The Notscars 2012

While 2012 got off to a pretty rocky start movie-wise, the end of the year was quite good, which made it difficult to really come up with a whole list of the worst of 2012. Also, this year, I've done a much better job of picking movies to watch that I know I will enjoy. So, unlike last year, I'm not going to list everything out categorically. Instead, I'm going to give out some random awards to various actors, actresses, and movies. These awards are meant to be funny, so please laugh, if only to make me feel accomplished!

The Stupid Avenger
Chris Hemsworth - The Avengers

Worst Steve Carell Movie EVER
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Forgot How to Act
Anna Kendrick - Pitch Perfect/What to Expect When You're Expecting














Worst Five Performances in One Movie
Tom Hanks - Cloud Atlas

Finally Picked a Bad Role
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Lincoln

Waste of Funny
Jason Sudeikis - The Campaign

Sings WAY Worse Than Russell Crowe
Paul Giamatti - Rock of Ages

Twilight Was Ten Times Better Than You
Snow White and the Huntsman

Worst Sideburns/Beard Ever
Wes Bentley - The Hunger Games

Worst Performance of the Year
Cobie Smulders - The Avengers

Worst Film of the Year
What to Expect When You're Expecting

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Expectations:
Honestly, I thought this movie was going to be one of the funniest of the summer. There are a ton of hilarious jokes and happenings that can revolve around pregnancy, and we all know it. As I said with The Avengers, it was obvious that there were going to be many, many major characters, which is a huge risk to take with any movie. While all of these characters had potential, I was truly looking forward to seeing the dads group (led by Chris Rock). The previews, obviously meant to suck men into an otherwise female-led comedy, were quite funny when the dads group was present. What to Expect was a great idea with a lot of potential, but there was also a lot of potential for FAILURE...

Plot:
Let's just call it "lacking," for lack of a better negative adjective. There was absolutely NOOOO flow to the film at all, which really led to a bunch of confusing, emotional moments that made me want to kill myself. One second we would be laughing and carrying on, then, suddenly, it was like the saddest movie you could ever watch. On top of the confusion, there was really very little to tie the various storylines together. Usually movies with many stars will bring those stars together in some way, but that wasn't the case with this film. Everybody did have some connection; however, the connection was usually completely pointless and small. There just wasn't any clear plot, which usually means that the whole movie just sucks.

Characters:
This is the segment of this review where I have to be very careful. While I have hated a fair amount on the movie so far, I do believe that there were some very funny and great characters in this film. If you would have taken any one or two of the thousands of pregnancy stories that made up this film and made a separate movie with only those stories, the movie would have been much funnier and successful. You just couldn't really enjoy the time given to one couple, because you knew that the time would soon run out. However, I don't have much criticism for the actors in this film (except for Cameron Diaz, who I just can't stand in general). The dads group was hilarious. The relationship between Ramsey (Dennis Quaid) and Gary (Ben Falcone) made for many laughs and an emotional moment. Elizabeth Banks was rather funny just by herself. The problem lied in the fact that there was just too much going on.

Best Character: Craig, played by Thomas Lennon, was undoubtedly my favorite character. It may be because the character was great, but it very well could be because I think that Thomas Lennon is one of the funniest men on the planet. Also, a shoutout to Rebel Wilson for being so dern funny/ugly!

Worst Character: Move on over Cameron Diaz! She should be ashamed that she wasn't the worst. I have to, unfortunately, give the worst honor to Anna Kendrick's Rosie, who was just bad. Normally Kendrick is one of my favorite actresses, but she just didn't have it for this one.

Conclusion:
It's fairly simple: DON'T GO!!! I can see where some girls might enjoy the sappy sad parts of the film, but, other than that, there isn't much to it. If I were you and I really wanted to see the movie, I would rent it at the Redbox and fast forward to the dads' club scenes. Those really are the only memorably good scenes of the film. Particularly when Chris Rock's kid is getting kicked in the head with a ball or something. This was just one of those star-studded films with no storyline, and I must admit that I get excited when said films struggle at the box office like this movie did. Stars don't deserve to be paid billions for acting for a day and a half just so their name can be thrown in the hat. Movies like these hold back the future of Hollywood, and that disappoints me. I give What to Expect When You're Expecting 2.01 out of 5 stars.

50/50

Expectations:
From the first time I saw the preview for 50/50, I knew that I would love it. I love funny movies with a serious storyline, and that's what I expected from 50/50. Seth Rogen is rather hilarious and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a very good actor and, in the preview, it looked as if they would compliment each other quite well. There is no doubt that cancer is a sensitive subject for many, so I was very interested in seeing how they would balance the funny and serious moments throughout the film.

Plot:
50/50 had a weird vibe about it in the beginning. I didn't quite feel the emotion of the serious moments until about half way through, but, looking back, I can see how that really mirrored the emotions of Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). There were some very very funny parts, but I felt like the movie was more serious than funny overall. There was a little bit of a relationship story going on with Adam, and I felt like the approach to that was very good as well. To know that this was based on the real life story of one of Seth Rogen's friends really made me get more attached to the characters. It really was very real, and I felt like this could seriously happen to me, which had me really anticipating knowing the end of the story.

Best Scene: I don't want to give anything away, but there were two scenes that almost made me cry. One is when Adam is about to have surgery, and one is when he is driving Kyle's (Seth Rogen) car. I won't say anything else, but be on the lookout for these scenes, if you go watch the film.

Characters:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a phenomenal job playing Adam, but, regardless of the actor, the character was really easy for me to connect with, being a guy in his 20s. Unfortunately, I kind of thought that Kyle and Adam were not exactly the ideal friends for this kind of movie. Adam seemed completely alone for the most part, when I expected Kyle to kind of be the guy that supported him throughout. This relationship matured toward the end of the movie, but it still wasn't what I expected. Nevertheless, Seth Rogen was hilarious as usual. Anna Kendrick was a good addition to the film, and I think they gave her just enough screen time. Adam's mom, played by Angelica Houston, was really a great character that helped you get even more attached to Adam and his problems.

Best Character: Alan and Mitch, played by Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer, really were a phenomenal, unexpected addition to the cast. They were older men who went through their chemo with Adam, and the friendship among the three of them was really neat to watch.

Worst Character: Rachael, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, was really the only bad part of the entire film. The character was necessary and really made for an interesting story, but I don't think Howard did a good job at all. It was very awkward when she was on screen.

Conclusion:
This was a GREAT movie. I have only cried during two movies ever in my life, but this one had me as close to tears as you can get. There is no way that a young person could watch 50/50 and not be affected by the story. The cast was brilliant, there were some hilarious parts, and the story was real. I don't know what else you could ask for in a film. I could not imagine going through what this guy did, and I really hope that I never have to. I keep trying to imagine myself in his place, and I just can't make myself. If you want to appreciate life more, go watch this movie! I give 50/50 4.2 out of 5 stars and warn you to grab some tissues.