Movies We Saw 2012, Part I

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-- For those unfamiliar with the Movies We Saw feature on my blog, it's much like the Books I Read feature, but, maybe you've guessed already, it's about movies. As always, I love having him contribute to the blog, and I hope you enjoy! --

I was not going to write about it this year. I was happy to let this one slip by, and then maybe the next one, and then the one after that until people only barely remembered that I used to write this. However, it seems my fan base overfloweth and I have to give the people what they want. Also, the roads are covered in ice and my twin 22-month-olds are spending the night at my parent’s house (their first official sleepover) so I have time on my hands in the evening for the first time since I don’t know when. But enough about me, let’s talk about me. Specifically the movies I saw in 2012. Without further ado (and because you asked for it), here we go:

The Muppets – As a kid I loved The Muppets Take Manhattan. Not so much of the other muppet movies, though. This modern version of the movie was not meant for people like me who used to love the Muppets when they were kids. This is meant for our kids. My kids were almost one when I watched it and they couldn’t care less. Which was only just barely less than how much I cared for this film.

The Artist – Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t see a movie like this. A black and white silent film? No thank you. But it won the Oscar for Best Picture and so I thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. But it was. I don’t get it. It was so boring. I am bothered when these overly artistic films win Best Picture over movies that people will still like in 10 years. Would you rather watch this movie, or The Descendants? Or Moneyball? It was the same the year before when The King’s Speech beat out The Social Network (which I am still in love with) and True Grit and 127 Hours and Toy Story 3. These movies will stand the test of time, The King’s Speech and The Artist will not.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the latest installment of the franchise. Tom Cruise may be crazy and Jeremy Renner may be getting over-exposed (who’s ready for Hansel & Gretel?) but they did a great job with Ghost Protocol. A commercial success (Tom Cruise’s highest grossing movie ever) and critical success (I liked it – enough said). I think this film continued to build on the excitement that Mission: Impossible III resurrected after the debacle that was Mission: Impossible II. An interesting fact is that the director of this movie was best known for directing the animated films The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Obviously I loved the book. Everyone loves the book, that goes without saying. But allow me to refer to this movie as Extremely Long and Incredibly Boring.

Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen did something that writers almost never do (but that the rest of us have done before): he started with a title and worked backwards to the story. He did a brilliant job and won a well-deserved Oscar for Original Screenplay (which he refused, like he has with every Oscar he's won). Owen Wilson does a surprisingly good job with the quirky script that only barely has anything to do with time travel.

The Hunger Games – This was the first movie we saw in the theater last year. The translation from the book was a pretty good job. I enjoyed the book and thought that the movie was not totally over the top – except for drawing the Muttation and then dragging it into the field. Since I thought the second and third books were terrible, I don’t know how they will translate. Especially since Gary Ross, who did a good job at directing the first one, is not coming back.

The Avengers – I think we can all agree that Joss Whedon did a great job with the movie. It can be hard to balance several leads and create a cohesive storyline. He did it and the film was very fun to watch. It isn’t as moody as the Spiderman or Batman movies, but that was the way to go. We know all the characters from their other movies and they were all put together without losing anything. He also solved the Hulk problem (solution: less is more).

In Time – Remember when Justin Timberlake’s mom in this movie was Olivia Wilde? At the end of the film, that might seem like the least ridiculous aspect of the movie. I knew it was going to be terrible but I watched it anyway. For your benefit I am skipping over any pun jokes about lost time.

Tree of Life – What in the world? I mean seriously, what in the world? I am not ashamed to say that I don’t get it. I am actually happy to say that I don’t get it. I feel like if I did “get” this film that I would be a completely different type of person. I did not understand the point. I did not understand the seemingly endless footage of worlds being created. I was just totally and completely confused.

That’s it for Part I. A lot of these movies came out the year prior and I was able to finally get around to them. Part II will be solely about movies that came out in the 2012 calendar year. What do you think so far? Did you see any of these? Did you see something else you liked? Let me know.