2010

Starring: Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston

Written by: Sarah Thorp

Directed by: Andy Tennant

I can’t muster up enough enthusiasm one way or another about this film to be honest – and that’s almost worse than having a negative review. At least with a negative review it stirred something, it made it’s mark. This film is a TBS Saturday flick that you might choose to watch if absolutely nothing else is on. But you’re not buying the DVD.

2010

Starring: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Collette Wolf, Lizzy Caplan, Kellee Stewart, and Chevy Chase

Written by: Josh Heald, Jarrad Paul, and Sean Anders

Directed by: Steve Pink

Ok if you don’t know what kind of film this is going to be just by the title, than you might as well not even bother watching it. I don’t know the evolution of this film or if it started out even semi-serius at any given time, but at some point the filmmakers, etc. just realized how silly it was and instead of trying to make it something it wasn’t just completely embraced the fact and went completely over the top with it.

2009

Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Lily Gold, Andrew Garfield, Tom Waits, and Johnny Depp, Clive Owen, and Jude Law

Written by: Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

I want to start this off just praising Terry Gilliam’s brilliance. In a world full of drab, cliched storytelling with the same old actors doing the same story with little twists, when you see a Terry Gilliam film, you know you are going to see something different and creative. This is certainly not Gilliam’s best films but it is a step back up after the more pedestrian (for him) Brothers’ Grimm.

2010

Starring: Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Danny Huston, Pete Postelthwaite, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson

Written by: Lawrence Kasdan, Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi

Directed by: Louis Leterrier

I finally got around to it. Readers of mine noted that I watched and reviewed the original in preparation of going to see this version…well it finally happened. And I’m honestly glad I waited. I had been hyped and then after a bit of bashing and critical scarring, I feel I was in a better place to watch the film.

2009

Starring: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Mary Kay Place, Fred Willard, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Long, Ray Liotta, and Steve Buscemi

Written by: Gustin Nash and C.D. Payne (who wrote the original novel)

Directed by: Miguel Arteta

Michael Cera always seems to play Michael Cera (or given that I don’t know him, the same type of character he always plays) and this is the second Nick he’s played. So you always know what kind of film you’re going to get. A nerdy kid who can’t get laid in some kind of coming of age story. The most important question than is how.

- Good chemistry between Claudia and Eureka guest star Dr. Fargo who showed up to give the Warehouse 13 security system an overhaul

- Probably the best straight episode of the series

- Cool seeing a slight shakeup with Claudia and Myka going out on a mission and letting Pete recover from last episode

- Fun to see Pete and Myka switch bodies and have the actors attempt to be each other while in their own bodies. McClintock owns Kelly though as his Myka in Pete’s body was downright hilarious and spot on. She was okay, but not as perfect as his.

1980

Starring: Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, Chaim Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, and Max Van Sydow

Written by: Michael Allin and Lorenzo Semple, Jr. based on characters created by Alex Raymond

Directed by: Mike Hodges

Myka in a dress – Hot.
Pete and Myka’s slowly building relationship – not too quickly, but enough there dangling to make you know it’s developing.
Claudia’s very awkward “relationship” with town geek. It’s cute, and necessary for her character so she doesn’t grow stagnant.
Throwaway artifacts and explanations such as Excalibur and how Arthur got it out of the stone, and the Original Ray’s Pizza location.

2010

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsely, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Jackie Earle Haley, and Max Von Sydow

Written by: Laeta Kalogridis and Steven Knight based on Dennis Lehane’s novel

Directed by: Martin Scorcese

Martin Scorcese is perhaps America’s greatest living director and Shutter Island is an example of why this is so. The fact is simply that the film’s storyline would have been newish about 10 years ago. In a psychological thriller that owes much to Fight Club and the Sixth Sense, the story these days is fairly predictable enough to a point. Sure there are details the audience doesn’t get, but it’s pretty simple from the beginning.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Sean William Scott, Kevin Pollack, Adrien Brody, and Jason Lee

Written by: Mark and Robb Cullen

Directed by: Kevin Smith

Funny enough that I review this directly after Shutter Island. Funny because I feel that this film is yet another example of what a director can bring to the table to elevate an otherwise mediocre piece. Cop Out is a film that is again nothing new. It’s a traditional 80s buddy-cop film with a few twists and turns to make it a bit different. But nostalgia certainly runs wild.

2010

Starring the voices of: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and Miranda Cosgrove

Written by: Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul

Directed by: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud – Co Directed by: Sergio Pablos

Well lookie here. We have a new contender to wedge themselves in the animation world. Far outstripping Dreamworks’ Shrek, and able to at least play ball with Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Illumination Studios’ Despicable Me is a shining success. Most likely because it borrows somewhat from Pixar and mixes it a bit with Looney Tunes, giving it a heartwarming side, combined with a highly humorous side as well.

2010

Starring the voices of: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderes, Julie Andrews and Walt Drohn

Written by: Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke based on the books by William Stieg

Directed by: Mike Mitchell

While pondering the review of this film, I couldn’t find anything particularly bad to bash. But I also couldn’t find much good to praise either. In fact if I had to pick one word to describe the film? Tired. That’s just how it felt. It was ok, but it felt ragged or as Bilbo Baggins would say like butter spread over too much bread

2009

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner

Written by: Melissa Rosenberg based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer

Directed by: Chris Weitz

Awful. Just awful. Boring, tepid, limp. Little characterization, little movement, and very little plot. The whole film has one good performance, one somewhat semi-tantalizing aspect, and one semi-interesting plot point. The rest is garbage on just about every level.

2010

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews, Billy Crystal, Brandon T. Jackson, Ryan Sheckler, and Stephen Merchant

Written by: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Randi Mayem Singer, Joshua Sternin, and Jeffrey Ventimilla

Directed by: Michael Lembeck

Fueled by The Rock’s undeniable charm and charisma and some nice performances by Stephen Merchant, Julie Andrews, and Billy Crystal, the film is…a nice film. It’s not going to ever be considered a classic, nor will it light any film lists on fire. But it’s not bad.

2009

Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, and James Gandolfini

Written by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers based on the book by Maurice Sendak

Directed by: Spike Jonze

This was truly a unique and entertaining film. Despite it being a children’s book, I’m certain that the depth of the film will be lost on the young ones. Instead, this is a film for the adult trying to fully understand the psychology of the child. Spike Jonze delivers a truly engaging, sometimes disturbing adaption of Maurice Sendak’s seminal story.

2009

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Leiv Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Henney, Tahyna Tozzi, and Dominic Monoghan

Written by: David Benioff and Skip Woods

Directed by: Gavin Hood

2009

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenburg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Bill Murray

Written by: Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

I stalled on watching this one for quite a while. When I saw the previews, I saw Shaun of the Dead which was dead perfect as a zombie horror-comedy so why would I watch this which looks much worse. Then the reviews came in from a few people that I generally agree with and I was intrigued but still in no rush to watch it. I finally did.

And kicked myself for not watching sooner!

1982

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, and Dan Shor

Written by: Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird

Directed by: Steven Lisberger

With the sequel looming, I thought it would be a nice time to sit down and watch a movie that I was ashamed to admit I had never seen. A lot of geek friends will frown at me and shake their heads in disbelief. However, I’m kind of glad I waited. After watching, I wonder how my view would have been different had I watched the film at a young age like most of the other ’80s flicks – particulary ’80s sci-fi flicks. I probably would have become a devout Tron fan and would have lapped it all up.

But I didn’t so I can watch the unfortunately dated film with some distance.