Were you thinking January 1 had come and gone without my movie recap post and worried I wasn't doing one this year? Well, fear not...just like I did in 2008 and 2009, I saw a ton of movies in 2010...
Before I proceed to the list and ratings part, I have a few observations I'd like to share--you learn a thing or two about going to the movies when you go as much as I do.
1) Regal Theaters rewards program totally trumps AMC's. All movie theater reward programs are not created equal--not by a long shot. But AMC's reward program is lacking in a huge way compared to Regal's: you don't get points for concessions. You know how much movie food costs--spending that money and NOT getting rewards for it? Fail. Also, AMC's "rewards" most of the time consist of coupons like "50 cents off sour Airheads with the purchase of a combo." You call THAT a reward? Spend $12 on popcorn and a drink for the "reward" of buying the crappiest candy on earth for ONLY $2.50 instead of $3? Um, no thanks. So props to Regal Theaters...for superior rewards and NOT calling shit like a coupon for crappy candy a reward.
2) Discover Card rocks a frequent movie-goer's world. It costs a lot to go to the movie theater, even if you don't buy food. It costs a LOT to go to 56 movies in the theater, mostly along with at least one other person, and I almost always buy food. But this year it cost me a lot, lot less because I started using Discover and use all the cashback rewards for movie passes. For $20 in cashback rewards, you can get two movie tickets and a $5 gift card for concessions (or more movie tickets) for Regal Theaters or two movie tickets and two small popcorn coupons and a drink coupon for AMC Theaters. By using Discover for as many regular expenses as possible (and paying the bill in full every month...I don't do credit card debt) I estimate that more than half of the movies we saw in 2010 were free. I generally don't do sponsored posts, and this one was definitely not sponsored by Discover card in any way, but Discover, in case you're reading this, I would absolutely do a sponsored post for you on this topic because I LOVE that you make my movie addiction financially possible.
3) 3D movies must die. A very unfortunate--and growing trend--is 3D movies. If I do no other prediction this year, I will predict this: 3D movies will die. Paying as much as $5 more for an already expensive movie ticket so I can sit and watch a movie wearing sunglasses so I can experience something that would have been fine in 2D but was made in 3D for the sole purpose of novelty? No thanks. Most 3D movies have no business being made in 3D--I mean, Yogi Bear in 3D? Seriously? Tron comes right out and tells you at the beginning of the movie "Parts of this movie were filmed in 2D"....so basically you're sitting there watching a 2D movie in dark glasses for no reason. F.A.I.L. Hollywood, please stop with the 3D movies.
Ok, sorry--just had to get those 3 reflections off my chest before proceeding to the movies. In case you've not read my previous year's movie recap posts, this is my rating system: sucked, rocked or meh, followed by best and worst movies of 2010.
1) Iron Man 2--rocked
2) Predators --I'm going to be honest and say I can't remember but I think meh is a safe bet
3) Clash of the Titans--rocked if for no other reason than the line "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"
4) Nightmare on Elm Street--meh. Ok, probably sucked but the horror thrill makes it worth a meh ;)
5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--rocked. C'mon, it's Harry Potter
6) Alice in Wonderland--Rocked. With a capital R.
7) Twilight Eclipse--Sucked. With a capital S.
8) The A-Team--rocked
9) Inception--rocked, but not quite with a capital R, I fear.
10) The Losers--meh
11) The Last Airbender--cool but meh
12) Kick Ass--Rocked. Very violent but I'm ok with violence.
13) Machete--Rocked. Twice. Again, violent but in a good way.
14) Percy Jackson & The Olympians--meh
15) Salt--Rocked
16) Sex and the City 2--sucked, but I admit--it was fun to see the "girls" again.
17) The Book of Eli--rocked. But sadly only with a small r.
18) Paranormal Activity 2--rocked, but nowhere near as good as the original.
19) Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World--I'm giving this a cute, which is like a meh but with a smile.
20) The Last Song--My daughter loved this movie, I gave it a meh plus.
21) Jackass 3D--sucked, as in not funny, a LOT of penis showing and really didn't need to be 3D.
22) Despicable Me--rocked. Very cute.
23) Shutter Island--Rocked. Still haven't figured this one out.
24) The Green Zone--rocked
25) The Other Guys--rocked, but not as funny as it could have been
26) Takers--I think rocked, but am having a hard time remembering details
27) Dear John--rocked, if you like this kind of movie...I like every kind of movie.
28) Hot Tub Time Machine--Rocked.
29) Step up 3D--ROCKED. I LOVED this movie. Could have been done without the 3D, though.
30) Saw 3D--yikes. I mean, meh but fun.
31) Devil--Rocked
32) The Last Exorcism--Rocked. Surprisingly good, I thought.
33) Grown Ups--sucked. Sorry.
34) Date Night--rocked but leaning towards meh.
35) The Town--ROCKED. Loved this movie. Outstanding.
36) Cop Out--rocked...for funny, if not so much for the actual movie as a whole.
37) She’s Out of My League--Rocked. Loved this.
38) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps--sadly, Sucked, but loved seeing Gordon Gekko again.
39) Knight and Day--rocked
40) Chloe--rocked, but Patrick HATED it. How can a guy hate a movie where Amanda Sayfried is nude?
41) From Paris With Love--ROCKED. Serious contender for best movie of the year, IMO.
42) Dinner for Schmucks--meh, but funny. Ish.
43) The Social Network--rocked, but felt long even though it really wasn't. Well done, movie-wise.
44) Diary of a Wimpy Kid--sigh. Yes I saw this with my son. Read the book instead.
45) Case 39--Had to leave this before it ended but it was pretty good--I'm going with rocked minus.
46) Just Wright--Rocked. My world, at least--I loved it.
47) Charlie St. Cloud--Meh plus, but didn't actually rock.
48) Catfish--I just want to give this a Weird. I found it very disturbing but interesting--definitely rent it.
49) Lottery Ticket--sadly, sort of sucked. But I'll give it a meh for effort.
50) Hereafter--Truly disappointing--made no sense to me. Love Matt Damon, but sucked.
51) Cyrus--Meh plus--I was disappointed and thought it would be better.
52) Morning Glory--I liked it but as a film probably a solid meh.
53) Fair Game--Rocked.
54) Black Swan--Rocked. This will get an Oscar, either for the film itself or Natalie Portman for best actress...probably both.
55) Tron--sucked...which is a total letdown to me and nerds everywhere. And did NOT need to be 3D, or at the very least, they should have told you to leave off the dark glasses for the 2D part.
56) Little Fockers--sigh. My daughter made me see this and I have to give it a grudging Meh plus...it was better than I thought it would be.
57) Unstoppable--Rocked. And thanks mom for pointing out I originally left this movie off the list.
Ok, so IMO (that's "in my opinion" if you don't speak internet) best and worst movies of 2010:
Best: The Town. This year's Gran Torino. Black Swan was also great, and honestly, I really liked The Last Exorcism too, so honorable mentions to those two.
Worst: I'm going to have to go with Jackass 3D, which admittedly was made exponentially worse for me by virtue of the fact that I saw it with my dad AND my kids. Sigh. Usually I kind of like Jackass...I can deal with the crudeness and think it's funny in a gross way. This was just gross. And, although it pains me to say it because I love the original, honorable mention for this category goes to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
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