Before the 2010 wrap party ends, Gail needs to reflect on the 50 plus movies she has seen this year. Think of this list as a party favor.

Movies That Lived Up To Their Hype

These films were actually worth that ever increasing ticket price.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It is one of my favorite films in the series. The kids are growing up.

The Social Network. This film is nearly perfect. Excellent writing, directing, acting and a compelling true story.

Avatar. Ok, it was released in the waning days of 2009, but I didn’t see it until 2010. I watched it again on HBO recently and I am glad I saw it in 3D/Imax.  I loved seeing this film in the theater. [Read more →]

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I have an ambivalent relationship with the Coen brothers. I love some of their early films and last year’s A Serious  Man was one of my favorite films of the year. But while there is much to admire about True Grit, it left me a little cold. [Read more →]

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In anticipation of TRON: Legacy, I recently re-watched a bunch of simulation-world films including The Thirteenth Floor, eXistenZ, and the original TRON, which I hadn’t seen in over twenty-five years. While I remember being somewhat confused watching the futuristic Disney film as a kid, seeing it again with new eyes, I was amazed at how clearly it expressed the “life as illusion” theme I’ve been so fascinated by as an adult. In the original movie, Jeff Bridges is considered a “user.” While Bridges often plays users in his films, in this case, it refers to a computer user who manipulates the scenarios of a digital world that is very similar to our own. In the original film, users are considered mythical, messianic figures who can help free the programs from the game they find themselves in. This got me thinking. [Read more →]

Tags: movies, religion & philosophy by Marc Oromaner
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Perhaps my expectations were too high.  Black Swan is getting excellent reviews and I have been hearing positive buzz for months. I do not see it as the masterpiece some are claiming it is, but the film has an excellent cast and is a fine psychological thriller. [Read more →]

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Perhaps the reason  Love and Other Drugs seems like three different movies is that the film credits three screenwriters (Charles Randolph, Edward Zwick  and Marshall Herskovitz ) for the screenplay based on the book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy.  This may be the reason why Love and Other Drugs seems much less than the sum of its parts. But the film has a few laughs, a few tears and very attractive naked people. [Read more →]

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I’m late on this. I admit it. But after having seen Toy Story 3 with my kids the other night, I need to weigh in. If you are even more behind than I am, I must warn you — some semi-spoilers are coming . . .

I’m not a movie critic, but I do write fiction. From that perspective, I think that films for kids might be losing their way — that is, if they follow the Toy Story 3 model. The people at Pixar are brilliant. I’ve been a fan for a long time and I very much liked Toy Story 3, but I don’t think the movie is quite right, in terms of its storytelling, for kids — definitely not for my kids, who I’m hoping are not completely different from everyone else’s children. [Read more →]

Tags: artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo, movies by Chris Matarazzo
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Tags: getting older, movies by Alexander Thorburn Hoffman
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Is  Burlesque a “good” movie? No, but I do not think it is trying to be that. Did I love it? Yes. It has a predictably stupid plot, but it looks gorgeous. The performance numbers are big, bright and dazzling and for the most part, the cast is terrific. I sat like a mindless zombie for 100 minutes, eyes glued to the screen, and it felt great. [Read more →]

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10. In The Expendables he wore an orthopedic beret

9. He keeps looking for the ‘mute’ button on his machine gun

8. He rides into battle on a Rascal scooter

7. His ‘reinforcements’ are a big bag of prunes

6. That headband in the latest Rambo was to help keep his wig in place

5. His stunt double is Eli Wallach

4. Instead of raw eggs, he’s gulping down Metamucil

3. Now, instead of bounding up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, he uses the wheelchair ramp

2. His latest love interest was played by Betty White

1. To help him lift his gun, he’s been taking Viagra
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

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I feel a little sad that this series is almost over.  But Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is by far the most adult of the Harry Potter films and I found that I relished it in a whole new way. As Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) proclaims, “Well, well, well, look what we have here. It’s Harry Potter. He’s all bright, and shiny, and new again, just in time for the Dark Lord.” Oh, yeah. [Read more →]

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I was almost deterred by the copious television commercials that made me fear Morning Glory would be another lame comedy. But the desire to see my seventies Star Wars crush and the amazing Annie Hall (ok, Diane Keaton) won, and I am glad. This film may be trivial, but it is light and fun, and better than the ads suggest. [Read more →]

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As the weekend came to an end, I realized that I spent it sobbing like a child at Toy Story 3, and almost getting mugged at the bank up the street from me. Just another typical weekend for Martin Joseph O’Connor. [Read more →]

Tags: Marty digs, movies by Marty O'Connor
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“What’s a good plate with nothing on it?” So asks Jay in Clerks, a movie that despite its numerous flaws still managed to be charming. I can now definitively state that a good plate with nothing on it is Mulholland Drive, which I watched last night for the first time instead of rewatching Rob Roy. “I think I liked Wild Hogs better than this,” was my girlfriend’s response to the movie, and while I can’t commit to damning Mulholland Drive with that particular faint praise, I definitely would have enjoyed my fourth or fifth viewing of Rob Roy quite a bit more.

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Tags: art & entertainment, movies by Dooley Womack
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Clint Eastwood directs Hereafter in his usual gentle and understated style. While the result is not the unqualified success of some of his other work, Hereafter has some lovely moments. [Read more →]

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With Veterans Day rapidly approaching, I expect to see A LOT more than the usual amount of war movies on television. Earlier today, on AMC, it was The Horse Soldiers (1959), in which a Union cavalry regiment is sent behind Confederate lines to disrupt and destroy rebel resources, communications and supply centers. The film was directed by John Ford, who has always earned high marks with me when it comes to the attention paid to authentic details in his films.
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Tags: movies, television by Jeff McDonald
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As I watched Stone, I waited for it to get better. After all, Stone has a great cast and explores an interesting idea.  But that is not enough to save Stone from being a disappointing film. [Read more →]

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10. Harry admits he learned all his magic tricks from a book advertised on the back cover of a Superman comic

9. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger inadvertently discover each other’s charms

8. Harry is permanently banned from induction into the Quidditch Hall of Fame amid allegations of sports betting

7. Harry’s latest supernatural power: levitating his pants

6. Short of cash, Ron is arrested for shoplifting a newt

5. Harry dies at the end, making Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II a real challenge

4. After perfecting the art of Divination, Harry makes a fortune on the Powerball lottery

3. Harry gets expelled when Albus Dumbledore catches him polishing his wand

2. Hogwarts’ head witch is Senate Republican nominee Christine O’Donnell of Delaware

1. O’Donnell is morally outraged by that ‘wand’ allegation
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

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It is hard to believe a film about teenage suicidal depression would have the word “funny” in its title. But It’s Kind of a Funny Story is light and somewhat funny. It is rather forgettable, but it is also enjoyable.

Craig (Keir Gilchrist) seems to have a nice enough life. His parents love him, even if Mom (an underused Lauren Graham) seems a little clueless and Dad (Jim Gaffigan) pushes him to excel in school. Craig has a crush on his best friend’s girl and his prestigious New York public school is very competitive, but is that really why he is depressed? A neurotic and medicated teenager is not always cause for alarm, but when Craig stops taking his medication, he feels suicidal. [Read more →]

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10. Night of the Living Bed

9. The Invisible Pants

8. Close Encounters of the Kinky Kind

7. The Sexth Sense

6. The Martians Are Cumming! The Martians Are Cumming!

5. Last Whorehouse on the Left

4. Hello, Weenie!

3. The ‘O’ Man

2. The Bare Bitch Project

1. The Triple-Ex-orcist
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: art & entertainment, Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, movies by Bob Sullivan
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I thought it would be difficult for The Social Network to live up to all that hype. I was wrong. Excellent writing, directing and performances, along with a compelling story, make The Social Network an almost perfect movie.

Based on Ben Mezrich’s book (“The Accidental Billionaires”), Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay tells a version of the birth of Facebook at Harvard University, its staggering growth and ensuing legal battles. [Read more →]

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