Top movies of 2010 rekalled....

#1 Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: I have watched this movie more than any other on the list. It is an amazing directorial effort.

#2 The Fighter: Christian Bale's performance is Oscar worthy and the film is fun with triumph.

#3 The Town: Not an original story but Ben Affleck makes it one of the best of the bank heist genre.

#4 Macgruber: Funniest film of the year.

#5 The Social Network: Expertly crafted from all angles, screen play, direction, score and acting. This movie should have been terrible.

#6 Black Swan: I may not ever watch this again but it is an intense movie that sticks with you, really well done and has meaning.

#7 Exit Through The Gift Shop: Some may call this a documentary, I think it was another art piece by Banksy. Really awesome.

#8 The Book Of Eli: Harkens back to the great 80's style apocalyptic action films with a great twist ending.

#9 Black Dynamite: Mimics the blackploitation genre perfectly.

#10 Inception: A great film that makes you think and draws you in, heavy exposition makes repeated viewings slow.

#11 Waiting For Superman: A documentary that makes you worry for your kids future but also makes you want to do something about it.

#12 Ironman 2: A fun film with plenty of inside tidbits to a bigger universe, I liked it for that. Others thought it was too scattered. I didn't care.

#13 Toy Story 3: A visually stunning film, one of the best uses of 3D I have seen at the beggining of the movie.

#14 Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work: A documentary with great insight into what makes Joan Rivers tic and a great comback story.

#15 Youth In Revolt: Michael Cera does a great job of being himself and not being himself.

#16 Kick-Ass: Big Daddy and Hit Girl make this movie awesome.

#17 The Cove: Type of documentary that will make you mad and want to try and do something about the problem.

#18 Cyrus: Does John C. Reilly give a bad performance?

#19 Let Me: A decent remake that doesn't surpass the original but is still interesting.

#20 Unstoppable: It is like the 90's made a 70's disaster film.

#21 The Crazies: 2 words: TIM OLYPHANT!

Black Swan rekalled...

Black Swan is the latest film from Darren Aronofsky and stars Natalie Portman in a moving, disturbing film that is worth seeing at least once. The film examines a few different themes simultaneously, women's body issues, the decent in psychological destruction, the artists sacrifice. Natalie Portman carries this film and is in almost every scene, giving a very an amazing fractured performance. The films has some great tension filmed scenes with relatable anxieties and disturbing sounds. Also a great use of digital effects that blends well with the aesthetic of the surroundings, it doesn't take you out of the film when things get fanciful. Not one that I will watch often but glad I saw at least once.

TRON:Legacy rekalled...

TRON:Legacy is the sequel to the the 80's Disney film and they try to recapture the magic of the original and fail disappointingly. A film that had been building my expectations for 3 years from the initial concept film shown at comic-con to the alternative underground marketing of a scavenger hunt for a recreated arcade featuring games and material from the movie. The film was a huge disappointment and felt like missed opportunity for greatness. The film had a great look but the action wasn't that amazing. Jeff Bridges lives off his Jeffery Lebowski performance in TRON and is a little distracting. The biggest distraction was the digital performance of a young Jeff Bridges clone program that didn't seem quite lifelike, the uncanny valley effect was evident. The effects were the only improvement over the original, the character and story was lacking, just disappointing.

True Grit rekalled...

True Grit is the newest Coen brother's film that is a remake of the John Wayne film of the same name which is based on a book. Hailee Steinfeld carries this film with a nuanced performance exuding a confident curiosity and delivers her dialog with a crisp wit. Jeff Bridges performance was a little more boisterous and mumbling than I would have enjoyed, I feel he has been riding on the laurels of his Big Lebowski fame for a while. Matt Damon gives a passable character performance but nothing special. The film is shot rather well but does have a few moments of obvious green screen and digital effects which stands out against the texture of this western. A decent film but not did not live up to the hype in my opinion.

TheFighter rekalled...

The Fighter is one of those films that doesn't tread new territory or create a new genre but it does do the fighter or boxing genre a great service by being a great film. Based on a true story, this film is filled with great performances and crowd pleasing dialog. Christian Bale steals the show with an all out performance of a crack head. Mark Wahlberg doesn't stand out but doesn't hurt the film, his sisters and mother really do add texture and depth to the film. One of my favorites of the year and I can't imagine anyone disliking it.

Switch rekalled...

Switch is the rom com featuring Justin Bateman and Jennifer Aniston. Only worth seeing if you like Jason Bateman. Otherwise it is forgettable.

Charlie St. Cloud rekalled...

Charlie St.Cloud is the Zac Efron vehicle which seemed like a very typical sappy romance story which actually surprised me by the end of the film. Zac Efron gives a great performance and I can see his career really blossoming. There is a plot twist that I didn't see coming and can't figure out if I give this movie more respect than I normally would, not necessarily a great film but I have seen worse. I will probably forget I saw it shortly.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 rekalled...

HPatDH:P1 is the latest and second to last film in the Harry Potter serious based on the children's books. This was my first Harry Potter film and I have never read any of the books so this film was not created for me because this film definitely is not for someone who is not familiar with the characters or story line. I thought the film was long, boring and goes nowhere. I have no interest in seeing or reading any of the Harry Potter material out there, this film did not take.

Unstoppable rekalled...

Unstoppable is a great throw back film to the 70's style disaster films with a couple of great crowd pleasing performances from Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. A nice run away train film with a ridiculous plot but is just a lot of fun. Plenty of action and some funny performances from minor characters. Definitely worth a viewing if you just want an entertaining film that doesn't do anything unexpected or original.

Faster rekalled...

Faster is the newest revenge action film staring Dwayne Johnson that all his fans have pined for and only slightly disappoints. The film meanders a bit and gets away from the core and focus of Dwayne Johnson's character revenge mission. There is a hitman character whose arch doesn't really fit in with the film and could have be excised from the film for better pacing and tighter story. We get half of what we want from a Dwayne Johnson film, a straight up action revenge film that doesn't pull it's punches but other characters get in the way and slow it down. Not necessarily a need to see unless you are a Dwayne Johnson completist.

Let Me In rekalled...

Let Me In is a remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In which in itself is a adaptation of the book Let Me In. The movie is beautifully shot and sets the period well for the early 80's in an American town. The aesthetic is a great character itself but the actors give some great performances. The only problem I have a with the film was some of the action was digitally done and really stood out with the beautiful aesthetic of the rest of the film. I did enjoy the film but still not as good and quirky as the Swedish original.

The Social Network rekalled...

The Social Network, from the mind of director David Fincher and screen writer Aaron Sorkin, about the rise to power and split of the creators of Facebook. This film is filled with amazing performances and creativity, a truly great collaborative effort. The score is amazing and original, the direction is impeccable and the dialog is engrossing and there are performances galore. Jesse Eisenberg gives the perfect performance for his acting style, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake are great opposing forces and Armie Hammer has some great scene stealing one liners as 2 characters, he is a great find. One of my favorite films of the year, can't recommend it higher.

Jackass 3D rekalled...

Jackass 3D is the third film from the Jackass crew and is just as absurd and entertaining as the others. The film does have peaks and valleys of humorous pranks to gross out scenes but is rather enjoyable. The 3D is entertaining and used rather well in a few scenes but on a whole I am not a 3D fan since I usually forget I am watching 3D after a while. Not for the squeamish but an entertaining time for a once through, I had a great time but probably need to see it again.

RED rekalled...

RED is the "comedy" or "action" film based on a comic book series that I know nothing of and after seeing this I don't have any interest in ever seeing. Bruce Willis stars in this film and completely mails in his performance with the patented smirk and no real charm, it all seemed very manufactured. The action was sparse for a action film and the laughs were lame for a comedy. A lot of wasted performances by quality actors such as Brian Fox, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman. Avoid this film, not worth any time.

Waiting for Superman rekalled...

Waiting for Superman is a documentary about the state of the public school system for a great many students and parents in the united states. The documentary definitely comes down against the current public system but not completely on the side charter schools but sites the best as examples for the schools in the future. It is a very moving film and has a passion behind it that you wish you could give to all parents and politicians to improve the schools for students and our own future. A great, moving documentary.