movie reviews 2010

I started to keep these mini-reviews of all the movies I watched in 2009, either in the theater or from the comfort of my own living room. Once you start something on the blog, you gotta stick with it, so here's to 2010!

25. 12/25/10
Four Christmases
(Cinemax)
I wish I could just go with the silly comedy aspects here and stop after saying that I laughed really hard after some of these scenes.  But I can't get past the irritation that I felt with the shallow, stereotypical characters and the really big holes in the plot.  (Really, that was just one day?  How many freaking hours are in a day in movie land??)  So, sure, I laughed, but I also had to keep moving position because I was irritated.  Man, I long for an intelligent comedy about adults being reflective about their life choices, with the occasional stupid humor like Vince Vaughn can bring.  Oh well, not here.

24. 12/24/10
Duplex
(Comedy Central)
It's a good thing that I had my mind occupied by the presents I was wrapping and that I had this movie on just to break up the monotony, because this was just awful.  There were parts of this movie that gave me such extreme agita that I thought I was going to throw a present at the TV.  So very glad I didn't pay money for this one. 

23. 12/23/10
Zombieland
(DVD)
Oh my.  I learned some things from this movie.  First, I don't like zombie movies.  That's about all I needed to learn.  Yes, there was humor, and yes, Woody Harrelson is fricking hilarious, but I watched much of this movie from behind a blanket held in front of my eyes.  Oh, and they killed Bill Murray.  What the hell??

22.12/18/10
The Fighter
(theater)
I'm not much for fighting flicks, but this had more screen time (thankfully) that focused on the dramatics of the family relationships than on the actual in-the-ring-goriness.  Mark Wahlberg is not only a beautiful sight, but he's a damn good actor, too.  It certainly revealed a lot about a family, and I was surprised by how much considering the fact that these are only 10 year old happenings.  I was irritated by the family dynamics of using each other and complete selfishness, making me long for a romantic comedy... but if I'm pressed to go out of my comfort zone, this is the type of drama that I'd choose.

21. 12/16/10
Alice in Wonderland
(Starz)
I've never read the original book so I can't make any comparisons that way, but this was a spectacular movie visuals-wise.  It was entertaining and the acting was superb-- Helena Bonham Carter can do nothing wrong in my opinion. 

20.  12/14/10
Inglourious Basterds
(Showtime)
Holy crap.  Need more be said?  Quentin Tarantino effs with my head.  Honestly, I can't bring myself to say anything more.

19. 12/??/10
Curse of the Golden Flower
(DVD)
This was visually astounding, but I needed some online assistance to understand some aspects of the flow of the story.  The battle scenes weren't my thing, but I think they were enjoyed by hubby.  I don't have a whole lot of experience with foreign films, but I somehow felt more sophisticated after watching it. 

18.  11/20/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(theater)
Yup, I went to see another Harry Potter movie-- this from the chick who hasn't watched 1-5, but went to see 6 and 7.1 in the theater.  As much of a purist as I am about movie adaptations, it's been a while since I read the book, so not only was I not nitpicking the details during the movie, I was actually confused more than I'd like to admit.  I've read criticisms of the movie that revolve less around the book-vs-movie debate, and more about the tone and pacing of the movie.  Yes, it's slow and it drags at times, but that made sense to me, to fully convey the torturous loneliness that Harry, Hermione and Ron feel during their quest. 

Perhaps I'm not the best person to offer a perspective on the movie (you think??), but even though I couldn't remember much detail from the book, I definitely felt that the acting was incredible and believable, and I jumped in my seat more than once.  (Or twice.  Or thrice.  Lots of jumping.)

17. 9/25/10
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
(DVD)
Well, it was entertaining, even if the story itself falls apart a whole lot.  Ben Stiller is great at being Ben Stiller, and all the favorites from the first flick are back doing their same schtick.  What I'm trying to say here is that don't expect a cinematic masterpiece, but if you've got older kids who liked the first one, they're sure to be cracking up like a certain someone who watched this one with me.  (Although I do have to ask- could Amelia Earheart's pants BE any tighter?!)  

16. 9/10/10
I Love You, Man
(DVD)
Oh dear lord.  Bad.  Uncomfortably bad.  I've never wanted to punch Paul Rudd in the face more.  No chemistry between him and that actress from The Office, none.  Sure, I laughed at times, but overall, this one was a big old suck-fest. 

15. 8/18/10
The Other Guys
(theater)
Holy crap, is it possible to pull a muscle laughing?  I'm pretty sure that's what happened as we watched Mark Wahlberg trying not to laugh at Will Ferrell's quietly hilarious portrayal of a detective who likes to sit at his desk and tap on the same five computer keys.  No naked running around for Ferrell this time, but his delivery of freaking hysterical lines without cracking a smile just killed me.  I can't wait for the DVD outtakes on this one.  And, if you go see it, don't leave before the credits are over-- unbelievable statistics accompany the ending credits and there's one little scene at the very end that's not hilarious but funny, nonetheless.  Fabulous comedy!!

14. 8/10/10
Death at a Funeral
(DVD)
Oh my.  I expected this to be a little stupid-funny, but I have to admit that it was hilarious-funny!  Although I could do without Martin Lawrence, he does play the skeevy creep pretty well, and everyone else was just perfect in their roles. Hubby and I just kept cracking up, showing that it wasn't just me (who's pretty easy to make laugh) that approved of this great comedy!  (Apparently this is a remake of a 2007 British movie-- guess that will have to be added to the rental queue!)

13. 8/7/10
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
(DVD)
Okay, now I gotta go add these books to my TBR list!  I really enjoyed the movie, and it warmed my heart to hear my son getting frustrated at some of the changes the moviemakers made to the story.  (He's taking after me!)  This was highly entertaining, and even with a couple of choice pieces of language, I was still comfortable with our oldest watching it.  A great tween movie, but from a certain almost-ten-year-old, I've heard the book does an even better job telling this story! 

12. 8/5/10
The Kids are All Right
(theater)
Okay.  Superbly acted and extremely well written script.  There is a scene in which one character talks about how marriage is HARD, and lord almighty was it ever spot on.  This was one hell of a solid film- every aspect of it was outstanding.  All that praise being said, I have to say that for much of the movie, my stomach was tight and the tension was high.  I guess realism isn't always fun to watch, even when it's very well done!

11. 7/10/10
Toy Story 3
(theater)
Oh, I was a weepy mess by the end of this movie that certainly knew how to pull at a parent's heartstrings.  The highest quality animation out there, unarguably, and besides some of my usual nitpickings with Disney flicks (way too high of an intensity level for the "conflict" parts, and a bit of adult jokes that I just find unnecessary), overall this was a fabulous movie.  It will live in my memory for a long time because it was the first time Red and Pudge went to the movie theater!  Red was wonderful (except for her trembling reactions to the INTENSE parts) and Pudge was only a bit antsy.  I believe I'll have to rewatch this when JAM is heading off to college in eight years!

10. 6/26/10
Grown Ups
(theater)

Well.  I had a whole lot of optimism about this movie going in- I love Sandler, and the concept of a bunch of guys in their late thirties coming back together for a reunion of sorts had so much potential.  That's the phrase that kept going through my head during the entire movie-- so much potential.  I don't know what happened, but it fell flat for me.  REALLY flat.  There were funny lines, yes, but for the most part, it felt like a bunch of skits pieced together, not always too smoothly, either.  Oh, so disappointing, especially considering the cast.  Sorry Dad, for dragging you out to this one!

9.6/23/10
Much Ado About Nothing
(DVD)
Well- I'm just going to paste in here my book review, since I read the book and watched the movie simultaneously:

Well.  Technically, I read the play, while I watched along with the Kenneth Branagh movie version.  I was entertained, there were parts in which I laughed out loud, but I'm not sure that I would have gotten the story as well without the visual interpretation.  (That just goes to show how much difficulty I have with reading Shakespeare...)  I guess I just didn't understand how the characters would so quickly go from one extreme emotion to another without thinking much about what they're so immediately accepting as truth.  Eh.  I liked it- I especially liked Benedick's character, but I can't say that it was a favorite of mine of the few Shakespeare pieces that I'm familiar with.

8. 5/9/10
Babies
(theater)
From the first time that I saw this trailer, I just knew that I'd need to see it in the theater.  Forget action blockbusters- give me four babies, huge up on the screen, doing their baby things, and I'll be first in line.  With no dialogue and no voice overs (thank GOD!), this documentary simply allowed the four babies- Mari, Hattie, Ponijao, and Bayar- to strut their stuff.  Yes, if you liked the trailer, then you will delight in more footage of these adorable babies in their respective environments, but if the trailer bored you or simply failed to capture your attention, then you'll probably not be too big a fan of another hour plus of much of the same.  For me, I very much appreciated the filmmakers' efforts to place clips near each other that emphasized the sameness of the childhood experience, no matter how different the landscapes, while also getting us to contemplate the vast differences in child-rearing.  It could be too easy to watch this film and feel superior about one's own approaches- to remark how gross something could be (such as licking your child's face clean, or better yet, squirting breastmilk on her face to do the job), but I'd much rather prefer to focus on the fact that regardless of where they lived and what their first year of life involved experience-wise, by the end of that year, all four babies ended up at just about the same developmental place, and all were happy and loved.  A perfect movie to watch with my mother-in-law and son on Mother's Day!

7. 4/17/10 (and again 4/24/10!)
Date Night
(theater)
Dear lord, this is quite possibly the funniest movie I've ever seen.  I've never before laughed so hard, and so PERSONALLY, at a movie.  Honestly, every single part of this movie made me laugh (or even tear up a little bit at one point).  I was the annoying person screeching with laughter in the back row.  Yup, I rolled around in my seat, and I gasp-laughed (you know the kind- you first cry out in disbelief at what you just saw, immediately  followed by a laugh confirming that yes, you just saw what you thought and damn, it was funny!)  If you have a sense of humor, are over 30 years old, and are married with children, this flick is bursting with funny.  If you are a teenager, like so many of the attendees in the theater tonight, I can't really understand how you related to this one, but you should definitely rewatch it in 15 or so years (in whatever form movie-watching-at-home technology has become).  Since I saw this with a pal tonight, I plan on taking lovely hubby to see it ASAP. 

6. 3/13/10
A Wrinkle in Time
(DVD)
Well, JAM is my kid and he was sometimes frustrated by the liberties that the movie version took with this story. Even more than other books, this one obviously needed some significant tweaks to transform to the screen, though. I can't even begin to imagine trying to turn this complex, and often almost impossible to understand, novel into a visual film that makes any sort of sense. So, with that said, I guess the heart of the story and the characters remain the same, even if there were many differences in the telling and representation.


5. 2/19/10
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
(DVD)
Oh, what a fun movie. There was humor for adults without it turning into creepy innuendo like so many "kids' movies," so hubby and I were laughing, JAM thought it was hilarious, and Red and Pudge giggled at the visual antics. (When the first cheeseburgers came raining down, Red was in heaven! She is a serious burger girl!) That being said, my favorite line was probably meant for the 9-12 potty-humor bunch- "I mean, look, even Steve is throwing chocolate snowballs. Ew." You'll have to see the flick to get it!


4. 2/5/10
This is Spinal Tap
(DVD)
We had been shamed by a close friend for years for never having seen this movie, so when we were snowed in and hanging out with said friend, we decided to pop it in, and the laughs abounded. Funny, funny, funny. A ton of improvised lines, which are ridiculous and silly and outrageously funny. Can you tell that I cracked up a lot? The song lyrics may have been some of the best parts, but really the whole package is just comedy gold.


3. 1/30/10
Revolutionary Road
(DVD)
This book really shook me, and for the most part, the movie gets to the heart of the story, but it's just a skimming of a sorts. The book portrayed the characters as much more complex, with less of an over-riding push for the reader to side with one character over another as the movie. The book was more devastating, but the movie definitely captured some of the despair and hopelessness these characters experience. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are superb, and I think that if movies could fully depict everything in a book, these two actors were capable of portraying these characters perfectly.


2. 1/29/10
The Proposal
(DVD)
Formulaic and predictable? Yes. Funny makes up for it? Yes, yes. I knew where this movie was going from the start, but I still giggled along at the one-liners and the humorous chemistry between Sandra Bullock (who I used to get so annoyed with) and Ryan Reynolds (who is hilarious and adorable, and whom I've just realized bears an uncanny resemblance to my favorite singing comedian!). Worth the DVD rental (even better when it's free from the library), and although hubby hemmed and hawed about watching it, he was laughing right along with me. Oh, and watch through the credits for some funny scenes, too!


1. 1/2/10
Up in the Air
(theater)
This was a movie that I enjoyed, that made me feel actual emotions, that had sharp dialogue and both a contemporary and classic feeling to it simultaneously, that I could also comfortably recommend to my mother without having to caution her about low-brow humor or crude language. This felt like a "grown-up" movie- complex and sophisticated, with a subtly encouraging nudge to the viewer to take a good look at our own habits in letting people get close-- or keeping them at a distance. This movie deserves all the accolades it's getting! It's also the rare instance that I've watched the movie before reading the book, but even after only a few pages, I can tell that there will be many differences!



Passing the popcorn,