Posts Tagged ‘2010 movies’

« Newer Entries
h1

Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, Knight & Day

January 7, 2011

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf, Made)
Quick Thoughts: Continues where the first one left off with Downey Jr. hamming it up as the charming Tony Stark, a man that has just revealed himself to be the superhero known as Iron Man. While this sequel doesn’t suck–it’s actually pretty decent–it does lack the freshness and grit that made the first one so good. I felt like Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash was underused as the villain; he’s limited to two scenes of potential destruction for the entire movie. The rest of the time he’s working behind the scenes for Tony’s business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockford). The movie does have some dope moments: the Iron Man suitcase, War Machine, and the laser swords. A respectable sequel that’s solid on light comic moments and action, but lacks much substance to move Iron Man’s story forward in any interesting fashion.
Viewings: 2
Replay Value: Enjoyable the second time… probably won’t buy it though unless I see it ultra cheap somewhere.
Sequel Potential: I’ve heard Jon Favreau won’t be doing a third Iron Man, but Robert Downey Jr. will be back as Tony Stark for 2012’s The Avengers.
Oscar Potential: Nothing worth talking about… maybe some visual effects work.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 5.5/10 (Worth Watching/Recommended)
Recommendation: If you liked the first Iron Man, there’s no reason you shouldn’t see this; just know it’s not on nearly the same level as the first movie.

Knight and Day (2010)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: James Mangold (3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line, Girl, Interrupted)
Quick Thoughts: A spy thriller-comedy with an absurd and somewhat boring story and cheesing acting from the two leads. It’s actually better than I thought it would be, but only because I thought it would be atrocious.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Never again.
Sequel Potential: None.
Oscar Potential: None.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 3/10 (Skip It)
Recommendation: This isn’t terrible, but it’s not something anyone needs to see.

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Starring: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas
Director: Michael Mitchell (Sky High, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo)
Quick Thoughts: It’s easy to forget how great and original the first Shrek film was… the first sequel was pretty good too, but Shrek 3 was absolutely painful and left me with a sour taste in my mouth. At least Shrek Forever After ends (possibly) the franchise on a positive note. Rumpelstiltskin tricks our beloved hero into signing a contract that gives Shrek a day’s worth of freedom from the constant burden of being a father and husband in exchange for… the day Shrek was born. Plunged into a world where his own wife and best friends don’t recognize him, Shrek is faced with his most formidable and emotional journey since the original film. Shrek Forever After is no Toy Story 3, but it’s a respectable close to a surprisingly successful franchise for Dreamworks.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: The Shrek movies have lost their luster over time… I’ll probably never own this.
Sequel Potential: Is the ogre really finished? I kind of hope so, but you don’t want to bet against these things.
Oscar Potential: Probably won’t even get a nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Nudity: N/A
Grade: 6/10 (Recommended)
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’re obviously going to want to see this movie and it’s a good send off film.

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

2010 Movie Reviews: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Toy Story 3, more

December 7, 2010

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)

”I’m a what?”
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Quick Thoughts: The short from Fantasia is adapted into a full length live action feature film. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but the trailers for this movie actually made it seem like it might be okay. I was expecting this to be some sort of sleeper hit for 2010, but I wound up feeling disappointed. Jay Baruchel has a certain level of charm to his naivety, but this movie was more over-the-top ridiculous than I was expecting it to be. This is no Harry Potter and if you’re looking for your magic fix, keep it in the J.K. Rowling world.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: This is more kiddie fare than Harry Potter is… as an adult, I’ll pass.
Sequel Potential: It performed well at the box office which usually a recipe for a franchise.
Oscar Potential: Maybe some visual effects nominations.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 4.5/10 (Netflix It/Worth Watching)

Batman/Superman: Apocalypse (2010)

”Your cousin just torched $50,000 worth of custom hardware.”
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Andre Braugher, Summer Glau
Director: Lauren Montgomery
Quick Thoughts: A solid adaptation from the Superman/Batman series of graphic novels. This entry introduces Supergirl into the mythos and highlights our two main heroes’ personalities: Superman welcomes her with open arms, excited and optimistic about his fellow Kryptonian, while Batman is forever suspicious and always prepared for the worst. Appearances from Darkseid and Wonder Woman add to the fun. Nothing spectacular here, but worth watching for fans of DC Comics.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Worth buying for die hard DC fans like myself.
Sequel Potential: I’ve read the whole Superman/Batman series, so there’s more where this came from.
Oscar Potential: None.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 6/10 (Worth Watching)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
”Remember me?”
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara
Director: Samuel Bayer
Quick Thoughts: Who is this Freddy Krueger? He looks more like Lord Voldemort dressed up in a Krueger Halloween costume. Jackie Earle Haley does an okay job, but he’s no Robert Englund. The movie itself tries to bring the franchise back to its scary roots, but forgets to bring a plot or characters we care about along with it. The script bounces around focusing on victim to victim before finally revealing its heroes in the closing act. Yawn. Yeah, I’m getting a little sleepy and this movie isn’t going to keep me awake at night.
Viewings: 2
Replay Value: Thought it was solid the first time I saw it… all its flaws became unforgivable the second time through.
Sequel Potential: I would imagine there will be more sequels and I’d be happy about it, but there’s a ton of room for improvement.
Oscar Potential: None
Nudity: I can’t remember any… not a good look for a Freddy movie.
Grade: 4/10 (Netflix It)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

”If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you would have invented Facebook.”
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Ned Beatty
Director: Lee Unkrich
Quick Thoughts: This is probably my second favorite film of 2010 (after Inception). As usual, the Pixar team comes through with a genius and hilarious script that finds our beloved toys from a decade ago dealing with the emotional trauma of Andy moving on to college without them. After Andy’s mom nearly sends the garbage bag full of toys to the dump, they find themselves hostage at a local daycare center run by a plush, purple teddy bear named Lotso. What ensues is one of the best escape movies of recent memory and a film that brought tears to my eyes on a couple different occasions. Definitely a movie that tugs at your heart strings and reminds you what it was like to be a kid and how much it sucks to grow up.
Viewings: 2
Replay Value: Definitely the kind of movie I could watch several times a year and probably the best Pixar movie ever.
Sequel Potential: Even though this is a great close to a fantastic trilogy of films, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Woody and Buzz facing new adventures in the future.
Oscar Potential: I’d be shocked if it doesn’t get a Best Picture nomination. It’d be highway robbery for it to lose in the Best Animated Feature category. Toy Story movies are always good for some of the sound categories too, especially Best Original Song.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 10/10 (Instant Classic)

Greenberg (2010)

”You like me so much more than you think you do.”
Starring: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans
Director: Noah Baumbach
Quick Thoughts: Ben Stiller does something a little different in this movie. Instead of his usually high energy comic self, we get a somewhat reserved and introverted version. The movie is about a 40-something loner that kind of lives life to his own beat. He befriends his brother’s housesitter and develops an awkward, maybe harmful sexual relationship with each other. It’s cool to see Ben Stiller switching things up in this movie, and it does provide for some laughs we’re not used to getting from him, but the movie as a whole, is just a step above forgettable.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: I’d probably watch this movie two times, maximum.
Sequel Potential: None
Oscar Potential: Ben Stiller probably thinks he has a shot an acting nomination, but it’s not going to happen.
Nudity: Greta Gerwig has a lot of sex in this movie.
Grade: 5/10 (Worth Watching)

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Movie Reviews: How To Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter, The Social Network

December 5, 2010

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

”We’re Vikings. It’s an occupational hazard.”
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera
Director: Dean Deblois, Chris Sanders
Quick Thoughts: A solid, underdog-becomes-a-hero family film that might be a little bit overrated. It’s very good, but its current standing amongst the top 250 films of all-time is probably being a bit absurd.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Great Christmas present for kids and I wouldn’t be mad about owning this film either, but I’m not rushing out to buy it.
Sequel Potential: I just read a release from Dreamworks saying there are going to be at least two more movies in this franchise and maybe as many as eight. Yikes.
Oscar Potential: Toy Story 3, Tangled, and this movie should be battling it out for Best Animated Movie. Unlike TS3, however, I don’t see Dragons getting a Best Picture nom.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 7/10 (Must See)

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Pt. 1 (2010)

”I must be the one to kill Harry Potter.”
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes
Director: David Yates
Quick Thoughts: There are pros and cons to breaking HP7 into two parts. It’s good because the source material will be valiantly represented and kids won’t have to sit through a four or five hour movie. It’s bad because the first film doesn’t work that well as a stand alone project. The first half of J.K. Rowling’s book finds Harry, Ron, and Hermione doing a lot of walking around and minimal action. Almost everything exciting in the last book is going to happen in the second part. It is a very faithful adaptation, however, and I’m sure when the two movies can be viewed back-to-back the first film won’t seem so incomplete and boring. HP&TDHP1 doesn’t suck; it’s a beautiful film and a solid build up for the next movie, it’s just a little underwhelming. However you want to put it, the finale–coming next summer–is going to be EPIC and second part should garner the Harry Potter franchise its first Best Picture nomination. I’m just guessing.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: I’d like to see it again before it leaves theaters and then I’m reading books 6 and 7 again before watching the finale.
Sequel Potential: Part 2 comes out July 2011… and for those that don’t know already, Rowling is toying with the idea of more Harry Potter books.
Oscar Potential: I don’t see HP getting any major nominations, but it should pick up some nods in some of the technical departments (art direction, costumes, score, etc.).
Nudity: We actually get dangerously close to seeing a topless Emma Watson. Crazy.
Grade: 7/10 (Must See)

The Social Network (2010)

”If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you would have invented Facebook.”
Starring: Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Director: David Fincher
Quick Thoughts: A movie about the creation of a social networking website sounds dull as hell, but the great script from Aaron Sorkin, great performances from the surprisingly talented cast, and David Fincher’s usually solid direction makes this one of the best movies of 2010. Also, Andrew Garfield showed he has serious acting chops and should have everyone excited about the Spider-Man reboot.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: This movie was great the first time and I’ll definitely watch it again when it releases on DVD, but I’m guessing it’s replay value doesn’t extend much beyond that.
Sequel Potential: None.
Oscar Potential: Should be a cinch for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations and my current favorite to win the Oscar the for the screenplay. This isn’t Fincher’s best directing job, but he always has an outside shot at an nomination. Jessie Eisenberg and maybe Andrew Garfield deserve mention as longshots for acting nominations.
Nudity: None.
Grade: 8/10 (Must See)

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Easy A (2010)

September 28, 2010

Plot: Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) makes up a story about losing her virginity to a community college student instead of admitting what she really did all weekend: sing along with her Hallmark card. After her story circulates around school and her reputation changes, other students come to her and ask her to pretend like she hooked up with them to improve their images as well.

If you can look past the fact that a high school girl losing her virginity isn’t really a big story in any high school I’ve ever heard of, Easy A is actually a pretty funny and charming movie. If nothing else, Emma Stone should come out of this as a legitimate leading lady. I see some real success in her future and she proves she can carry a movie by herself. Lisa Kudrow seems out of place as the school counselor on some Mary Kay shit, but the rest of the adult cast is phenomenal. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are particularly hilarious as Olive’s parents. The cast of teenagers isn’t nearly as strong. Outside of Olive, none of them are memorable, except for her best friend’s rack… it’s a beauty! I didn’t even realize Amanda Bynes was in this movie until it was over. She plays the uber-obnoxious leader of the school’s Christian group and is virtually unrecognizable. Did she put on some weight? Overall, Easy A is a solid, but not remarkable high school comedy with a breakthrough performance from Stone. It was funny, but not as good as I was hoping it would be. A DVD rental in my opinion.

Grade: B-
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Comedies have a tendency to grow on me over multiple viewings, so maybe this will too. Right now, I’m not sure I’d watch it again.
Sequel Potential: Pretty unlikely.
Oscar Potential: None.
Nudity?: None.

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

The Town (2010)

September 18, 2010

“Not only do you harass women, you have to fuck them too? That’s your thing?”

Plot: A tight knit group of professional bank robbers in Charlestown, Massachusetts find their operations compromised when their leader Doug Macray (Ben Affleck) becomes romantically involved with the primary witness of their most recent heist and the FBI closes in on the foursome.

Ben Affleck is still trying to shake off the affects of starring in numerous shit fests earlier this decade. Between his tabloid romance with J-Lo and some seriously questionable roles, the formerly respectable actor has become somewhat of a joke in Hollywood. Gone Baby Gone (directed by Affleck) was a great movie, but it did nothing to help the status of Ben Affleck, the actor. The Town is a film that should start erasing those bad memories…fast.

Set in Affleck’s home state, with all sorts of Bean Town references throughout the film, The Town is one of the best heist flicks in recent memory. We get solid performances from Affleck and Rebecca Hall, who plays the bank manager Affleck’s character becomes involved with. Jeremy Renner, plays Affleck’s best friend James Coughlin, the wild card of the bunch, with a performance that’s even more animated and impressive than the one he gave in last year’s The Hurt Locker. For someone that was relatively unknown a couple years ago, he sure looks like a star in the making, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with the Hawkeye character in 2012’s The Avengers.

The Town has a relatively long running time, but it gives the writers a chance to develop the three main characters while the pacing is still relatively quick. Aside from some really good action sequences, there’s enough humor and gully moments to keep the crowd interested. The bank scenes are definitely the best parts of the movie, with the post-heist chase after the second robbery being the highlight of the film, topped off by an awesome final showdown at Fenway Park. For all the flack you could give Affleck as an actor, his abilities as a writer and director have been remarkable so far. Between this movie, Gone Baby Gone, and Good Will Hunting, he’s batting a very strong three for three. Regardless of his acting resume, Affleck is an established star and if he wants to remain a serious player in Hollywood, the best thing he can do is keep making his own movies and start taking a closer look at the scripts other people are writing before deciding to star in those films.

Grade: A-
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: Definitely would watch again… maybe good enough to own.
Sequel Potential: None
Oscar Potential: With ten nominees for Best Picture, The Town is definitely an easy shoo-in at the moment and might be strong enough to hold on for a spot. I’d give Affleck some play for Best Director depending on what happens in the last couple months and I think a writing nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay is likely. The acting in this movie is solid, but I don’t know if it will be award worthy. Jeremy Renner gets a shout from me for Best Supporting Actor for now. Cinematography and some of the sound work could get some love too.
Nudity?: None

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

h1

Piranha 3D (2010)

September 2, 2010

“There are thousands of them and they are pissed!”

Aspiring horror directors should take note of what the filmmakers of Piranha 3D have accomplished. Here’s a movie that, despite its surprisingly decent cast and acting that isn’t always laughable, doesn’t take itself seriously at all. A franchise like Friday The 13th has proven that a horror film doesn’t have to be Silence Of The Lambs or Halloween to become wildly popular. Unfortunately, most horror movies, especially over the past decade, have tried to travel a middle ground between camp and quality, that often results in a huge, contrived mess. Piranha has no such notions and sticks to a proven formula for enjoyable monster movies: lots of nudity, lots of blood, and innovative death scenes.

There were moments during the first hour of the movie when I was wondering when the carnage was going to start, but thankfully, the first hour is also filled with hot naked chicks and enough killing to keep us interested. The last half hour is when the fun really starts. Once it becomes known that prehistoric piranha with an appetite for human flesh have infiltrated Lake Victoria, it doesn’t take long for all hell to break loose. I won’t spoil anything, but this movie has some of the coolest death scenes I’ve EVER seen. Some of the gore is over the top (see the movie and you’ll know what I’m talking about), but it’s been a while since I’ve gone “Ooooh!” this many times in a movie.

Sure, some of the plot elements of Piranha are ridiculous at best, and there was some dialogue that made me laugh out loud for bad reasons, but I can’t imagine anyone willing to buy a ticket coming out disappointed. You have to know what you’re getting into going to see a movie like this. Piranha is a great monster movie. It’s not comparable to the classic horror flicks I mentioned earlier, but only because the greatness of those films extend beyond the genre of horror. Give me a horror movie with great deaths, porn stars getting naked (and then mutilated), and a focus on fun, and I’m never going to complain.

Grade: B+
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: I’d watch it again and maybe even buy it when it hits the bargain buckets.
Sequel Potential: Sequel was set up at the end and already announced by the studio. I’m interested, but I could see how it could go downhill fast.
Oscars?: None
Nudity: Yes! Tons! A horror flick that knows how to do it right!

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Kick-Ass (2010)

August 20, 2010

“Show’s over, motherfuckers.”

I was really anticipating this one and the results were mixed. It had a fun feeling to it, but the main character really didn’t move me at all and almost all the other characters were pretty hollow as well. Kick-Ass never felt like a superhero of any sort to me… just a nerdy kid in a bad costume. Hit-Girl is what made this movie borderline awesome despite all its flaws. Not only is the character well written and an utter bad ass, but the young girl that plays her displays a ton of acting talent. The movie has some good action and is funny at times, but the story wasn’t executed spectacularly and the casting was questionable.

That was my initial review back when I first saw Kick-Ass in theaters and after watching it again on DVD last night, not a whole lot has changed. I’m still really underwhelmed by the character of Kick-Ass. The kid gets credit for having the balls to put himself in hopeless situations and it shouldn’t be surprised when he finds himself hospitalized after his first attempt at heroism, but at his core, he’s a scrawny geek and there’s not really a moment in the film where you think he might actually amount to something.

Hit-Girl remains the story here and I think, rather than a Kick-Ass sequel (which is already announced), a spin off starring this character would make more sense. She’s awesome and easily steals the show. Chloe Moretz, the 12 year old girl that plays Hit-Girl, seems to be a rising talent and someone to keep an eye on. She already has numerous roles lined up and is set to star in the American remake of the Swedish film Let The Right One In due out October 8th, 2010. Normally, I’d be suspect about an American remake of nearly any film, especially so soon after its release, but Moretz has me highly interested, especially since her role actually has Oscar potential, an assessment I can make having read the novel.

I was a little hard on Kick-Ass the first time I saw it. It’s not really a mediocre film, it simply suffers because its main character isn’t all that great. I liked it upon a second viewing and I’d bump its grade up a bit. It’s worth watching for Hit-Girl alone, but is a pretty decent comic book/superhero film on its own regard. I’d recommend it.

Grade: B-
Viewings: 2
Replay Value: On the cusp of being a DVD worth owning. The edition I rented had no special features, but there’s a 3-disc edition that’s probably worth investing in. I’d pop it in once in a while.
Oscar Potential? I can’t really imagine this movie getting any attention. Maaaaaaaaaybe for Best Costumes.
Sequel Potential? Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall is already announced. I’d be interested, not only for more Hit-Girl, but to see if they can actually do something worthwhile with the main character.
Nudity? Well, there’s some National Geographic type nudity when Kick-Ass is surfing the net for jerk off material, but that’s it. It wouldn’t have hurt to have this girl naked:

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

h1

Grown Ups Sucks

August 4, 2010

Grown Ups seemed like it would be a decent, light comedy, but I can’t really say I was too excited for this movie. Adam Sandler and company are well past their comedic primes. Sandler still has the capability of being funny, but Rob Schneider, Chris Rock and David Spade haven’t really been relevant for about a decade. And Kevin James, well, I like King Of Queens okay, but that’s about it. This movie would have me a lot more excited 10-15 years ago.

The premise of the film is that a group of guys that won a basketball championship as kids reunite as adults after their former coach dies… but the story isn’t important here. What’s important is that we have five guys that think they are comic legends and set out to make a hilarious movie. While my expectations were tempered heading in, the end result was still disappointing. The funniest part in the movie happens in the opening credits (Kevin James getting out of the pool in his yard) and it’s pretty much downhill from there. I’m not buying David Spade as a womanizer. Rob Schneider has pretty much never been funny and his character makes him even more annoying than usual here. Chris Rock, the funniest of the bunch, is basically nonexistent. Kevin James is fat and apparently that’s supposed to be funny over and over and over again… but it’s not. Adam Sandler is the straight man here… the most successful of the group (both in real life and in the film) and his character is ashamed of this. He’s constantly trying to hide the fact that his kids are beyond spoiled and that the Asian girl traveling with them is actually their nanny. Sandler provides the most laughs, but honestly, none so hilarious that I can remember them now.

Even with low expectations, Grown Ups still disappointed. I’m surprised that some people out there are eating this up. I don’t even want to waste too much time talking about it. I’d recommend skipping it unless you’re truly bored. It’s not atrocious, but it’s decent at best.

Grade: D+
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: One time rental at best.
Oscar Watch: Not gonna happen.
Nudity: Give me Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Rob Schneider’s ridiculously hot daughters naked in this movie and I’d give it a B… didn’t happen.

Posted in movie reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Entries