Top Ten: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This year for the Hollmann Awards, we're counting down my Top Ten of the Year -- one entry per day, coupled with two categories -- leading up the naming of Best Picture of the Year.

#6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

dir: Stephen Chbosky

wr: Stephen Chbosky, from his novel

cin: Andrew Dunn  

The surprise of the year for me was The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I didn't think much of the trailer, which had some good music looked like it was selling every high school movie I could think of ("we accept the love we think we deserve"? who says that?!). But I went to see it because my best friend recommended it and because I see everything. And I swear to you those tears started coming when titular wallflower Charlie got off that wall and joined in a dance to "Come On, Eileen". This movie got me, and we were only fifteen minutes in. Maybe less, I don't know.

Top Ten: Skyfall

This year for the Hollmann Awards, we're counting down my Top Ten of the Year -- one entry per day, coupled with two categories -- leading up the naming of Best Picture of the Year.

#9. Skyfall

dir: Sam Mendes

wr: John Logan/Neal Purvis/Robert Wade, from characters created by Ian Fleming

cin: Roger Deakins

I love James Bond. It's a love affair that's entering its 10th Anniversary, and for their part, EON gave me one of the best films of the year, 007-based or otherwise.  

Another Guilds Group, Another Show...

Yet another guild has announced, and it's a favorite of mine: THE WRITERS GUILD! The Writers Guild is fun because every year they have a list of potential Oscar frontrunners that are deemed ineligible for their own prize, mostly something to do with registration or lack of guild membership or yada-yada-yada. For instance, Quentin Tarantino, one of the most distinct voices in screenwriting ever, has never been up for a WGA award because he refuses to join the guilds. That's a heads up, by the way: you won't find Django Unchained here, but don't expect that to impact its Oscar chances.
Because of this rule, though, we get to see work that otherwise wouldn't be so honored up for a nomination! And while no one wants to get in due to a technicality (ex.: no one wants to be crowned Mt. Rose American Teen Princess because of an exploding swan), they get to put "award-nominated screenwriter" on their resume. You know that's gotta feel good.

So Long, 2012: The Best of the Year

Here is the beginning of my post.

Since 2008, I have posted the rankings of my favorite films of the year on the last day of the year. At first, it was just a Top Ten, but since 2009, I have compiled a Top 25. Why? Because I usually love more movies than I dislike; I have no real genre bias, nor do I differentiate between love for a wacky comedy, an Oscar contender, or Speed Racer. It's about what carries me off, lifts me off my seat and into the world of the film itself, forgetting for those two hours (or, increasingly, two and a half hours) that I am Walter Hollmann, blogger/movie theater employee. It's about what films remind me of why my best friend and I call ourselves Cinemaniacs.

Last year, I saw 82 films, and the result was a Top Ten that looked like this:

1. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

2. Drive

3. Super 8

4. Midnight in Paris

5. Young Adult

6. Contagion

7. The Ides of March

8. We Need to Talk About Kevin

9. Beginners

10. Anonymous

This year, I have seen a whopping 103 films, my best ever!

(more after the jump)