Biggest Films of 2012

2012 is going to be a big year for films with Pixar hoping to make a strong return with Brave after the critical misfire of Cars 2, the return of Peter Parker in the reboot The Amazing Spider-Man, the biggest crossover of all time in The Avengers, a prequel to one of the most beloved film series of all time in The Hobbit and the epic conclusion to the saga of Batman in The Dark Knight Rises. As you can see, 2012 is going to enormous with movies expect some to be contenders to even beat Avatar (either The Hobbit or The Dark Knight Rises) and other movies look to leave an impact on the box office and hopefully with critics as well. Of the films I just gave you, the ones that will probably be best received critically are either Brave, The Hobbit and The Dark Knight Rises. Brave looks to bring back Pixar to form after Cars 2 focused on style over substance while The Hobbit returns us to Middle-Earth almost ten years after Peter Jackson's beloved trilogy was released to sweep the Oscars three years in a row (with the ROTK winning 11 awards including Best Picture) and finally The Dark Knight Rises finishes off the story that started in Batman Begins (one of the superhero genre's greatest) and continued in The Dark Knight (one of the greatest films ever in general) and is probably the best contender for 2012's biggest film. Hype has been overwhelming and this film is definitely my most anticipated film of next year and I think it's safe to say it is currently the most anticipated film of all time. I'm predicting Brave will open to around $70 million, considering its an original film while The Hobbit will probably gross around $120 million in its opening weekend. The Dark Knight Rises looks to have an opening gross of $200 million and it will easily have the biggest opening weekend of all time. Besides the three films I just mentioned, I'm guessing 2012's third biggest hit will be The Avengers, a crossover from Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America which kicks off the summer movie season. The film will gross about $140 million in its opening but in the end, The Hobbit will outgross it eventually. Also looking to gross lots is The Amazing Spider-Man which isn't as hyped but still receiving positive feedback from fans based on trailers, posters and Comic-Con footage. I'm guessing it will open to around $90 million-$110 million but word of mouth may make it more popular and it should gross about $270 million domestically. The final Twilight film also looks to open big but due to the majority of climatic events occuring in Breaking Dawn Part 1, the sequel apparently several epic battles added just for the film that will kill off a lot of important characters. This makes me think Breaking Dawn Part 2 will open less than Part 1 with a gross of $110 million, but negative word of mouth among fans will make people stop seeing it but still, it's a wild card considering it is the finale to a series with a huge fanbase. Another film with lots of buzz lately is Ridley Scott's Prometheus, which should bring tons of Alien fanboys so this film should open to $50-60 million, considering a lot of the mainstream public won't know what it's all about. GI Joe, Men in Black III and Battleship should have solid openings with Men in Black looking to have the strongest opening with about $70-80 million while Battleship looks to have negative feedback from some who call it a Transformers rip-off or just believe the film is laughable, so this may be 2012's biggest flop while GI Joe should be decent with some positive buzz that it will redeem the franchise. The Hunger Games also looks to be big with a $70 million opening gross, considering it has the potential to become the next Harry Potter or Twilight but it still opens in March. Another big March film is Disney's John Carter which will have tons of fanboys and trailer feedback has been favorable but many won't know what the film is all about and the book was written almost a century ago, so popular sci-films like Star Wars and Avatar have borrowed from it but many might think it is a rip-off. James Bond should also open big to about $70 million for his latest adventure Skyfall while The Expendables 2 will probably gross around a $30-40 million opening due to the fact it can't be taken seriously due to laughable additions to cast like Chuck Norris. The Bourne Legacy could open to a $45-50 million weekend due to the fact Matt Damon is gone but it should do well because it is still a Bourne film and it could be 2012's big late summer surprise like Rise of the Planet Apes was this past year. So comment, tell me what you think will be big, tell me OW predictions, critical predictions, domestic and worldwide gross predictions and tell me what you're all looking forward to in 2012!

Summer Movies 2011

Well I had a great summer hanging with friends, family, traveling and going to the movies. Since I have been absent this summer here our my summer movie ratings.

Fast Five - 3 out of 4 stars
Prom - 1.5 out of 4 stars
Something Borrowed - 1 out of 4 stars
Thor - 3 out of 4 stars
Bridesmaids - 3.5 out of 4 stars
Priest - 1 out of 4 stars
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 2 out of 4 stars
The Hangover Part II - 2.5 out of 4 stars
Kung Fu Panda 2 - 3.5 out of 4 stars
X-Men: First Class - 4 out of 4 stars
Super 8 - 4 out of 4 stars
Green Lantern - 1 out of 4 stars
Bad Teacher - 2 out of 4 stars
Cars 2 - 2.5 out of 4 stars
Larry Crowne - 1 out of 4 stars
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 2.5 out of 4 stars
Horrible Bosses - 3.5 out of 4 stars
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - 4 out of 4 stars
Winnie the Poh - 3.5 out of 4 stars
Captain America - 3 out of 4 stars
Cowboys ans Aliens - 2.5 out of 4 stars
The Smurfs - 1 out of 4 stars
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - 4 out of 4 atars
Crazy, Stupid, Love - 3.5 out of 4 stars
Final Destination 5 - 2 out of 4 stars
30 Minutes or Less - 2.5 out of 4 stars
Conana the Barbarian - 1 out of 4 stars
Fright Night 3D - 3 out of 4 stars

KianKritic's Oscar Predictions

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Director: The Social Network
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech
Best Actor: The King's Speech
Best Actress: Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: True Grit
Best Film Editing: The Social Network
Best Art Direction: Inception
Best Original Score: The Social Network
Best Sound: Inception
Best Makeup: The Wolfman
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Cinematography: True Grit
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Visual Effects: Inception

Unknown review - 2.5 out of 4 stars

Hey, remember that movie Taken? Well, it wasn't anything special but it was a thrilling action film with beautiful sets in Europe. Unknown is the same thing and gives you all you need in a February action flick - action, Liam Neeson, Europe and a decent story. I liked this film and thought it was a fun ride, and I am happy that I went to this while my sister went to see Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.

Unknown follows Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist in Berlin with his wife Liz for a biotechnology summit. Martin accidently leaves his briefcase at the airport and takes a cab to get it back but his cab crashes into a river and he can't remember anything. When he wakes up, Martin finds his wife is with another man claiming he is Martin Harris and with no ID, the real Martin must find his identity before it is a too late.

The plot of Unknown is decent but it tries to be like Inception or Memento. Instead it ends up being more like Taken combined with Bourne. This does not mean Unknown is a bad film, actually it is much better than I expected. Others reviews for the film have been mixed but mostly positive, and I have to agree it can get a little boring at times but overall, Unknown is a fun, action-packed film that most moviegoers will enjoy.

The acting in this film is not that bad thanks to Liam Neeson and Diane Kreuger giving good performances as Martin and his ally Gina, the cab driver who crashed into the river. January Jones is terrible and unrealistic as Martin's wife Liz. She is good on Mad Men and super sexy but besides that show, she is not a very good actress. This worries me because she is going to play Emma Frost in the upcoming X-Men: First Class, which looks pretty good, so I hope Jones keeps it sexy and doesn't ruin this film.

The film's ending is sort of obvious due to an action scene that happens in the middle, which kind of gives it away. However, this doesn't bother me because Unknown provides enough to give you a good action flick that works and doesn't try to overstuff it with other genres (I am looking at you Green Hornet). If it is a weekend with no great films, go to Unknown, because it is not Oscar worthy or a cult classic, it is an good action flick that will make you leave the theater pleased, thinking finally a real action film that is good.

Friday the 13th - 1 out of 4 stars

When you think of horror slasher pics, you think of Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street. The latter has bad films but the first one is a classic and the third film is good too. In general, Elm Street films are mixed bags but Friday the 13th films are bags - of shit. I was having a good time with my friend Davide playing Red Dead Redemption but my sister had to go to sleep so we turneed on cable channel EPIX and found out it was a horror Valentine's Day marathon of Friday the 13th. The only good thing that came out of watching this pile of shit is that me and Davide enjoyed making fun of it.

The film opens with a cliche scene of Jason getting killed by a girl and her boyfriend. As they leave peacefully, Jason comes back to life and goes on a killing rampage at some hillbilly dude's house. Jason kills the hillbilly couple while the husband is taking a shit. Oh and did I mention, this was shot in cheap 3D and takes every chance to get something pop out of the screen. The guy is holding a stick right out of the camera and it is supposed to come out in 3D. Since I saw it on television, it was just blocking the view. Then we are introduced to are stupid cast of characters - we have likeable Jewish jokester Shelly Finklestein, a duo of hippy stoners, the handsome country boy Rick, kinky sex-machine couples, the disturbed Chris, a hot girl who Shelly wants and a gang of bikers looking for trouble.

Basically, Jason sees the kids and kills them in gruesome ways for no reason. Chris previously encountered Jason one night after falling asleep in a forest - stupid, ain't it. The only likeable thing about this film is Shelly, who is killed and Jason steals some of his items including his iconic hockey mask. Then we go to the stoners getting high in every way possible including bongs, joints and even eating marijuana. Then the sex-machines fuck like crazy on a hammock before every one is butchered. Shelly's eye-candy goes looking for him only for Jason to shoot her in the eye. The bikers are killed except for the leader Ali who dies at the end saving Chris from Jason. Chris's boyfriend Rick has his head squeezed like a lemon, causing his eye to pop out in 3D. Then Chris stabs and hangs Jason but he is still alive so she escapes to a lake where a zombie version of Jason's mother attacks her. The police arrive and think she has gone crazy, so they send her to a hospital.

Did I mention, after there was The Final Chapter, the fourth film that was supposed to end the franchise, but didn't. This film was worse, we have a lonely stoner named Teddy who watches silent film porn, two pairs of slutty sisters, Crispin Glover as a teen, a charming romantic, a little boy played by Corey Feldman, his older sister and their mother. A hunter looking for Jason arrives to help but is killed instead as are the stoner, sluts, romantic while the mother's fate is left unknown. From then, we have Jason chasing the siblings around the house and a random shot of a dog jumping out a window. Jason is then killed by the little boy who shaves his head and seems to go crazy at the end. Then there is Jason Goes to Hell, when FBI agents assassinate Jason and the coroner eats his heart and he possesses people. The only good thing about that is that Jason kills a weird midget with a shotgun and Freddy Kreuger makes a cameo. Then there is the franchise reboot, which should just be killed Boobs and Pot. It is 90 minutes of porn-like sex, guys getting stoned, topless water-skiing chicks and bloody death. If you have a brain, I beg that you avoid these films at all cost.

The Green Hornet film review - 2.5 out of 4 stars

In 1936, George W. Trendle created The Green Hornet, a radio series following wealthy newspaper mogul Britt Reid who fights crime as a vigilante known as The Green Hornet, who is thought to be a criminal. Britt is aided by his martial arts trained valet Kato as a sidekick and battles the city's underworld and scum. The series became an instant hit and was one of the world's first superheroes - this was even before Superman or Batman came around. The series inspired a comic book, several serials and a hit TV show that starred Van Williams and introduced Bruce Lee (who was more of the hero) to the world. Many film studios such as Universal and Miramax attempted to start a film franchise off the hero but it never got off the ground - until now.

Out of all the people who could have directed or starred in the film, Sony Pictures chose Seth Rogen, known for his stoner comedies to play the hero and write the film and art house visionary director Michel Gondry to direct. Seth Rogen was bashed for being too fat to play a hero but he lost weight and even though being an unlikely choice to play the hero, Rogen managed to write it into being the type of movie he would usually star in.

In this somewhat parody of superhero films, Britt Reid is an irresponsible son of newspaper mogul James Reid who bashes his son. When James dies, Britt is stuck in charge of The Daily Sentinel and doesn't know what he will do in life. One day, Britt meets his father's mechanic and coffee maker Kato. This version of Kato doesn't live up to Bruce Lee but is badass and one of the best things about this film. Britt and Kato stop a mugging one night and decide to become superheroes who pose as criminals to get close to the bad guys.

Despite being the title character and being labeled the hero in headlines, Kato is the real hero here. This annoyed me because even though Kato did most fighting in the original series, Britt could also kick some ass. In this version, Britt is lazy as hell and only manages to shoot his gas gun twice and punch one dude before getting beaten up. I enjoyed that Britt pokes fun at how he has no skills but is still the hero and Kato does everything but is the sidekick.

Cameron Diaz has a small and disapointing part as Lenore, the secretary who Britt and Kato fight over. Despite being too old to be a hot assistant, Rogen pokes fun at this by actually telling Lenore that she is old. Christoph Waltz is great as the flamboyant and desperate gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky, who vies to be scary and become a supervillain known as Bloodnofsky, which makes his henchmen laugh at him. One of the best things about this film is James Franco's awesome cameo as rival gangster Danny "Crystal" Clear, who calls Chudnofsky a disco grandpa and is killed in return. If they make a sequel, I hope Clear returns because he was one of the best things about the film and it could be possible he survived his death.

Michel Gondry is used to make small-budget films that are unique and visionary and so this film was sort of strange for him to tackle. He uses his retro look at things to give us Kato Vision - a mode where we see the world through the eyes of Kato - which is awesome and I heard is even better in 3D. The Black Beauty would make Batman and Iron Man jealous in seconds and Kato is a better sidekick than War Machine or Robin. Despite getting mixed reviews from critics and audiences, I enjoyed this film and thought it was a blast but I was having mixed bag feelings if this was a superhero film with humor (Iron Man) or a comedy with superhero elements (Kick-Ass or Red). Those films worked because they knew what type of film they were and this film doesn't because it is caught between satire, comedy and gritty brutal violence making it sort of cheesy. However, this is not a good film or a bad film it is just decent and if it is a Saturday afternoon and you and your friends want to have fun, go the movies and watch The Green Hornet in 3-D.

83rd Academy Award thoughts

Finally, the 83rd Academy Award nominations are in and they are - disapointing, considering that 2010 provided us with many films that were great, the Academy seems to love snubbing people don't they.

Christopher Nolan for Best Director - Ok so David Fincher did do a great job on The Social Network but Nolan has always been a great director and always gets snubbed even though everyone else seems to love him (Golden Globes, DGA, PGA, CCA). Maybe in 2012, he will finally win for his third Batman flick.

Mila Kunis for Supporting Actress - Mila Kunis has always been a decent actress but she showed us her dark side in her sensual performance in Black Swan. Maybe her lesbian sex scene was just too much.

Andrew Garfield for Supporting Actor - The new Spider-Man gave us a riveting performance as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin but for some reason, the Academy chose the Winter's Bone guy instead.

Michael Douglas - After recovering from cancer, this guy managed to get several awards for both Solitary Man and his return as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street 2. Maybe it's because he already won as Gekko.

Tron: Legacy - Sure it's not Best Picture worthy, but Tron had one the best original scores in years thanks to Daft Punk and realistic dazzling FX. But it managed to get outed by the sloppy edited and filmed Herafter.

The Town - This film was sure to be a Best Picture nominee but it got snubbed and got one nom for Jeremy Renner's electrifying performance as bank robber Jem Coughlin. Instead it got snubbed by Winter's Bone.

Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter - Wahlberg lead a wonderful ensemble as boxer Mickey Ward but somehow did not get nominated, Academy what the hell is wrong with you guys, I mean seriously!

No Despicable Me or Tangled - C'mon these were both some of 2010's best animated flicks!

I think the Golden Globes would have had better nominations this year if it was without the stupid snubbing of True Grit and including Burlesque and the god-awful The Tourist so I think the most satisfying award show this year was the critic's choice awards. Everyone was nominated in the categories they deserved and some of the year's best films walked off with several wins. Academy you better shape the hell up for next year.

The Top 10 Films of 2010

Now that 2010 is over and 2011 has begun, we look back at the films we saw in 2010 that were truly great. So this is Kian Mirnezam's best films of 2010 as well as some films that were good but not included.

1. Inception - Christopher Nolan's sci-fi drama flick was excellent in every perspective, it had wonderful acting, a riveting score, a grand screenplay and dazzling effects proving Nolan as filmmaker of the decade.

2. Toy Story 3 - In 2010, we returned to a 15 year old franchise which ended up being a heart-warming sequel and an animated masterpiece. Toy Story 3 was great and made us all laugh, cry and smile.

3. The Social Network - David Ficher directs this film based on the founding of Facebook with sheer greatness thanks to a moody electronic score, outstanding performances and Aaron Sorkin's screenplay.

4. Black Swan - Natalie Portman gives the performance of her career in this surprisingly magnificent dark thriller which pushed all the boundaries of films and gave us Darren Aronofsky's best film to date.

5. True Grit - Joel and Ethan Coen decided to remake the 1969 John Wayne western classic and managed to make it even better. True Grit showed us that sometimes remakes are much better than the original.

6. The King's Speech - Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush all give Oscar worthy performances in this British historical drama which touched and inspired people all over the world.

7. 127 Hours - James Franco gives the best performance of his career - period. Danny Boyle directs this adventure drama that is now notorious for the famous amputation scene but is otherwise a great film.

8. The Town - Ben Affleck shows us what he is really made of in this action-packed and thrilling intense crime saga set in his hometown of Boston. The Town is well directed and features an amazing ensemble.

9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Let's face it, Harry Potter movies are always good but this year we got the best Harry's got to offer thanks to a dark storyline, giving us the best Potter movie yet.

10. Scott Pilgrim vs the World - In 2010, there were plenty of good comic book films, but Edgar Wright managed to make his comic book movie into a flashy and cool retro take on old school video games.

Here are some films released in 2010 that proved to be good but managed to not make it onto this list.

Iron Man 2 - This superhero sequel was not as good as the first film but managed to be fun and exciting due to Robert Downey Jr's performance, great effects, humor and easter eggs to the mighty Avengers film.

Easy A - I thought this movie would suck, but I heard it was good and watched and I had to say it was one of the funniest films of this year and managed to be the best high school film since 2004's Mean Girls.

The Other Guys - I like Will Ferrell, but his only real good movies were Anchorman and Elf. We can add his satirical cop comedy The Other Guys to that list thanks to the partnering of Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.

The Fighter - Speaking of Mark Wahlberg, he and director David O. Russell gave us the best sports film of the decade and provided us with extraordinary performances from Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

Shutter Island - It may not be Martin Scorsese's best film, but Shutter Island was a film that kept in you involved and ended up shocking you with what I have to say is one of the most surprising plot twists EVER.

Tron: Legacy - Disney made a bold move putting first time director Joseph Kosinski in charge of a big 3D $200 million sequel to a 30 year old film. Thanks to Jeff Bridges, 3D and Daft Punk - it worked.

Kick-Ass - Another great comic book flick was Kick-Ass, which managed to be a sleeper hit and gain positive reviews, thanks it satirical take on superhero films and Quentin Tarantion style action sequences.

Salt - It's story may have made no sense, but it was a great action flick with Angelina Jolie!

Unstoppable - Another surprise was that this film was actually good thanks to it's intense action scenes.

Despicable Me - Universal managed to make a good animated film that was super cute and funny.

How to Train Your Dragon - This underrated film was magical with it's 3D and touching story.

Tangled - Disney + musical + animation = another great Disney fairytale musical adaptation.