After 23 films, I want to highlight some of the highs and
lows of the 2012 Summer Movie Season. I
may not have seen everything (there was no way in hell I was going to pay money
for That’s My Boy and feed Adam
Sandler’s delusion that he is still funny), but I’ve seen more than enough to
weigh a valid opinion. Sure, I did miss
more films than usual, but the whole point of this blog was to get a job in
Hollywood, and DreamWorks Animation has been keeping me pretty busy, so now I
have a chance to influence films from the other side of the cinematic equation. Thank you for all your support and please
keep reading, because Pantages’ Theater will continue bringing you as many
reviews as possible.
- Best Use of Special Effects: The Amazing Spider-Man
Runner-Up: Total Recall
Honorable Mention: Snow White and the Huntsman
: If you were
fortunate enough to see The Amazing
Spider-Man in IMAX 3D, then you know just how jaw-dropping effective the
mixture of traditional stunt work and computer graphics were in bringing the
wall-crawler to life and giving audiences the chance to experience web-slinging
first hand…it was a risky move switching to first-person perspective, but it
paid-off in spades. As for Total Recall, the sleekness and
imagination of the production design used to bring the futuristic dystopia of
The Colony was more than enough to thrill any and every level of sci-fi
geek. And, even though it was largely
overlooked and quickly forgotten, Snow
White and the Huntsman deserves some credit for the cosmetic creativity and
dark cinematography that transformed Charlize Theron into a completely unhinged
and thoroughly frightening femme fatale.
- Worst Movie: Rock of Ages
Runner-Up: Premium Rush
: Granted, Premium Rush was pretty awful, but it
was an attempt at an action thriller focusing on the offbeat world of bike
messengers that can be written-off as a gutsy gamble that simply didn’t pan-out…Rock of Ages isn’t so lucky as to earn
that kind of forgiveness. With such a
star-studded cast and an instantaneously recognizable and revered soundtrack,
there was no reason that Rock of Ages
couldn’t have been a cinematic powerhouse capable of charming audiences of all
ages. Unfortunately, predictable writing
and over-the-top acting squandered whatever potential had existed within the
musical comedy, resulting in an insultingly bad film.
- Best Action Film: The Expendables 2
Runner-Up: The Avengers
: No one can deny that the final action sequence of The Avengers represented the
adrenaline-filled culmination of every comic book geek’s superhero daydream,
but a majority of uninitiated moviegoers felt that the first act of the
blockbuster dragged a bit. Even as a
devout Marvel fan, I can acknowledge that there is some validity to this
criticism, and as such, the award for Best Action Film was earned by the
start-to-finish bullet-fest that was The
Expendables 2. Stallone and his
merry band of blood lust mercenaries mercilessly cut through countless
anonymous henchmen in the most enjoyable way possible, and Chuck Norris referencing
his own internet fame was just icing on the cake.
- Best Comedy: Ted
Runner-Up: The Campaign
: In its entirety, I
was pleasantly surprised by the large volume of high quality comedies that
saturated the Summer 2012 Movie Season, and no film had me laughing harder than
the classic story of an adult slacker and his foul-mouthed teddy bear. Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane struck
comedy gold with Ted and completely renewed my faith in the Family Guy creator,
even if I did feel guilty for laughing so hard at a few of his more ruthless
jokes. At a close second is The Campaign, which in my view provided
more straightforward coverage of the election process than anything you would
see on CNN or Fox News…neither of these comedies should be missed.
- Best Movie: The Dark Knight Rises
Runner-Up: Total Recall
: In wrapping up his
historic trilogy, absolutely no one is surprised that Christopher Nolan
delivered with The Dark Knight Rises,
and although the film wasn’t perfect, it still provided the most entertaining
and deepest cinematic experience of the summer.
Whether it was Bane’s taunting monologue during his first battle with Batman,
Bruce Wayne’s nail-biting escape from the cavernous prison, or the climactic
conclusion surrounding the legendary, everyone has a favorite scene within The Dark Knight Rises, and the film in
its entirety will be enjoyed and revered for years. Now, when it comes to the runner-up, I know
that I’m going against a majority of critics, but that has never stopped me
before…I really enjoyed Total Recall
and see it as one of the purest and most entertaining sci-fi films in years.
- Best Animated Film: Madagascar 3
Runner-Up: Brave
: Yes, I may be slightly biased in my choice of top animated
film, but the truth remains that Madagascar
3 offered big laughs, gorgeous animation, and a surprisingly deep
underlying message. Now, while Brave offered quite a bit in these same
categories, in the end it relied far too heavily on the traditional fairy tale
formula, and for that, Disney falls short for the second summer in a row. In terms of the other animated offerings, ParaNorman weakened itself given its
toying with the acceptable boundaries of a children’s film, while Continental Drift was just insulting and
easily the weakest entry in the Ice Age
series.
- Biggest Surprise of the Summer: Total Recall
Runner-Up: The Dictator
: I realize that I
must sound like a broken record at this point, but I walked into Total Recall with rock-bottom
expectations, looking forward only to the inevitable catfight between
Beckinsale and Biel. Instead, I was
treated to a deep story, fast-paced action, and downright remarkable special
effects, all of which were respectful and paid reverence to the sci-fi genre…that
one will be on my must-buy Blue Ray list.
And then there’s The Dictator,
which was so irreverently funny that I was almost able to forgive Sacha Baron
Cohen for the cinematic misfire that was Bruno;
I was ready to write the actor off completely, but he proved to everyone that
he can be genuinely funny and is far more than a one-hit wonder.
- Biggest Overall Disappointment: The Bourne Legacy
Runner-Up: Dark Shadows
: Trust me, I was as
disappointed as anyone in what should have been another brilliant team-up
between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, but nothing could have prepared me for the
epic letdown that was The Bourne Legacy. Both Jeremy Renner and fans of the Bourne franchise deserved far better
than the altogether lazy and cliché-filled writing that plagued one of the most
anticipated films of the series. As I
said in my review, the only saving grace for Legacy can come if both Damon and Renner return for a final
installment of the series; but really, after this sequel, I’m not keeping my
hopes too high.
Summer Box Office
Champions (Source: Box Office Mojo; Numbers as of 9/17/12)
: Though the Summer 2012 box office was considerably weaker
than in years past, the Top 5 champions boasted some pretty impressive domestic
and international grosses. Couldn’t help
but notice that, for the third year in a row, I have successfully predicted the
top grossing film of the summer…good times.
- The Avengers: $ 1,510,617,210
- The Dark Knight Rises: $ 1,058,259,444
- Ice Age: Continental Drift: $836,891,241
- The Amazing Spider-Man: $748,605,830
- MIB 3: $624,026,776
