While I don’t know if 2012 was a banner year for badasses in cinema, we weren’t left wanting for any, that’s for sure. This year we were able to find stone-cold cool behavior from a wide swath of characters, good guys and bad alike. As for the “demographic breakdown of these characters, we’ve got a teenage girl, a bike messenger, and a stuffed animal. With that, let’s get cracking on a motley A-Team of badasses. Enjoy.

Django

Duh. Of course the guy in the Quentin Tarantino revenge film of 2012 is going to get the nod, though it could almost as easily go to Christoph Waltz for his role as the sublimely sympathetic bounty hunter in Django Unchained.

Django is tough as nails as demonstrated by his time spent in slavery, but he never lost his touch with a gun, which we quickly learn as he picks off the bad guys left right, and center.

Bane

I was reluctant to put Bane on the list because he was designed to be a badass, and I prefer unintentional (or less obvious) badasses in my films, like Danny Devito’s Penguin. That guy was a secret waddling badass.

Nonetheless, Tom Hardy plays the hulking, mysterious heavy in such a fashion that it’s hard not get on board with his general misanthropy and those nifty suspenders and that mask. I want one of those masks that just sprays painkillers into my mouth at all times.

In fact, this entry is probably more suited to be “Bane’s Mask” than Bane himself.

Katniss Everdeen

A girl makes the list, and this isn’t just window dressing. Katniss is hell with a bow and arrow, looks out for her friends, and kills boys twice her size in the Hunger Games. What’s not to like?

But beyond the action, Kat’s act of stepping up for her little sister was her most bold move. It could have backfired, but that would have made for a really, really sad and surprising film. Katniss lives, Primrose her sister lives, and Peeta dies.

Just kidding. Does Peeta die?

Watch the movie and find out. You seriously haven’t seen Hunger Games? GOD.

Ted

You don’t need to be carved from wood or spit hellfire to be a badass. Sometimes, you can just be a guy who knows his place in the world, and derives his pleasures from weed, beer, and scattered hook ups. And if you’re a former child star stuffed animal, then all the better.

Ted is my favorite badass of the list, because where other men would use their fists, he harnesses the power of “not giving a f*ck.” And that’s an element of enlightened badassery that most action stars just don’t have.

Magic Mike

For the ladies. Magic Mike himself may not have been a badass but his depiction resulted in a pretty mindblowing turn of events – people were able to, for the first time in recent memory, witness a male stripper without wanting to punch him in the face.

You can chalk it up to director Steven Soderbergh, you can chalk it up to Channing Tatum, or you can chalk it up to our deep-seated desire to break down and LOVE male strippers, but Magic Mike makes (male) stripping respectable.

Ok, I got carried away. (Male) Stripping isn’t respectable, but he made it tolerable.

And those abs…

Wilee

Bike messengers are more often than not similar to their over-the-top depiction in Portlandia. A jackass “indie” guy who treats the fact that he delivers messages like some sort of calling from God.

Well…Wilee from Premium Rush is no different. The film creates mountains out of molehills, romanticizing a subculture to an extent that would make even the producers of The Fast and the Furious blush.

It’s a silly movie, but it’s one that’s done pretty well, in a realm of imagination that hasn’t existed. And those little moments where Wilee’s journey presents several different outcomes based on his decisions are a lot of fun, but mostly because he crashes, then dusts himself off.

You know…like a badass.

The Iceman – Richard Kulinski

He might not be cartoonishly evil, but a real-life mafia hitman, especially when played by the ubercreepy Michael Shannon, is terrifying in completely different fashion. Shannon’s portrayal of Richard Kulinski, familyman-cum-murderer is icy not just due to the role’s depravity, but the believability resulting from the fact that a) it’s a true story, and b) Michael Shannon is a great actor.

The film hasn’t hit theaters in wide release yet, but it’s made its way through the festival circuit, and who could wait to put this guy on the list for 2013? Not me, apparently.

He would seem a bit out of place in the Hunger Games, though.

Shit. Now I want him to be in the next Hunger Games.

Now that some time has passed and we’ve had a chance to look back, we’d like to pick the fresh scab on 2012 and crown its best and worst moments. Thus, the Screen Junkies Awards!

Today we’re taking a look at the best movie trailers of 2012. These are the previews that either thrilled us, shocked us, made us laugh, or weren’t the trailer for <em>Battleship</em>. The quality of these movies are up for debate, but their trailers are awesome and no one can take that away. Except for us if we decide to subject them to the Honest Trailers treatment.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Sometimes a so-so film yields a great trailer. I’m sorry to say that in this case. I wanted Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to be the best, most over-the-top, kick ass movie experience but the movie itself fell a little bit short. Then again, how can a film possibly live up to a trailer this good? Dude houses that tree!

Man Of Steel

Whether it’s a bird or a plane or a man, it’s safe to say that there’s a lot up in the air with Man Of Steel. We all want it to be great and if this trailer is any indication, it will be. Warner Bros just announced that if Man Of Steel is well-received, they’ll move forward with plans for the oft-delayed Justice League. No pressure, Zack Snyder. Stick to the basics — super-powered guys beating the tar out of each other in ridiculously unexpected and elaborate ways.

Pacific Rim

The morning that the trailer for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim premiered, an audible “F*CK YEAH!!!” could be heard across the land. That was the sound made when thousands viewed gigantic robots using elbow rocket boosters to better punch enormous monsters in the face. Take that, Apocalypse!

Prometheus

It’s an AMAZING trailer. I STILL want to see the movie that it’s advertising.

Iron Man 3

When the trailer for the Shane Black-directed Iron Man 3 premiered, I pointed out that it looks awesome but also suspiciously like Lethal Weapon 2. The sequel seems to center around a wise-cracking hero struggling to protect his loved ones who also has his sweet, oceanfront home destroyed by a foreign enemy before being thrown to the bottom of the ocean. If only they got Joe Pesci in the film. He could replace Coulson.

Ted

Seth MacFarlane‘s transition to the big screen was a humongous success thanks mostly to this red band trailer. We always knew that Family Guy would be funnier with cursing. Awesomely harsh and abrasive New England-style cursing.

Star Trek Into Darkness

This trailer does its job and does it well. That job being to make everyone want to see the movie without revealing too much about the movie. Seriously, though. What the Hell is this movie about?

MacFarlane is prepping A Million Ways To Die In The West, a Wild West comedy in which he will star and direct. Written with his Ted collaborators Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, the Western will find humor in all of the dangers and perils of life in the late 1800s. So, prepare yourself for a prolonged diarrhea scene. Anyone who’s played Oregon Trail knows it’s in there. (THR)

The show’s producer, Craig Zagan, made the announcement earlier today, saying, “We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh.” 

Of course, by “entertaining,” Zagan means “anti-semetic” and by “fresh,” he means abortion jokes. (Deadline)

The network has given a put-pilot with series penalty commitment to a live-action comedy from MacFarlane and the writers behind summer box office hit Ted…

Put-pilot?

Series penalty commitment?!?!?

Ignore the gibberish in the first part of the sentence and just focus on the fact that Seth MacFarlane, Fox, and the Ted writers are all getting together to write a TV show about a couple guys whose fathers move in with them. MacFarlane will executive produce and, let’s face it, probably try to find a way to sing on the show.

This is MacFarlane’s nine millionth collaboration with Fox, including The Winner, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show,  and American Dad. Okay. Fifth. But that’s still a lot. I mean, how many development deals have you struck with Fox?

Probably zero, I bet.

Here, we see Ted getting kicked out of a fancy restaurant for having an eager date getting a little too handsy with him. Good for him. We should all be so lucky.

So what went down? Ask a friend who’s a furry. That’s the best I can do for you. Aside from that, just use your imagination, buy some Axe hair product, and go see Seth MacFarlane movies.

Deal?

For this years TED 2012 conference, Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania pre-programmed the quadrotors to play the iconic song using instruments such as a a keyboard, cymbals, and a giant guitar custom made out of a couch frame. After all, its hard to play a regular guitar while you’re flying through the air. Just as John Denver. Zing!

What, too soon? (EW)

I assume the job description also requires she be sexually harassed by a talking teddy bear. And that’s not a dig toward Wahlberg. (Deadline)

In Ted, written and directed by MacFarlane, a child makes a Christmas wish that his teddy bear come to life. Be careful what you wish for, because 25 years later the talking bear is still hanging around with our now grown-up hero (Wahlberg), only he’s got a smoking habit and a bad attitude. So glad my Roger Rabbit doll didn’t come to life, as I had often hoped. Joel McHale plays Ted’s boss, and Stroup plays a woman who sleeps with said boss. Women characters: gotta love their willingness to sleep with male characters. (Hollywood Reporter)

Warburton will play the role of Guy, a sexually-confused coworker of Wahlberg’s character at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. There’s nothing else you need to know. This is going to be simply terrific.

Both Warburton and Kunis have been players in McFarlane’s”Family Guy,” with Warburton on board since the first episode, while Kunis came in later to replace Lacey Chabert in her portrayal of the ostracized Meg.

Just read it one more time and let the awesomeness wash over you:

“Warburton will play the role of Guy, a sexually-confused coworker of Wahlberg’s character at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.”

“McHale will be Kunis’ sleazy boss who continually hits on her even though she has a boyfriend (Wahlberg).”

Hey, I was right! She is playing “the girl.” Add another tally to the “Called It” board. (via The Playlist)

Since this is MacFarlane, the bear will probably be either British, gay, or both, and make a lot of rape jokes. You know, there was a time when in Hollywood you couldn’t get a cast like this to associate with rape jokes. Progress has its good points, I guess. (via Coming Soon)

Seth MacFarlane is keeping it in the animated family. He’s signed “Family Guy” daughter Mila Kunis to join Max Payne co-star Mark Wahlberg in Ted. Additionally, “Party Down” star and super-shopper Adam Scott is in talks to join the raunchy comedy. Kunis will play Wahlberg’s long-suffering girlfriend and Scott will play her boss who comes between the two.

The film, of course, revolves around a man and his childhood teddy bear that happens to be alive. Over the years, the bear has grown to be “a cursing, smoking, delinquent (voiced by MacFarlane) that is preventing the man from maturing.” No word yet on which of his four voices MacFarlane will use. (THR)

_{Sweet ink, boys.}

Mark Wahlberg is in talks to star alongside a life-sized teddy bear in Seth MacFarlane’s directorial debut, Ted. The R-rated comedy, also written by MacFarlane and "Family Guy" buds Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, follows a normal Boston grown up guy who’s still best friends with his childhood teddy bear that he wished would come to life, and it did. The bear however is a big slacker pain in the ass now and keeps Wahlberg’s character from committing to adulthood.

MacFarlane will provide the voice of the bear, which will be created through the magic of computers. I’m sure Dan Aykroyd would be more than happy to offer advice on voicing a CG bear. He’s got that skill down pat. I also can’t end this post without acknowledging that Ted has the exact same premise as Drop Dead Fred. If you’ve never seen that movie, do yourself a favor and go out and SMASH A COPY. (Deadline)

Seth MacFarlane has augmented his sure-fire formula for TV success in order to apply it to the big screen. But only slightly. MacFarlane is working out a deal to direct Ted, an R-rated comedy about a man who must choose between his girlfriend and his best friend — a talking teddy bear. "Family Guy" co-star Mila Kunis is being considered for the role of the girlfriend.

MacFarlane will also loan his satin-y smooth voice to the CG-animated bear. I’m thinking it’s somewhere along the lines of Snuggle, if Snuggle cursed and humped legs. Somewhere in Hollywood, Verne Troyer is cursing the advent of computer animation. (Deadline)