2012 Mid-Year Theatrical Review

Standing at the midpoint of the year and looking back, it truly has been an interesting year thus far at the cinema.  Coming into 2012, there was a lot of anticipation for the diverse slate of movies, but outside of a handful of flicks – most have underwhelmed and under performed.  With that in mind, here is my mid-year ranking of the top 20 (out of 22) theatrical releases that I have seen this year:

The “I DEMAND A REFUND” Category.

20. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING - D+

The “YOU COULD’VE CAST ADAM SANDLER AS THE LEAD AND THE MOVIE WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER” Category

19. JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME - C-

18. THE WOMAN IN BLACK - C+

17. CONTRABAND - C+

The “YOU COULD’VE CAST NICOLAS CAGE AS A LEAD AND THE QUALITY WOULD HAVE REMAINED THE SAME” Category

16. JOHN CARTER (OF MARS) - C+

15. THAT'S MY BOY - C+

The “CARMAGEDDON CATEGORY” for movies that are hyped up but fail to deliver.

14. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS - C+

13. AMERICAN REUNION - B-

12. CHRONICLE- B-

11. PROMETHEUS - B-

The “MY GIRLFRIEND STRONGLY HINTED THAT SHE WANTED TO SEE THIS MOVIE” Category

10. THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT- B

9.  THE HUNGER GAMES - B

8.  THIS MEANS WAR - B

The “OLD GUYS STILL KNOW HOW TO KICK BUTT” Category

7.  SAFE HOUSE- B

6.  THE GREY - B+

The “FAIRLY DECENT MOVIES THAT ARE ONLY RANKED THIS HIGH BECAUSE IT’S BEEN A WEAK YEAR THUS FAR” Category

5.  THE DICTATOR- B+

4.  MEN IN BLACK III - B+

The “BEST MOVIES NOT NAMED ‘THE AVENGERS’” Category

3.  TED- A-

2.  21 JUMP STREET- A

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE…

1.  THE AVENGERS - A

And as for a few standout performances:

Best Male Performance – Robert Downey Jr. (The Avengers)
Best Female Performance – Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)

Best Comedic Performance – Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street)

Best Villain – Giovanni Ribisi (Ted)

Best Supporting Male – Michael Fassbender (Prometheus)
Best Supporting Female – Mila Kunis (Ted)

Best Overall Cast – Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers)

Worst Movie Ever – Project X

As for the rest of 2012, the outlook is still bright as there are a number of promising titles on the horizon – most notably The Amazing Spider-Man, Total Recall, Bourne Legacy, The Great Gatsby, Skyfall, Taken 2, and of course, The Dark Knight Rises.  Here’s hoping that the next six months produce more hits than misses.