Why So Blu?

Brian’s TOP 10 Films of 2010!

The calendar year of 2010 started off a little rough, in my opinion, for the world of movies.  It was a little too rough, if you don’t mind me saying.  Anyway, it was not until the month of March that I saw the first film I deemed worthy of even talking about, Shutter Island.  Needless to say, by April I really had my reservations about this year.  I was let down by Iron Man 2 and a few others I had high hopes for, but I knew (although I could not prove it at the time) that Mr. Nolan was about to conjure up something really special in Inception, so I kept my head held high in eager anticipation of being proved wrong about this lackluster calendar year.  Was I disappointed? Well, unlike the smörgåsbord of choices I had in 2009, 2010 finished up with a bang in the later half of the year.  So here I am today, opening up and exposing both my heart and soul in willingness to share with you, my Top 10 favorite films of 2010.  Feel free to agree, disagree and/or leave me comments of hate below.  I welcome it all (and yes, that is me as the Joker in the above left photo).

Disclaimer:  As Sean Ferguson has pointed out time and time again.  Yes, my tastes cater and gravitate more towards action, horror, thriller and comedy films.  I’m not going to pretend to be artistic or anything else.  I don’t follow and live/die by what the critics say.  I march to the beat of my own drum and all I care about is being immensely entertained for 90+ minutes.  If a film manages to do that, then I’m prone to label it a success.

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10. Tron Legacy

Whether you like it or not, this film is simply an orgy of sight and sound.  Sure there are more lulls than I would ordinarily care for (homage to Gregg), but all is forgiven with one of the best techno soundtracks to grace the silver screen since 1999’s Fight Club (sorry…I hold FC up on a high pedestal).  Honestly, the  soundtrack made this film for me (theatrical movie review).

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9. Predators

It’s Robert Rodriguez’s vision, baby!  And it’s Predators!  What’s not to love about that?  But seriously, despite my initial worries, Predators was just what the doctor ordered.  It was everything that the previous two AVP entries were not…it was actually good!   Throw in a cast of misfits, reminiscent of last year’s A Perfect Getaway, and of course everyone’s favorite hunters, the Predators, and you are in for one hell of a hair raising camping trip.  Only this camping trip is out of this world (Blu-ray review)!

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8.  A-Team

Remember the 80’s television show?  So do I!  But why was I so against this film from its inception?  I have no idea.  Much like 2007’s The Transformers, I was scared to death that this beloved franchise from my childhood would be massacred (well Transformers did that the second time around, but I’m over it…or am I?…I miss you Megan).  I wanted nothing to do with this film.  Nothing at all!  Then I saw the trailer!  I said hey, this actually looks like it could be good.  Could it?  I’m going to boldly go where no man has gone before (at least I don’t think so) when I declare that this is the action movie of the year, IMO (theatrical movie review)  Enjoy this one!

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7.  The Town

Despite my love/hate relationship with Ben Affleck, it only took one viewing of this film’s theatrical trailer for me to know that I was going to be enthralled by this movie.  Those bank robbing masks gave me Point Break goosebumps all over my body.  And hey, the movie wasn’t half bad either?  I’m kidding you…it was awesome!  There are a few little tweaks I would have made to the ending, but overall, not a bad directorial outing by Mr. Affleck.  I’m looking forward to checking out the Extended Cut on Blu-ray (theatrical movie review).

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6.  Let Me In

Personally, I don’t care what the critics say.  But yes, at first I was really concerned upon hearing the news that a US remake was being made and feared that it would ultimately butcher the original Swedish masterpiece, Let the Right One In.  However, as soon as I learned that the young child prodigy Chloe Moretz was attached to the lead role, all my fears were instantly relinquished.  Although this film could never top the shocking moments found within the Swedish original, I believe it did a great job of paying homage to it, while at the same time making it its own in several respects.  It’s a slow, but hauntingly good time (theatrical movie review).

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5.  Kick-Ass

Admittedly, I was very harsh upon my first reaction when seeing the press screening of this film.  Like usual, my expectations were so high for this film that I truly did not think I even gave it a chance the first time I seen it.  Thank God I had the wisdom to revisit it theatrically a few days later.  Needless to say, I fell in love with the superhero gang.  What’s not to love about kids parading around the city fighting crime and corruption as masked superhero vigilantes?  Don’t tell me you never thought about doing this as a kid.  This is a movie, admittedly so, for comic book geek in all of us.  It’s just a shame that it lost its 2009 Comic-Con buzz before opening to less spectacular numbers this past April.  But whatcha going to do?  I would rather see a “kick ass” under performing Rated-R movie any day over a pretentious rated PG-13 slop like AVP.  Plus, you throw in the arse-kicking Chloe Moretz and Big Daddy Nicolas Cage…how do you not come out ahead (Blu-ray review)?

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4.  Toy Story 3

For a film I wanted nothing to ever do with, this admittedly finished pretty high on my list of Top 10 Films of 2010, don’t you think?  This animated feature has everything to offer a movie goer.  It has spunk, it has spirit and most importantly, it has heart.  I did not catch this in the theater, but I was blown away by only one viewing on the Blu-ray format.  This film, like my #2 below, transcends the ages and is recommended for families everywhere to enjoy (Blu-ray review).

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3.  Shutter Island

Before even seeing this I was enthralled by the film’s trailer and entertained by my co-worker’s stories of how much she enjoyed the previously crafted novel.  So I guess you could say I was looking forward to this, but man, this was not the movie I thought I signed up to see.  All I cared about was whether or not it wouldn’t be another Beach.  Well it mattered little as I thoroughly enjoyed this flick nonetheless.  The film reminds me a lot of the 1999 classic Fight Club.  Why?  Because after a second helping, you can’t “help’ but see things differently.  It’s a brilliant psychological masterpiece, IMO (theatrical movie review)!

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2. How To Train Your Dragon

I’m not the biggest fan of animation movies and nor was I looking forward to seeing this feature, but I swear to God, I was so engrossed in the story that somewhere around mid-film I think I totally forgot that I was even watching a cartoon presentation.  It was that good!  I never thought any movie would top this triumphant coming of age film (theatrical movie review), but I was pleasantly surprised by a one Mr. Nolan.  He did it again!  Let’s find out how…

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1. Inception

In July of 2010, I finally understood what Harry Knowles refers to as mind f#@$%d when I saw this film at a press screening weeks before leaving for Comic-Con.  Much like Avatar last year, I was mesmerized by what I saw onscreen and linear time was not even a consideration anymore in my life as I sat there clinging to the edge of my theater seat.  I was blown away by how Christopher Nolan managed to simultaneously go four dream layers deep and structurally tie it all in for one hell of a successfully executed ending (Blu-ray review).  This ladies and gentlemen, with no fluff added, is my favorite film of the year!

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Honorable Mentions…

• The Other Guys – This is one of my favorite PG-13 rated comedies of all-time.  Will Ferrell is back baby and Mark Wahlberg is the perfect partner in crime…err…I mean in law enforcement (Blu-ray review).
• Piranha 3D – Is it even legal to have this much fun at the movies?  Wow!  I was pleasantly surprised here (theatrical movie review).  Beaches, sun, bikinis, killer fish, bikinis…what’s not to love here?  LOL.
• The Human Centipede – Creepy…creepy…creepy.  I loved every minute here…except for the end (Blu-ray review).  This one definitely gets the villain of the year award, IMO (Blu-ray review).
• Burlesque – And last but certainly not least, say what you will. Make fun of me.  Call it Showgirls 2 or Glitter 2.  Have your fun at my expense.  BUT…I STILL love this “very typical” coming of age story for its simplicity, its beauty, its song/dance numbers, its cast and most importantly…its sexiness (theatrical movie review).  I want to see more of you Christina.  Don’t disappear on me!  And in the words of Gerard Iribe…Stanley Tucci is da bomb, yo!
• Splice – Splice manages to get a nod from me solely for its shock value.  There’s one scene, in particular, that managed to disturb me more than anything else I seen throughout the entire runtime of The Human Centipede.  Kudos!  Jim Kulko knows what I’m talking about (Blu-ray review).

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Wish I Would Have Seen Before Writing This…

• Black Swan – This looks weird, but strangely delicious in a dark, disturbing and sexy kind of way (theatrical movie review).
• The Fighter – I’m a sucker for these “ra,ra!” sport films (theatrical movie review).
• True Grit – Even though I’m not a fan of westerns, I do want to see what all the buzz is about here (theatrical movie review).

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My 2 Biggest Disappointments of the Year…

• Jonah Hex – And yes, I am not proud to say that I am an owner of this on the Blu-ray format.  However, I bought this for two main reasons: I could not resist the temptress that is Megan Fox and whenever I am writing a screenplay from now on and I need a refresher of how not to do things in a movie, I can simply refer to this Blu-ray.  Makes sense, right?  I just really want to know one thing.  What were they thinking when they made this (theatrical movie review)?   This is the film that probably will be the nail in the coffin for Mrs. Fox’s career.  Here’s to hoping she never loses her good looks, or she’s going to be in trouble.  Oh wait, she has Brian Austin Green to lean on!  He’s successful, right?
• Saw 3D – What a horrible way to execute an ending to an otherwise brilliant franchise.  Sure the franchise grew a bit stale as it aged, but they always seemed to reign you back in every time (at least they did with me).  But this…it was an abomination to all things Saw stood for.  The 3D effect managed to cheapen everything (special effects and all).  All I can say is R.I.P. Saw.  R.I.P.  Lionsgate is lucky that I’m a collector as there is no other way they could get me to purchase this P.O.S. Film on Blu-ray (theatrical movie review).

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