In one of the five prior articles in the Film Quest 12 series, I told you what I’m doing. I established why the movies on my list aren’t necessarily all “guy movies”, so if you wonder what you’re reading, go check it out (the link earlier in this run-on sentence).
Let’s get down to business with some Gambling, Traveling Cancer Heroes at 11
31. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sometimes I enjoy Woody Allen movies, and sometimes I don’t, but this was one of his better films. Scarlett Johansson was hot, as usual, and Rebecca Hall continues to give great performances and is charming as ever. Javier Bardem takes a role that could’ve been creepy and makes it seem plausible. The plot is interesting enough that viewers of both genders should be able to appreciate it – potentially the guys more than the women.
32. Two For The Money
I’m not typically a guy who watches Matthew McConaughey movies – in fact, I haven’t seen any of his top four films according to imdB – but this one interested me. Gambling, based on a real guy, the involvement of Al Pacino. Clearly I wasn’t interested enough to watch it in the first six years after its release, but it was an above average movie and I’m glad I saw it. Certainly not an excellent flick, but it had its moments.
33. Broadcast News
Decent, but hardly a classic. It had maybe two memorable scenes in it, and none of the performances were great, apart from some of Joan Cusak’s work – which wasn’t in a very significant role. Watch it sometime if you haven’t seen it, but if your Netflix queue is longer than 20, it shouldn’t be in your top 10 anytime soon.
34. 50/50
In addition to being a non-depressing movie about cancer that actually had a few laughs (though maybe not enough to consider it a comedy), this was yet another good performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Unlike a lot of my readers, I’m not usually such a fan of Seth Rogen, but he actually added something to this film instead of detracting from it like he usually does. As usual, Anna Kendrick does a quality job, and Anjelica Houston plays her role perfectly.
35. Avengers
Was there any doubt that this movie was going to be good, given the quality of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the second Iron Man? This was definitely an epic flick, and they were successful in merging all of those storylines together AND they kicked ass bringing in a third actor over the course of a decade to portray The Hulk.
36. Margin Call
The previews for this one made it look amazing, though based on the lack of publicity it got, I had lessened expectations. Definitely worked out. The storyline is above average, and although there was quite a bit of should-be-confusing financial speak at times, they did a good job of making it easy to understand for those of us who haven’t ever invested in the stock market nor taken an economics class. Worth a watch, though you shouldn’t rush to see it.
Potential Nominees:
Best Picture Nominee – Avengers
Best Actress Nominee – Rebecca Hall (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
Best Supporting Actress Nominee – Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)
Best Supporting Actress Nominee – Anna Kendrick (50/50)
Best Supporting Actor Nominee – Mark Ruffalo (Avengers)
