Everyone waits until the year is over to compile their “Best of whatever” movie lists. This has become a mundane practice. Time for a bit of a change, kids.
Lots of tricks were being played at cinemas on what is considered, “Halloween weekend.” Fun Size was just going through the motions (a.k.a. uninspired play), while Silent Hill: Revelation 3D thought timing would be everything (critical and financial success). Meanwhile, Cloud Atlas read amazing on paper but lacked execution.
The new releases for the respective week will have a capsule review at the end of the column. An updated list comes out every Monday. Here’s how things are shaking up so far in 2012:
1. Chronicle
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. The Cabin in the Woods
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. Side by Side
6. ParaNorman
7. Argo
8. Looper
9. Game Change
10. The Avengers
11. The Secret World of Arriety
12. Red Tails
13. The Grey
14. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
15. Friends with Kids
16. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
17. The Raid: Redemption
18. Arbitrage
19. The Odd Life of Timothy Green
20. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds
21. Big Miracle
22. Think Like a Man
23. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
24. Brake
25. Robot and Frank
26. Hope Springs
27. Rock of Ages
28. The Sessions
29. HeadHunters
30. Hemingway and Gellhorn
31. Mirror Mirror
32. People Like Us
33. Magic Mike
34. Total Recall (2012)
35. House of Ghosts
36. The Campaign
37. Ted
38. Celeste and Jesse Forever
39. V/H/S
40. Pitch Pefect
41. Snow White and the Huntsman
42. The Words
43. 21 Jump Street
44. The Master
45. Sinister
46. This Means War
47. God Bless America
48. The Three Stooges
49. Gone
50. Resident Evil: Retribution
51. The Queen of Versailles
52. The Amazing Spider-Man
53. Blue Like Jazz
54. For a Good Time, Call…
55. Frankenweenie
56. Ruby Sparks
57. American Reunion
58. Jeff, Who Lives at Home
59. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
60. Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best
61. Katy Perry: Part of Me
62. Butter
63. The Expendables 2
64. Ice Age: Continental Drift
65. Juan of the Dead
66. Prometheus
67. Hysteria
68. Cloud Atlas
69. The Dictator
70. Chasing Mavericks
71. Safe
72. Searching for Sonny
73. End of Watch
74. Brave
75. Lawless
76. The Hunger Games
77. John Carter
78. Wrath of the Titans
79. Dead Dad
80. Ingenious
81. Underworld: Awakening
82. The Devil Inside
83. The Possession
84. The Other Son
85. Dredd 3D
86. Seven Psychopaths
87. Premium Rush
88. Father’s Day
89. Livid
90. The Five-Year Engagement
91. Downtown Express
92. Sparkle
93. Savages
94. Sound of My Voice
95. Project X
96. Men in Black 3
97. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
98. Paranormal Activity 4
99. The Tall Man
100. Hit and Run
101. Hotel Transylvania
102. Piranha 3DD
103. Dark Shadows
104. The Raven
105. The Bourne Legacy
106. [Rec] 3 Genesis
107. Silent House
108. Won’t Back Down
109. That’s My Boy
110. Darling Companion
111. Bully
112. Here Comes the Boom
113. The Watch
114. What to Expect When You’re Expecting
115. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
116. Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding
117. Trouble with the Curve
118. Lockout
119. Fun Size
120. The Woman in Black
121. The Vow
122. Man on a Ledge
123. Step Up Revolution
124. Extraterrestrial
125. The Lucky One
126. Contraband
127. The Samaritan
128. Act of Valor
129. 4:44 Last Day on Earth
130. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
131. Safe House
132. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
133. To Rome with Love
134. The Apparition
135. House at the End of the Street
136. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
137. Taken 2
138. Why Stop Now
139. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
140. Kill List
141. Chernobyl Diaries
142. Haywire
143. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection
144. A Thousand Words
145. Alex Cross
146. Joyful Noise
147. Battleship
148. Wanderlust
149. Barricade
Not Screened: One for the Money, Casa De Mi Padre, Chimpanzee, High School, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Nitro Circus 3D, Cosmopolis, Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure, The Cold Light of Day
REVIEWS (click on title for full write-up)
Ambitious filmmaking (love when filmmakers challenge themselves) is always intriguing to watch even though it could fail as an entertaining product. Clocking in just under the three hour mark, it’s safe to say the people behind this creation were definitely bitten by the ambitious bug.
Chasing Mavericks is officially labeled a sports-drama. But in reality, it’s The Karate Kid with surfing; or, just an elongated episode of Saved by the Bell.
In what is nothing more than a made-for-TV product (no surprise since at the helm sits a producer of teen network dramas such as Gossip Girl and The O.C.), Fun Size somehow managed to squirm its way onto the big screen. All it is, a shanty mash-up of License to Drive and Adventures in Babysitting (or for this generation, insert I Love You Beth Cooper for the former and The Sitter for the latter).
Parents have an infinite amount of fears when raising their children in the modern-day world. And who can blame them? This place is a mess! But to be fair, some places are messier than others. For example, uh, how about the Middle East?
For the horror buffs out there, the best way to describe this is a marriage of a Nightmare on Elm Street flick and a Hellraiser installment. If you don’t know what that entails, it’s basically a sadistic atmosphere in a twisted alternate reality with a ton of gruesome creatures strolling around. The imagery is definitely there, and loyal to the video game it is based on, but the story moves way too fast as the pacing is erratic. And of course, as with many horror flicks, the acting is deadly.
