12. The Counselor
And here's yet another movie I'm not quite sure what to make of. On paper, this film is the cinematic equivalent of the 85' Chicago Bears. An original screenplay written by none other than Cormac McCarthy (author of such books as The Road and Best Picture-winning source material, No Country for Old Men), with an ensemble that includes Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, and Penelope Cruz, you may be asking what this is doing all the way down at number 12. Now here's the catch, and this is a big question mark when it comes to the film's awards potential, the movie is directed by Ridley Scott. I understand some of you are probably saying, "So what? That's a good thing," and I get why you might say that, because Scott has done some great work in the past that even includes a former Best Picture winner in 2000's Gladiator. I ask you though to look at his recent filmography. Prometheus, Robin Hood, Body of Lies, American Gangster, A Good Year, Kingdom of Heaven. Now some of these are decent films and some of them looked like real Oscar contenders on paper, but with the exception of a few minor nominations here and there, none of these films turned out to be real awards players. For the moment then I am going to borrow a phrase from Brad Pitt's home state of Missouri and say, "Show Me."