Movie Round Up, 2010

I usually have specific dates for each movie, as I keep my ticket stubs. This year, I had a little accident involving losing my glasses case and whoever found it at the movie theater "helpfully" threw all my stubs out (but put the case in the lost and found). So I have to guess on some of the movie dates.

Avatar 1/16/10
Disappointing film. While visually stunning, of course, and with surprisingly good acting, the plot was weak. There were plot holes so large you could drive a space cruiser through it. It was, quite literally, Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas mixed together and set in outer space. If you don't believe me, check this site out and laugh. And damn James Cameron for starting the whole 3-D craze which, thankfully, seems to be dying out already.

The Book of Eli January 1/10
This was a disappointment only because the first three quarters of the film, nay, more, was really effective and interesting. The "twist" ending, however, absolutely destroyed the otherwise decent movie that they had made about a post-apocalyptic world and a traveler who may or may not be a modern day messiah. When a twist ending invalidates and makes laughably ridiculous everything that has come before it, it has failed.

*Spoilers*
First, why would a blind man wear headphones throughout most of the movie, negating or limiting his remaining good sense to make many of the action scenes impossible? Why the trick with the Bible? Why not have him listening to the Bible on tape, via his headset (which would make sense with how much he is willing to spend to get batteries)? Why have Mila Kunis' character leave the sanctuary as some sort of bad ass?
*End Spoilers*

The Wolfman February 2/10
I had such high hopes for this film. I am a werewolf fan and I thought that they could remake the original film with today's technology and it would so much better and all kinds of good. Instead, they put in about 40 minutes of needless back story, had a plot twist that anyone could see coming a mile away, and the effects were anything but special. A relatively decent acting job by most of the cast was wasted here. I'm still hoping someone will make a scary, sexy, engaging werewolf story using today's technology.

A Single Man 2/25/10
The photography and acting are superlative. The story has some small weaknesses, but nothing major.  The emotional impact is strong. I'm not a huge fan of Colin Firth, like my wife is, but he was excellent as the main character. Rich, deeply moving, and nuanced in the role. And the use of colors in the photography is incredible. Overall, one of the best films of the year I've seen.

Clash of the Titans 4/4/10
I have a soft spot for the Harry Hamlin movie. It is the last Ray Harryhausen stop-motion effects movie, and he was a Golden Age god of special effects. This is the second of the films I thought could be remade with today's technology and be pretty outstanding. Instead, this new movie is ... okay. It took itself WAY too seriously, had huge plot holes that didn't make much sense, and the acting, as in the first, was rather tepid. Ralph Fiennes as Hades was a thrill and Liam Neeson as Zeus was a  standout. This movie wasn't bad, but neither was it any great improvement over the cheesy-goodness of the original. The effects, entirely digital this time, were good but not thrilling. I think the sequel will do much better and will be much stronger.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5/10
I'm a big fan of the original NES and thought that this was another movie that could be remade with today's technology and be superb. The casting of Jackie Earle Haley was fabulous and I was expecting new and wildly inventive nightmares that took full advantage of digital effects. Instead, I got a rehash of the original movie, using digital versions of the exact same effects plus a back story that watered down the visceral impact of Freddy. *sigh

Iron Man 2 5/12/10
The sequel to one of the best movies of 2008 was more of the same. And I mean that literally. They mashed up two comic book villains into one screen villain (Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo), who has to build an uber-version of the Iron Man armor and fight Iron Man and War Machine at the end. There are quips, there is drinking, there are double entendres, and a sexy new addition of Scarlet Johanssen as a version of Black Widow. All runs smoothly and is relatively successful, but it lacks the emotional depth and visceral excitement of the first movie. If the first was an A, then this one is a solid B.

The A-Team 6/10
There was a decent movie in here somewhere. They got decent actors who fulfilled their roles admirably and with some flair. There was a nice mix of action and humor. There was, in short, the chance for this to be a worthy successor to the TV show. But they had to add that scene where the team "flew" a tank falling out of the sky, shooting down drones along the way, and getting the falling tank to angle into a deep lake so they could survive the fall. This scene was stupid, had bad CGI effects, was nonsensical, and left me high and dry. Also, the surprise ending wasn't much of one. After the initial opening sequence I was certain of the final villain and was right... it just took another 90 minutes to get there. This movie could have been a Wow, but ended up a dud.

Toy Story 3 7/5/10
This is, without a doubt, one of the best films of the year. It is exciting and fun for children, and emotional for adults. It has a strong story, good effects, and excellent voice acting. The Toy Story franchise is one of the better series overall in film history, with no real weak links in the chain, and the final one being arguably the best. Definitely worth a watch. I'll be surprised if this isn't up for multiple awards, with a possibility of a Best Picture nod.

Predators 7/10
Here is another of this year's theme of movie that should be better with today's technology and just isn't. It is not a bad film, however, and delivers on most of what a die-hard fan of the Predator series is looking for. However, the editing really lets this movie down (I'm assuming; it could also be sloppy writing or direction, but it felt like important pieces were left on the cutting room floor). Scenes jump around too much, it feels like important linking events or dialog were left out, and they overdid the use of aliens in the movie a bit (the entire scene with the dogs could have been cut out and replaced with a bit more back story and horror-like build up to actual Predator use). Overall, a decent movie, fits in with the original Predator, but not stellar.

Inception 7/20/10
Another of the year's best. It is, essentially, a heist movie on steroids. The editing, direction, cast, and effects are all excellent. The story has some minor weak spots, where things could have been defined and explained better and more succinctly, and the opening with the addition of the Ariadne character could have been shortened by about 15 minutes or so, but overall a fabulous piece of entertainment. However, it comes with this caveat-- you have to pay attention while watching. This is not a movie to do something else while viewing, as you could miss key visual or dialog clues. And, it proves that Hollywood can have very successful films without a remake, re-envisioning, or repurposing of existing material. This is one to watch.

The Expendables 8/10
Schlocky, hokey, 80s-nostalgia, fun action movie. It doesn't try to be Shakespeare and it isn't. If you liked the 80s action flicks, you will most likely like this one. Don't expect to strain your noggin while watching it, though.

Unstoppable 11/22/10
This movie was surprisingly good. A very good cast, a surprisingly taut story, good action sequences, good direction, and good editing all come together to present a very nice movie. What I particularly liked about it was that no one is a super-hero. There are moments where they could have gone with the "impossible jump, that the character makes" or similar, but instead they have the people all be human with human limitations, and work within those to solve the problem. The other incredible part about the movie is that there is virtually no back story. All of the back story is presented in about the first 15 minutes of the movie, and any additional back story for each character is presented along the way and where it makes sense for the story. Take note of that, Hollywood. While this is most likely not going to be nominated for any Academy Awards, it is a movie which falls just shy of that in every category and is, therefore, far superior to the vast majority of schlock, hokem, and swill that Hollywood turns out. Definitely worth a watch.

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader 12/14/10
And the last of my major disappointments of the year. In the previous movies, they missed the mark by slightly more margin with each. And it each case, it was a matter of deviating from the original story in ways that didn't make sense. And the money shows it-- the first movie was the closest to the original work and made the most money. The second was much farther, but still recognizable, and it made a healthy amount, but not as much as the first. This one, however, basically used the themes and characters and made nearly an entirely new movie, and did the worst at the box office of all of them. This isn't a bad movie at all-- if they had just changed the characters and named it something else, I would probably give it a much better review. But it is NOT The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And therein lies the problem. They took the most immediately film-able story, with plenty of action and interest, and changed it to have more action and a tighter, completely unnecessary plot device that is nonexistent in the original story. This was a major disappointment. That being said, Georgie Henley has grown up and is becoming a decent actress. She stole every scene she was in and provided some much needed depth and emotion to the story.