Wednesday, July 07, 2010

2010 Movies Relative Rankings (7/7)

Here is the list of movies that I saw at the theater in 2010. They are rated (0 to 4 stars) and ranked relative to each other. Check for newer posts updating this list with new movies as I see them.

Last Update: 7/7 - The Kung Fu Kid (aka The Karate Kid)

#1 Toy Story 3 (****) NEW
Place: In 3D XD theater at Cinemark Pflugerville w/Family
Notes: Superb writing and direction. Funny and heart warming. The 3D and CG-ness don't even matter.

#2 The Kung Fu Kid (aka The Karate Kid) (***1/2)
Place: Drafthouse Lake Creek with Madison
Notes: I really enjoyed this re-make/re-imagining. I have nothing but praise for Jaden Smith. His acting was quite good. He showed good range. His athleticism and martial arts skills were infinitely more believable than Macchio's. I enjoyed noting the parallels between the original movie and the new one. The story is still as far fetched as ever, but also still as fun. Jackie Chan was great too. The name is the worst part of this film as there is no karate in it.

#3 Kick-Ass (***1/2)
Place: Drafthouse Lake Creek by myself
Notes: Enjoyable, aestheticized violence. Hit Girl easily steals the show. I never read the comics so no comment on adaptation.

#4 How to Train Your Dragon (***1/2)
Place: 3D Cinemark Round Rock Outlets w/Maddie
Notes: Better than I expected. A bit preachy, but not overly so. Good use of 3D.

#5 Iron Man 2 (***)
Place: In XD theater at Cinemark Pflugerville w/Family
Notes: I enjoyed it more than the original film. A bit too unbelievable even for a comic book movie. Iron Man does not have memorable villains.

#6 Shutter Island (***)
Place: Drafthouse Lake Creek w/Claire
Notes: Well acted and directed. Interesting plot albeit with a pretty see-thru twist. Even still, I found it quite enjoyable.

#7 A Town Called Panic (***)
Place: Drafthoue Ritz w/Aaron
Notes: Saw this subtitled. It's stop motion animation, but technically, it's no where near the quality of Henry Selick's work. It was funny, but less so than I expected. Better if you're drunk/high.

#8 Get Him to the Greek (***)
Place: Drafthouse Lake Creek by myself
Notes: I didn't know much about the film, but Pete had wanted to see it so I gave it a try. I knew nothing of Russell Brand going into this (his accent seemed almost fake at first.) The Drafhouse played his stand-up before the movie, and I could have watched just that for 2 hours. I found the movie very funny at times and more than a little bit sad in many places which I didn't expect. Couldn't stop thinking about how huge Jonah Hill was though.

#9 The Crazies (**1/2)
Place: Drafthouse Lake Creek w/Claire
Notes: Reminded a bit of Left 4 Dead. Pretty standard virus/zombie fare. It was basically a clone of 28 Days Later.

#10 Prince of Persia (**1/2)
Place: Drafthouse Lake Creek w/Pete
Notes: Better than I expected, but not great. The CG was abundant. High end production. I thought Chesty Jake was just fine as the Prince.

#11 Shrek Forever After (**1/2)
Place: 3D in XD at Cinemark Pflugerville w/Family
Notes: Shrek's cultrual gags -were- cool, but they've gotten stale. The underlying story is pretty weak. I've seen better (and worse) kid's films.

#12 A Nightmare on Elm Street (**)
Venue: Drafthouse Lake Creek w/Claire
Notes: I like Jackie Earle Haley, and he does a good job as the new Freddy, but the make-up artist needs to get fired. He looks like he has Down's Syndrome. Also, the scenes were repetitive: isolate character, daydream, kill. Rinse. Repeat.

#13 Alice in Wonderland (**)
Venue: 3D at Drafthouse Village Baby Day w/Family
Notes: I love Tim Burton's twisted take on things, but this didn't work out so well. Maybe because Alice in Wonderland is already pretty twisted?

#14 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Lightning Thief (**)
Venue: Cinemark Plfuger w/Maddie
Notes: Say what you want in defense of the novels, but this is clearly an attempt to cash in on Harry Potter crowd. Far too little far too late.

#15 Youth in Revolt (*1/2)
Venue: Drafthouse Ritz Theater #2 w/Claire
Notes: I saw this because Master Pancake was sold out. That was a mistake. The story was terrible. The acting was mostly terrible. Michael Cera is the least talented 'actor' in recent memory. He plays himself in every single goddamn movie.

#16 The Spy Next Door (*1/2)
Venue: Cinemark Pflugerville w/Maddie
Notes: Man, Jackie Chan. What are you doing? You've fallen to Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) levels. I didn't expect much, and that's what I got.

#17 Furry Vengeance (*)
Venue: Cinemark Round Rock Outlets w/Maddie
Notes: Madison loved this movie. And while it in no way can be considered good cinema (luicrous plot, terrible special effects), it's almost so bad that it's good. But it's still bad.

No comments: