2012 Movies in Review

I know you've been asking yourself, "When will she post her annual movie year-in-review?" The wait is over.

Honestly, I thought it was a mediocre-at-best year for movies. Nothing really moved me or made my top 10 or even top 25 favorite-movies-ever list. Because of this, rather than tell you which ones I liked or didn't like, I decided to kick it up a notch and present my own award categories. For those of you who must know which films I actually recommend, I've added the urls. Now, without further ado, here are Freakin' Angel's top 15 Memorable Movies from 2012

For eye-candy purposes only

1. Best Ending Unless You Like 'Em Happy:
   "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley)
2. Best Non-Gratuitous Use of Sex:
   "The Sessions" (Helen Hunt)
3. Best (and I use that term loosely) Use of Bods over Brains:
   "Magic Mike" (Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey)
4. Least Enjoyable Kid's Movie:
   The Odd Life of Timothy Green (Jennifer Garner)
5. Greatest Visual Appeal in an Ultimately Underwhelming Movie:
   "The Life of Pi"
6. The Best Use of Awkward Teens:
   The Perks of Being a Wallflower
7. Best-Suited for the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime (a.k.a. You shouldn't have paid to see this):
   "The Lucky One" (Zac Efron)
8. Best Use of Chris Rock in a Polka-Dot Wig:
   "Madagascar 3"
9. The "I'd Watch Justin Timberlake in Anything, but Clint's getting Old and Surly" Movie:
   "Trouble with the Curve" (Justin Timberlake, Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams)
10. The Year's Most Bipolar Film (Is it a drama, comedy, sports flick, or romance?):
    "Silver Linings Play Book" (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence)
    
11. Best Use of Hip Waders:
    "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"
12. Least Accurately Represented by its Commercials:
    "Flight" (Denzel Washington)
13. The Indie Film Most Awkwardly Teetering Between Fantasy & Reality:
    "Ruby Sparks"
14. The "Oh Crap, That Could Be Us Someday" movie:
    "Hope Springs" (Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones)
15. The "Oh Crap, That's Us Now" movie:
    "This is 40" (Paul Ruud and the actress with the annoying voice)

I haven't nagged you about leaving comments recently, but this post cries out for your response. What categories and films would you add to the list?

Next up: Books of the Year!

A Head Trip Down Memory Lane

Tonight I overheard Abby telling a friend the story of how I could have been a Broadway star if it wasn’t for the lack of transportation to and from practices. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. I was really only up for the part of the Good Witch in a community theater production of The Wizard of Oz. But her telling this story this evening is ironic given that I had earlier been thinking of "what could have been."

When I was younger (teens and twenties), I had trouble living in the present. I was always anticipating what was next. At that age there are a lot of "nexts" to look forward to: graduation, first car, boyfriends, college, grad school, career, marriage, house, kids.

When you hit your thirties and forties, however, you've "been there, done that." The "nexts" start to dry up and you find yourself thinking about what could have been. At least that’s what I find myself doing more frequently.

I wonder:

• Could I have been an actress?
• Why didn’t I study abroad or travel before I got married and had children?
• Could I have been a great martial artist if I’d started thirty years ago?
  
• Why didn’t I work at the shore for a summer during college?
• Should I have pursued photography as a career?
• Did I mess up when I didn’t stay at that big NYC ad agency after grad school?
• Have I settled for less than I’m capable of in my work? 
• Would Matthew McConaughey still have me if I came running back to him after turning him away?
  

The good news is that I don’t put myself through this mental and emotional exercise very often because I know I can’t go back and change history. I suppose the only way to make the angst of these head trips worthwhile is to use it to guide the decisions I have left to make and the opportunities that are still mine to pursue.

Wanna take a head trip down memory lane with me? What do you "wonder?" And what "nexts" are still on your list?