Movies of 2010

1. Inception - 10/10 - There simply aren't words. I was tempted to give it Eleven.

2. Toy Story 3 - 9.5/10 - More thinking has this dropped a half-point, as I slowly came to grips with the fact that I think The Incredibles might still be a stronger Pixar film or at least its equal. I still can't exaggerate the effect this film had on me, and the year still has a LOT of work to do to potentially beat this movie.

3. How To Train Your Dragon - 9/10 - This towers over everything Dreamworks has accomplished before. A phenomenal story on par with most Pixar films. I can't even say how pleased I was to get to see this while it was still playing in theaters.

4. Shutter Island – 9/10 – By far the best film to be released this year, and the only thing on this list likely to make the Oscars next spring... DiCaprio is phenomenal in this beautifully filmed thriller.

5. Kick-Ass – 8/10 – High octane fun... Much better than the original comic book series in the way it dropped its aspirations towards reality and embraced the absurdity of ultraviolence in superheroism.

6. Predators - 7.5/10 - Probably my favorite of the Predator franchise thus far... Everything about this movie was awesome. Bits of the CGI didn't work, and it could have used a bit more polish, but as is, its a wholly enjoyable film.

7. Hot Tub Time Machine - 7/10 - A really sweet movie and a great buddy comedy with only a handful of stale jokes. The way they handle the time travel in the film is problematic, but only we geeks would really nit-pick at that.

8. Iron Man 2 – 7/10 – High octane fun as well, but without the story-work that should have been there to make it truly unforgettable. Truly wish I could rank this higher, but regardless, I had one hell of a time watching this movie.

9. The Karate Kid - 7/10 - Surprisingly satisfying, and an extremely solid film. It's far from perfect, but it is fun and the fighting is incredible. Definitely worth the ticket price.

10. The A-Team - 7/10 - Okay wow, this probably comes from having had virtually no expectations for this film whatsoever, but even though i was in a bad mood going in, I have to admit the film was extremely fun. Probably the first time I've actually liked Bradley Cooper's character in a movie.

11. Get Him to the Greek - 6.5/10 - Funny but ultimately disappointing. Still love Aldous Snow, the fictional Rock God that he is, but at the end of the day, I was hoping for something closer to the other Apatow efforts in terms of the film's emotional side.

12. The Crazies - 6.5/10 - The better side of mediocre, but not by much. Boring at parts, scary sometimes... I saw it a few weeks ago and have kind of already forgotten most of it.

13. A Nightmare on Elm Street - 6/10 - Really should have been so much better... The world deserves the return of Freddy Kruger, and there's so much potential in a horror monster that lurks in the dreamworld that just probably won't ever happen... Until the round of Threemakes starts up in another 20 years (get ready, everyone). The worst part about these Platinum Dunes films is they haven't figured out that casting the lead female role is ****ing important. For the first 45 minutes, i didn't even know WHICH of the bland girls was supposed to be Nancy.

14. Alice in Wonderland – 5/10 – This should have been infinitely weirder than it ultimately was. What it ended up as was simply a cliched fantasy plot forced into Wonderland... Some good visuals and performances, but by far the least satisfying Burton film in ages.

15. Daybreakers – 5/10 – This movie really could have been good... I loved the world, and Sam Neil made for a great villainous vampire... But in the end, it was just all kind of stupid.

16. Legion – 3/10 – "Ain't got no shark teeth, paw!" made me laugh out loud. A lot of this movie did. I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all without the few beers I drank beforehand.

17. Shrek The Fourth - 1/10 - Having created this film, everyone on the production team should be put in prison forever. In particular the person who voiced Rumplestiltskin. I cannot even remember a less enjoyable film-going experience in recent history. At least Legion was LAUGHABLY terrible. Nobody in the theater laughed at this film. It was dead silent and sad.

18. The Last Airbender - 0.5/10 - There is precisely one character in this film, and he was Zuko's Uncle. I don't know how he survived Shyamalan's directing, but he did it, and that is the only reason this film gets a half-point. There is no flow, no characterization, no compelling action (which is particularly shocking)... It's telling about the quality of the source material that the most frustrating thing about this film is that it SHOULD be good, the world this film fails to depict shines through in the minutest detail. In a strange way, I'm glad I've seen this, because it makes me want to see the animated series more than ever. This film is a failure on virtually every level, its only moments of strength derived from the structure provided by the series this film failed to adapt. I didn't enjoy a minute of this movie, and if you feel compelled to see it, download it. There is no reason to support this film in theaters.

Upcoming Movies to See:
The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Other Guys, The Expendables, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Machete, The Adjustment Bureau, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Let Me In, Casino Jack, The Social Network, Tangled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, Tron Legacy, True Grit
 
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captaincanuck65 said:
Toronto should be AT LEAST second (probably first, but Americans are never willing to accept that) on that list.

And I'm not mad about anything, I'm just saying in the context of the movie it seemed like an odd symbolic statement to make.
Click to expand...

I've been to four out of those 6 cites, haven't made it to Chicago, IL, or Toronto, ON. i've been up and down the whole west coast from Calgary, BC to San Diego, CA , and from DC to NY on the east. Its not that I don't accept Toronto, its that i've done my fair share of traveling through the major hubs.
 
(I have kept the last 10 reviewed movies that are in theaters)
1. Despicable Me: 7.6/10 short, sweet and to the point. pretty decent movie, you know how the movie is going to go, but still nice to watch.

2. Avatar: The Last Airbender: 4.3/10 it would have been a 3.2, but the i liked the music. full review here and bashing
3. Twilight Saga: Eclipse: 7.5/10 Alot like the first two movies in style and everything. they hit all the major plot points, and this time you didn't need to read 200 pages before you got to a plot point. the fight was nicely done, gotta give prop to everyone that put that together. even though it was busy, you could still tell what was going on.
4. Grown Ups: 7.9/10 a lot of funny one lines and short clips. loved the girl who played Adam Sandlers daughter just a cute little thing. [what do you mean theres no tooth fairy?] and there was a lot of "suggestive humor" if ya know what i mean.
5. Knight and Day 8.4/10 it was a decent movie, some of the stunts were over the top, but what I really liked was the directing and editing of the movie. like drugging Cameron, and then showing snippets of action but not showing the action at the same time. And doing stunts like that in 70's GTO, reminded me of Bullet w/ Steve McQueen.
6.Jonah Hex 5.6/10 I don't know what it was, but there was just something about it, that made it suck.....if Robert Rodriguez had done this, it might 'a rocked.
7.Toy Story 3: 7.2/10 it was O.K., LOVED the ending ending
8. Killers 6.7/10 enjoyed this ALOT better than Date Night
9.Green Zone 8.3/10 the street fighting and everything almost felt realist
10.A-Team: 7.2/10 Stuff goes BooM
 
Alice in Wonderland A-
I was extremely skeptical when I heard Burton was doing this but I think it was pulled off pretty well. Alice in Wonderland's like my favorite book ever so I was going in with huge expectations after seeing footage. I like how he captured the insanity in Carrol's original book and made it work into an actual plot (a standard plot at that but still a plot). I like the performances from Mia, Anne Hathaway, whoever played the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar. I actually found Depp's performance to be pretty good and don't know why he gets so bashed for it. It's probably for that awful dance at the end. Overall, a good movie with a standard plot but brilliant visuals and strong character performances.

Iron Man 2 A-
I see Iron Man 2 as doing the best it could with the Avengers cloud hanging over its head. Going into this everyone knew about the Avengers, the tie-ins, the A-List actors and directors getting involved and still once I sat down it was put out of my head because Tony Stark was back. RDJ's my favorite actor like ever so he never disappoints and I thought that the rest of the cast was perfect in their roles. Rockwell, Cheadle, Johansson and Favreau were all good as their comic book counterparts and Rourke was criminally underused. The weakest actor I see in this is Paltrow as Pepper but that's probably because I don't care at all about her character. The Avengers bits were prevalent throughout and I can see why some people were taken out by it but to me they were great just because I knew what was coming in the franchises. I'd put it even with the original because they both had flaws and both had great bits to them.

Kick Ass B-
I went into this not having read the comic before but wondering if they were going to bring Mark Millar's usual dosage of violence and immaturity to screen and they did. The fight scenes were great in this but some moments felt like they were just unnecessary and way to overblown. Hit-Girl was awesome and Nic Cage was pretty funny doing his psychopathic Adam West impersonation but I really didn't like the lead guy and would hate it if he got cast as Spider-Man or Cyclops. This was definitely not the best comic movie ever made as some have said and it really made me feel like a much better miniseries could have been adapted to screen.

The A-Team B
I really didn't care to see this until recent trailers showed exactly what it was supposed to be: mindless fun. I think the cast was well used (the main four at least). Cooper was hilarious, Neeson was his usual awesome self and Rampage Jackson was Mr. T (it's not that hard to do but still). The best part of this movie was by far Sharlto Copley as Murdock and I thought every single one of his scenes were brilliant. It gets knocked because Patrick Wilson's character was awful until the very end. Overall the perfect definition of summer popcorn flick.

Shutter Island A
I really love Scorsese films and this was just another one I got into. I think it worked great as a psychological thriller and really played up the tension and horror on the island. Every scene in Ward C made me feel like this should be an Arkham Asylum film and the revelation at the end was great. I had that feeling the entire movie the ending was coming but I guess Scorsese's film making threw me off of it. The cast was brilliant with Dicaprio, Ruffalo, Kingsley and Jackie Earl Hayley all being great in it. Not as good as his other films but he's still the best around which would put anything he makes over someone else's.

The Book of Eli A-
I wasn't expecting much other than post-apocalyptic thriller with a last hope to save humanity and that's what I got. What I did like about it was the twist ending and the performances from the talented cast. Washington plays cool like no other and Gary Oldman was a very understandable villain who I didn't hate in the movie because I felt his motivations were pretty sound. Ray Stevenson did a fine job as henchman and Mila Kunis is always good at looking wide-eyed and pretty. I did also like the surprise appearances from Michael Gambon and Malcolm McDowel, those two made me feel good. Overall it was a movie based all around a twist ending with fine performances from its cast. It gets boosted up because I didn't see the ending coming at all and it made sense when looking back.
 
Daybreakers - Really creative, constant tension, stacked cast, damn good film. Really liked what they did with the concept. 8/10

The Wolfman - This really could've been great, but a lot of the usual things went wrong. Insane amount of CGI, jump-heavy blockbuster scares without much atmosphere or showmanship to them, bizarre pacing, etc. I love a lot of Joe Johnston's stuff but I think he's just not a horror director. M. Night Shymalan could've done a great job with this. Every actor does very well though. Hopkins saves the whole film. 5.5/10

I just read that they cut 17 minutes from the final cut of the film for theaters because the studio wanted audiences to get to the first Wolfman transformation sooner. Joe Johnston's putting these back for the DVD, which I want to see.

Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland - I think as entertainment this is pretty much critic-proof. It has a lot of the same problems with missed showmanship that Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory had, but at the end of the day it's a fun tribute to Carroll's world packed with colourful, captivating visuals, a great cast, and a good old-fashioned fantasy quest element woven through which it's fun to see the well-known characters participate in. Where else are you going to be able to see
a Jokerized Johnny Depp using a garment mannequin to swordfight a one-eyed Crispin Glover?
6.5/10.

The Crazies - An interesting take on the Zombiepocalypse genre and an effective, suspenseful, scary film overall. Literally every second is suspenseful, never letting up. 7.5/10

Hot Tub Time Machine - Absolutely The Hangover meets Back To The Future, this was hilarious. With a little more effort they could've approached a BTTF level of changed-the-future emotion and satisfaction at the end, but it was still a borderline great movie. 8.5/10

Kick-Ass - Apart from a few details I would've changed, and maybe a different lead actor, this was so ****ing good. 9.5/10

Clash Of The Titans - This wasn't directed very well, and is one of the poorest uses of the 3D process I've seen yet. Worthington's still good, everyone was, especially Mads Mikilsen, there were some AWESOME moments(the whole
Medusa sequence
was probably my favourite part), and it benefits from the original story still being so good. In a lot of ways it's a great old-fashioned movie, but one of the most powerful feelings it elicted in me is still "appreciation for Peter Jackson". But I still enjoyed it. 7/10

A Nightmare On Elm Street - Barely scary and cluelessly directed, for the most part. But Haley is great and this film's story, and Freddy Krueger, are excellent and way, way more interesting than in the original. Some real horror direction, subtlety and scary imagery could've made the most of that story, but as it is this was still decent overall. 6/10

Iron Man 2 - This was amazingly engaging and entertaining, filled with captivating performances and some of the best effects-fueled action sequences in the whole superhero movie genre. The story parts didn't flow quite as well as in the first film, but the story was far bigger and more ambitious too, and in my opinion, worth that price. I loved every minute of it. 9.5/10

Ridley Scott's Robin Hood - Take Gladiator, mix it with 300, Kingdom of Heaven, and Beowulf and Grendel, now strip it of all the character, the spirit, the fun and the point. Pretty much. A "gritty reboot" of a character whose legend has been kept alive for a thousand years largely because of the merry, swashbuckling, fantastical elements was simply a bad idea. Crowe was great as usual and a potential sequel could really be something. This was not. 5/10. Ebert's review is spot-on.

Edge Of Darkness - I was basically expecting your usual Taken type of thing, but this was so much more(both plot-wise and overall quality). I forgot it was a Martin Campbell film until the end credits, but it's certainly up to his standard. Mel Gibson was amazing. 8.5/10

The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus - This is vintage Gilliam. The only frustrating thing is that CGI has replaced his traditional models and clay, which used to account for so much of his signature brand of surreality. Nevertheless, this is a fine film with a great story, tons of excellent performances from an eclectic, amazing cast and the fact that Burton's Alice In Wonderland made like ten times as much at the box office is pretty much a disgrace. Oh well. This will endure where it counts. 9.5/10.

Shutter Island - I swear to god, I watched the first minute of the first trailer when it appeared, decided I wanted to see it and shut my eyes for the remainder of the trailer, and hoped that.... this.... wouldn't be how it ended. When the all the hype over "the twist" started popping up, I assumed that it couldn't be what I was thinking of. At yet it was. I don't know how "the twist" got any hype or acclaim. I barely even get how they decided to put up the effort to make the whole movie and seriously do that ending, let alone also drop rock-solid hints to it throughout. However, every single other aspect of the entire film, acting, directing, editing, cinematography, and most of all characterization and development, was so good that it's still totally worth seeing. Also,
the last line in the film is kind of a mini-twist in its own right and makes it a whole point higher.
8/10

Splice - The first great creature feature I've seen in a long time. Excellent effects drive a daring story, with really dark humour, solid leads and loads of suspense. Delphine Chaneac's "Dren" is hypnotic. I also was fortunate enough to see it with a great audience who was really into it, laughing and clapping at all the right moments. Anyway, recommended. 8/10

The Book Of Eli - Fallout 3 with Christianity instead of the American Dream. The main reason I was looking forward to this was to balance out the bleakness of The Road(a great film) and explore the more fun side of the post-apoc genre, but it was quite a bit better than I expected. It has a lot of the stuff I hate about religion and faith, but also stuff I love about the idea of God, and they explore it from different sides fairly well. The action was excellently stylized, but sometimes felt kind of out of place in this film. Gary Oldman and his character were excellent, and the musical score was my favourite yet this year.
Most surprising of all, I liked the ending way more than that of ''Shutter Island''.
An entertaining and powerful film. 8/10

If you get it on disc, make sure to check out the animated mini-comic about Billy Carnegie as a kid. More great music too.

Toy Story 3 - Aside from easily being the best film I've seen so far this year, and easily Pixar's best since The Incredibles, this can sit on the shelf next to 1 and 2 as one of the most amazing movies ever made. The twelve year wait made it even more special, and it's a good thing it requires 3D glasses at this point because I don't think there was a dry eye in the house at the end. I remember seeing 1 at age six and 2 at age nine(same ages as Andy) in the theatres as clearly as anything. Seeing 3 at age twenty was another one of a kind experience, and purely epic. 10/10

Inception - "You've heard of an idiot plot? This movie is an idiot plot fractal. No matter how far down into the details you wallow, you still find a whole new, glorious idiot plot." ~ The Agony Booth's review of A Sound Of Thunder (2005)

Replace every instance of the word "idiot" with the word "genius" and you'll get a pretty good idea. I've scarcely seen a movie that has so many, many of the things that make film as a whole great rolled into one. 10/10. Brrrrrrrm.
 
nigma said:
I've been to four out of those 6 cites, haven't made it to Chicago, IL, or Toronto, ON. i've been up and down the whole west coast from Calgary, BC to San Diego, CA , and from DC to NY on the east. Its not that I don't accept Toronto, its that i've done my fair share of traveling through the major hubs.
Click to expand...
It's okay. I just feel the need to go out of my way to promote Canada sometimes.


====(In Theatres)====
Datenight -- C+
Greenzone -- B
How to Train A Dragon -- A-
Iron Man 2 -- A-
Robin Hood -- B-
Toy Story 3 -- A
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- D+
Inception -- A+ I feel like I need to create a new grade for this movie that's higher than A+, or at least go back and lower the grades of everything else. I'm glad I didn't give Toy Story 3 an A+ now - I wanted to but now I know I made the right decision. Inception was so good. SO GOOD!

==== (On DVD)====
Edge of Darkness -- C+
The Book of Eli -- B-



Planet-man said:
Inception - "You've heard of an idiot plot? This movie is an idiot plot fractal. No matter how far down into the details you wallow, you still find a whole new, glorious idiot plot." ~ The Agony Booth's review of A Sound Of Thunder (2005)

Replace every instance of the word "idiot" with the word "genius" and you'll get a pretty good idea. I've scarcely seen a movie that has so many, many of the things that make film as a whole great rolled into one. 10/10. Brrrrrrrm.
Click to expand...

wow I was really worried about where you were going with that at first.
 
Updated for INCEPTION

Alice in Wonderland A-
I was extremely skeptical when I heard Burton was doing this but I think it was pulled off pretty well. Alice in Wonderland's like my favorite book ever so I was going in with huge expectations after seeing footage. I like how he captured the insanity in Carrol's original book and made it work into an actual plot (a standard plot at that but still a plot). I like the performances from Mia, Anne Hathaway, whoever played the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar. I actually found Depp's performance to be pretty good and don't know why he gets so bashed for it. It's probably for that awful dance at the end. Overall, a good movie with a standard plot but brilliant visuals and strong character performances.

Iron Man 2 A-
I see Iron Man 2 as doing the best it could with the Avengers cloud hanging over its head. Going into this everyone knew about the Avengers, the tie-ins, the A-List actors and directors getting involved and still once I sat down it was put out of my head because Tony Stark was back. RDJ's my favorite actor like ever so he never disappoints and I thought that the rest of the cast was perfect in their roles. Rockwell, Cheadle, Johansson and Favreau were all good as their comic book counterparts and Rourke was criminally underused. The weakest actor I see in this is Paltrow as Pepper but that's probably because I don't care at all about her character. The Avengers bits were prevalent throughout and I can see why some people were taken out by it but to me they were great just because I knew what was coming in the franchises. I'd put it even with the original because they both had flaws and both had great bits to them.

Kick Ass B-
I went into this not having read the comic before but wondering if they were going to bring Mark Millar's usual dosage of violence and immaturity to screen and they did. The fight scenes were great in this but some moments felt like they were just unnecessary and way to overblown. Hit-Girl was awesome and Nic Cage was pretty funny doing his psychopathic Adam West impersonation but I really didn't like the lead guy and would hate it if he got cast as Spider-Man or Cyclops. This was definitely not the best comic movie ever made as some have said and it really made me feel like a much better miniseries could have been adapted to screen.

The A-Team B
I really didn't care to see this until recent trailers showed exactly what it was supposed to be: mindless fun. I think the cast was well used (the main four at least). Cooper was hilarious, Neeson was his usual awesome self and Rampage Jackson was Mr. T (it's not that hard to do but still). The best part of this movie was by far Sharlto Copley as Murdock and I thought every single one of his scenes were brilliant. It gets knocked because Patrick Wilson's character was awful until the very end. Overall the perfect definition of summer popcorn flick.

Shutter Island A-
I really love Scorsese films and this was just another one I got into. I think it worked great as a psychological thriller and really played up the tension and horror on the island. Every scene in Ward C made me feel like this should be an Arkham Asylum film and the revelation at the end was great. I had that feeling the entire movie the ending was coming but I guess Scorsese's film making threw me off of it. The cast was brilliant with Dicaprio, Ruffalo, Kingsley and Jackie Earl Hayley all being great in it. Not as good as his other films but he's still the best around which would put anything he makes over someone else's.

The Book of Eli B
I wasn't expecting much other than post-apocalyptic thriller with a last hope to save humanity and that's what I got. What I did like about it was the twist ending and the performances from the talented cast. Washington plays cool like no other and Gary Oldman was a very understandable villain who I didn't hate in the movie because I felt his motivations were pretty sound. Ray Stevenson did a fine job as henchman and Mila Kunis is always good at looking wide-eyed and pretty. I did also like the surprise appearances from Michael Gambon and Malcolm McDowel, those two made me feel good. Overall it was a movie based all around a twist ending with fine performances from its cast. It gets boosted up because I didn't see the ending coming at all and it made sense when looking back.

Inception A+
There really is no way for me to describe the reasons I love this movie without spoiling every bit of it. So I will merely write the ten reasons why this is the best film of the year.
10. Ellen Page's first tour through Cobb's mind
9. Limbo within the dream within the dream within the dream
8. Cobb's first inception
7. The scene between Fischer and his father during the kick
6. The cast overall
5. Seeing the kids and the spinning top at the end
4. Christopher Nolan's directing
3. Tom Hardy in every single scene
2. Hans Zimmer
1. Joseph Gordon Levitt in the Hotel before the kick
 

  1. [*] The Sorcerer's Apprentice 7.2/10 Pretty expected story line but decent CGI, storyline could'a used a little bit more work.
  2. Despicable Me: 7.6/10 short, sweet and to the point. pretty decent movie, you know how the movie is going to go, but still nice to watch.
  3. Avatar: The Last Airbender: 4.3/10 it would have been a 3.2, but the i liked the music. full review here and bashing
  4. Twilight Saga: Eclipse: 7.5/10 Alot like the first two movies in style and everything. they hit all the major plot points, and this time you didn't need to read 200 pages before you got to a plot point. the fight was nicely done, gotta give prop to everyone that put that together. even though it was busy, you could still tell what was going on.
  5. Grown Ups: 7.9/10 a lot of funny one lines and short clips. loved the girl who played Adam Sandlers daughter just a cute little thing. [what do you mean theres no tooth fairy?] and there was a lot of "suggestive humor" if ya know what i mean.
  6. Knight and Day 8.4/10 it was a decent movie, some of the stunts were over the top, but what I really liked was the directing and editing of the movie. like drugging Cameron, and then showing snippets of action but not showing the action at the same time. And doing stunts like that in 70's GTO, reminded me of Bullet w/ Steve McQueen.
  7. Jonah Hex 5.6/10 I don't know what it was, but there was just something about it, that made it suck.....if Robert Rodriguez had done this, it might 'a rocked.
  8. Toy Story 3: 7.2/10 it was O.K., LOVED the ending ending
  9. Killers 6.7/10 enjoyed this ALOT better than Date Night
  10. Green Zone 8.3/10 the street fighting and everything almost felt realist
 
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nigma said:
Jonah Hex 5.6/10 I don't know what it was, but there was just something about it, that made it suck
Click to expand...

I haven't seen it, but I would think the magical future guns had something to do with it sucking.
 
E said:
I haven't seen it, but I would think the magical future guns had something to do with it sucking.
Click to expand...

it was more than that. they way some of the story was written mixed in with those odd flashbacks and death duel matches with odd reddish coloring just didn't work. also trying to do a modem type fight scene with the old west style, not so much. it was alot of little things that added up in the end.

never read the comic.
 
Inception: A
Saw it again...like it much better the second time around. Surprisingly, being in a theater where I could understand the dialogue helped me put together the plot. If I have one small problem with the movie it's that for dealing with a subject as unstructured as dreams, the rules of the "dream world" are set in stone a bit too much for my liking. This is a small problem. Oh, and Tom Hardy needs to be Bond whenever Daniel Craig decides he's tired of it all. Tom Hardy in this movie is the third best Bond I've ever seen.
Toy Story 3: A
Very good. There's not a lot I can find fault with in this movie. That being said, it never really pulled me in emotionally the way I expected it to, especially since I recently left for college and the first of these movies came out when I was a small child. I really do hope that this is the last of the Toy Story movies. The ending did a great job of tieing the series up. The cartoon short at the beginning of the movie was awesome.
Get Him to the Greek: A-
Very good. I don't know if it was quite as good as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I have to say I kinda prefer it to the Hangover. Really funny. I think people will be surprised just how dramatic it gets a certain points. I felt the ending was quite moving personally. All in all some really good performances in a surprisingly good movie. P Diddy (name?) was unexpectedly funny and Brand proved he can be a really good actor.
Iron Man 2: B
I liked it a lot. It wasn't as good as the first one (which is the best Marvel movie yet), but it was good nonetheless. I really don't know what else I can add. I think think that Sam Jackson just seemed to be playing Sam Jackson with an eye patch. While I have heard criticism that the Avengers stuff seems forced, I really didn't get that impression. One thing I didn't like was the whole fight scene between Rhodey and Tony when he was wasted at his brithday party. Also, SHIELD did too much in the movie to solve Tony's problems...it would have been better if he stumbled upon his father's work on his own.
Robin Hood: B-
Not as bad as some of the reviews out there would lead you to believe. Just be warned that this really isn't your traditional Robin Hood, at least not until the final couple minutes of the movie. This is pretty much the Batman Begins of Robin Hood. I liked almost all of the cast, with the possible exception of Crowe as Robin Hood. He wasn't bad per se in the role, I just felt as though he looked a bit out of place. Maybe that's just my preconceived notions of who Robin Hood is coming into play. The guy who played King John was especially good in my opinion, as were the Merry Men. I did think that the final "epic" battle was a bit of a mess and seemed kinda anticlimatic. Overall not bad but far from great.
Alice in Wonderland: C+
It was...ok. It looked great and I thought that the girl who played Alice was great. The story just didn't pull me in. Also, I couldn't help notice that the score sounded like every other Tim Burton score I've heard in recent years.
Shutter Island: C+
I think this was one of the rare times when reading the book before the movie actually made me enjoy the movie less...and I actually thought that the movie was superior to the book, although I didn't like either all that much. The cast did a solid job across the board and the look of the island was great. Most of my problems are based in the plot. To me the big reveal at the end just doesn't seem realistic, and to a certain degree is evident from early on. All in all, not one of Scorsese's best.
MacGruber: C
This movie was really stupid, but it was also really funny. I'm torn as to how I should rate it.
The Wolfman: D
I was pretty disappointed by this film. The plot was pretty predictable, the Wolfman looked pretty ridiculous and the story was only so-so. Things I did like: Emily Blunt, the CGI transformations, the atmosphere and "look" of the film, all of the stuff in the asylum. After seeing the movie maybe they were smart to focus more on CGI, because the Wolfman that was obviously traditional makeup looked kinda ridiculous
 
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====(In Theatres)====
Datenight -- C+
Greenzone -- B
How to Train A Dragon -- A-
Iron Man 2 -- A-
Robin Hood -- B-
Toy Story 3 -- A
Avatar: The Last Airbender -- D+
Inception -- A+

The Sorcerer's Apprentice -- C
Not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it certainly wasn't good. I think it would have been better if the humor hadn't been so forced. The story was predictable and cliche, but it could have been a decent Disney movie if they could have found a more natural feeling to the jokes and the chemistry between the characters. It just seemed like they were trying too hard.
I did like the mop scene. They even used the music from Fantasia! I also liked that the film drew from other literary/historical sources, using
Morgana le Fay and Abigail Williams (who began the Salem Witch scare in the late 1600s, and was also the main antagonist in Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible).

EDIT: I guess you can't spoiler over a link...

==== (On DVD)====
Edge of Darkness -- C+
The Book of Eli -- B-
 
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1. Inception - 9.5/10 - After some time to process it all... I think i have to knock off a half point. There are problems. But Nolan has still managed to craft a phenomenal sci-fi thriller.

2. Toy Story 3 - 9.5/10 - More thinking has this dropped a half-point, as I slowly came to grips with the fact that I think The Incredibles might still be a stronger Pixar film or at least its equal. I still can't exaggerate the effect this film had on me, and the year still has a LOT of work to do to potentially beat this movie.

3. How To Train Your Dragon - 9/10 - This towers over everything Dreamworks has accomplished before. A phenomenal story on par with most Pixar films. I can't even say how pleased I was to get to see this while it was still playing in theaters.

4. Shutter Island – 9/10 – By far the best film to be released this year, and the only thing on this list likely to make the Oscars next spring... DiCaprio is phenomenal in this beautifully filmed thriller.

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - 8/10 - Scott Pilgrim is Michael Cera. I never thought I would be able to say that without gagging, but he nailed the role right on the head. And Wright nailed the film at large. My problems are minor, and I'll save them for the release of the film in theaters. God Bless San Diego Comic Con.

6. Kick-Ass – 8/10 – High octane fun... Much better than the original comic book series in the way it dropped its aspirations towards reality and embraced the absurdity of ultraviolence in superheroism.

7. Predators - 7.5/10 - Probably my favorite of the Predator franchise thus far... Everything about this movie was awesome. Bits of the CGI didn't work, and it could have used a bit more polish, but as is, its a wholly enjoyable film.

8. Hot Tub Time Machine - 7/10 - A really sweet movie and a great buddy comedy with only a handful of stale jokes. The way they handle the time travel in the film is problematic, but only we geeks would really nit-pick at that.

9. Iron Man 2 – 7/10 – High octane fun as well, but without the story-work that should have been there to make it truly unforgettable. Truly wish I could rank this higher, but regardless, I had one hell of a time watching this movie.

10. The Karate Kid - 7/10 - Surprisingly satisfying, and an extremely solid film. It's far from perfect, but it is fun and the fighting is incredible. Definitely worth the ticket price.

11. The A-Team - 7/10 - Okay wow, this probably comes from having had virtually no expectations for this film whatsoever, but even though i was in a bad mood going in, I have to admit the film was extremely fun. Probably the first time I've actually liked Bradley Cooper's character in a movie.

12. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - 6.5/10 - I wish I could hate this movie, but Slade actually does the impossible and makes the abysmal bearable. Cheers to you Mr. Slade. The story is still rubbish, but the film engaged me throughout.

13. Get Him to the Greek - 6.5/10 - Funny but ultimately disappointing. Still love Aldous Snow, the fictional Rock God that he is, but at the end of the day, I was hoping for something closer to the other Apatow efforts in terms of the film's emotional side.

14. The Crazies - 6.5/10 - The better side of mediocre, but not by much. Boring at parts, scary sometimes... I saw it a few weeks ago and have kind of already forgotten most of it.

15. A Nightmare on Elm Street - 6/10 - Really should have been so much better... The world deserves the return of Freddy Kruger, and there's so much potential in a horror monster that lurks in the dreamworld that just probably won't ever happen... Until the round of Threemakes starts up in another 20 years (get ready, everyone). The worst part about these Platinum Dunes films is they haven't figured out that casting the lead female role is ****ing important. For the first 45 minutes, i didn't even know WHICH of the bland girls was supposed to be Nancy.

16. Alice in Wonderland – 5/10 – This should have been infinitely weirder than it ultimately was. What it ended up as was simply a cliched fantasy plot forced into Wonderland... Some good visuals and performances, but by far the least satisfying Burton film in ages.

17. Daybreakers – 5/10 – This movie really could have been good... I loved the world, and Sam Neil made for a great villainous vampire... But in the end, it was just all kind of stupid.

18. Legion – 3/10 – "Ain't got no shark teeth, paw!" made me laugh out loud. A lot of this movie did. I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all without the few beers I drank beforehand.

19. Shrek The Fourth - 1/10 - Having created this film, everyone on the production team should be put in prison forever. In particular the person who voiced Rumplestiltskin. I cannot even remember a less enjoyable film-going experience in recent history. At least Legion was LAUGHABLY terrible. Nobody in the theater laughed at this film. It was dead silent and sad.

20. The Last Airbender - 0.5/10 - There is precisely one character in this film, and he was Zuko's Uncle. I don't know how he survived Shyamalan's directing, but he did it, and that is the only reason this film gets a half-point. There is no flow, no characterization, no compelling action (which is particularly shocking)... It's telling about the quality of the source material that the most frustrating thing about this film is that it SHOULD be good, the world this film fails to depict shines through in the minutest detail. In a strange way, I'm glad I've seen this, because it makes me want to see the animated series more than ever. This film is a failure on virtually every level, its only moments of strength derived from the structure provided by the series this film failed to adapt. I didn't enjoy a minute of this movie, and if you feel compelled to see it, download it. There is no reason to support this film in theaters.

Upcoming Movies to See:
The Other Guys, The Expendables, Machete, The Adjustment Bureau, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Let Me In, Casino Jack, The Social Network, Tangled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, Tron Legacy, True Grit
 
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Updated for Hot Tub Time Machine and Losers

Alice in Wonderland A-
I was extremely skeptical when I heard Burton was doing this but I think it was pulled off pretty well. Alice in Wonderland's like my favorite book ever so I was going in with huge expectations after seeing footage. I like how he captured the insanity in Carrol's original book and made it work into an actual plot (a standard plot at that but still a plot). I like the performances from Mia, Anne Hathaway, whoever played the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar. I actually found Depp's performance to be pretty good and don't know why he gets so bashed for it. It's probably for that awful dance at the end. Overall, a good movie with a standard plot but brilliant visuals and strong character performances.

Iron Man 2 A-
I see Iron Man 2 as doing the best it could with the Avengers cloud hanging over its head. Going into this everyone knew about the Avengers, the tie-ins, the A-List actors and directors getting involved and still once I sat down it was put out of my head because Tony Stark was back. RDJ's my favorite actor like ever so he never disappoints and I thought that the rest of the cast was perfect in their roles. Rockwell, Cheadle, Johansson and Favreau were all good as their comic book counterparts and Rourke was criminally underused. The weakest actor I see in this is Paltrow as Pepper but that's probably because I don't care at all about her character. The Avengers bits were prevalent throughout and I can see why some people were taken out by it but to me they were great just because I knew what was coming in the franchises. I'd put it even with the original because they both had flaws and both had great bits to them.

Kick Ass B-
I went into this not having read the comic before but wondering if they were going to bring Mark Millar's usual dosage of violence and immaturity to screen and they did. The fight scenes were great in this but some moments felt like they were just unnecessary and way to overblown. Hit-Girl was awesome and Nic Cage was pretty funny doing his psychopathic Adam West impersonation but I really didn't like the lead guy and would hate it if he got cast as Spider-Man or Cyclops. This was definitely not the best comic movie ever made as some have said and it really made me feel like a much better miniseries could have been adapted to screen.

The A-Team B
I really didn't care to see this until recent trailers showed exactly what it was supposed to be: mindless fun. I think the cast was well used (the main four at least). Cooper was hilarious, Neeson was his usual awesome self and Rampage Jackson was Mr. T (it's not that hard to do but still). The best part of this movie was by far Sharlto Copley as Murdock and I thought every single one of his scenes were brilliant. It gets knocked because Patrick Wilson's character was awful until the very end. Overall the perfect definition of summer popcorn flick.

Shutter Island A-
I really love Scorsese films and this was just another one I got into. I think it worked great as a psychological thriller and really played up the tension and horror on the island. Every scene in Ward C made me feel like this should be an Arkham Asylum film and the revelation at the end was great. I had that feeling the entire movie the ending was coming but I guess Scorsese's film making threw me off of it. The cast was brilliant with Dicaprio, Ruffalo, Kingsley and Jackie Earl Hayley all being great in it. Not as good as his other films but he's still the best around which would put anything he makes over someone else's.

The Book of Eli B
I wasn't expecting much other than post-apocalyptic thriller with a last hope to save humanity and that's what I got. What I did like about it was the twist ending and the performances from the talented cast. Washington plays cool like no other and Gary Oldman was a very understandable villain who I didn't hate in the movie because I felt his motivations were pretty sound. Ray Stevenson did a fine job as henchman and Mila Kunis is always good at looking wide-eyed and pretty. I did also like the surprise appearances from Michael Gambon and Malcolm McDowel, those two made me feel good. Overall it was a movie based all around a twist ending with fine performances from its cast. It gets boosted up because I didn't see the ending coming at all and it made sense when looking back.

Inception A+
There really is no way for me to describe the reasons I love this movie without spoiling every bit of it. So I will merely write the ten reasons why this is the best film of the year.
10. Ellen Page's first tour through Cobb's mind
9. Limbo within the dream within the dream within the dream
8. Cobb's first inception
7. The scene between Fischer and his father during the kick
6. The cast overall
5. Seeing the kids and the spinning top at the end
4. Christopher Nolan's directing
3. Tom Hardy in every single scene
2. Hans Zimmer
1. Joseph Gordon Levitt in the Hotel before the kick

Hot Tub Time Machine A
It was funny. Best comedy I've seen this year (only). I'm grading it A because it was better than most comedies I have seen, despite the absolutely foreseeable ending.

The Losers C
This movie was cool. Now let me tell you why it was cool. Jeffery Dean Morgan was cool. Idris Elba was cool. Captain America was cool. Pooch, Zooey Saldana and Cougar were cool. Everyone was so ****ing cool in this movie that I didn't give a **** about them. People need to start realizing that you need characters that balance out the cool. Oceans was the last movie to do this in this genre of cool guys walking around shooting things. My main problem with this, however was the villain. Actually let's call him the douchebag because that is the only real name I can give for this guy. Why do current filmmakers think that a guy can be a minuscule amount of interesting by being a smarmy ****head for one hour and thirty seven minutes. This guy should have died in the first five minutes so that an actual villain could come up. I don't know if this was the graphic novel but ****.
 
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Inception - *****
Christopher Nolan mixes the complexity of Memento with the insanity of The Prestige and the epic scale of The Dark Knight to create a film better than all of them. His biggest and his most emotional film yet, Inception is his masterpiece.

Toy Story 3 - *****
A fantastic conclusion to characters I have spent over a decade with. A film that is simultaneously epic, funny, touching and unforgettable. Flawless and one of the best films of 2010 so far.

Cemetery Junction - ****
Funny, touching, and inspiring, Gervais and Merchant have made a film that is worthy to stand alongside The Office and Extras. A great, charming cast, an original script and a cracking soundtrack helped Cemetery Junction exceed my expectations and become one of my favourite films of this year.

Shutter Island - ****
A great cast, amazing cinematography and a haunting soundtrack come together to create an almost brilliant film… that is then undone by the inclusion of an unnecessary twist everyone saw coming.

Kick-Ass - ****
Realistic superheroes are getting quite stale nowadays but this film manages to inject a little bit of fun and excitement into the genre. Big Daddy (Cage) and Hit-Girl (Moretz) steal the film and prevent it from being just an immature Spider-Man ripoff.

Predators - ****
Simple, mindless action - and therefore the perfect way to bring the franchise back to its roots. Surprisingly, the best parts are just the characters interacting with each other.

How to Train Your Dragon - ****
A film that I have absolutely no problem with... but it still feels like there's something lacking. However, the animation is fantastic and it's probably the best animated picture from Dreamworks yet.

Iron Man 2 - ***
An entertaining superhero film that unfortunately does not stand up to its predecessor due to a number of underused and almost completely unnecessary new characters and a storyline which peaks halfway through.

The A-Team - ***
This film is all over the place yet still manages to be exciting; it doesn't take itself too seriously and the main four actors are having so much fun you can't help but join in.

Hot Tub Time Machine - ***
Obviously Back to the Future meets The Hangover (though not as good as either), if you get past the abundance of dick jokes you will find a few surprisingly touching moments.

The Losers - ***
Not as good as The A-Team but just as fun; the lack of a proper ending really hurts this.

Youth In Revolt - ***
An unusual film about alternate identities and love at first sight which shocked me by turning out to actually be pretty good. Worth seeing for Michael Cera proving he can act in the form of badass Francois Dillinger.

Clash of the Titans - **
A poorly written script, a few good actors with not much to do, and lots of giant monster action come together to make a dumb but entertaining film.

The Book of Eli - **
As opposed to The Road, this is a post-apocalyptic film with lots of potential that is wasted; Washington and Oldman are boring and the story is almost non-existent. However, unlike Shutter Island, the twist is actually the best part of the film.

Alice In Wonderland - **
Burton phones it in again – get Johnny Depp, an unusual fantasy world, and a gothic atmosphere and mix them all together. Boring, pointless and forgettable.
 
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Updated for Batman: Under the Red Hood

Alice in Wonderland A-
I was extremely skeptical when I heard Burton was doing this but I think it was pulled off pretty well. Alice in Wonderland's like my favorite book ever so I was going in with huge expectations after seeing footage. I like how he captured the insanity in Carrol's original book and made it work into an actual plot (a standard plot at that but still a plot). I like the performances from Mia, Anne Hathaway, whoever played the Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar. I actually found Depp's performance to be pretty good and don't know why he gets so bashed for it. It's probably for that awful dance at the end. Overall, a good movie with a standard plot but brilliant visuals and strong character performances.

Iron Man 2 A-
I see Iron Man 2 as doing the best it could with the Avengers cloud hanging over its head. Going into this everyone knew about the Avengers, the tie-ins, the A-List actors and directors getting involved and still once I sat down it was put out of my head because Tony Stark was back. RDJ's my favorite actor like ever so he never disappoints and I thought that the rest of the cast was perfect in their roles. Rockwell, Cheadle, Johansson and Favreau were all good as their comic book counterparts and Rourke was criminally underused. The weakest actor I see in this is Paltrow as Pepper but that's probably because I don't care at all about her character. The Avengers bits were prevalent throughout and I can see why some people were taken out by it but to me they were great just because I knew what was coming in the franchises. I'd put it even with the original because they both had flaws and both had great bits to them.

Kick Ass B-
I went into this not having read the comic before but wondering if they were going to bring Mark Millar's usual dosage of violence and immaturity to screen and they did. The fight scenes were great in this but some moments felt like they were just unnecessary and way to overblown. Hit-Girl was awesome and Nic Cage was pretty funny doing his psychopathic Adam West impersonation but I really didn't like the lead guy and would hate it if he got cast as Spider-Man or Cyclops. This was definitely not the best comic movie ever made as some have said and it really made me feel like a much better miniseries could have been adapted to screen.

The A-Team B
I really didn't care to see this until recent trailers showed exactly what it was supposed to be: mindless fun. I think the cast was well used (the main four at least). Cooper was hilarious, Neeson was his usual awesome self and Rampage Jackson was Mr. T (it's not that hard to do but still). The best part of this movie was by far Sharlto Copley as Murdock and I thought every single one of his scenes were brilliant. It gets knocked because Patrick Wilson's character was awful until the very end. Overall the perfect definition of summer popcorn flick.

Shutter Island A-
I really love Scorsese films and this was just another one I got into. I think it worked great as a psychological thriller and really played up the tension and horror on the island. Every scene in Ward C made me feel like this should be an Arkham Asylum film and the revelation at the end was great. I had that feeling the entire movie the ending was coming but I guess Scorsese's film making threw me off of it. The cast was brilliant with Dicaprio, Ruffalo, Kingsley and Jackie Earl Hayley all being great in it. Not as good as his other films but he's still the best around which would put anything he makes over someone else's.

The Book of Eli B
I wasn't expecting much other than post-apocalyptic thriller with a last hope to save humanity and that's what I got. What I did like about it was the twist ending and the performances from the talented cast. Washington plays cool like no other and Gary Oldman was a very understandable villain who I didn't hate in the movie because I felt his motivations were pretty sound. Ray Stevenson did a fine job as henchman and Mila Kunis is always good at looking wide-eyed and pretty. I did also like the surprise appearances from Michael Gambon and Malcolm McDowel, those two made me feel good. Overall it was a movie based all around a twist ending with fine performances from its cast. It gets boosted up because I didn't see the ending coming at all and it made sense when looking back.

Inception A+
There really is no way for me to describe the reasons I love this movie without spoiling every bit of it. So I will merely write the ten reasons why this is the best film of the year.
10. Ellen Page's first tour through Cobb's mind
9. Limbo within the dream within the dream within the dream
8. Cobb's first inception
7. The scene between Fischer and his father during the kick
6. The cast overall
5. Seeing the kids and the spinning top at the end
4. Christopher Nolan's directing
3. Tom Hardy in every single scene
2. Hans Zimmer
1. Joseph Gordon Levitt in the Hotel before the kick

Hot Tub Time Machine B
It was funny. Best comedy I've seen this year (only). I'm grading it B because it was better than most comedies I have seen, despite the absolutely foreseeable ending.

The Losers C
This movie was cool. Now let me tell you why it was cool. Jeffery Dean Morgan was cool. Idris Elba was cool. Captain America was cool. Pooch, Zooey Saldana and Cougar were cool. Everyone was so ****ing cool in this movie that I didn't give a **** about them. People need to start realizing that you need characters that balance out the cool. Oceans was the last movie to do this in this genre of cool guys walking around shooting things. My main problem with this, however was the villain. Actually let's call him the douchebag because that is the only real name I can give for this guy. Why do current filmmakers think that a guy can be a minuscule amount of interesting by being a smarmy ****head for one hour and thirty seven minutes. This guy should have died in the first five minutes so that an actual villain could come up. I don't know if this was the graphic novel but ****.

Batman: Under the Red Hood A-
This was actually much better than I thought it would be. I hadn't read the original Under the Hood but I like Joker stories and I was a fan of Death in the Family. I think they did a really stellar job with this and it's definitely on the side of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths more than Superman Doomsday and Superman/Batman. I thought the voice acting was top notch and the animation very crisp. This proves that they're learning how to get better with each movie. (We'll see with Apocalypse)
 
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Updated above for Cemetery Junction.
 
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