Papillon (1973):

Starring:

Steve McQueen - Henri "Papillon" Charriere

Dustin Hoffman - Louis Dega

Victor Jory - Indian Chief

Don Gordon - Julot

Anthony Zerbe - Toussaint

Robert Deman - Maturette

Woodrow Parfrey - Clusiot

Bill Mumy - Lariot

William Smithers - Warden Barrot

Val Avery - Pascal

Gregory Sierra - Antonio

Vic Tayback - Sergeant

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner (Planet Of The Apes; Patton; Lionheart)

Synopsis:

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

Review:

Well if there is one thing Steve McQueen taught us, it's that he can escape anything.... except his own personal demons... and Mexican surgery. But in his movie's he could just about get himself out of anything. Sadly this is the only Steve McQueen movie I have ever seen & it's one later into his career, however it is still recognized as one of his better films. Co-starring a young-ish Dustin Hoffman, fresh off the success of The Graduate & Midnight Cowboy, he delivers a very interesting & weird character. A very gritty depiction of third world French occupied work camps & prisons. Great outdoor sets & natural scenery. A whole lot of Steve McQueen alone in a room. I will say even for a 1972 film so pretty dumb looking blood & death scenes. Especially for a bigger budget movie.

Budget: $12,000,000
Box Office: $53,267,000
Profit: $41,267,000

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Flixster: 87%

91%

Lead Acting: 15/15
Supporting Cast: 14/15
Plot: 9/10
Compared To The Genre: 8/10
Cinematography: 18/20
Intrigue: 18/20
Extra: 9/10    

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962):

Starring:

Peter O'Toole - T.E. Lawrence

Sir Alec Guinness - Prince Feisal

Anthony Quinn - Auda Abu Tayi

Jack Hawkins - General Allenby

Omar Sharif - Sherif Ali

Jose Ferrer - Turkish Bey

Anthony Quayle - Colonel Brighton

Claude Rains - Mr. Dryden

Arthur Kennedy - Jackson Bentley

Donald Wolfit - General Murray

Director:

David Jean (Bridge On The River Kwai; A Passage To India)

Synopsis:

Sweeping epic about the real life adventures of T.E. Lawrence, a British major who unified Arab tribes and led them in the fight for independence from the Ottoman Turks in the 1920s.

Review:

Yes that's right I committed to the entire film in one sitting. Back in the days when their apparently weren't enough actual Arab actors so they just had British old men wearing fake noses. So before watching this movie I knew little to none about the story of T.E. Lawrence. I knew he was a British general who went to the middle east. Apparently it was much more than that. Not at all surprised that this film won 7 Academy Awards but also wasn't surprised to learn that the only thing I knew about it was Family Guy mocking it being shown in original extra wide screen. Because every single wide shot in this movie is shot from 300 feet away & pans across vast amounts of desert back drop. Maybe in 1962 when not as many people had travelled the world & information, video & photos weren't as easily accessible as they are today it was fine to have a 5 minute panorama of the vast Turkish deserts, but in today's modern world, with our attention spans only measurable in minutes... No wonder this movie's run time is 227 minutes. The acting of course is what you would expect from Peter O'Toole, Sir Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn & Omar Sharif. The only thing holding down this film slightly was it's incredible length, which I was able to surpass by fast forwarding all of the scenery shots.

Budget: $15,000,000

Box Office: $70,000,000

Profit: $55,000,000

Rotten Tomatoes: 98%

Flixster: 91%

 94%

Lead Acting: 15/15

Supporting Cast: 15/15

Plot: 10/10

Compared To The Genre: 10/10

Cinematography: 18/20

Intrigue: 17/20

Extra: 9/10 

Les Miserables (2012):

Starring:

Hugh Jackman - Jean Valjean

Russell Crowe - Javert

Anne Hathaway - Fantine

Amanda Seyfried - Cosette

Sacha Baron Cohen - Thénardier

Helena Bonham Carter - Madame Thénardier

Eddie Redmayne - Marius

Aaron Tveit - Enjolras

Samantha Banks - Éponine

Daniel Huttlestone - Gavroche

Colm Wilkinson - Bishop

Director:

Tom Hooper (The King's Speech; The Damned United)

Synopsis:

The motion-picture adaptation of the beloved global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the globe and still breaking box-office records everywhere in its 27th year. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France,the film tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption - a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Ex-prisoner Jean Valjean is hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.  

Review:

This is the only musical that I actually enjoy. It's a movie that has a very specific demographic. If your not a fan of musicals that last 3 hours, then I guarantee you that you shouldn't go see this movie. HOWEVER, if that's what you're looking for in a movie, then this is perfect. I honestly absolutely love the story behind the singing. Nothing greater than a villain who is relentless & unwavering from his pursuit of the man who escaped him many years before. I can do without some of the love stories involved but I understand that it is a major part of the musical. This version of the film however did something that I personally found quite irritating, which was sure there are set songs throughout but in this version they sang everything. Every little line to get you from here to there was sang. Four words that lead to this scene here, all sang. Very odd, very distracting, very annoying. If you can get past that you run into the fact that only certain members of the cast can actually sing. Jack Hughman, sorry Hugh Jackman, wonderfully talented, probably my favourite actor currently, can really sing his ass off. Russell Crowe on the other hand was terrible, which was disappointing because Javert has my favourite song which he was average at. Anne Hathaway, one take, balling her eyes out, just stunning. Then you have the added comedic relief of Borat & Mrs. Tim Burton. Had some very good laughs from both of them which was a nice break from the sadness. Would not at all be surprised if this one pulls out the Best Picture at the Academy Awards, right out from under Argo & Lincoln's noses.

Budget: $61,000,000

Box Office (To Date): $284,825,000

Profit (To Date): $223,825,000

Rotten Tomatoes: 70%

Flixster: 83%

95%

Lead Acting: 15/15

Supporting Cast: 15/15

Plot: 9/10

Compared To The Genre: 10/10

Cinematography: 20/20

Intrigue: 18/20

Extra: 8/10

The Last Stand (2013):

 Starring:

Arnold Schwarzenegger -  Ray Owens

Forest Whitaker - Agent John Bannister

Luis Guzman - Mike Figuerola

Johnny Knoxville - Lewis Dinkum

Peter Stormare - Burrell

Eduardo Noriega - Gabriel Cortez

Genesis Rodriguez - Agent Ellen Richards

Rodrigo Santoro - Frank Martinez

Zach Gilford - Jerry Bailey

Christiana Leucas - Christie

Jaimie Alexander - Sarah Torrance

Director:

Jee-woon Kim (The Good, The Bad, The Weird)

Synopsis:

After leaving his LAPD narcotics post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with remorse and regret, Sheriff Ray Owens moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction. But that peaceful existence is shattered when Gabriel Cortez, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy. With the help of a fierce band of lawless mercenaries, Cortez begins racing towards the US-Mexico border with a hostage in tow... straight through Summerton Junction. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately rallies his team and takes the matter into his own hands, setting the stage for a classic showdown.

Review:

Everything that you would expect from an Arnold Schwazenegger filmed in 2012 when he is 67 years old. It has everyone of the things that you would expect from a classic Arnold movie. Fist fights, gun shooting, car chases, explosions, cheesy dialogue & OF COURSE!!!!! One liners. I think my favourite part of this was watching an old man beat the shit of a guy, have some funny dialogue the struggle to get back to his feet. Not because the script called for it but because he seriously couldn't get back to his feet any easier than he did. Tons of blood all over the place, awesome shootout scenes & tons of stunts made it easily watchable. Not to mention all of the comedic relief from Johnny Knoxville & Luis Guzman. However to have Johnny Knoxville as the #2 billed person & on the poster for the movie was a little absurd considering his role is very minor & he's only in about half of the film. Forest Whitaker kind of mailed it in, but I'm assuming that when they asked him to be in an Arnold movie he knew what he was getting himself into. Of the three female actors in the film, I found two of them to be just god awful actresses. Genesis Rodrigues was fine & is such a babe. The other two were pretty horrid. Special appearance by Harry Dean Stanton as the old man farmer. Seriously had no idea he was even still alive, but he did as fine as job as any. Overall it was a great watch, had me laughing, kept me interested. Now to wait for the new Stallone vehicle & see how that one turns out.

Budget: $30,000,000 - $45,000,000

Box Office (To Date): $11,150,676

Rotten Tomatoes: 59%

Flixster: 70%

70%

Lead Acting: 7/15

Supporting Cast: 6/15

Plot: 7/10

Compared To The Genre: 6/10

Cinematography: 14/20

Intrigue: 20/20

Extra: 10/10 

Zero Dark Thirty (2012):

Starring:

Jessica Chastain - Maya

Jason Clarke - Dan

Joel Edgerton - Patrick

Mark Strong - George

Jennifer Ehle - Jessica

Kyle Chandler - Joseph Bradley

Chris Pratt - Justin

Taylor Kinney - Jared

Edgar Ramirez - Larry

Mark Duplass - Steve

Frank Grillo - Red Squadron Commanding Officer

Harold Perrineau - Jack

James Gandolfini - CIA Director Leon Panetta 

Scott Adkins - John

Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Synopsis:

For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. This is the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man.

Review:

So the next installment in the Kathryn Bigelow war saga, I guess if you can call it that. So pretty much take all of the intensity, the drama, the suspense, explosions of The Hurt Locker, condense them into the last 20 minutes of this movie, then fill the first two plus hours in with tons of boring CIA mumbo jumbo jargin, boring conference room talk, phone calls & the slightest amounts of torture porn. I was someone who wasn't totally on board with The Hurt Locker winning best picture, but now after seeing this boring garbage, I will gladly accept THL's Academy Award as long as this one doesn't win. Let's face it, the only reason that this movie got such high praise & attention is: America. Killing Osama. that's the only reason. I cannot believe that Jessica Chastain got an Oscar nod for this movie, I didn't think that her role was any better than any of the other films she has done that she didn't get nominated for. There was in fact one point in the film that actually made me quite furious. So this is I'm going to say loosely based on true facts, because Hollywood always fudges up the truth. Anyways so as the Seals team moves in to kill Osama, they face the slightly amount of resistance from the people living within the same compound as Osama is hiding out in. So as they move in they begin to shoot at the Seals, who obviously have to kill them to get in safely. After they off Osama, they call for a body bag from one of the soldiers outside. He is their liaison officer to the arab world as he is an Arab American. Anyways as he comes in with the body bag for Osama, he stops & looks into a room where there is a dead man & woman who were fighting against the Seals. So he stops, looks in at them & the music gets all dramatic & sad as he looks down at their dead bodies. Oh you can fuck right off. You do not try & make us the audience feel sympathy for people who were aiding & abiding a mass murderer & enemy of the state. The man was a lunatic & now because a woman who was protecting him gets killed all of a sudden we are suppose to feel sorry for her? Kathryn Bigelow, you do shit work. Movie was horribly boring. The only thing this movie taught me was: Bert Macklin, F.B.I. = Killed Osama.

Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office (To Date): $63,028,596

Profit (To Date): $23,028,596

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Flixster: 85%

25%

Lead Acting: 6/15

Supporting Cast: 6/15

Plot: 7/10

Compared To The Genre: 0/10

Cinematography: 4/20

Intrigue: 2/20

Extra: 0/10  

Mama (2013):

Starring:

Jessica Chastain - Annabel

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Lucas / Jeffrey

Megan Charpentier - Victoria

Isabelle Nelisse - Lilly

Daniel Kash - Dr. Dreyfuss

Jane Moffat - Jean Podolski / Mama

Director:

Andres Muschietti (First Feature Film)

Synopsis:

Mama is a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night. 

Review:

The latest Guillermo Del Toro joint (although he doesn't call them that). As a huge horror fan, I always need to go into horror films with lowered expectations because it is a genre that is easily predictable & also easily horribly made. Sometimes a movie can have an incredible premise or concept but have just the worst execution. Well luckily I went into this movie with slightly higher expectations & came out with my hopes still intact & a sense of fulfillment. The story was perfectly written, with as little use of modern cliches as possible. The build up of suspense was exactly what this movie needed to not completely ruin it. The two little girls did wonderful jobs doing what I've always thought must be hard for child actors to do. How do you get them to act in something horrific & scary without ruining them for the rest of their lives. Was a very odd choice for Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain to take on this type of role, especially after taking on The Help, The Debt & Zero Dark Thirty. But like Christopher Plummer has always said, garbage pays the bills (granted this wasn't garbage by any means). Huge fan of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau even though I'm never a big fan of movies where someone portrays twins. Had high levels of intensity, threw in quite a large bit of scares & a pretty awesome ending. Loved everything about it.

Budget: $15,000,000

Box Office (To Date): $34.735,000

Profit (To Date): $19,735,000

Rotten Tomatoes: 62%

Flixster: 69%

95%

Lead Acting: 13/15

Supporting Cast: 11/15

Plot: 10/10

Compared To The Genre: 10/10

Cinematography: 19/20

Intrigue: 20/20

Extra: 10/10

Texas Chainsaw (Not Massacre) 3D (2013):

Starring:

Alexandra Daddario - Heather Miller

Dan Yeager - Leatherface

Tremaine "Trey Songz" Neverson - Ryan

Scott Eastwood - Carl

Tania Raymonde - Nikki

Shaun Sipos - Darryl

Keram Malick-Sanchez - Kenny

James MacDonald - Officer Marvin

Thom Barry - Sherrif Hooper

Paul Rae - Burt Hartman

Richard Riehle - Farnsworth

Bill Moseley - Drayton Sawyer

Gunnar Hansen - Boss Sawyer / Leatherface (Archive Footage)

Director:

John Luessenhop (Takers)

Synospsis:

A young woman travels to Texas to collect an inheritance; little does she know that an encounter with a chainsaw-wielding killer is part of the reward. 

Review:

So this re-vamp or continuation of the Texas Chainsaw franchise is supposed to be a sequel to the 1974 original. The story continues right at the end of the original with the Sawyer family held up inside their home as the sheriff arrives at the home & is demanding the family give up Jed (Leatherface). So as this goes one, things get all messed up, some redneck towns folks come & shoot up the house & burn it to the ground killing the whole family. The only survivor is a young baby that is the child of one of the Sawyers. So she ends up being taken by some of the locals & raised as their own. Fast forward to when she is a late teen/early 20 year old & she is told she has inherited her grandmother's property. Eventually she figures out that she was the child from the family & that she is a Sawyer. Anyways Heather, her boyfriend Ryan, best friend Nikki & her boyfriend Kenny decide to go down to the property. Eventually you discover that her grandmother was taking care of Leatherface for all these years, something that they obviously find out as Leatherface kills all of Heather's friends. So nothing special right? Everything that you would expect from a horror film that maybe you had seen all of the previous installments. We'll I personally had two MAJOR issues with this film. Number one, is the fact that this film is suppose to take place immediately after the original in 1974, where the baby (Heather) is a baby, so if she is now in her late teens/early twenties we're looking at the 1990's right? NOPE! 2012. So they essentially just said oh fucking about the dates. BECAUSE if it was the 1990's how could they incorporate iPhones into the movie... Yeah that's right there is a fucking scene where an officer is investigating the Sawyer mansion while holding up an iPhone so the sheriff & mayor can see what is inside. I wish so hard that they could have just done it in the 90's, because they so badly need to incorporate technology into everything fucking thing. Number two, and this is going to be a spoiler, but do you really care this movie was garbage. So after Leatherface has killed all of Heather's friends, he then realizes that she is his cousin, so now he must protect her. So they mayor & his son kidnap her, take her to the old meat processing plant where Leatherface use to work & use her as bait to lure him in. He comes, fighting ensues & Leatherface & Heather escape back to the house, where Heather is now in charge of looking after her cousin. OK fine, however the fact is, she has never met her real family, she knows that they were murderers, cannibals & all that jazz. Leatherface has just brutally murdered her friends & boyfriend but now she is 100% OK with living with & taking care of her murderous cousin. FUCK THAT!. Even the excellent amount of gore & carnage cannot save this bullshit story full of dumb plot & story holes.

Budget: $20,000,000

Box Office (To Date): $37,152,195

Profit (To Date): $17,152,195

Rotten Tomatoes: 18%

Flixster: 49%

25%

Lead Acting: 4/15

Supporting Cast: 2/15

Plot: 0/10

Compared To The Genre: 0/10

Cinematography: 14/20

Intrigue: 5/20

Extra: 0/10

I want to send out a special thank you to everyone of you that have clicked on the link when I have posted it on Facebook or Twitter & to anyone who might have randomly stumbled upon this blog somehow. It's been a somewhat inconsistent year for me. Started out very steady with updated almost weekly but as the year slowly progressed & my list of watched movies became uncontrollably longer it did become harder to keep up to date on what I had watched. I have received some feed back over the year that I hopefully will take into the next year. I have also begun a journey into the world of podcasting which I would also like to thank anyone who has listened to any of them. ISUXDIX ♥'s Cinema & Cinema Macabre. Now for a special treat for everyone who has now just sat through this post here is.....            
                  DREW'S TOP 12 OF 2012!!!!:

#12:

ARGO

 

A great combination of intensity & comedic chemistry mixed with a true life story that seems almost too funny to be real. I love Ben-a-flicks.

#11:

The Amazing Spider-Man

A reboot that actually NEEDED to be made unlike so many before it. I absolutely loved Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, I thought he made a super hero, which by nature is comic booky, seem much than just a kid who gains super powers, but an actual human being. Not the best Spider-Man villain but the ending was very well done. I look forward to this version of the franchise continuing.

#10:

Lincoln

I'm a sucker for civil war era films, even if most of them are made by hardcore purists who have to include every tiny conversation about every tiny little detail of the story no matter how unimportant it is to the actual progression of the films plot. Daniel Day-Lewis however is unbelievable in the role of Abe Lincoln. I wanted to make the joke of "This was the 2nd best Lincoln bio pic I saw this year" but Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was awful. Some hilarious dialogue courtesy of Tommy Lee Jones & Fat James Spader.

#9:

Seeking A Friend For The End

Of The World

A very emotional ride that you might not expect from a Steve Carell joint, but does have some very funny moments mixed in with the realization of impending doom that the two new friends face at the end. This has now become my favourite Rom-Com, replacing "Zoo".

#8:

The Hunter

Now technically this movie was made at the end of 2011, but since it was filmed in Tasmania, released in Australia & then eventually released in North America, so by the time we got it here it was mid 2012. Now this film might not be for the conventional movie fan, or someone with a short attention span, who becomes bored easily or isn't interested in cryptozoology, but if those things do apply to you then this movie is for you. A man is hired by a genetics corporation to travel to Tasmania & track down any remaining DNA of the thought to be extinct Tasmanian Tiger. Once he arrives he is met with disdain & distrust from the locals, rival competitors & the family of a missing man with whom he learns to trust. This movie has the most uncomfortable bathtub scene & also a very depressing ending but it is still incredibly we'll done for a low budget Australian film.

#7:

Goon

I haven't laughed this hard since I was a little girl. Well Hollywood sure does known how to cater to an entire country just by producing the 3rd hilarious hockey movie in 35 years (Slap Shot 1979 & Mystery, Alaska 1999). Even if you don't like sports movies, or hockey or anything about this movie, it was still a hilarious movie full of nothing but silly slap stick & some great one liners. Seann William Scott is back to being funny & not just annoying.

#6:

Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson's 2012 contribution to the world of cinema. Just like all of his past features this one had it's stationary back drop sets, camera pans, interesting costumes & wacky characters. Bill Murray at his finest, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand all on the top of their games. It is also Wes' social commentary on the legal age of consent. to drop it from 16 (or 18 where ever it applies) down to like 11.

#5:

Brave

The first of two Disney movies released this year (the other being Wreck-It Ralph) this one is a major throw back to the old days of Disney with a powerful female princess, animated human like animals, wacky characters & a great movie about being who you are & being an individual & not being who you are suppose to be. A great message for children & young girls. Some pretty great comedy as well involving the mom & brothers turning into bears.

#4:

Skyfall

The newest installment of the Bond movie franchise became the #1 all time grossing movie of Sony Pictures studios. I know a lot of people shit all over this one because it wasn't as true to the Bond formula as previous films but I loved the fact that they really went into the back story of this specific Bond, made him seem like more of a human being than just a trained killing, sex machine. A somewhat rare acting role from Albert Finney who hasn't done very much in the last few years. Javier Bardem was great in yet another villainous role in his fine acting career.

#3:

Looper

Futuristic assassins hunting down the most dangerous prey, their future selves. Who would have thought that Tommy from Third Rock From The Sun would eventually become one of the biggest actors in the entire world. My money was on French Stewart. Awesome story, great action, BEST ENDING!!!

#2:

Chronicle

So awesomely dark, was not at all interested in seeing it when I first saw the previews because I wasn't quite sure what I was going to be seeing, also because of how sick & tired I am of the goddamn Hollywood love obsession with found footage films. However once I convinced myself to attempt to look past it, it ended up being one of the best movies I had seen all year. The story was very unique, the main characters were perfectly written with just the right amount of realistic qualities to make them like able.

#1

The Cabin In The Woods!

The only film that I saw more than once (3 times) in theaters this year. Now this movie might not even be in most people's Top 50 of this year because a lot of people aren't exactly into the whole horror movie scene, but it is so much more than that. It's not what you think it is. Bunch of kids go to a Cabin in the Woods, get drunk, wanna bang then they get all sliced up..... OK we'll maybe it's almost exactly what you think it is.... But again IT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT!

Honourable Mentions:

The Grey: Liam Neeson Vs Wolves

Wreck-It Ralph: Too kiddish for me, also didn't like the stupid poop humour between Ralph & Sarah Silverman's character.

21 Jump Street : Would have been higher but when I see this many movies in one year, it is kid of hard to put all of them in the Top 12. Was still really funny.

The Avengers: I had already seen Iron Man 1 & 2, Captain America, Thor so I had already seen this movie for the most part. Was much better the second time I had watched it.

Prometheus: Only because I am so in love with the world of Alien, that anything to do with it is up there for me. Even when the movie has the most uncomfortable scene of my life.