Fall & Winter Movie Preview

I'm a regular subscriber to Entertainment Weekly and I love to receive their various Preview issues throughout the year, as I did last week. The anticipation of upcoming movies in the next four months is a lot of fun. Granted, my actual viewing decisions may change if I have a choice between an obscure critical darling and the current Hunger Games sequel but you just gotta go with the flow sometimes. In any case, here are my personal rankings...

Top Ten Picks
[10] Foxcatcher (Nov14) Trailer
Based on a real story of a wrestling coach trying to prepare an athlete to win gold at the 1988 Olympics, it becomes a grim psychological drama instead of the usual type of sports flick. It's being sold as a high-profile vehicle for Channing Tatum since he's on a roll at the box office lately but I'm also a fan of Steve Carell as a serious actor. There is plenty of award talk.

[9] Birdman (Oct17) Trailer
So much award buzz is coming out of Venice right now for this one. Michael Keaton stars as a former superhero actor a la Batman. Edward Norton joins in the fray as Keaton's character directs a Broadway play and starts to fall apart. Definitely in the running for Best Actor.

[8] The Interview (Dec25) Trailer
James Franco and Seth Rogen doing their shtick as reporters covertly tasked with assassinating the leader of North Korea. Their stoner humour has made me laugh too many times and the serious edge this time is intriguing.

[7] The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (Nov21) Teaser
My wife and sister-in-law are big fans of the books so they'll likely see this in theatres before I do. Regardless, it is one of the biggest movies in the next few months and I have seen the previous ones, so I'll put this in my calendar. I guess it's obvious that I'm not geeked out for it but I do like my blockbusters.

[6] Gone Girl (Oct3) Trailer
Ben Affleck uses some of his real-life experience in celebrity to inform his character, which is a famous actor whose wife disappears... and then the clues and tabloids seem to point back to him as the culprit. It also includes various people like Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry and a few other notable faces playing against type. The fact that David Fincher directed it and it had high expectations because of the book kind of annoyed me but I have to admit that my desire to see this is gradually increasing.

[5] Big Hero 6 (Nov7) Trailer
Now here's an obscure comic movie. Based on an old X-Men tie-in, it's been revamped without the Marvel stuff and with more new-era Disney influence. I was sold based on the "robot and his boy" aspect.

[4] The Judge (Oct10) Trailer
Robert Downey Jr. gets to make his big, personal movie with his producer wife now that he's a bigger/richer star than ever before. And I love this choice about a lawyer returning home to defend his estranged father in court. I'll watch Robert Duval in anything and Billy Bob Thornton can kick ass, too. This movie opens a week after Gone Girl so I'll be very curious to see how they duke it out for the same audience, but I'll certainly be watching it.

[3] Exodus: Gods and Kings (Dec12) Trailer
It's a massive Bible spectacle from Ridley Scott starring Christian Bale but the trailer sells the brother vs. brother drama at the heart of it. I am quite surprised at how much I want to see this one. And on a personal note, my Christian beliefs have changed a fair bit over the past few years as I question that factual nature of ancient stories like this one and the supposedly God-inspired Old Testament laws. Logic doesn't negate the desire for a fantastic flick, though. ; )

[2] The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Dec17) Teaser
I know I've said it before on this blog but I just don't agree with all of the LOTR fans that have dismissed this Hobbit series. Granted, the gold dragon was silly but this is still going to be awesome.

[1] Interstellar (Nov7) Trailer
Christopher Nolan directs this epic sci-fi, which stars Matthew McConaughey at the top of his game. The world is dying, so someone needs to go into far space and find a new home. I expect an immersive experience with plenty of heart and it may get into the award discussion based on something other than technical merits. There is no doubt that this gets my #1 spot.

Oscar Bait
Every year, I try to see the main contenders for the Oscars and I have a competition with my wife and sister to predict the winners. So even if these don't rank highly for me personally, I'll still try to find some time for the following movies as well.

Selma (Dec25) **Martin Luthor King Jr. biopic with much prestige behind it.
Inherent Vice (Dec12) **70's PI flick with Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin.
Unbroken (Dec25) Trailer **Angeline Jolie directs, hero from WWII & Olympics.
Wild (Dec5) Trailer **Reese Witherspoon hikes alone and re-examines her life.

Honourable Mentions
St. Vincent (Oct24) Trailer  **Bill Murray in a Bill Murray movie. Perfect.
Whiplash (Oct10) Trailer **Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons in a movie about competitive jazz drumming.
Fury (Nov14) Trailer **I can't buy Brad Pitt in the trailer but it looks good anyway.
The Maze Runner (Sep19) Trailer **May be a fun sci-fi teenfic but we'll see...
The Zero Theorem (Sep19) Trailer **Terry Gilliam's sci-fi mindbender starring Christopher Waltz.
A Merry Friggin' Christmas (Nov7) **One of the last movies by Robin Williams.

Top Ten Movies of 2013

Finally, I have arrived upon this momentous milestone: My Tenth Annual Top Ten Movie List! I've had a hectic schedule lately so I'm getting to this about a month and a half too late. The silver lining is that it provided me with extra time to catch up on the late-year Oscar-worthy movie releases, so I feel like this year's list is much more inclusive.

This list only accounts for movies that were actually released in 2013. I saw 57 movies in total, though I still have another 60 potential movies on my Wish List.

Top Ten List

[10] The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Link)
Despite the tepid critical response, I found this movie to be a sweet and adventurous fairy tale of sorts. Kristen Wiig lent some needed soul, I wanted to punch Adam Scott in the mouth, and classic actors like Shirley MacLaine and Sean Penn slipped in seamlessly. Kudos to Ben Stiller for directing this movie.

[9] Frozen (Link)
This was a nice crowd-pleaser and it's hard to get away from the songs these days, either at work or at home. It plays against some of the stereotypical plotlines, while still fitting snugly into the Disney world. I suspect that I will become more fond of this one as my daughter approaches the Disney phase of her life. And yep, the snowman made me laugh a number of times.

[8] The World's End (Link)
It starts out as one type of movie and it becomes a very different type of movie halfway through. It's way too easy to spoil it but the heart of it is the relationships between a group of old high school friends as they ponder their past and present a bit. And when the movie takes a gigantic detour, it somehow manages to keep focused on that core theme. It's astonishing that they managed to merge two completely different concepts like this, there's a certain kind of genius in it. I was also roaring with laughter, so this was definitely my funniest movie of the year.

[7] 12 Years a Slave (Link)
It's a true story and it certainly has a lot to say. I really admire it but it doesn't have a lot of moments that stand out in my memory, and it doesn't make me want to revisit it. I originally had this as my #3 movie but it kept dropping on my list because I felt like it was an important movie, as opposed to actually liking it. Since this Top Ten list is so clearly geared towards my particular tastes, I decided to let it slide down the list.

[6] The Wolverine (Link)
At long last: They were finally able to make a Wolverine movie that gave me the exact feeling of reading one of his various comic collections. I have a cheap black-and-white reprint of some of the classic Japan stories and this translates it to the big screen very capably. I could have done with a little less mutant weirdness going on but that's life in a Marvel universe. I can't believe Hugh Jackman is still running with this character but I'll enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.

[5] Lee Daniels' The Butler (Link)
This is the Forrest Gump of real life. The central character is at the cross roads of a number of milestones throughout US history, and it almost gleefully skips forward to catch all of the key moments. I don't know why there was so much acclaim for Oprah's role but I did enjoy the Forest Whitaker as he portrayed the central character's lifetime and personal growth. I look forward to seeing this one again sometime.

[4] Man of Steel (Link)
Hooray, they made a good Superman movie! I thought that the director, Zack Snyder, pulled off the action in spectacular fashion. The villains were great, and Amy Adams managed to win me over. The first part of the movie is set on Krypton and they realized that alien world and culture perfectly - much better than some of the weirdo interpretations of Krypton that I've seen in the comics. Most importantly, though, was the recurring theme of the two fathers. It's emotional, it meant something, it was useful to the plot, and Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe really made their scenes stand out.

[3] The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Link)
Despite it's lack of domestic box office success, I was still very excited to dive back into this realm. The barrel escape sequence was the single best (and funniest!) action scene of any movie this year. I was clapping and cheering in the theatre repeatedly, even though the crowd was more subdued. Come on, people! Enjoy the thrill of it all!

[2] Ender's Game (Link)
When I was growing up, my best friend was a big fan of Orson Scott Card's book series. I confess, I never bothered to get into it - until last year, when Marvel released a superb series of graphic novels based on the books. It was the best comic series that I read last year and I've read them repeatedly since then. So take that newly-found love of the stories and add it to the top-notch special effects of the movie and this was my top sci-fi movie of the year. Actually, I have to amend that last statement because of my #1 pick...

[1] Gravity (Link)
I guess this is my top sci-fi movie of the year, as well as being my top movie, period. I mean, it is fictional and very sciency so that makes it sci-fi, right? Sandra Bullock owner this movie and George Clooney provided some needed lightness. However, the spectacle and inventiveness must be credit to the director, Alfonso Cuarón, since he literally had to invent new movie techniques just to make this thing. It's an edge-of-your seat roller coaster with an emotional impact to match.

Honourable Mentions:
Pacific Rim, Iron Man 3, Saving Mr. Banks

Sequels Schmequels:
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Too much like the first movie, too slow, and too much setup for the next movie.)
Star Trek Into Darkness (Stupid "Not Khan" PR, and it was such a mirror of previous movies.)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (All the charm and brains of the first movie vanished.)

Most Annoying:
Inside Llewyn Davis (Seriously, the central character is a selfish prick.)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Yeah, I'm one of the people that couldn't sit through all the filth.)

Worst Movies:
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (This made me roll my eyes numerous times.)
The Internship (Sooo many stereotypes, cliches and predictable everything.)

Top Wish List:
The Heat, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Much Ado About Nothing

References:
Top Grossing Movies of 2013

Summer Movie Preview

I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly and I look forward to their annual Fall and Summer Preview issues. This year's summer issue has Superman on the cover as the main event, although it won't top my list. I'm going to see Iron Man 3 at the drive-in this coming weekend to officially kick off my summer movie season. With that in mind, here is my Top Ten list for this summer -with a few bonus features thrown in at the end...

Top Ten Summer Movies

[1] Iron Man 3 (May 3) Trailer

This is the first Marvel movie after The Avengers, and all of the early reviews indicate that this is the best of the Iron Man series. High praise indeed. Plus, this throws in a new version of the Mandarin and the Extremis storyline. Yep, definitely on top of the list for this comics geek. I really, really hope Robert Downey Jr. can renegotiate with Marvel Studios and continue in this role.

[2] Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17) Trailer

The previous movie hit all the right buttons and rekindled everything that I love about this universe. This one looks like it has plenty of soon-to-be-classic moments mixed with meaningful character arcs for the young heros. Toss in a (hopefully) brilliant villain and we're good to go.

[3] Man Of Steel (June 14) Trailer

I would have been perfectly happy if they continued with the previous incarnation of this series. Even though this is yet another reboot, I'm hoping that they nailed it. Most of my faith lies with the vision of the director, Zach Snyder, who previously did 300 and Watchmen. And I liked the casting of the various supporting roles, too. (And as an aside, I despise the recent version of Superman in the comics. I like both DC and Marvel but DC completely lost me with this pointless reboot.)

[4] The Wolverine (July 26) Trailer

I'm a big fan of Wolverine, especially his Japanese adventures and alt-future stories. This may finally be the version of Wolverine that we all want to see but his last solo movie had a stink that still lingers. We'll see if this one can put together the magic that is found so easily in comicdom.

[5] Pacific Rim (July 12) Trailer

Finally, a movie that can top Transformers! (Heh.) It's a giant toy/monster mash-up directed by Guillermo del Toro. His crazy genius should provide any number of mind-worm images that will never leave.

[6] Elysium (August 9) Trailer

Future sci-fi with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster in her menacing mode. Sign me up.

[7] R.I.P.D. (July 19) Trailer

First thought when I saw this trailer? Men In Black. And that's not a bad thing at all. Waddayaknow, it's also based on comic, though I haven't acquainted myself with that one yet.

[8] RED 2 (July 19) Trailer

Lookee, another comic movie! And yes, I did read this comic. I'm a fan of Bruce Willis and the last movie hit my funny bone just right. Here's hoping for more of the same in this one but kicked up a notch. Sadly, we won't get any more fun cameos with Borgnine.

[9] Fast & Furious 6 (May 24) Trailer

The Rock, Vin Diesel, even some sneakiness from Jason Statham. Sure, the series goes over the top but it's only getting stronger these days. Perfect drive-in movie, right?

[10] Much Ado About Nothing (June 7) Trailer

Joss Whedon and his merry band of players have a little fun with Shakespearean comedy. This is the one that came out of left field in my Top 10 list but I find it so intriguing that I can't let it go. It took me until Grade 12 English to really start appreciating the humour that Shakespeare injected into everything he did, and this looks like it might accentuate the very things I love most about the bard. Plus, you know, it has Nathan Fillion himself.

Honourable Mentions:

[11] The Heat (June 28)  **Will this be the best comedy of the summer?

[12] After Earth (June 7)  **Will Smith and son on an uninhabited Earth.

[13] White House Down (June 28)  **We'll compare this to Olympus Has Fallen.

[14] The Lone Ranger (July 3)  **Disney's big tent-pole picture.

[16] 300: Rise Of An Empire (August 2)  **Parallel story to the first film.

[15] Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (July 3)  **24/7 Comedy radio made me curious.

[17] Kick-Ass 2 (August 16)  **Read the comics, quite brutal. Jim Carrey = great?

[18] 2 Guns (Aug 2)  **Denzel and Mark Wahlberg as buddy cops?

[19] The Hangover Part III (May 24)  **How about the giraffe in the trailer?

[20] The Great Gatsby (May 10)  **DiCaprio's big summer flick.

Top Cartoons:

[1] Monsters University (June 21)  **Considered this for my Top 10 list.

[2] Despicable Me 2 (July 3)

[3] Epic (May 24)

[4] Turbo (July 17)

[5] Planes (August 9)  **2nd sequel to Pixar's Cars.

End Of The World Stuff:

[1] World War Z (June 21)  **Brad Pitt's troubled production. Super fast zombies.

[2] This Is The End (June 12)  **Alt-version of Hollywood with celeb cameos.

[3] Rapturepalooza (June 7)  **My type of humour, new to me.

[4] The World's End (August 23)  **Simon Pegg's gang teams up again.

[5] Cockneys vs Zombies (August 2)  **Super slow zombies.

[6] Stranded (July 26)  **Low-budget horror sci-fi in space with Christian Slater.

[7] The Purge (May 31)  **Funky, freaky premise.

Top Ten Wish List of 2012

As I mentioned in my previous post, I didn't get the chance to see all of the end-of-year movies that I would have liked. With that in mind, I am adding a bonus feature this year: my Top Ten wish list of movies from 2012 that I still intend to see.

[1] Django Unchained (Link)

I can usually handle only one viewing of any Tarantino movie due to the graphic violence and language but I still make a point of seeing them anyway. This is a potential Top Ten pick for me.

[2] Cloud Atlas (Link)

Crazy era-skipping sci-fi with Tom Hanks and Halle Berry playing numerous roles. It should be a mind-bender and it could make it onto my Top Ten list but I doubt it will approach my appreciation for Looper.

[3] Wreck-It Ralph (Link)

Ooh yeah! Lots of nostalgic video game fun. I even have the old-school video game on our iPad and it's somewhat addictive. If you're a fan of this type of thing, then I would also recommend the book Ready Player One, which was my favourite book of the past year.

[4] The Raid: Redemption (Link)
This is supposedly the top action flick of the past year, bar none. We shall see. I could see this knocking Expendables off of my Top Ten list. I also want to see the new Dredd movie at some point.

[5] Les Misérables (Link)
I always remember my mom reading this book on a yearly basis in the original French 'cause she loves it so much. I have not read the book or seen the musical so I only know about it through general pop culture. We'll see if it impacts me as much and gets into my Top Ten list.

[6] Jack Reacher (Link)
This is the latest action series by Tom Cruise, based on a pulp book series. Despite the fact that Cruise is physically nothing like the original character in the book, the director (McQuarrie) is the reason that action fans are giving such high recommendations for this under-the-radar December release.

[7] Argo (Link)
This one is acclaimed everywhere and I almost guarantee that it will land in my Top Ten list in the end. The faux-Hollywood sci-fi film and the real-life Canadian contribution are just a bonus for me.

[8] Lincoln (Link)
This is up for various Oscars and there are supposed to be incredible performances by Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. The title role was originally supposed to be played by Liam Neeson, which is when Sally Field was attached. Later on, Day-Lewis stepped into the role and Sally Field has at least 10 years on him in terms of age but Field kicked Spielberg's ass and insisted that she was still the best woman for the role. ;) This could land on my Top Ten list.

[9] Life Of Pi (Link)
This one's pushing the limits of 3D and it has rave reviews. I own the book so I should get around to reading it sometime. Potential Top Ten? Doubt it but we'll see.

[10] Seven Psychopaths (Link)

This one will hit my funny bone just right. And it terms of comedies this past year, the pickings were quite slim. I enjoyed the absurdity of The Campaign but I strongly assume that this movie will be my fav comedy of the year - though unlikely to make my Top Ten list.

I would also add special mentions for Zero Dark Thirty, The Master and Goon.

Top Ten Movies of 2012

This is my ninth annual Top Ten list. Since my daughter Jade came long in 2011, movie time has been a little more limited. I still make a point of hitting the theatres with Cam or with friends for the big blockbusters, or watching a movie (quietly) at home with Cam. Jade's not quite ready for pizza-and-movie nights yet. ;)

There are a number of big movies that were released around Christmas just in time for Oscar season that I haven't seen yet. So this year, I am presenting my usual Top Ten List alongside my Top Ten Wish List. I figure that a few of my Wish List items will easily make it into my main list once I've caught up on all of them.

As before, this list only accounts for movies that were officially released in 2012. I saw 34 new releases in all this year. There are exactly 99 movies on my complete wish list. (I doubt I will see all of those in my lifetime!) Here we go...

Top Ten List

[10] Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Link)

Spielberg's Lincoln is on my Wist List but is an acceptable replacement, right? Sure, it's not a high brow movie but the mash-up concept worked surprisingly well. Not only that but I actually did learn some actual history along the way. Entertaining and educational? It's true - but really, it just squeaks onto my list 'cause I loved the silliness and ax swinging.

[9] End Of Watch (Link)

I have described this to friends as the best episode of COPS ever. Two best friends and partners and the world they face, complete with car-cam and shoulder-cam point-of-view. The core friendship defines the movie but it has some stomache-punch moments that give it plenty of weight. This one sticks in my mind pretty clearly even though I watched it months ago.

[8] Prometheus (Link)

Yes, this is clearly a prequel to the ALIEN series, regardless of advance subterfuge on that matter. The absolute best thing about the movie is the character and performance done by Michael Fassbender (of X-Man: First Class fame). It's about near-future astronauts exploring a new planet and the alien hijinks that ensue. It's a little preposterous and it leaves many questions unanswered but since there's a setup for a sequel that's fine by me.

[7] Trouble With The Curve (Link)

This may be a slight movie in some ways but it hit my sweet spot with ease. It's about high school baseball scouting mixed with Moneyball commentary, laid on top of a strong father-daughter story. And since that father-daughter combo is played by a crochety Clint Eastwood and a tough-but-damaged Amy Adams, it all comes together perfectly. I'll even buy the much-too-charismatic Justin Timberlake as the daughter's love interest since his one-liners did make me laugh a few times. And yes, I did refer to this movie as "slight" because of the mustache-twirling villain and the ending but it still resonated with me.

[6] The Expendables 2 (Link)

I loved the first flick and this one outdoes it in every way. The first time I saw it, the one-liners and call-outs to previous movies by the various big-name co-stars was downright annoying. After I re-watched it, though, the blend of standard action movie jokes and straight-up fight scenes worked much better for me. I've been more of a fan of Van Damme since he did JCVD and he was an excellent villain to root against. And while I won't spoil it, the main guest star was awesome.

[5] Skyfall (Link)

It's the first Bond movie to cross the billion dollar mark worldwide and it hits every note perfectly. Some friends said that they're not fans of the specific call-outs to past Bond movies since this is technically supposed to be a reboot of the franchise but that's one of the reasons that I loved this movie. The way I see it, this is an "alternate history" version of Bond and we can imagine Daniel Craig completing similar missions and using similar gadgets to former movies. The villain was perfectly cast (even if the hair was distracting) and the central plot was very personal in several different ways. I actually rated this as my top Bond movie ever, which is heresy in most circles but I like to be hyperbolical like that.

[4] The Dark Knight Rises (Link)

This is the conclusion to Christopher Nolan's much praised trilogy. While the second movie is head and shoulders above anything else, this was a fitting end (even if was a tad bloated). In particular, the way that it retraces themes from the first two movies was superb. I felt like Michael Caine's character was underused but his character arc across the three movies was satisfying. Likewise, I enjoyed the characters and work done by Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway (as Catwoman) and Joseph Gorden-Levitt. I disliked the stupid voice that they used for Bane though the actual character was a fantastic interpretation of the original comic character. I actually saw the early preview that was attached to the IMAX version of Mission Impossible and that was thrilling but that voice was ridiculous even then. And like everyone else, I tried to predict some of the plot twists (especially since I know the complete comic backstory) and I was still fooled - which was  both a good thing and a bad thing, since the final reveals were a little silly in the end. If this movie does indeed setup the future JLA movie, I will absolutely be on board with that.

[3] The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Link)

Man, the fanboy backlash against this movie has been unreal. The original LOTR trilogy faced tough critics from longtime fans of the original book, but this Hobbit series faces that same group plus more recent fans of the LOTR movies. And if it wasn't hard enough to live up to the standard of the original Hobbit book and the previous movies, they also decided to split this new story into three movies rather late in the process. I absolutely disagree with any and all fanboys (and fangirls) that criticize this first movie because of those types of comparisons. As a fan myself, I'm just glad that I get to enjoy three new movies in this world. I'm actually a little sad to see relatively lower box office returns for this movie, which I attribute to this type of kneejerk critical reaction that sprouted before anyone even saw the movie.

I watched this new movie in 3D with 48fps (which was another focus of complaints) and I loved both the movie itself and the new film format. The effect of watching large scenes or camera pans was so smooth and it really improved the 3D experience. I expected the movie to meander but the only part that really dragged was the beginning. Everything else was one fun scene after another. The CGI was piled on too heavily at times but core story and the handful of central characters were lots of fun. I can't wait for the next one!

[2] Looper (Link)

As I've said many time during these yearly summaries, I love me some sci-fi and Looper was about as ideal a time-travel story as I've seen. The way that the time travel headaches came together was awesome - both in terms of straight logic and in terms of the emotional pay-off. My only minor quibble would be how different the two lead actors looked. Even so, this movie has so many scenes that are indelibly seared into my memory that it was easy to put this movie so high on my list.

[1] The Avengers (Link)

Sooooooooo good! This was the ultimate movie universe (pun intended for comic geeks) and a massive gamble for Marvel Studios. In my estimation, the majority of the credit for the success of this move belongs to Joss Whedon and everything he did was writer and director. I'm a long-time comic geek the largest portion of my 3000+ comics is from Marvel and this movie was my fondest wish come true. The various crowds that I saw it with absolutely roared during all the right moments ("puny god") and this was an incredible crowd-pleaser in terms of emotional content, humour and action. Loved it!

I have a few special categories to finish off this (admittedly lengthy) blog post...

Biggest waste of time: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Link)

I honestly like Nicholas Cage as an actor and I was hopeful that this would improve on the first one but this sucked terribly. And the joke about the flame thrower was insidiously stupid.

Best Chick Flick: The Vow (Link)
Actually, this was my only chick flick up until these holidays. It does a really nice job of going left when I expect it to go right. It had it's share of cliches but it also avoided many obvious routes during the film and I appreciated that. I also liked the fact that it's inspired by a true story.

Most Disappointing: The Amazing Spider-Man (Link)

I liked it fine during my initial viewing but I recently re-watched it with my wife and it did not hold up well at all. Everything in this universe somehow relates to Peter Parker. The Lizard is a terribly conceived character with infantile motivational twists and I did not buy how much access Gwen Stacey had at the labs. I liked the charm of the two leads but my wife disliked that part as well. Ugh. This just keeps going down in my estimation. I doubt that Jamie Foxx will be able to save the next movie when he comes in as the villain Electro.

References:

Top GrossingMovies of 2012

My Previous Top Ten Lists:
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011