Each year we at Pajiba — like most sites of our ilk — feature a Best Films of
the Year list. It's obligatory, and to be honest, it validates all of our
movie-watching. But the thing about a Best Of list is that it doesn't often best
reflect the movies that will eventually occupy space on our DVD bookshelf or our
Storage Clouds. Lincoln was amazing, and some people believe that The Master is,
as well, and one or both may make it on to our Best Films of 2012 list, but
neither is a movie most of us will ever watch again. There's a substantial
difference between the BEST movies and those that we'd prefer to spend our
Friday nights with, wrapped up in a blanket, in our jammies, rocking a Big Carl
wine glass.
To be sure, there's probably some crossover, but we wanted to create a list
of movies that, while not necessarily the best in terms of acting, directing, or
writing, were nevertheless the movies we'd be more likely to revisit, or to
recommend to friends. They are our comfort movies. That is to say, when you're
scanning through our archives later this year to look for great movies to watch
over the weekend, maybe skip the Best Of Movies that will make you feel better
about yourself and check out these 5
movies, which will just make you feel
better.
5. 21 Jump Street — 21 Jump Street isn't really a remake of anything. It's
not an adaptation, it's barely even an homage to the classic television series
of the late '80s. If anything, it's a tongue-in-cheek parody of it, like a
100-minute Funny Or Die video that stumbled drunkenly into your multiplex.
There's none of the seriousness, the welling teen angst and tastefully gritty
drama that made the series so popular. Instead it's a goofy, profane, and
decidedly not profound send up of not just "21 Jump Street," but of cop movies
in general. Hill and Tatum have a surprisingly sweet chemistry together, and
their well-meaning ignoramuses are actually quite enjoyable. In fact, what I was
most stunned by was our man Charming Potato himself — he's funny in this. I
don't mean point-and-laugh funny; I mean he's got some genuine comedic timing
and he plays off Hill with a mischievous sense of silliness that took me aback.
It may well be that this is the niche Tatum belongs in — that of a cute, sweet,
but dumb-as-a-sack-of-gravel guy without pretense or, well, any real depth.
4. Safety Not Guaranteed — Safety Not Guaranteed isn't what you'd expect it
to be. It's a bittersweet comedy that flirts with time travel, but it's not
straight science-fiction or rom-com. It resolutely refuses to tie up a couple of
its plot lines, yet the story is still satisfying and full. Most rewardingly,
it's a dramatic comedy built on relationships that feel earned, nuanced,
occasionally uncomfortable, and completely relatable. Director Colin Trevorrow,
in his first feature, mines a series of relationships for small-scale humor and
poignancy, and the script from Derek Connolly (also his first feature) has some
wonderful moments that reflect the awkwardness of young adulthood and the way we
all eventually have to reckon with the choices that we make. The film is light
and often breezy, but it's anything but insubstantial.
3. Pitch Perfect — Pitch Perfect will draw inevitable comparisons to "Glee,"
and while some of the more enjoyable mash-ups and a particularly delightful "riff-off" may evoke the show's first, least problematic season, the better
comparison would be to the you-don't-have-to-like-cheerleading-to-like-this
classic, Bring It On. So let me promise you. Even if you don't like pop music or
a cappella or sunshine, you can still have fun at Pitch Perfect. If, however,
you do like those things, then the back to back to back musical numbers will
delight you. This movie is packed to the gills with music and each number is
somehow unencumbered by the cheese that smothered and killed "Glee." Director
Jason Moore deserves much of that
credit as does the sharp script from "30 Rock" writer Kay Cannon. The film is
also peppered throughout with fun cameos including co-producer Elizabeth Banks
and John Michael Higgins as a cappella color commenters and an older babershop
quartet played by Joe Lo Truglio, Har Mar Superstar, Jason Jones, Donald Faison.
That's right folks, there's some moderate Turk dancing.
2. The Avengers — The Avengers is fun. It's genuinely enjoyable, engaging and
frequently wickedly funny. Whedon's stamp is all over it — sarcasm reigns,
giggle-worthy peanut gallery commentary, and a couple of scenes which bordered
on outright hysterical are spread generously throughout, to lighten up the gloom and
doom of this pending apocalyptic invasion. It's got all the highs of
a Whedon project, but feels tighter and more focused, even in the wake of its
inherent absurdity, than many of his previous endeavors. It's helped by the fact
that each actor nails their roles, coming together to create a real sense of
camaraderie. Even Johansson succeeds in showing more than pursed lips and
cleavage, and gets her equal share of quips. More importantly, Whedon has
clearly grown since his "Buffy" days, something we learned with "Firefly" and
Serenity, but something that's on full display here. The humor is mature,
fitting with the complexity of the interwoven characters, and one-liners are
few, but when they're spoken, they don't feel artificial.
1. The Cabin in the Woods — The first rule of The Cabin in the Woods is you
don't talk about The Cabin in the Woods. Cabin in the Woods is a movie that you
don't want to know much about, and I don't want to tell you much about it.
Before the screening, co-writer/producer Joss Whedon told the crowd, "Enjoy it
and then keep it to yourself." The first part was easy, because this is a fun
movie, probably the most fun I've had in the theater since Drag Me to Hell. The
second part, that's much trickier, because I have to tell you something more
than "you'll dig it, trust me."
