CHERNOBOG'S LAIR.com

Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts

Monday, December 31, 2012

12 BEST MOVIES OF 2012

Well, 2012 has come and gone, and even though the world didn't come to an end we still have to endure four more years of the same old...BUT, at least we saw some great movies! Back in January, I posted my list of The Top 12 Most Anticipated Movies of 2012! Of those 12, 2 were pushed back to 2013 (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, World War Z), and 4 were very disappointing (Underworld: Awakening, Resident Evil: Retribution, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, The Amazing Spider-Man). 2012 was one of the biggest years for movies and especially for comic book movies, with The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall earning more than $1 Billion worldwide! Before we start waiting in long lines and spending our hard earned money on next years blockbusters, let's reflect on 12 of the best movies of 2012!  CHERNOBOG'S BLOG Presents The 12 BEST MOVIES OF 2012!

#12 The Cabin in the Woods - Although technically filmed in 2009 before Chris Hemsworth became The Mighty Thor!, The Cabin in the Woods was released this April. This new take on an old story was one of the most fascinating horror movies in years!

#11 Dredd 3D - While I was originally reluctant to see this reboot of the Judge Dredd movie after 1995's Sylvester Stallone's campy flop. Even with the 3D and overly-used slow-motion effects, this move was surprisingly true to the original British comic character with Karl Urban playing the original bad-ass!

#10 John Carter - Although disappointingly unsuccessful box office wise, Disney's high-budget attempt to bring Edgar Rice Burrough's 100-year old, science-fiction, pulp-epic was phenomenally impressive.

#9 ParaNorman - Of all the Halloween themed computer-animated features this season including Dreamwork's Hotel Transylvania and Disney's Frankenweenie, ParaNorman stands above them all as a superior film. With a compelling premise and sincerely emotionally-driven story, I highly recommend ParaNorman for all audiences whereas the others sadly remain just kids stuff.

#8 Skyfall - Daniel Craig returns for a third time as Agent 007: James Bond, in the 23rd Bond film. Bringing a whole new dimension to a character that for the last 50 years has remained almost entirely without a backstory. With Javier Bardem as one of the most unique and also somewhat tragic Bond villains of all time, Skyfall was one of the most exciting Bond films since Goldeneye!

#7 Lincoln - In this Oscar-worthy depiction of one of the greatest Presidents in U.S. history, Daniel Day-Lewis portrayal of Abraham Lincoln was amazingly impressive and powerful.

#6 The Raven - John Cusack IS Edgar Allan Poe! As a huge Poe fan, I was worried that Cusack would not portray this author of the macabre right. But thankfully, The Raven did not disappoint and hopefully brought some renewed interest with the writer who even after over 200 years after his death still remains a strong force in popular culture.

#5 Prometheus - Director Ridley Scott returns to the universe of the original Alien (1979) film that explors the alien origins of mankind on Earth. While this film has met with much controversy and criticism, I considered Prometheus to be both visually stunning and intellectually fascinating.

#4 Brave - In Disney/Pixar's epic tale of a fiery, red-headed, Scottish princess, Brave brings the beauty and wonder of medieval Scotland to life in this both entertaining and emotional story of family and fate.

#3 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Director Peter Jackson returns to the Middle Earth to tell the original story that started it all: The Hobbit! This long-awaited and incredible new trilogy brings the world of The Lord of the Rings back to the big screen in a whole new way! With Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and a number of retuning cast members from the original trilogy I can't wait for the next two movies to be released!

#2 The Dark Knight Rises - The third and final chapter in director Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy brings Batman up against one of his most dangerous adversaries: Bane! I believe Nolan's trilogy to be a perfect trilogy as it completes the story bringing all three movies together, coming full circle! Although there has been mixed reactions from both fans and moviegoers, as a life-long Batman fan I consider it to be one of the best Batman's ever!
#1 The Avengers - Director Joss Whedon brings the of the most powerful Marvel movie heroes together in what has got to be the greatest and most successful comic book/superhero movies of all time! The collaboration of Marvel Studios and Disney makes for a perfect alliance ensuring it's success and the promise of even more movies franchises (and not to mention the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show) in the future. In the words Marvel Comics co-creator and writer Stan Lee: "'Nuff said!"
What to watch in 2013!: Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), Mama (2013), Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Evil Dead (2013), Iron Man 3 (2013), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Man of Steel (2013), World War Z (2013), Pacific Rim (2013), The Wolverine (2013), Riddick (2013), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Monday, January 23, 2012

2012 YEAR OF THE DRAGON: TOP 12 DRAGONS

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! http://chinesenewyear2012.net/ 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, and to celebrate CHERNOBOG'S BLOG is counting down the Top 12 Dragons! What would the world be without dragons? No other mythological creature has been so prevalent in so many different cultures all over the world than dragons. While this fact has been attributed to the number of dinosaur fossil sites found all over the world, nevertheless the dragon is an important mythological creature and the most important creature in the Chinese zodiac. While I was born (unfortunately) in the year of the Sheep and/or Goat, characteristically being artistic, indecisive, a worrier, pessimistic, and over-sensitive! The Dragon is strong, self-assured, proud, noble, dignified, and intellectual! There have been so many great dragons in both mythology, literature, movies, and even video games. So, for this Year of the Dragon, CHERNOBOG'S BLOG Proudly Presents The Top 12 Dragons: xiang shou! (Enjoy!)
#12 Toothless (a.k.a. The Night Fury), How To Train Yor Dragon (2010)
#11 Bahamut from Final Fantasy VII (1997) video game and Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2007) animated movie
#10 King Ghidorah from the Godzilla movie series
#9 Deathwing from World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (2010) PC MMORPG
#8 Falkor, The Neverending Story (1984)
#7 Haku, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2007)
#6 Maleficent in dragon form in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959)
#5 Draco, Dragonheart (1996)
#4 Taro, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
#3 The Dragon from Beowulf 
#2 The Dragon (a.k.a. Vermithrax Pejorative), Dragonslayer (1981)
#1 Smaug from The Hobbit (1937)

Monday, January 2, 2012

Top 12 Most Anticipated Movies of 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2012 promises to be a BIG year for movies and there is plenty for all of us salivating fanboys, eagerly waiting...so don't hold your breath too long! I hope you are looking forward to many of this movies as much as I am...CHERNOBOG'S BLOG PRESENTS The Top 12 Most Anticipated Movies of 2012: Enjoy!

#12 G.I. Joe: Retaliation - Director Jon M. Chu (Step Up 3D) brings us the sequel to G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009), starring Channing Tatum returning as Duke and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Roadblock. http://youtu.be/bSX2oxLdcWA

#11 Underworld: Awakening - Kate Beckinsale returns as the beautiful yet deadly Selene who battles human forces threatening the extinction of both Vampires and Lycans! http://entertheunderworld.com/

#10 Skyfall - Daniel Craig returns for a third time as Agent 007: James Bond, in this action-packed film directed by Sam Mendes (Jarhead). http://www.facebook.com/JamesBond007

#9 World War Z - An adaptation based on the epic zombie novel by Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide) starring Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane. While not much has been released regarding the story it has met with many production problems and fan controversy.

#8 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - Nicholas Cage reprises his role as the fearsome flaming-skull biker Johnny Blaze who battles Blackout (Johnny Whitworth) and The Devil (CiarĂ¡n Hinds) who tries to take on human form! http://www.thespiritofvengeance.com/

#7 Resident Evil: Retribution - In the 5th film in the Resident Evil series, Milla Jovovich returns as Alice to battle the evil creations of the Umbrella Corp.! http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/

#6 The Raven - John Cusack stars as Edgar Allan Poe in a historical fiction where the author helps to pursue a serial killer who mimics elements of Poe's stories. http://www.theravenmovie.com/

#5 Prometheus - Director Ridley Scott returns to the universe of the original Alien (1979) film with the story of a team of space explorers who discover clues to the origins of mankind on Earth. Starring Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace. http://www.prometheus-movie.com/

#4 The Amazing Spider-Man - Director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) directs this Marvel movie reboot with Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as Peter Parker/Spider-Man! Also featuring Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard! http://www.theamazingspiderman.com/

#3 The Avengers - Director Joss Whedon brings all the of the most powerful Marvel movie heroes together including: Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), along with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansen), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), led by Nick Fury (Samueal L. Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D. to battle Loki (Tom Hiddleston). http://marvel.com/avengers_movie

#2 The Dark Knight Rises - When the terrorist leader Bane (Tom Hardy) causes anarchy in Gotham City, it forces Batman (Christian Bale) to return from hiding to protect the city! Also starring Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake. The Dark Knight Rises is supposed to be the third and final chapter in director Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy! http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/

#1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) returns to the Middle Earth to tell the original Tolkien story that started it all: The Hobbit! Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is recruited by Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a band of dwarfs led by Thorin (Richard Armitage) to reclaim a treasure stolen by the dragon Smaug. Unfortunately fans will have to wait even another year for the end of the story as it has been broken up into two parts, the second There and Back Again to be released in 2013! http://www.thehobbit.com