16 Aug 2012, 7:30 pm
Hi everyone, just so you know, this is my first post on this site! When thinking of a good first board to go comment on, I figured that movies are always good lead-ins to easygoing, fun conversations.
So what have you guys gone to see this year? I see a decent amount of flicks each year, though not as many as, say, some film critic on Youtube might. I tend to watch action and drama-related stuff, mostly. So I'd love to hear what your guys' and girls' tastes in movies are like, and if you might have a favorite or least favorite from 2012 already. I guess I'll list the 2012 releases I've seen so far:
1) The Grey: This one is highly recommended. I like Liam Neeson and honestly was kind of expecting more of a straight up action movie, but ended up getting this even better, extremely powerful survival flick. Some of the wolf attack scenes are nail-bitingly intense, I felt sympathy for pretty much every character by the end, and Neeson, as expected, was a great lead.
2) Safe House: This one could have been so much more :/ I'm a HUGE Denzel fan, and even when a movie is bad the guy always turns in a good performance. He actually gives one of his darker and more captivating performances in recent memory, but this was pretty much a generic, forgettable action thriller that could've been soooo much better if Washington and Ryan Reynolds had more character development and the ending were more original.
3) The Hunger Games: From the perspective of someone who's read and loved (for the most part) this whole trilogy, this was a really solid adaptation. This movie was perfectly cast, emotional and intense where it needed to be, and even had an edge of Orwellian satire I never really got out of the books. If only the camera wasn't so darn shaky during each action sequence! Maybe the new director they're getting for Catching Fire will fix that.
4) The Cabin in the Woods: By far the most pleasant surprise of 2012 I've yet seen. Wasn't planning on seeing it as I'm not much of a horror fan, but I'd heard good things and was convinced to go see it by a friend. Talk about a breath of fresh air! The characters have some good dialogue and make surprisingly three-dimensional personalities out of the usual cliches, and the script they have to fight their way out of is even more unpredictable! Let me tell you, you won't guess the last 30 minutes of this movie from a mile away. Simply brilliant.
5) The Avengers: I'd been waiting for this one ever since the end of Iron Man back in 2008, and it certainly didn't disappoint. This movie was pretty much an instruction booklet on how to make an action movie: characters you'll root for, creative battle scenarios, some spectacular set-pieces, and perfectly executed comedy. Every minute of this flick is just so much fun. For what it is, it's nearing perfection.
6) Prometheus: Alien is one of my favorite movies of all time, and Ridley Scott is one of my favorite directors, duds and all; needless to say I couldn't wait to see what this movie would be like. And I... liked it... overall. I wanted to love this movie, but there's a bit too much suspension of disbelief, even for science fiction, and the sequel bait ending was a pisser. Not enough is clarified to make this a completely satisfying standalone movie, and a some characters seemed to do stupid things just to get the action rolling again. Having said all that, it's visually beautiful, with the best 3D I've seen in a movie since Avatar, some of the many, many questions it raises ARE quite though-provoking, and I think Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender deserve Oscars for their performances. There's definitely enough on the table here to at least make for an interesting watch, and if anything this movie has lead to some fascinating conversations with friends and family. Recommended, but with a CAUTION sign attached.
7) The Amazing Spider-Man: There's a lot to like in this movie. Andrew Garfield is an endlessly superior Spidey to Tobey Maguire, the chemistry between him and Emma Stone is charming and believable, Martin Sheen is fantastic as usual, and the film as a whole strikes a more relateable and realistic tone than the Sam Raimi trilogy. It's a shame that the villain is so tragically underdeveloped (Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin remains my favorite villain in a Spidey film yet) and the script is so convenient in places despite its efforts to be darker and less formulaic than the Raimi films. Though it's got great performances and fun action scenes, this movie, like Prometheus, is relegated to the "good, not great" barrel of 2012 blockbusters.
Brave: I have no idea why this one got such lukewarm reception. Barring the fact that it's basically a point-by-point redo of The Little Mermaid, and the underdevloped villain, it's still charming, funny, emotional, and visually beautiful like the best Pixar movies. Likeable characters, clever jokes for both kids and adults, and positive messages make this enchanting as both a fantasy film and a family film.
9) The Dark Knight Rises: Call me a fanboy if you will, but this is undeniably my favorite film of 2012 thus far. The ONLY problems I had were a few leaps of faith I had to take in what has been a gritty and realistic trilogy of movies. But the amount of things this movie does right is incredible. Bruce Wayne/Batman is more compelling than ever, Bane is incredibly charismatic and intimidating, Anne Hathaway surprised the heck out of me with her portrayal of Catwoman, the political undertones are thought-provoking (made me think twice about the way are inmates are treated), and I haven't seen a movie of such an epic scope since LOTR: Return of the King. I might have liked this even more than The Dark Knight, though I'll have to rewatch both to verify.
10) The Bourne Legacy: Unfortunately, this one's my least favorite. Look up disappointment in the dictionary. Bourne Identity is in my top 5 action movies, and I also thoroughly enjoyed Supremacy and Ultimatum. But this reeked of cash grab from the first 15 minutes. Were it not for David Straithairn's and Joan Allen's paycheck cameos and the occasional "This just in! Jason Bourne" headline, I'd never guess I were watching a Bourne movie. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but I still feel like I was cheated, even moreso than when Prometheus left so many questions unanswered. The script emanates convenience at a number of moments, Edward Norton is given nothing to do except stare at computers and spout exposition, (though for an exposition-heavy movie, clarity isn't exactly par for the course), and there isn't even an ending. The movie just... stops. The actors did what they could with the subpar script and what action was there was entertaining, but all in all I still found this highly underwhelming.
So that's my list. As you can tell I put a lot of thought into this, haha. My favorite was Dark Knight Rises, with The Grey, Cabin in the Woods, and Avengers not far behind.
I'd love to hear all your opinions! 
16 Aug 2012, 9:37 pm
16 Aug 2012, 11:23 pm
17 Aug 2012, 1:33 am
17 Aug 2012, 2:52 am
17 Aug 2012, 4:23 pm
17 Aug 2012, 9:55 pm
roygerdodger
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Joined: 15 Jul 2006
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22 Aug 2012, 12:40 pm
22 Aug 2012, 2:10 pm
AnonymousAnonymous
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Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Age: 36
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22 Aug 2012, 4:37 pm
22 Aug 2012, 4:58 pm
Cabin in the woods
Lorax
Dark shadows
We bought a zoo
Lockout
Dark knight rises
Tintin
Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory
Charlie and the chocolate factory
Wall-E
Shrek Forever
Ice Age 4
Expendables 2
Avengers
Alice in Wonderland
The Dictator
Brave
Sweeney Todd
Probably missed a lot out. 
equestriatola
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Joined: 13 Aug 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 154,115
Location: Wherever my mind wants it to be
22 Aug 2012, 9:16 pm
23 Aug 2012, 11:53 am
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24 Aug 2012, 1:13 am
24 Aug 2012, 3:35 pm
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