Monsters University" is a great movie.

7. 

                                                  Tim Burton returns to his stop motion films with a remake of his live action short when he worked for Disney. While the art style and stop motion is brilliant, the movie shines with its cast of side characters and monsters. For me, it makes up for "Dark Shadows" and I consider it to be another masterpiece from Burton.



6. 
             
                                                   As a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I got pretty hyped when I heard that Peter Jackson is making a trilogy out of the prequel novel. But the reason why this movie isn't higher is techincally because it does have some problems like the CG can be at times cartoony, except for Gollum of course and that some elements are left out of the book. But in all seriousness, this movie is really good, just not as good as the original trilogy.

5.
              
 and
                                                          
                                                          I couldn't decide which one of these was funnier so I decided to put them both at a spot. Easily for me both of these were the funniest films of the year for their own reasons.
"21 Jump Street" takes a simple concept and turns it into a funny action packed ride with some smart and funny writing. With "Ted", directed by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, took a ridiculous concept and turned it into a very raunchy and very funny movie with some surprisingly dramatic moments into it.


4. 
                
                                                 
                                                         We have had a slew of found footage movies this year and this one has got to be the best one of the genre this year. It presented a new concept and gave us a very interesting and quite disturbing villain origin story. The best things about this movie is that it shows a very realistic approach to people who would gain telekenetic powers. It shows the dark side of gaining powers and does it in justice

3.
           

                                                               Easily the best animated film of the year, "Wreck-It Raplh" combines nostalgic gaming with newer gaming with a very relatable story. Though the story may be nothing new, but it shines with its great cast of colorful characters, wonderful animation, and a surprising villain. Whether you're a hardcore gamer or not, you'll enjoy this movie.

2.
     
                                              
                                                             Now you must think I'm insane by putting a Batman movie at number 2 instaed of number 1. Well, my thoughts of this movie is that it's good, just not great. I mean sure the actors did a really good job, Bane is a cool villain and the special FX are good, but there were some plotholes in the movie, it focused more on Bruce Wayne than Batman, and it really is more dramatic and it kind of needed a little more fun action in it. I will say this, despite my problems with it, I still love this movie.

1.
     

                                                           I knew some people saw this one coming from me because I'm more of a Marvel fan than DC, but I do have a reason to put this at number 1. This was a movie that not only I have been waiting for, but other Marvel fans have been hyped for since the release of 2008's "Iron Man". After being hyped with after credit build up, the movie finally came and the Marvel fans and comic book geeks rejoiced. But this movie is the straight up perfect summer blockbuster. It is action-packed, it's funny and has a great team up of heroes. It was also one of the funnest theatre experiences I ever had, the audience cheered, laughed and interacted with the movie. And I couldn't help but join in. But for all those reasons, "the Avengers" turned out to be a champion of 2012! And here's to the hope of "Avengers 2"!

Honorable Mentions:
Journey 2: the Mysterious Island
Madea's Witness Protection
Red Dawn (the Remake)
John Carter
the Campaign

Films That Would Have Made the List If I Saw Them:
the Hunger Games
the Grey
the Secret World of Arrietty
the Perks of Being a Wallflower
Act of Valor
Wrath of the Titans
the Cabin in the Woods
Men in Black 3
the Amazing Spider-Man
Madagascar 3
Rock of Ages
ParaNorman
Looper
Jack Reacher
Les Miserables
Django Unchained

And now, my friends we now move to the Worst of the Year. Now I only saw 4 this year that can be considered bad. So, here is...

Clayton's Top 4 Worst Films of 2012

4.
     

                                  Now, to be fair, in my opinion the first two Paranormal Activity movies were ok, the endings were actually scary and I actually thought the third one was pretty scary. But this one is just showing that the franchise has just worn out its welcome. The cast is "eh", there are gaping plotholes in the story and the biggest problem is that the jump scares get tiring after the first five times they did it. But to be fair, the end is actually pretty scary-ish. But it's obvious there will be a Paranormal Activity 5 and I'm not quite sure I'll be seeing it.

3.
          
     
                                                It's pretty obvious that a Twilight movie would end up on the list. But there is one reason this one isn't higher on this list. First, I enjoyed the battle scene at the end of the movie, and the most obvious one, the series is FINALLY over. But it really doesn't excuse the fact that it still had some problems that the other ones have. Which is because it is boring, the characters are all bland and that nothing really happens. But, let's be thankful it's over.

                                 
2
.
                                    This movie though the action and the character of Ghost Rider is better than the first movie, it doesn't excuse the movie for being very senseless and stupid. The characters get poorly done, the action scenes, though entertaining and high octaine, is still senseless, and it feels like it had nothing to do with the previous movie (which wasn't that good of a movie anyway).

1
.
  
                                           Ok, it's somewhat of a rant time. When I saw commercials for this movie, I had no interest for this movie, because it just looked like some sort of crappy horror movie. But my mom and sister were going with a couple we knew and so I decided to tag along, because I had nothing else better to do. Little did I know the true horror that awaits for us. First off, the acting and dialoge is horrible, it makes "Freddy's Dead: the Final Nightmare" look subtle. Secondly, it tries too hard to be scary. The only scary thing in this movie is a dog barking loudly. Yeah, much scarier than the entire movie. And lastly, the ending is a huge slap in the face to the audience seeing it. I have a clear memory of people in the audience booing at the end. I will not dare spoil it for the sake of your sanity and what's left of mine. I will honestly say that this is not only the worst film of 2012, but it's also one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. Do yourself a favor and skip this one and watch a better horror movie instead.

Films That Would've Made the List If I Saw Them:
A Thousand Words
Parental Guidance
the Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure
Silent House

Well, that was my list of the Best/Worst of 2012. Let's hope that 2013 will bring us more good movies this time! This is Clayton saying, prepare for Hollywood to pay the price we HAD to pay.

Next Time:
The Top 13 Most Anticipated Films of 2013

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Hiatus

Hey everyone, Clayton here. Sorry for not keeping my promises and posting any reviews. I have either been busy with school or life and at times I got lazy. But not to worry, I will post a Best/Worst of the Year before New Year's and start reviewing any movie I see next year or start doing lists. And I promise to put more effort into writing my thoughts. So I hope to get more reviews out soon. See you later guys!