Summer Review 2010

Summer Review 2010

As we wrap up another great summer, I go through what I saw this summer in theaters and pick the ones that stuck out to me, ones that I enjoyed, and the ones I wish I didn't see.


Top Movies

-Inception: Obviously one of my big picks. Smart movies are starting to become bigger thankfully, I don’t mind the dumb ones every so often, but when they are smart and make you think, they are more fun, and they are even more fun as you go back and watch the film again. This was one movie that gave us so much to think about, and so many different possibilities. If you want to read some of my guesses and other opinions, go a couple of posts back.

-Toy Story 3: A really big surprise. I didn’t expect it to be this great. Obviously the biggest movie this summer, having crossed $400 million, even becoming the highest grossing Toy Story, and is in fact my favorite out of the three.

-Iron Man 2: A great follow up to the biggest surprise of 2008. I was totally entertained, it was easily one movie I could go see so many times. Robert Downey Jr. was of course great again, and the expansion of the Marvel universe was great, so many different surprises in the movie.

-A-Team: Very entertaining. I was really surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this movie. Really disappointed that it didn’t do any better. A must watch in my opinion.

-Despicable Me: A great family movie to watch. So many funny moments, especially with the minions, and a very cute story. For those that missed it, hopefully you will make an effort to catch it in the future.

-Knight and Day: I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but when he chooses to have fun with his role, then his movies can be a lot of fun to watch. There were a lot of really fun moments in the movie, and I scratch my head wondering why this one didn’t do any better.


Other great mentions:

-Prince of Persia: I enjoyed this one a lot. A good story behind it and a ton of action that totally kept me entertained.

-Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: A video game like movie….. what a great way to make a movie, it was a ton of fun to watch. Totally original idea, and some of the references to comic books and video games were totally fun to catch. There were also many other movie and TV references as well. Anyone catch the reference from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome? Worth watching if you love comic books and video games.

-Salt: I saw this more times than I was really planning to, but I enjoyed it every time though. A ton of action with quite of few twists and turns in the movie, with some that you don’t really expect.

-Karate Kid: I am a fan of the original 1984 classic, so when I heard about it, I didn’t fully accept the idea of a remake. Once I heard the great reviews of the movie, that totally brought up my interest in the movie, and decided to check it out. I actually enjoyed it. It was basically the same story and same movie with certain changes made to it, and they were all good. A movie totally worth it.

-Grown Ups: This was entertaining enough to enjoy at least once. This wasn’t a greatly reviewed movie this summer, but I enjoyed it and there were some fun moments in the movie.

-Shrek Forever After: I probably would put this one in watch once and you are good, but honestly this one was a big surprise to me, I was totally expecting to hate this one, the last one wasn’t really that good at all, and a fourth one after that, I was thinking, "come on, we don't need another one." Well, I went in, and I found myself laughing and enjoying this one a lot more than I was expecting. I would have no problem recommending this one. At least see it once.

-Robin Hood: It was still a very entertaining movie, but it felt like one of those that they could have done a little better with in my opinion. It’s been a movie that I still have a hard time pinpointing what didn’t totally satisfy me with this movie. It had all the right elements that makes a good movie, action, good character development, and great cinematography. Maybe I was expecting an even better movie than what I got. Still worth watching though.


See it once and you will be good:

-The Sorceror's Apprentice: It was a fun one to watch, but I will totally be honest, once should be enough. There were some really good moments in this movie that made it fun to watch. Not as memorable as the National Treasure movies, but still enough fun that you shouldn't be bored from it.

-Dinner For Schmucks: First off, I didn’t like the very crude humor that made it into the movie, however I did find there were a lot of very funny parts in the movie. The story was good and there were some very good moments in the movie. If you like really crude movies, I think you will enjoy it. For others, I would wait for an edited version, but once it comes out, I recommend checking it out.

-The Other Guys: I will be honest, I expected this one to be a lot better, I thought it could have been a little funnier, or funnier in a different way instead of what they put in trying to make it funny. I think the crude language and everything could have been toned down, it wasn’t the kind of movie that I was expecting that kind of humor, nor really needed it, I know it has Will Ferrell, but we all know that he can still be funny without all that crude humor.

-Letters To Juliet: This wasn’t one of the movies I really wanted to see, but I went with one of my cousins and saw it. I will be honest, it was alright, but nothing about it made me want to go see it again. But for those that enjoyed movies like Leap Year, this might be worth watching.


Don’t even bother:

-The Last Airbender: I will be honest, this was totally a big letdown, especially for huge fans of the show. This totally left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths for M Night Shyamalan, especially the fact that the last few movies have failed to capture the attention of audience. This movie was totally flawed in the script and the acting was flat out bad. However, the set designs were pretty cool, and so were the special effects. So if you keep your expectations low, then this movie won’t be that bad of an experience.

-Jonah Hex: It showed up in theaters and was gone very quick. I am sure the basic reasons were clear to everyone. Megan Fox was totally there for show and nothing else. A very short movie with no real purpose behind it. Not worth your time whatsoever.

-Takers: Wow, if there was one more that had so many plot holes and so many illogical situations, this was it. The script was so bad, there wasn’t really any story, nothing connected, and you didn’t care for anyone, and I mean no one. I found myself laughing throughout the movie, especially the last thirty minutes, not because it was suppose to be funny, but because everything was so bad you couldn’t help but laugh. Parts of it felt like a complete rip off of The Italian Job. Let me put it this way, if you want to see a really bad movie, go see Takers.


This was actually a pretty solid summer for movies, obviously there were some poor choices this summer, but some of the great movies made up for it. This coming Fall will have some pretty solid choices in which I will look forward to, as well as this Holiday season. I will try to keep you updated on what to look for.