2012: The Movies

January:

1) Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2) Midnight in Paris

3) Shark Night

4) Contagion

5) Tree of Life

6) Moneyball

7) The Help

8) The Ides of March

February:

1) The Descendants (9)

2) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (10)

3) A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas (11)

4) Midnight in Paris (12)

5) J. Edgar (13)

6) Shutter (14)

7) Lake Mungo (15)

8) Insidious (16)

March:

1) Hugo (17)

2) Game Change (18)

3) Anne Frank (19)

4) Flowers in the Attic (20)

5) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (21)

6) I Am Nancy (22)

7) The Muppets (23)

8) Carnage (24)

9) The Hunger Games (25)

10) Bambi (26)

11) Step Brothers (27)

12) Final Destination 5 (28)

April:

1) Soldier’s Girl (29)

2) Wordplay (30)

3) Four Weddings and a Funeral (31)

4) Forrest Gump (32)

5) Quiz Show (33)

6) Pulp Fiction (34)

7) The Shawshank Redemption (35)

8) The Amityville Haunting (36)

9) Elf (37)

May:

1) The Faculty (38)

2) War Horse (39)

3) The River Wild (40)

4) The Vow (41)

5) The Devil Inside (42)

6) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (43)

7) Freddy’s Dead (44)

8) Stepfather 3 (45)

9) Fear (46)

10) Glee in Concert (47)

June:

1) Father of the Bride 2 (48)

2) Piranha 3DD (49)

3) Father of the Bride (50)

4) Jeff Who Lives at Home (51)

5) Fright Night (52)

6) Love Never Dies (53)

7) The Devil’s Playground (54)

July:

1) Playing by Heart (55)

2) Strangers on a Train (56)

3) Marnie (57)

4) Children of the Corn (58)

5) The Artist (59)

6) American Reunion (60)

7) Torn Curtain (61)

8) Freddy vs. Jason (62)

9) Beyond the Mat (63)

10) Children of the Corn 2 (64)

11) Valmont (65)

12) Rebecca (66)

13) The Dark Knight Rises (67)

14) North By Northwest (68)

15) Young at Heart (69)

16) Ghostbusters (70)

August:

1) Contact (71)

2) Little Man Tate (72)

3) Sleepless in Seattle (73)

4) Hard Candy (74)

5) Shattered Glass (75)

6) An Affair to Remember (76)

7) Bridesmaids (77)

8) The Way We Were (78)

9) Casablanca (79)

10) United 93 (80)

11) The Lucky One (81)

12) To Kill a Mockingbird (82)

13) Airplane (83)

14) Monster (84)

15) It Happened One Night (85)

September:

1) The Hours (86)

2) The Usual Suspects (87)

3) Insidious (88)

4) Longford (89)

5) Cabin in the Woods (90)

6) Disturbing Behavior (91)

7) Halloween Extended Edition (92)

8) Tommy Boy (93)

9) The Omen (94)

10) Scream (95)

11) A Nightmare on Elm Street (96)

12) Popcorn (97)

13) Never Sleep Again (98)

14) Paranormal Activity (99)

15) Paranormal Activity 2 (100)

16) Paranormal Activity 3 (101)

17) Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (102)

October:

1) The Wizard of Oz (103)

2) Critters (104)

3) Argo (105)

4) The Funhouse (106)

5) The Woman in Black (107)

6) The Descent (108)

7) Taken (109)

8) Taken 2 (110)

9) Halloween III (111)

10) Halloween 4 (112)

11) [Rec] (113)

12) H20 (114)

13) Heathers (115)

November:

1) Cinderella (116)

2) This is Spinal Tap (117)

3) Mrs. Doubtfire (118)

4) City Slickers (119)

5) Skyfall (120)

6) The Silver Linings Playbook (121)

December:

1) The Perks of Being a Wallflower (122)

2) The Godfather (123)

3) Flight (124)

4) Lincoln (125)

5) Moonrise Kingdom (126)

6) Les Miserables (127)

7) Zero Dark Thirty (128)

8) This is 40 (129)

9) Ted (130)

10) The Guilt Trip (131)

2012 Pop Culture Resolutions

Books:

1) Read The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (2/2) (completed November 9)

2) Read at least one classic childhood series (1/1) (completed March 14)

3) Read at least 12 nonfiction books (12/12) (completed July 17)

Movies: (completed July 8)

1) Watch all 2012 Oscar Best Picture nominees (The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, War Horse) (9/9) (completed July 8)

2) Watch AFI’s 10 best movies from 2011 list (10/10) (completed May 10)

3) Watch the 2012 Best Picture winners from Golden Globes (The Descendents), Independent Spirit Awards (The Artist), Screen Actors’ Guild (The Help), Critics’ Choice (The Artist) and BAFTA awards (The Artist) (5/5) (completed July 8)

TV (completed March 8):

1) Watch an episode from each of AFI’s 10 best shows for 2011 (10/10) (completed Feb. 17)

2) Finally watch Lost (completed March 8)

3) Watch at least half of AFI Best 10 Shows lists from 2001-2010. (10/10) (completed Feb. 10)

Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty is one of the AFI’s 10 best movies for 2012.

It’s the account of the hunt for and ultimate killing of Osama bin Laden.  It’s directed by Kathryn Bigelow (who won Best Director for The Hurt Locker) and stars Jessica Chastain (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Help).  I mention that to share its Oscar pedigree. :)

This is a very good movie and is very suspenseful—interesting, really, given that we all know what happened to bin Laden.

The most fascinating aspect of this movie for me is just how interesting it is, given that it’s a lot of talking and very little action (up until the last half-hour when bin Laden  is ultimately found and killed).  So be aware if you see it that it’s very talky.

But oh, it’s also very, very good.  (Although you should also be aware that there’s a lot of torture, especially in the first half-hour or so.  They say that isn’t accurate, but…well.  I’m a little skeptical.)

Now that I’ve blogged six of the AFI nominations (and seen seven, counting The Dark Knight Rises), I think my favorite so far is Les Miserables and the best is either this, Les Mis or Lincoln…depending on what you’re in the mood for.  So far, though, everything I’ve seen has been incredible and I’m excited for the Oscar nominations in just a few days. (Early January.)

Things I’m Obsessed With

Welcome to the latest Things I’m Obsessed With!

Life:

Today is day eight of an eight day work-week.  I am so ready for my weekend!  And as an added bonus, I’m off for the next few days, which is so needed, I can’t even tell you.

Movies:

I just saw Les Miserables and it is WONDERFUL.  If you’re a fan of musicals or movies or anything that’s amazing, you need to see this movie.  I can’t imagine that it won’t be nominated for Best Picture and if Anne Hathaway doesn’t win Best Supporting Actress, I will throw things at the TV.

Books:

I am so excited for 2013!  There are some great books coming out soon, and I’m looking forward to so many of them!  New Year’s Day is when Lisa Schroeder’s new book (Falling For You) comes out, and that’s what I want the most.  But I also want Just One Day (Gayle Forman), The Lost Art of Mixing (Erica Bauermeister), Level 2 (Lenore Appelhaus), and Return to Me (Justina Chen).

Stephen King Re-Read:

January’s picks:  Carrie, In the Tall Grass (short story), The Tommyknockers, Gerald’s Game, A Face in the Crowd (short story), Faithful, Dreamcatcher, Firestarter, From a Buick 8, Blockade Billy, Danse Macabre, Storm of the Century, Blockade Billy (short story) and On Writing.  (Yes, there’s a lot, but these are mostly really short and this is the most I’ll be reading in any given month, I think.)

So what are you obsessed with this week?

Les Miserables

Les Miserables is one of the AFI’s 10 best movies of 2012.

I am a total Broadway geek and, like most people who saw plays in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I love Les Miserables.  Like, LOVE.  As in a love that is greater than love.

And so when I found out that they were making a movie, I spent a lot of time talking about the casting choices and potential casting choices.  I approved of Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, was somewhat okay with Russell Crowe as Javert and was adamantly opposed to the rumored casting of Taylor Swift as Eponine.  (Interesting story: the person they DID cast as Eponine was a member of one of the Les Mis touring companies, so her voice is definitely Broadway-quality.)

And I will admit that I was nervous about Anne Hathaway as Fantine and I will now publicly apologize because she was fantastic and heartbreaking and perfect in the role.  I hope that she gets Best Supporting Actress.

I’m pretty sure Lincoln will win Best Picture and that makes me sad because so far, Les Miserables is by far my favorite of what I’ve seen.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Lincoln; it’s a great movie.  But Les Miserables is a whole other thing.

 

Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom is one of the AFI’s 10 best movies for 2012.

After seeing the trailer, I was very skeptical.  It looked a little disjointed and like the actors (who are actually really good—Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand, among others) were a little wooden.  I’m still not sure why the trailer was cut that way.

But I reminded myself that this project has introduced me to a lot of movies that I ended up loving, movies that I may not have ever seen if it weren’t for this project.  (Most recently, Midnight in Paris.)

And it didn’t hurt that a lot of people told me it was really, really good.

Moonrise Kingdom is about these two young kids who randomly meet and fall in love.  Sam’s an orphan and a Khaki scout and he escapes from scout camp to go find Suzy and they run away together.  (She brings her kitten, a ton of cat food and a suitcase of library books.)  It’s very cute and very funny.

I’m not sure I agree that it’s one of the ten best of the year (better than Perks of Being a Wallflower? No, AFI.  No.) but I’m very glad that they listed it, because otherwise I would have missed it. And that would be very sad, indeed.

Also, it’s very nice to see Edward Norton.  I think he’s one of the best actors and he almost never works these days.

Lincoln

Lincoln is one of the AFI’s 10 best movies for 2012.  It’s also very likely to be a Best Picture nominee.

This isn’t a straight biopic; it’s set during the passage of the 13th amendment (the one outlawing slavery).  There’s a bit of a time-sensitive element to the amendment’s passage because it needs to happen before the Confederacy officially surrenders, which will happen any day now.  (President Lincoln is framing it as necessary for the Civil War to end, but if the Confederacy surrenders first, no end to slavery.)

So here’s what everyone says about Lincoln: excellent movie; Daniel Day-Lewis is incredible in his portrayal of the president. Both are true. But the entire cast is fantastic, especially Sally Field as Mrs. Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones as a hardcore abolitionist senator (who is beyond scathing in his indictment of those who disagree with him).

This is a wonderful movie, one that deserves all the accolades likely to come its way during this award season.

Things I’m Obsessed With

Welcome to the latest Things I’m Obsessed With!

Books:

My best of lists are all done and will start coming out tomorrow!  It was incredibly hard to do, but I think I did the best I could.  I don’t think the absolute best book in any given category will be shocking, but I think they’re accurate.

I only have a few more books to read this year, but I’m closing the year out by reading The Silver Linings Playbook and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, two movies I absolutely loved.  Very excited. :)

TV:

The AFI released their Best Of lists last week and I’ve already seen all ten of the TV releases!  This isn’t as impressive as you may think; most of the picks had been selected in previous years (Mad Men, especially, has been a Best Of show for every year it’s run) and I correctly called Game Change when it aired earlier in the year.  I was incredibly happy to see that American Horror Story had been selected this year.  LOVE THAT SHOW. :)

Movies:

LES MISERABLES.  That is all.

So what are you obsessed with this week?

The Godfather

The Godfather won Best Picture.  It’s also one of the AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies, 100 Years, 100 Thrills and 10 Best Gangster selections.

It’s also one of my own favorite movies and one of the few really perfect movies I’ve seen.  (Others include Casablanca and The Philadelphia Story.)

If you haven’t seen it, you need to.  But it’s about this family, the Corleones.  They’re a very close-knit family and like most families…except that they’re in the Mafia.  The youngest son, Michael, has been kept out of the family business.  (He’s the smart one pretty much and they have bigger plans for him.)  But then Vito Corleone (the patriarch/”Godfather”) is ambushed and nearly killed and Michael decides to get involved.

And then it all falls apart. :)

I can’t even really talk about how great this movie is.  It’s so clever and awesome and just brilliant.

Things I’m Obsessed With

Welcome to the latest Things I’m Obsessed With!

Books:

As we get to the end of the year, I’m starting to work on my Best Of lists.  I still have a few YA (paranormal and contemporary) and general fiction books to read, but I still should be able to get my lists done before the end of the year.  These best of lists are very fun but also incredibly stressful because I’ve read so many great books this year and now I have to narrow them all down to 10?!  And decide whether this book really is better than that book?  Sophie’s Choice all over the place.

Movies:

I just saw Perks of Being a Wallflower last week and absolutely loved it.  I will be reading the book at the end of the month, and I seriously can’t wait.  Because the book tends to be better than the movie (but not in every case; if you tell me the book of Psycho is better than the movie, I will consider you to be either a liar or possibly an idiot—for example), I worry the awesomeness will kill me.

TV:

So far, Nashville is the only new show I’ve stuck with and it’s so much fun!  It doesn’t seem at all to be the kind of show I like, but I’m really enjoying it.  (And the music, which is really surprising because I tend to dislike country music a LOT.)  But I’m also looking forward to January and trying The Following (Followers?), that Kevin Bacon show that’s written by Kevin Williamson and is about serial killers.  And FX is starting a show called The Americans, which is about Russian spies, I think.  But I’ll try it.  A lot of my shows are ending this year, and I need some new ones.  So again, feel free to advocate for your favorites.  My coworker Sherna has me willing to try Scandal (although I think I need to catch up before trying a new episode; apparently I have missed A LOT).

So what are you obsessed with this week?