10. The Avengers.  Joss Whedon manages to create the ultimate superhero flick with The Avengers, pulling together all the pieces that were set up throughout Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and The Incredible Hulk.  It doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is important when dealing with any film based off of comic books.  From action to humor to fantastic CGI, The Avengers packs quite a punch, and that’s all before mentioning the fact that it is the third highest grossing film of all time.

9. Savages.  Oliver Stone comes back with a gory, twisted, drug-filled thriller that is filled with rich color, deep emotion, and at the heart of it a Shakespearean love story.  Despite Blake Lively’s best efforts to harm the film’s success, it can’t all be blamed on her.  The narration she is given tries too hard to be poetic, but falls flat upon audiences.  That being said, Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson play the brilliant duo of Ben and Chon as they fight a Mexican drug cartel to get back their beloved Ophelia (Lively).  The fun that Savages brings to the table is well worth earning it a spot on the list.

8. This Is 40.  Judd Apatow delivers his best yet with This Is 40.  Taking a page out of Tim Burton’s playbook by continually casting his wife and friends in his films, it finally pays off for Apatow and company.  His latest is the funniest and smartest he’s delivered, and hits close to home for anyone who has ever been in a real family setting.  Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, and Iris Apatow come together to form a family who is all learning how to grow with one another.  It can’t hurt that three out of the four memebers of the family are really related, the only addition being Paul Rudd in place of the real life father Apatow.  This Is 40 dances the line of sweet and heartwarming while not being afraid to be crass and outrageous (See scene where Rudd asks Mann to help him check for hemorrhoids).

7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  Much has been said regarding Peter Jackson’s latest venture to Middle Earth, most of it relating to his choice to shoot the film not only in 3D but also in 48 frames per second, which is different from the standard 24fps.  While the High Frame Rate does take away the traditional movie glow that we are accustomed to, it does make the sweeping landscape shots of New Zealand look truly spectacular.  Cinematically, The Hobbit can do no better and Jackson knew exactly what kind of feel he was going for as he had already shot the original Lord of the Rings trilogy.  The only thing holding this film back from making it further down the list is that sometimes it feels a bit too length, and it’s hard not to be confused that a short book is being turned into three films well over 2 hours long each.  We’ll have to wait until next December to see how Jackson and Wignut films builds on the momentum that An Unexpected Journey creates and where it goes from here.

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Every now and then we will get a film that builds a strong reputation through word of mouth.  In 2012 that film was The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Stephen Chbosky, who also wrote the book the film is based on, directs a story that leaves audiences not quite sure on how to feel once it is over.  Serving as a true rite-of-passage story, Perks follows Charlie as he navigates the cruel waters of high school and all the tortures that come with being a teenager.  The relationships that Charlie builds are what make the film as great as it is.  Charlie’s new best friends Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller) deliver performances that leave you wanting them as your own best friends, and to do nothing more than reach out and lend a calming hand to the trio.  A beautifully written book comes to life in such a manner that one can’t help but feel touched upon its completion.

5. The Dark Knight Rises.  This could be the year that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy gets the true recognition it deserves (aside from Heath Ledger’s posthumous Oscar win)…that’s what people would be saying if it weren’t for films like Lincoln paving the way to those golden statues.  Nolan’s Gotham city is one that will never again be re-created and his iconic Dark Knight in the form of Christian Bale and super villain Bane are meant to be idolized for years to come.  With such a dark and gritty setting, The Dark Knight Rises epitomizes everything that comic book movies should strive for.  Nolan’s film shows the perils a hero must undergo in order to truly protect the city they love.  While a Best Picture is not in its future, a nomination is almost guaranteed.

4. End of Watch.  This may surprise people to see it so close to the coveted number one spot, but David Ayer’s film had such chemistry and heart that it was impossible for it to not make the list.  Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña create such a team that End of Watch is far more than a traditional buddy cop film.  The streets of Los Angeles don’t ever appear safe as these two partners are able to get a price on their heads after disrupting the LA drug business.  Through simple dialogue scenes in the police cruiser, we are able to see the chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña which is what drives the entire film.  Shot all through handheld cameras as if it’s a documentary, most of the film is shot from Gyllenhaal’s own hands making it all the more impressive.

3. Flight.  Denzel Washington dazzles as pilot Whip Whitaker who battles alcoholism at the same time as crash landing a plane and saving numerous lives.  The entire time, Robert Zemeckis makes Whitaker be the antihero despite his saving so many lives (while intoxicated) in the crash.  The audience doesn’t know whether to cheer for Captain Whitaker who keeps letting them down, or to wish for his demise like his own son and ex-wife.  A Best Actor nomination is certainly in line for Washington as well as a Best Picture nod as well.  John Goodman’s moments in the film, almost reminiscent as his role in The Big Lebowski, are well worth the watch if nothing else is, even though that’s far from the case.

2. Django Unchained.  Wow.  This is the first time I’ve said this all year, and boy do I mean it.  In fact, I’ll say it again.  Wow.  Quentin Tarantino delivers such a classic western that dances a fine line of awkward with all the harsh language used, but is truly spectacular both from a visual sense and from that of the work the actor’s provide.  Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, and Samuel L. Jackson bring about some of the best scenes to be put to screen this past year.  The humor that Tarantino brings to such a touchy subject is his way of dealing with an awful subject like slavery, just as he did with the Nazi regime in Inglorious Basterds.  It will be a shock if DiCaprio doesn’t win Best Supporting Actor, let alone be nominated.  It would be sad in a way to see DiCaprio win a golden man now when he lost out for Blood Diamond and The Departed, but his work in Django cannot go unnoticed.  Look for Tarantino to be in the running for Best Director as well.

1. Lincoln.  Here it is, big shocker I know.  Spielberg.  Day-Lewis.  Jones.  Fields.  Gordon-Levitt.  All these names are pieces of a machine that make up one of the greatest, if not the greatest bio-pics to ever be brought to the majestic screens of the cinema.  While it’s no secret that Daniel Day-Lewis is a method actor, no one can surely criticize his methods now after seeing his portrayal of our 16^th President, Abraham Lincoln.  Calm, smooth, collected, smart, and daring, Day-Lewis brings to life an icon that we will never see the likes of again.  Lincoln is entirely dialogue-driven with the exception of a single battle scene that is not long lasting, but it doesn’t always feel that way.  It can get dry at times, but then one remembers the message of what these men on-screen are trying to deliver to their people and the heavy weight that fell on these historical figures years ago.   It’s almost a shame that any other film has to go up against Spielberg’s in this year’s Oscar race, because it just isn’t a fair one.  Never has acting been seen as such a form of art as it is in Lincoln.  Not since the days of Henry Fonda donning the top hat was there such a fantastic representation of Honest Abe, and that’s saying something.  Watch Lincoln blow away the competition.  Also keep an eye out for Tommy Lee Jones to do battle with Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Supporting Actor.  2012 was good to us movie lovers, that’s for sure.

What happens when you take three teenagers who are busy with their Youth Ministry in Charleston, South Carolina and on the verge of graduating high school then throw homosexuality into the mix?  Chaos.  Or rather, just tense moments that tend to fall flat.

There is Tim, an aspiring film director who slowly comes out to those around him throughout the film, and his best friends Brea and Laura who are devout Christians.  The more Tim struggles with his sexuality, the more Laura begins to doubt her faith and Brea begins to resent the other two because of their choices.  Time passes and we see how everyone’s journey progresses, even that of a married church employee who makes an awkward pass at Tim during his birthday party.   Tense moments are what drives this film and at the end of the day make up the heart of it.

The character of Laura played by Allison Torem embodies that one over-the-top Christian that we all have undoubtedly encountered at some point or another, and she does so in a way that makes the viewer both uncomfortable and yet able to recognize a job well done all at the same time.

Cone presents us with a cast of people who attempt to put on a display that they are all close and have lived in this tight knit community for some time, but with the exception of Tim and Laura’s relationship, it is hard to see any chemistry between the cast.

While cleverly titled and tied in with the film’s end, Cone brings to life this quirky Southern drama that tugs on the heartstrings of any Christian struggling with their sexuality.  Admittedly at times it poses the right messages in reference to making our own choices, the film tends to sweep some grander issues under the rug.  Without giving too much away, it is blatantly obvious early on that there is a married man who it becomes clear is gay.  This story goes unresolved and Cone seems to believe it can all be summed up with a high angle shot of him looking half-heartedly up at the Christmas sky.

The Wise Kids undoubtedly will reach a small audience and appeal to an even smaller demographic.  If it happens to be your cup of tea, then by all means take a look at Cone’s work, but do not expect it to change your life or points of view.

It is available now on DVD.

Adam Lubanski brings us a film about a diamond heist in a church.  Simple enough, right?  Well, not the way Lubanski does it.  When childhood friends Nick and Dylan each happen to find themselves strapped for cash at the same time, the two find one another after years apart and remember an old story of a diamond as big as a fist that is buried under a church.  Nick convinces Dylan to join him in the search for the diamond, so the two enlist as the church custodians to mask their mission.  With just one month to retrieve the treasure, the pair works tirelessly to get their hands on it and restore order to their lives.  What they don’t realize is the affect the church and its intricate family will have on them.

Rogue Saints manages to take a well thought out script, and for the most part strongly written thanks to Dave Brunk, and create something that people might not expect- a good film.  The word good is used over great because to achieve great a movie needs the help of great acting, which is a department that Rogue Saints falls short in.  John Wu (Nick) and Jason Pead (Dylan) and the rest of the supporting cast try their best to deliver to the audience and convince us that they really are these characters, which they manage to do somewhere within the last five minutes.  Until that point, their lack of conviction to their characters doesn’t fool anyone and at times it becomes awkward to watch them try.  To the credit of Pead, he manages to grow throughout the film, which can be attributed to the fact that his character has a chance to start to do early on, while Wu’s Nick is left on the sidelines up until the film’s climax.  Pead plays the lighthearted wanderer well and probably triumphs most out of the cast because of his comedic timing.  Wu on the other hand comes off as straining to convince himself he really is Nick, a man struggling with the loss of his wife and a bank account that is lower than what this film’s budget was.

Somewhere along the way, Rogue Saints sneaks in a solid Christian message that will surprise those who aren’t looking for it.  Underneath the comedy and adventure aspect, is a heartwarming film that depicts what a church community really is like.  It’s the little elements that make this movie shine like the diamond they’re in search of, such as the church traffic assistant and his mini battles with Nick over where to park, or the slightly subtle use of sugar cubes and how multiple characters like to build things with them throughout the film’s entirety.  That last reference brings about the best quote that can describe the movie itself: “If you don’t have a good foundation, there’s not much you can build.”  Well, Rogue Saints has a solid foundation in its script and the passion this cast and crew put behind it, but it lacks support in certain areas when it needs it most.  At times, the script comes across as just that- a script.  In order to look past that a scene needs to rely on its characters to carry it through, which is something that they lack at times.  I speak directly to one of the opening scenes where Nick and Dylan reconnect for the first time via video chat.  This scene was one of the most awkward to watch and it came at a time when both Wu and Pead needed to great in it, because it will begin the set up of the story.

Another place where the support is lacking comes from the musical score.  Michael Vossler’s music does a fine enough job fitting in at the right moments, but it also sticks out like a gray cloud on a sunny day at other times.  Some scenes the music that backs it just does not fit at all and because of this it directly affects the scene and how the audience is going to perceive it.

Rogue Saints markets itself as “a Christian film unlike anything you’ve ever seen before,” which is certainly the case.  Despite the areas where it lacks conviction and true character, it makes up for with sincerity and warmth. 

Rogue Saints has a run time of 103 minutes and is Not Rated.

When a newly wed couple decides to rent out the quaint cottage in their backyard in order to make ends meet, they seem to land on the worst possible renter imaginable- Robert Mars (Arquette).  Mars jumps to take the property the day after the intended leaser falls through last minute, something he might know a little something about.  Time goes on and somewhere between kidnapping and home invasions; things start to get a little weird around the Carpenter compound.

While Arquette takes his playful charm and turns it into quite the convincing villain without limits, his performance is the only saving grace The Cottage holds. No awards should be doled out just yet for his performance; in fact if anyone were to win an award for this movie, it should go to whoever convinced Arquette it was a good life decision to make.  Last fall he came up big with the fourth installment in the Scream series, but it would appear he was in need of a quick buck.

As The Cottage progresses, things only seem to get stranger as Robert’s intricate history is slowly reveals itself.  A shady back-story unfolds as he travels between his new cottage and a house in the desert where he has three vivacious young women waiting for him.  Each day it seems any person who has any interaction with the Carpenter’s disappears, until the revelatory ending, which I would hate to spoil for anyone desperate enough to watch such a lackluster film.  Although if you find yourself that in need of something to do, you can always just try bashing yourself over the head with a rock before you pop this gem into their DVD players; after all, both bring about the same after effects.

The script by Nick Antosca provides the characters with such a bland dialogue, that I’d be amazed if anyone found any juice in their roles other than Arquette.  What Antosca attempts to pass off as character development really looks like he is just filling time until he can run with the ending he envisioned.  The middle of the film is 50 % family drama and 50 % creepy Robert moments, something that should not be equal.  He leaves storylines unfinished and unresolved, thus making the ending that much more non-gratifying.  With a running time of 88 minutes, The Cottage still feels like it drags on too long.

At this point, anyone still left wanting to watch The Cottage really wants to see how strange it truly is, or just to see Arquette get his creep on.  Either way, I’ll leave you with a piece of his final monologue: “I’m the person you let into your home, into your lives.  Right under your nose, I saved your daughter from you.”  Deranged.  Psychotic.  Awkward. Creepy.  All the aforementioned words describe Robert and in turn The Cottage as a whole.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña team up as Brian and Mike, two buddy cops in the heart of the heat, L.A.P.D.  Early on it is clear that they are a couple of hotshots, but they can actually back it up with solid police work and honest intentions to serve the community in desperate need of a clean-up.  The two partners share a type of bond that can only exist between police offers, and they portray it perfectly.  End of Watch is a perfect blend of action, drama, comedy, and nerve-rattling fear.  If people aren’t smiling at the beautifully simplistic comedic conversations between the two men, then they are gripping their armrests in pure suspense.  As Gyllenhaal’s Brian would put it, End of Watch has guns, money, and dope- or all the major food groups.

As the plot progresses, Brian and Mike find themselves getting deeper and deeper into the crime world of L.A. and many people aren’t happy with what they’re finding out.  Every new call they take has its own twists and turns, even when it’s supposed to be something as simple as a welfare check on the elderly.  Think again.

From the film’s intro, audiences can be sure that they are in for an interesting ride.  Ayer provides Gyllenhaal with a voice over that comes off at first as trying too hard.  However, by the film’s end it will all come full circle, with the middle section being filled with bullets flying and an undeniable chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Peña    

End of Watch is filmed almost in its entirety like a 109-minute episode of Cops, as Gyllenhaal carries around multiple cameras on his person and films he and his partner’s every move.  A lot of films are utilizing the concept of “found footage” lately, but with the exception of Chronicle, End of Watch handles it the best.

Ayer’s hits a home run in all aspects.  His cast, even going beyond Gyllenhaal and Peña, has Anna Kendrick (50/50) making it that every available guy wants to marry her on the spot.  His script-writing skills were already acknowledgeable, with his hit Training Day paving the way as his calling card.  Ayer ups the ante this time around, providing his actor’s with a script so well written that it’s hard to believe anyone is acting at all.

If there is one film this fall that will leave audiences surprisingly moved and quite simply put, in awe, then End of Watch is the one to do it.

Photo Credit: Open Road Films

The trick with Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s The Words is that you never really know what the real story is.  After all you have the heart of the film (Cooper and Zoe Saldana), the flashback story (Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder), and the present day story (Quaid and Olivia Wilde).   After 96 minutes of transitioning between each of the three, with the least amount of time spent on Quaid’s portion before the last 10 minutes, it sometimes is hard to get a real grasp of what is going in.   After all, it is a story within a story, within a story.

The premise is that Rory Jansen (Cooper) is a struggling young writer whose youthfulness keeps getting brought up despite the fact that he looks like he is in his 40’s, and he just can’t quite seem to catch a break…that is until he finds an unmarked manuscript within an old satchel in a Paris boutique.  Ultimately, Jansen decides to publish the story under his name, which ultimately leads to a successful career for him, until the old man played by Jeremy Irons pays him a visit.

The old man tells Jansen his own story of a life post-World War II in Paris, which ends up being his own life story, and how a young man came across his lost manuscript and published it as his own.

There is something to be said not only about the acting chops of both Cooper and Irons, but of the pair’s chemistry together as well.  Both of the actor’s can hold their own in a scene, and if nothing else The Words proves that Bradley Cooper can carry a movie under his name that doesn’t have the word “hangover” in the title.

Ultimately, The Words puts together a beautiful score by Marcelo Zarvos along with some moments of truly great cinematography.  The film is honest with its viewers from the get go, telling people sometimes they just have to accept their own limitations, which is something Jansen struggled with throughout the film.  It finds itself being clever, but not too overstated.

What The Words creates in sentimentality and beauty, it lacks in its pacing.  For a movie just over an hour and a half, it feels like two hours.  It may be the transitioning between the three storylines, or it may be the constantly (beautiful) slow-moving score.

Truth be told, The Words is worth the ticket price as long as you don’t go in expecting anything from it.  The less people know, the better.  As soon as it starts to pick up, something drags it back down.  Whether it’s Zoe Saldana (Avatar) and her easily replaceable acting, or Dennis Quaid’s dark and twisted plot, the two do not do the film any good by being in it. The true gem is Irons’ dedication to playing a man who has lived a full life of pain.  If for nothing else, he alone is worth a look.

Check out The Words opening September 7.

15 year-old Ellis Whitman (Graham Phillips, The Good Wife) is about to leave behind a life in Tuscon, AZ where his spiritually-guided mother lives frivolously off a trust fund, briefly mentioned in the opening narration, along with houseguest Goat Man (David Duchovny, The X Files).  Goat Man looks like a homeless mess, and he would be if not for Ellis’ mother Wendy (Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air) and her generously letting him live in the pool house as long as he takes care of the pool and the gardening (and apparently her son).  His real name is unknown as everyone either calls him Goat Man or Javier, which he admits is not his name.  The former of the two comes from the fact that he owns goats and likes to take long treks with them out into the Arizona deserts, usually bringing Ellis along as well.  His whole life is about new treks with the goats.  There is no real plan, it’s just to see where you end up, is how Ellis’s opening narrative explains it.

Ellis is off to Gates Academy, a private school somewhere in the East Coast (aren’t they all?), the same place his estranged father also attended.  Within the first few minutes of the film, it is apparent how dependent Wendy is with her son.  Ellis takes care of paying the bills and all parental duties at the age of 15 while she self-medicates and doesn’t seem to truly appreciate him until he is gone.  Once F***er Frank (the name Wendy uses in reference to her ex-husband) comes back into the picture, Wendy seems to miss her son even more all without ever bothering to pick up the phone and call him because it’s too “mainstream.”

Here in lies the central drama of the story, as Ellis reconnects with his father he struggles between being the person Goat Man has essentially raised him to be versus this new preppy cross-country running version that his father wants him to be.

Throughout the school year, Wendy’s new boyfriend Bennet is fueling her quirky/selfish behaviors while trying to get rid of Goat Man.  However Bennet has a little secret that will eventually come out, but almost in passing.  The way that storyline plays out sums up the film as a whole.  It’s like Neil couldn’t quite decide what was worth more screen time, so certain elements like Bennet just play out in a “yeah, now that’s over” sort of way.

The film is beautifully shot and well-acted, specifically by Phillips and Duchovny, Goats makes audiences feel the tension and inner-struggle that Ellis goes through on his year of self-exploration.  It takes hold of the goat trek metaphor that Goat Man keeps pushing subtly throughout its 94-minute runtime, as the journey Ellis takes throughout his first year of high school is in fact a new trek for him.

Neil even tries to address a love interest for Ellis, but it doesn’t quite play out the way many expect it would, which adds a nice twist to the plot, but it becomes so underdeveloped that you have to wonder why even bother with it.

Behind the charming moments Goats does display, it falls short in simplicity of itself.  We have this young man going through this big life journey; despite the fact that before the film even begins he has already proven he is an older soul than 15.

Duchovny’s Goat Man is reminiscent of The Dude from The Big Lebowski, however he adds a much more refined, philosophical approach to the character as opposed to the bumbling and lazy Jeff Bridge’s character.  In fact, some of the film’s best moments come from Duchovny and his ability to show that while he is the best role-model Ellis, even he can royally screw up (whether it’s with the cute girl next door or a sketchy trip to Mexico).

In the end, Goats doesn’t really end up anywhere other than back where it started.  Ellis may be better rounded, but it leaves people wondering what journey they just went on.  All in all, it is a strong attempt at a coming-of-age tale, but finds itself falling flat.

Goats is worth your time, especially if it’s between this film and Battleship, but it isn’t something you need to race out to