September 2010
Play
Kobe Laughs
Good stuff there!
LOLOL!
LOL This picture Just made me Love Kobe!
HAHAHAHAHA!
He’s still the best to me. Sorry Warriors, Miami, Celtics, and Warriors fans! haha
I’ve been scouring the online talk about the NBA and what’s funny is that Kobe haters are now rooting for him ever since Wade, LeBron, and Bosh hooked up haha.
“The Simpsons is the best thing on American television”
—
Stephen Hawking
Who are you to disagree?
2010 in Film
Bolded films are movies I saw at a home viewing, not in theaters. Scores may differ from my original scores, mostly due to reflection on the film over time.
The Book of Eli- 7.5/10, Yet another one of many recent post-apocalyptic films, however it contains stylish action, great performances from Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, and thankfully tackles religion with balance.
Edge of Darkness- 8/10, taut thriller with great direction and Mel Gibson in top form.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief- 7/10, fun, fast paced action flick, fans of the books might be disappointed with how much is changed.
Shutter Island- 9/10, Martin Scorsese’s lush direction, beautiful cinematography, winning performances, and intriguing story make this a winner.
Alice in Wonderland- 5/10, Tim Burton recycles his style to retell this classic story with mixed results. Johnny Depp and Burton need to take some time apart from their lovefest.
The Crazies- 6.5/10, A very fun horror/thriller that too often falls victim to genre tropes and into territory previously explored by other far superior films.
Brooklyn’s Finest- 7.5/10, Antoine Fuqua’s stylistic flair combined with great performances from the main 4 leads elevate this above the typical cop drama stroylines we’ve seen all too many times before.
Green Zone- 3/10, A heavy handed script, terrible shaky cam, lack of thrills, and a waste of good talent all lead to this horrible Iraq War film.
Hot Tub Time Machine- 7/10, A cool concept with great comedic performances make it much better than this over the top comedy has any right to be.
How to Train Your Dragon 3D- 9.5/10, Combines gorgeous animation, fully developed characters, and dazzling flying and action sequences. Dreamworks, with this story about a boy and his dragon, has crafted a film that rivals most Pixar films. Easily one of the year’s best.
Clash of the Titans- 3/10, Poor story, no character development, and a serious lack of fun or action leads to one of the worst movies of the year.
Kick-Ass- 9/10, Balls to the wall action and violence are the highlight of this over the top action film that delivers on all its promises.
The Losers- 5/10, A likeable cast, light tone, and some decent action set pieces keep this over the top and moronic action film from being a complete waste but still can’t save it from being merely passable.
Date Night- 5/10, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey have good chemistry and manage to stir up some laughs from this otherwise middling comedy about mistaken identity and married life.
Iron Man 2- 6/10, Suffers from the same problems as the first Iron Man, pandering plot and poor character development, although the action is definitely improved and Robert Downey Jr. gives another stellar performance.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time- 5.5/10, The plot is horrendous and makes no sense, but there is still some fun to be had with this video game adaptation.
Robin Hood- 6.5/10, Fantastic production value, great cinematography, and great action scenes are all highlights, although the characters and story leave much to be desired.
Get Him to the Greek- 8/10, Jonah Hill and Russell Brand give winning performances in this often hilarious comedy.
The A-Team- 7/10, Balls to the wall action, fantastic casting, and the over the top fun nature of this film makes it a blast, even if it’s completely nonsensical.
Toy Story 3- 9/10, Pixar brings back lovable characters and combines them with an interesting scenario to make Toy Story 3 one of the best movie going experiences of the year.
The Karate Kid- 7.5/10, Slick cinematography, great fight choreography, and Jackie Chan’s best performance in years make this remake worth it, even with the overly long runtime.
The Last Airbender- 4/10, Has some decent/good action, cinematography, and score, but the horrendous dialogue, story, and character work kills the entire film adaptation of this beloved cartoon series.
Eclipse- 7/10, The first legitimately good Twilight film for non-fans. Good incorporation of themes and the action outweigh the slim character development for the main three leads and ponderous runtime.
Inception- 8.5/10, Christopher Nolan does it again with this sci-fi/action thriller that is bound to intrigue, despite some sketchy pacing and an over-reliance on exposition.
Salt- 6/10, One of the most preposterous stories I’ve seen on screen since Eagle Eye. Even so, there is still a lot of fun to be had, Angelina Jolie is aces and the action is hard hitting throughout.
Predators- 6.5/10, With a solid cast and some tensely shot action sequences, it’s definitely a step up from the crappy sequels/spinoffs of the Predator franchise, but feels like a lot of potential was wasted.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice- 7/10, Even with paper thin characters and minimal plot, it is still a seriously fun movie with a likable cast, cool action sequences, and nice special effects.
Despicable Me- 5.5/10, Slick animation, gorgeous 3D usage, and fantastic score are all highlights, but a lack of laughs, poor story, and worst of all, wasted potential, hold Despicable Me back from being a truly good animated flick.
The Other Guys- 8/10, Will Ferrell’s best role in years, flashy action, and comedy that doesn’t rely on an overuse of profanity make this a fun ride, even despite it’s horrendously bland plot.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- 9.5/10, Edgar Wright’s direction, perfect casting, and superb action make this one of the best films of the year.
The Kids Are All Right- 9/10, Wonderful, fully developed characters with true to life story arcs instill a sense of weight and poignancy to this fantastic film about the modern family from Lisa Cholodenko.
The Expendables- 7/10, Delivers wonderfully over the top 80’s action with a superstar cast of bad asses racking up tons of kills. The first half of the film is a slow burn but the grand finale more than makes up for it.
Devil- 7/10, Solid horror thriller with a good incorporation of themes throughout.
The Town- 9.5/10, Ben Affleck’s sophomore debut is a well crafted, well written, and fast paced action drama. It evokes shades of Michael Mann’s Heat and is easily one of the best films of the year.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps- 6/10, While timely and backed by some good performances from its standout cast, it lacks a clear narrative, thematic consistency, and interesting story.
Easy A- 8/10, A light, fun teen comedy reminiscent of John Hughes movies of the 80’s.
Top 10 of the Year (so far):
1. How to Train Your Dragon- 9.5/10
2. The Town- 9.5/10
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- 9/10
4. The Kids Are All Right- 9/10
5. Shutter Island- 9/10
6. Kick-Ass- 9/10
7. Toy Story 3- 9/10
8. Inception- 8.5/10
9. Easy A- 8/10
10. Get Him to the Greek- 8/10
Overall still a weak year for film, although we’ve got a ton of stuff coming now that we’re into the Fall season.
