Monday, January 28, 2013

SAG Award Winners

Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture: "Argo"
Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series: "Downton Abbey"
Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama Series: Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Outstanding Female Actor in a Drama Series: Claire Danes, "Homeland"
Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series: "Modern Family"
Outstanding Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Outstanding Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Outstanding Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Kevin Costner, "Hatfields & McCoys"
Outstanding Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries: Julianne Moore, "Game Change"
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture: "Skyfall"
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series: "Game of Thrones"

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel killed film criticism?


Anghus Houvouras from flickeringmyth.com wrote an interesting piece regarding the over-simplification of film criticism that is prevalent in today's universe. While I've always enjoyed Roger Ebert and respect him highly as a film critic, I understand what Anghus is saying.

I've touched on this subject quite a few times on this site before. It frustrates me what film criticism has become over the past couple of years. Anghus may not be within his right to solely blame Siskel & Ebert for putting every film on a "pass/fail" scale, but that is indeed where we are now in the Internet Age.. It's either the best ever, or the worst ever. That's what discussion of film has turned into. Nothing can be pretty good, decent, average, it has to be one extreme or the other.

That's the case with many things these days. Everybody does this with everything these days. Twitter has amplified that which Anghus is absolutely right about. Twitter, honestly, is my biggest foe when it comes to film criticism. It's not that a person can't say they like or dislike a film on Twitter, but that's not what my complaint's about. The problem is when someone goes right to twitter to judge a film as soon as they see it. Thanks to smart phones and twitter, you can immediately post your initial reaction to something you've just seen. And also thanks to twitter, many people can do this. So when people claim something they saw is "the best ever" or "the worst ever," it's even worse when reading it on twitter because it's such a knee-jerk reaction. It sucks out any meaningful conversation. It's all about being the first one to talk about the movie. It's not about the movie at all. There may be some good things about twitter, for sure, but it's still a big problem I have with the social media site.

This is why I created kenoncinema. When I truly love a film, I want it to mean something. When I truly hate a film, I want it to mean something. To me, there's nothing valuable about proclaiming everything to be great or terrible. I try my best to be as considerate and thoughtful as possible when I start writing about a film. We need to have more nuanced conversations when it comes to things we like or dislike because otherwise, if we simplify our thoughts, they begin to lose meaning.

That said, personally, things like Siskel & Ebert and rottentomatoes made me look deeper into the realm of film criticism. I was a teenager when rottentomatoes became popular and it only help to fuel my passion for film and film criticism. It didn't force me to evaluate things on a pass/fail basis. I know this is the case with other people too. So, while I do think we live in an age where people constantly have to judge things as the best or worst ever, I think it'd be unfair to put the blame solely on one person. There's a lot of reasons for it. The internet brings forth some meaningful dialogue, but also a lot of meaningless drivel.

The important thing is to recognize that we do need to have more nuance in our film conversations, I think it's pointless to try to and pinpoint blame. That sort of thing is also something that occurs too often in the Internet Age.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Inside Llewyn Davis



So yeah, this looks pretty awesome. After making a film year after year from No Country to True Grit. The Coens are back in a big way with Inside Llewyn Davis which stars Oscar Isaac as the title role. The film explores the Folk music scene of the 1960s and, from watching the trailer, it will be unlike any Coen Bros film we've seen before. Really excited about this. Can't wait.

25 Films coming out in 2013 that I'm looking forward to

I just want to get this out there now and I'll talk more about them later. These are just off the top of my head, I'll be more thorough about them when I have the time.

film - director
The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese
The Monuments Men - George Clooney
The Counselor - Ridley Scott
Labor Day - Jason Reitman
Nebraska - Alexander Payne
The World's End - Edgar Wright
Only God Forgives - Nicolas Winding Refn
I'm So Excited - Pedro Almodovar
The Place Beyond the Pines - Derek Cianfrance
Side Effects - Steven Soderbergh
Pacific Rim - Guillermo del Toro
Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron
Frances Ha - Noah Baumbach
No - Pablo Larrain
Untitled ABSCAM Film - David O. Russell
Foxcatcher - Bennett Miller
Prince Avalance - David Gordon Green
Upstream Color - Shane Carruth
Elysium - Neill Blomkamp
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Robert Rodriguez
The Fifth Estate - Bill Condon
Anchorman 2 - Adam McKay
Inside Llewyn Davis - Coen Brothers
To the Wonder - Terrence Malick
There's more, I'm sure. Those are off the top of my head. Right now, I'd venture a guess and say Russell, Scorsese, Coen Brothers, Clooney, and Reitman's films look like the sexy potential "Oscar" contenders at this point. Who knows though? There's already a trailer for Inside Llewelyn Davis, we'll see when it comes out.

A Review Run-Down

I went to a handful of free screenings in the past week and instead of doing full-length reviews for all of them, I'm just gonna give brief reviews for the four movies.

Sister

The Swiss film "Sister" is a well-made drama that centers on a 12 year-old boy who steals ski equipment at a nearby resort in order to make money for him and his sister so that they can eat, pay rent. He and his older sister live together in a high rise project below the mountain. The movie does a great job of exploring upper and lower class societies and there's great performances all around. The kid, played by Kacey Mottet Klein, is solid as well.

Grade: B

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Perks is a special, wonderful film written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the novel that the film is based on. You can't ask for a more perfect situation here. A very well-made adaptation, a near-perfect realization of its characters with voice-over narration that isn't overused. This is a film worth returning to multiple times. Honestly, I was surprised I enjoy this film so much.

Grade: A-

Amour

I'm torn on Amour. On one hand, I love how simply and gracefully this touching story about an elderly couple unfolds. Georges and Anne are old, retired music teachers who live alone in Paris. One day Anne suddenly has a stroke and thus begins a slow, harrowing mental and physical decline with Georges being left to take care of her along with the assistance of a nurse or two. The film contains extraordinary performances from Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, with Riva deserving all the accolades coming her way. Ultimately though, this is the third Michael Haneke film I've seen and I still find his style kinda tough to get into. There's something very cold and frigid about this film despite its perceived warmth. Anne's decline and eventual death is heartbreaking in the way any elderly person's death would be. It gets to you because anyone can relate to it, but looking back at it, it was as if there's these two old people who are trapped in this cold Haneke universe, doomed to suffer and to eventually die. Still, it definitely elicited a strong reaction from me. I don't feel the need to revisit the film anytime soon, but it will stick with me for awhile.

Grade: B+

Compliance

Compliance is a straight-forward, unforgiving expose on this unbelievable true story. A true story that has occurred 70 times in 30 US States. A guy prank calling a fast food restaurant, posing as a cop, and getting employees to sexually harass, assault, and maybe even rape a fellow employee. Craig Zobel, the writer/director of the film, has an unflinching eye when it comes to this. You get exactly what the film promises and it's not pretty. In fact, this is a very ugly film, a tough film to watch. You keep watching because you know this all really happened, but you don't particularly feel good about it. I'm thankful this film exists because hopefully people will learn not to fall for these traps and understand that they have rights when a police officer talks to them... especially over the phone. But on the other hand, there are parts of this film that felt very uncomfortable, almost grueling. Other people may think more highly of this film. I respect it, but I didn't particularly enjoy. Great performances from Dreama Walker and Anne Dowd, however.

Grade: C+

Saturday, January 12, 2013

So...... the Oscars



The Oscars. What is there to say?

Look, no matter how you slice it, this is a damn solid group of BP nominees. 2012 was a great year for film and it would've been hard for the Academy to fuck it up. They didn't do such a bad job:

"Amour"
"Argo"
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
"Django Unchained"
"Les Miserables"
"Life Of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

That's not a bad group at all. Surely, they could've added a 10th film. Of course, I'd want that tenth film to be The Master, but they probably would've picked something like Flight so you take the good with the bad. Taking the good with the bad is pretty much the motto, when it comes to the Oscars. I'll take the good... a foreign language film (Amour), the little film that could (Beasts), the violent, indulgent, auteur-driven, slavery spaghetti western (Django), the controversial film for our times which may or may not "endorse torture" (Zero),  that rare Hollywood film that did pretty much everything right (Argo). And then, you know, Lincoln. I enjoyed Lincoln too. With those, it's hard not to at least respect Life of Pi's placement among the BP lineup. Silver Linings Playbook has gotten a lot of love, more than perhaps it deserves, but I can't hate on David O. Russell too much. Really, that just leaves Les Miserables. Whatever. A lot of people loved the film, what can you do?

Could The Master been included? Perhaps, but methinks The Master needs time to really sink in with people. A lot of people just don't like the ambiguity of it, besides, all the principal actors got recognized and I'm sure that means more to Paul Thomas Anderson than himself getting a few noms.

What's most curious about the Oscar nominations is Best Director: Spielberg and Ang Lee should be obvious. Their films got 12 and 11 nominations respectively. The Academy loved Life of Pi apparently, and why shouldn't they? It's visually impressive and has an emotional story. But of all the other films nominated for best picture, how do they leave out Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow? Not just one. But both? Argo is arguably the most solidly directed film of the year. By that I mean, it just works on so many levels, it's a well-made film for sure. I can understand Zero Dark Thirty being a bit too rough on the edges to fully embrace but, in my mind, it's a much more impressive directorial effort than Hurt Locker.

At the same time, I can't hate on Michael Haneke and Benh Zeitlin. David O. Russell is the one who is the bigger head-scratcher to me. In a normal year, I can absolutely take him being nominated for best director even if I wasn't crazy about the film. After all, Michel Havazivicus (or whatever) won for The Artist last year and... ugh, whatever. Russell's effort with SLP was just as good. But no, this was a really solid year for directors, an amazing year. I just can't see how you can put Russell over Affleck and Bigelow. Or Tarantino!

It's hard to hate on Benh Zeitlin even though Beasts of the Southern Wild is his first effort. It really is a great film and given how small the film is in its budget and how big Zeitlin was able to make it feel, that definitely takes a lot of talent. All this means is that Benh Zeitlin's gotta bring it next time around as well. There have been many great directors who have made great directorial debuts, almost none of them get nominated for it

Michael Haneke might go down as one of the best directors of this current time. I mean, he's only been making films since the mid'80s or so, but he just seems like a legend. His name just has a certain pedigree to it. He's got two Palme D'ors. His films don't always go down easy, in fact, none of them do, but I totally respect him being among the Best Director nominees. How could you not? It's always great when they recognize foreign filmmakers in such a big way.

It is an odd mix though when you put them together: Spielberg, Ang Lee, Benh Zeitlin, Michael Haneke, and David O. Russell. But look at the list you could make of the directors who weren't nominated: Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow, and Ben Affleck. If those were the five nominees, nobody would bat an eye, really. In fact, I think I'd take those five over the five that were nominated.

In the coming weeks, I'll talk more about the rest of the nominees but here's what I'll leave you with for now: Lincoln's gonna win pretty much everything. It seemed obvious for awhile and it was fun to see all these "oscar prognosticators" go crazy trying to figure out what would happen during Oscar season, but when Lincoln came out and got the type of box office it got, it just seemed obvious to me. It's got everything the Academy would want in a BP winner. It's got historical and cultural relevance, a big name director, a box office smash, a best actor winner. I mean, forget it. Silver Linings Playbook has a lot of the big nominations too, but it's got zero buzz. Unless, the nominations themselves are the buzz. But I don't think so. If anything, whatever buzz SLP gained, Lincoln gained even more of it.

As I've said before, I never take much stock in those Oscar bloggers because what most of it comes down to is how those bloggers feel about those movies. They wind up simply championing the films they loved the most and they don't really try to think like an Oscar voter. Some try to, but they still let their biases get in the way. So, people railing against Lincoln will probably say it won't win because they don't want it to win. We KNOW Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild don't have a chance. We know Life of Pi not having a single acting nomination kind of hurts it a little (although that didn't hurt Slumdog Millionaire, huh). The bottom line is that Lincoln has everything going for it. Last year, there wasn't a film nominated that audiences really loved so the Academy shunned them and picked The Artist for themselves. The King's Speech had the same sort of pedigree Lincoln has except for its then-unknown director. Of course now Tom Hooper has since proved unworthy of winning that Best Director Oscar, but whatever. As an aside, I was happy to see him miss out on that nomination. But Lincoln has that pedigree and I won't be surprised to see it win at least Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Screenplay. I could also see it winning Score, Costume Design and Cinematography. Editing? Maybe. But I'd be surprised if either Argo or Zero Dark Thirty got passed over for the Editing Oscar.

So yeah, Lincoln for Best Picture and Best Director. That, I'm 100% sure of. God help me if I'm wrong.

Next time around, I'll talk more about those who were "snubbed."

Friday, January 11, 2013

Short "The Impossible" review



I saw "The Impossible" a few days ago and feel obligated to shed some light on the film. Juan Antonio Bayonera's film is obviously a very touching and sad story. Noami Watts and Ewan McGregor put forth great performances as do the child actors. If you don't know, the film's about an English family who vacations in Thailand during Christmas of 2004 and wind up going during one of the worst tsunamis in history. It's a very brutal, unforgiving watch. But beyond the events themselves, the characters aren't really well developed enough for you to really care about their story in particular.

You see many people in the film going through some awful times, many who can't find their loved ones. It's not hard to feel for the family depicted in the film, but I did wish the film was a bit more thorough in the character development department. Otherwise, everything I felt throughout the film were very much surface emotions. It made me sad, it made me teary-eyed, but seeing anyone go through such awful events would make you sad. I felt sad for everyone in the movie, unfortunately it didn't go deeper than that.

The film is very well-made though and again, Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor definitely convince with their performances. It's definitely worth the watch for those who are even the least bit curious, but again, this is very tough to watch.

Grade: B-

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III review




It's not ideal for me to watch a brand new film for the first time on VOD, but I made an exception here. "A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III" is the first 2013 release that I've seen this year... and I watched it through itunes. It's a film I'd been looking forward to for a number of reasons. First off, great cast: Charlie Sheen, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Patricia Arquette. If anything, it's a delightfully off-beat cast. Then you have writer/director Roman Coppola. Son of Francis Ford, brother of Sofia... he had been noted most recently for his collaborations with Wes Anderson. He co-wrote Darjeeling Limited with Wes and Jason Schwartzman, and last year, co-wrote Moonrise Kingdom with Wes.

So, even though Charles Swan is actually Roman Coppola's second film (his first film, CQ, came out in 2001), it'd be his first since all those Wes Anderson collaborations. We get to see what his sensibilities are; we can better understand what makes him unique. Has working with Wes Anderson changed him in anyway? It's like when Noah Baumbach co-write The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou with Wes Anderson. It had been about seven years since Baumbach last directed his own film. Then, a year after Life Aquatic, out came The Squid and the Whale and a director's career was reborn. Through Squid, we were able to distinguish Baumbach's comic and dramatic sensibilities from Wes Anderson; Baumbach's darker, more character-driven. So what of Roman Coppola's film?

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III is a lot of fun to watch. While it has a razor-thin plot and often tries to compensate with its elaborate fantasy sequences, its short 85-minute frame makes for a very slight, often engaging watch. The biggest problem with the film is Charlie Sheen's detached performance. While it certainly seemed like Charlie Sheen had fun with the rest of the cast, he just didn't seem all that wrapped up into this character. Many were wondering if the film and character was to be an extension of Charlie Sheen's own life, but this is Roman Coppola's film. Still, when casting someone like Charlie Sheen, you should know what you're getting into.

The plot is simple: Charles Swan is a graphic designer in the '70s whose life slowly starts to fall apart after his girlfriend leaves him. The biggest thing is the film seems so disinterested in the plot, which can be fun, but there are a lot of moments where it attempts to be a "regular movie" and the film's plot-related moments just feel completely forced. When the film moves past that and just does whatever the fuck it wants, it can be a fun ride. It makes you wish Coppola would just keep us out there in these fantasy worlds, instead of trying to tell such a hackneyed story.

It was fitting to watch this on itunes because I probably would've been more disappointed to see this in theaters. It just has such a tossed-off feeling to it. Then again, Roman Coppola puts some flourishes in there that is really fun and admirable. There's a great sense of mise-en-scene in the film and I get the feeling that when he works with Wes Anderson, he's the one who brings out the more playful side of filmmaker.

Seeing Charles Swan made me wish that Roman Coppola keeps collaborating with Wes. It also made me wish that he would actually try to tackle something more substantial. He can still go off on fantastical tangents, but with a story that's more fun and engaging. As it is, "A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III" can be fun to watch at times, but it feels too slight to be memorable.

Grade: C+

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Oscar Nominations!

 
Oh boy, here it goes.


Best Picture
"Amour"
"Argo"
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
"Django Unchained"
"Les Miserables"
"Life Of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Director
Michael Haneke - "Amour"
Benh Zeitlin - "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
Ang Lee - "Life Of Pi"
Steven Spielberg - "Lincoln"
David O. Russell - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Actor In A Leading Role
Denzel Washington - "Flight"
Hugh Jackman - "Les Miserables"
Daniel Day-Lewis - "Lincoln"
Joaquin Phoenix - "The Master"
Bradley Cooper - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Actress In A Leading Role
Emmanuelle Riva - "Amour"
Quvenzhane Wallis - "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
Naomi Watts - "The Impossible"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Silver Linings PLaybook"
Jessica Chastain - "Zero Dark Thirty"

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

Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Anne Hathaway - "Les Miserables"
Sally Field - "Lincoln"
Amy Adams "The Master"
Helen Hunt - "The Sessions"
Jacki Weaver - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Original Screenplay
Michael Haneke - "Amour"
Quentin Tarantino - "Django Unchained"
John Gatins - "Flight"
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola - "Moonrise Kingdom"
Mark Boal - "Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio - "Argo
Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin - "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
David Magee - "Life Of Pi"
Tony Kushner - "Lincoln"
David O. Russell - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Best Foreign Language Film
"Amour"
"Kon-Tiki"
"No"
"A Royal Affair"
"War Witch"
Best Animated Feature Film
"Brave"
"Frankenweenie"
"ParaNorman"
"The Pirates! Band Of Misfits"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
Best Original Song
"Before My Time" - "Chasing Ice"
"Pi's Lullaby" - "Life Of Pi"
"Suddenly" - "Les Miserables"
"Skyfall" - "Skyfall"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" - "Ted"

Best Cinematography
Seamus McGarvey - "Anna Karenina"
Robert Richardson - "Django Unchained"
Claudio Miranda - "Life Of Pi"
Janusz Kaminski - "Lincoln"
Roger Deakins - "Skyfall"

Best Film Editing
William Goldenberg - "Argo"
Tim Squyres - "Life Of Pi"
Michael Kahn - Lincoln
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers - "Silver Linings Playbook"
William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor - Zero Dark Thirty

Best Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran - "Anna Karenina"
Paco Delgado - "Les Miserables"
Joanna Johnston - "Lincoln"
Eiko Ishioka - "Mirror Mirror"
Colleen Atwood - "Snow White and the Huntsman"

Best Documentary Feature
"5 Broken Cameras"
"The Gatekeepers"
"How To Survive A Plague"
"The Invisible War"
"Searching For Sugar Man"

Best Visual Effects
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Life Of Pi"
"Marvel's The Avengers"
"Prometheus"
"Snow White And The Huntsman"

Best Production Design
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer - "Anna Karenina"
Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright - "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Eve Stewart - "Les Miserables"
David Gropman, Anna Pinnock - "Life Of Pi"
Rick Carter, Jim Erickson, Peter T Frank - "Lincoln"

Best Original Score
Dario Marianelli - "Anna Karenina"
Alexandre Desplat - "Argo"
Mychael Danna - "Life Of Pi"
John Williams - "Lincoln"
Thomas Newman - "Skyfall"

Best Make Up
"Hitchcock"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Miserables"

Best Sound Editing
"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life Of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Sound Mixing
"Argo"
"Les Miserables"
"Life Of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall

Best Documentary Short Film
"Inocente"
"Kings Point"
"Mondays At Racine"
"Open Heart"
"Redemption"

Best Animated Short
"Adam And Dog"
"Fresh Guacamole"
"Head Over Heels"
"Maggie Simpson In The Longest Daycare"
"Paperman"

Best Live-Action Short Film
"Asad"
"Buzkashi Boys"
"Curfew"
"Death Of A Shadow"
"Henry"

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A complete list of every single movie I saw in the year 2012, all 182 of them

First off, Happy New Year!




I like keeping track of my viewing habits. Last year, I only counted NEW movies that I saw. This year, I wanted to count every single movie that I watched. The only rule is that I had to watch it from beginning to end. Or, on TV, I had to catch it within the first 15 minutes.

movie, date, how/where I saw the movie

1. tinker tailor soldier spy, 1/11/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
2. friday, 1/20/2012 (on tv)
3. 50/50, 1/21/2012 (on dvd)
4. funny people, 1/22/2012 (on tv)
5. tommy boy, 1/22/2012 (on tv)
6. martha marcy may marlene, 1/26/2012 (NYIT Auditorium)
7. margin call, 1/27/2012 (on dvd)
8. beginners, 1/28/2012 (on dvd)
9. haywire, 1/30/2012 (AMC Loews 19th Street, Manhattan)
10. the african election, 2/4/2012 (NYIT Auditorium)
11. the artist, 2/4/2012 (NYIT Auditorium)
12. bronson, 2/7/2012 (netflix instant)
13. horrible bosses, 2/7/2012 (dvd)
14. melancholia, 2/9/2012 (NYIT Auditorium)
15. clueless, 2/11/2012 (on tv)
16. full metal jacket, 2/18/2012 (tv)
17. x-files movie, 2/20/2012 (tv)
18. conan o'brien can't stop 2/21/2012 (netflix instant)
19. harold and maude, 2/22/2012 (netflix instant)
20. wanderlust, 2/24/2012* (UEC 12, state college)
21. harold and kumar go to white castle, 2/25/2012 (on VHS)
22. scott pilgrim vs. the world 2/28/2012 (on dvd)
23. lethal weapon, 2/29/2012 (on tv)
24. shaun of the dead, 3/1/2012 (on dvd)
25. arena, 3/3/2012 (on dvd)
26. bad lieutenant, 3/5/2012 (on tv)
27. the social network, 3/8/2012 (on dvd)
28. zoolander, 3/8/2012 (on tv)
29. moneyball, 3/8/2012 (on dvd)
30. friends with kids, 3/9/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
31. wet hot american summer, 3/11/2012 (netflix instant)
32. old school, 3/11/2012 (on tv)
33. tie me up! tie me down!, 3/12/2012 (netflix instant)
34. children of paradise, 3/12/2012 (film forum)
35. two in the wave, 3/15/2012 (netflix instant)
36. jeff, who lives at home, 3/16/2012 (regal union square 14)
37. amores perros, 3/19/2012 (dvd)
38. me and you and everyone we know, 3/20/2012 (netflix instant)
39. red state, 3/21/2012 (netflix instant)
40. 21 Jump Street, 3/22/2012 (regal battery park stadium 11)
41. the goods: live hard, sell hard, 3/23/2012 (tv)
42. army of shadows, 3/26/2012 (walter reade theatre)
43. hunger games, 3/27/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
44. bully (2012), 4/1/2012 (amc lincoln square 13)
45. semi-pro, 4/7/2012 (tv)
46. damsels in distress, 4/9/2012 (lincoln plaza cinemas)
47. zombieland, 4/11/2012 (tv)
48. peggy sue got married, 4/14/2012 (tv)
49. half baked, 4/14/2012 (tv)
50. waiting..., 4/15/2012 (tv)
51. shrek 2, 4/15/2012 (tv)
52. metropolitan, 4/16/2012 (netflix instant)
53. the cabin in the woods, 4/17/2012 (AMC Loews 19th Street)
54. forgetting sarah marshall, 4/17/2012 (tv)
55. the five-year engagement, 5/1/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
56. the avengers, 5/5/2012 (AMC kips bay)
57. celine and julie go boating, 5/10/2012 (film forum)
58. the war room, 5/10/2012 (dvd)
59. make way for tomorrow, 5/16/2012 (dvd)
60. the dictator, 5/17/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
61. step brothers, 5/19/2012 (tv)
62. pusher, 5/20/2012 (dvd)
63. talladega nights legend of ricky bobby, 5/20/2012 (tv)
64. the hangover, 5/20/2012 (tv)
65. gambler, 5/21/2012 (dvd)
66. the simpsons movie, 5/21/2012 (tv)
67. the 40 year old virgin, 5/24/2012 (tv)
68. pusher II: with blood on my hands, 5/26/2012 (dvd)
69. good will hunting, 5/26/2012 (tv)
70. moonrise kingdom, 5/27/2012 (amc lincoln square)
71. pusher 3: i am the angel of death, 5/31/2012 (dvd)
72. hour of the gun, 6/2/2012 (tv)
73. pt109, 6/2/2012 (tv)
74. midnight in paris, 6/2/2012 (tv)
75. santa clause 2, 6/3/2012 (tv)
76. prometheus, 6/16/2012 (regal battery park)
77. day for night, 6/18/2012 (dvd)
78. magic mike, 7/1/2012 (kips bay)
79. ted, 7/3/2012 (cobble hill)
80. the room, 7/3/2012 (youtube)
81. the proposition, 7/7/2012 (tv)
82. the amazing spider-man, 7/8/2012 (marquee, new jersey)
83. matador, 7/9/2012 (dvd)
84. batman begins, 7/10/2012 (dvd)
85. the dark knight, 7/11/2012 (dvd)
86. brave, 7/13/2012 (amc loews 19th street)
87. your sister's sister, 7/16/2012 (ifc center)
88. to rome with love, 7/17/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
89. big, 7/18/2012 (tv)
90. beasts of the southern wild, 7/21/2012 (clearview cinema)
91. spiderman 3, 7/22/2012 (tv)
92. the dark knight rises, 7/23/2012 (AMC LINCOLN SQUARE)
93. women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, 7/25/2012 (dvd)
94. game change, 7/26/2012 (hbo)
95. seven samurai, 7/31/2012 (dvd)
96. la dolce vita, 8/6/2012 (dvd)
97. the exterminating angel, 8/8/2012 (dvd)
98. mccabe and mrs. miller, 8/10/2012 (dvd)
99. throw mama from the train, 8/12/2012 (tv)
100. the campaign, 8/12/2012 (regal battery park)
101. ferris bueller's day off, 8/13/2012 (tv)
102. the wages of fear, 8/14/2012 (dvd)
103. boyz n the hood, 8/14/2012 (tv)
104. real genius, 8/15/2012 (tv)
105. speed, 8/19/2012 (tv, in nj)
106. captain america: the first avenger, 8/21/2012 (tv)
107. side by side, 8/22/2012 (VOD)
108. man on the moon, 8/23/2012 (tv)
109. cable guy, 8/23/2012 (tv)
110. the last detail, 8/24/2012 (dvd)
111. the marriage of maria braun, 8/27/2012 (dvd)
112. the long goodbye, 8/30/2012 (dvd)
113. lawless, 9/2/2012 (regal union square 14)
114. a bronx tale, 9/3/2012 (tv)
115. 12 angry men, 9/3/2012 (dvd)           
116. carnal knowledge, 9/4/2012 (dvd)
117. anatomy of a murder, 9/7/2012 (dvd)
118. the intouchables, 9/8/2012 (angelika film center)
119. ace in the hole, 9/11/2012 (dvd)
120. celeste and jesse forever, 9/14/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
121. the master, 9/15/2012 (angelika film center)
122. after the wedding, 9/17/2012 (dvd)
123. klute, 9/19/2012 (dvd)
124. the brothers bloom, 9/20/2012 (dvd)
125. dinner for schmucks, 9/23/2012 (tv)
126. animal kingdom, 9/26/2012 (dvd)
127. the beat that my heart skipped, 9/26/2012 (dvd)
128. control, 9/27/2012 (dvr/tv)
129. looper, 9/28/2012 (regal union square)
130. seven psychopaths, 10/12/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
131. argo, 10/13/2012 (regal battery park)
132. like crazy, 10/13/2012 (dvd)
133. pulp fiction, 10/14/2012 (tv)
134. shallow grave, 10/26/2012 (dvd)
135. layer cake, 10/27/2012 (dvd)
136. two lovers, 11/2/2012 (dvd)
137. flight, 11/2/2012 (cobble hill cinema)
138. biutiful, 11/8/2012 (dvd)
139. skyfall, 11/9/2012 (cobble hill)
140. the hangover, 11/9/2012 (tv)
141. tower heist, 11/10/2012 (tv)
142. lincoln, 11/11/2012 (AMC lincoln square)
143. the piano teacher, 11/14/2012 (dvd)
144. rosetta, 11/16/2012 (dvd)
145. band of outsiders, 11/19/2012 (dvd)*
146. gone with the wind, 11/21/2012 (tv, nj)
147. to kill a mockingbird, 11/21/2012 (tv)
148. life of pi, 11/23/2012 (seacourt 10)
149. doctor doolittle (1967), 11/23/2012 (tv)
150. breaking away, 11/27/2012 (dvd)
151. l'avventura, 11/28/2012 (dvd)
152. rust & bone, 11/29/2012 (landmark sunshine cinema)
153. killing them softly, 12/1/2012 (regal union square)
154. on the waterfront, 12/3/2012 (dvd)
155. silver linings playbook, 12/4/2012 (regal battery park)
156. the other guys, 12/4/2012 (tv)
157. the sting, 12/4/2012 (tv)
158. my life as a dog, 12/6/2012 (dvd)
159. the girl with the dragon tattoo, 12/10/2012 (blu-ray)
160. the battle of algiers, 12/11/2012 (dvd)
161. training day, 12/12/2012 (dvr/tv)
162. the deep blue sea, 12/14/2012 (dvd)
163. bernie, 12/14/2012 (dvd)
164. hard boiled, 12/15/2012 (dvd)
165. beverly hills cop, 12/15/2012 (tv)
166. the hobbit: an unexpected journey, 12/18/2012 (amc loews 19th street)
167. zero dark thirty, 12/19/2012 (amc loews village 7)
168. this is 40, 12/21/2012 (regal union square)
169. the arrival, 12/24/2012 (tv)
170. a christmas story, 12/25/2012 (tv)
171. les miserables, 12/25/2012 (amc waterfront pittsburgh)
172. casino, 12/26/2012 (tv)
173. big trouble in little china, 12/27/2012 (tv)
174. night nurse, 12/27/2012 (tv)
175. the moonlighter, 12/27/2012 (tv)
176. a christmas carol, 12/27/2012 (tv)
177. django unchained, 12/28/2012 (amc loews seacourt 10, new jersey)
178. l.a. confidential, 12/29/2012 (tv)
179. red, 12/29/2012 (tv)
180. 12 monkeys, 12/29/2012 (tv)
181. lost in translation, 12/31/2012 (tv)
182. rise of the planet of the apes, 12/31/2012 (tv)



44 of those 182 movies came out in 2012.

And if you're wondering, the best movie I saw this year for the first time was Seven Samurai. I finally sat down and watched it this summer and, yes, it's brilliant.


Worst movie I saw? Red State, Kevin Smith's last film. Just terrible, in my opinion. It's not even that it was bad, I was having a bad time watching it too. The opposite of enjoyable for me, it was a negative experience overall.