Movies of 2010

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at all the movies released this past year that I saw either on video or at the movies. I was somewhat surprised I hadn't seen more. There were some I missed that I still hope to catch in the near future. These are the movies released in 2010 that I'm still yearning to see:

Winter’s Bone, True Grit, The Town, Let Me In, Kick-Ass, The Fighter, and The American

Here are the movies I actually did see this year ranked from least favorite to favorite and some thoughts about each:

Hot Tub Time Machine--My wife and I rented this one Friday or Saturday night when we were in the mood for a light-hearted comedy. It was light-hearted enough, but also very lame and silly. I may have laughed once or twice, but I couldn't say for sure. Not a good movie at all. Felt like our money was wasted in renting it.

The Book of Eli--I rented this one night when I was home alone. Didn't know much about it going in except that it starred Denzel Washington as a post-apocalyptic prophet. The movie's plot centers on Denzel's character doing his best to keep the last Bible safe from evil hands. The twist at the end didn't exactly blow my socks off and the premise of the movie seemed ridiculous to me. There's nothing about owning a Bible that grants anyone the power to rule the world. Denzel seemed one-dimensional as he almost always does and the bad guy was weak.

I'm Still Here-- I found myself fascinated with the whole Joaquin Phoenix faux breakdown thing and finally saw this supposed documentary about it on Netflix. I wonder if Phoenix would do this whole fiasco over again if he had the choice. I can't see how it benefited him or his career in anyway. His infamous interview on Letterman was great, but I found the documentary itself to be almost unwatchably painful. Phoenix certainly knew how to play a narcissistic, coke-snorting, nincompoop to the hilt.

Date Night--Saw this movie at the theater with high expectations. I figured any movie starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey couldn't help but be hilarious. The movie wasn't completely terrible, but it felt flat to me. Mark Wahlberg's character was funnier than either of the stars and Carell and Fey didn't strike me as a particularly believable couple. The whole plot was somewhat predictable and cliched. I don't think it's a movie any of the stars will ever list as one they are particularly proud of.

Alice in Wonderland-- Saw this movie at the theater in 3D. It was a visually stunning movie and a pretty fun one. Hard to imagine a world in which Tim Burton and Alice in Wonderland wouldn't eventually come together. It seemed to fall a little flat in some ways though and was a surprisingly conventional film for Burton overall. I would have like to have seen a little more surrealism.

 The Kids Are All Right--Just saw this movie a couple of weeks ago on video. It's about a lesbian couple (Annette Benning and Julianne Moore) with two children who meet their sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) and begin a relationship with him. This was a well-acted movie overall and I really felt drawn into the drama of it although I couldn't see why the movie was billed as a comedy. My only problem with it was that I didn't buy the ending at all. Mark Ruffalo's character got a raw deal.

Knight and Day--This was another movie I rented when I was home alone on a Friday night. I had low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it even though it certainly had its flaws. Tom Cruise's character was impossibly over the top, but the movie didn't take itself too seriously, and saw itself for what it was: fun and mindless. Cruise and Cameron Diaz had surprisingly chemistry.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse-- This was the best of the Twilight  movies so far which isn't saying anything too tremendous. I do have a weak spot for vampire movies though even if they're so obviously geared toward tweens like this series. There was a bit of tongue-in-cheekness in a few scenes that I enjoyed, such as when Jacob tells Edward, "Everyone knows I'm hotter than you" in one pivotal scene. Eclipse is certainly no cinematic masterpiece, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it or that I don't plan to watch the next installment as well.

Green Zone--Rented this movie and thought Matt Damon, one of my favorite actors, was outstanding in it. Damon's character gets fed up with being sent on bogus missions to search for WMD's and decides to delve into the truth of the matter. Not surprisingly, he is met with deadly resistance. The action felt disturbingly realistic and the whole film reminded me a bit of The Hurt Locker, but this movie isn't quite as good as that. In some ways it felt more like a documentary than a movie, but overall it was pretty darn good.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World--Saw this movie on the big screen, and it was quite good overall although overdone in some places. It's hard to find the right terms to accurately describe this movie. Just when you wanted to take it seriously, something completely absurd happens. The plot centers around Michael Serra's character, Scott Pilgrim, finding his self-confidence through repeated battles against progressively more powerful super-villains in the same way he would move up through the levels of a video game. Serra is charming although he seems to play the same character in every movie. The film feels like a cult classic to be.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1--My wife is a Harry Potter freak, and I was along for the ride on this one. The movie was impeccably done and very true to the book according to Maria. (I haven't read it yet.) In spite of the predictably awesome special effects involving wizardry and the like, the movie centers more on the inner conflicts of the three main characters--Harry, Hermione, and Ron-- than anything on the outside. Much like Frodo in Lord of the Rings, the characters have to conquer their own demons before they can begin the face the external enemy--Voldemort. On the negative side, I did think this movie dragged a bit in a few spots, but I suppose I can chalk that opinion up to not being quite up to par on my super Harry Potter fanship.

Splice--Rented this movie at home, and the beginning and middle were totally kick-ass and scary. Two scientists (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) create another living being, Dren, by splicing together animal and human DNA. Dren is a monster, but we can't help but sympathize with her. As the movie progresses, it becomes evident that both her parents have a twisted love for the thing they have created, and that nothing good will come of it. The movie was awesome until the last fifteen minutes when it goes off the rails. Seemed almost like it was scared to be what it could have been. 

Paranormal Activity 2--This movie was a bit campier than the first installment, but still almost too scary to sit through. A lot of time is spent in the build-up, but when things get rolling, there's no mercy on the viewer. It left me feeling wrung out. What makes both P.A.s so scary is the ordinariness of the setting and the normality of the characters. It makes me think--if this can happen to these people in that place, then why couldn't it happen to me in my place? I just hope the makers of these movies don't let it devolve into Friday the Thirteenth or Halloween silliness by creating too many sequels.

Easy A--This movie had a John Hughes Pretty in Pink, 16 Candles, 80s feel about it that I really liked. Emma Stone was awesome in this movie She seems to be filling the niche that Lindsay Lohan occupied before she became an utter train wreck. The plot is kind of silly and the idea that a girl in high school who resembles Stone could be initially unpopular is preposterous, but these facts don't detract from the movie. It was certainly the comedy I enjoyed the most this year.

Iron Man 2-- I saw the first Iron Man and thought it was good, but not spectacular. I was expecting about the same for this one, but I enjoyed it much more. I think it was Robert Downey Jr's acting that elevated it to a higher level than the normal super-hero movie. I'm guilty of enjoying these types of movies in general actually. I've enjoyed all the new ones made by the Marvel studio. I used to collect the heck out of Marvel Comics growing up and the flavor of these movies seems closer to the comic books. I thought Iron Man 2 had just the right mixture of heart and action.Can't wait to see what Marvel will come up with next.

Shutter Island-- I actually saw this movie for the first time in my group I lead for inmates at the prison. I'd read mixed reviews about it, but I found it engrossing to the end even after I figured out the twist a little over halfway through. This film provided a lot of food for philosophical musings. Was Shutter Island the real asylum or did it really exist inside Teddy Daniels' mind? DiCaprio is one of those actors you can always depend on to make a positively outstanding movie.  

Inception-- Another great movie starring DiCaprio. I'm still trying to figure out the ending as I'm sure anyone else who saw it is. But I think the message of the movie ultimately was that "the ending" doesn't really matter. It's our perception that matters. How do we know the difference between reality and a dream? It's only our perception either way. It's a very well done and thought provoking film that bears watching more than once.

Black Swan-- Saw this movie in the theater only a week or so ago. The story is over the top dramatic, but the acting, especially Natalie Portman, is awesome. I felt like I was going crazy every step of the way alongside of her, and still felt disoriented when I left the theater. Also still trying to puzzle out what was real and what was fantasy. There are some very explicit scenes in this movie, but as a red-blooded American male I found them very hot. It was similar to Paranormal Activity in that it was almost too suspenseful and freaky to bear in some places. There were a few scenes in which events bordered on the ridiculous, but it didn't quite cross the line. When I think about this movie, all I can do is shake my head.  Might be the best weird movie I've ever seen.

The Social Network-- This was a great movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It just crackled with energy and Jesse Eisenberg had Mark Zuckerberg down to an art. The dialogue was so sharp and brilliant, I think the movie would have been almost as good if it had been audio only. Everything about this movie just spelled COOL in big, capital letters. I read one reviewer who described it as a cynical commentary on our generation, but I didn't feel that. A lot of people thought it painted a scathing portrait of Zuckerberg, but honestly I didn't think he came out that badly. He seemed socially clueless and too immersed in the world of computers and programming to stay in touch with the real world, but it also showed a young man who had an uncompromising vision that he followed all the way through in establishing Facebook as the worldwide phenomenon it has become. The ones who truly came out the worst were the two Harvard twins who sued Zuckerberg for "stealing" their idea. The term overentitled buffoons comes to mind. I'm sure it will get kinds of awards at the Oscars and it was the best movie I saw all year.