“The Muppets”
5.
Kudos to Marshall Eriksen for connecting with his inner Muppet and spearheading the revival. The family friendly palette cleanser after the you watch the rest of our R-rated list.
“Like Crazy”
4.
Finally the movie that shows what happens after the guy gets the girl and they have that rom-com fantasy ending.
Real and honest, the film is a wake-up call to all us hopeless romantics. As for the ‘open’ ending people want the film to have, let’s face the facts, the ending is in the Star’s song playing over the end credits “Dead Hearts.”
“The Thing”
3.
Hold back the anger! Did you see the movie or go off some fanboys ranting and ravings on the internet or the misplaced critic’s takes on a film that is born from a movie they didn’t get 30 years ago?
Exactly.
The film answers questions you didn’t even know had about the Swedish, errrr, Norwegian research team that McCready and crew were investigating at the beginning of John Carpenter’s version. With painstaking attention to detail, this version syncs up two movies made by decades.
“Melancholia”
2.
A raw, emotionally intense look at debilitating depression when faced by the imminent end of the world.
Easily Lars von Trier's most positive film.
“Red State”
1.
Easily the most scary and plausibly possible film to come out this year. Scarier is it is from the mind of Kevin Smith and doesn’t contain dick-and-fart jokes nor a hokey catch.
Sure, the premise is based on a cross-bred version of events from Waco to the Westboro Baptists. In a plot that quickly spirals out of control, the film is rooted in the pitch-perfect performances of John Goodman and Michael Parks.
The story ups the ante of the actions of the religious zealots, but that is the point. It is to show how when people believe in something so intensely, they become capable of anything.
“American: The Bill Hicks Story”
“But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride.”
The better question should be why do the visionaries of their given fields need to die young to get the accolades posthumously instead of having the knowledge that they were appreciated while they were alive?
What Bill Hicks did on comedy stages in the late 80s and early 90s was brilliant, cutting-edge material that only the Daily Show now randomly touches upon.
With a keen eye for life, Hicks went from dissecting his family life to becoming a true patriot around the time of the first gulf war.
Questioning the actions of the government via comedy and pinpoint commentary, Hicks led audiences down an unfamiliar path of making them think instead of going for cheap laughs.
From the Kennedy assassination to Christianity to Waco, no topic was off the table.
Brutal and honest this documentary doesn’t shy away from Hick’s demons and dark side.
A powerful film about an innovator taken from this world at 32 by cancer.
“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.”
“Page One: Inside The New York Times
Print is dead or dying as this documentary tries not to sell.
How the world-wide institution is dealing with declining readers, ad revenue and struggling with the changing landscape of print to online is a fascinating look behind the curtain. One that tacks on a too-happy ending to a story we all know is not going to end well when all is said and done.
“Paranormal Activity 3”
Yeah, it was a giant commercial success, but take a look beyond that at how PA3 gave scares in a new way, answered questions raised in the first two movies and more importantly wrapped up the trilogy neatly.
With the not-so-subtle glimpse of young Katie’s face, PA3 saved and made the worst ending of the possible three endings of the first movie make sense and tie everything together.
What happened, though, to Katie and Hunter?
Who cares? This was the story of the doomed sisters. We need not see what happens next as it can’t live up to what our mind already has in store for the two characters. Yet with money made, we know that a fourth movie will be made and will suck the life out of a lively trilogy.
