My Top 10 for 2010

2010 was a good year for movies. I spent nearly a day trying to figure out what my absolute favorites of the year were. There were so many to choose from that I kept rearranging my list. However, my top three favorites of the year were set in stone from the moment I first saw them. So, here it is my top 10 favorite movies of 2010, my top 10 worst movies of 2010, and the top 10 movies I look forward to in 2011.

TOP 10 FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2010:

1. True Grit
2. How to Train your Dragon
3. Inception
4. The Crazies
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6. Frozen
7. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
8. Green Zone
9. The Town
10. Date Night

I have a couple honorable mentions: Winter’s Bone and Stolen. Also, I have yet to see The Fighter and Somewhere (which may have altered the list).

TOP 10 WORST MOVIES OF 2010:

1. Leap Year
2. Valentine’s Day
3. Cop Out
4. MacGruber
5. Splice
6. Get Him to the Greek
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street
8. The Back-Up Plan
9. Greenberg
10. The Last Airbender/The Expendables

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2011:

1. Twilight: Breaking Dawn pt 1 (11/18/11)
2. Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon (7/1/11)
3. Rango (3/4/11)
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules (3/25/11)
5. Battle Los Angeles (3/11/11)
6. Priest (5/13/11)
7. Cowboys and Aliens (7/29/11)
8. The Mechanic (1/28/11)
9. The Adjustment Bureau (3/4/11)
10. Scream 4 (4/15/11)

Inception

I tried my best to not watch any trailers or read anything regarding Inception because I wanted to be drawn in completely without any preconceptions. I am so very thankful that I did. What an amazing and beautiful movie.

Dreams in general fascinate me so I have been looking forward to seeing Inception. Last year I read an article about lucid dreams. I remember having a couple of them as a child, so I was especially interested to read about training oneself to use a few simple tricks to become aware of a dream. One trick they suggested is to study your hand every day and eventually you’ll start noticing when you’re dreaming since your hand will have more or less than five fingers. Once when dreaming I remembered to look at my hand, sure enough I had four fingers. I thought ‘huh, it does work’.

This is why I have been so very excited to see Inception. It went above and beyond all of my expectations. One has to remember that anything is possible in a dream. So how does one bring dreams to life on the big screen? Hire Christopher Nolan.

Christopher continually amazes me by always out doing himself time and time again. Just when you think he’s pushed the story as far as it will go he goes one step further, then another, and then another. I love that he casts solid character actors instead of the typical route of big studios forcing directors to hire the latest ’it’ actor. Christopher uses actors who are tried and true to the craft. Instead of giving the audience what they want, he gives them what they need. He hires actors who are capable of taking the audience on whatever wild ride he has in store for them. He never hands the audience what he thinks they want, he goes his own way and forces the audience to follow him. That’s how you make a great film.

To hire anyone other than this exact cast would have done Inception a disservice. Christopher hired these incredibly talented actors to assist in taking us to places we’ve never seen before. They helped bring us into the story rather than bringing the story to us. Every single actor was playing at the top of their game. And, every single one of them was needed to tell this story. There were no unnecessary scenes, dialogue, or characters which meant everything within the story happens for a reason. Every part of his web was needed to snare us when we were least expecting it.

You know you have something out of the ordinary when an entire audience reacts audibly to your story. Every single person was so drawn into the story that we reacted as one by gasping and sighing ‘ah’ as the wind was knocked out of us. Brilliant!

This is the best trailer I could find for Inception since it highlights a lot of the characters. You’ll have to see it for yourself to admire all of the amazing scenery and talent in the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Lukas Haas, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite, and Marion Cotillard. Personally, I can’t wait to see this film again, but if you have yet to see it then I would recommend not watching anything until you do.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.

Toy Story 3

I know I’m not the only one who dreaded seeing this final installment of Toy Story. All I kept hearing is that it made grown men weep. Why would I want to go see something that is going to make me cry like a baby? Why? Because it’s Toy Story. The adventures of Andy’s toys: Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Rex, Hamm, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and Bullseye.

There is no other feeling than sitting in a sold-out theater for a kids’ movie with all adults. We were wearing our 3D glasses and ready to embark on this final journey with the toys. There were only two kids in the entire theater (probably because it was the second to last showing of the night). We all laughed and cried and enjoyed an incredible story.

I’m so thankful that I finally gave in and went to see this film. It was both beautiful and poignant. The creators at Pixar know just how to complete a story with heart and humanity. They make us all feel like kids again.

If you have not yet seen this film, please do so while it’s still in the theaters.  It’s worth the extra couple of dollars for 3D. I’m not a big supporter of the 3D craze, but it was so comforting to be surrounded by the world of toys.

If you’ve ever loved a toy you will love this movie.

Rated G.

Predators

Let me start off by saying that I, for one, enjoyed Predators. I liked it for what it was, an action movie. I know many fans of the original disliked this film because of the lack of predators, but sometimes less is more.

The first thought of Adrien Brody playing a buffed up action hero seemed a rather strange casting choice. Adrien is versatile, but is he up to Arnold’s beefy standard? Well, I’m very pleased to say that he most certainly is. He brought such a depth to his character that he became more than just prey, he was mysterious. I wanted to know more about his background. Granted it was hard to side with the humans because personally I’m a predator fan. However, the less we saw of the predators the more I liked the humans.

(Spoilers ahead). 

Starting the film with the characters in a free fall into an unknown land brought everyone immediately into the story. If you begin with chaos it can only get better from there.

I liked the characters even though they resembled the same from the original. I think that everyone is so used to Robert Rodriguez’s style that people were somewhat thrown having a different director. If Robert’s name wasn’t attached to the film at all I think there would be a higher rating from the general public. He’s an amazing filmmaker but with his name also comes a reputation. I don’t think Predators needed that extra bad press. This wasn’t his typical movie but there were still touches of him within. People either hold him on a pedestal or dislike him for his personal choices. Unfortunately, to no fault of his own, the film suffered from him only being partly involved. Case in point, the controversial moment that was in the trailers but not in the movie was a poor marketing ploy. Sure it brought people into the theaters, but at the same time left a huge void by not being as promised. In watching those lasers light up on Adrien’s chest one could only think ‘how in the world are they going to get out of that?’. The anticipation on that danger couldn’t hold up to the reality of the scene.

All of that aside, my only real complaint is that Danny Trejo didn’t have a bigger part. My compliment is the casting of Topher Grace, he was perfect. Even though there wasn’t a huge difference between the two species of predators I enjoyed the additional twist of it being predator against humans, and predator against predator.  It offered the audience a chance to side with a predator as well as the humans. What I loved the most about the entire film is the element of human nature. Would you sacrifice your own survival to save another’s life? Each character struggled with that decision throughout the film. Fight or flight. There was danger lurking around every corner.  

Who do you trust in a land full of hunters?

Rated R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language.

Eclipse

I am a fan of the books so I have been looking forward to this third installment in The Twilight Saga. It was so refreshing that Eclipse held up to everything we all had hoped. The tension was heavier and the stakes were higher with this film because everything going forward is non-stop. The audience is going to have to run to keep up.

I was really looking forward to Jasper’s back story being told in detail so I was somewhat disappointed that it was rushed through. However, I completely understand the time constraint. That’s the one thing I miss the most from the books, learning about the long lives of the Cullens. Jasper is my favorite character, but I was also let down that Rosalie’s back story was rushed as well. However, with such a young following it would be rather difficult to tell the brutal parts of her story. With what they had, they did well explaining it to the audience.

I was wondering if everyone would be tired of Bella and Edward with all of the constant press surrounding Kristen and Robert’s ‘are they/aren’t they’ relationship. Yet, as soon as the film began everyone was drawn right back into the story. I enjoyed the interaction between the vampires and the wolves. The wolves looked absolutely amazing. The fight scenes were so intense. It makes a huge difference when actors do their own stunts.

I’ve been really impressed with the way the actors are handling all of the intense press. I heard that a few of them even showed up in Hollywood to see the fans who sat in line for days on end before the premiere. Part of the reason why the movies have done so well is due to the dedication of all the cast and crew.

Melissa Rosenberg did an exceptional job of adapting Stephenie Meyer’s story to the screen. That has to be a very difficult task since everything is designed to fall into place with the rest of the story. One small change or detail lost and the piece as a whole could have crumbled. But, it was right on track with as much information as we needed and then David Slade told the rest through action.

I think Eclipse is the perfect fit for this amazing story of love, loyalty, and survival.

Since Jasper is my favorite character (and because more likely than not you’ve at least seen the trailer) here is an interview with actor Jackson Rathbone which includes a couple behind the scenes looks into Eclipse. Go Team Jasper!

Eclipse is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality.

Iron Man 2

Ladies and gentlemen, Tony Stark is back!

Sequels usually mean two things: lots of money for a studio and an audience left disappointed. Iron Man 2 breaks out of the sequel mold and takes us on one heck of a ride. As much as I tried not to, I still walked in with high expectations. And, as always I was afraid that with those expectations would come some disappointment. So, needless to say, I was thrilled when I ended up enjoying every single minute of this film. My attention span is that of a gnat so for a movie to keep me enthralled for the entire two hours is amazing to say the least.

I thought the characters carried over well and it was great seeing familiar faces. As for the new characters I must admit they were not only new but improved. Granted I don’t really know the actual story, but for the comic fans out there don’t expect everything you already know about the storyline or characters. Of course, the regular audience wouldn’t even be aware of the small changes in detail, but someone like my husband was. But, regardless of any small changes he still loved it. Even more so than the first one, and he’s a huge fan of the first one. Once he said that, I laughed and thought ‘you can’t love a sequel more than the original’ but since then I’ve come to realize that I do too. I love the second one even more than the first. What are the odds?

I won’t go into detail just since it’s better to walk in not knowing much. The action is intense. The characters are strong. The story is well-rounded. It kept my attention the whole time. I loved it.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Oh, Freddy, where art thou?

I grew up on the Nightmare movies. They were the first scary movies I was actually allowed to watch. Ok, maybe I wasn’t necessarily allowed, but over time my parents finally gave in and bought me tickets for each opening weekend. I was so excited to hear about this new re-imagining, I could hardly wait. It was hard to picture anyone other than Robert Englund playing Freddy Krueger, but if someone else had to do it, there is no better person than Jackie Earle Haley. I knew going in that they were taking a darker look into the life of Freddy, Jackie can play dark. So, I kept waiting, but I never really got the feel for this story. I never saw Freddy.

The whole reason why I love Freddy is because of his humor. He’s scary, but can still make you laugh. The campiness of Nightmare is the foundation for the franchise. This version completely lost all humor and ended up falling flat in doing so. Serious and Freddy didn’t mix. We know Freddy’s background, but to dwell on it from the kids point of view was overkill. They lost me after the first scare. I even found myself yawning.

The scares were dragged on too long which also lost the audience’s momentum.

(Spoilers ahead).  

The closet scene seemed like a Halloween rip off to begin with, then it went on and on and on and on. By the time the scare finally happened no one even jumped. Timing is key to horror and the timing of this Nightmare was just a tad bit off. The only thing that really got me was before the opening credits. Everything else was too predictable and drawn out. The screaming girls in front of us stopped screaming by the middle of the movie. Dark isn’t always scary, sometimes dark is just sad. We love Freddy, so we don’t want to side with the kids. The focus on his crimes made him pathetic not scary.

I really think they lost a lot by not letting Jackie run with the character. It seemed like they were reigning him in too tightly. He could have done wonders with Freddy, but you could feel that something was holding him back. Studio pressure? New director? Too young of a cast? I’m not sure what it was, but I couldn’t have cared less about any of the characters. Which is sad because I thought all of the actors had a lot of potential. They each brought a great look to their character, they delivered the lines just fine, but there just wasn’t the chemistry needed to make a good cast great.

I think the whole story tried throwing out too many twists which was the reason it lost our attention. For instance, they really missed it with the bathtub scene. If you’re going to tease about that iconic Nightmare scene, do it. Don’t start it and then end it in the pool. We didn’t care about the pool scene, the water should have stayed in the tub.

All in all I was really disappointed in this film. Maybe if it was just another horror movie it would have been ok. But, as a Freddy fan (the only horror character I love) they lost me after the diner.

Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language.

How to Train Your Dragon

I love, love, love, love, love this movie. Once again the 3D took me to a land far away in a time when dragons roamed the earth. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I fell in love with the story. I fell in love with the characters. I fell in love with the animation. I could have easily watched it again after the closing credits.

I didn’t know what to expect from the movie other than everyone saying how much Toothless looked like my cat. Not only does he look like him, but he acts like him too. That made it all that more endearing for me to watch. I want a dragon. I had all but forgotten about my love for dragons when I was a kid. As I watched the story unfold it took me right back to those days when imagination was our entertainment, long before the days of video games. I would spend hours in the yard playing and I’m quite sure that sometimes my dog was my dragon. It’s a rare treat when you can watch a film that makes you forget all about being an adult. I was a kid again. Thank you Dreamworks!

Rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language.

Whiteout

Going into this movie, I was under the impression that it was a very scary movie. At least I thought that is what I read. I wish I had zero expectations and I probably would have really liked it. However, I kept waiting for it to get scary. It had intense moments and some good jumps, but it is far from scary. It is more like a mystery/thriller that you would watch on Lifetime. I love some of the Lifetime movies so that’s not meant to be a negative remark. It just wasn’t what I was expecting so I found the story to drag on and on and on.

I am a big fan of Gabriel Macht and always wonder why he doesn’t do more projects. I think he’s a fantastic actor and he can definitely hold his own no matter who his co-star may be. Pairing him with Kate Beckinsale was a great casting choice. However, they seemed to have lost some of the chemistry in the writing. Maybe that was due to Kate’s character originally being written as a man. There was a lot of potential in having Kate and Gabriel lead this story and for some reason it fell flat. Not to either of their fault, I just think it was in the story telling or the editing.

Spoilers ahead.

Kate plays a tough marshal who is investigating a murder in Antarctica. Her character is wounded from a past incident and there were a few too many flashbacks to that incident. The audience didn’t need to be fed so much of the past to understand where the story was going. I think one flashback and then the full story at the end would have sufficed. It was hard watching Kate play a marshal for some reason. She’s so tiny compared to the men working at the station that she seems too vulnerable. I know she can play tough well, so I’m not sure why they had her seem so ‘breakable’ in this role.

The chase scene through the snow between Kate’s character and the killer was intense. There were enough twists and turns throughout the story to keep the audience guessing as to who the killer actually was. I wasn’t surprised but I didn’t exactly guess the ending. But, there were many instances where the dialogue dumbed down the audience. It became rather silly during a few scenes and we laughed at the characters trying to explain something so completely obvious. For instance there is a scene in the plane where Kate’s character looks at a dead man with a bullet hole in his head and says something about thinking he must have been shot. We waited for one of the other characters to say ‘you think?’. But, since there wasn’t any additional humor in the scenes it was a ridiculous explanation. Sometimes less is more.

The cast was a mix of great actors. Gabriel and Kate, even as leads, were able to fall into the ensemble with Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short, and Alex O’Loughlin. The scenery was beautiful even at its most desolate. With exception to a few long drags of story it was a good film. It was my own fault for expecting something like 30 Days of Night. It was a good mystery story and had I not expected something more I think I would have really enjoyed it. For nothing else, I would have enjoyed watching a great group of actors come to life as their characters.

My one pet peeve was that they had nudity for the sake of nudity. It was laughable. If you’re going to have a shower scene in a movie, you had better have Norman Bates standing on the other side of the wall.

Rated R for violence, grisly images, brief strong language and some nudity.

The Wolfman (2010)

When it comes to admiring an actor, Benicio Del Toro is at the top of my list of favorites. There are few who I would even consider as talented as he is. However, with each actor no matter how method they might be, there are always pieces of themselves hidden somewhere in the character. This is the very first time that I watched Benicio where I didn’t ‘hear’ Benicio. He was Lawrence Talbot from beginning to end. I sat in awe throughout the entire film.

I was one of the lucky few to see the trailer for The Wolfman before it was released publicly. Ever since that night I have waited anxiously to see this film. I was curious to see if Benicio would shine in this role as well. There is something about his demeanor that draws a person in. His eyes breathe both life and pain in every role. His intensity challenges even the strongest of personalities. I highly doubt anyone would want to stand toe to toe with him in a dark alley, especially after watching him in The Wolfman.

(Spoilers ahead).

If you’ve seen the original then you know the basic storyline. However, this version takes a somewhat different approach to the story. It was an ingenious way to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. There were plenty of unexpected scares, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. It was nice to watch with a fresh perspective. Although some of the dialogue boarded on the edge of being cheesy, our audience was very forgiving and laughed along with tongue in cheek.

It is a very dark and gruesome tale of a man bitten by a beast which alters his entire course in life. He is forced into a nightmare that is far worse than any of his childhood memories. Speaking of memories, the flashbacks used throughout the film were easy to follow from their clever way of transitions. Since most of the film takes place at night in a time where everything is lit by candlelight, it could have been easy to get lost between the past and the story’s present. They kept the line blurred both figuratively and literally, and if it wasn’t for the literal blurring it could have been confusing between what was real and what was memory.

The cast was amazing (also including great performances by Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving), the sets were incredible, and the visuals were stunning. Usually I turn away from gore, but you can’t help but watch the destruction. The scene at the asylum where the doctor is trying to prove Lawrence is crazy in front of an audience (and a full moon) is worth the price of admission.

It is a great story based film, driven by strong characters, and even though there is lots of gore, it still lives up to being a classic monster movie.

Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore.