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)

8 thoughts on “The Patricia Awards: Movies”

  1. I was also surprised by Rush. Completely captured me. Hunger Games: agreed! Crazy, Stupid, Love was so good. I might need to go watch it NOW!

  2. I also started the year with Silver Linings Playbook. And for a long time after that, nothing else satisfied me. However, both Thor 2 & Catching Fire were worlds better than I'd anticipated and that made me happy.

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