Reviews by Matt

Over the last two days, this list has changed a lot. Movies I thought that were going to make it, ended up getting supplanted by two movies I saw recently. All the work I put into my “Sunshine Cleaning” review ended up being all for naught because there ended up being some late additions to the list. The biggest of these resides at No. 8 on the list, it was a movie I reviewed for the school paper, but because I lost the file, I did not post in on the blog. Long winded introduction aside, I present the Top 10 movies I saw this past year.

10) I Love You, Man
Easily the funniest movie I saw this year, it was also the only real comedy I saw. Unless you count “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans,” which was funny for all the wrong reasons. Paul Rudd and Jason Segal have been apart of the funniest comedies of the past 5 years and this one is no exception. Rudd has a knack for the understated comedy. He is low key and subtle when he is delivering his lines. All of this is a great complement to Segal who is all about the more overt brand of comedy.
The other standout is Rashida Jones. In a comedy where everyone is getting all the laughs, she has to play the straight woman aside the rest of the cast. She does a great job being the one to observe the shenanigans going on around her.

9) Watchmen
Many considered Alan Moore’s graphic novel masterpiece “Watchmen” to be unfilmable. Some still might, especially the very anti-Hollywood Moore. Despite all it had going against it, lawsuits from movie studios chief among them, “Watchmen” still made it to the big screen. This might be as close as a movie can be to its source material as you can get. It improved on the ending (as mad as that statement will make fanboys) and still kept the major theme intact.
This is not your father’s comic book movie. There is plenty of violence and the blood to match. The material is darker than other comic book movies, even darker than “The Dark Knight” (no pun intended).

8) Taken
This was never posted, but I did review it in the school paper earlier this year. It was just a fun movie to watch, despite the dark subject material. What the story boils down to is a father doing whatever he has to in order to get his kidnapped daughter back and punish those who took her. The action is great; there are some intense chase and shootout scenes.
This also had one of my favorite trailers of the year.
It was so simple, yet conveyed exactly what to expect from this movie. He tells the kidnappers he will find them and he will kill them and that is exactly what he does.

7) Avatar
The review may be pending, but consider this a small preview of what is to come. Story wise it is nothing new. It is very generic. A guy goes into a tribe of natives and becomes one of them. I saw a lot of the plot coming a mile away and there were a lot of characters who were introduced but never elaborated on. I had a hard time caring about the fate of any of the side characters.
Technology-wise it is stunning. I saw it in 3-D (not the IMAX version) and I was amazed at what I saw. The attention to detail was stunning. When I say detail, I mean things as small as dirt and particles floating in the air. It was really awesome to see, especially in 3-D.

6) Up
Pixar, Pixar, Pixar. Is there nothing you cannot do? It was a risk making the star of your summer movie a 76-year-old man. Don’t you know that if you want to make a ton of money you need a young attractive lead actor/actress? You even cast an older actor, Ed Asner, to voice your lead character. Your target market doesn’t even know who that is. I don’t mean the kids, I mean the younger parents who are taking their kids to this movie. What do you mean it has made over $300 million? Wow, I apologize. I guess you can do no wrong.
You have raised the bar for animation and no one can even come close. Is there no end to your genius? I only have one request; a sequel to “The Incredibles.”

5) Star Trek
As a movie geek, you would think I would have picked a side in the “Star Wars” vs. “Star Trek” debate. I have not. The “Star Wars” prequels have soured my love of the original series and I have never really given, nor wanted to give, “Star Trek” a chance. Plus my sci-fi fandom belongs to “Firefly” so nothing can compete. The new “Star Trek” came close though.
J.J. Abrams, the mastermind of “Lost” and “Fringe” was given the keys to a U.S.S Enterprise and forever changed the series. He gave “Trek” fast paced space battles and got rid of boring political talk. The cast is great and all do a superb job and I cannot wait until the inevitable sequel.

4) District 9
This was the first time in years I have entered a theater knowing only the basic plot. It was a refreshing experience to watch a movie with the same wonder as everyone else in the theater. The movie was made for $30 million, cheap by movie standards, but looked like it cost 3 times that. It was an original story in a sea of remakes, reboots and sequels.
Sharlto Copley, the lead actor, had never acted before he made this. He had never even thought about it before. He got the job while reading lines with other actors and the director/friend, Neil Blomkamp, gave him the role.
He is currently filming “The A-Team” where he is in the role of Murdock. I think he did a great job and I hope he has long career in the movie industry.

3) (500) Days of Summer
When I first saw this in the summer, it was easily going on the list and could very well be placed at No.1. Well, months have passed and other movies have been watched so “(500) Days of Summer” ended up here at No. 3. As much as I love big blockbusters, I love smaller character driven movies more. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are superstars in the indie movie scene and prove it here. Tom’s obsession with Summer drives the story along at a good pace. It covers the 500 days of their relationship, just not in order. Cutting between their happiest days to when Summer breaks up with him is an interesting way to cut the movie together. It gives the viewer a chance to see where things started to turn as Tom reflects on his relationship with Summer.
Through the use of a musical scene, some great split screen shots and an amazing soundtrack, this found it’s way to the top of my list for a long time. It took a lot to place it here and I’m sure if I kept dwelling on it, it might make it back to the top.

2) Up in the Air
I wanted to see this from the second I saw this trailer:
From then on, I was looking forward to this with anticipation and it did not disappoint. Clooney is one those actors who I have a hard time separating him from the character he is playing, but in a good way. When I watch one of his movies, I see Clooney. Clooney plays Ryan, a man whose job is to fire people.
The other star is Anna Kendrick. She plays Natalie, a young woman who goes with Ryan so he can “show her the ropes.” I will elaborate more when I get to reviewing the movie later.

1) Inglourious Basterds
The executives at Miramax would have you believe that this movie is about Brad Pitt killing Nazis. To some extent it is, but it is also so much more. The star is not Pitt but Christoph Waltz. His portrayal of Hans Landa is one of the best of the year. He makes Landa one of the all time greatest villains. Writer/director Quentin Tarantino is at his best with this, his seventh movie. He has written some great dialogue scenes in the past and the ones in “Basterds” might be some of his best. The best action scenes are not the ones involving the guns but the ones involving the spoken word. Those scenes are full of tension and suspense and showcase the strength of Tarantino as a writer.
In the end of the movie a character remarks: “I think this might just be my masterpiece.” It might be a pompous remark for Tarantino to make, but he has the evidence to back it up.