Year in consumables: 2010 movies (so far)

Last year I chose to cover movies I watched on a monthly basis in a Flixd series and planned to continue that this year, but I fell a bit behind and then felt like I wasn’t watching quite as many movies per month as last year. Of course, the television season had something to do with that, but also a bit more gaming at the start of this year than last.

However, I figured why not do a mid-year catch up post instead and then see what happens. Which then also leads me to thinking I should do the same for music–a lot of great discs have already dropped this year–and games. So, here is the first installment, although I’m not so sure about the name.

The format is basically the same, except I am not holding to the sentence per head guideline I established slowly last year. No, the sheer length of the list will help me keep it short. You only care about the heads anyway…if anything.

Live Free or Die Hard
I guess I would say this is the second best Die Hard movie but that isn’t saying much. Decent action and quips.

[ob1 3]

The Hangover
Tigers love pepper and hate cinnamon.  I love both and this flick. The performances of Ken Jeong–are you watching Community?–and Zak blah-blah-blah-alis make the flick because the entire story sure isn’t believable, but then, I guess that’s why we suspend disbelief when watching a movie.

[ob1 4]

(500) Days of Summer
The narrator warns you up front that this isn’t a love story, but you don’t want to believe him. But… believe him and watch it.

[ob1 4]

9
Best non-Pixar animated movie I have seen in a long time. Voice work was great and the animation and story were so cool. I even watched the original short when I was done and it was a good adaptation/continuation.

[ob1 4]

The Hurt Locker
Best movie of the year. Would have put it at the top of 2009 list, but didn’t see it until January, but before Oscar. Well deserved.

[ob1 5]

Funny People
I think it is true that Adam Sandler is better now when he’s not being the funny guy. There’s this, Punch-Drunk Love, Reign Over Me and even Spanglish. Although, I did laugh at parts of recent efforts like Zohan and Click. And 50 First Dates. Okay, maybe just Chuck and Larry kill it.

[ob1 4]

Extract
Um, so thought this was going to be pretty funny, but not so much. Jason Bateman does his usual thing and Ben Affleck was different, but okay in his small role. Actually, kind of like He’s Just Not That Into You. I will say that with this and Forgetting Sarah Marshall before it, Mila Kunis is growing on me because I severely disliked her from That 70’s Show.

[ob1 3]

Layer Cake
I figured with the Matthew Vaughn directed Kick-Ass coming out, I’d finally watch Daniel Craig in Vaughn’s first effort. I didn’t end up seeing Kick-Ass in the theater, but will on Blu-ray. Anyway, I really liked this, but then, I seem to like the crime driven Brit flicks anyway. If this is his style, then Kick-Ass should be good.

[ob1 3]

District 9
Man, was I supposed to hate the lead in this flick, because I really hated him. Just a total douche. The effects and action were top notch though. Considering what this was made for, it has me in awe that it looked so good. Even the Prawn were flawless. Good story too, so yeah, I think I was supposed to hate him.

[ob1 4]

Couples Retreat
Directed by Ralphie from A Christmas Story! There were some funny bits here, but what we got from the leads was their usual performances. Not a bad thing, but not great either. If anything, it made me want to vacation in Bora Bora. Man, that water is insane!

[ob1 3]

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
I have been a fan of Dwayne McDuffie’s writing in comics, so it was good to see he wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his DC Comics mini-series (which I have not read). James Woods probably had the best voice performance, but overall, I wasn’t as impressed here with the voice choices. I wish they’d just always have the same voice for Superman and Batman, but that’s just me. The story was decent, but I still think The New Frontier was a better JL flick.

[ob1 3]

Zombieland
The  best part of this film was the graphics for the rules. The second best part was the cameo, which I won’t spoil. The rest was entertaining and this was probably the best Woody Harrelson performance in a long, long time. Since… like… Kingpin.

[ob1 3]

Inglourious Basterds
Well, there were definitely good performances here and the story had me guessing how things were going to come together, so I enjoyed it. Nice to see how Tarantino has grown as a director and storyteller, but still maintained those little things that make him unique. I think the opening act was very well done. Too bad Hitler didn’t really go down like that. Much more satisfying I would think.

[ob1 3]

Where the Wild Things Are
Hands down, this is my favorite children’s book. Hands down. So, it was with some trepidation, and excitement, that I anticipated this film from Spike Jonze. The voice casting was awesome and the kid that played Max did a great job. The extension of the story was pretty good. Definitely fun to see come to life, but probably too long to be an effective feature. Still cool.

[ob1 3]

Whip It
Ellen Page in pretty much anything will get my money, just not in a theater. So, I guess maybe that doesn’t say as much as it used to. Anyway, the story was fun and Barrymore did a good job in directing and staying out of the way. I also thought Kristen Wiig was good and Juliette Lewis was her normal amount of crazy.

[ob1 3]

The Ugly Truth
Streamed this one, so don’t judge me. Not that I don’t enjoy the occasional, non-vampire/werewolf chick flick. I think the spartan did well as the secretively sensitive douche manimal and Heigl was meh.

[ob1 2]

The Invention of Lying
Probably one of the best movies I have seen so far this year. Really enjoyed the story and Ricky Gervais was just sooooo good. The rest of the cast was petty meh. I think it would be enlightening to experience our world the way this one starts out. For a day.

[ob1 5]

Surrogates
Pretty much just checked this one out because they filmed a lot of scenes near my office. So, that was cool to pick out. Otherwise, the action was fairly generic and the performances forgettable. Not for anything, but why would robot surrogates need/have mobile phones? Can’t that be wired in there? Not really the same thing, but I, Robot 2.0 and not as good.

[ob1 2]

The Informant!
Seriously, is Matt Damon the best actor of our current generation? I very well think he might be. I find Soderbergh films to be hit-or-miss, mostly miss, but this one was great. Fun to see some actors in roles you wouldn’t normally expect, plus, Smothers brothers!

[ob1 4]

The Girlfriend Experience
So, I continued the Soderbergh experience by streaming this. Was real-life pr0nstar Sasha Grey as good as the buzz said? Yes, I would say so. I think the disjointed story telling was a little too much so, but I still got it. And, considering the casting of Ms. Grey, it was funny just how little nudity there was, not that it needed it, which is probably the point, but then, why use her other than to generate buzz? Certainly better than any mainstream Traci Lords performance!

[ob1 3]

Family Guy: Blue Harvest
So, having seen a good amount of bits of the next flick on this list, I figured I should watch the first take beforehand. Kind of wish I didn’t because it wasn’t as funny as the follow on, but then, Empire was also better than A New Hope. With this first installment, you can tell they were trying to be respectful and adhere more to the true story points. Worth watching, but not necessarily the usual Family Guy fair. Whereas…

[ob1 3]

Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
They let loose on this one. More tangents and more risque. I actually wish they could remake that first one now given their experience here. Insanely funny the whole way thru. I actually find it hard to resist just buying a copy to own, but then, I am against that sort of thing. Maybe I can buy to own a digital copy via iTunes or Xbox. Hmmm….

[ob1 5]

It’s Complicated
It is hard for me to view Alec Baldwin in the same age bracket as Meryl Streep or Steve Martin, but there he is. I’m sure it just because of his gig on 30 Rock has him as the elder statesman, but not that old in comparison to the rest of the cast. Whereas Martin and Streep have been around forever. Anyway, I thought these three did a great job with the story, which I suppose turned out as you’d expect, but I found myself still rooting for Baldwin. I suppose I will sing along with the crowd about Streep’s greatness and thought this was probably Martin’s best performance since LA Story… other than maybe his turn on 30 Rock, which was funny. John Krasinski was good as the i-don’t-want-to-be-the-man-in-the-know.

[ob1 4]

Now, I need to watch Up in the Air soon. I have had it sitting on the coffee table for like 3 months now!!!