Movies Seen in 2010

[Starbreaker]

1/4 The Lovely Bones (2009) [B-]
d. Peter Jackson
s. Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci

Ummm... this isn't a bad film, but it tries too hard. There are some great scenes, and there are some less than good scenes. The pace is just way too uneven to sustain two hours. I wasn't expecting much after reading the reviews... but I think it could have been a lot better.

I saw much more mediocre films this year.

[Mike Farley]

Saw The Road today. Now I need to watch something cheerier like Schindler's List or Requiem For A Dream to make me feel a little happier. I think the word "bleak" was invented to one day describe this movie. It was very good, and well worth watching, but I can't see myself ever watching it again.

[JacksonArcher]

I really want to see The Road. It's not playing anywhere near me.

[Starbreaker]

The Road is too cerebral to play anywhere near me. I did buy the book today though.

[Kegg]

So, Me and Orson Welles. Very good. The Orson Welles is plainly too old for the role, but it's understandable why: If cast as a man of 22 he'd be too close to Zac Efron's age for the film to really work. Anyway, rather entertaining stuff. It's loud, breezy, enthusiastic, has all the joy and optimism of youth and a lot of the ballyhoo of, well, Hollywood (it is about a theatrical production of Julius Caesar, but never mind?) The Joe Cotton and Lloyd Bridges are downright uncanny, no doubt a mixture of good casting and an excellent hair stylist. As a study of Welles as a brilliant but manipulative and tempestuous egoist, well, it's a damn fine movie.

Seraphine. Solid, engaging biopic about the washerwoman painter. This film pretty much makes itself and was a nice little joy to watch. Yolande Moreau excellent in title role, wonderfully empathetic, posessed, not without her own wry sense of humour - but also servile and sadly deranged when the story requires it. Very classically stoically French in a Robert Bresson sort of way.

Also I saw Avatar again. I've opined about it elsewhere, but yeah, while I'd concur with most of the film's flaws, I just enjoy the damn thing too much.

[CaptainCanada]

Saw Adventureland, which I'd been wanting to for a while (it made Berardinelli's Top 10 list for 2009). Personal milestone for being the first movie I bought via iTunes (considerably cheaper than the DVD, and since while at college I watch all my movies on a laptop anyway).

Overall, an enjoyable movie; I liked it a lot more than 500 Days of Summer, largely because I empathized a lot more with the characters. I found the portrayal of Ryan Reynolds' character particularly interesting. I'd give it a B+.

[Starbreaker]

1/4 The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) [A+]

I'm not sure why this film wasn't well received by critics or most moviegoers. I found it to be an engaging love story with realistic time travel... much better than the Lake House, which I still haven't managed to figure out.

1/5 An Education (2009) [B]

A good film... not among my favorites for the year, but there's nothing really wrong with it. Alfred Molina is great.

1/5 A Perfect Getaway (200) [D]

One of the worst 2009 releases. It lacks a any sort of tension or intesting characters. The "twist ending" is terrible. Skip it.

[JacksonArcher]

I just saw another 2009 movie, while trying to pick up the pace with movies from 2009 that I haven't seen... The Soloist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Despite mixed reviews I rather liked the film. It was often touching, subtle, with great lead performances. Downey Jr. despite his eccentricities gives another great performance. He's proving to be one of my favorite actors, with Iron Man & Sherlock Holmes giving him back his acting cred.

[Starbreaker]

1/5 Observe and Report (2009) [B+]

Despite some ridiculously unbelievable scenes, this movie is great in an over the top kind of way. I had no interest in this until my recent quest to watch most of the movies from 2009. I really liked it!

1. 1/1 The Blind Side (2009) [A]
2. 1/3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [B]
3. 1/3 Awake (2007) [C]
4. 1/4 Rosemary's Baby (1968) [A]
5. 1/4 Up in the Air (2009) [A]
6. 1/4 The Lovely Bones (2009) [B-]
7. 1/4 The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) [A]
8. 1/5 An Education (2009) [B]
9. 1/5 A Perfect Getaway (2009) [D]
10. 1/6 Observe and Report (2009) [B]

Tomorrow: Taking Woodstock and probably another film before reality kicks back in.

[JacksonArcher]

Saw Clint Eastwood's Invictus which was very good but a little lifeless. Not as good as Eastwood's last effort, Gran Torino.

[Starbreaker]

1/6 Taking Woodstock (2009, Ang Lee) [C]

Who would have thought a movie about Woodstock would be so boring? Demetri Martin never shows any range of emotion, the film takes a long time to get to where it's going, and then misses out on the opportunity to have a great soundtrack. I'm highly disappointed in this film.

[od0_ital]

First free movie screenin' of 2010 was last night at the Regal Arbor!

I went to go see Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. It was alright, not great, story about a never was country musician that tries to redeem himself late in life. The best things I can say about the movie are that the same song isn't played over & over again, which can happen a lot in movies about musicians/bands, and it doesn't have a Hollywood endin'.

Last night was my second trip to a theater this year - last weekend, the girlfriend & I went to see Avatar at the IMAX.

Next week, I've got passes ready for The Lovely Bones and Extraordinary Measures, though I'd rather see The Book of Eli, if I can get a pass for it.

So, the start of my 2010 list!

- In Theaters -
Avatar (IMAX)
Crazy Heart*

*movies seen at free advanced screenings

[Starbreaker]

Crazy Heart is one I'm looking forward to seeing in the near future. I'm popping in State of Play right now. Been looking forward to seeing this one for a while.

[JacksonArcher]

Also looking forward to Crazy Heart, mostly because of Jeff Bridges' performance. It has been very highly praised. State of Play was a great film.

[zakkrusz]

District 9 (8)
G-9 (6)
Inglorious Bastards (7)