First, by saying goodbye to a pretty darn good summer at the movies. Feels like yesterday I was all a twitter about Star Trek. Laughing every single time I saw The Hangover poster. Counting the days to The Half-Blood Prince. I’ve enjoyed myself thoroughly; there really wasn’t any big blockbuster I absolutely hated. But I guess like every other summer, it has to come to an end. Here’s my top 10, plus a few I missed I wanted to see and a few that disappointed me (not hated, just disappointed).
Star Trek
Oh hell yeah. J.J. Abrams totally hit it for me, being that I’ve been a Trekkie from way back. My favorite part is the WAY he did it, messing with the time-space continuum and creating a new timeline for the young, Enterprise-ing crew. Now we can have all new movies.
The Hangover
Like I said, I had a feeling just from the poster this was going to be one friggin’ hilarious movie. The guys looking worse for wear in that destroyed Las Vegas hotel room, the tiger, the baby, the chicken, among other things. Trying to figure out what the hell happened. So glad I was right.
(500) Days of Summer
There’s nothing like a refreshing romantic comedy to fill the soul – especially one as quirky, sweet, and well, REAL – as this little gem. It was a perfect summer blockbuster antidote.
The Hurt Locker
As for the other most talked-about indie of the summer, this look at bomb diffusers in Iraq is painfully tense but thoroughly engaging, particularly from its lead actor, Jeremy Renner. An early Oscar contender for sure.
District 9
Another extraordinarily intense action flick, complete with explosions, gun battles AND heart-wrenching emotion. I kinda liked rooting for the aliens this time and if there is a sequel, I hope they come back and whup some butt.
Up
Five words: Pixar always gets it right.
Land of the Lost
Yes, I’ve picked Land of the Lost as one of my favs. Got a problem with that? Certainly not a success in terms of a Will Ferrell movie, I laughed my ass off nonetheless. He, Danny McBride and Chaka have some priceless moments.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I walked out wanting to see the next two installments IMMEDIATELY. Having read and loved the books with great abandon, these big-screen adaptations continue to meet my expectations again and again. I’m going to feel somewhat empty when it all ends.
Drag Me to Hell
I don’t like horror films, per se. Have never seen Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series, in fact. But Raimi’s Hell just tickled me with its combination of over-the-top grossness and wry sense of humor. And now I’ve vowed to watch Evil Dead at some point.
Inglourious Basterds
I’m now officially a Quentin Tarantino fan. I dig his style in most everything he does: the long, extemporaneous scenes, the gratuitous violence, and, in Basterds case, the Jews kicking Hitler’s ass in all its Glouriousness.
Some I’ve so far missed that may altered the above list: Moon (LOVE Sam Rockwell), Cold Souls (LOVE Paul Giamatti), Paper Heart (Charlyne Pi cracks me up) and Taking Woodstock (did you see Liev Schreiber in drag? Classic).
Those ones that disappointed: Transformers 2 (no amount of crunching metal can completely cover up a bad script); G.I. Joe (wasn’t expecting much anyway, except to see Channing Tatum’s abs); and Public Enemies. I thought Johnny Depp was dashing as John Dillinger, but I really wanted the movie to Oscar worthy. It didn’t quite make it.