2010 movies you will want to see

As 2009 is ending it's time to look forward to what movies will be coming in 2010. Like in many years recently past there will be a decent number of remakes and revisioned films, several conversion films, and more than a few major movies that have huge anticipation.

Instead of trying to list every film that will be in theaters in 2010 I will instead hit on some of the best, and worst, ideas that Hollywood has to offer us. I'm sure that I will be as right and wrong on these films as most movie reviewers always are.

The films you might want to see include:

Legion - Though it is a January film - normally an indication of a horrible film - this looks like it has potential. I think this might be a film that will appeal to those who enjoyed the original The Prophesy movie.

The Book of Eli - Denzel Washington is known for his ability to act and to pick quality films to appear in. Which surprises me as this film is slated (last I noticed) for the graveyard of January. I have high expectations for this film, I hope to not be disappointed.

The Wolfman - Benicio Del Toro is a great actor and should be perfect in this remake. The addition of Sir Anthony Hopkins adds to the potential of this being a quality film. The moderating thing is that the film is a remake, which in Hollywood these days is a 70/30 proposition against a quality film. But so far the movie trailers say it will beat the odds.

Death at a Funeral - A remake of a British film of the same name, subject and likely everything else except the color of the cast. That's a good thing as Hollywood writers seem to be the laziest and least creative in the movie making world these days. From the movie trailers I've seen this should be a hit for Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence. Thank you England.

Iron Man 2 - War Machine. That says it all.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - A risky bet, but the effects look great. If the Hollywood writers kept the storyline from the video game intact this should be a great video game to movie conversion. If not, which is likely, this will be a revisionist waste of time to capitalize on fans pocket money. But it should be worth finding out in theaters.

The Expendables - There is no lack of hype for this film filled with former 80's (action) stars. Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, and Dolph Lundgren get to flex their old muscles against relatively younger jet Li and Jason Statham. For action movie junkies this is a must see.

MegaMind - Yes this is an animated film. Yes it's meant for kids. Even so I think this will be The Incredibles of 2010. The concept seems great even though it will feature Will Ferrell and was created by Ben Stiller. If nothing else it will rake in cash.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - It's a Harry Potter movie, how can you not see it. Honestly, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have really grown into solid actors and this should be very entertaining. Hype aside, this should be the big hit (box office) of the year.

And that's the list of the good. Now comes the bad.

The movies of 2007 in retrospect - 12.12.2007.1

As 2007 is coming to a close I looked back on the films of the year, and the actors that made them what they were. It’s quite the mixed bag, with far too many massively overpaid for underperformance. Quite a few are, in my opinion, without the ability to justify the pay they receive, while others are a bit surprising in the modest pay they receive, relative to Hollywood payouts. Thankfully there are many that are worth the money that are a bit long in the tooth, making ‘older’ folks like myself feel a bit better I suppose.

In terms of the films that were hits, that lived up to the hype we all seemed to have. Included in that list The Bourne Ultimatum, Live Free or Die Hard, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Saw IV, Harry Potter, 300, Spiderman 3, I Am Legend [I include this because the storyline has been good enough to make this the 4th version of the film, and I have that much confidence in the ability and choices made by Will Smith] and to a lesser amount Hitman.

There were several films that failed, and most were no surprise to me. That would include Underdog, Fred Claus, The Mist, The Comebacks, Halloween, Code Name: The Cleaner, Alpha Dog, Hannibal Rising, The Hoax, Rush Hour 3, The Brothers Solomon, Lars And The Real Girl, 30 Days Of Night, The Invaders and a few others.

And then there are the special mentions like Aqua Teen Movie, Red Line, Georgia Rule, Ocean’s 13, Talk To Me, Bratz Movie, Rendition, Darfur Now, Lions For Lambs, Redacted, This Christmas, and American Ganster.

The leading films all boasted great casts with some of the best in the industry. It’s no surprise that Johnny Depp made a reputed $92 million this year. The same can be said of the $32 million for Matt Damon, the $23 million paid to the top 3 in Harry Potter and the unknown amounts for Bruce Willis and Will Smith (I would guess in the range of $20 million a piece). As for 300 or Spiderman, every dollar spent on the effects was worth it as that was the real stars. And Saw is just what you expect so it did its gore fest above par.

The worst films, which the list is hardly complete for, were all bloated poorly written refuse that amazed me someone greenlighted. Underdog proved that not every show or cartoon from the past needs to be remade or done live action. Stephen King continued his long streak of failing to convert his quality and success from books to film. Rush Hour, and Hannibal show that making sequels just for the money doesn’t always make money, and Cedric may be an entertainer, but he’s not an actor. Didn’t anyone get the clue from the horrendous Honeymooners movie? They just need to stop making him the lead in movies. The rest were just really bad ideas that turned into really bad movies.

The list of movies that qualify under that last sentence is too long to write. I’m sure we all could think of a couple of those movies, if we wanted the torture of thinking about that. The good news is that 2007 is over and they can only be reseen on DVD, if you get bored burning $20 bills. (The bad news is that 2008 will probably have at least as many gruesome failures – at $20 million a film Nicole Kidman is burning buildings full of them)

As for the last category of films, well they are special. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a special interest – mostly targeting college kids up late watching cartoons that are distracting and meaningless (which is why we like them). Georgia Rule deserved to fail because of 2 things Lindsey Lohan and Hanoi Jane. I cannot fathom any film that contains the America hating Hanoi Jane that deserves to make a single dime. I dislike her and revel in her failures, personal and professional. [And I don’t care if anyone likes her for any reason, I despise her.] Equally fathomless is the concept that a film based on anorexic dolls could work. Seriously, anorexic dolls with attitudes?

I equally reveled in the failure of equally America hating films Rendition, Lions For Lambs, and Redacted. The abject failure of these films to garner any interest is a testament to the good taste of everyone except the people who greenlighted them. I can only hope that the actors in these films were doing them for the paychecks and not their political views. I would also say that if the producers and writers of these films feel that strongly (especially Mark Cuban) give up your citizenship and move to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or any other nation that will take you. I will not mourn your loss or the money you have.

But there are also films that should have gotten real attention and distribution. Talk To Me and Darfur Now were thrown to the wayside, the corporate execs sleeping well at night because they got them into theaters. In fact both were solid films deserving of recognition for what they had to say and the performances. Luckily both have Don Cheadle in them, though he is only acting in one. I have to wonder, considering the wide release of Cedric’s movie, that execs fear promoting a film with a Black actor that makes any serious political and social statement. You can’t pay a major media company to acknowledge Darfur has been going on, least of all for 4 years, and America has yet to do ANYTHING about it. We can run around the world and help fix everyone’s problems, but forbid we even distribute a movie about a genocide we can do something about.

Lastly there is American Gangster and Ocean’s 13. Denzel Washington is a solid, brilliant actor. The film is quite good (even with 3 rappers in it). But I have a problem with the promotion of a negative style of life for African Americans. Far too many will see this as a vindication or motivation. The mindless find inspiration in odd places, thus the film upset me. And Ocean’s 13 just proved that sometimes you can make a sequel just for the money and it’s ok.

So there are my thoughts on the films of 2007. Get the DVD’s of those you like, target shoot the ones you hate and get as a gift. And gird yourself for 2008, because Carrotman (it’s an old obscure comic book character) the movie hasn’t been greenlighted, yet.

[Again I say, Iron Man will be the massive big winner of the year.]

From foolish to fools, in the news

So for a collection of events that range from the useless to abominably stupid I give you the following things I’ve noticed in the news. And I do mean that these stories are in that range. Why such attention is paid to these items I can’t imagine.

That said, here we go.

Possibly the one thing that will get the most attention deals with a revelation from J.K. Rowling revealing that one of the critical characters of her Harry Potter series, Dumbledore, is gay. Surprising to most I suppose, I just don’t understand why this came out. It’s obviously not relevant to the character or it would have been in the book. It doesn’t change the storyline, or the manner of how all the characters act. And it’s not like there is another book to go. What’s the use of giving a background that the writer didn’t feel was important enough to write about? It seems like gratuitous marketing to me.

On a note that just brings me cheer, there is Paris Hilton and the Spike Awards show. Paris was a presenter for an award along with actors from her current show Repo! The Genetic Opera. [I have to say the website makes this look as bad as it sounds. A supposed Rocky Horror-esque show, I’m just not sure what to think. Only something that seems this bad would want to have Paris Hilton as part of the cast.] As Hilton took the stage she got the kind of attention her apparently mindless, irresponsible lifestyle deserves, boos. Non-stop until she left the stage. I get giddy knowing that there are more than a few people out there with taste.

And last in the list of the bizarre comes news that Amy Winehouse refuses to stop taking drugs and drinking. An overdose from earlier in the year seems not to have fazed this woman. Her excuse for this perhaps thinly veiled display of extended suicide in slow motion? Life is too short, and

"I’m quite an insecure person. I’m very insecure about the way I look. I mean, I’m a musician I’m not a model. The more insecure I feel the more I drink.”

I have heard crackheads with better reasons for what they do. Obviously I think Winehouse has a problem. It could be said that sadly this may not be a long-term issue. But I find it hard to feel sad to someone that knows what they are doing, and chooses to go headlong into actions that will inevitably kill themselves. Perhaps this is just another act of genetics improving the gene pool in action?

Review of Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix - 7.13.2007.1

Switching gears to something less serious than my more recent posts, there is the new Harry Potter movie. It’s a good film. Very enjoyable, and I don’t understand why so many mention how dark the film is.

This film in the series is more action based, and unlike the other films there are more questions than answers. The time at Hogwart’s passes very quickly, going from fall to winter with stunning speed. We jump time a lot in this film, and it leaves you with a feeling at times that something was rushed past. Even with those occasional moments you still can enjoy the film (just don’t have a couple of young teens behind you).

But with the return of most old favorites, we get to see less of all of them. The series has so many characters, that most of the supporting characters are given just bites of time on screen. At several points you wish that they could explain one more sentence, or do one more thing. It’s not that the roles are played badly, in fact all maintain the nature of their characters well. It’s that, for me, the film created far more questions than answers.

Once you leave the film you might be left with questions regarding several of the background characters. Chen, Ron’s sister (took me half the film to figure out who she was – the girl has grown), Ron & Hermione. That’s just off the top. The most questions are with Harry of course. Beyond the questions that are obviously there because the story is still ongoing, I was left with several others.

**Spoiler Alert – This is directly stating something from the movie that may take away from scenes in the film – You have been warned.**

Harry is a strong wizard. We know because he has done several spell well above not only his level but several adults. We see how he can learn a powerful spell quickly, mastering it enough to take on a major character in the film. But in seeing him actually fight I was so disappointed. The entire movie implies he is much stronger and capable than what we him actually do. It was a bit of a let down in his one-on-one fight. The other odd thing is how do you fly on an invisible creature?

So overall I enjoyed the film. I love the fact that this is perhaps one of the most racially, and ethnically diverse films ever. I liked the wizard battles. It was great to see almost all the old characters back But there were a lot of things that left me with questions, beyond those with Harry. And the actually ending just seemed to abrupt.

Is it worth seeing in a theater? Yes, much like Live Free or Die Hard, this film is worth the money to see on a big screen first. Is it worth seeing 2x? Maybe, the wizard battle definitely though.

This is what I think, what do you think?