The one in which I talk about a lot of movies.
I've got a free week! Well, not entirely free, I do have to read two books and decide if I wanna adapt one of them, but reading is not as time-consuming as writing, so yeah: Free week!
Which finally gives me time to talk about the movies I watched the past two months. Don't worry, I will only mention those from 2010 and most aren't worth to dwell on anyway - seriously, this is one crappy year for movies.
Due Date
I thought it was funny though I don't know how funny it would have been without the audience laughing throughout the whole film. It's a retread of Planes, Trains & Automobiles of course, but while the plot wasn't new, most of the gags were, so I didn't care. Just watch, laugh and forget.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
I wanted to love this so much and ended up liking it. The supporting cast, the look, it all was fantastic and it was a very faithful adaptation of the comics (except for the last twenty minutes but I actually liked those more than in the comics). BUT - it had Michael Cera in the lead and that was just all wrong. We all know by now that he can't really act and just rehashes the one nervous geek persona he's capable of in every movie. Which is okay, cause he's really good with that, but just like Nick & Nora it doesn't work if the character has to be actually cool. Scott Pilgrim is supposed to be an aimless slacker with issues, not a bumbling nerd. Michael Cera is not Scott Pilgrim. Having him actually do fight scenes is ridiculous in its unbelievability. So, yeah, about the movie? I adored every second Michael Cera wasn't on screen.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I really loved this one which actually surprised me since I'm not a Potter-fan. I've never read the books and the only movie I loved so far was Prisoner of Azkaban (I especially hated the last one), but this just did everything right. The pacing was flawless, not as rushed as the previous movies. The performances were more mature, the cinematography was pretty, the editing was natural, only Dobby looked creepy and fake as usual. It felt like a real movie in its own right, not just another part of a franchise.
The Social Network
"Hey, let's make a film about Facebook!" - "Sounds boring." - "Not my version, I will use only half the facts and turn it into a 21st century Citizen Kane story." - "That sounds better. But will it be still a Facebook movie then? We wanna keep all the real names for marketing reasons." - "We'll just say this is how it happened. Who cares about the truth? Everybody hates that Zuckerberg kid anyway."
Yeah, I'm torn on that movie. It is kinda entertaining and brilliantly acted (I was especially impressed by the guy who played the Winklevoss twins) but it left me empty afterwards and is basically just a bunch of assumptions pretending to be the truth (and yes, also misogynistic). I'm biased though, I hate Aaron Sorkin.
Salt
Ridiculous action flick. Starts out exciting enough but gets more and more ridiculous with every minute. It's never boring though. If you wanna watch it, watch the unrated Director's Cut, it's the only version that makes a bit of sense.
Going the Distance
I loved this way too much given that it's just another romantic comedy but it did a lot of things right. Its theme of long-distance relationships resonated with me, having been in a few, one for over a year even. The couple (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) actually has chemistry. The supporting cast is great: Charly Day, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Jim Gaffigan, Rob Riggle, Kristen Schaal. The dialogue feels more natural and realistic than usual (I think a lot of it was improvised). And most importantly: It is really, really funny. It's the rare romantic comedy movie that even men who are insecure about their gender can enjoy.
Plus, naked Justin Long. If you're into that kind of thing.
The Kids Are All Right
And the movie is, too. Loved the cast and the plot was interesting. The movie lost a bit of steam in the last twenty minutes, but overall I can recommend it.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Even more ridiculous than Salt. It gets a bonus point for throwing Ethan Peck on the screen for thirty seconds, but in the end it seems like the intention of the movie was to just get a RiffTrack as soon as possible.
Knight and Day
This started out good and became absolutely tedious after half an hour. I sat through the whole thing but didn't care for it one bit.
Charlie St. Cloud
Beautiful camerawork and a capable Zac Efron-performance, but the rest was just a tangled mess. It's corny and trite and doesn't seem to know what story it wants to tell half the time. And the kid actor was horrible.
Hot Tub Time Machine
Just... no. Homophobic and misogynistic and not even funny. I didn't even smirk. It's one of the worst movies I've seen all year.
Kick-Ass
I loved the first 40 minutes of it and was like "This is fantastic!" The satire was sharp and witty, the characters were likable, everything felt organic and fresh. But as soon as Hit Girl arrived, it turned into a violent revenge fantasy that somehow lost its satirical target. It seemed like a totally different movie all of a sudden, one with a sadistic sense of humour, as if the filmmakers just sat down and said "Okay, we poked enough fun at the genre conventions, how about brutally killing a lot of people now? And most of the killing is done by an eleven-years-old girl, so that still counts as funny and satire, right?" Even more problematic is the fact that the movie explicitly tells us it's set in the real world in the beginning, without any superheroes. And then it presents us a girl that survives impossible attacks on her life and defies all rules of gravity and logic. It's like Glee telling us objectifying homely women is bad after showing us funny dream images to laugh at throughout the episode. You can't have your cake and eat it too, Kick-Ass. I ended up hating that movie.
So, is the film year 2010 really that bad or did I just miss all the really great movies so far?
Which finally gives me time to talk about the movies I watched the past two months. Don't worry, I will only mention those from 2010 and most aren't worth to dwell on anyway - seriously, this is one crappy year for movies.
Due Date
I thought it was funny though I don't know how funny it would have been without the audience laughing throughout the whole film. It's a retread of Planes, Trains & Automobiles of course, but while the plot wasn't new, most of the gags were, so I didn't care. Just watch, laugh and forget.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
I wanted to love this so much and ended up liking it. The supporting cast, the look, it all was fantastic and it was a very faithful adaptation of the comics (except for the last twenty minutes but I actually liked those more than in the comics). BUT - it had Michael Cera in the lead and that was just all wrong. We all know by now that he can't really act and just rehashes the one nervous geek persona he's capable of in every movie. Which is okay, cause he's really good with that, but just like Nick & Nora it doesn't work if the character has to be actually cool. Scott Pilgrim is supposed to be an aimless slacker with issues, not a bumbling nerd. Michael Cera is not Scott Pilgrim. Having him actually do fight scenes is ridiculous in its unbelievability. So, yeah, about the movie? I adored every second Michael Cera wasn't on screen.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I really loved this one which actually surprised me since I'm not a Potter-fan. I've never read the books and the only movie I loved so far was Prisoner of Azkaban (I especially hated the last one), but this just did everything right. The pacing was flawless, not as rushed as the previous movies. The performances were more mature, the cinematography was pretty, the editing was natural, only Dobby looked creepy and fake as usual. It felt like a real movie in its own right, not just another part of a franchise.
The Social Network
"Hey, let's make a film about Facebook!" - "Sounds boring." - "Not my version, I will use only half the facts and turn it into a 21st century Citizen Kane story." - "That sounds better. But will it be still a Facebook movie then? We wanna keep all the real names for marketing reasons." - "We'll just say this is how it happened. Who cares about the truth? Everybody hates that Zuckerberg kid anyway."
Yeah, I'm torn on that movie. It is kinda entertaining and brilliantly acted (I was especially impressed by the guy who played the Winklevoss twins) but it left me empty afterwards and is basically just a bunch of assumptions pretending to be the truth (and yes, also misogynistic). I'm biased though, I hate Aaron Sorkin.
Salt
Ridiculous action flick. Starts out exciting enough but gets more and more ridiculous with every minute. It's never boring though. If you wanna watch it, watch the unrated Director's Cut, it's the only version that makes a bit of sense.
Going the Distance
I loved this way too much given that it's just another romantic comedy but it did a lot of things right. Its theme of long-distance relationships resonated with me, having been in a few, one for over a year even. The couple (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) actually has chemistry. The supporting cast is great: Charly Day, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Jim Gaffigan, Rob Riggle, Kristen Schaal. The dialogue feels more natural and realistic than usual (I think a lot of it was improvised). And most importantly: It is really, really funny. It's the rare romantic comedy movie that even men who are insecure about their gender can enjoy.
Plus, naked Justin Long. If you're into that kind of thing.
The Kids Are All Right
And the movie is, too. Loved the cast and the plot was interesting. The movie lost a bit of steam in the last twenty minutes, but overall I can recommend it.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Even more ridiculous than Salt. It gets a bonus point for throwing Ethan Peck on the screen for thirty seconds, but in the end it seems like the intention of the movie was to just get a RiffTrack as soon as possible.
Knight and Day
This started out good and became absolutely tedious after half an hour. I sat through the whole thing but didn't care for it one bit.
Charlie St. Cloud
Beautiful camerawork and a capable Zac Efron-performance, but the rest was just a tangled mess. It's corny and trite and doesn't seem to know what story it wants to tell half the time. And the kid actor was horrible.
Hot Tub Time Machine
Just... no. Homophobic and misogynistic and not even funny. I didn't even smirk. It's one of the worst movies I've seen all year.
Kick-Ass
I loved the first 40 minutes of it and was like "This is fantastic!" The satire was sharp and witty, the characters were likable, everything felt organic and fresh. But as soon as Hit Girl arrived, it turned into a violent revenge fantasy that somehow lost its satirical target. It seemed like a totally different movie all of a sudden, one with a sadistic sense of humour, as if the filmmakers just sat down and said "Okay, we poked enough fun at the genre conventions, how about brutally killing a lot of people now? And most of the killing is done by an eleven-years-old girl, so that still counts as funny and satire, right?" Even more problematic is the fact that the movie explicitly tells us it's set in the real world in the beginning, without any superheroes. And then it presents us a girl that survives impossible attacks on her life and defies all rules of gravity and logic. It's like Glee telling us objectifying homely women is bad after showing us funny dream images to laugh at throughout the episode. You can't have your cake and eat it too, Kick-Ass. I ended up hating that movie.
So, is the film year 2010 really that bad or did I just miss all the really great movies so far?