Ever since it first aired in 1992, the MTV Movie Awards ceremony has offered Hollywood's finest a venue to celebrate fun cinematic benchmarks -- Best Kiss and Best Fight, for example -- with their young fans, but the show isn't just limited to popular crowd-pleasers. As we here at Rotten Tomatoes have always been about the reviews, we present the MTV Movie Awards Countdown, in which we rank all of the films nominated for this year's honors by Tomatometer.
Project X (2012)
27%
Critics Consensus: Unoriginal, unfunny, and all-around unattractive, Project X mines the depths of the teen movie and found-footage genres for 87 minutes of predictably mean-spirited debauchery.
Synopsis: The Hangover's Todd Phillips produces this top-secret comedy from writers Matt Drake and Michael Bacall, with helming duties handled by commercial...
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21
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011)
24%
Critics Consensus: Slow, joyless, and loaded with unintentionally humorous moments, Breaking Dawn Part 1 may satisfy the Twilight faithful, but it's strictly for fans of the franchise.
Synopsis: In The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson), plus those they love, must deal with the chain of...
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Directed By:
Bill Condon
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20
The Vow (2012)
30%
Critics Consensus: Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams do their best with what they're given, but The Vow is too shallow and familiar to satisfy the discriminating date-night filmgoer.
Synopsis: A newlywed couple recovers from a car accident that puts the wife in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, her husband endeavors to win her heart...
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Directed By:
Michael Sucsy
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19
The Hangover Part II (2011)
34%
Critics Consensus: A crueler, darker, raunchier carbon copy of the first installment, The Hangover Part II lacks the element of surprise -- and most of the joy -- that helped make the original a hit.
Synopsis: In The Hangover Part II, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) travel to exotic Thailand for Stu's...
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Directed By:
Todd Phillips
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18
Horrible Bosses (2011)
70%
Critics Consensus: It's nasty, uneven, and far from original, but thanks to a smartly assembled cast that makes the most of a solid premise, Horrible Bosses works.
Synopsis: For Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day), the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to...
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Directed By:
Seth Gordon
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17
Hanna (2011)
71%
Critics Consensus: Fantastic acting and crisply choreographed action sequences propel this unique, cool take on the revenge thriller.
Synopsis: Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is 16 years old. She is bright, inquisitive, and a devoted daughter. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts...
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Directed By:
Joe Wright
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16
Like Crazy (2011)
73%
Critics Consensus: It has the schmaltzy trappings of my romantic films, but Like Crazy allows its characters to express themselves beyond dialogue, crafting a true, intimate study.
Synopsis: A love story is both a physical and emotional tale, one that can be deeply personal and heartbreaking for an audience to experience. Director Drake...
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Directed By:
Drake Doremus
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15
The Help (2011)
76%
Critics Consensus: Though arguably guilty of glossing over its racial themes, The Help rises on the strength of its cast -- particularly Viola Davis, whose performance is powerful enough to carry the film on its own.
Synopsis: The Help stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Viola Davis as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny-three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi...
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Directed By:
Tate Taylor
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14
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
78%
Critics Consensus: It never lives up to the first part of its title, but Crazy, Stupid, Love's unabashed sweetness -- and its terrifically talented cast -- more than make up for its flaws.
Synopsis: At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream-good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school...
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13
My Week with Marilyn (2011)
84%
Critics Consensus: Michelle Williams shines in My Week with Marilyn, capturing the magnetism and vulnerability of Marilyn Monroe.
Synopsis: In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business,...
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Directed By:
Simon Curtis
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12
Warrior (2011)
83%
Critics Consensus: Warrior relies on many of the clichés that critics of the genre love to mock -- and it transcends them with gripping action, powerful acting, and heart.
Synopsis: Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick...
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Directed By:
Gavin O'Connor
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11
Super 8 (2011)
82%
Critics Consensus: It may evoke memories of classic summer blockbusters a little too eagerly for some, but Super 8 has thrills, visual dazzle, and emotional depth to spare.
Synopsis: In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that...
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Directed By:
J.J. Abrams
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10
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
86%
Critics Consensus: Brutal yet captivating, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is the result of David Fincher working at his lurid best with total role commitment from star Rooney Mara.
Synopsis: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first film in Columbia Pictures' three-picture adaptation of Stieg Larsson's literary blockbuster The...
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Directed By:
David Fincher
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9
21 Jump Street (2012)
85%
Critics Consensus: A smart, affectionate satire of '80s nostalgia and teen movie tropes, 21 Jump Street offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite.
Synopsis: In the action-comedy 21 Jump Street, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are more than ready to leave their adolescent problems behind....
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8
The Descendants (2011)
89%
Critics Consensus: Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace.
Synopsis: From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning Sideways, set in Hawaii, The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for...
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Directed By:
Alexander Payne
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7
The Hunger Games (2012)
85%
Critics Consensus: Thrilling and superbly acted, The Hunger Games captures the dramatic violence, raw emotion, and ambitious scope of its source novel.
Synopsis: Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage...
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Directed By:
Gary Ross
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6
Bridesmaids (2011)
90%
Critics Consensus: A marriage of genuine characters, gross out gags, and pathos, Bridesmaids is a female-driven comedy that refuses to be boxed in as Kristen Wiig emerges as a real star.
Synopsis: This spring, Universal Pictures and producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) invite you to experience Bridesmaids. Kristen Wiig leads...
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Directed By:
Paul Feig
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5
50/50 (2011)
93%
Critics Consensus: A good-hearted film about a difficult topic, 50/50 maneuvers between jokes and drama with surprising finesse.
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and...
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Directed By:
Jonathan Levine
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4
Drive (2011)
93%
Critics Consensus: A hyper-stylized blend of striking imagery and violence, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.
Synopsis: Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by...
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Directed By:
Nicolas Winding Refn
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3
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011)
93%
Critics Consensus: Stylish, fast-paced, and loaded with gripping set pieces, the fourth Mission: Impossible is big-budget popcorn entertainment that really works.
Synopsis: This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan...
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Directed By:
Brad Bird
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2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)
96%
Critics Consensus: Thrilling, powerfully acted, and visually dazzling, Deathly Hallows Part II brings the Harry Potter franchise to a satisfying -- and suitably magical -- conclusion.
Synopsis: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. The much-anticipated motion picture event is...
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Directed By:
David Yates
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