The Summer Movie Awards 2012

The Summer Movie Awards 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen fasten your seat belts and rev up your engines because it’s time for the third close to annual Summer Movie Awards! This was one of my first columns back in the day (please don’t read it it’s horrible!) and for those who don’t know how this works, this is the time where I give out random awards and overall have a general excuse to reflect on the films of the summer. So here we go for the third time in four years here is the summer movie awards for this year.

The Summer in General:

Let’s start general shall we… The summer of 2012 was definitely better than last year’s that’s for sure. For the people who have read the blog a lot you know that I didn’t write one of these last year due to the fact that A I didn’t have time to see many of the films of the summer and B I had no real motivation too. This year on the other hand we got some big ones like Marvel’s the Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises that were enticing enough (along with a few others of course) to go to the movies this summer. Sure it surely won’t be as good as the winter will be but at this point it’s difficult to expect it to be. The summer has begun the time for a few good films and the rest are just studios throwing anything at the screen to make a little cash. Despite this though there is still entertainment to be had (lot’s of it in fact) so it’s hard not to like at least a few summer ones right?

Most Disappointing

Brave

Pixar what’s going on? Two years in a row now Pixar has made a lackluster film that failed to reach up to their usual (although it’s hard to judge now) seal of quality. Please Pixar ignore the last two years and make something more along the lines of your usual greats!

Runner Up: Bourne Legacy

Most Pretty (Best Cinematography):

The Dark Knight Rises

Wally Phister sure knows how to shoot films doesn’t he. Inception won him an academy award two years ago and I expect the same to happen this year for his work here. Every shot is beautifully realized and constantly breathtaking. There is really no other film that came close to TDKR in this category so if that doesn’t say anything than I don’t know what does.

Runner Up: Moonrise Kingdom

Most Overrated:

The Avengers

Fanboys be angry! Let’s not have a misunderstanding I like the Avengers quite a bit, but is it an A+ like I gave it at the time… No not at all. No I’m not going to change the score in the review or re-review the film now but I will say upon 2^nd and 3^rd viewings the film doesn’t hold up quite as well. By no means is it significantly worse than initially but it’s not A+ material.

Runner Up: Amazing Spider Man

Most Underrated

The Dark Knight Rises

 

Ok let me explain this one. While people went to see the film in flocks some critical reception to this film was a little unfair. I won’t mention names or anything but some critics panned the film for some of its more minor problems. I mean the film at times is quite flawed, no doubt but it is still an amazing, ambitious achievement in the realm of big action pictures and is something to be reveled at not panned.  It’s not quite as good as the Dark Knight sure but that was a masterpiece and just because of that does it has to be bad?

Runner Up: insert your favorite that no one liked as much here

Most Overlooked

GI Joe Retaliation

Why was this so overlooked this year? Because it didn’t come out this year as planned (or as advertised)! Why? Because of stupid 3D! Wow….

Runner Up: (I know it was technically fall originally but…) Gangster Squad

Best Action Sequence

The whole last 45 minutes of The Dark Knight Rises

Big, dark, and breathtaking the last 45 minutes of The Dark Knight Rises was something special. The football field sequence, the big battle in the financial district (with real extras thousands of them, that’s how it’s done!), the breathtaking race to the climax all of it was super fantastic and was a fantastic way to end a fantastic trilogy!

Runner Up: All of the Avengers

Best Little film that Could

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Sure it was at Sundance in January and then at Cannes in the spring, but the truly fantastic Beasts of the Southern Wild came out nationally during the summer so it fits perfectly in this category. Beasts of the Southern Wild is a triumph of an indie film that was a success in every way possible. From the personal to the metaphysical Beasts of the Southern Wild is the achievement of the summer because of how much is done with so little.

Runner Up: Moonrise Kingdom

Best Big Blockbuster

The Dark Knight Rises

Big, dark, and ambitious The Dark Knight Rises is a special film in the realm of big summer movies. The film tries to say something and still manages to blow things up in the process. It allows for the brain to be active throughout and therefore it’s the one that deserves to be put in the highest spot amongst the biggest films of the summer.

Runner Up: The Avengers

Most Redundant Sequel/Remake

Men in Black 3

There were a lot of these this year and picking only one was no easy task. Would it go to the messy retread The Bourne Legacy, or perhaps to the dull Total Recall, a film with no personality? In the end though there is only one film that can fit here and that’s the awful Men in Black 3. The question we ask ourselves must be how is this franchise still relevant?

Runner Up: Most of the films this summer

Worst of the Summer:

Battleship

I was going to review this during a “catching up on DVD” segment, but Battleship was so bad it wasn’t worth the time and effort. It’s amazing how many man hours could have been saved not working on this disaster. Where to start it’s a cheap money grab, futures annoying actors, has even more annoying writing, and features redundant amounts of exploding things. The only redeeming quality was that it tanked at the box office. Victory is ours!

Runner Up: Men in Black 3

Best of the Summer:

Beasts of the Southern Wild

When it came down to it this was almost a no brainer. Sure there were some amazing films this summer (Moonrise Kingdom and The Dark Knight Rises) but Beasts of the Southern Wild was, in the end, the mightiest of them all. It was an adventure that is so personal, so emotional, and so powerful that it resonates a long time after the film ends. The acting was unforgettable, the message unforgettable, the look unforgettable, and furthermore the film was unforgettable.

Runner Up: Moonrise Kingdom