10 for ’10 – Most Forgettable

21 12 2010

It’s that time of the year when it’s time to put on the retrospective lens and look back on 2010 for what it was, the good and the bad, for better or for worse. To commemorate my first full calendar year of blogging, I decided to write a series I am calling “10 for ’10”, ten top 10 lists celebrating all things 2010. Half will be devoted to the movies, and half will be devoted to the blogging. Obviously, it will culminate on December 31 with my top 10 movies of the year.

To kick off, I’d like to feature a list that’s not your typical year-end top 10 list. Rather than celebrating the best or the worst, this list celebrates mediocrity. There were plenty of movies released this year that were just middling, not earth-shatteringly great yet not horrifically bad. These movies are often left to dry by the end of the year, but it’s time that they get their recognition.

So, without further ado, I present the most forgettable movies of 2010.

“The American”

Did anything even happen in this movie at all? Thanks to the RunPee app, I missed the big sex scene that was apparently so racy. As for any sort of plot, I’m pretty sure I had forgotten it before I left the theater.

“The A-Team“

Congratulations, you made a bunch of stuff blow up and freed yourselves from death and imprisonment multiple times.  Too bad you didn’t make this movie back in the ’80s, A-Team, because then it would have been exciting.  Now, it’s standard.  Next…

“Conviction”

Who knew that DNA evidence could clear someone wrongly convicted of murder? Try everyone who has looked at the front page of a newspaper in the past two decades. Like every single newspaper headline boasting the triumph of the truth, this movie heads for the back of my mind.

“The Disappearance of Alice Creed”

Not even the movie’s out of nowhere gay lovers twist could save this boring, minimalist kidnapping story from dissolving in my mind almost instantly.

“Just Wright”

Formulaic romantic comedy. Need I say more?

“Leap Year”

See above.

“Morning Glory”

I liked this movie a lot better when it was called “The Devil Wears Prada” and had Meryl Streep instead of crotchety old Harrison Ford.

“The Other Guys”

This Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg collaboration had nothing to make it stand out in either star’s catalog. Neither has a strong or memorable character spouting any quotable lines. Perhaps it’s best that we can forget this movie because I certainly know Farrell is hoping we forget the movies he made before this.  We’ve seen plenty of buddy cop movies done right, and there’s no reason to ever watch it done to mediocrity as it is here.

“Secretariat”

I have a well-documented distaste for inspirational sports dramas, mainly because they all come down to “this person shouldn’t have won but they worked hard and they were good people so they did win, and we should all learn a lesson.” This horse racing drama diverts a little bit, but it’s so packed with corny lines that I’ll forever group it with those that follow the template.

“She’s Out of My League”

“Knocked Up” dealt with everything this Jay Baruchel failed star-launching vehicle tried to tackle, only better and with much more humor. I’ll forever consider this a lame rip-off.


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REVIEW: She’s Out of My League

31 08 2010

“She’s Out of My League” makes an entire movie out of the question we asked all during 2007’s “Knocked Up” – wait, how can that attractive woman be with this disgusting slob?  No chance they would be together had he not gotten her pregnant, we thought to ourselves.

It could have been a movie about inner beauty, about falling in love with someone’s personality rather than their appearance.  Yet it’s exactly because Kirk (Jay Baruchel) is a little lacking in the looks department that Molly (Alice Eve) decides to give him a chance.  Tired of the narcissism of guys as good-looking as she is, she drops her standards a little bit in the hopes of finding a decent guy.  The fact that someone as beautiful as her could fall for an average joe like Kirk shocks his immature friends at work, a circle of four that serves as a poor man’s version of Seth Rogen’s stoner pals in “Knocked Up.”

This isn’t a movie from the so-called “Apatow Factory,” and it shows in several key missing components.  Aside from Kirk and Molly’s relationship, we don’t really buy any of the other characters or their relation – Molly’s foul-mouthed best friend, Kirk’s strange family and ex-girlfirend situation, or any of his work friends.  They are an incredibly improbable bunch – a confident self-obsessor, a loser who claims to have all the answers, and a married dork.  And maybe I’d have an easier time getting to like them had the actors not been substitutes for the people who could actually play them right.  In an ideal world, Jason Segel would be the self-obsessor, Jonah Hill would be the loser, and oddly enough, Baruchel would probably be playing the dork.

But thankfully, Eve and Baruchel work as the 2010 make of the Katherine Heigl-Seth Rogen pairing.  Eve manages to be a lot more likable and down-to-earth than Heigl (which apparently isn’t too hard), and Baruchel has a very dorky charm about him that proves to be quite winning.  Yet this appeal and chemistry can’t atone for the dearth of laughs in the movie.  Frankly, it just isn’t funny, something that I blame mostly on the uninspired script.  Baruchel tries his best to breathe some life into it, but nothing really works.

It’s a shame that this movie wasn’t better for Jay Baruchel, who really has a likable, average-joe charm about him.  He really deserves a breakout role to make him a marquee name, but he’s more recognizable for a movie where he didn’t show his face, “How to Train Your Dragon,” than he is for anything else.  It will come one of these days, but for now, we wait.  C+ /


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What To Look Forward To in … March 2010

12 02 2010

There’s more to March than just the Oscars.  Finally, March arrives and we can stop dwelling on 2009.  In my opinion, March is usually a pretty decent movie month.  This year’s crop looks especially promising with new movies from Tim Burton, Paul Greengrass (“The Bourne Ultimatum”), and Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”).

March 5

After almost 3 months, “Avatar” will have to cede those illustrious 3-D and IMAX screens to Tim Burton’s twist on “Alice in Wonderland.”  The titular character is played by relative newcomer Mia Wasikowsa, who will look quite a bit older than the Alice you remember from Disney’s 1951 animated classic.  If that’s not a big enough draw for you, surely Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter (who will hopefully channel more of his glorious Jack Sparrow than his Jacko-esque Willy Wonka) will suffice.  No?  How about Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts?  Or Anne Hathaway as the White Queen?  Perhaps Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar?  No doubt about it, this is one exciting cast, and I’m sure Tim Burton won’t have any problem distinguishing himself from the numerous “Alice in Wonderland” rip-offs that have sprouted over the past few years.

“Brooklyn’s Finest” is directed by Antoine Fuqua, helmer of “Training Day,” which was enough to get me interested.  However, it really looks to be little more than a mash-up of every cop movie ever made.  But hey, that may be your thing, which would make this your potpourri.

March 12

I’m excited for “Green Zone,” which looks to be a smart political thriller. See my previous post at the release of the trailer for more info.

On the indie side of things, Noah Baumbach looks to return to Oscar form after “Margot at the Wedding” underwhelmed with “Greenberg.”  The movie stars Ben Stiller as Greenberg, the grouchy misanthrope who finds a reason to be pessimistic about everything.  However, a special woman comes along and begins to melt his heart.  I’m looking forward to a double-edged performance from Stiller, one that can show off his dramatic chops but also give us plenty of hearty laughs.

Seth Rogen’s four roommates in “Knocked Up” were equally as funny as he was. Each of them have slowly gotten their “moment”: Jonah Hill in “Superbad,” Jason Segel in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Now, it could be Jay Baruchel’s turn. “She’s Out of My League” pits him similar situation: the uncomely guy getting the smoking hot babe. Hopefully Paramount gives this the push it deserves, maybe making Baruchel a breakout comedic star of 2010.

Could “Remember Me” get Robert Pattinson the Razzie for Worst Actor? After narrowly missing the cut for his two performances as Edward Cullen, this could finally be the one to get him the kind of awards attention he deserves.

Forest Whitaker is an Academy Award winning actor. What on earth is he doing in “Our Family Wedding?” For that matter, America Ferrera has won SAG and Golden Globe awards, and Carlos Mencia was once actually funny! This looks not only insufferable but almost racist. Plus, didn’t I see this movie in 2005 when it was called “Guess Who?”

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