For Your Consideration screenplay minireviews

It's that season where the film industry gives awards to the film industry and at least a million people think they're clever and edgy by pointing out the cliqueness of it all! There are a bunch of screenplays available for anyone to download this year over here, and I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts on what I've read.

• Pitch Perfect: So formulaic it hurts, along with some "lol asians" thrown in for fun. The idea of blowing up the a capella world and treating it as Serious Business for comedy is actually a pretty good idea, but it's just...obvious most of the time. It's like Bring It On with singing and stereotypes, except not now that I think about it because Bring It On's rivals were actually fun and sympathetic and interesting. I've heard the actual film manages to be fun enough to ignore the formula, which is pretty impressive.
• Ted: I have to admit that I really didn't think much of Ted when it came out, and while I do like Family Guy I have a lot of problems with Seth MacFarlane. That being said, overall Ted is really pleasantly surprising; sure, it's another 'funny doofy stoner with mediocre job and stoner friend(s) has to grow up to get girlfriend back' story, but with a pretty fun spin on it. It's not as formulaic as it appears, and has the MacFarlane humor but with characters that aren't all sociopaths. Well, except for one or two. But that's okay.
• Something that is not okay though: MacFarlane really needs to let go of the ASIAN SPEAKY LIKE THIS COOK LIVE DUCK HAVE NAME SOUND FUNNY bullshit. Just stop.
• Django Unchained: God I love how Tarantino writes. The original screenplay is overstuffed and isn't quite the bloody awesomeness that is the final film, but it's got that charm, language, and panache that makes him so fucking great.
• Looper: Damn. I've always heard great things about Rian Johnson, but this is the only thing that I've actually read, and it's really impressive. He really knows how to create a world without explaining every single little thing or mechanic so he can focus on actually telling a compelling story. I mean, who didn't love when Old Joe tells Young Joe that he's not fucking explaining how time travel works because there are more important things going on?

Next to come: Savages (I've read the first few pages and I'm already turned off; wargasms? Really?), The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Flight (only because I need to find out how the hell it has been nominated for anything because oh my god this is why the film did not work).