The 2012 Film Review: 'The Watsie Awards'

I know you have all been waiting on the edge of your seats for 'The Watsie Awards' to be announced, but the wait is finally over! Yeah, yeah, I know no one else cares... Anyway, to satisfying my own film geekyness I have compiled seven different awards that have been given to films released this year. Let me know if you agree/disagree with any of my selections. It was very tough, especially picking the film of the year. 2012 has been a good 'un for films.

Film of the Year: 

1. Skyfall: I decided to go with Skyfall because, to be honest, I have never been a massive Bond fan, but I thought this was such a great film. It was a different kind of Bond movie. It was darker, grittier and certainly not as flashy and over-the-top as many Bond films are. The film relied more on the performances of the actors and the story being told than the flashy cars and gizmo's. It is definitely my favourite ever Bond film.

2. The Dark Knight Rises: Christopher Nolan knows how to make a Hollywood blockbuster. It has been an incredibly successful trilogy, finished off with another fantastic piece of cinema. Was it as good as The Dark Knight? In my opinion, no. The Joker was a better villain than Baine and the way Nolan chose to kill Baine off was a little bit of an anti-climax. However, it was still an fantastic film with another cracking performance from the ever-excellent Christian Bale.

 

3. The Amazing Spider-Man: Excellent effects, great on-screen chemistry between Emma Stone and the new (and very impressive) Spiderman Andrew Garfield, as well as an impressive villian in Rhys Ifans (The Lizard) made for an extremely impressive re-take of The Amazing Spiderman story.

Special Mentions For: Pitch Perfect, Perks of aWallflower, Argo, The Hobbit, Anna Karenina, Silver Linings Playbook and The Hunger Games.

Comedy of the Year:

1. 21 Jump Street: It was tough to choose between this and Ted and on another day it may have been the other way round. However 21 Jump Street gets my vote because it surprised me how good it was. We knew Ted would deliver on being funny, but I was not so sure about 21 Jump Street. Any film new film before this that had Jonah Hill in it always made me sceptical. However, he has had a good year and has turned it around in my eyes. He and Channing Tatum made an impressive comedy double-act in this consistently funny film. Some very good lines, Ice Cube as Captain Dickson, a nice cameo from Johnny Depp and the relationship of the two leading men make this a comedy that is  well worth a watch.

2. Ted: Seth MacFarlane needs no introduction. If you like Family Guy and American Dad, you will most definitely like Ted. A different character, but the same humour. Thankfully for us MacFarlane was able to recreate the Family Guy humour and make it work in a full-length feature film. Mark Wahlberg once again proved his worth as a comedy actor playing alongside his loud-mouthed teddy bear companion.

3. The Campaign: I would just like to clarify that this has not got in to the top three because Will Ferrell is in it, although that is clearly a massive plus point. I actually did not expect this to be that good and its early ratings were mixed. However, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great mickey-take out of the American political system by two fine comedy actors in Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis. It plays on all the factors involved in an American election campaign, including the debates and promotional videos as well as discussing the idea of corruption (shock, horror!)

Special Mentions: Seven Psychopaths and Hope Springs.

Worst Film of the Year:

1. Keith Lemon: The Movie: Horrible, just horrible. Cheesy, lazy and just, well, embarrassing. The Keith Lemon humour works well on a game/panel show like Celebrity Juice, as he can bounce off and take the mickey out of the people competing. In a movie spread out over 90 minutes, with a poor storyline and an endless supply of celebrity cameos, it gets very boring, very quickly. One of the worst films I have ever seen.

2. Here Comes The Boom: When I see Kevin James in a film I know it is not going to be my sort of thing. I knew it would be bad, but a 1.5/10 bad? Nope. Lazy, cheap comedy, with an extremely cheesy Rocky rip-off ending.

3. Jack & Jill: This is another, in an ever-growing list, of rubbish Adam Sandler films. Why did Johnny Depp and Al Pacino lower themselves to agree to appear in such a film? When a person plays more than one of the lead characters in a film, you know it is risky. Adam Sandler seems to have this high-pitched voice he puts on in a lot of his films, of which in this one he passes off as 'Jill' the annoying sister. Lazy, lazy stuff.

Special Mentions For: Goon and The Wedding Video.

Best Performance: (Joint Winners)

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook): Best known for his role in the hit-comedy franchise The Hangover, Cooper proved once more his depth as an actor putting in an exceptional performance as Pat Solitano, a Bipolar suffer who has just been released from a mental institute. Portraying mental illness in a sensitive light is always a tricky job, but Cooper does it perfectly, adding humour and honesty to a difficult subject matter. His performance has been rightly recognised with a Golden Globes nomination, as has the outstanding Jennifer Lawrence.

Tommy Lee Jones (Hope Springs): There is not many films where Meryl Streep is out-shone. Tommy Lee Jones was superb as the distant, unapproachable husband in this surprisingly enjoyable mature rom-com. It is very disappointing to see that only Streep has been recognised for her role in this film in the Golden Globes nominations. Jones would have more than deserved a place on that list.

Worst Performance: (Joint Winners)

Henry Winkler (Here Comes The Boom): 'The Fonz' let himself down big style in this film. It was an extremely cringeworthy performance as a High School teacher. It was overplayed and just not funny, at all. I expect better, Henry.

Anyone in Keith Lemon: The Movie: Do I need to explain myself here, really? Kevin Bishop; Oh dear, oh dear...

The 'I actually quite enjoyed that and was not expecting to' Film:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: I went to see this film expecting it to be rubbish. I mean, Lincoln hunting vampires? Come on! However, it strangely worked. It was actually quite historically accurate (bar the vampire bit, of course), with some excellent action scenes that thankfully were not overplayed, making for an entertaining film.

Special Mentions For: Hope Springs and Anna Karenina.

Biggest Let Down:

Taken 2: The original was an 18 certificate and generally well thought of. The sequel was a 12a and, erm, not so much. You could tell the difference. Granted I have not seen the original, but I have heard good things off of people who have. Taken 2 was weak, very weak. Presumably the action sequences that made the first so popular were cut to make it a lesser certificate. This is disappointing. I was left massively underwhelmed by it all. Sorry, Liam.

Special Mentions For: The Woman In Black and Dark Shadows.

Films in 2013 to Look out For:

Les Miserables (11th January)
Django Unchained (18th January)
Lincoln (25th January)
Hitchcock (8th February)
Cloud Atlas (22 February)
The Great Gatsby (17th May)
Man of Steel (14th June)
World War Z (21st June)
This is the End (28th June)
The Lone Ranger (9th August)
The World's End (14th August)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (22nd November)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (13th December)
Anchorman: The Legend Continues (20th December)