Kicking off November was the big animated film Megamind. While it initially looked interesting, especially with the talented voice acting (Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt and Tina Fey), this was a very average film, in all regards. Ferrell was funny, as usual, but it just wasn’t terribly enjoyable. In his review, Ken Murray said:
Megamind is a pretty decent film. The kids should like it and there are a few jokes geared to the adults (Ferrell doing Marlon Brando), but something felt missing. In a year with Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me, Megamind seems disappointing. It almost seems like it wants to be Despicable Me by using the Minion and having little creatures to help Megamind.
It seems as if every animated film is being compared to Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me, but how can you not? They set such high standards and films like Megamind and Alpha and Omega just seemed so standard when compared to them.
Luckily, there were two other fantastic films releasing that week. Due Date and 127 Hours both hit theatres. Due Date, the new film from Todd Phillips, was just as funny as The Hangover in my opinion, and certainly one of the funniest films I saw all year. Not everyone agrees though, Blake Griffin writes:
While the script relies on the preemptive protection of satire to justify its weaknesses, the argument is almost null since it chooses to mix the edgy, in-your-face non-comedy with some real attempt at sincerity and heart. Yes, it turns out that Ethan has just come from his father’s funeral and is more distraught than it first appears. Peter, despite the anger thing, opens his heart and takes Ethan right in. It seems that the scriptwriters (and there are a whopping six people receiving writers’ credits here) couldn’t decide what direction they wanted to go with.
The last major release that week was 127 Hours, perhaps the only film this year that could stand in the way of The Social Network come Oscar season. Danny Boyle returns with his Slumdog Millionaire team to bring us the compelling story of Aron Ralston, a man who finds himself trapped alone in a cave with his arm pinned down by a boulder. Ken Murray writes in his review that:
Those who are familiar with Boyle’s films like 28 Days Later, Sunshine (one of the most original sci-fi films of the past 20 years) and Trainspotting can see prototypical Boyle style in 127 Hours. Long winding shots of movement, upclose odd camera angles in water bottles and digital quick shots edited from 20 minute takes. An incredibly tense film, both men and women found themselves shifting in their seats and hoping what was coming wasn’t really coming.
Like The Town and The Social Network, this is one film not to be missed. It’s a triumphant, moving and enjoyable motion picture. Smaller releases that week included For Colored Girls, Four Lions, Red Hill and Fair Game, a film from Doug Liman that reunites Sean Penn and Naomi Watts.
On November 12th, Denzel Washington and Tony Scott brought us their fifth film, Unstoppable. Once again it seemed as if Washington was having train troubles. Paired alongside Star Trek‘s Chris Pine, the film had the duo trying to stop an unmanned train, carrying explosives and chemicals, from crashing into a city.
Where it ranks in terms of the Washington/Scott film list is still up in the air but Ken Murray did say this about the film in his review:
Based on a real life runaway train in Toledo, Ohio in 2001, Unstoppable is a good movie for this time of year. Some great one liners (especially about where Denzel’s daughters work), good action sequences, no overly done love story (which is almost an unnecessary ploy in action films today), Unstoppable should do very well at the box office for what it is, a suspense driven action flick.
For the most part, I’m a fan of Washington/Scott films so I definitely still need to check this one out. The trailers look great and the reviews haven’t been particularly bad. It’s also generating some nice word of mouth.
Also releasing that week was Skyline, the special effects heavy, sci-fi, aliens take over our world film. Apparently, the only thing the film had going for it was the special effects, it seemed to fail in all other aspects. In his review, Mathew Signaigo said that:
Ultimately, though, the special effects provided good footage for the trailers, but it is not enough to truly save the movie. Skyline is a science fiction invasion movie that doesn’t know what it wants to be, whether it be found-footage, character study, thriller, or disaster movie. While there are some interesting choices in terms of the aliens themselves, the writing, acting, and overall plot are pointless, tensionless, and borderline absurd. It is simply not a good movie.
I suppose if you’re really into special effects, it may be worth a viewing but for anyone else, I’d say skip it. I have yet to see it and to be honest, I probably won’t be seeing it anytime soon. Alien films don’t really interest me in general and with all the poor reviews this one is getting, I think I’ll pass.
Morning Glory was the only other major release that week, and starring Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams, it did carry a bit of star power. To me, the film looked completely uninteresting and while I have no interest in seeing it, Ken Murray thinks differently.
You know where the movie will go by the end, but even with predictability, the film is entertaining enough throughout. Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton are very believable as news people. And even the love story between Rachel McAdams and Patrick Wilson is comical. Some great stuff from the non-major stars of the film especially the weatherman and Hollywood reporter.
While I’m sure it’s not a bad film, I just have no interest in it. From everything that I’ve seen through trailers and clips, just doesn’t look like my type of film. If you’re into this type of film though, you’ll probably enjoy it. McAdams is a great actress and the chemistry between her and Ford is probably pretty entertaining.
Rounding out the week were a few smaller releases, two documentaries, Client 9 (the Eliot Spitzer movie) and Cool It. Neither of which I’ve seen but I wouldn’t mind seeing Client 9, it looks interesting and I’ll be checking it out when it hits DVD/Blu-Ray.
November 19th was a huge weekend for Hollywood. It saw the first part of the Harry Potter finale hit theatres, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. To say the film is massive is an understatement. Pulling in $330 million worldwide in just five days, the film is enormous. In addition to all the money it’s making, it’s also getting pretty good reviews. Will Chadwick says in his review that:
I cannot express how much I enjoyed this, I can easily anticipate that when I come to compile my list of films of the year it may get a look in. I think a lot of people are being overly critical of it, and it’s a shame because I am one of the very few who believes this film is the first film to truly capture the spirit of JK Rowling’s novels.
I’m one of those people who enjoyed the novels but never really got into the films. I believe I stopped watching around the third film. Once they’re all on Blu-Ray I do plan on going back and just watching them all over the span of a few days, but until then, I’ll hold off on seeing this one in theatres. Deathly Hallows was my favorite Potter book so I’m glad the film turned out well and I’m looking forward to seeing it when it hits Blu-Ray.
The other major release that week, which probably got overshadowed, was the excellent Russell Crowe/Paul Haggis film, The Next Three Days. Perhaps the best Crowe film in recent memory, The Next Three Days could have seen an Oscar nomination had it been released in another year. Unfortunately though due to films like The Social Network and 127 Hours, this could get overlooked. I really enjoyed this film and once the Oscar craze settles down, I suggest you see this one. In his review, Ken Murray says:
If you are in the mood for a suspenseful, dramatic, thrilling story, The Next Three Days is the film to see. Haggis and Crowe are award winners for a reason and after this film, they should definitely work more together.
And so we come to the final week in November. Four films rounding out the fall season. Tangled, Burlesque, Faster and The King’s Speech.
Most notable were The King’s Speech and Tangled. Tangled was a huge hit for Disney, pulling in $69 million in its first week, it also managed to snag some pretty positive reviews. It told the classic story of Rapunzel, with a bit of a twist. Ken Murray said that:
If your kids like music, if your kids like fairy tales, your kids will love Tangled in 3D. It’s a great movie for you to take your young daughters to and they will surely want to sing along and laugh. Don’t be surprised to see a few straight to DVD sequels in the future because Disney is king of that. In the land of Disney princesses, a new member just joined and her name is Rapunzel.
The other notable film that week was The King’s Speech. While it’s been out for a while in other countries around the world and it has been to countless film festivals, it was released to few locations in North America on November 26th. While I haven’t seen it, I know that it’s getting outstanding reviews and many are calling it the film to upset David Fincher’s The Social Network, in more than one way, at this year’s Oscars. I’ve seen trailers and it does look good but will it sweep the Oscars? We’ll have to see. Will Chadwick thinks it just may as he says in his review:
It is immensely watchable, nicely funny and also surprisingly tense when it gets down to George preparing the war time speech and standing in front of microphone. One to watch this awards season.
Rounding out the month and the fall were the forgettable films Burlesque and Faster. Faster was just another run of the mill action flick starring Dwayne Johnson (why is this guy still allowed to act?) and Burlesque which is the Christina Aguilera/Cher driven musical that looks like a rip off of Chicago, Showgirls, and a number of other films. It didn’t get great reviews and it will likely soon be forgotten.
So there you have it, a quick (well maybe not so quick), recap of the movies of fall 2010. What do you think? What were your favorite films of the fall and which movies are you looking forward to for the holiday season?