Movie Reaction: Cloud Atlas

Formula: I don't know if that's possible, but if it was, I think it would be a Terry Gilliam movie.

Cast: This has to be the most diverse cast I've seen in a while, and I don't strictly mean by race. A lot of people here and used in so many ways. I have to applaud everyone for being so malleable. although that resulted in some great and some lackluster performance by the same actor, often at virtually the same time. Tom Hanks is Tom "fucking" Hanks. What more needs to be said there? Halle Berry shows up after what feels like a big hiatus since I last saw her (X-Men 3, maybe). There's a lot of others who do a fine job. I'm cutting it off here though.

Plot: Nope. Can't do it. I'm not sure I've wrapped my mind around it, and it could take a while before I do. So much is happening the whole time that I'm not certain that it's within my capacity to get it all. I'll say this. Given the expected narrative drop-off that occurs when adapting a book to film, I imagine the novel of this would blow my mind. I'm VERY tempted to read it.

Elephant in the Room: Wait, so, everyone plays multiple characters? Virtually every actor plays a variety of character, genders, races, ages, etc. Very simply, this will either bother you or it won't. By my understanding, the text (or at least the screenplay) demands it and the makeup isn't perfect. Different races have different bone structures and stuff. This translates better in text than live-action. Deal with it.

To Sum Things Up:
I'm pretty speechless about this movie. I think I liked it, perhaps a lot. I'm still processing so much. I needed to get my Lord of the Rings stamina back up for this one, clocking in at over 3 hours. There are so many tones, stories, connections, and more that all I can say is to see it and decide. I can promise it will be one of the most unique movies you've seen in some time.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/20 - 10/27

Weekly Spotlight: Ok, I've done one of these. I need to give it up.

The Walking Dead "Sick"
When did this show get such a hard edge? I find the insane following for this show to be undeserved, but if it keeps up the pace it's setting in these first two episodes, I may not feel that way for long.

Homeland "New Car Smell"
I give up. I. Give. Up. There is no point to second guessing this show. Whenever I think I have it pegged, it does something like this. No more Carrie and Brody cat and mouse, not in the way it was. I cannot wait for this next episode. And the one after that. And the one after, well, you get the point.

Ben & Kate, New Girl, and The Mindy Project
Fuck DVR! I need to find these online somewhere. I hate feeling this ridiculously behind on shows. I can deal with a show sitting on my DVR. For it not to even record makes me wonder why I even pay for this.

Happy Endings "Caszsh Dummy Spillionaires"
Yay! It's back. As always, it is a joke machine. A lot of familiar sitcom territory though. The good thing about the show though, is that there's always enough working for it to put it on my good side (ex: SinBrad makes up for the ridiculous hiding his job nonsense).

Go On "Any Given Birthday"
I consider this episode a big step forward. Remember how New Girl started as the Zooey Deschanel show and became a true ensemble? This is well on it's way. Matthew Perry is a much bigger personality though, and none of his supporting cast look poised to step up. Once that happens, I'll be ready. If that doesn't happen, I can't say I'll still be watching.

Don't Trust the Bitch in Apt. 23 "A Renuion..."
I get the feeling that ABC doesn't want this show to succeed. It waited forever to premiere last year and didn't even air the whole season. Now, it's saying continuity be damned, pulling a Saved by the Bell, airing the older (Kelly) episodes concurrently with the newer (Tori) episodes. To be honest, I don't blame them for not backing the show more. It's like a dog that shows it's teeth and never bites. It's an ABC show with HBO sensibilities. For God's sake, they don't even have the stones to put Bitch in the title. I like the cast and it's still young enough to find it's own path, so I'm still giving it a chance.

Tosh.0
You know, I watch this show, but it's not like there's much to say about it. I like adding this to my list to show you why I never have time to go out and do things and be social, but I think I'm going to drop it from the weekly rundown because this is a better forum for scripted shows (strictly scripted, not hosted. Fuck you! I know Tosh has writers).

The Middle "Halloween III: The Driving"
I wish I liked Sue. I know she's supposed to be over the top and all, but she always rubs me the wrong way. I felt bad for Mike, not her in the premiere and an episode like this reminds me how smoothly things would go without her. Axl, on the other hand keeps growing on me. He's a buffoon, but they keep layering him and he's actually changed in the time since I started watching.

Modern Family "Open House of Horrors"
It was fine. Cam gets emotional about something. Mitchell tries to hide one of his mistakes. Phil and Claire reenact a gender war. Jay feels old. Gloria realizes she's foreign. Manny relives his childhood. The Dunphy children play trash minutes off the bench. Sound familiar? I swear, I mainly watch this show so I can be prepared to explain why it's overrated. Also, where's Haley?

Suburgatory "The Witch of East Chatswin"
Jane Levy is really good in this. Not earthshakingly good, but damn strong for by far the youngest lead character of any series I watch. She's reactionary to this town in all the necessary ways. I like the use of Halloween-tropes to tell much simpler stories the past two years on Suburgatory, first with the mysteriously missing girl last year and the "witch" this year. It's nice being reminded that the Altman's aren't the only ones who realize how bizarre Chatswin is in general.

Nashville "Someday You'll Call My Name"
I guess you'd say I'm hooked now. Connie Britton is trying her best to add nuance to her Rayna. Hayden Panettire is benefiting from much kinder writing after her purely villainous depiction in the pilot. Clare Bowen has been the highlight of the series so far with her predictable but impossible to root against storyline as well as by far the best selection of songs of anyone. The men need to step in up. I'm tired of walking away saying "it's so cool to see Chip from Whose Line acting."

The Big Bang Theory "The Holographic Excitation"
Did anyone else think that this week didn't end so much as it ran out of time? For a show so determined to stay self-contained too many weeks are ending on a punchline rather than a resolution. Like, what happened to Penny saying she wanted to break up with Leonard? Amy gives up on Sheldon every week like a desperate spinster, afraid to find herself alone again? Wolowitz has been on the verge of depression almost every week. And, are we just cool with Raj being somewhere between a loner and an alcoholic? This season has been a regression into a lot of this things that irked me when the show began which is sad after what seemed like such a step forward last year.

30 Rock "Unwindulax"
I don't know another show that handles politics as brilliantly as 30 Rock. It attacks both sides as equally as any show I can think of. I'd prefer them going back to the tanking NBC plotline, but if any comedy is going to take the election head on, I'm glad to see it's them. I'll be curious to see how acurate they are about which states go to whom.

Up All Night "Ma'am'd"
This was the first episode of the season that felt like a step back. Each shade of each story was overly familiar to me and I forgot most of what I saw as soon as it was over. As filler, it works. Please, don't dip into this well again.

The Office "Here Comes Treble"
It wasn't bad. I'll give it that. I liked seeing some Stephen Colbert, although the story surrounding it I didn't care at all about. No mention of Andy hating Nellie, so that's a plus. Not a fan of Oscar and the Senator's affair either. That worked better when it was Dwight and Angela. Oscar's supposed to be a better person.

Parks & Rec. "Halloween Surprise"
I love you Parks & Rec. Never change. In the best possible way, this episode felt longer than a half hour. It was so jam-packed with stories that I cared about. Ben's proposal is officially one of my favorite moments on the show.

It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia "Maureen Ponderosa's Wedding Massacre"
I love how they do parody by feel, not direct mimicry of horror movies. This felt like a lot of things without being any. Episodes like this remind me just how large the cast of recurring characters is.

The League "The Freeze Out"
I asked for Ravi and I got him. That's enough for a while. Another show that ended more than it concluded. What happens with Pete and Kevin's phones, for example. I assume we'll hear more about the appendicitis next week, but we very well couldn't. After seeing the sight gag with Kevin and the baby, I realize that I'm never sure if they are trying to be shocking with the humor or simply inappropriate.

Movie Reaction: Pitch Perfect

Formula: Bring It On - Racial Tension + Gender Tension

Cast: I like Anna Kendrick. I'm not sure if it's because she wowed me in Up in the Air. Perhaps it's because I find her attractive. She could've earned my favor for being in 50/50. Maybe it will all go away when I realize she's in the Twilight movies. Whatever the case may be, she's a draw for me. It saddens me to see Brittany Snow so rarely because she can have Kelly Clarkson-level delightfulness when used right. Rebel Wilson is that great type of ubiquitous comedian who reeks of "flavor of the month" but is staggeringly entertaining while it lasts. I couldn't name another person (except for "oh, it's that guy") until much further down the call sheet, but I'd hardly call this a deep movie, so it's not worth trying.

Plot: I imagine this movie was developed by Disney as a PG reaction to Glee and High School Musical, then dropped when the craze died down, then scooped up some smaller production company, then rewritten with 20 more pages of PG-13 jokes. All-in-all, it's done effectively if not a little on the long side. The characters have the needed depth. The story follows the expected path. The jokes come often enough to not let things get too serious.

Scenario: I'm always fascinated by the effect of a crowd when seeing a movie. For example, I'd secretly wanted to see this movie for a while and found a good chance to do so with my cousins who quite enjoyed it as well. That allowed me to enjoy this much more than had I seen it in my general fashion, alone, or perhaps with people who I'd have to cajole to see it in the first place. As a result, I was reminded of when I saw Hairspray: a movie I never would've liked had I not seen with the favorable crowd I did. I always find that effect interesting.

Elephant in the Room: Why does this movie seem so familiar? That would be because it should've been made a decade ago. The whole time I was watching this, I kept waiting for someone to say "You are being a cheertator, Torrance, and a pain in my ass!". This movie belongs with Bring in On, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Can't Hardly Wait so much that it hurts, and for me, that's high praise.

To Sum Things Up:
There's a great number of people that will roll their eyes at my decision to see this, but I'm invoking my "if you aren't going to see it, you don't have room to judge me" policy. This was a slight but enjoyable movie. It's the kind I'd stop and watch on a Saturday afternoon on USA for the hell of it. It walks that fine line behind legitimate narrative and self-parody that most of the best teen comedies do. Above all else and most importantly, for a movie with teenagers singing, there is absolutely no note nor mention of Don't Stop Believin'. If that was all I could say about the movie, dayenu.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend

Movie Reaction: Paranormal Activity 4

Formula: With sequels this is a pretty pointless practice
         Paranormal Activity + New People

Cast: I've seen maybe three things that any of these people have been in, so for what their aim is, I'll call it a success. Everyone was good in it though.

Plot:This series is what it is. Great moments. Some holes in the narrative. Leaves me afraid of any squeak I hear in the apartment for the next week. It worked for me. I'm a much bigger fan of this than torture porn like Saw.

Found Footage: Each one of these has their own method of getting video. I think webcams is the weakest yet but the stuff with the Xbox was pretty cool.

Elephant in the Room: Isn't this just rehashing the same premise and bag of tricks? Yep. They don't seem too concerned with changing things up which is the nature of every horror franchise. This happens to be the successful series of the moment. Mileage may very.

To Sum Things Up: I find this to be a neat franchise and quite enjoy the gimmick. In terms of film-making they are getting better with each entry. Of course, the more familiar they are, the less effective they'll be. I'm on board at this point. It's up to you to decide if you are.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/13-10/19

Weekly Spotlight: I've got one stewing for The Middle, but I'm not in town and having trouble getting internet - fuck you. I don't have to explain myself. If you're reading this, your life is probably more pathetic than mine.

Homeland "State of Independence"
This week forced me to ask if a few great scenes are worth a lot of questionable plot developments leading up to them. I say no, but if any show pulls off moments to make me question that, it's Homeland. Still, as with every week, I worry.

The Walking Dead "Seed"
This show knows how to do a premiere! That was tense, thrilling, and suspenseful. The still need to write the characters better, which is my fear for the middle episodes of the season, but when they keep it plot-driven it's damn good. I choose to believe they've worked all the kinks out and this is going to be a great season.

How I Met Your Mother "Who Wants to be a Godparent?"
I hate when a show throws a character under the bus to break a story. Maybe it's just me, but I don't buy that Barney, Robin, and Ted would want to be the godparents of Marvin. Barney is too irresponsible. Even with the episode where she was talking to her fake kids last year (my most hated episode of the series), I don't believe the Robin we've known so 100+ episodes would be petitioning for custody. I fully believe Ted wants kids and they only made him such a bad candidate to keep pace with the other two. This episode did not work for me at all.

Ben & Kate "21st Birthday"
It's official. This is a solid rotation player. It's not breaking new ground with the writing, but the execution is stupendous. I liked Lucy Punch in Bad Teacher, but I'm completely sold on her because of this. This whole cast is solid. I even think I like the kid since they aren't trying to shoehorn her into scenes.

Tosh.0
This has to be one of my favorite Web Redemptions. Tosh tends to get a lot of heat for all his inappropriate jokes. With the armless girl, he got to be as crass as ever but with a charm and even sweetness that I don't normally associate with him. He's really evolved on this show.

The Middle "The Hose"
Oh yeah. That's why I watch this show. The B-story about Brick learning about the birds and bees is an example of what this show does best. Same with Sue and Mike's story. It's a family show about an imperfect, barely middle-class family, but it isn't trying to be Roseanne. It's subtler than that. I could do without Frankie's storyline though. That story was a little too familiar to other shows without exposing any new facets.

Modern Family "The Butler's Escape"
I was hoping to be surprised by something the whole time and it didn't happen. Technically, there was nothing wrong with the episode. Cam and Mitchell got to have a more human storyline, which was nice. I can't say it had any showcase moments the way the first season did. Perhaps I'm grasping for something that is gone, but this show could be - should be - was something special. Oh, and more Haley, please.

Suburgatory "Homecoming"
As long as they keep having great George and Tessa moments like they did at the end and Dallas and Dalia balance the human with the Stepford parts of their personalities, I can deal with the constant recalibrating of the rest of the show. Glad to have it back, although I have learned to temper my expectations.

Nashville "I Can't Help In (If I'm Still In Love With you)"
It's very possible the southern accents and generic country songs could wear on me enough to stop watching. I think I'm rooting for this though. The music industry stuff is interesting and I'll let the political end figure itself out. I can see Connie Britton turning this into another Emmy performance if the writers don't get sloppy with the direction.

The Big Bang Theory "The Re-Rntry Minimization"
I knock this show a lot for, like everything on CBS, being a relic. The structure of the Wolowitz storyline was very familiar and it'll be nice to see him back with the group again. What can I say? The episode set out to make me laugh and succeeded. No depth. Just laughs.

30 Rock "Stride of Pride"
Every season there seems to be an episode in which Tina Fey opts to tackle something that's bothering her ("TGS Hates Women" from season 5 comes to mind). As always, 30 Rock handles it with aplomb, managing to make it's point without being preachy or scrimping on jokes. Sort of a meta proof of the "are women funny?" question asked.

Up All Night "Another Saturday Night"
This show feels so familiar to me now. It's comfortable like a warm blanket. I like watching it although I don't feel compelled to defend it. It doesn't warrant that. Each episode feels like borrowed time and if it comes down to Community or this I've cast my vote already.

The Office "Work Bus"
I am loving all this Jim and Pam. Even this small sample size puts this season ahead of the last one, which is still not saying much. So far this Andy/Nellie feud has gotten me to finally like her at the expense of utterly despising him. Production team, please find a better balance.

Parks and Recreation "Sex Education"
It's nice to see them easing off the City Counsel angle a little. This was some vintage Parks issues and as always, I loved it. As much as I'm loving Ben and April in D.C., I can't wait till the cast is whole again.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia "The Gang Recycles Their Trash"
Hopefully, this episode is a funny-meta homage to previous episodes, like a substitute to having a clip show and no a sign of things to come. After how solid last season was, I'm not worried. Also, Sweet Dee's explanation of Twinks/Twanks/etc. deserves a shout out.

The League "The Hoodie"
I'm all caught up on the show and watched it live all last season. Still, I feel like I'm new to the show, an outsider looking in. What's that about? Still, a solid, if not unremarkable episode. I'm loving all the Shiva so far this season. I could even stand seeing a Rafi episode.

TV Characters: How'd They Get There?

So often I go from seeing an actor on one show that's over to seeing them on another show and wonder how that happened. Sure, I could take the boring way and say that they are actors moving from one role to the next, but where's the fun in that? Instead, I have read in between the lines and determined my own path from point A to Point B.

Jesse Spencer (House MD - Doctor Robert Chase > Chicago Fire - Matthew Casey)
 After his boss and mentor for almost a decade, Dr. Gregory House dies in a fire, Dr. Robert Chase, as we see in the finale, is given his old job. He is entertained by that for a time, but he is also haunted by the memory of House and how he died. This motivates him to drop everything, including his accent, move to Chicago and become a firefighter, vowing never to lose a loved one to the flames again.

Jordana Spiro (My Boys - PJ Franklin > Mob Doctor > Rachael Miller)
PJ loses her job as a columnist for the Times, because, well, it's a newspaper and there's no money in that anymore. She opts to go to her backup plan and opts to employ that secret medical degree she was sitting on. From there, she's just a favor for her brother away from getting in with the mob. Obviously, you are going to change your name if you are in with the mob, thus, she becomes Rachael.

Mindy Kaling (The Office - Kelly Kapoor > The Mindy Project - Mindy Lahiri)
Upon realizing that her fiance's job is in Miami, OH, she dumps that zero, and moves west (I'm guessing. They haven't addressed the location of the city yet. I'm assuming L.A.). I don't think anyone would be surprised to find out she has a medical degree all this time, but has been rebelling against her parents all this time. She partners up with a couple other doctors, starts going by her middle name and sets out on a new life.

Terry O'Quinn (LOST - John Locke > 666 Park Avenue - Gavin Doran)
Ok. This one's not even hard. Smoke monster John Locke gets off the island with Kate and the others, shacks up in New York city and plays a more upscale version of his old self. The woman he marries? I just assume she's insane or a creation of his.

Jami Gertz (Still Standing - Judy Miller > The Neighbors - Debbie Weaver)
Judy Miller grows tired of her slovenly husband and unappreciative children. She waits for the youngest child to graduates, kills her husband in his sleep. On her run from the cops, she meets a father and his children, on the run from the mafia. They agree to keep each other's identities concealed and move to a secretive neighborhood in a non-descript suburb. It turns out that they aren't the only one's hiding something in this new community though...

Hayden Panettierre (Heroes - Claire Bennet > Nashville - Juliette Barnes)
I won't pretend I finished Heroes, but I can only assume that Claire Bennett has a good reason to get away from it all. I'm pretty sure everyone she's ever known is dead or has betrayed her, so she is far more conniving. Considering that she is a looker and auto-tune does most of the work, she moves to Nashville to be a country singer, hiding in plain sight from those who with her dead. Giving her history, she distrusts authority figures or those considered wiser than her and it only makes sense that she would be determined to take down the reigning queen of country.

Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad - Gustavo 'Gus' Fring > Revolution - Captain Tom Neville)
Did you really think Walter White would outsmart The Chicken Man? After pulling off one of the great "bait and switches" the world has ever seen in the events of "Face Off", he resurfaces as an insurance adjustor. "Coincidentally" not long after the world loses electricity. Of course, he survives the blackout and takes his bad-ass skills to the Monroe Republic militia.

Matthew Perry (Friends - Chandler Bing > Go On - Ryan King) - I'm choosing to ignore Studio 60 and Mr. Sunshine because...I want to. Poor Chandler's been through a lot. Monica died of a sudden and unexpected illness. This sends him into such a tailspin. No longer able to live in the real world, he creates a delusional world where he is a beloved sports radio host instead of a...I forget what his actual job is but it's quite insufferable. His only taste of reality is his weekly grief counseling group whose members he displaces all his insanity onto. It's really a very cerebral comedy. I'm surprised people say it has such broad appeal.

Movie Reaction: Argo

Formula: Munich - murder

Cast: It's really Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, and a bunch of TV actors who I love seeing like Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, and Kyle Chandler. Affleck was the only character with a lot of screen time, but he was really good about playing off the other actors instead of demanding the attention.

Plot: I made sure to look up nothing about the actual events of this story out of fear that it would ruin the story for me. It does a great job of explaining the context of the story and I didn't feel at all confused with what was going on. I have to say though, except for some movie-timing editing of events, everything seemed very plausible. Even though I knew the hostages all got out safely in the end* there was a staggering amount of tension throughout, which leads me to may next point...

*Historical fact is not a spoiler,

Elephant in the Room: Didn't Ben Affleck direct this? Yeah, and let's face it, he's a damn good director. This is the third surprisingly good movie that he's directed. Movies based of actual events are tricky to do and he nails it.

To Sum Things Up:
I can't put my finger on it, but this movie was pretty fantastic. It has been advertised as more of a comedy than it is, so I worry that people won't be ready for tense drama that it is most of the time. Beyond that, it fully deserves the Oscar front-runner status that it has and I'll be curious to see how it holds up in the coming months.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend

DVR Purge: 10/6-10/12

Weekly Spotlight: I need to find a better way to pick these. Couldn't think of a rant this week.

Homeland: Beruit is Back"
Way bigger ending than I expected for the second episode of the season. How they handle it in episode 3 will be very telling. It'll be interesting how they work out of the hole they're digging.

How I Met Your Mother "Nannies"
I really don't care about either Ted or Robin's relationship. Barney's sexual walk-about hits all the beats of old Barney without any of the fun. Marshall and Lilly are the only viable characters at the moment and I'd really like a non-baby storyline because right now they run the risk of being season 6 & 7 Jim and Pam.

Ben & Kate "The Fox Hunt"
Right now, it feels like they are trying to be too familiar with the characters who I don't know yet. I think I like this show but I need to get more used to it.

New Girl "Neighbors"
The writers only half understand a hipster. They got the look down. Problem is, I didn't buy for a second that those youths don't know who Urkel is or the ending of Top Gun. The conceit of those characters bothered me. I loved all of Nick and Winston's pranking. Made up for the shortcomings.

Go On "Big League Chew"
By now, I should like more of the characters (See: Any) than I do. I may have invested too much time already to stop. Only time will tell.

The Mindy Project "In the Club"
This episode was familiarly Office-y, which is to be expected. I'm still digging this series and I see potential to like a lot of characters, generally the best omen I have for a new series.

The Middle "Bunny Theory"
Damn, this show never surprises me, rarely makes me laugh, and features a lot of characters that mostly irritate me. I don't know why I enjoy it so much, but I really do.

Modern Family "Schooled"
Certainly a big qualitative drop-off from last week. Unlike the Pawnee book from Parks and Rec last year, I hope they are intending to release Phil's musings. Also, this better not mean a Haley's going to be more scarce.

Modern Family "Snip"
I know it was only part of a joke for the tag but I hate when they force the sight gags like the one with Phil and the sign. Such a cheap way to get laughs.

Nashville "Pilot"
I got at least one song stuck in my head and that didn't bother me as much as I expected. I like Mrs. Coach too much and Hayden Panetierre still has goodwill with me from being in Joe Somebody (don't ask). That's enough to give it another week with me.

30 Rock "Governor Dunston"
Gee, I wonder how Tina Fey got so good at writing about political impersonations? I sure hope this isn't the last of Bryan Cranston we see. The return of Cooter makes me hopeful that other classic characters will come back for one last hurrah.

The Big Bang Theory "The Higgs Boson Observation"
About 6 times during this episode I thought I'd seen the episode before. The show is getting old enough that it's time to rehash a lot of the same stories or grow narratively. This show is staying true to form.

Up All Night "Jerry Duty"
I'm so comfortable with these characters. I wish I liked the episodes more. If this gets cancelled or moved to a tougher to watch time slot, I can't say I'd be broken up.

It's Always Sunny... "Pop-Pop: The Final Solution"
Farewell Fat Mac. You will be missed. I can always find a couple good jokes in an episode, but this felt more like retreading than anything special. It's pretty impossible that this season won't be a let down after last year. That hardly means it'll be bad.

The League "Training Camp"
Occasionally my lack of football knowledge gets in the way my enjoyment of an episode. I enjoyed the delivery room fantasy draft gag though.

IMDB Top 250 Examination: 2012

Last year, I did an outright examination of the IMDB Top 250. I went through what I saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the list. I like to think I did a fine job of that and covered most of what I wanted to from that. Honestly, I only did that last year so that I could do one this year where I examine how the list has changed in this time.

Not much has changed on the list, all things considered. This surprised and pleased me because I thought this was a more fluid list that it has proved to be, which suggests a sort of reliability to it. While it still has a movie from every year going back until 1947, I think it's less than a year away from that falling off. The lone movie from 1970, Patton, for example, barely edges in at 250. Overall, I don't think something like that hurts the list, but it is a lot easier to defend when I had that 1947 stat.

Let's see how things break down.

Highest Additions

Dark Knight Rises (2012)	28
The Intouchables (2011)	75
The Avengers (2012)	101
Warrior (2011)	154
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)	175

I'll make this simple. None of these will stay this high. Only "The Dark Knight Rises" will even be in the top 100 by next year. This is a good thing though. These movies all have a "flavor of the month" appeal that gets weeded out in time.

Biggest Drops

	Last Year's Rank
Drive (2011)	101
Ikiru (1992)	150
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)	160
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)	175
Diabolique (1955)	177

I'd like to take the time to say "nailed-it" about Drive. It is a cool, slick movie that didn't have the wide appeal to last on the list. I saw no way to predict these other movies. At the same time, I had to look all of them up to know anything about them, so it's not like they are well known commodities.

Greatest Rises

	2011 Rank	2012 Rank	Rise
A Separation (2011)			+120
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)			+46
A Beautiful Mind (2001)			+39
The Lion King (1994)			+39
Stalker (1979)			+35

See what I mean about this list? The biggest riser was a foreign film. The cream always rises, so to speak. Then again, it is also a newer movie, so it will stabilize soon. This is a pretty inflated ranking for A Separation. As for the others, other than The Lion King, which had a successful 3-D re-release, I don't know how to explain the change. That's part of the fun of the list.

Largest Falls

	2011 Rank	2012 Rank	Fall
Harry Potter 8 (2011)			-81
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)			-51
Black Swan (2009)			-48
District 9 (2009)			-40
The Wrestler (2009)			-36

All movies from 2008 or later. Also, again, I was spot-on about Harry Potter 8 and Black Swan. Thankfully Slumdog and The Wrestler fell too because they are movie I very much didn't enjoy. I have nothing against District 9, although I don't understand the outpouring of love for it. And, really, I shouldn't take too much credit in these predictions, because there is a pretty reliable fuzzy science to it that any film buff can follow to this.

Direct Comparisons

All and all, as I said, the list was staggeringly consistent, if not the exact movies and rankings, the breakdown of when they were. Take this chart, for example: the breakdown of how many movies came from each decade and how it's changed from when I last looked at the list.

	2011 Count	2012 Count	Change
2010-Present	10	14	+4
2000-2009	59	54	-5
1990-1999	39	40	+1
1980-1989	29	30	+1
1970-1979	24	24	+2
1960-1969	24	25	+1
1950-1959	33	32	-1
1940-1949	17	16	-1
1930-1939	8	10	+2
1920-1929	7	5	-2

As you can see, it didn't change a lot. The thing I found most remarkable was when I took the average age of the movies on the list. In 2011, the average movie was 31.7 years old. In 2012, it got a little older, at 32.4 years. I may be beating a dead horse here, but that is pretty unheard of for a list compiled on the Internet. New technology does not result aging. Unless, that is, the list is a legitimate one.

Directors

The director list thinned out. At the top, thanks to The Dark Knight Rises, there is a clear top five now. Hitchcock is even pulling away at first getting a 10th movie into the list, which is pretty ridiculous, but reflects a large amount of reverence for him as a director.

Top 5

2012		2011
Hitchcock	10	Hitchcock	9
Kubrick	8	Kubrick	8
Miyazaki	6	Wilder	6
Nolan	6	Scorsese	6
Scorsese	6	Nolan, Speilberg, Kurosawa, Chaplin, Terantino, Miyazaki	5

A couple more stats to throw out there. Directors with 3+ movies on the list went down to 41.2% (from 47.2%) when I went through it this year, and directors with 2+ movies fell to 60.4% (from 68.8%). Those are both pretty steep given the sample size. You can credit this to better film diversity. I'll be curious to see how this changes next year though. Something tells me the numbers will go back up a little. This seems like a bigger ebb and flow stat compared to some others that could be pulled from the list.

What I've seen

I didn't do much to help my overall tally. Still 10 for 10 at the top. I've seen 39 of the top 50 versus 37 last year and 128 overall versus 121 last year. I blame my focus on seeing newer movies in this time, which arguably, will pay dividends over time. Immediately, it makes me seem lazy though. Granted, doing a statistical break down of movies doesn't help toward the perception that I need to get out and do more.

In Conclusion

I went and waxed poetic at the end of this last year. That's not happening again. Suffice it to say, I enjoy this list. Given my set of interests, going in, it's a fascinating topic to look at.

This year's goal was to examine the stability of the list and I think I can safely call it a consistent collection. The exact rankings have an arbitrary quality to them admittedly. The overall group is very much the same and the trending is pretty understandable.

The only question now is what new facet I will look at next year, and of course, when I will find that ever elusive "more valuable thing to waste all my time on".

Movie Reaction: Taken 2

Formula: Taken

Cast: I have nothing bad to say about Liam Nesson. I was stunned by his action star turn the first time around. He maintains that same caliber in this. I get the feeling they wanted to try making this Maggie Grace's action star debut but it largely fell flat, in part because I spent most of the movie trying to figure out how old she was supposed to be (surely they weren't still trying to pass her off as a high schooler). Given Famke Janssen's past work in the X-Men series, it would've made sense to not waste her playing the helpless victim the whole time.

Plot: Where to start? The first Taken was a sensational surprised. One of those movies that I can never explain why it worked as well as it did. The things it did right it did so wonderfully that it completely made up for all the issues. Still, the first act of the original is truly god-awful, in the very bottom tier of movie beginnings. Absolutely none of it worked until the "special set of skills" phone call. After that, it was a furious, no holds barred, man on a mission story at it's finest. Taken 2 lacked the iconic speech, lacked the lone wolf element, and humanized the villains. It relocated the first movie to Istanbul and took for granted how lucky it was to get the original to come together the way it did. Sadly, this first act of this one was equally bad as the first, complete with awkward dialogue, misguided jokes, and stone-faced acting. I guess the action was about the same quality, yet it was missing that manic energy that made the first stand out.

Elephant in the Room: Did this need a sequel? No. It's rare that a movie does. We only accept it if it is good, which is rare. Probably the biggest issue here is that the studio forgot something very important: Characters make franchises, not storylines. I'm not sure Taken could ever work as a franchise due to the need to create Nesson's "anything goes" desperation, but having another abduction in a foreign country, complete with a much less interesting phone call, and throwing in his annoying daughter as a sidekick is the wrong idea. The only way this could've worked is to keep the character and change the circumstances. I'm not sure what that would look like, but essentially going Evil Dead 2 on it was a mistake.

To Sum Things Up:
The is the movie the original was supposed to be. My main motivation for seeing this was to appreciate how lucky I was to not get a shit movie with the first. I'm not sure who the audience for this is considering it isn't a movie where people are invested in the characters and everything else in it took a big dip in quality. It would be foolish to not expect a third, but my goodwill has been spent. 

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

Movie Reaction: Bachelorette

Formula: Bridesmaids + Requiem for a Dream + a little bit of Sleepover 
(make of that what you will)

Cast: Casting was pretty spot on. Kirsten Dunst can play an uptight control freak well. Lizzy Caplan can do the misanthropic disillusioned thing in her sleep. Isla Fisher, well, you saw her in Wedding Crashers, I assume. The thing is, all of them add some new edges to their character types that are rarely seen. I'm so used to seeing Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt that it's jarring to see him as a different type of character. Rebel Wilson is a lot less cartoonish than she normally is, which is nice. James Marsden...I still don't know what to make of him. There's several others I'm forgetting. They sustain a pretty large cast.

Plot: Overall it works well. No one is a saint or treated like one. They all have some pretty serious issues that, thankfully, they didn't feel the need to fix by the end. If I had one complaint, it would be with the wedding dress MacGuffin, which I thought was beneath the rest of story. Mostly, this is a smart, well-crafted, character-driven dark comedy. At times, it tried to be something much lighter and it didn't work a well for me. At times it doesn't know which tone it wants to have and felt decidedly uneven as a result.

Elephant in the Room: So, this is like Bridesmaid, right? I get that on paper it sounds like it would be. This is going for a much narrower audience though. The characters are much darker. The jokes hit harder. The appeal is less broad. It mostly doesn't want to be Bridesmaids and largely succeeds at that. I am not at all surprised that this has such a limited release (Note: limited does not mean bad). Please, don't go into this expecting Bridesmaids. That would not be smart.

Perspective: Normally, I have the problem of seeing a movie, liking it, then overselling it to people. For this, I have the opposite problem. Everyone I saw it with loved it. I liked but no where near as much. I'm not one for jumping to "there's something I'm missing that everyone else got" because I'm not. That's generally a cop-out. I quite enjoyed this, but after witnessing a love-fest for it, I find myself trying to explain what my issues with it were with it when I'd normally focus on the parts that I liked. This isn't a complaint. I just find it interesting how subjective a reaction to a movie can be.

 To Sum Things Up:
I've been wanting to see this for a while and am glad it expanded to where I live. In a year full of pretty mediocre comedies so far, this was a refreshing change of pace. It is not for everyone by any means. Plenty of laughs and a great handling of the characters. It's not completely polished, but what is. You know how almost getting an A on a test can be more frustrating than completely bombing it? That's how this was for me.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

DVR Purge: 9/29-10/4

This Week's Spotlight: None. I got sidetracked by another side project. I know, I know. Week 2 and I'm already dropping the ball.

Homeland "The Smile"
I'll either look at this as an annoying contrivance to bring Carrie back in or a needed device to keep the show moving. The rest of the season will decide.

How I Met Your Mother "The Pre-Nup"
I think this episode sums up my issue with the show these days. What says "running in place" better than an episode making a game out of everyone's relationships being doomed to fail?

Ben & Kate "Bad Cop/Bad Cop"
This feels like the most fully-formed new show still. I like the characters and how they play off each other. I don't so much like the plot for this week, but the rest is enjoyable enough to stick with it for the season while it figures things out.

The Mindy Project "Hiring and Firing"
For me, that was a massive improvement in the second episode. I can see this show working it's way up my list fast. Also, I hadn't taken the time to look at the list of writers and producers for this: Linwood Boomer (Malcolm in the Middle, perhaps my favorite show ever), Chris McKenna (probably Community's best writer), and BJ Novak (The Office) is a pretty powerful 1, 2, 3 when Mindy alone is enough to get me to watch.

Go On "Do You Believe in Ghosts...Yes!"
Like Outsourced, this is a well-intentioned show that doesn't quite feel right. That is far from praise. Even when I don't prefer a show, it can get a laugh or two. This one can't even get that, nor does it do an effective job pulling at my heart strings.

Tosh.0
I'm not sure what kind of commentary I can offer for this other than, that was pretty funny. This was definitely one of the most mean-spirited web redemptions but that White rapper was that perfect mix of stupid, oblivious, and earnest which demands some extra jabs.

Key & Peele "Episode 202"
The good and bad thing about a sketch show like this is that it requires no commitment and can be watched whenever and dropped easily. I like it, but I can see how this falls off when the rest of the fall schedule kicks in.

The Middle "The Second Act"
I wonder if this is their attempt to shake things up. I'm highly indifferent and quite committed to the show. No risk that I'll stop watching it, but I'll continue to wonder what keeps me watching it. This episode didn't swing it one way or the other.

The Big Bang Theory "The Decoupling Fluctuation"
It's hard to say something new about a show that changes so little from week to week. The show is pretty depressing when you think about it. These are really sad characters, and I don't just mean because they're nerds. There's only barely a sense of affection shared by the group and they still write too many jokes that only serve to shit on the cast.

30 Rock "The Beginning of the End"
It is finally hitting me that there are only a finite number of episodes left in this wonderful, wonderful series. I'm going to really miss it.

Up All Night "Swingers"
You know, I've been worried about this show. It isn't where it needs to be yet, but I see real signs that this can improve. The tone of this episode was a lot more comfortable. Considering what the spring and next fall are shaping up to be, I'm am keeping hope for this one.

The Office "Andy's Ancestry"
Enough of this worked for me. Jim and Pam are finally back in the forefront. They aren't forcing Andy to be the central character anymore. Also, finally, Darryl has something to do. Oh yeah, and if they have Erin and the new guy get together, I will be very disappointed. Like 30 Rock, I'm revving myself up for how this will end.

Parks & Recreation "How A Bill Becomes A Law"
I fear that, due to my distrust of politics, this City Council thing is going to keep me constantly on edge. If any show has earned my trust though, this is it. Xena + Ron = potential amazingness! I love that the show is old enough that I can love these characters for every small tick. P&R is still the gold standard in TV comedy and I hope it can sustain the pretty good ratings it's been getting.

The scary thing is that there's still at least a half dozen shows yet to start for fall which I intend to watch.