Inception (2010)
Chris Nolan: Destined to be the most overrated director of our time.
Valentine’s Day (2010)
Here is what you need to know about Valentine’s Day: It isn’t as vile as you may be expecting (Or at least, as I was expecting), but it isn’t exactly good, either. It is Love Actually sans charm, a wisp of a confection with little depth, and a gaggle of very talented actors portraying characters who are kind of cute and maybe occasionally funny but whom you will, for the most part, not really give a shit about because the film doesn’t take any real risks.
The A-Team (2010)
As a kid during the 80s, I fucking loved the A-Team. It’s been long enough that I’ve seen the series that I can’t recall many specifics about it, but I can recall the general tone of it and why, both as a kid and now as an adult, I think it’s super cool. I can confidently say that Joe Carnahan’s film reboot of the series both captures the reckless enthusiasm of the original and manages to uphold the fun action film tradition we would expect from Hannibal, Face, B.A. and Murdock.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
There isn’t a whole lot to say about Hot Tub Time Machine. It is exactly what you’d expect from the poster and synopsis: A mostly-vapid gross out comedy with a lot of slapstick humor.
The Runaways (2010)
I don’t know that I’ve ever gotten into it here, but I’ve never made my distaste for Kristin Stewart a secret. Not counting child acting, I’ve previously only seen her in one film not in the Twilight franchise, and in it she annoyed me nearly as much as she does as Bella. I assumed, not unreasonably, that rather than actually act, she’d prefer to blink and twitch her way through scenes. Apparently I was very wrong, and The Runaways is proof.
The Wolfman (2010)
Squandered opportunity is perhaps the best phrase to describe the recent remake of Universal’s classic Wolfman. I hadn’t heard many good things about the film, but I still had the hope that it might surprise me and at least turn out a few characters worth giving a shit about. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t give its viewers much of anything to give a shit about whatsoever, turning out a bland and unimpressive rehashing that while isn’t bad enough to be shameful, certainly isn’t good enough to be called an homage.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
I am, amazingly, a fan of the original Nightmare on Elm Street series—For a certain value of “fan,” at least. Since I was a kid, I’ve seen most to all of the original films (Most of them tend to blend together), and while I enjoy them, it isn’t because I think they’re high art. I will say this much, though: Freddy Krueger has always terrified me on some primal, human level, and I think that’s why I’ve always liked the Elmstreet films. It’s fun to be scared, even if it’s mostly ridiculous.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Here’s the thing: My intense attachment to the Iron Man film franchise makes it difficult for me to be objective about it.
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As an aside, I am currently making back-dated posts as I catch up post-finals, but these may not show up on your RSS feeds if that is how you follow the site. So, just be aware.
Leap Year (2010)
There’s nothing new here, but who honestly goes into a romantic comedy at this point and expects innovation?
Kick-Ass (2010)
There has been a lot of controversy brewing over Kick-Ass, but this is absolutely no surprise. Like so many envelope-pushers before it, the things that make it great are invariably the things that many an average Joe can’t swallow. Whether or not you’ll come out of it glowing or disgusted is going to be a matter of your personal moral code, but I can firmly say this: The film is incredible in a way that transcends good filmmaking and makes it innovative and important.
