This week, we have a very unique situation. The column features not only my favorite film of 2012 (which also happens to be the frontrunner for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this weekend), but also a movie coming to Blu-Ray/DVD that was presumably so bad that I actually avoided it. Fans of the site know that I almost go out of my way to make sure that bad movies get their just desserts at The Awards Circuit just like good ones, so for me to tap out os seeing something really means a lot. I want to focus on the quality that’s hitting shelves today though, so lets focus our energy there. It’s obviously not going to be a secret what my top pick is, but I’m still thrilled to write more about it. No use delaying it…my PICK OF THE WEEK is the best film I saw last year. You all know what it is, so lets not beat around the bush. It’s:

Argo

Ben Affleck’s third directorial effort is not just his best yet, but it’s the best thing that came out in 2012 if you ask me. This thriller about an until recently classified CIA mission during the Iranian Hostage Crisis that married hollywood and the magic of the movies with a life and death situation is poised to win Best Picture folks. I raved about it last fall, and you can read my four star review right here, but I just adore this flick. It’s lost some of its respect due to the fact that it’s going to wind up winning the Best Picture Oscar, but this is a movie that deserves Academy Awards. Now that it’s out and available to own, I really can’t recommend this one enough!

-The runner up this week for me is the horror flick Sinister. We split at The Awards Circuit on this one (though there was agreement on the quality of the sound), but I was more fond of it than most. My review can be found here, and if my girlfriend’s response to this film is any indication, some people will be downright terrified. I was unsettled and entertained, so that more than merits a recommendation in my book.

-Also out today we have the somewhat disappointing mumblecore film For Ellen, the Oscar winning documentary Undefeated, the Oscar nominated costume drama Anna Karenina, the kids movie Fun Size, the direct to DVD John Cusack vehicle The Factory, and the sequel Atlas Shrugged: Part II. This is a real mixed bag, as none of them are must owns to me, but I know some of you will want to peep out the doc, and I’ll admit to being curious about the long delayed Cusack flick, but as long as no one bothers with the sequel to Ayn Rand’s book that serves these days mostly as Tea Party spank material, I’ll be more than happy…

-My Vintage pick, in honor of this week’s release of both Red Flag and Rubberneck (which is being presented in some places as a special double feature due to both being made by Alex Karpovsky), is the last double feature that I saw in theaters. It’s Grindhouse, and since that’s finally been made available on home video, I couldn’t resist. Not everyone loves this Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino project, but I ate it up with a spoon, especially the fake trailers (Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving was absolute genius to me). It was an amazingly fun experience in theaters, and while it’s not quite as cool at home, this is the perfect item to show off at a film-centric party. If you’ve never seen it, why not give it a chance now? Seems like a perfect time to me.

-What will you be watching on Blu-Ray/DVD this week? Discuss in the comments!

About Joey Magidson

When he’s not obsessing over new Oscar predictions on a weekly basis, Joey is seeing between 200 and 300 movies a year. He views the best in order to properly analyze the awards race/season each year, but he also watches the worst for reasons he mostly sums up as "so you all don't have to". In his spare time, you can usually find him complaining about the Jets or the Mets. Still, he lives and dies by film. Joey's a voting member of the Internet Film Critics Association as well. Today the IFCA, tomorrow the world!

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