The Patricia Awards: Movies

It was a good movie year and I have many awards to present.  To read all the original Three Sentence Reviews use the search box.

In chronological order of viewing:

Best way to begin the New Year:

Silver Linings Playbook

Movie that spawned an 1800-word blog post:

The Notebook

Movie that should have ended 30 minutes before it did:

and

Movie with horrible ageist casting (the opposite way) that even resulted in an Oscar Nomination because Hollywood is stupid about women:

Lincoln

Joaquin Phoenix and I are linked, though he was icky in this role:

The Master

Good review of a fine teen classic:

10 Things I Hate About You

Delightful somewhat-documentary for romantics:

Paper Heart

It turns out that Ryan Gosling with face tattoos cancels out the hamster effect:

The Place Beyond the Pines

Solid movie that I would recommend nearly across the board:

Safety Not Guaranteed

Incredibly hot movie of longing that ends just past where you think it will:

Take this Waltz

Yep.  These guys are still assholes:

On the Road

Surprisingly good "map" movie with bike messengers and the always delightful Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

Premium Rush

Kind of hot December/May romance, but also a bit weird:

P.S.

All-consuming TV series that I just caught up with:

Friday Night Lights

Hideously annoying, stupid movie that I hated which also happened to have a top-five best kiss.

Drive

I was pressing seams.  Any movie will do.  Really:

Tower Heist

They killed off  my guy 10 minutes in. There ought to be a warning:

GI Joe Retaliation

Tim Riggins as space explorer in a very bad film:

John Carter

A gift that only comes around every nine years, but that I hope will appear again in 2022

Before Midnight

Best documentary of the year (and by a woman!):

Stories We Tell

Action adventure that I didn't anticipate enjoying as much as I did:

White House Down

Best capture of mid-20s floundering and possibly my favorite movie of the year:

Frances Ha

Best Shakespeare movie adaptation I've ever seen:

Much Ado About Nothing

A bite of pure sugar delight and a stupid movie that I loved:

Fast & Furious 6

Best movie directed by someone I went to high school with:

and

Great depiction of female sexuality:

The To Do List

Mediocre movie that was saved by Sam Rockwell:

and

Best use of a Bonnie Tyler song this year:

The Way Way Back

Movie you might want to watch if you haven't gotten around to it:

Bernie

Fabulous acting, great teen romance, fabulous teen life passages, and then the ending stinks it all up:

The Spectacular Now

Pure delight and you must see it now:

and

Movie that had not one, but TWO plot points hinge on the game of Monopoly:

Kings of Summer

Movie I am frustrated that no one told me about for years:

and

Best movie to make a point about tennis shoe wearing that was heard:

and

Best movie to use Dirty Dancing as a plot point:

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Movie with much too much porn imagery:

Don Jon

Boy-humor plot that had me gasping for air through my laughter:

This is the End

Best movie to make the point of how lovely it is that oxygen is free and plentiful:

Gravity

Much, much better than I thought it would be:

and

Most excellent final, final scene that few people saw because they left the theater:

Thor: The Dark World

The most hideous entry in the Channing Tatum Personal Film Festival:

Havoc

Still good after all these years:

Goodfellas

Watched just to see one of the stars and the plot caught me:

Rush

Even more wonderful film than one would guess, and with the ability to slay audiences by a simple turn of plot:

Philomina

Man, it just got that much better:

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Best movie to use trampolines in a dance sequence:

Step-Up 2

Best movie to feature Amy Adams' clavicle:

American Hustle

Worst movie about dumb criminals:

Pain and Gain

Best capture of middle age romance:

Enough Said

The "Yep. It turns out I like it too." award:

Platoon

Inadvertent Paul Giamatti double feature:

Saving Mr. Banks 

(driver Ralph)

and

Rock of Ages 

(smarmy manager Paul)