2010 in Film
I was feeling a bit pretentious and thought maybe someone would care what I thought of the movies of 2010. This is a repost from my Facebook, but no one here has me, so...
This year was an overall great year in movies. There was a Scorsese film, a Nolan film, and Aronofsky film, and a Coen Brothers film. A few disappointments/wasted money experiences, but all in all, I felt a really solid year. I am annoyed that despite my willingness to spend money on films, I get so few locally. Even a 2-hour drive won't offer much more in movies. The order below is in the order of release. Spoilers ahead!
Shutter Island - Great movie from start to finish. My biggest gripe was Scorsese stuck so close to the core material, as he usually does, that his great skills were basically invisible. Leo did a great job as the troubled lead, but I did prefer his role in Inception because it had a bit more depth (and proved he is an amazing actor by tackling a very similar role with a whole different approach). Mark Ruffalo deserves more lead time, and as the new Hulk in The Avengers, he should get it. Rating: 4.5/5
Alice in Wonderland - I don't like Tim Burton, but this was a great experience overall. Alice's actress was a bit limited, but her interactions with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were interesting. Isn't much more to say, then it was pretty cool, and Burton's art-style really helped make the movie aesthetically pleasing. Rating: 3.5/5
Repo Men - So, I forgot why I went see this, but I think I had a headache and the other option was a 3D movie. Not really much to say, but Jude Law can play that funny guy pretty well, and RZA is always awesome. I think the entire ending battle was an homage to Oldboy, but the movie decided to take the easy way out and retcon itself with a dream ending. Yes, I spoiled it because this movie is a waste of time. The plot is all right I guess, but it doesn't really do anything other than make a huge attack on capitalism and privatized health care. Rating: 2/5
Clash of the Titans - Saw this on DVD with Riff Trax. As Kevin Murphy said "There is not a whole lot of clashing in this movie." It's a very boring affair that tries to be epic in its battles, and it comes off rather lazy and boring. A lot happens, but nothing really matters. I hate Sam Worthington and his lack of ability to act. He pretty much just got this role (and any subsequent roles) from his coasting through Avatar. I guess in theaters as a popcorn flick this movie would really work because it does have a good closed story, but overall, I like movies with substance. Rating: 4.5/5 with Rifftrax (1/5 without)
A Nightmare on Elm Street - Being a fan of the movies since childhood, I wasn't too sure going in if this would disappoint me or be worthwhile. It did exactly what it set out to do, and it did it pretty well. All in all, I'd consider it a good reboot, but I don't like the prospect of their being more in fear of them doing a Rob Zombie treatment. Rating: 3/5
Iron Man 2 - Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man 2, and I was pretty pleased with a great deal of the movie. First off, I ****ing LOVE Sam Rockwell and I really enjoy Mickey Roake. Both are amazing on screen, and do their craft well. Unfortunately, the story was less for building up Iron Man, and more for setting up The Avengers. The payoff better be worth it, because this movie was way too scattered after the first one, and did that movie a disservice. Rating: 3/5
Killers - Dragged to this film, kicking and screaming, and I was justified. Katherine Hiegl is a terrible actress, whose schtick is all about being a hot awkward girl. Only she could make Punk'd's Ashton Kutcher look suave. The movie was stupid, predicable, and boring. Rating: .5/5
Toy Story 3 - I grew up way too fast as a kid, so cartoons/animated movies, no matter the content really don't do it for me. Toy Story 3 is one of few exceptions. The movie works as the perfect closer to the trilogy (TS4 is already rumored though...), and it was a great emotional explication of the act of growing up. Rating: 4/5
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Another rifftrax viewing. The commentary was as hilarious as the atrocious acting and writing. I really can't get how people can buy into the Twilight mythos despite all the obvious holes that I can see despite only watching the movies with people talking over it. None of the actors in the movie are remotely competent (with Harpo [the quiet vampire, who was in Last Airbender... I have no clue what his name is other than that] actually going back and forth between the most ridiculous Southern accent ever). They also murder a child (off-screen but heavily implied). And they also imply a gang ****. A gang ****. Rating: 0/5 without Rifftrax (4.5/5 with Rifftrax; Possibly the funniest one in their catalogue).
The Last Airbender - Sigh... This movie was so stupid that I felt insulted it existed. They would explain really cool things without showing it, the acting was all over the place, and the story was incomplete. It's clear they meant for a series, but thanks to M. Night being a terrible director, there will be no more. Rating 2.5/5 with Rifftrax... yeah, even they couldn't make me not regret watching this movie.
Despicable Me - As said before, I don't really like animated films, but this one was great too. Steve Carrell can always add a life to any delivery, and he did a great job with Gru. It wasn't trying to do anything more than entertain while giving a cursory message, but it did that well. Rating: 4/5
Inception - When I first saw the trailers, I was interested in this film. When I found out what it was about, I became hooked. I love dreams and study of dreams, and Leo, just coming off of another Scorsese movie, was the perfect choice. As stated before, while Cobb and Teddy Daniels from the aforementioned Shutter Island are similar, Leo expertly plays them completely different with subtle nuances. This may be Nolan's best movie to date, and the story manages to be complex without being confusing. The ending will be talked about for years. Rating: 5/5
The Social Network - I enjoyed this movie overall, especially Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, but the movie didn't leave as lasting of an impression as other films have. All the actors were great in their roles, the story was well-paced, but there wasn't much for me to take away from it. Rating: 4.5/5
******* 3D - Well, you know what you are getting when you go see this movie. The best part about it was the clearly sober Steve-O still trying to perform acts of stupidity to prove he can still do it. I think without the drugs, his looks of fear are even more entertaining. The ending credits were great for an exclamation point on this franchise where people just put themselves through Hell for our amusement. The 3D effects were stupendous, and the stunts were always great. Rating: 4/5
Paranormal Activity 2 - **** you, Hollywood. So, Paranormal Activity was a great movie to me because it broke the standard horror movie formula, of gore-porn movies like Saw, which were hailed as innovative and fresh, despite ignoring character development for the sake of getting a reaction. PA killed that by being a slow boiling movie with a climax scare, similar to Japanese Horror movies. PA2 killed that completely by repeating every single scare from the first movie (doors opening and closing happened once, maybe twice in the first movie, but in the second it happened repeatedly). Also, the movie decided to forego the entire only show footage when something happens, and wasted two or three nights on NOTHING. Nothing was shown, nothing special happened. The movie also retcons the first movie by creating the notion that Katie's brother-in-law passed the demon off on her, which makes no sense since Katie appears in this movie to talk to her about it, where her sister starts to question it, but nothing of that is mentioned in the first movie. It failed to excite, it failed to innovate, and it failed to scare. I hate being bored in movie theaters. Rating: 1/5
True Grit - What a film. The Coen Brothers are great with movies with real characters like this one. Everyone did their part extremely well, and I was enamored with the quality of dialogue, action, and settings. Jeff Bridges is a king, and Matt Damon is the next one, if he choses his roles correctly. If he can get a Big Labowski-esque role, he will be in the perfect position to prove he has the ability to perform. Josh Brolin is amazing as usual despite being in the film a grand total of 10 minutes. Rating: 5/5
Black Swan - My film of the year, by leaps and bounds. Aronofsky has made some of the most poignant movies that really press the audience to reflect on them after. After The Wrestler, I was pretty sure he was going to continue his forward push into more mainstream film making (not to say Requiem for a Dream and Pi weren't mainstream material, but the mainstream rarely buys into that). Instead, he went with Black Swan, a clear case of going back to his roots with wisdom and skill under his belt. This movie is raw, twisted, visceral, passionate, and conscious. Never in the film do I feel a meandering, just a story that knows its purpose and endgame with actors who are highly capable of getting there. Natalie Portman as Nina was a perfect choice especially with Mila Kunis as Lily. Nina was perfect in her portrayal of an immature, aging ballerina who is losing touch with what is real. Once her stress levels are ratcheted up, she starts to break, and the end result is something jaw-dropping. Rating: 5/5
Avatar: Special Edition - So, James Cameron got snubbed at the Oscars for his derivative film, Avatar. Despite ripping off countless other movies, the movie WAS sold on visuals, which is did pretty damn well. I guess as a "**** you" to the Academy or anyone who bought the DVD before, Cameron rereleased the movie A YEAR LATER with 8 minutes of footage. I know watching that movie I kept thinking "Can this movie possibly be longer?" Cameron is a douche.
In choosing the below list, I went by what interested me more than anything else.
Top 5 of 2010:
1. Black Swan
2. Inception
3. True Grit
4. Shutter Island
5. Toy Story 3