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And, the big one is coming real soon. Hope you enjoy it all!

-A

As 2010 wound down, BMF found itself in an unfamiliar position – indifference. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been indifferent about a lot of movies over a lot of years. No, this indifference was from a grander perspective, and it stemmed from the gnawing sensation in my gut. Don’t worry, I went and got that checked out, the doctor said a little ointment would clear that right up.

I digress! That feeling bubbling just under the surface – apathy. The thrill to go to the movies seemed to be drying up. At first, I wrote it off to mediocre fare and exploding ticket prices. After all, how do you tell someone that it’s $10 for a ticket, plus $4 for IMAX, plus $4 for 3D…and then collect the $20 from your date. It just doesn’t work, she’ll think you’re a cheap basterd, not an inglorious one.

I continue to digress! While mediocre movies and expensive tickets did help, they weren’t the only culprits in the waning interest in movie reviews. I realized this when I went on a trans-Atlantic flight and caught up on about six movies at once. And while I did think heavily about writing reviews, going so far as to jot down the pertinent points to make fun of, I never made the time to type those puppies up. That’s when I knew the writer’s block was more than a motivational thing.

So, if there’s one paragraph to read in all of this, this is the one. Over a decade ago I found myself writing a review for the very first X-Men film where the rating was based on the number Wolverine’s claws. Last January, I delivered the 2010 Year In Review. In between, over 300 reviews/articles/guest reviews, with a sprinkling of new site layouts, domain name changes, and blogging platforms explored. By the 2010 write up, I felt there was finality in the wings and I was writing the Year In Review with the intent of announcing that on the site. Yet, I couldn’t do it, I left the door open a crack, just in case, at least to me. For you, it probably felt like walking up to the door, ringing the doorbell, and getting no answer…for 6 months…even though the lights were on.

So what does this all mean. Actually, maybe this is the paragraph that is important. It meant that after writing movie reviews for 10 years, I found my voice becoming monotonous. I was the saying the same stuff about the same movies, and really, how many times can I plead for some semblance of intellect in a film about giant robots? That’s actually only a small piece of what I came to discover.

In all seriousness, I found that it’s an easy job to critique, to pick and gnaw at the creative works put forth by countless individuals. Granted, “creative works” run a wide spectrum, but nonetheless, folks are delivering ideas onto the silver screen where they didn’t exist before. That’s a big thing, and critiquing the success or failure of those efforts, well, that’s a little too easy, it’s a cop-out, it’s being the backseat driver and pointing out the missed turn. Actually creating something, to turn an idea into something more than a thought, that’s a big accomplishment.

Enough of the deep, metaphysical stuff, what does this all mean? It means I started working on another project, a big one, one that’s been sitting on my computer for nearly as long as this site has been around. It also means that I’m trying to create something, and as karma would have it, you’ll be more than welcome to critique it. In the end, it means I’m focused on doing that, but I do hope that you’ll follow me on the journey.

I haven’t decided where my rambling thoughts and progress reports will live yet. When I do, I hope you’ll come along for the ride. After all, if you’ve come this far, maybe you’ll come a little bit further.

As for the reviews, they’ll stay up here. And for the new movies, well, maybe I’ll do twitter-sized reviews.

If you’re interested in what I”m working on, feel free to leave a comment. I’ll keep everyone posted, and I’ll always be checking in with the BMF mothership.

Till the next review -

Remember last year when we said we couldn’t remember a year where there was such a huge gap in quality movie viewing? Probably not, but it was said and it stood true. Then this year rolled in and boy did it destroy last year in terms of mediocrity. You thought going three months was long…I’m talking about movies people! Well this year, Inception came out in July and it took well into the fall before another movie warranted theater viewing. Sad, I know, but that’s the truth.

Even going back and taking a look at all the movies from the past year brought one stunning fact to light: everything was just OK. There were a few stinkers, but by and large, everything was watchable. Just not excellent. There may be years where we’ve dished out more 7′s, but I doubt it. The best of the best were good solid films. The middling stuff, relatively solid films. The bad stuff, well that was still bad. But nothing stood out and come award season, it’ll be the same way. Sure you’re going to get your heavy doses of hype, but really, there’s nothing memorable about this year in film.

So of course we’re going to highlight it…NOW!

Even without the trip to the theater, you can thank the $1 vending machines for the plethora of reviews. There’s never been a year where BMF reviewed this many films. Sure, we usually get around to seeing a lot of stuff, but that’s after it hits cable and HBO. This year, you got the benefit of DVD reviews, and I’m sure you were delighted.

In total, we saw 36 movies that qualified under the top 150 grossing movies of 2010. 36! Granted, we forgot, neglected, chose not to write reviews for 3 of them, so here’s the quickie recap of the forgotten gems. Alice in Wonderland, 5, creepy Johnny Depp, creepy Tim Burton, weird visuals, same formula as every other Burton flick. Date Night, 6, mildly amusing, mostly just mild, stick to 30 Rock and The Office for Tina Fey and Steve Carrell laughs. Kick-Ass, 6, pretty good take, the little girl is crazy awesome, but the wink-wink “we know we’re a superhero movie and we’re META!” was slightly annoying. There, maybe I should make all the reviews Twitter-friendly.

Back to the 36, that’s more than a movie a week! Schnikes!! Here’s where the studios get sad. Of the 36, 22 were either airplane viewings, cable TV, or the dreaded $1 machines. In fact, 17 of those 22 were from the $1 machine! So what do you think studios, is $1 better than cable TV viewing for free? Seriously, when you churn out crap and then pull the $4 IMAX charge plus $4 3D charge, that’s close to a $20 movie ticket. You reap what you sow…you reap…what you sow…dun dun dun!

OK, moving on. Of the top 10 grossing flicks, we nailed 8 with Toy Story 3, Iron Man 2, and Inception included in the fold. The missing two? Harry Potter and Despicable Me…interesting. Harry Potter may be drawing to a close, but it’s run out of must-see steam already for BMF.

How about top 20? Big drop off with 13, which included Clash of the Titans, Grown Ups, and Tron: Legacy. Missing: Tangled, Megamind, Little Fockers. Eh, the quality drop off was steep. But then looking at the top 30, we hit 21 with flicks like Salt, Jackass 3D, True Grit, The Expendables, and The Book of Eli. Again, the quality dropped off, but I guess bad movies were less exciting to watch than pretty awful movies.

This year the “yet to be seen” abyss was smaller, probably because we didn’t wait until cable TV viewings. Hooray vending machine! Things we will see at some point: Black Swan, Harry Potter, The Town, The King’s Speech…maybe. As you can see, less Oscar contenders were missed this year, and more stuff that we just didn’t get around to seeing in the theaters.

Seriously, the fascination with data-driven analysis in this yearend recap is amazing…amazingly dull. But hey, we enjoy breaking down the numbers, so there you go.

On to the awards!

The Unnecessary Twist Ending Award:

If you haven’t seen it, I won’t ruin it for you. Well, maybe I will, but I won’t give away the actual twist. The Book of Eli takes this home without a close competitor. It’s weird, how many post-apocalyptic flicks are there year-in-year-out? And why do they all star Kevin Costner? You know, The Postman, Waterworld, Swing Vote, snicker snicker. Well, the formula changed here with Denzel stepping in as savior to the world. Seeing him walk around in dust, smack bad guys around with dusty bravado, talk in dusty, hushed tones, all good fun. Then you throw in a random twist, and it actually has very little impact on anything? Ohhh kay. Don’t need it, don’t do it.

The Unnecessary Character Rewrite Award:

We may be one of the few…ok, we’re the only ones in the world that 1, saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and 2, loved Russell Brand’s character. He was the self-deluded rock star, but everything he said was Yoda-like wisdom. You were supposed to be annoyed by him, but really, he was the only likeable character because of his honest dickishness. Then they wrote Get Him to the Greek starring his character, wrote him to have fallen off the drug/alcohol wagon, and made him into another unlikeable, self-deluded rock star. I mean, sure you’re supposed to be cheering for Jonah Hill’s character, but that guy is unlikeable, too…in all of his movies. So why did you go and ruin Aldous Snow? WHY!?

The You’re Witnessing the Death of a Career Award:

Oh hello Knight and Day. Now, are you witnessing Tom Cruise’s descent into unmarketable past icon? Or are you witnessing Cameron Diaz’s affirmation of mysteriously still making movies status? Yes, you are. There is no mojo left here, no magic, nothing that million-dollar smiles can solve. It’s over. Let it go. Enjoy the combined net worth of ten gazillion dollars on beaches somewhere. Let us all move along. Nothing to see here.

The Didn’t They Make This Exact Movie Already Award:

Brooklyn’s Finest, starring Ethan Hawke as an young cop, Richard Gere as a weathered old cop, Wesley Snipes as a hardened criminal, and Don Cheadle as a deep cover guy. So, Training Day mash up with Deep Cover? Yes? Whatever, no one went to see this movie. And no one cares about this fake award about a movie no one went to see. Next.

The It Wasn’t That Bad Award:

So you go hiking by yourself, jump on a loose boulder, pin your arm against a ton of rock. What do you do? I’d die, I already admit that. But Aron Ralston has more testicular fortitude than most. He cuts off his arm after five days of struggling and somehow manages to rescue himself. Now James Franco stars in the Danny Boyle adaptation named 127 Hours and everyone is squirming and squealing about THAT one scene. Well, it’s not that bad. Seriously. And it’s a pretty good flick to watch. So don’t be scared. You’ll give yourself a hand when you go see it…yes, I went there.

The Law and Order What Huh Award:

There’s nothing hotter than the Millennium Triology, better known as movies about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And after we caught the first flick, we anxiously waited for the opportunity to catch the next two installments. The second is solid. The third, hmmm. That is like one half watching a patient in physical rehab, then second half watching a Law and Order episode. How badass is Lisbeth in this final installment? Well, she gets dressed up with spiky hair and stuff to enter the courtroom. Yup, what started with a bang ends with a whimper. Sniffles.

The Worst Movie of 2010:

As mentioned above, nothing was that offensive this year. If it was good, it was good enough. If it was bad, it was worse than the good stuff. Yet, nothing screamed at you like past winners or contenders. There were no Memoirs of a Geisha or Bridget Jones sequel. There were no Transformers/GI Joe combo punches to destroy your childhood memories. Nope, this year was the weakest year in really horrible movies in a long time.

Sure you had stuff like Clash of the Titans, a colossal waste of visual poop, but whatever. She’s Out of My League, pretty horrid, but it’s no worse than any other Seth Rogen unfinished comedy script that they film. Valentine’s Day, bad wannabe knock-off of Love Actually with no chemistry or romance about the most romantic day on the calendar, but eh.

I guess when you come right down to it, this one has to go to Eat Pray Love. The love letter to self-involved, midlife crises sufferers, this one had very little going for it. The path of self discovery? Not so much. It was more like a big eff you to 95% of the population that can’t afford to take a year off and travel the globe to deal with their problems. That’s not envy talking, that’s just what this flick delivered. There’s little inspiring from this tale, and mostly it’s just Julia Roberts indulging in things. Good for her. Bad for you.

And now, the top 3 movies of the year!!

Number 3: Inception

In a year filled with eh and blah, Inception was one of the movies that climbed atop the heap. The visuals were awesome and Christopher Nolan continues to deliver entertaining movies on every attempt. Go back and rewatch something like The Prestige and you pick up nuances that are worth repeat viewings. Inception will be one of these films as well. The idea was simple, but the execution was great. More importantly, it caused movie-goers to ponder and question, and that’s a good thing in a world filled with Jersey Shore. This was a solid flick that hit the spot. And…the top never stopped spinning. That’s the answer to your question. Not everything can end with a picture perfect ending, and definitely Leo’s trip to limbo and back are stuff that fairytales are made of. Nope, he was stuck. Bottom line. Final answer.

Number 2: The Social Network

Look, the Facebook movie is getting lots of hype and either you’re all for it or you’re annoyed at it. Either way, this movie isn’t about the realities of Facebook or the Silicon Valley. This is your average Joe makes good and hits the life-lotto story. Only, the average Joe is presented as a socially inept savant. Oh well, it was an entertaining flick, super solid writing, and intriguing story. Is there any truth in what’s presented? Maybe, at the very least there’s some reality in this. But in the end, it’s a movie and it tells a compelling story. Good. Welcome to the Oscars. Even if you’re just the over-hyped flick of the moment.

Number 1: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This is a tough one because it’s actually an older flick that just hit stateside success. Nevertheless, Noomi Rapace’s turn as Lisbeth Salander was awesomeness captured onscreen. She’s a 21^st century badass, even if she is a socially inept savant. Maybe that’s the trend of the year. Couple her performance with a gritty, yet engaging tale of the underbelly of society and you have yourself a Se7en like experience starring a journalist of all things. However, there wasn’t another flick that made us seek out the next two sequels and look forward to foreign film subtitles more than this one. It was exciting and a ride to behold. Will Hollywood screw up the big budget remake? Odds are very likely. So go see the original first and enjoy the essence of the Millennium Trilogy. Don’t worry so much about the next two flicks, they suffer from Matrix Trilogy syndrome.

And there you have it, the 2010 Year In Review. Here’s to hoping 2011 is more entertaining than tolerable!

Before the pretty neon glow suits and CGI there was the old-school arcade game. Tron was one of those quarter munchers that you loved, four mini-games that had the odds stacked against you in a weird computer world. Killing robot spiders to get into a cone of light, a block buster game where the blocks moved down on you ever so fast, and a tank battle. Of course, the best was the light cycles, racing against three computer cycles, your trails of hard light creating indestructible walls in a kill-or-be-killed showdown. Good stuff. Oh, by the way, the game was a follow-up to the original Tron movie…yes, seems that some of younger folks didn’t realize that point. Sad. Not that you didn’t know it, sad that I did. Quick hit: the sequel looks so nice, moves so slow.

At the time of its 1982 release, Tron broke new ground in visual effects. The entire film taking place in a “computer reality”, most of the film looked like a darkened soundstage. Ah, but it was the actors running around, each lit up in a strange neon-glow way, that made Tron stand out. Throw in early, early computer graphics and you had yourself a stunning visual display that would open the world to CGI for years to come. What about the movie? Eh, it was relatively boring, slow, with the “stuck in X artificial world” concept that has been done a lot since. Whatever, it gave us special effects and a sweet arcade game.

Cut to 2008, when a basic CGI trailer was introduced at Comic-Con. At the time, there were no definitive plans for a sequel, but the footage ignited a dormant fanbase and opened the doors to a potential film. Two years later, Tron: Legacy hit theaters with slick visuals and a story that involved an aged Jeff Bridges and his estranged son. Sounds promising!

Oh well, promise and execution are two different things, and Tron: Legacy misses on the later. Make no mistake, the visuals look quite cool. Updating the original look, folks now walk around in armored black suits, but the day-glow remains to create walking, running, jumping stick-men. It’s a nice upgrade to a nearly 30-year old look. Throw in some impressive looking mech, from updated light cycles to similar airborne light fighters, and you got something to be proud of…if you’re putting together a portfolio for your visual arts degree.

Because while it all looks pretty sweet, it moves pretty weak. Everything looks slick, but it all moves too smooth. Which is to say, when light cycles fly around the computer arena, they do move nice, but there’s no real sense of aggressive motion. When light fighters zip through the air, they curl and spin and barrel roll nicely, but it’s not much different from your PC game experience. None of this is aided by the 3D experience either. Again, it looks pretty nice, but the 3D doesn’t really pop, and the filmmakers don’t take advantage of action sequences seemingly perfect for CGI 3D viewing.

In fact, if there’s anything to be said, it’s a bit of a letdown that things move so seamlessly, because that thrill of chaos, of imminent destruction, it’s not there. One of the coolest things about the original Tron was the actual physics of the world. Light cycles turned at 90 degrees instantly, because this was a computer world and binary rules applied. In Legacy, those cycles roll so nicely, but there’s no intrigue, there’s no surprises, there’s nothing that makes this any different from the real world, and that’s disappointing. Just give me 90 degree turns and I’d be 50% happier.

So, the visuals look good but they’re not as good as you hope and the 3D is an average experience at best. That means the story and plot become more important, and that’s a problem. Due mostly to the fact that the story is bad and the plot is well thought out for 5 year olds, being transported to the computer world definitely lacks sizzle. There’s no mystery in why they’re there, there’s no mystery in what’s happening, so everything that takes place is like a slow motion, watered version of every other “stuck in X world” story you’ve read. In fact, compare this to The Matrix, which at the time blew you away, and you can begin to suspect that filmmakers thought up of the visuals and shoehorned the story in there. It doesn’t work at any other level than basic and it doesn’t try to get beyond that fact.

The performances are weird as well. For some reason, Jeff Bridges became The Dude while sitting in the Tron world for 30 years. He has the beard, throws out things like “knocking on the sky” meditation, sits around in Jedi robes for meditation, and just plays the serene, zen daddy for no apparent reason. Seriously, there’s no reason for it.

The other actors are passable. Garrett Hedlund plays the estranged son, Sam Flynn. He’s OK, there’s nothing good or bad about his presence on screen. Same goes to Olivia Wilde, playing Tron-world program named Quorra, but pronounced Cora. Best cameo goes to Daft Punk, who wear their trademark helmet getups and fit right in. Worst performance goes to Michael Sheen, playing an over-the-top Castor, the club owner and man who knows people. Sometimes, you get the chance to steal the show by being the personality of a film in a supporting role. Sheen totally misses on his attempt, instead appearing like a bad rip-off of a Johnny Depp character and hamming it up to an 11 on the cheese meter when it fits like a leotard on a sumo wrestler. Not good imagery, either in the analogy or the flick.

Overall, Tron: Legacy waddles along as a flick with the best intentions and poor results. Sure, the visuals looks good, but in the context of the action, they’re blah. The performances are either average or totally off, and make for a weird experience. Finally, the story that holds it all together is no better than your average pop corn muncher that you’d expect to see in the summer months. It’s a bad recipe and leaves you unsatisfied. Out of 100 cycles in the computer world, Tron: Legacy derezzes with 50. So much potential, so little delivery.

Rated: 5/10

Westerns are always en vogue. It’s the execution that actually determines whether its manly enough to warrant praise. Sometimes, you take the serious route and you get Unforgiven. Sometimes, you do the Hollywood thing and get Tombstone. Sometimes, you add humor and get Shanghai Noon. Whatever the case, you get dust, horses, and some type of cowboy archetype to hang your ten gallon hat on. So what happens when you get the Coen Brothers to do their take on the genre? Quick hit: pretty good stuff.

True Grit was originally adapted as a John Wayne vehicle. If there’s ever a cowboy character made for John Wayne, Rooster Cogburn is it. In this latest version, Jeff Bridges steps in as the overage, overweight curmudgeon. Bridges has taken his career to the elder statesman stage, choosing meaty roles to chew on. As Cogburn, he does a very nice job of being a generally likable toughguy who embraces his unlikable persona. It’s good for this film.

Matt Damon steps in as the smarmy Texas Ranger LaBoef, a talkative know-it-all who can back up his bravado with some skill. Damon is solid here and does a nice job as well. Newcomer and unknown Hailee Steinfeld steps in as Mattie Ross, the strong-willed, intelligent child forced to into a grownup role after her father is killed. She’s the main voice of this film and her wiser-than-her-age act is entertaining. She never gets too smart and her act never wears thin. Much more of her would have bordered on this, but the Coen’s do a good job of walking that fine line.

The film itself is a nice twist of Coen-infused Western. It’s never a straight-up revenge piece that is so serious you have a hard time believing it. However, it’s not a satire and the humor is more in the way the characters interact and their natural tendencies than any smarmy dialogue or tongue-in-cheek laughs. It moves along well enough, even though the majority is watching Bridges, Damon, and Steinfeld trot along deserted frontier land.

Overall, this is a very strong film. It’s like watching Red Dead Redemption on the big screen. For those of you unfamiliar, that’s a Western-based video game that exploits the open environment concept of games like Grand Theft Auto. True Grit is like that in it meanders about, but you never feel bored or disengaged from the story. Out of $300 dollar price tags for horses, True Grit grinds its way to $210.

Rated: 7/10