20. Splice- Vincenzio Natali is really one of the more original filmmakers out there in the business. He took his, semi-underground cache and turned it on this film which many dismissed as a Species knockoff. Here Natali gets more known actors and a slightly bigger budget to play with. What he turns that into is a twisted, perverse, and ultimately thought-provoking look at how our genetic futures could be altered just by having so many new things at our disposal. The last act of the film sort of drifts too close to normal horror movie cliches, but for the majority of the running time this is a fine film driven by great performances.
19. Diary of a Wimpy Kid- In theaters it was the first little surprise film of the year. People couldn't wrap their heads around what the film was, let alone how it chugged along at the box office in a steady little manner. What they were missing is that kids have been reading this series of books all over playgrounds for some time now and here they got a pretty charming little adaptation of the series. It probably doesn't do a great job of translating the drawings and prose from the novels to the screen but that is the trappings involved sometimes with different genres. The lead kid is great and in the end he learns a lesson that you could tell resonated with the kids in the audience.
18. Hot Tub Time Machine- I remember saying to someone how much I loved this film and the person disagreed with me and said it lacked subtext. I wanted to yell, "Hey dummy- what did you expect from a film that wears its title and premise on the marquee like that?" What you do get is a film propelled by a wildly silly script that is in the hands of guys who do great work with the absurdity of it all. John Cusack really elevates the film to another level with the amount of gravitas he brings to the film. There are funny scenarios, quotes, and a running gag involving Crispin Glover's character that will just flat out make you laugh. The worst thing that happened to this film was that it came out 8 months after The Hangover. Without that film, this film would've seemed more original.
17. Megamind- It is a bright, sunny little film that you can tell is cobbled together from parts of better movies. Splashes of The Incredibles, a little Superman, and dashes of various other superhero films. The films looks stunning though in 3D, and the art directors and animators did a fantastic job of making the city feel cozy and spacious all at once. Ferrell, Fey, and Pitt do great jobs with their parts and while I'm not really a fan of Jonah Hill- he was in the background enough at times to not royally piss me off. The film ends up being a fun character study of sorts, about what happens when the villain has vanquished the hero- and really what defines good and bad guys.
16. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- It's sort of a shame that this film didn't do better at the box office. It's poetic justice of sorts that it is doing great in the home video market. It's clear why the film had some trouble reaching a mass audience- it's a little too quirky at times. However, that's what makes the movie so much fun. The various people who pop up in cameos are clearly having fun and Edgar Wright is clearly having fun playing around with the type of movie he is making. Michael Cera is wrong for the role in many ways and drags the film in spots with his one-note acting, but he has a supporting cast that works really hard to pick up that slack. The last third of the movie sort of rushes through everything- and I'm told- gets a thing or two "wrong" as it relates to the comics. Still though- it's a different experience to watch and I am ready to watch it again.
15. Shutter Island- I sort of laughed when people said they hated the ending and didn't think it was worthy of a Scorese film. That misses the point that the ending is directly from the novel written by Dennis Lehane. This film does have all the aspects of classic Marty films though- it's atmospheric, ominous, and the lead character is falling apart inside. As the film progresses it gets twistier and twistier until it gets to the end where the film pays off what happened before it. The ending doesn't bother me, but it is nothing new to the genre of film here. DiCaprio seemed to phone his performance in at parts too which prevented this film from reaching the next level of quality for me.
14. MacGruber- I really wish this film would've done better in theaters. Maybe it was the fact that it was an SNL film, maybe it wasn't a very well-known character, or maybe people just didn't care as it got pushed into the summer blockbuster slot. Many have asked, "How do you make a film out of a character who is on TV for a few minutes?" The answer here is- put the character in a film that spoofs action movie cliches from the 80's and 90's. This film is crude, it's obscene, it's adolescent- but damn is it funny. It doesn't always hit, but when it does you'll be rolling with laughter.
13. Jackass 3D- It has no plot and really you know what this film is going to be. It's 90 minutes of a group of guys doing increasingly dumb and silly acts where the sole attempt is to hurt themselves or someone else. It's the same type of thing kids do until about the age of 17, but these guys have made a lot of money out of it- so be it. The 3D added a nice little touch on top of this film. For me I think my favorite skit was either Beehive Tetherball or the super glue stuff. It's not high art, but not everything has to be.
12. Machete- It's a throwback to the grindhouse films of old, and it's one helluva good time. Danny Trejo gets a chance to be front and center here and really delivers as the conflicted character at the middle of everything. Well he's conflicted for a few minutes before he decides- people must die. There are some great supporting performances from Jeff Fahey, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, and Cheech Marin. The real star here is Don Johnson though who bursts back onto the scene with a role that allows him to chew scenery like it's his business. The film is violent, maniacal, mindless but ultimately a bunch of fun. If you're looking for nuance you're watching the wrong film.
11. The Other Guys- Real close to being the funniest film of the year and its a huge step forward after the rare misfire of Land of the Lost for Will Ferrell. This is the rare Will Ferrell film where he isn't necessarily the guy always playing for laughs. He gets to play the straight guy often in this film which turns the film over to Mark Wahlberg. That would've been a major misstep if Wahlberg wasn't so damn good at being funny here. You would think Wahlberg would have the character that grows from beginning to end but that falls to Ferrell- which again would be a misstep if it didn't work so well. There were periods of film in here that were as funny as anything Ferrell has done prior to this. Also, Michael Keaton has a great role as the police chief who is completely clueless to how out of touch he is (I won't ruin that part). I have a feeling this film will play well on multiple viewings.
Tomorrow- we have reached the Top 10.
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