Adam and Riley's (2013 Oscars) 85th Academy Awards Predictions

Adam: It’s that time of year again. Mysterious people band together to decide what movies are the best of the year and film lovers curse the Academy for overlooking their lesser-known darlings. That’s right, it’s Oscar season.

Since this post is already going to be a million miles long, I’ll just cut to the chase. Below we have listed each Oscar category (excluding some of the more “minor” ones to save space), the nominees, and what both Riley and myself think should win/what we want to win, as well as our predictions of what we think will win.

I would also like to mention that even though we think some should win over others, a lot of these are not clear-cut and multiple nominees deserve to win (hence why they got nominated). So if some of these win/don’t win, Riley and I won’t be sitting at home breaking stuff; try to keep your minds and conversations open, and try to look at why what wins did win. Most of the time, it’s just a change of perspective that shows why something wins an award over something else. I’ll certainly be keeping an open mind as well (despite my utter fanboy attitude for Silver Linings).

Feel free to comment below, and don’t forget to debate amongst your friends and complete strangers over what you think should take those little golden statues and a permanent place in film history. Enjoy!

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Adam and Riley’s 85^th Academy Award Predictions

Best Picture:

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Adam:

Want to Win: Silver Linings Playbook

What a brilliant and beautiful snapshot of the world as it is now: we are all crazy, but still deserving of love. This truly redefines the romantic comedy. It is the best picture of the year, without a doubt in my mind.

Prediction of What Will Win: Lincoln

Silver Linings may be the underdog, but history has shown that the Academy wets themselves over a good historical piece, and Lincoln is about as good as historical pieces can ever get. My biggest fear is that Les Miserables will come out of nowhere and take it…but I have more faith in the Academy than that (for some reason).

Riley:

Want to Win:  Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of What Will Win: Argo

Given the remorse the Academy must feel at this point for snubbing Affleck a Best Director nomination, and given how many various wins Argo’s been receiving at other film award ceremonies, I have a sneaking suspicion it might take home the Gold.

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Best Actor:

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

Adam:

Want to Win: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

As someone who is directly related to two people with bipolar disorder, and seeing the way it affects their lives, I can say with confidence that Bradley Cooper played a man suffering from said disorder with absolute accuracy and passion. He wasn’t comical or over the top with it, nor did he use it to get pity from the audience. He simply played a heartbroken man who just so happened to have bipolar disorder, and instead of imitating a president, he became a fictional, but all too real at the same time, person.

Prediction of Who Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

My explanation is the same as everyone else’s—it’s Daniel Day-Lewis.

Riley:

Want to Win: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

The other nominees were very good this year, but no one came out of left field like Cooper did. As an actor who established a career as playing cocky hotshots in crude fratboy comedies (and who was once intimately fucked by Michael Ian Black in Wet Hot American Summer), it was truly a joy to watch him disappear into a heartbreaking, funny, hopeful, frustrating role as Pat in David O. Russell’s modern romantic masterpiece.

Prediction of Who Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

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Best Actress:

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Adam:

Want to Win: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

There is no competition in my mind. Riva broke my heart. (Plus the Oscars are on her 86^th birthday…give the gal something to celebrate! She deserves it!)

Prediction of Who Will Win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

She played a two-dimensional embodiment of revenge—oh sorry, I mean a “strong female character”—in a “relevant” political movie…that’s gotta be enough to get the Academy’s blood a-pumpin’.

Riley:

Want to Win: Because I haven’t seen Amour yet, I will pick Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook). She was good. I am proud of her.

Prediction of Who Will Win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Her characters in The Tree of Life and Mama had more life than…well…what Adam said.

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Best Supporting Actor:

Alan Arkin, Argo

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Adam:

Want to Win: Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of Who Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Riley:

Want to Win:  Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of Who Will Win: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

My two selections are interchangeable. I think both of them are the frontrunners in this category, and I think both of them were fantastic and moving and well-rounded characters in their respected films.

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Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Adam:

Want to Win: Amy Adams, The Master

Prediction of Who Will Win: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Riley:

Want to Win: Having only seen Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook, I think I want Amy Adams to win.

Prediction of Who Will Win: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

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Best Animated Feature Film:

Brave

Frankenweenie

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

Adam:

Want to Win: Brave

Prediction of What Will Win: Brave

Riley:

Want to Win: Brave

Prediction of What Will Win: Brave

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Best Foreign Language Film:

Adam: I won’t be listing all of the nominees for this category because I only saw Amour in that list (and Riley didn’t see any of them), but I simply have to mention the effect that this film had on me (and the fact that I’m pretty sure it has the Oscar in the bag). It was devastating. I have never been more aware of my mortality than when I was watching this film, which has never happened to me before, and that reason alone is enough that it should win in my book.

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Best Animated Short Film: “Paperman”

Adam: Again, here’s another category from which I only saw one nominee, but I simply must mention it. “Paperman” is one of the most beautiful pieces of animation I’ve ever seen. It reduced me to tears every single time I saw it, and to me, there is no competition for this award.

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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

Adam:

Want to Win: Michael Haneke, Amour or David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of Who Will Win: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Riley:

Want to Win: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of Who Will Win: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

I think this race is between Spielberg and Ang Lee, but David O. Russell’s cinematography and altogether knack for storytelling has just been so full of character and life lately. I love my Spielberg, oh yes I do, but O. Russell injected some undeniably creative breath into Silver Linings Playbook that the dry Lincoln lacked.

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Best Original Screenplay:

Amour

Django Unchained

Flight

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty

Adam:

Want to Win: Moonrise Kingdom

Prediction of What Will Win: Django Unchained

Riley:

Want to Win: Django Unchained

Prediction of What Will Win: Django Unchained

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Best Adapted Screenplay:

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Adam:

Want to Win: Silver Linings Playbook

The fact that Perks of Being a Wallflower isn’t nominated for this is a crime, plain and simple. It is one of the best book-to-film adaptations ever made. There, I said my piece.

Prediction of What Will Win: Lincoln

Riley:

Want to Win: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Oh wait, Chbosky wasn’t nominated. Bullshit of the highest degree. An iconic book translated beautifully into a poignant, critically and commercially successful film by the original author, and not even a little recognition. I suppose my other choice would be Silver Linings Playbook.

Prediction of What Will Win: Lincoln

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Best Original Score:

Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina

Alexadre Desplat, Argo

Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

John Williams, Lincoln

Thomas Newman, Skyfall

Adam:

Want to Win: Thomas Newman, Skyfall

I have reservations about choosing this score because it uses so much of the classic James Bond theme, but I’d rather see it win than the other choices. I’m just bitter Howard Shore was ignored for his fantastic The Hobbit score.

Prediction of Who Will Win: John Williams, Lincoln

Riley:

Want to Win: Thomas Newman, Skyfall

Prediction of Who Will Win: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

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Best Original Song:

“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice

“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted

“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi

“Skyfall” from Skyfall

“Suddenly” from Les Miserables

Adam:

Want to Win: “Suddenly” from Les Miserables

Prediction of What Will Win: “Skyfall” from Skyfall

I agree with what Riley says about “Big Machine” and “Skyfall” below.

Riley:

Want to Win: “Big Machine” by Ryan Miller and Mark Duplass, from Safety Not Guaranteed

Oh wait, another snub. A beautifully written pop song performed live in the film on a ZITHER (instrument) by the actor who co-wrote it….I don’t even…I guess I’d like to see Adele win for “Skyfall.” Bond themes are a piece of history, and her addition was pretty damn classy.

Prediction of What Will Win: “Suddenly” from Les Miserables

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Best Cinematography:

Anna Karenina

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

Adam:

Want to Win: Django Unchained

Prediction of What Will Win: Life of Pi

Riley:

Want to Win: Skyfall

Prediction of What Will Win: Life of Pi

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Best Film Editing:

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Adam:

Want to Win: Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of What Will Win: Argo

Riley:

Want to Win: Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction of What Will Win: Argo

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Best Visual Effects:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Life of Pi

The Avengers

Prometheus

Snow White and the Huntsman

Adam:

Want to Win: Life of Pi

Prediction of What Will Win: Life of Pi

The things this film did with 3D are nothing short of game changing. I almost picked The Hobbit, but since I didn’t get around to seeing the 48fps, I didn’t feel right about choosing it.

Riley:

Want to Win: Prometheus

Prediction of What Will Win: Life of Pi

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I hope you enjoyed reading our predictions, and I hope you were forming your own opinions as you went. Don’t forget to tune into the 85^th Academy Awards on February 24^th, 2013 at 7pm!

Side Effects review

Adam: When reviewing a film like Side Effects, one must be careful to avoid giving away any important plot points as to not spoil the story. As someone who detests having films spoiled for me, I have gone to great lengths to avoid spoiling anything in my reviews; the same is true for this one. I just wanted to clarify that any and all reviews written by me on this blog will be spoiler-free. It seemed important to say such a thing before this review since it is certainly a film with twists and surprises that need not be ruined.

On a separate note, Riley and I will be posting our 2013 Oscar predictions within the next week or so (and obviously BEFORE the Oscars airs). Stay tuned!

Also, I just wanted to thank everyone who visits the page and reads the posts. We broke 1,000 views after only four months of being live, which is wonderful in my opinion. We couldn’t have done it without you, so thank you for sharing in our love of film!

Without further ado, please enjoy my review of the psychological thriller Side Effects, opening in theaters today.

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Side Effects: A Beautiful, Bizarre Bitter Pill

viewed and reviewed by Adam Stutsman

Director Steven Soderbergh has been a busy man this past year. Since late September’s release of Contagion, we’ve also seen Haywire, Magic Mike, and now Side Effects (as well as an HBO film about Liberace), bringing Soderbergh’s directorial efforts in the past year to five, a feat almost unthinkable for any director (especially since they’re all decent to great films). The highly publicized reason for such output is Soderbergh’s upcoming break/possible retirement from filmmaking to pursue painting. But after how great Side Effects is, I’m honestly sad we aren’t getting five more this year.

Side Effects can be described as a “medical thriller” or what would happen if Alfred Hitchcock was left to wander around a psychiatric hospital. It has twists that keep you guessing until the very end, but even when it ends, you’re still working on unraveling it.

The film follows a psychiatrist named Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) and a young woman named Emily Taylor (hauntingly played by Rooney Mara), as they try to treat Emily’s depression with different medications. None of them are working…until she tries a new drug called Ablixa. She has energy, focus, and happiness once again, but all of that comes crashing when she wakes to find a dead body in her home, with Emily as the only suspect. The rest of the film traces the twists and betrayals of the characters, and leaves you wondering if you can actually trust anyone at all.

That’s all I’ll say concerning the plot, but I would like to focus on the other fantastic things that happen in this movie. As I alluded to earlier, the acting is great. Rooney Mara can truly do no wrong in my book, Jude Law is a master, Catherine Zeta-Jones is demented, and Channing Tatum is, well, acting.  (The poor guy really does get too much hate.)

Soderbergh’s directing has been called Hitchcock-ian in reference to this film, and I completely agree. I would certainly call this a “post-Hitchcock thriller” which is something we don’t see very often. Soderbergh is also often compared to David Fincher, (I personally believe Fincher to be the superior director), but this comparison is probably made because the two directors use the same camera, which gives the atmosphere a cold, industrial feel. The pacing is sort of twist-to-twist, but not in a gimmicky way. Rather it’s done in a way that whets an apatite for repeat viewings and close observation of characters.

Overall, Side Effects is one of the best new thrillers I’ve seen in quite some time. It opens today, so go catch a showing, untangle its twists, and see if you can really trust anyone…or if greed and power are universal corruptors.

Riley and Adam's Lists of the Best Films of 2012

Riley: The following list contains my top ten films of the past year. I have taken into consideration that I did not have the opportunity to see as many films as I would have preferred, and that there are most likely films out there in which I did not see that could surely have been candidates for this list. Sorry losers.

1. Silver Linings Playbook

2. Beasts of the Southern Wild – A word you’ll see appear numerous times throughout this list; important. Beasts is an important film. It feels like you are watching a documentary. The acting doesn’t feel like acting, the cinematography captures the beautiful ugliness of bayou nature, and the music is achingly pretty. But the importance is in the story: this is a film about what is essential in life. It is about making do without material possessions, about sticking with family, about loving, caring for and assisting one another, about being in touch with nature. It’s a film about positivity in a business that often lacks such.

3. Magic Mike – I expected to like this film by Steven Soderbergh, but I did not expect to love it. There was so much more to this story, which was less about male-stripping itself and more about how two young men react differently to the world of stripping. One yearns for something new, to grow out of the stripping business and start the next chapter of his life, and the other is in need of a change and quickly gets sucked into the deep end of the business. As The Social Network was about Facebook as it was about friendship, Magic Mike is about male-stripping as it is about our struggle to mature.

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

5. Jeff, Who Lives at Home – Another one of those important films that, despite featuring a very recognizable cast, has a documentary feel. The wonderfully talented Duplass brothers were behind this story about a lazy do-gooder who begins his day with the idea that something life-changing will happen to him, and its overwhelmingly positive nature was incredibly refreshing (see: Silver Linings Playbook, Beasts of the Southern Wild, etc.).

6. Django Unchained

7. Looper

8. Skyfall

9. Safety Not Guaranteed – This is yet another relatively small film featured on my list that, too, has an important message and a positive heart. It’s all about trusting your instincts and putting faith into something that others scoff at. And what a cast! Jake Johnson, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass…

10. The Dark Knight Rises

Rather than making this a simple Top 20 of the year, I trimmed it down and added an extra list of the ten best runners-up of 2012. This is that list, in no particular order:

Argo

21 Jump Street

Moonrise Kingdom

Cabin in the Woods

Brave

Damsels in Distress

The Avengers

Lincoln

Lawless

Sleepwalk With Me

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment below. And if anybody wonders why we left Zero Dark Thirty out, ask us.

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Adam: Well, the time has finally come. I’ve been working hard on these lists all year, and somehow I still don’t feel as though they’re quite right (mostly because trying to compare Wreck-It Ralph to The Dark Knight Rises to Les Miserables is difficult since they are such different films), but here they are: my two lists compiling my Top 20 Best Films of 2012 and my Top 20 Favorite Films of 2012.

Before I post them, however, I’d like to explain the difference between “Best” and “Favorite” lists:

My “Best” list is comprised of ranked films judged by their artistic cinematic achievements as a whole with little to no regard for my own personal tastes. Naturally, because I made the list, my tastes were taken into consideration, but this list is from as neutral of a critical eye as possible. These were the films I thought excelled in writing, cinematography, directing, editing, etc. If you look at this list and are confused as to why certain things are ranked as they are, try to see them from a critical standpoint, and more specifically from a critic who places much value on films that take risks or try new things over things that have been done many times in the past. This reasoning is why Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, and Les Miserables are not on that list, but Wreck-It Ralph, Cloud Atlas, and Ted are. Lincoln didn’t bring anything new to the table, and neither did Les Mis (besides the awesome “live singing” aspect of it). Zero Dark Thirty was just an overlong revenge tale (Kill Bill did it better). It’s not that they weren’t great films, because they are. They just didn’t stand out to me as anything new or original this year.

The “Favorite” list, on the other hand, is completely my own personal taste. These were the films that made me think in a new way, struck a chord in me personally, or that I simply enjoyed watching and will add to my personal collection. For instance, Ted is by no means a better film than Silver Linings Playbook. No offense to Seth McFarlane or his massive fan base (to which I absolutely belong), but from a critical standpoint, Silver Linings Playbook is a far better film than Ted. So why did Ted rank above Silver Linings on this list? Because I enjoyed watching Ted more than Silver Linings, and I’m more likely to own and watch Ted again when the mood strikes me (unless I’m on a David O. Russell kick or something). The same goes for every film above Silver Linings on that list; even though Silver Linings Playbook is the best film of the year, it wasn’t the one I enjoyed watching the most. Make sense? Awesome.

Obviously many films are on both lists as I tend to enjoy well-made films in general, but there are some major differences in the two as well. (I also included five runner-runner-ups to my “Favorites” list because they were worth mentioning.)

If you would like further explanation on anything regarding these lists (or you just want to call me a pretentious douchebag…actually, please don’t do that), feel free to comment, message, or email me.

Okay, enough cinephilic jibber-jabber. Here are my two lists.

ADAM’S TOP 20 BEST FILMS OF 2012:

1. Silver Linings Playbook – A beautiful, yet real and heart-wrenching, look at where we are now as a society, and as human beings.

2. Cloud Atlas – An epic braid of stories, an epic message of love and human connection, and an epic run-time. I didn’t think they could pull it off, but they did.

3. Seven Psychopaths – This dark comedy about making movies is smarter than almost anything I saw this year; a completely overlooked work of genius.

4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is among my favorite films of all time. This first step out our front door was no disappointment in the slightest. Not to mention its bold move of being filmed in 48fps.

5. Moonrise Kingdom – Arguably Wes Anderson’s best film, though I’m still attached to The Royal Tennenbaums.

6. Brave – This was probably the most misunderstood of all of Pixar’s efforts, and one of the most visually breathtaking pieces of computer-generated animation ever made.

7. Safety Not Guaranteed – This one caught me off guard. Who knew a time travel love story could be so heartfelt when taken seriously? Well, this brilliant cast certainly did.

8. This Is 40 – Judd Apatow yet again masterfully captures the humor and crushing sadness (often simultaneously) of human relationships. So naturally almost everybody hated it.

9. The Cabin in the Woods – A brilliant satire of the horror genre and one of the most entertaining films of the year. I would love to teach a class on this film.

10. Wreck-It Ralph – This little gem could have been another forgettable CGI moneymaker, but with its adorable and pure-intentioned story, as well as its immersive digital world, I can honestly say Wreck-It Ralph is one of the best (and one of my favorite) films of the year. Not to mention, the “Paperman” short that preceded it was one of the most beautiful pieces of animation I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

-- RUNNER UPS --

11. Jeff, Who Lives At Home – This is the definition of “pure-intentioned film.”

12. Looper – Time travel done right.

13. Django Unchained – The usual Tarantino fare: long, violent, and cinematography that would make any cinephile drool.

14. Ruby Sparks – I might be biased, but a writer whose character comes into the real world (and done better than Stranger Than Fiction) is a winner in my book.

15. Celeste + Jesse Forever – A realistic look at getting over a failed relationship.

16. Sleepwalk With Me – Mike Birbiglia is a genius. Period.

17. Frank & Robot – An old man and a robot robbing people? And it’s a heartfelt dramedy? Count me in.

18. Skyfall – The best Bond film ever…from a guy who has only seen four of them.

19. Ted – Seth McFarlane needs to make more movies. His signature vulgarity coats a story of friendship and a smart societal statement.

20. The Grey – An unexpected thinker with the unfeeling cold of Winter and death.

ADAM’S TOP 20 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2012:

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2. Cloud Atlas

3. Brave

4. Safety Not Guaranteed

5. Wreck-It Ralph

6. This Is 40

7. Seven Psychopaths

8. The Cabin in the Woods

9. Moonrise Kingdom

10. Jeff, Who Lives At Home

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11. Ruby Sparks

12. Looper

13. The Dark Knight Rises

14. Django Unchained

15. ParaNorman

16. Ted

17. Silver Linings Playbook

18. Celeste + Jesse Forever

19. Les Miserables

20. Skyfall

-- RUNNER-RUNNER-UPS --

The Watch

Sinister

Lawless

The Grey

21 Jump Street

Again, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask!

Reader Request Review - January: The Cabin in the Woods

Adam: After two months of “I swear I’ll post it soon!” here it is—the first monthly Reader Request Review. This month’s request comes from my friend Stew, who (clearly) has excellent taste in movies. (Actually, he requested this in, like, October…but who’s counting?) In fact, his request wasn’t meant to spawn a series of reviews for this blog, but it planted the idea in my head and here we are.

Speaking of which, if you have a movie you’d like me to review, feel free to comment or email me, as I’m looking for a February RRR. Start thinking of titles! It can be any movie at all, any genre, length, year, etc. I’ll look over the requests and choose the one I think will give the best review (for instance, I’d pick Zodiac over Live Free or Die Hard because it’s easier to review a standalone film than the fourth in a franchise...but don't let it stop you from requesting), and get my hands on a copy to watch. This could get interesting. I’m looking forward to your requests!

One more thing: Adam and Riley's Best Films of 2012 lists will be posted in the next day or so. Get excited!

It’s been months in the making…so without further ado, here is my review, the first Reader Request Review, of The Cabin in the Woods.

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Reader Request Review – The Cabin in the Woods

As I’ve mentioned a few times in past posts, I am a self-proclaimed horror film buff. Ask anyone; I will gladly have a conversation about the differences between walking and running zombies, a discussion about why I enjoy the Paranormal Activity movies so much, a talk about how you or I would rank the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, or a debate about which remakes outdo the originals and vice versa. I take the stuff far too seriously a lot of the time. The horror genre is home to many of my favorite films, actors, and directors, and I am quite passionate about it. (I’ve even written a full-length horror screenplay of my own.) I have a lot more to learn and many more films to watch, but the realm of horror feels like a little twisted bit of home to me.

So naturally, when I first heard about The Cabin in the Woods, a sort of satire/homage to the horror genre, I was overwhelmed with excitement. My imagination was rampant with anticipation for references to The Evil Dead (one of my favorite horror films of all time), or commentary on “a group of drunk, horny teens alone in a cabin in the woods” clichés, or maybe even some fresh horror satire outside of the brilliant Scream franchise. I followed every bit of information about The Cabin in the Woods I could with a creepy intensity.

But my enthusiasm wasn’t without skepticism, especially when I saw who would be helming the feature. Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, recent director of The Avengers, and more-or-less God of the Nerds right now) and I have had an interesting relationship over the years. I love his work, I find him brilliant, but a lot of his fans drive me crazy and the hype is overwhelming, and that sometimes leaves me feeling sour. (This is also true of Quentin Tarantino, but that’s another post for another time.) So when I saw that the Mr. Whedon would be co-writing a horror film, I admit I was a bit worried. And the other co-writer (and director), Drew Goddard, was the writer of Cloverfield, a film I thoroughly enjoyed. So we have a Nerd King whose main horror experience is Buffy, and the guy who made a shaky-cam monster movie; these were not the names that would have popped into my head to handle a horror satire. I was worried for this take on one of my favorite genres. This would surely be an overhyped, lukewarm disaster, right?

I could not have been more wrong.

I saw the first trailer for the film and all of my doubts were hacked to pieces. I was rolling with laughter, jumping in terror, and awkwardly dancing in my seat as the teaser unfolded in front of me, and it was then that I knew this movie couldn’t possibly let me down. My skepticism had vanished.

(Okay, enough with my Cabin back-story. Time for the actual review.)

The Cabin in the Woods starts with a simple-enough premise: a group of college-age kids go to a sketchy cabin in the woods to drink, get high, and have lots of sex. The group is comprised of a stereotypical jock, slut, stoner/joker, nerd/scholar, and virgin. We’ve seen this an uncountable amount of times before, right? Well, it is soon revealed that this entire trip is being monitored and ultimately controlled by a bunch of suit-wearing puppet masters (under the command of an unseen Director), whose purposes are to keep the whole situation going according to the tried-and-true formula of every character dying, one by one, ending with the virgin (if you haven’t seen this trope a million times, you don’t watch enough horror flicks). They use means of mind-altering gas, unleashing a myriad of monsters, and a slew of hidden cameras to keep the players playing the game, all the while betting on the source of the teenagers’ demise.

This eye-in-the-sky business can be read in three (erm…two and a half) ways:

- a metaphor for making a horror film, including the demented mindset it takes to create people in situations that ultimately kill them

- a way to poke fun at making a movie in general

- a statement arguing the “bully-like” attitude of a God and His angels

The moviemaking readings are straightforward enough: the businessmen/Director are the crew, and the college kids are the actors. The Director and crew direct the situations that lead the actors through telling the story. Since there are multiple different monsters that can be unleashed, this could stand for the “bank” of monsters to be re-hashed and re-used in horror movies time and time again. The “gods” that the workers are keeping at bay with these deaths could represent the moviegoing masses craving meaningless violence.

The bully-in-the-sky reading is similar. God and His angels control the situations, but give the illusion of Free Will (when the college kids “choose” what monsters will kill them) and kill off the creation for entertainment purposes alone.

But I think I’ll ease off the “deep reading” of this movie, since this is a review and not an essay. I could go into much more detail, citing scenes from the film, but that would take far too long and I don’t think anybody wants to read such a thing. Let’s just stick with the usual review stuff.

The writing, if you haven’t gathered by my review thus far, is original, clever, and brilliant. The characters are hilarious and real enough, despite being satires of clichés, and when they’re picked off one by one, you almost feel for them. All of the parts are played excellently and I wouldn’t call any of it “bad acting” despite almost all of the films they are parodying have terrible acting. Whedon fans will recognize a few familiar faces from former efforts, even if all you know of his work is The Avengers (who knew Thor was such a bro?).

The film is littered with references to classic horror flicks (a plethora of which belonging to the Evil Dead series) and fans of the horror genre will find themselves clutching their guts and shaking with laughter, especially in the film’s monstrous climax. But this movie isn’t just for horror nerds. The casual moviegoer may be slightly off-put by the amount of gore, but those looking for an introduction into the world of horror will be warmly welcomed. This isn’t a pretentious “look at all the horror stuff we know!” type of film. It’s a fun ride for non-horror fans, and an Easter egg-laden treat for those more well-versed in blood-soaked, dark-skulking cinema.

The Cabin in the Woods is not only one of my favorite (and best) films of the year, but one of my new favorites of all time. It sits on my shelf between Scream and The Evil Dead, and there couldn’t be a better place for it. If you have even the slightest interest in horror, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or fresh meat, I urge you to watch this movie.

Adam's List of 2012 Films

Adam: After a very long year of attempting to watch every single film released in 2012 that I had an interest in seeing, my time of missing sleep or social events in favor of films is over...more or less.

Below is a list of every single film I saw this year, along with the amount of times I saw it (in theaters). A few of these were watched on DVD or Netflix, but they were watched this year. I also included theatrical re-releases.

Sadly, I missed around 30 films that I wanted to see, but it’s obvious that I tried (and obvious that I spend way too much time in front of a screen). Keep in mind that, even though this list is long, there's a chance I missed a couple. This list also does not include movies I watched on DVD, Netflix, television, etc. that were not released in 2012.

And so you don't have to count them, the total count is:

85 (without repeats)

107 (with repeats)

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The List of 2012 Films I Saw This Year (in no particular order):

The Grey

Chronicle

Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie

Beauty and the Beast 3D

The Woman in Black

Star Wars: Episode I 3D

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

The Secret World of Arrietty

Wanderlust

The Lorax

Silent House

21 Jump Street

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

The Hunger Games

Titanic 3D

The Cabin in the Woods

Monseiur Lazhar

The Five-Year Engagement

Pirates!: Band of Misfits

The Raven

The Avengers (3x)

Dark Shadows (2x)

The Dictator

Men In Black 3 (2x)

Moonrise Kingdom (2x)

Snow White and the Huntsman

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

Prometheus

Safety Not Guaranteed

Your Sister’s Sister

Sleepwalk With Me

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Brave (3x)

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Magic Mike

People Like Us

Ted (2x)

The Amazing Spider-Man

Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D

The Dark Knight Rises (3x)

Ruby Sparks

The Watch (2x)

Total Recall

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2x)

Hope Springs

The Campaign (2x)

The Expendables 2

ParaNorman (2x)

Robot & Frank

Premium Rush

Lawless

The Possession

For A Good Time, Call…

Raiders of the Lost Ark IMAX

Resident Evil: Retribution

Finding Nemo 3D

The Master

Dredd

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Looper (2x)

Hotel Transylvania

Frankenweenie (2x)

Argo

Seven Psychopaths (2x)

Sinister

Paranormal Activity 4

Cloud Atlas (2x)

Bachelorette

Wreck-It Ralph (2x)

The Man with the Iron Fists

Lincoln

Skyfall

The Sessions

Life of Pi

Rise of the Guardians

Silver Linings Playbook (2x)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2x)

This Is 40 (2x)

Texas Chainsaw 3D

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Monsters, Inc. 3D

The Guilt Trip

Zero Dark Thirty

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Stay tuned for Adam and Riley’s Best Films of 2012 lists, coming soon!

This Is 40

Adam: Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! As promised, I'm posting a review of Judd Apatow's latest directorial effort: This Is 40. Since Christmastime is a busy time of year (and I'm filming a short film this week), I can't promise my "Best Films of 2012" or "Favorite Films of 2012" lists before the New Year, but I can promise to try.
If you're looking for something to do with your family (and if your family can handle some R-rated humor), go see This Is 40 after eating some delicious food and enjoying each other's company. Or go see The Hobbit: An Expected Journey, which is an adventure the whole family can enjoy, no matter your age.

The happiest of holidays to you and yours this season!

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This Is 40: R-Rated Family Fun!

viewed and reviewed by Adam Stutsman

Writer/director Judd Apatow’s signature style of blending gut-busting comedy and real, heartbreaking drama is one I’ve yet to see even remotely duplicated. 2009’s Funny People split audiences with its lengthy run time (2 hours and 15 minutes is, for some, quite long for a comedy) and its heavy dramatic tone that left the viewer’s laughs to have to fight through tears. However, the plot and characters were some of Apatow’s best writing, and I for one adored the autobiographical feel of it. Because of these reasons, I have been eagerly awaiting his follow up, a sort-of-sequel spin-off to Knocked Up called This Is 40.

This Is 40 follows Pete and Debbie, the dysfunctional couple from Knocked Up who filled the background with laughs and uncomfortable squirms, as they both hit the 40 year-old milestone. The story is very slice-of-life, since most of the couple’s problems come from money, family (parents and children, often at the same time), and each other. Pete’s record label is failing, and an employee is stealing from Debbie’s store; Pete’s father is sucking money from the family while Debbie’s father is hardly present at all; Pete and Debbie’s daughters are getting older and far more technology-savvy than either of the 40’s try to be; and Pete and Debbie fantasize about murdering each other. No matter where you turn, stress and pain run rampant. But since this is an Apatow film, every situation is filled with moments that make you wonder if you should laugh or cry, so I tend to just do both.

This type of comedy is not for everyone, however. Many of the situations are uncomfortable to watch, and some viewers simply can’t find reason enough to laugh. For instance, the film opens with a shower sex scene (you don’t see anything, calm down) that leads to an argument about Viagra and a rant about turning 40. The viewer can choose to laugh at this, or to read further into it and realizing just how heartbreaking growing older can be. To me, this makes everything seem more real; one can laugh or cry as a reaction to life’s messes, or choose to do both.

As always with an Apatow film, sex jokes and vulgarity are to be found in almost every scene, but there is a surprising sparseness of marijuana jokes considering how many there were in all of Apatow’s other joints (pun intended). If you can’t handle hearing foul language, dark jokes (a hilarious Melissa McCarthy telling a school principal she would be set on fire or Albert Brooks telling his son, Paul Rudd, that Rudd’s mother wanted him aborted), sexual innuendos, or all of the other things that weave through conversation in every day life, you may choose to avoid this film. However, if those things don’t bother you, and you’re wanting a real look at turning 40 while trying to manage work, family, and life in general, while also wanting to laugh until you cry (if you aren’t already crying), I recommend This Is 40. I would argue that this is Apatow’s most mature, most skillfully written, and (although not funniest) overall best film.

Another great title: The 40 Year-Old Not-Virgins

The Sessions

Adam: Hello, everyone! Today I'm posting a review of the film The Sessions. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to post this review, as The Sessions has been out for a while and not many people know what it is, but I feel that this review will offer some variety (since the last few reviews have been history or franchise-related). Hopefully this will inspire someone to check out some of those smaller movies that usually get passed over in favor of the bigger, more well-known films (even though my reaction wasn't the most positive to this one).

I would also like to give, before I post this review, a preview of what December will (hopefully) look like on my end. I haven't spoken to Riley about any joint-reviews or reviews on his end in a while, but I'm seeing him tonight, so that should change. But right now I'm going to discuss my personal plans for December on this blog. As I've mentioned a few times, I want to start doing monthly reader request reviews. My friend Stew asked me to review The Cabin in the Woods and that was going to be my plan for November, but I got so caught up with seeing all of the new movies coming out (as well as work, and other silly things like that), that I never got around to it. Considering December will bring This Is 40, Les Miserables, Django Unchained, and of course The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as some other much-anticipated films (I really want to see The Silver Linings Playbook), I highly doubt I'll have time to do said RRR (reader request review). Even if I don't review those four films, I also want to do a joint Best Films of 2012/Favorite Films of 2012 list before the month ends. Add that in with shooting a short film mid-December (so excited!), December is pretty much packed for me. So that's why the RRR hasn't happened yet, and probably won't until January. But hey, new year new segment, right? Anyway, it looks like December is going to hold a lot of reviews, lists, and other posts for this blog. I hope you're as excited for it as I am!

Thanks for reading all of that. If you're still up for it, here's my review of The Sessions.

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The Meh-ssions

viewed and reviewed by Adam Stutsman

When I first saw the trailer for The Sessions, I was certainly intrigued; a true story about a man with polio who wants to lose his virginity, so he asks his Catholic priest (played by William H. Macy, no less) for permission to use a sex surrogate certainly caught my eye. I expected a heartwarming tale beneath a veil of racy sex jokes, with occasional moments of heaviness and depth that were quickly redeemed with a lighthearted crack of a joke. I expected award-winning performances from the whole cast, and an overall sense of satisfaction when the credits rolled. I expected a story that transcended a simple “I want to lose my virginity because that’s what makes a man a man” message. I expected these things, because that’s what the general response has been and what the trailer led me to believe.

I am sorry to say, my expectations were not met in the least.

The Sessions is a story about a man with polio who wants to lose his virginity. He writes poetry. He is Catholic. He doesn’t have much luck with the ladies, because…well…he has polio and can’t be outside of his iron lung for more than a few hours, and requires a lot of very intense care. I would like to say there were deeper things to draw from these traits, but I cannot. This film pretty much takes place entirely on the surface, which isn’t completely a bad thing unless it’s in talks for Oscar nominations, which it is. Before I go into more detail, I will say this: this film does not deserve a single Oscar.

Okay, now that you think I hate this movie, let me review it and show you that I do not hate this movie.

The protagonist Mark O’Brien, our polio-plagued poet, is played beautifully by John Hawkes (seriously, if anyone should be in Oscar talks, it’s him…but still, no). The sex surrogate he hires is played by Helen Hunt, who looks far too good naked for any 49 year-old and should never attempt a Boston accent again, and Mark O’Brien’s priest is played by William H. Macy, as I mentioned before. The three of them do a terrific job in their rolls, yet they didn’t blow me away (except for some of Hawkes’ more vulnerable moments). Even in the juicy “sessions” where Cheryl (Hunt) is teaching Mark how to be aware of his body, and eventually how to have sex, there is a strange disconnected feeling in the tone. Moments that should be deeply intimate and revealing to the audience about these characters are far too shallow for their attempts. When we are finally given a taste of some real depth, our toes touch the bottom of the pool.

As for the rest of the usual “review” topics...the directing, editing, etc. were all good enough, but again, nothing astonishing or resonating. Heck, the best writing in the film was O’Brien’s actual poems (a nice touch) and the occasional one-liner.

But I can’t get over one massive flaw: there was no purpose to Mark losing his virginity besides he wanted to and “that’s what makes a real man.” Apparently the filmmakers found no need to add a layer of depth or meaning to a devout Catholic losing his virginity outside of marriage. I mean, I’m not Catholic, but I do know that believers don’t exactly look lightly upon sex outside of marriage. So to have a strict Catholic decide he wants to lose his virginity because he doesn’t think he’ll ever get married, and then to play it off as nonchalant until moments when the story calls for the Catholic Guilt Complex, is simply poor storytelling. Quite frankly, that downright bad moviemaking flaw is what ruined what could have otherwise been a nice little true-story film. Despite it’s subject matter, it wasn’t particularly raunchy, but in the end I kind of wish it were.

If you do decide to see The Sessions, I hope you enjoy it, but don’t feel the need to see it in order to join in with the Oscar talks this year, unless you want to have proper ammunition to argue why it doesn’t deserve more than a rental on a rainy day.