The Best and Worst of 2010's Spring Season

Time for a countdown blog already? Well kids now that it's May and this Friday the summer movie season gusts in with "Iron Man 2", the spring season is now behind us. So this will be my little step back and look at some of the films I had a blast with, along with the ones I... didn't have a blast with. These lists are always fun and work as a great reminder of really impressive work that sometimes gets forgotten after the giant run of blockbusters so these gems usually have to just sit it out on DVD and blu ray and hope that people who missed them before didn't forget them and do give them a watch. All and all I was actually very pleased with the spring and I'm hoping I have the same surprise level with some of these summer movies, as there's far less than usual that have me really on board to see them. But regardless of how that goes, I'll always have these.

*******************THE BEST********************************
(in no particular order)

-"Green Zone"
The whole deal with Iraq movies is just that it doesn't seem to matter who's in it or what awards it's won, it's just not going to be a movie that people rush out to see. Yes, Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" was great (I maintain it was NOT the best film of 2009, but still worthy of it's nomination(s)) however even on DVD it's not been a big seller. It just boils down to what people want right now is escape and if that means missing stuff that's good and doesn't necessarily provide that, then so what. I place Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone" is this because it's an Iraq movie that successes on multiple levels. It's an entertaining thriller that bares an unpolished 'Bourne' look, but is far from a 'Bourne' film in just about every other way. It's also a smart thriller that makes it's ideas known and doesn't try to sugar coat it (which is always nice to see in this day and age of sugar coating controversial politic thoughts. It's an ensemble peace and a war story where the hero isn't trying to be a hero so much as he wants to know the truth behind all the bogus info that's been putting himself and his team in danger constantly. No speeches, no war sympathy, just a out and out strong, ballsy thriller that remains unseen because of lackluster trailers and a bad case of Iraqi movie syndrome in the public eye.

-"The Book of Eli"
Nowadays it's hard as hell to make a movie with a religious undertone and not attract eighty idiots wanting to bitch about it. You know cause there's nothing else going on in the world of major importance, so let's complain about a movie using a religion as a piece of it's story; yes this sounds like a great cause to rally together for. Ok, rant over. The Hughes brothers have reemerged with a futuristic science fiction samurai western in which they give Denzel Washington a far differing persona than usual (i.e. someone who doesn't have all the answers) and allows Gary Oldman to go bug nuts as the bad guy for what seems like the first time since Luc Besson's "The Professional". However it's the vast supporting cast and the attention to imagery that made me love the film. Tom Waits, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Beals, Malcom McDowell, Ray Stevenson and Michael Gambon all ranging in their roles, but they paint this post apocalyptic world in such a bold light ranging from dark humor to straight iron clad badassery. Is it a religious film? Yes and no. Is it trying to push religion on you? Absolutely not. By the end there's many questions involved with even why the world is the way it is and did religion have something to do with it. Does it matter in the end? I don't really know, but here was a much more involving apocalypse film then we're used to seeing, far more exciting and far more creative in many respects.

-"The Runaways"
Kristen Stewart made likable? Yup. Finally that snarl and look on her face like she smelled some piss is put to not just to good, but pretty damn great use as Joan Jett. But wait... she smiles?! And laughs to? Damn she's on her way to actually playing someone who doesn't just stand in one place looking like a porcelain dollar while cock-teasing two mythical creatures. Not to be outdone Dakota Fanning makes damn sure she's picking up roles like this that really display range, a bit of grace and a good deal of roughness. This ain't a teenage angst movie or a straight and arrow band film per say. But a stylish explosion of rock, excess, teen girls already bad and getting worst and Michael Shannon killing it in every single over the top scene he has. Honestly, just about everything in this film rocked the shit.

-"The Ghost Writer"
Roman Polanski may not be a particularly good person, but as a filmmaker... well... simply put he's still top drawer. 'The Ghost Writer' will arise to the top of his filmography resting aside his classics like "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby" and his Oscar winning WWII story "The Pianist". Taunt, smart and never in a hurry is the best kind of mystery and damn if he doesn't get it right on the nose. In addition to that all the performances in the film are pitch perfect, including Pierce Bronsnan, who sells me completely as this qusi-shady former prime minister who wants to be liked desperately, but doesn't want to tell the truth. It's a surprising picture and Polanski employs some subtle old tricks engross you more in the sorted tale. Seriously if this is playing near you, see it.

-"Shutter Island"
Well worth the wait I'd say. The last time Martin Scorsese made a thriller was 1991 with the well done remake of "Cape Fear", however with "Shutter Island" he provides the kind of old school, smart, scare-house mystery that almost never come around anymore. He directs it beautifully and master cinematographer Robert Richardson knows how to paint the scene with tension and foreboding whether in broad day light or grim nights. Leonardo DiCaprio also has fun giving a well ranged performance that is among his tip-top best, up there with his work in "Revolutionary Road". The films imagery is also among some of the best looking stuff Scorsese has ever done and I really hope that come awards season this one isn't forgotten in the ways that "Zodiac" was.

***************SILVER STAR AWARDS***************
-"Edge of Darkness"
A damn well done UK styled noir story that reminded me why Mel Gibson was still important to the film world. Filled with surprises, a little cheese, some great character acting by all and Martin Campbell (for whom this is a remake as he was the director of the 80's BBC miniseries) shows that his impressive work on "Casino Royale" wasn't a fluke.

-"Hot Tub Time Machine"
Far more creative and funnier than "The Hangover", with it's 80's pride flag flying high it brings together a perfect comedic cast that's perfectly balanced. This is a breed of comedy not so much out to dictate a story, but really to tell jokes that 9 times out of 10 kill. No easy feet.

-"Kick-Ass"
How many independently made films can you say involve this much gleefully over the top situations? Probably not too many since the early 90's of hard R-rated (and some NC-17) rated ideas. Matthew Vaughn and company have hit a creative nerve with their adaptation and hopefully it'll cause for more and more daring and creative minds to do the same. Or at least try.

-"The Losers"
PG-13 rated, action exploitation can't work anymore. Says wh0? Apparently the hipster working at the art house sporting skinny jeans, a flamboyant fanny pack he obviously made himself and an odor as if he's been living in a hut with twelve camels for three weeks. Ah, actually show me a hipster that knows what an exploitation film is and I'll be impressed; anyways yes, here's a movie we've seen but here it is again done better and done in a time when we don't really get gleefully, over the top PG-13 man on a mission movies. Furthermore it's against the grain casting choices were a great call and the films look is a nice lightened degree. Really just a cruise controlled fun film when everything out right now has a message or is trying to be dark and have a message. Bruckheimer and Besson would be pleased.

*********************THE WORST*************************
-"Cop Out"
If you have Kevin Smith on your twitter then you know that he's a pretty funny and witty guy. He knows how to handle high and low brow comedy well, but why he would think anything about this turd works is beyond me. "Cop Out" wants to be a comedy, it dreams of being a comedy, but it isn't funny. So unfunny that it almost reaches that headache inducing unfunniness level. The only thing I'm thankful for is that at least Willis and Morgan didn't play the kind of bitchy, self-absorbed characters that fill some of Smith's other films I really didn't like ('Mallrats', 'Dogma', 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back')

-"How to Train Your Dragon"
I wasn't a aware that as long as you place currently hip names in an animated film, throw in some horribly dated jokes that were never funny and try to make badass creatures overly cute that you could get one of the best reviewed films on the year so far. Honestly a small part of me wants to suck it up and brush this off, but far more of me wants people to wake up and start accepting just anything as a good animated movie because it's cute. Honestly that's a pretty lame ass reason so say it's a good movie because beyond it making dragons seem cute and cuddly it fails.

-"A Nightmare on Elm Street"
One of Platinum Dunes worst and wimpiest films to date with the only plus being Jackie Earle Haley's casting as Freddy Kruger. Nothing else in the film works, plain and simple. Nothing is scary, there's only a couple of dream sequences that work, a lot of the acting by the 'teens' is rancid and worst of all the mid section which involves an alright story turns into boring mush after it drones on for too long.

-"Alice in Wonderland"
Ok, if Jackie Earle was the one thing that helped 'Nightmare...' not lay face down in a pool of it's own vomit, then this would be the passed out party goer who's goin' out like Hendrix. Tim Burton has made his worst film since "Corpse Bride". Not only is 'Alice...' visually boring, but the writing is awful, Johnny Depp almost appears to know that this isn't going so hot while shooting this mess and the injected action sequences look like they're out of a really cheap video game. The film was boring as sin and not anywhere near as creative as it should've been given the director and it's impressive cast list.