8. Magic Mike
Magic Mike might be the biggest surprise of the year. Despite Steven Soderbergh being at the helm, I figured that this film would be in the bargain bin at Walmart before the years end. A funny thing happened on the way to the discount stores. Magic Mike received some good reviews and people sheepishly admitted to liking it in a real way, not in a it's so bad its good kind of way. Then right before our eyes, it rang up over $100 million, garnered award season buzz and certified Channing Tatum as a star. As a matter of fact, Tatum had three $100 million plus movies year (21 Jump Street, The Vow). It almost isnt fair that this film worked while Striptease and Showgirls did not, but its like that sometimes. I love that Soderbergh did this film. It let him not take himself too seriously, while cranking out a formulaic, yet quality, flick.
7. Cloud Atlas/Rock of Ages
Who cares? I mean, did anyone really care about either Cloud Atlas, or Rock of Ages? Im not saying they were not good, or that they were the worse flops of the year; but in some ways being a total flop may have made these pics more significant. I lumped these two films together because they both signify the same thing, the end of the traditional movie star. Movie stars are more valuable to tabloids and blogs than they are to studios nowadays. Both of these films relied a little too heavily on their A-list talent to sell tickets and failed to connect with audiences. Both projects had great source material that seemed to get lost in the the hype about the stars; especially in the case of Rock of Ages. Sure, Les Misérables is filled with stars, but the marketing focused on the story and the production. I am very aware that Rock of Ages isnt Les Miserables, but it is a solid work that got hijacked by talk of how pretty Ryan Seacrests girlfriend is and Tom Cruises wig. Cloud Atlas' handlers on the other hand, just seemed to think that wed go see a film because it was artsy and starred serious actors. Its a new day.