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2010 Film List (Reviews, Discussion, Tracking)

post #1 of 72
Thread Starter 
Q:  What is the 2010 Film List?
A:  The 2010 Film List thread is mainly for discussing, reviewing and tracking 2010 films. The "Track the films you watch" thread is a great place to keep track of all films watched in a year, though any are welcome to track all their film watching here if they so desire.

This is also a great place to discuss smaller release, independent and foreign films that probably won't get a dedicated review and discussion thread.

And this thread is useful for keeping track of what 2010 films you watched when you're compiling an end of year list or a top ten next December.

Q:  Is there any easy way to find my list or someone else's?
A:  I'm going to try to keep an index of everyone's list at the end of this post, so you can click on a name and get to their post instantly. This helped make the 2009 List a little more active than some previous years. If I miss your list, just PM and I'll be sure to add a link.
 
Q:  Are there any rules?
A: 

At the top of your list, state the criteria you are using for updates. Some common criteria are:

  • Films released in North American theaters in 2010.
  • Films in wide release in 2010.
  • Films seen in a movie theater in 2010 regardless of original release date
  • Films seen in a movie theater in 2010 and DVDs of films released in North American theaters in 2010
  •  

Every time you update your list, try to reply to the thread with a short comment related to your updates. This will keep the thread on the first page, and hopefully get some discussion going.


If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on how to improve the list, please feel free to share them!

Film Lists Index (Added after listing at least one film):
Adam Lenhardt's Film List
Michael Reuben's Film List
Kirk Tsai's Film List
Justin_S's Film List
Brian.L's Film List
filmfandan's Film List
Edited by Adam Lenhardt - 2/11/10 at 4:51pm
post #2 of 72
Thread Starter 

2010 Film List

Total Films Seen: 11

Last Updated: 28 March 2010

Criteria: Seen in a cinema during 2010; 2010 North American releases seen on DVD in 2010


Date Film Director Quality Movie Theater
05.01.2010 Avatar [IMAX 3D/2009] James Cameron Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
09.01.2010 Brothers [2009] Jim Sheridan Madison Theater
15.01.2010 Youth in Revolt Miguel Arteta Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
17.01.2010 The Book of Eli Albert & Allen Hughes Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
26.01.2010 Crazy Heart [Promo] Scott Cooper Spectrum 8 Theatres
20.02.2010 From Paris With Love Pierre Morel Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
20.02.2010 Shutter Island Martin Scorsese Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
01.03.2010 To Kill a Mockingbird [1962] Robert Mulligan Palace Theatre
07.03.2010 Cop Out Kevin Smith Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
19.03.2010 Das weisse Band [2009] Michael Haneke Spectrum 8 Theatres
28.03.2010 Hot Tub Time Machine Steve Pink Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
11.04.2010 Date Night Shawn Levy Spectrum 8 Theatres
16.04.2010 Kick-Ass Matthew Vaughn Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
24.04.2010 Death at a Funeral Neil LaBute Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
08.05.2010 Iron Man 2 Jon Favreau Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
10.06.2010 Get Him to the Greek Nicholas Stoller Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
12.06.2010 Män som hatar kvinnor Niels Arden Oplev GE Theatre at Proctors
22.06.2010 The A-Team Joe Carnahan Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
30.06.2010 Knight and Day James Mangold Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
18.07.2010 Inception Christopher Nolan Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
18.07.2010 The Sorcerer's Apprentice Jon Turteltaub Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
28.07.2010 Salt Phillip Noyce Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
31.07.2010 Flickan som lekte med elden Daniel Alfredson Spectrum 8 Theatres
06.08.2010 The Other Guys Adam McKay Jericho Drive-In
14.08.2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Edgar Wright Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
20.08.2010 The Switch Josh Gordon & Will Speck Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
04.09.2010 Winter's Bone Debra Granik Spectrum 8 Theatres
06.09.2010 Diary of a Wimpy Kid Thor Freudenthal Blu-Ray rental
08.09.2010 The Kids Are All Right Lisa Cholodenko Spectrum 8 Theatres
18.09.2010 Easy A Will Gluck Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
08.10.2010 It's Kind of a Funny Story Anna Boden/Ryan Fleck Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
15.10.2010 Red Robert Schwentke Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
31.10.2010 Saw 3D Kevin Greutert Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
07.11.2010 Due Date Todd Phillips Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
13.11.2010 Unstoppable Tony Scott Regal Crossgates Stadium 18 & IMAX
19.11.2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 David Yates Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13
18.12.2010 It's a Wonderful Life [1946] Frank Capra Palace Theatre
19.12.2010 Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader Michael Apted Regal Colonie Center Stadium 13

Edited by Adam Lenhardt - 12/19/10 at 5:53pm
post #3 of 72

I'm sticking with last year's practice and simply listing the films I see in 2010. I don't care that a few of the early January viewings will be of films released in 2009, especially since much of what I saw in in late 2009 will be 2010 releases for many others (like An Education and A Single Man). Besides, I had a lot of scheduling conflicts in December that prevented me from making it to the theater as often as I would have liked.

If I'm particularly impressed by something, for one reason or another, I'll put a red asterisk by it, but the absence of one doesn't mean I think a film is bad.

In-theater viewings only:

January

01/01/10  Invictus (AMC Lincoln Sq.)
01/03/10  Nine (AMC 34th St.)
01/06/10  Crazy Heart (AMC Lincoln Sq.)
01/07/10  Brothers (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
01/10/10  Youth in Revolt (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
01/17/10  The Book of Eli (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
01/18/10  Daybreakers (AMC Kips Bay)
01/24/10  Fish Tank (Lincoln Plaza)
01/31/10  Edge of Darkness (AMC 34th St.)

February

02/06/10  From Paris with Love (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
02/07/10  Ajami (Lincoln Plaza)*
02/11/10  The Lovely Bones (AMC 34th St.)
02/14/10  The Last Station (Paris Theater)
02/15/10  The Wolfman (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
02/20/10  The Ghost Writer (Lincoln  Plaza)*
02/21/10  Shutter Island (AMC Kips Bays)
02/27/10  A Prophet (Lincoln Plaza)*
02/28/10  The Crazies (AMC 34th St.)

March

03/06/10  Alice in Wonderland 3D (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
03/13/10  Mother (Lincoln Plaza)*
03/14/10  Green Zone (AMC Kips Bay)
03/21/10  The Runaways (AMC Lincoln Sq.)
03/28/10  Chloe (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

April

04/02/10  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Lincoln Plaza)**
04/03/10  Clash of the Titans (AMC Lincoln Sq.)
04/04/10  Greenberg (AMC Lincoln Sq.)
04/18/10  Kick-Ass (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
04/19/10  The Secret in Their Eyes (Lincoln Plaza)*
04/22/10  The Joneses (AMC Lincoln Sq.)
04/24/10  The Losers (AMC 25/Times Sq.)
04/25/10  Exit Through the Gift Shop (Lincoln Plaza)*

04/30/10  Death at a Funeral (AMC 34th St.)

May

05/01/10  Harry Brown (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

05/08/10  Iron Man 2  (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

05/09/10  Mother and Child (Lincoln Plaza)

05/15/10  Please Give (AMC Lincoln Sq.)*

05/16/10  Letters to Juliet (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

05/22/10  Solitary Man (Lincoln Plaza)*

05/29/10  The Father of My Children (Lincoln Plaza)*

05/30/10  Micmacs (Micmacs a tire-larigot) (AMC 25/Times Sq.)*

05/31/10  Sex and the City 2 (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

 

June

 

06/05/10  Splice (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

06/06/10  Madmoiselle Chambon (Lincoln Plaza)

06/12/10  Winter's Bone (Lincoln Plaza)**

06/13/10  The A-Team (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

06/17/10  The Karate Kid (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

06/19/10  Let It Rain (Parlez-moi de la pluie) (Lincoln Plaza)

06/20/10  Cyrus (AMC Lincoln Sq.)*

06/24/10  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

06/26/10  Knight and Day (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

06/27/10  I Am Love (Io sono l'amore) (Lincoln Plaza)

 

July

 

07/01/10  Toy Story 3 3D (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

07/04/10  Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (Lincoln Plaza)*

07/09/10  Wild Grass (Lincoln Plaza)

07/10/10  The Kids Are All Right (Lincoln Plaza)**

07/11/10  The Girl Who Played with Fire (Lincoln Plaza)

07/15/10  Get Him to the Greek (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

07/18/10  Inception IMAX (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

07/22/10  Despicable Me 3D (AMC 34th St.)

07/24/10  Salt (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

07/25/10  Farewell (L'affaire Farewell) (Lincoln Plaza)*

07/29/10  The Sorcerer's Apprentice (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

 

August

 

08/01/10  Dinner for Schmucks (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

08/03/10  Get Low (Lincoln Plaza)*

08/04/10  Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (Film Forum)* 

08/07/10  The Other Guys (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

08/08/10  Cairo Time (Lincoln Plaza)

08/14/10  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (AMC Lincoln Sq.)* 

08/15/10  Animal Kingdom (Landmark Sunshine)* 

08/21/10  Eat Pray Love (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

08/22/10  Soul Kitchen (dir. Fatih Akin) (IFC Center)* 

08/28/10  Change of Plans (Le code a changé) (IFC Center)

08/29/10  Mesrine: Killer Instinct (L'instinct de mort) (AMC 25/Times Sq.)* 

 

Sept.

 

09/04/10  Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (L'ennemi public n°1) (AMC 25/Times Sq.)* 

09/05/10  The American (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

09/11/10  Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur) (IFC Center)

09/12/10  A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop (Landmark Sunshine)

09/18/10  Easy A (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

09/19/10  The Town (AMC Kips Bay)* 

09/23/10  Resident Evil 3D (AMC 25/Times Sq. ETX)

09/25/10  You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (Lincoln Plaza)

09/26/10  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

 

Oct.

 

10/02/10  The Social Network (AMC 25/Times Sq.)*  

10/03/10  Let Me In (AMC Kips Bay)

10/07/10  Never Let Me Go (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

10/10/10  It's Kind of a Funny Story (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

10/16/10  Tamara Drewe (Lincoln Plaza)

10/17/10  Red (AMC Village 7)

10/30/10  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Lincoln Plaza)

10/31/10  Hereafter (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

 

Nov.

 

11/06/10  Inspector Bellamy (IFC Center)

11/07/10  Fair Game (AMC 72nd St.)* 

11/13/10  Unstoppable (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

11/14/10  Morning Glory (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

11/20/10  Tiny Furniture (IFC Center)

11/21/10  The Next Three Days (AMC Kips Bay)

11/27/10  Love and Other Drugs (AMC 19th St.)

11/28/10  The King's Speech (AMC Lincoln Sq.)* 

 

Dec.

 

12/02/10  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt. 1 (AMC 25/Times Sq. ETX)

12/04/10  Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (IFC Center)* 

12/05/10  I Love You, Phillip Morris (AMC Village 7)

12/09/10  Inside Job (Lincoln Plaza)* 

12/11/10  The Tourist (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

12/12/10  Black Swan (AMC 25/Times Sq.)

12/18/10  Burlesque (AMC 84th St.)

12/24/10  True Grit (AMC 25/Times Sq.)*

12/28/10  The Tempest (Lincoln Plaza)

12/30/10  TRON Legacy IMAX (AMC Lincoln Sq.)

12/31/10  Blue Valentine (Lincoln Plaza)*

 

112 films


Edited by Michael Reuben - 1/1/11 at 8:18am
post #4 of 72

I intend to list only 2010 releases.

2010 films seen: 72


Daybreakers - **
The Book of Eli - **
Valentine's Day - *1/2
The Ghost Writer - ***
14 Swords (2010 Asian) - *
Monga (2010 Asian) - ***1/2
The Warlords - ***1/2
Cop Out - **
Shutter Island - ***1/2
The Wolfman - *1/2
Alice in Wonderland (3D) - **
Clash of the Titans - ***
Hot Tub Time Machine - ***
The Runaways - **
Green Zone - **1/2
A Prophet - ***1/2

How to Train a Dragon (3D) - ***

Casino Jack and the United States of Money - **

The Secret in Their Eyes - ***1/2 

Kick Ass - ***1/2

Iron Man 2 - **

Robin Hood - **1/2

Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time - *1/2

Toy Story 3 (3D) - ***1/2

The Karate Kid - **1/2

Knight and Day - **

Eclipse - **

Inception - ***1/2

Salt - **

The Expendables - **

The Kids are All Right - ***1/2

The Other Guys - **

The American - ***

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - ***

Get Low - ***

The Town - ***1/2

Machete - **

Easy A - ***

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - **1/2

Never Let Me Go - ***

A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop - ***

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Fire (2010 Asian) - **1/2

Shrek Forever After - ***

Soul Kitchen - **1/2

On the Path (2010 European) - ***

Cairo Time - **1/2

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - ***

The Social Network - ***1/2

Aftershock - **1/2

Due Date - **

RED - **1/2

Megamind (3D) - ***

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief - **

Hereafter - ***

Morning Glory - ***

Love and Other Drugs - **1/2

The Next Three Days - ***1/2

Burlesque - **

The Tourist - **1/2

Unstoppable - ***

Tron Legacy - **

The Fighter - ***1/2

Little Fockers - **1/2

True Grit - ***

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - **

Black Swan - ***1/2

Date Night - **1/2

Winter's Bone - ***

Welcome to the Rileys - ***

127 Hours - ***

Buried - **

The King's Speech - ***1/2


Edited by Kirk Tsai - 2/24/11 at 4:00pm
post #5 of 72

2010 Film List

Total Films Seen: 41

Last Updated: 12/27/10

Criteria: North American Release

Films
The Wolfman (Director - Joe Johnston) **1/2
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Director - Chris Columbus) ***
Shutter Island (Director - Martin Scorsese) ***1/2
The Crazies (Director - Breck Eisner) ***
Hot Tub Time Machine (Director - Steve Pink) ***
Alice in Wonderland (Director - Tim Burton) **1/2

Date Night (Director - Shawn Levy) **1/2

Kick-Ass (Director - Matthew Vaughn) ***

A Nightmare on Elm Street (Director - Samuel Bayer) **1/2

Iron Man 2 (Director - Jon Favreau) ***

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Director - Mike Newell) **1/2

Robin Hood (Director - Ridley Scott) **1/2

Survival of the Dead (Director - George A. Romero) **1/2

Daybreakers (Director - The Spierig Brothers) ***

The Book of Eli (Director - The Hughes Brothers) ***

Toy Story 3 (Director - Lee Unkrich) ****

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Director - David Slade) ***

Predators (Director - Nimrod Antal) **1/2

Inception (Director - Christopher Nolan) ****

Dinner For Schmucks (Director - Jay Roach) **

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Director - Edgar Wright) ***1/2

The Expendables (Director - Sylvester Stallone) ***

The A-Team (Director - Joe Carnahan) ***

Easy A (Director - Will Gluck) ***1/2

Frozen (Director - Adam Green) ***

Let Me In (Director - Matt Reeves) ***1/2

The Social Network (Director - David Fincher) ****

Saw 3-D (Director - Kevin Greutert) **

Paranormal Activity 2 (Director - Tod Williams)   *** 
 

Due Date (Director - Todd Phillips) **

Unstoppable (Director - Tony Scott) ***

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Director - David Yates) ***1/2

The Last Airbender (Director - M Night Shyamalan) *1/2

Get Him To The Greek (Director - Nicholas Stoller) ***

127 Hours (Director - Danny Boyle) ***1/2

Burlesque (Director - Steve Antin) **1/2

The Fighter   (Director - David O. Russell)   ***1/2

True Grit (Director - Joel and Ethan Coen) ****

Black Swan (Director - Darren Aronofsky) ****

TRON: Legacy (Director - Joseph Kosinski) ***

The King's Speech (Director - Tom Hooper) ***1/2

Ranking

1. Inception

2. True Grit

3. The Social Network

4. Black Swan

5. Toy Story 3

6. The Fighter

7. 127 Hours

8. The King's Speech

9. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

11. Let Me In

12. Easy A
13. Shutter Island

14. TRON: Legacy

15. Frozen

16. Kick-Ass

17. Unstoppable

18. Iron Man 2

19. Get Him To The Greek

20. The A-Team

21. The Expendables

22. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
23. Hot Tub Time Machine

24. The Crazies'

25. Paranormal Activity 2

26. Burlesque
27. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

28. Daybreakers

29. Predators

30. The Book of Eli

31. A Nightmare on Elm Street

32. Robin Hood
33. Alice in Wonderland

34. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

35. Date Night

36. Due Date

37. Dinner For Schmucks

38. Saw 3D

39. Survival of the Dead
40. The Wolfman

41. The Last Airbender
 


Edited by Travis_S - 1/3/11 at 2:58pm
post #6 of 72
Ratings are on a scale of * to *****
Total seen: 5
Last watched: The Crazies


2010 FILMS SEEN


Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (Director: Ti West) **
Crazies, The (Director: Breck Eisner) ****

Daybreakers (Directors: The Spierig Brothers) **

Frozen (Director: Adam Green) ****

Triangle (Director: Christopher Smith) ***½

Wolfman, The (Director: Joe Johnston) **½


FILMS BY RATING

*****


****½


****
Crazies, The
Frozen


***½
Triangle

***


**½
Wolfman, The

**
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever
Daybreakers





*


Edited by Justin_S - 3/2/10 at 10:38pm
post #7 of 72
 Reserved
post #8 of 72

Last Updated: 12/31/10

Latest Seen:


blackswan_smallposter2.jpg

Total Film Count: 19

    • 2010 Films: 12
    • Pre-2010 Films - First Time Viewings: 5
    • Pre-2010 Films - Revisits: 2

Rating System

- Excellent
½ - Great
- Good
½ - Average
Poor
½ - Dreadful
- Garbage
____________________________________________________________

2010 Films

Black Swan / star.gifstar.gifhalf.gif / 12/29/10
Date Night / / 05/05/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 / star.gifstar.gifstar.gif / 11/20/10

How to Train Your Dragon (3D) / / 05/05/10

Inception / star.gifstar.gifstar.gifhalf.gif / 07/19/10

Iron Man 2 / / 05/08/10

Kick-Ass / / 04/23/10
Oceans / / 04/23/10

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World / star.gifstar.gifstar.gifhalf.gif / 08/14/10

The Social Network / star.gifstar.gifstar.gif / 10/03/10

Tron Legacy (3D) / star.gifstar.gifstar.gif / 12/22/10

Toy Story 3 (3D) / / 06/21/10

 

 

Pre-2010 Films - First Time Viewings


Caprica - Uncut DVD Version (2009) / / 01/31/10
It's a Wonderful Life / star.gifstar.gifstar.gifstar.gif / 12/25/10
Red Without Blue (2007) / / 01/07/10
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) /  / 05/28/10

Pre-2010 Films - Revisits
Gremlins / star.gifstar.gifstar.gif / 10/31/10
Michael Jackson's Thriller / star.gifstar.gifstar.gifstar.gif / 10/31/10
 
 
 
 
 
 

Edited by Kristian - 12/31/10 at 7:06am
post #9 of 72

Eligible 2010 Film Count: 150 (seen between 1/1/10 and 12/31/11)
2009 Film List Continued: 70 (seen during the 2010 calendar year)
Pre-2009 Films Seen For the First Time: 69 (seen during the 2010 calendar year)
Revisits: 17
Total Seen to Date: 307

2010 Film List

ALL RATINGS OUT OF (FIVE) STARS
 

half.gif

Blue Valentine

Inception
The Social Network

 

A Prophet (Un Prophète)

Animal Kingdom

Biutiful
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Four Lions
Greenberg
Mother (Madeo)

The Tillman Story
Toy Story 3
True Grit (2010)
You Don't Know Jack


127 Hours
Another Year

Carlos (full version)
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
The Fighter
Gasland

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
The King's Speech

Let Me In
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Shutter Island
The Way Back

Winnebago Man
Winter's Bone


The A-Team

The American
Babies

Black Swan
Cropsey

Daybreakers

Dogtooth (Kynodontas)

Due Date
Edge of Darkness

Fair Game

Freakonomics
Get Him to the Greek
The Ghost Writer
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Flickan Som Lekte Med Elden)
Green Zone
How To Train Your Dragon

I Love You Phillip Morris

The Illusionist (L'Illusionniste)

Inside Job

Kick-Ass

The Kids Are All Right

Machete
Marwencol

Megamind

Micmacs (Micmacs à Tire-larigot)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Never Let Me Go

The Next Three Days
Please Give
Rabbit Hole
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Robin Hood (2010)

Salt

The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
Solitary Man

Somewhere
Stone

Tangled

The Town

Unstoppable

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Youth in Revolt

 


All Good Things
The Book of Eli
Buried

Centurion
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Company Men
Date Night

Despicable Me

Devil

Enter the Void
Extract
Faster
From Paris With Love
Frozen (2010)

Get Low

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Luftslottet som Sprängdes)
Hot Tub Time Machine

Howl
Iron Man 2

Jack Goes Boating

Jackass 3D

The Last Exorcism

The Losers

The Karate Kid

The Killer Inside Me

Kings of Pastry

Monsters

Morning Glory

The Other Guys

Paranormal Activity 2
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Pirahna (2010)

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Repo Men

Shrek Forever After

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Waiting for "Superman"
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
The Wolfman

 

Alice in Wonderland

Casino Jack
Catfish
Chloe
The Crazies (2010)

Cyrus

Dinner For Schmucks

Easy A

The Expendables

Hereafter
How Do You Know

Knight and Day
Life During Wartime

MacGruber

Predators

Red
The Runaways
Skyline

Splice
Triangle

Tron: Legacy
 

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

After.Life

Clash of the Titans
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Human Centipede: First Sequence

I'm Still Here
Legion
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done

The Tourist

Twilight: Eclipse

 

Hatchet 2
Jonah Hex
The Last Airbender

Resident Evil: Afterlife


Saw: The Final Chapter
Sex and the City 2

2009 Film List continued...
(these titles will also be added to the actual 2009 Film List)

ALL RATINGS OUT OF (FIVE) STARS

 


An Education

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Informant!
Inglourious Basterds
Thirst

Up in the Air
The White Ribbon



Avatar
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Brothers

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

The Damned United
The Fourth Kind
Il Divo
Lorna's Silence (Le Silence de Lorna)
The Road

Sin Nombre
That Evening Sun

Zombieland

A Serious Man

Big Fan

Carriers
Cold Souls
Crazy Heart

House of the Devil
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Last Station
Summer
Hours (L' Heure d'été)

Where the Wild Things Are

Whip It
The Young Victoria



Beeswax
The Betrayal
The Box

The Boys Are Back
Capitalism: A Love Story
Gentlemen Broncos

The Invention of Lying

Invictus
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Messenger
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Surrogates


2012
A Single Man

Amelia
Alexander the Last
Bright Star

Law Abiding Citizen
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Ponyo
Saw VI

Taking Woodstock
Tetro

The Time Traveler's Wife
Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg


Bitch Slap

The Blind Side
The Final Destination

Incendiary (Blown Apart)
New York, I Love You
The Stepfather (2009)

Whiteout


Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Halloween II (2009)

The Limits of Control

Twilight: New Moon

Old Dogs


My One and Only
 

Pre-2009 Films Seen For the First Time

ALL RATINGS OUT OF (FIVE) STARS

 


The Child (L'enfant) (2006)
Crumb (1994)
Memories of Murder (Salinui Chueok) (2005)
The Staircase (2004)

 


21 Up (1977)

Charade (1963)
The Edge (1997)
God Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) (1988)

Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)
The Long Good Friday (1980)
Network (1976)
Presumed Innocent (1990)
Stevie (2003)
You Can Count on Me (2000)


7 Plus Seven (1970)

28 Up (1985)

35 Up (1991)
Close-Up (Nema-ye Nazdik) (1990)
Hang 'Em High (1968)
Hero (Ying Xiong) (2004)
Howard's End (1992)
The Parallax View (1974)
Paris, Texas (1984)
Rashomon (Rashômon) (1950)
Sanjuro (1962)
Salvador (1986)

Seven Up! (1964)
Splinter (2008)
The Woodsman (2004)



Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part) (1964)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2007)
Bound (1996)
Contempt (Le Mépris) (1963)
Duck, You Sucker (A Fistful of Dynamite) (1971)
Following (1999)

Ghost Town (2008)
Helvetica (2007)
The Hours (2002)
Kundun (1997)
Man of Aran (1934)
My Man Godfrey (1936)

Ray (2004)
Shallow Grave (1995)
Sleeper (1973)

Special (2008)
Three... Extremes (Saam Gaang Yi) (2005)
Walkabout (1971)

 


15 Minutes (2001)

A Better Tomorrow (Ying Hung Boon Sik) (1986)
The Double Life of Veronique (La Double Vie de Véronique) (1991)
Hard Rain (1998)
The House of Yes (1997)
My Life to Live (Vivre Sa Vie) (1962)
The Puffy Chair (2006)
Shark Tale (2004)
Sniper (1993)


Femme Fatale (2002)
The I Inside (2003)
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Monkeybone (2001)

Quintet (1979)
 


Butterfly (1982)
Dr. T and the Women (2000)
Over the Top (1987)
Suspect Zero (2004)



When Will I Be Loved (2004)


ZERO STARS
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

Rape Me (Baise-moi) (2001)
 

Revisits

ALL RATINGS OUT OF (FIVE) STARS


The Dark Knight (2008)

District 9 (2009)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)


Before the Devli Knows You're Dead (2007)
Inception (2010)
Offside (2007)
Thank You For Smoking (2005)
Wall Street (1987)
The Wrestler (2008)



Batman Begins (2005)
In the Company of Men (1997)

The Last Supper (1995)
Notorious (1946)
Up (2009)


ZERO STARS
The Room (2003)


Edited by Brian.L - 5/17/12 at 1:47pm
post #10 of 72
I am going to do mine a bit differently. I am going to list all the films I see in 2010, even 2009 release dates that I see at the cinema this year. And I am also instead of listing the dates, months ext that I view them, I am going to put them in order of which is the best. So more like a list of my 2010 Cinema Visits in order of what I think is the best.

1. Toy Story 2 3D (Lasseter, 2009) USA
2. The Road (Hillcoat, 2009) USA
3. Ninja Assasin (McTeigue 2009) USA
4. Its Complicated (2009, Meyers) USA
5. The Book of Eli (Hughes, 2010) USA

6. Up In The Air (Reitman, 2009) USA
7. Did You Hear About The Morgans (Lawrence, 2009) USA
8. 44 Inch Chest (Venville, 2009) UK
Edited by filmfandan - 1/25/10 at 6:37am
post #11 of 72
Thread Starter 
Added Avatar. It's hard to imagine any film in 2010 topping it. The movie reportedly cost $300 million to make, and you can see every penny of it on screen. My father and I tried to see it last night, but the theater was sold out so we bought tickets for today. Good thing, since when we got there today it was also sold out. Great crowd, great 3D, great experience.
post #12 of 72
I keep trying to write something about Nine and giving up. I enjoyed the film, but I also understand why it isn't connecting with viewers. I would have been shocked if it had been any kind of success, knowing the source material (the stage show, not the Fellini film, which bears about as much relation to the musical as Shaw's Pygmalion bears to My Fair Lady, i.e., some character names and basic situations, but not much else). It's becoming more and more obvious, as musical after musical fails to make a hit film, that Chicago was a fluke: a happy confluence of subject matter, songs, filmmakers and cast that isn't likely to be repeated anytime soon. I'll take my musicals where they belong: in the theater or on classic Blu-rays like Fox's South Pacific  -- which, good as it is, still pales in comparison to the recent full-scale revival at Lincoln Center. A great musical is an event, and songs, even when they're good, are too antiquated a technique for creating a sense of event in contemporary filmmaking.
post #13 of 72
A truly great film performance does the same thing as 3D technology -- it lifts the character off the screen and makes him or her appear to walk among us. Jeff Bridges gives one of the greatest screen performances I have ever seen in Crazy Heart. Long before the film ends, you really feel that his Bad Blake (real name not to be disclosed until it appears on his tombstone) is somewhere out there cruising the backroads of the American Southwest, knocking back bourbon and performing his old standards in whatever dive will book him.

When I first read about Crazy Heart, it sounded like a remake of Tender Mercies, and indeed the star of that film, Robert Duvall (who won an Oscar for it), is a producer of Crazy Heart and has a small role as a bar owner and friend of Bad Blake. But despite some overlapping themes, Crazy Heart has an entirely different vibe, and part of that is because it's so unexpectedly funny. The director, Scott Cooper, co-wrote the script, and he tailored the role of Bad Blake for Bridges. I guess if you're writing a role for the man who will always live in the popular imagination as "The Dude", you have no choice but to take advantage of it. So in the opening scene, Bad Blake's truck rolls up to his next two-bit gig, and he's immediately pissed when he realizes that it's . . . a bowling alley! I was already laughing.

Bad Blake takes these crappy gigs, because he's broke and needs the money, and at this point in his life, he doesn't know what else to do. With no apparent effort, Bridges conveys the sense of a man who's filled with regret but has gotten so used to regretting everything that he's almost comfortable with it. Only a few things seem to push his buttons. One is a lingering sense of rivalry with a former protege, Tommy Sweet, who's become a big star singing songs that Bad Blake wrote. (Sweet is played by Colin Farrell, which sounds like bizarre casting, but it somehow works.) Another is Jean, a reporter half Bad's age who interviews him for the Santa Fe paper, because her uncle, a part-time piano player, sets it up. The reporter is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, in a welcome return to the kind of role she does best, and the relationship that develops between Jean and Bad is odd, inappropriate and never anything but believable, because these two actors couldn't hit a false note if they tried.

The story doesn't go anywhere shocking or novel, but the movie is never anything less than compelling, because Bridges is always there -- and he's right there, as if Bad Blake were standing right in front of you: ornery, a lost cause, and impossible to ignore.
Edited by Michael Reuben - 3/22/10 at 9:01am
post #14 of 72
I stayed away from Brothers when it first came out, because I really liked the 2004 Danish original and the reviews I saw of the remake were lukewarm. My mistake. David Benioff's script is a thoughtful adapatation that appropriately resets the family relationships for an American context, and Jim Sheridan's direction is both precise and understated. Not to overlook Freddie Elmes' cinematography. The guy who shot Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and Synecdoche, New York still knows how to put poetry in a frame.

The subject matter (strained family relationships and the toll that war takes on them) isn't easy, but so what? If it were easy, it wouldn't be interesting.

I've seen a number of critics complain that Tobey Maguire isn't up to the role of Sam, the "good" brother whose psyche gets shredded by the horrors of war, but I think they're full of it. I'm with Roger Ebert: Maguire convincingly conveys the anguish of a good man who finds himself trapped in a nightmare from which he can't awake, in which he's the bad guy and even his own children are terrified of him. (In the Danish original, the character was played by Ulrich Thomsen, who was the chief villain in The International.)

Strong supporting work from Sam Shepard as the alcoholic father, Mare Winningham as his second wife, and, in a crucial scene, Carey Mulligan as the wife of a fellow marine.
Edited by Michael Reuben - 3/17/10 at 8:49am
post #15 of 72
Thread Starter 
I was downtown with a visiting friend when we were driving by the Madison and decided on a whim to catch a film. Usually the Madison is the low-brow alternative to the Spectrum when it comes to intercity Albany theaters, but for whatever reason Brothers was showing there. Great film, perfectly cast and scripted. Given the horrific circumstances the family finds themselves dealing with, everyone is as decent as can be expected. Sam Shepard is terrific as the patriarch. At first he seems like a cruel drunk whose preference for his older son is obvious. However, unlike the Lifetime version of this archetype, his character has a lot more to offer. Over the course of the film, we learn that Tommy -- the younger son and recently released convict -- gave his father a lot of reasons to be dismissive. In spite of that, he is able to reevaluate Tommy as the evidence mounts that his reformation is legitimate. The apparent death of his older son, Capt. Sam Cahill, provides the catalyst for him to finally start dealing with his own post-tramatic stress disorder. Natalie Portman has the toughest and least showy role as Grace, a smart capable young mother who made the respectable decisions and values respectable behavior. Her lot in life is to be the sort of person that things happen to, condemned to making the best of often terrible situations. Tommy offers her the possibility of what Sam offered her, without all of the baggage that comes with being married to Sam. It is a credit to both of them that the ghost of Sam keeps them from moving forward. Bailee Madison is also stellar as Sam and Grace's first daughter, who is just old enough to internalize the emotional rollercoaster that war has introduced into their family. There is a scene outside, where Sam has returned after a angry fight and a full night's disappearance, that is absolutely heartbreaking as a result of Madison's performance. Then there are
Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire, who have somehow avoided being paired as brothers until now. Both are tremendously effective: Gyllenhaal as the earnest man trying to overcome his shady reputation, and Maguire as the tramatized survivor drowning in shame exacerbated by his heroic reputation. I usually can stand Maguire, but you need someone so happy-go-lucky and wholesome to carry the audience's sympathy through some very dark passages. A lesser director would have cast an actor who specializes in bad guys for Sam, turning a tense family drama into a horrific thriller. That would have robbed the film of its emotional heft and belittle a struggle that so many of our returning vets face. As it is, the movie doesn't end on a happy note, but it ends on the most optimistic note that the premise would reasonably allow for.
post #16 of 72
Thread Starter 
Added Youth in Revolt, which caused me to laugh out loud more often than any movie in recent memory when it wasn't frustrating the hell out of me. The strange cross between lower middle class Americana and sophisticated intellectual fantasy took me a while to adjust to, and the deliberate, overwhelming pretension of the protagonists frustrated the hell out of me from beginning to end. A perfectly paced, lighthearted adaptation of a book that serves as the poster child of the kind of modern literary fiction I love to hate, arty but accessible. Portia Doubleday (terrific name!) is very pretty, but has the sort of face you want to smack; her character Sheeni positively drips with condescension. Most of the film's pleasures come from a stellar supporting cast of top-notch character actors. Fred Willard is a particular joy as the protagonist's bored, bleeding heart neighbor who uses his basement as a stop on a sort of underground railroad for illegal immigrants. And Justin Long is terrific as Sheeni's perpetually high brother Paul. Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, M. Emmet Walsh and Mary Kay Place also pop up in fun little roles. The second half worked better for me than the first half, partially because I was more acclimated to the movie's rhythms and partially because the payoffs are largely effective.
post #17 of 72
Thread Starter 
Added The Book of Eli, which owes a very large debt to the Mad Max series of films but actually improves on it by marrying the iconography of Road Warrior with a story possessing actual heft. The movie showcases stellar action scenes and beautifully realized post-apocolyptic visuals that transform Anywhere USA into New Mexico (where the film just so happened to film). All of that is just set dressing for an earnest exploration of faith and the power belief has to redeem us or destroy us. Denzel Washington is terrific as the title character, stoic like a monk, brutally violent when he has to be -- but only when he has to be. Over the course of the film, we learn that he acquired the book back East; exactly where is never clarified. A voice led him to its location, and that same voice sent him on a journey west with the promise of protection until he completes his task. Gary Oldman's villain, Carnegie, is much like Will Patton's General Bethlehem in The Postman, the educated leader of a barbarian clan. His obsession with belief is no less profound than Eli's. The fates of both men become entangled with Solara, the daughter of Carnegie's whore. Solara, played by Mila Kunis, is unrealistically beautiful. I could not buy that Eli was the first man that Carnegie forced upon her. But setting that aside, Kunis commits to her role with Washington's level of dedication. She spent the first seven years of her life living in the Ukraine during the final years of the Soviet era. I have no reason to believe she lived anything other than a middle class life before emigrating, but she brings a certain cold worldliness to the role that makes you believe she could have survived growing up in the hellscape of this movie.

The ending is a doozy, that forces you to reexamine everything that has come before it. I disagree with Ebert, however, when he says that "several WTF! Moments ... make everything in the entire movie impossible and incomprehensible". If you believe Eli, the ending makes perfect sense. If you consider the way Washington's performance interacts with the world, it makes just enough sense for me to buy it. Most importantly, though, the twists are perfectly in keeping with the themes of the movie, rather than turning the movie on its head.
post #18 of 72
Thread Starter 
Attended a free promotional screening of Crazy Heart hosted by Fox Searchlight at the local arthouse theatre. I'd wanted to see it after reading great things here and elsewhere, and I'm happy I did. The movie is deceptively simple, chronicling a slice of Bad's life with only the bare minimum of plot. Jeff Bridges is fantastic, channeling with eery intuition all of the alcoholics I knew growing up while never once losing the instant charisma of being Jeff Bridges. He dominates the room everywhere he goes, even when he's at his most pathetic. His journey is neither edgy nor shocking nor unconventional. But it's real, and it's the journey the lucky ones in Bad's shoes get to walk. Robert Duvall is achingly believable as Bad's longtime friend and the owner of the bar Bad headlines when he's in town. Once again, when I was young the decent old men in my life were exactly like him. Every breath conveys the lifetime of experiences that they have lived, but unlike Bad they are not overly burdened by those experiences. Men like Duvall's character have already faced their pasts and come up on top. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a world-weary flirt, like she does in so many pictures. Her character, Jean, does not share the hyper-real chemistry of the great movie pairings. Instead, we watch objectively as their relationship plays out. The flaws in Bad are evident from the get-go, and we wait to see what he'll do to finally drive her away for good. The ending is optimistic but honest.

On the way out of the screening, my audience was ambushed by thirty women representing MADD who were respectful but intense.
post #19 of 72
Added my first two 2010 releases.

Daybreakers - in the near future, a bat-borne plague has turned 99% of the human population into vampires. The remaining humans are hunted down and farmed for blood by a corporation headed by Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), an individual who views vampirism as a miracle since he was dying before the plague broke out. There aren't many humans left though, and when a vamp goes without blood, they turn into grotesque Nosferatu variants called subsiders. Bromley enlists his top hematologist (Ethan Hawke) to come up with a blood substitute, but an underground band of surviving humans have a different resolution in mind. This film has a unique premise, and for the first hour or so, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world that Michael and Peter Spierig created. The opening scene shows one of the downsides of vampirism, as a girl takes her life rather than be stuck in a child's body for eternity. There were some fun touches thrown in too, like blood coming in wine bottles and being poured over ice. The film also touches on themes of corporate greed taking precedent over the good of the public. Alas, the second half turns into a cliched mess. The ending in particular is really cheesy as a result. Truthfully, I would have been happy if the entire band of humans idea had been scrapped entirely. Surely they could've come up with something better than that. Other segments of the picture seem rushed, like the subplot involving Bromley's daughter. Speaking of Bromley, Sam Neill is one of my favorite actors, so it was great seeing him in a genre film again. His presence is easily the highlight of Daybreakers. I've never much cared for Hawke, and his performance here did nothing to change my mind. Willem Dafoe also pops up, and while I usually do like him, his character here is annoying. As is, chalk it up as a movie that could've been more. Oh well, at least it's way better than the last work from the Spierigs, Undead. That was one of the rare films that I stopped watching halfway through. Quick note: I saw a father and two young teens leave shortly after an early scene involving a gory testing of the blood substitute. Guess they thought this would be another Twilight.

Frozen - a college student, his girlfriend and his jealous buddy go on a weekend ski/snowboard outing. It was supposed to be just the guys, but the girlfriend came along much to buddy Lynch's dismay. She is still learning, and as a result of this, the trio spend most of the day on a bunny slope. After some complaining from Lynch, they decide to go on a quick run down the mountain before the day is through, but there's bad weather moving in. They manage to convince the lift operator to let them go, but through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the lift is stopped midway up the mountain leaving them stuck as the place shuts down for the week. With bad weather, the freezing cold and a large drop between them and the ground, the chances for survival are looking slim. And that's not taking the pack of hungry wolves into account. I caught this Saturday and thought it was fantastic. It's from the Open Water/Black Water/The Canyon school of survival horror, but this may just be my pick for best of the lot. At one point early on into the trio's predicament, I discovered that I had unknowingly squeezed my hands together so tightly that they'd fallen asleep, so it's safe to say that the tension got to me. The characters also really grew on me as the film wore on, and I actually felt really bad for them. With the "introducing" credit, I'm guessing this is Emma Bell's first film. While she has a spotty moment or two, for a first-timer, I'd say she knocked it out of the park. Her standout scene takes place when she's relaying her fears about what might happen to her puppy if she dies on the lift, and if he'd think she abandoned him. Also effective is the sparingly used score, usually played over visuals of the abandoned ski park. There are some gruesome bits, particularly the hand scene from the trailer and a discovery towards the film's end, but most of the tension comes from the predicament itself and some of the debasing things the characters have to do. I didn't think much of Adam Green's Hatchet, but this is worth the praise that one received.
Edited by Justin_S - 2/28/10 at 2:43am
post #20 of 72
Thread Starter 
Caught two movies at two different theaters today:

From Paris With Love is an excellent crowd-pleaser that subverts our expectations from beginning to end. What starts out a staid European espionage thriller changes completely when the protagonist is sent to free Charlie Wax from French customs. Wax is truly what an American James Bond would be like: crass, abusive, delightedly ignorant but also intelligent, resourceful, loyal, creative and incredibly determined. Over the course of the film, our understanding of everyone changes. Wax is one of Travolta's all-time great characters, a chance for him to chew scenery without ever completely destroying the sense of plausibility. I would pay to see more Charlie Wax movies in the future.

Shutter Island is Scorcese's love letter to the gothic horror genre. It's got every staple: the remote island, surrounded by fog, the old military fort that seems chock full of medieval dungeons, a mysterious and troubled protagonist, a German mad scientist, hidden caves and secret passages, ominous forbidden areas, an ancient grave yard. The flashbacks to the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp and subequent massacre are surprisingly graphic, as are flashbacks to another more fragmented and amorphous event. Naturally, nothing is as it seems. We have seen all of these elements many many times before, and Scorcese both relishes in and depends on that familiarity. The twist ending in not terribly surprising given the conventions of the genre, but the implications of the final scene -- depending on how you interpret the meaning of what Leonardo DiCaprio's character says to Mark Ruffalo's character -- are truly horrifying.
post #21 of 72
The Crazies - this remake of the 1973 George Romero film sees the rural Iowa town of Ogden Marsh become unhinged when it's residents begin exhibiting odd behavior, usually culminating in acts of violence. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) is at a loss to explain what's happening to the people he's known all his life, but the discovery of a dead pilot in a marsh leads him to the answer, a downed plane infecting the town's water supply. It isn't long before the military has blocked all methods of communication and descended upon the town. Determined to render a final solution, they don't intend to let anyone out alive. Following the basic setup of the original, this update expands upon the story and throws in a few new directions and surprises. If you ask me, there was plenty of room for improvement. Romero's film is decent, but highly flawed. You could blame the budget, but Romero's done some fantastic work with low budgets. It definitely had bigger problems than that. This is the type of remake I wish there was more of, the type that can improve on a weak original. We spend the majority of the film with the four main characters as they attempt to escape the madness; David, his wife (Radha Mitchell), his deputy (Joe Anderson) and his wife's secretary (Danielle Pannabaker). I was already a fan of both Olyphant and the lovely Mitchell before viewing this, and they're once again in solid form here. This is basically Olyphant's show, and he owns the screen when he's on. I'd love to see him get more leading roles after this. Anderson and Pannabaker are also impressive, getting me to care about the fates of their characters, something that many horror films have a hard time doing. One of the major differences between this and the Romero original is the lack of focus on the military's point of view this time aroud. We spend the duration seeing the events from the perspective of the leads and various other townsfolk. While the POV shown in the '73 film did offer some levels of interest, I think it works better as far as menace goes to not do that here. The crazies themselves are well rendered, each person reacting differently to the virus. Some are completely gone while others still retain some semblance of a thought process, the hunters for instance. After seeing the trailer, I was worried that they'd turn this into another zombie movie, but I was happy to see that wasn't the case. Speaking of the crazies, Lynn Lowry (of the original, ShiversI Drink Your Blood, etc.) pops up very briefly as one of them. A nice little nod there, and I noticed another potential nod to a similar film, 1984's Impulse, in which contaminated milk leads to people acting on there base impulses. A scene of Olyphant running after a mysterious vehicle that has been documenting the carnage mirrors a sequence from that picture. Also of note is Maxime Alexandre's gorgeous cinematography. Eisner was smart in getting him, as he's done equally stellar work for Alexandre Aja in the past. Thankfully, the use of CGI is minimal. In fact, I don't believe any pops up until the end, and when we get to that, it actually works just fine. We get a number of suitably tense setpieces, particularly one involving a pitchfork, a scene in a car wash and the aforementioned ending. On the downside, there are a few cheap jump scares thrown in. The music also struck me as being rather pedestrian at times. Overall though, I can safely say I'll be returning to this one more often than the 1973 effort.
--------------------------

I'm running behind in getting my thoughts up on several recent viewings, so I'll be back here and in the 2009 thread when I have a little more time. I also hope to begin posting thoughts on pre-2010 films soon, something that I intended to do this year, but have so far really procrastinated on.
post #22 of 72
Thread Starter 
Just got back from seeing To Kill a Mockingbird at the Palace Theatre in downtown Albany. It was one of the most enjoyable movie-going experiences of my life. The Palace is an old RKO movie palace that was converted into a more traditional theater when the city bought it in the 1970s. When it opened in 1931, it was the third largest movie theater in the world, and even today seats 2,844. Designed by John Eberson, it is a baroque theatre with absolutely gorgeous detail and mural work. The Rolling Stones played there during their third world tour.

Unfortunately, white flight out of downtown in the 1960s made it unprofitable for movie showings; only live entertainment like stand-up comedians and musicians can charge high enough ticket prices to keep the building open. Only rarely does the theatre still screen movies. The last movie I saw there was The Lion King when the theatre was experimenting with second-run showings in the mid-nineties. I've been itching to see another movie there for years.

The entire floor section was packed; I'm not sure about the balcony. Years of movie going experience has ingrained in me the stereotype that three groups, on average make the worst movie audiences: poor black families, old white people, and teenagers of every color. This crowd was full of the first two groups, but you could have heard a pin drop the entire way through. Extraordinarily respectful crowd in a theater that, due to its sheer size, amplifies background chatter. The 35mm print of the movie itself wasn't pristine, but it was in very good shape. And unlike the multiplexes, properly focused! When the movie was over, the crowd broke into applause.

Gregory Peck is rightly revered for his performance as Atticus, but Mary Badham's supporting actress nom (despite being the star of the picture) was very well deserved. Not only was she perfectly cast as the Scout in my head when I read the book, but she gave probably the first great child performance. A Scout that mugged for the camera like Jerry Mathers on "Leave it to Beaver" would have killed this picture. I still find her delivery of "Hey, Boo" incredibly moving. When you consider that "Amos 'n' Andy" was still playing in reruns when this film was released, it was by no means guaranteed that we'd get the serious and dignified performances we got from Estelle Evans, Brock Peters and Bill Walker. And of course, you can't forget Robert Duvall's haunting performance as Arthur 'Boo' Radley. His Boo is suitably creepy, almost ghostlike in his silence and his gliding walk. Duvall is the master of melancholy performances, and he did a wonderful job showing the gentleness and the sorrow underneath the creepy exterior. Just a wonderfully fulfilling night at the movies.
post #23 of 72
I envy you Adam. One of my all-time favorite films.
post #24 of 72

The Wolfman - new version of the Universal classic with Benicio Del Toro in the titular role. In spite of all the production problems and incessant delays, this isn't a terrible film. It feels very pieced together, but it has it's moments of promise. Unfortunately, most of that promise is never capitalized on. The CGI, while not as bad as I expected, is very noticeable. As for Baker's make-up work, it's quite good and should've been seen more. On the acting front, Del Toro is decent if kind of one note. Emily Blunt is one of my favorite actresses, and while she's fine, she isn't given a whole lot to do here. This cut of the film sorely lacks character development. I say that while fully acknowledging that the screenplay isn't anything to write home about in general. The story isn't particularly remarkable or even cohesive, and there are also some definite leaps in logic, including one that makes for a pretty sizable plot hole. I could have done without the climactic fight as well. In the end, I'll just say that it's not a good film, but it's not unwatchable either. I admit that I probably gave it an extra half star simply because it's good to see a werewolf onscreen again.

 

Triangle - Jess is a single mother struggling to raise her autistic son. While working her job at a diner, she become friends with one of the customers, a playboy type who invites her on a yachting trip with him and his friends. Desperate for a break from her son, she takes him up on his offer. It's smoothe sailing at first, but an out of nowhere storm leaves the boat capsized and the remaining passengers stranded. They think they're in luck when an ocean liner passes by, though boarding the ship is just the beginning of things going from bad to worse. This is the third film I've seen from director Christopher Smith. Creep left me unimpressed, but I liked Severance well enough, shoddy ending aside. This, however, is easily the most rewarding of the three. What looked like it would be your typical slasher set on a ship turns out to be something far more intriguing. What we get instead is a mind-bending little trip with an obtuse mood and a curving story. I can see some people thinking of the film as being too repetitive, but I was caught up in the mystery right off the bat. This is a well put together film with some interesting questions at it's core. While it's not completely fresh (there are some definite similarities to Timecrimes), it still kept it's hooks in me for the duration. Smith put a lot of time into the script, reportedly a few years, and I feel that it paid off. Triangle also wraps up with it's own unique explanation, one that's Sisyphean in theme. Another of the film's strong points would be the strength of some of it's visuals, the most notable example being Sally crawling amidst something that I will leave unspoiled. A wicked sight and a sure shock when it pops up.

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever - the DTV sequel to Eli Roth's film debut. Director Ti West reportedly wanted this to receive an Alan Smithee credit after LG took things in a different direction, though he didn't get his wish. I'm an unabashed fan of Roth's film, but this really felt nothing at all like the original. Even the Deputy Winston scenes felt a bit different in tone, excluding the sequence where he's talking to the water company's night watchman. The aforementioned scene did crack me up, but for a film that was clearly trying for laughs, it isn't good when that's the only scene that did get me to laugh. Aside from seeing Winston again, the main aspect of interest here was seeing two guys who played memorable psychos in two other genre titles (Deadgirl and The Lost, respectively) as rivals in this. Segan in particular seems to be playing the exact part his Deadgirl co-star played in that film. Anyway, there didn't seem to be much continuity between the effects of the virus in the original and what we see in this one. There is some pretty nasty and over-the-top stuff, though. Most characters were OTT too. I wish the film had spent more time with Lindsey Axelsson (Sandy, the prom queen). The last ten or so minutes with the strip club feel very tacked on, but I guess that makes sense, as West said the producers did the ending their way. I also didn't like the final cartoon bit in the least, not to say that the opening cartoon segment was any great shakes itself. If you like pure splatstick with not much sense involved, I guess you might enjoy this on some level. At one point, with chaose erupting around them, two teens continue making out even after they vomited blood into each other's mouths. That pretty much says it all. I wouldn't mind seeing the original cut for curiosity's sake, but doubt LG will release it. It took them forever to release the DC of the first.

post #25 of 72
Caught up with three 2009 releases recently:

Dare - unique coming of age drama about three high school seniors and the shady relationship that develops between them. Alexa is a wannabe actress who becomes uncomfortable at the very mention of sex. She hangs out with her childhood friend Ben, who's only friend is Alexa. They're both in drama class (Ben handles the stage lights) with Johnny, the most popular jock in school. He's only there because he has to be, much to the chagrin of Alexa since he's her acting partner. Following a truly rotten performance, a popular actor gives Alexa a piece of his mind, basically telling her that only through proper life experience will she ever have a remote chance of being a good actress. Devestated, she decides to get some experience through Johnny while perhaps escalating their on-stage chemistry in the process. None of this sits well with Ben, who has his own encounter with Johnny. It all leads to an unexpected triangle where the most unlikely person might wind up getting hurt.

Early on, I figured this would be your typical quirky teen indie, but it takes a turn into darker territory. It ends up taking on a more psychological route as it tackles themes of discovering yourself sexually and popularity sometimes only being skin deep. Emmy Rossum, who hasn't been in many films worthy of her talent, is solid as the naive good girl turned manipulative user. The change in her character may be a little abrupt, but she handles it well. Saying that, I still think the writers could've spent more time gradually exploring her transformation. Ashley Springer is okay as Ben, but his character turns into too much of a perverse oddball by film's end. Good choice for the role of outsider, though. The real star of the picture is Zach Gilford of Friday Night Lights fame. He gives a layered turn as the tortured Johnny. It's a very different role from his awkward, somewhat shy FNL character, and he shows that he has the depth to pull it off. Rooney Mara also makes an impression as Courtney, Alexa's best friend. Looking at her IMDB page after viewing this film, I was very surprised to see that she's playing Nancy in the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

While the acting is mostly strong, I will say that Alexa and Ben are hard to relate to as the film goes on. Again, a little more time on their transformations would have been nice. The ending also leaves something to be desired. It just isn't wrapped up in a very satisfying manner. As it stands, Dare is far from perfect. The story and characters both could have been better developed, but I'd say it's worth a look for those who don't mind teen dramas that are a bit off of the beaten path.

The Last House on the Left - I finally got around to seeing this redo of the infamous 1972 Craven pic. I didn't have a great desire to watch this, but heavy praise from several members of another forum I frequent convinced me to bite the bullet. I should thank them, because I'm really surprised by how much I liked this one. It's not the fact that it's a remake that kept me away. Craven's version itself was already pretty much a remake, and I've seen countless ripoffs that might as well be remakes as well. I figured a studio film wouldn't have too much to offer beyond the envelope pushing copycats. Anyway, Paige and Mari are two teen girls who meet Justin, a teen himself who offers them pot if they come back to his motel room. They take him up on his offer, but they stay too long and are still there when the boy's criminal father, Krug, shows up. Along with his equally sadistic brother and girlfriend, Krug forces the two girls to come along as the gang flees town. Their drive is cut short when Mari goes on the defensive, the vehicle going off the road during the conflict. With their method of transportation ruined and nowhere to go, the trio decide to have their way with Paige and Mari, subjecting them to torture and rape as Krug's son watches in disgust. Paige is killed while, unknownst to Krug and company, Mari survives the ordeal. After leaving her half dead in the water, they seek refuge at a nearby house, the very house that belongs to Mari's parents.

While this film follows the original pretty closely, it does deviate from it's source in a few major ways. The main difference is clear, that being the survival of Mari. I was against this at first, but it wound up working better than I expected. Still, I will say that I didn't care for the plot point of Mari being a swimmer. It felt like a contrived character trait thrown in just to get her into the water during her escape attempt. It's been several years since I last watched the Craven version, but I would say the brutality against the girls isn't as graphic this time around. It's still an effective sequence, but there's nothing like pulling out intestines or making someone urinate on themselves. On the other hand, the violence against the villains is far more graphic in this version. We also aren't subjected to stupidity like with the original's Sadie carelessly running into a swimming pool for no reason. Oh, and no comedic cops this time either. I liked how Krug's son showed more signs of guilt in this one, though the actor portraying him was somewhat of a cinder. Thankfully, he's the one weak leak in the acting chain. Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter are both good as the parents who struggle with what's happened to their daughter. As for Krug, Garret Dillahunt is very strong in the role. While I'd likely say that I prefer David Hess in the part overall, I found that I didn't think of Hess once while watching Dillahunt in action. He does the character differently and really makes it his own. All of that aside, I think that the best performance in the film undoubtedly belongs to Riki Lindhome. In Craven's original, I didn't think much of the Sadie character. She was annoying and just seemed to be along for the ride. Here though, Lindhome makes the character just as evil as Krug. She bails the attitude, and even her movements seem like those of a snake in the grass. I also give her kudos for her final fight scene, probably the most exciting segment in the film for me personally.

The location photography is another high mark for the remake. It's nothing like the gritty look of Craven's, but it doesn't need to be. Speaking of the '72 movie, it did make more sense how Krug kept his son doped up in that one. You would think the kid would be long gone in this version without that to stifle his efforts. I also have to mention the ending here, which is quite poor and doesn't make much sense. I really don't know why they decided to end things on that note, as it wouldn't be too hard to think of something better. Taken as a whole, I was pretty impressed by this remake. An incredible film it isn't, but as far as modern remakes go, you won't find many as successful as this one. The only one that comes to mind is The Crazies, which I would rate higher.

Surrogates - another in a long line of films exploring the dangers of becoming too dependent on technology. In this one, most people have adopted a stay at home lifestyle while they experience the rest of the world through robotic surrogates. Able to jack into and control these mechanical puppets from the comfort of their own homes, they can experience life as anyone they want, be it someone who looks completely different or as an idealized version of themselves. Naturally, some people want no part of this lifestyle, but they are the minority and have their own separate "camps" set up throughout the world. For some bizarre reason, there hasn't been a murder in years (couldn't one easily use their surrogate to go into a user's home and kill them while they obliviously control their own surry?), but that changes when the son of the technology's creator is killed while hooked into his surrogate. Detectives Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell) are on the case, but it will go deeper than they expect. The themes explored here are nothing new, but that doesn't mean the film can't be entertaining or offer a new way of viewing said themes. It doesn't really succeed in the case of the latter, but it is entertaining from time to time. It all comes off feeling a little generic, but I wasn't bored. A big problem with the film is that at a scant 89 minutes, it doesn't really have enough time for it's story to properly find it's footing. Some movies work better with a shorter running time, but I feel that this one could've used a bit more fleshing out. The Greer character has an interesting arc involving the relationship between him and his wife, though it would have been better with added character development. As is, Bruce Willis is adequate as Greer, but nothing more. There's not a lot to work with. He does get more to do than Radha Mitchell, who's talents are wasted. I would likely say that just seeing her was the best part of the film for me. There are also some easy to spot plot holes and I noticed a really bad bit of CGI involving an out of control helicopter. There's not much of substance here, but people looking for a way to kill some time could do worse.
Edited by Justin_S - 3/6/10 at 12:59am
post #26 of 72
Thread Starter 
Added Cop Out, the first Kevin Smith feature he didn't write and easily his most reviled since Mallrats. I loved Mallrats, and I liked Cop Out quite a bit too. I found Zack and Miri Make a Porno to be a flabby, self-indulgent mess so I was happy to see a more disciplined hand at the helm here. The humor is undeniably dumber than what Smith writes, but offers plenty of hilarious moments throughout. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan have better chemistry than the trailers would lead you to believe. Willis's cop is a more patient version of John McClane and Morgan's cop processes the comedian's usual schtick through a more intelligent veneer. The score, by Beverly Hills Cop, Fletch, and Tango & Cash composer Harold Faltermeyer, is a definite eighties throwback, but not in a bad way. Kevin Pollak and Adam Brody have supporting roles as even more troubled cops than our protagonists, while Michelle Trachtenberg cameos as Willis's daughter and Jason Lee pops up as her prickish new stepfather. Rashida Jones has fun as Morgan's wife, while Seann William Scott steals the movie with the kind of role he does best.

NOTE: This movie must be a theater hopping magnet. Throughout the running time, new people continued to file in and jostle for seats well past the halfway point. Some of the worst behaved theatergoers I've had the displeasure of sharing a theater with in quite some time.
post #27 of 72

Mother is the latest film from Bong Joon-ho, the Korean writer-director who managed the remarkable trick of making a monster movie that wasn't predictable with The Host. Mother is even less predictable, and I'm not even sure how to describe it -- thriller? murder mystery? family drama? It has elements of all three, plus more. The mother of the title is an apothecary and unlicensed acupuncturist, but her true devotion in life is to her 20-something son, Do-joon, who is what used to be called "slow". She cares for him as if he were still a little boy, but he's a grown man, as becomes clear when he and his friend Jin-tae get into an altercation with some golfers and are hauled in by the police. Later, Do-joon is accused of more serious crimes, and that's when the film enters territory that is truly unmapped. To reveal more would be a crime.

post #28 of 72
Thread Starter 
Das weisse Band/The White Ribbon, an Austrian film about a small German village in the years immediately preceding World War I, is a difficult film to pin down. On the rubric by which I would normally judge a film -- an enticing plot, enjoyable dialog, exciting action, interesting ideas -- it fails completely. It poses questions, suggests answers, but finally leaves the audience without a firm resolution of its plot or a firm statement of its relevance. What you are left with is a village where mysterious, awful things suddenly started happening; some triggered by festering injustices, some for reasons completely unknown. The neorealist style presents cruel and at times horrific events with a slow, calm pacing that robs the events of their drama even as it underscores the slowly unveiling horror. The power centers of this pre-industrial community are concentrated in the Doctor, the Baron and the Minister. The first event that signals something has gone wrong comes when the Doctor is severely injured after his horse is felled by a trip wire. Subsequent revelations suggest a couple obvious perpetrators: the midwife he continually humiliates, for years subject both to fulfilling his carnal impulses and suffering the guilt his carnal impulses conjure, and his own young teenage daughter, who has succeeded the midwife as the object of his base desires. The Baron comes under attack after an infirm peasant woman suffers a fatal accident at his sawmill. His cabbage is destroyed, his building is burned down, and his son is assaulted. It quickly becomes clear who ruined the cabbage, but what about the other "accidents"? The Minister's sober piety is the weapon he wields against his eldest two children. His eldest daughter, a tall and rigid sort of girl with a cleverly silent demeanor, retaliates. His eldest son, trapped between the opposing poles of his father and his older sister, suffers wearily. In the wake of these events, which go unsolved and unpunished, the Old Order's power is crumbled. The New Order, represented by the village's polite, withdrawn and almost uniformly blonde children, are menacing in their sheer presence. They're found at the end of dinner tables, behind wooden school desks, in the choir section above the church, seen and not heard. Implicated in unspeakable violence and cruelty. Waiting until they're the ones to have power.
post #29 of 72
Thread Starter 
Hot Tub Time Machine. That's all that needs to be said, really. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie since The Hangover; perhaps even longer. It's takes the time travel implications more seriously than you'd think, based on the trailers, but takes virtually nothing else seriously. It's a hard-R comedy with hard-R crudeness. If there's a certain over-reliance on puke jokes, well, that's what happens when your protagonists spend the entire movie drinking. John Cusack is particularly fun as 2010 John Cusack playing a classic 1980's John Cusack role. Lizzy Caplan would have fit in as the quirky, accessible female lead in any one of them. Rob Corddry steals the movie and runs with it as the alcoholic Lou, whose drunken and half-baked suicide attempt sets the events of the movie into motion. Usually any performance this in your face comes across as completely obnoxious, but with Lou just enough intelligence filtered through the boozy haze to keep him interesting. Craig Robinson has several standout moments as the repressed, domesticated husband who is suddenly able to let himself go. Clark Duke, who played the most memorable character in Sex Drive, spends his time here running around and preventing the three grown-ups from screwing up the past and preventing him from being born. His bemusement at a world in which people had to talk to each other in order to communicate was hilarious. And then, just when you think the movie has reached its absurdity limit, they go back to the future (did I mention Crispin Glover's supporting role as the one armed bellhop?) and see the effect their trip back in time has had on the world.
post #30 of 72
Thread Starter 
Caught a matinee of Date Night this afternoon with a friend. MUCH better than I expected, surely the best film of Shawn Levy's rather undistinguished career. The film takes a good twenty minutes or so to explore the live of Phil and Claire Foster under normal circumstances. We learn that their quiet suburban lives are boring and exhausting, that their friends' marriages are starting to fall apart, and that Phil and Claire themselves are still quite happy with one another. They share the same values of what is important, and perhaps more importantly they share a sense of humor. Their first date night is utterly mundane, but they keep each other laughing the whole way through. All of this background development pays off when things finally do take a wild turn, because we know and like these two people and understand why they react the way they do when they do. Much like Jonathan Swift's titular protagonist in Gulliver's Travels, they serve to introduce us to an increasingly zany and dangerous cast of characters even as they themselves change as the plot thickens. Kristen Wiig, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Mila Kunis, J.B. Smoove and especially William Fichtner each steal the show in their respective cameos. We've seen nearly all of this before, but never executed this well. Highly recommended.
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