Sarah & Andrew's Top Ten Lists for 2012 (So Far!)

Andrew: Hello readers! We're doing a little something different this week in lieu of a weekly preview, since The Amazing Spider-Man and Savages are two of the big three coming out this weekend and we've already review them (click on their titles to read our reviews if you'd like).

So, with that in mind and seeing as this year is already halfway over, both Sarah and I are going to post our respective Top Ten Films (So Far) of 2012! The only criteria being that they had to be films we've actually seen and reviewed (so our apologies for not having something like Moonrise Kingdom on our lists) and they had to be films that were first released in theatres for public consumption in the United States in the year 2012.

Without further ado, here are our lists!

SARAH'S TOP TEN LIST OF 2012 (SO FAR)

1.) The Avengers: This movie was everything a superhero movie should have been. The action paired with a phenomenal cast shot this movie to #1 for many weeks in a row. This was such a fun movie to go to and it fed into the other Marvel movies so seamlessly. I'm excited to see where the next Iron Man and Thor movies pick up from here! (Our 5/5 review)

2.) Prometheus: This epic film satisfied my need for another Alien movie. While it was not exactly a "prequel" it was still so cool and had a great cast that really brought the world that Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley would later inhabit to life. (Our 4.5/5 review)

3.) Savages: I really don't know why I loved this movie so much. It was sexy and violent. This probably speaks a little more about me that any of you cared to know, but there it is. I thought that the relationship between Ben, Chon and Ophelia was very interesting and I also enjoyed the directing style Oliver Stone went with. (Our 3/5 review)

4.) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: I love these movies. I don't care that I'm a 23-year-old woman, these movies are hilarious. And this one was just a great addition to the wayward zoo animal collection. (Our 4/5 review)

5.) Ted: Hilarious. Seth MacFarlane. Mark Wahlberg. Most of the cast from Family Guy. Nuf said. (Our 4.5/5 review)

6.) Rock of Ages: I am also a big fan of musicals. It could be because I sang in high school and was in a couple of musicals. It could also be because my husband has gotten me turned on to 80s rock music. Whatever the reason, this movie took me back to a time that I wish I remembered and could have grown up through. Tom Cruise rocked as rock god Stacee Jaxx and could make any woman swoon in the theatre! (Our 4/5 review)

7.) Magic Mike: While I wasn't as big of a fan of this  movie as Andrew was, I do think that Channing Tatum is a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. He started out as a beefcake dancer in Step Up and has quickly turned into a heavy-hitter in comedies and dramas alike. (Our 3.5/5 review)

8.) The Hunger Games: I liked these books. I usually then have a hard time seeing the movies without being overly critical. It's probably not fair but that's the way it is. This movie however kept incredibly close to the books while still putting a cinematic spin on things. It makes me hopeful for the next 2 movies! (Our 4.5/5 review)

9.) 21 Jump Street: Another Channing Tatum movie that featured some great action scenes and hilarity. This remake of a classic 80s TV show was so entertaining and funny! (Our 4.5/5 review)

10.) Chronicle: "Found footage" movies are not my usual cup of tea but for some reason this film did it for me. It was an interesting character study and overall was pretty awesome. (Our 4.5/5 review)

ANDREW'S TOP TEN LIST OF 2012 (SO FAR)

1.) The Avengers: It might not necessarily be Oscar-worthy, but this epic superhero film is pretty much everything you could ask for out of a popcorn flick. It’s fun, exciting, dramatic, bombastic…I could go on and on. The culmination of Marvel’s efforts to create an interweaving world for their characters on the big screen is a rousing success. The bantering between Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is worth the price of admission alone.

2.) The Cabin in the Woods: My favorite film genre is horror, so this “loving hate letter” to the genre by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard is pitch-perfect. The best deconstruction of horror films since Wes Craven’s Scream, I genuinely enjoyed every aspect of this movie. Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins are a hoot, the group of stock characters that are knocked off one-by-one nail their parts, and it’s a legitimate slasher film. And I can’t forget to mention the whiteboard. (Our 5/5 review)

3.) 21 Jump Street: The best studio comedy of the year would have had me rolling in the aisle if we weren’t sitting in the middle of the row. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are perfect together, and who knew Tatum was this good at comedy? There hasn’t been an R-rated buddy cop movie this good in a long time, so this was a refreshing change of pace. It was also refreshing to see them flip the script and make Tatum’s “jock” the outcast and Hill’s “dork” one of the popular kids.

4.) Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: Led by another great performance by Steve Carell and his surprisingly good chemistry with Keira Knightley, this dark comedy caught me off guard by making me really think about what I would do if I knew the world was ending in 3 weeks. The realistic portrayals throughout the entire movie made the proceedings easy to relate to. A fantastic effort all around to make you care even though you know where the film is headed. (Our 4.5/5 review)

5.) Sound of My Voice: This film had a great mystery to it that kept you wondering and thinking even after it ended. It’s helped by its atmosphere and the performances by Brit Marling and Christopher Denham. I loved going down the rabbit hole into the cult the two main characters, Peter and Lorna, try to infiltrate and expose as a fraud. A small budget sci-fi film with strong performances and a stronger story are always appreciated, but it's the staying power the gives it such a high ranking for me. (Our 4/5 review)

6.) The Hunger Games: A near perfect adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s novel led by a killer performance (no pun intended) by Jennifer Lawrence, it’s obvious the director Gary Ross cared very much about the source material and wanted to stay faithful to it. Yes he trimmed and/or added some things, but it made for a great action film, and if your reaction to the people in the Capitol was disgust, well then Ross did his job perfectly. It’s a real shame he won’t be coming back for Catching Fire.

7.) Prometheus: I may be in a minority, but I was able to look over some of the flaws in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel and see it for what it is: a very good sci-fi/horror film in its own right. It was tense and atmospheric if not scary; had some good performances, particularly from Michael Fassbender; and it’s the best use of 3D I’ve personally seen since Avatar. Was it perfect? No, but I didn’t have untouchable expectations for it either, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

8.) Chronicle: A great twist on the superhero origin and one of the best uses of the “found footage” genre, this film was a pleasant surprise. Strong performances by all the lead actors, strong writing that made me invested in the proceedings, and great directing by Josh Trank made this an all-around solid movie. I particularly liked the gimmick of having the characters use their telekinetic powers to float the camera around them so they could all be in the shot. Just a gem of a movie that shined brightest during the usually craptastic February releases.

9.) Ted: The second-funniest movie that we’ve seen this year, Seth MacFarlane’s feature film directorial debut is VERY similar to his show Family Guy. We happen to love Family Guy, so we appreciated the humor here. Is it deep? Of course not. But it’s raunchy and offensive as hell, and most of it comes out of an amazing CGI animated teddy bear. The all-in performance by Mark Wahlberg is just the cherry on top.

10.) The Vow: Surprised I included a chick-flick in the top ten? If you read our review you shouldn’t be. Channing Tatum’s performance as a husband who has to deal with his wife’s amnesia and not remembering their live together at all absolutely killed me. Rachel McAdams nailed her role as the amnesiac wife, so the pairing of the two just created a relationship that got me hook, line and sinker. (Our 4/5 review)

(Honorable Mention goes to Rock of Ages. It was thiiiiiiissss close to beating The Vow.)

Let us know what you think of our lists! We'd love to hear what our readers' Top Ten films of the year so far are!

Photo Courtesy: Teaser-Trailer

Is It Truly "Magic" or Just an Illusion?: Our Review of "Magic Mike" (2012)

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich)

Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matthew McConaughey

Rating: R for pervasive sexual content, brief graphic nudity, language and some drug use

Synopsis: Mike (Tatum) is the star of a male strip-club in Tampa who is saving his money from doing manual labor day-jobs so he can own his own custom furniture business some day. One day at a work site he meets Adam (Pettyfer), a 19-year-old kid who seems aimless. When Mike takes Adam under his wing and gets him a job at the club, the two begin to have both positive and negative effects on each other’s lives, including Mike taking an interest in Adam’s sister, Brooke (Horn).

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Last night Sarah and I joined the masses of women at the local AMC Theatre to see Steven Soderbergh’s new male-stripper movie, Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street).

Sarah, we touched on this in our weekly preview, but thanks to the trailers and commercials for this film many, MANY women have been looking forward to it. So I first want to get your take on whether Magic Mike lived up to your expectations as a woman?

Sarah: The stripper scenes? Oh yeah. Oh it definitely lived up to the expectations. My jaw DROPPED multiple times, so yeah, it was quite shocking at times. But yes, the stripper scenes DID live up to my expectations. The rest of the movie? Fell completely flat for me.

A: Why did the rest fall flat for you?

S: There was no storyline. No, there’s a loose storyline but it felt more like just a day-to-day thing, there wasn’t a whole lot of movement. Like time went by but there wasn’t much movement in any direction. I felt the girl they cast to play Brooke, Cody Horn (The Office), I felt like she did NOTHING for the movie. She wasn’t attractive, her acting sucked…it was painful to watch. It was like watching Kristen Stewart in the first Twilight film. I was not impressed with her at all.

Not quite sure why they casted her, because Channing Tatum in Hollywood gold right now and I think this one just didn’t do it for me. It had all the hot guys, didn’t have any real storyline involving the hot guys who are good actors! Like Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Joe Manganiello (True Blood)…I would have liked to have seen more character development, a better storyline…it was a little weak for me.

A: Well I’m going to disagree with you on some things here. Because I think this is an example of marketing the movie, not incorrectly, but more in a deceptive manner. Because they make it look like the film is all happy-fun-time, that it’s all about the guys dancing, and while the film has those moments and when they happen they’re pretty damn good even for a straight guy to watch, but this film is not at all what they’re marketing it out to be.

The dance scenes, like the opening "It's Raining Men" dance, are the highlight of Magic Mike, but there's more to the story than just six-packs and hip-thrusting.

It’s not happy-fun-time the whole movie. What it is is almost a look into the realities of what the real life of a male stripper is. Like, why Mike does what he does, and the repercussions of it for both him and other people around him. I felt that the real gist of the movie is that Mike is trying to save up money to start his own business and it’s about the realities that he has to strip on the weekends to make end’s meet so he can save his day-job money for his business. Then he finds Adam, brings him in under his wing to join the revue and then it becomes how the two of them effect one another. Adam starts to have both a positive and a negative effect on Mike’s life, whereas Mike “improves” Adam’s life considerably. It’s really about how that relationship goes. It’s not what I expected at all but I liked that. I liked where the movie went and it was an interesting, introspective look into where Mike goes. Does he want to remain a 30-year-old stripper?

I don’t want to say what happens, but something does happen to Mike that the whole theatre just went. “Damn, that sucks.” And you feel real bad for him, and Tatum knocks it out of the park with his performance of this character arc. I just like where it went and it was unexpected because they marketed it as, “Come watch the beefcake, ladies! It’s all beefcake all the time!” And it wasn’t, and I liked that.

S: I guess I see where you’re coming from.

A: And there’s the meteoric rise that Adam has, and it’s the effect that has on Mike that I really enjoyed in this film.

S: Oh yeah, it’s very much like an apprentice and the master, right? And I agree, it did show the seedy underside of this very REAL industry world. Male strippers or female strippers, it’s not just about the sex. It’s not just about the bodies. It’s people trying to make a living. But I guess I just couldn’t quite get around…maybe the fact that I did feel a little duped. It didn’t bother me to the point where I was mad about it, but it did leave a sour taste in my mouth.

I did really like Matthew McConaughey as the club’s owner, Dallas, because he differed from his usual rom-com, almost simple Southern Boy style. I like that he played it almost more in the way he did in The Lincoln Lawyer. He’s actually a good actor, so I don’t know why he goes for those seemingly easy roles. Plus his character was one of the more fully fleshed out characters and was very exciting on the screen.

Matthew McConaughey gives an electric turn as Dallas, the owner of the strip club and a possible business partner with Mike.

A: I do wish they had gone a little more into the life of the other strippers. Like Big D*ck Richie and Ken, I think it could have added a little more to the story. Because except for the beginning of the film when Adam is introduced to the club, you almost don’t get a feel for who these people really are. So they’re just window dressing. And I do think they could have added a little more to the story because there were some recognizable names.

S: And then they had this character who isn’t mentioned in any of the trailers, Tarzan, who reminded me of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler while we were watching it, and then it turned out he’s played by Kevin Nash, who really IS a professional wrestler. I thought he was awful in the film – if you watch him in the film, and you’re really not supposed to be focused on HIM during the dance scenes, but if you do notice him he doesn’t really do anything. It was painful to watch him because Nash has bad knees and couldn’t go all out every time. So I don’t know why they casted him.

I do wish they had marketed differently. I understand why they marketed it the way they did, HELLO! Duh! They’re going to make wicked money this first weekend because of women just wanting to see the men naked. But I do think that when it starts to leak out that it’s not that strong of a story…

A: But see, I do think there can be a bright side to where the film can get it’s cash grab this first weekend with all the women who go to see it, but then they can find out there’s more to it than just the beefcake. Soderbergh fans will recognize this film instantly.

S: What else has he done recently?

A: Lately he did Haywire with Gina Carano and Contagion with Matt Damon, he did all three Ocean’s movies…

S: So I guess I get the feel for his movies then.

A: He’s just a different filmmaker. It’s not just about the dancing, it’s looking into what the life of a dancer is. He kind of did that with a film called The Girlfriend Experience where he casted one of the biggest porn stars in the world, Sasha Grey, and made her the star where she played a prostitute. But the film wasn’t about the actual sex in being a prostitute, it wasn’t exploitative, it was about how does her career affect the rest of her life? What are the outside aspects of it? And I got a similar vibe from Magic Mike.

Andrew liked the natural sounding conversations and long-takes Soderbergh used, such as this sandbar scene between Mike and Brooke.

S: The ending is interesting and now I’m kind of thinking about the Ocean’s films and this is similar to how those films end. It just kind of cuts to black.

A: Yeah, but it still completed the journeys that Adam and Mike take. I actually love the last few shots. Again, I don’t want to say exactly what happens but the way they’re shot and the performances by the actors…I loved it. I particularly liked the last shot you see of Adam in the film. He just has this look on his face that you saw on Mike’s face at the beginning of the film.

S: I guess I understand, because if you really think about it, where else could they take it? That story was over. There really wasn’t anywhere else to take it.

A: And it wasn’t your prototypical ending. I like things like that. A couple quick things I want to add about why I liked this movie: I loved that there’s almost no real score. When music is used it’s generally in the natural environment of where the characters are, whether it’s the club or they’re in a car driving or at a party. Soderbergh doesn’t use music to elicit an emotion from you. If you feel an emotion it’s because of what’s happening on the screen.

Secondly I loved the way he shot the film. There are so many long, uninterrupted takes. They follow a guy around the room or just linger on a conversation, like Mike and Brooke’s conversation at the beach. I read somewhere that Tatum and Horn improvised everything in that scene, and that Soderbergh did that a lot in this film by giving the actors the general idea, saying here are your beats to hit…

S: Make it organic.

A: Exactly. And that really came off the screen for me. Tatum’s not the greatest actor per se, he might seem like he’s having trouble saying his lines sometimes but this film felt very real. There’s a scene where he’s stuttering, trying to get out what he wants to say and it felt real because he probably WAS trying to get our what he wanted to say.

S: And I appreciate that part of him. His part did not bother me. I think he’s a good actor. I just think he has a stage presence and magnetism like a young Brad Pitt or young Tom Cruise. Like other actors who have been in the biz for a while, he just has that magnetism.

Now where scenes like that fell flat for me it was because of the other actor, Cody Horn. I just didn’t believe it, I felt it was forced.

A: I didn’t mind her. Could they have casted someone better? Like I liked the scenes with Olivia Munn…

Former G4 host Olivia Munn plays Amber, a hook-up buddy of Mike's, but Sarah wonders why she couldn't have been cast as Brooke instead.

S: Yeah, why couldn’t they have casted her as Brooke?

A: But I liked her role for what she was as a woman who uses Mike for booty-calls.

S: I mean…I think we’re gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.

A: True, but I think we can agree that Channing Tatum is a STAR. He was great in The Vow, he was hilarious in 21 Jump Street and I felt this is…

S: It’s just a different look at him. I would say see this one in theatres if you’re a woman. If you’re a guy, depends on your sexual preference or how secure you are in your masculinity.

A: Hey, and for the guys, this film IS an equal-opportunity film with the skin. It’s not just guys. Olivia Munn has a nude scene and some other girls do, too.

S: True. Ok, so overall I think you might disagree with me about us owning this someday…

A: No, I definitely think we should own it.

S: Just not the day it comes out necessarily. But it’s definitely one to see in theatres, ladies!

(Out of Five Clapboards)

Photo Courtesies: Movie Fanatic, About.com, Art Forum, Egotastic

Our Preview of This Week's New Releases (For Friday, June 29th)

Andrew: Hello readers! It's time yet again for our preview of this week's new theatrical releases. Now, we have three new movies coming out this weekend but we're only going to preview two of them because we got the chance to channel our inner big-time movie reviewer by seeing an advanced screening of Seth MacFarlane's feature film directorial debut Ted, starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and MacFarlane himself as the voice of Ted. You can find our review of that by clicking HERE.

So instead, Sarah, we'll focus on the other two big releases this weekend, starting with one I'm sure A TON of women have been looking forward to - Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike. It stars one of this year's breakout stars, Channing Tatum, as a male stripper who has ambitions to eventually start his own furniture design company. The film also stars Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) as Adam, a 19-year-old kid that Tatum's Mike sees something in, so he takes him under his wing, gets him a job at the club and dubs him "The Kid." Oh, and Mike has the hots for Adam's sister, Brooke, who is played by Cody Horn (who I only recognize from a few episodes of The Office).

Sarah, I think I've talked enough about the basic premise of the movie, so you take it from here.

Sarah: Well from what I can surmise from the trailers, I would say that this movie is going to make most men seem inadequate. Filled with some of Hollywood's sexiest leading men (like White Collar’s Matt Bomer and True Blood’s Joe Manganiello), who seem to remain mostly shirtless, Magic Mike promises to be most women's fantasy. Tatum has had a great year so far with 21 Jump Street and The Vow. His new film, super loosely based on his real life, is the one that I have been looking forward to the most. His humor and charm is going to bring the throngs of women out to the theatres this weekend, along with his stunning six-pack.

Official Trailer for Magic Mike

A: I'm actually looking forward to seeing this because the trailer looks funny and because it's a Soderbergh movie. He's a different kind of director in that he's not going to just focus on the stripping part, I expect him to go into the reasons why Mike and his co-workers really do what they do, how it effects they're lives, etc. Essentially I think this movie will be deeper than it looks at first blush.

S: Agreed. It looks like it is going to be just a fun movie all around! I expect there to be a decent amount of laughter, although probably not as much as there was in Ted (seriously people, if there's a comedy you must see, it's Ted).

Now the second movie that we are going to be seeing this weekend is People Like Us. A little less humor and more heartwarming, this movie is about a young man, Sam (played by Chris Pine, Star Trek) whose recently deceased and estranged father has left him $50,000 and the knowledge that he has a sister, Frankie (played by Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games). His father has left him instructions to give the money to his sister, who also has no idea that she has a brother. Sam is left with the dilemma: does he give Frankie, a woman he didn't know existed, the money or does he use the money to pay off his debts? I think this looks like a really great movie filled with actors who are just fantastic.

A: I didn't know a whole lot about People Like Us until last week when I started reading up on it, and now I'm very much looking forward to seeing it. I like the two main leads, but more importantly, I'm interested to see the directorial debut for Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman is better known for co-writing or co-producing a number of the last few year's biggest films with Roberto Orci. Check this list out:

- Mission: Impossible III (writer)

- Transformers (writer)

- Star Trek (writer/executive producer)

- The Proposal (executive producer)

- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (writer)

- Cowboys & Aliens (writer/producer)

- Star Trek Sequel (writer/producer)

And he's one of the creators/executive producers of the television show Fringe, and an executive producer for TV's Hawaii Five-O. The Transformers movies and Cowboys & Aliens aren't great, but it's still a solid pedigree of writing and producing. So I'm interested in seeing how he does as a director, too.

 Official Trailer for People Like Us

S: I have heard that this movie is really sweet and that Michelle Pfeiffer and Olivia Wilde are great additions to the cast.

A: Oh, and we should mention there are actually FOUR movies coming out in wide release this week, because Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection also comes out today, but honestly we're not going to see it and have no desire to see it and would rather not recognize its existence. I actually don't mind the concept of Eugene Levy playing a Wall Street man who unwittingly was part of a corporate scheme and whose family is put into witness protection, it's the Madea aspect we're not hot on. No offense to Tyler Perry (cuz we kind of ripped him a bit earlier this week, too.)

But yeah! We'll definitely be seeing Magic Mike and People Like Us this weekend, so be on the lookout for those reviews!

S: And also a big THANK YOU to all of our readers! Because of you our small movie review blog had over 1,500 page views in June and we broke that record this month in only 26 days!!! So THANK YOU for your continued support!