After 33 films, I want to highlight some of the highs and lows of the 2010 Summer Movie Season. Thank you for all your support and please keep reading, Pantages’ Theater will continue bringing you as many reviews as possible.
1. Best Use of 3D: Resident Evil: Afterlife
Runner Up: Piranha 3D
: The growing popularity of the 3D format has sharply divided moviegoers, and while it’s true that a number of the “3D” releases have done little more for audiences than raise ticket prices, it’s a treat when a film makes excellent use of the technology. I still maintain that Resident Evil: Afterlife is the best use of 3D since Avatar, and though the runner-up wasn’t wildly popular with critics, there was still something horrifically entertaining about prehistoric piranha jumping out to the audience. Regardless of what you may think, the 3D format isn’t leaving audiences anytime soon, especially since LucasArts just announced that it plans to re-release all six Star Wars films over the next few years, with Return of the Jedi 3D hitting theaters in 2017 to commemorate the 40-year-anniversary of the first film.
2. Worst Movie: The American
Runner Up: The Last Airbender
: Well, there’s little surprise in this category. It’s no secret how much I hated The American (a train-wreck that only someone of Clooney’s fame can survive), and The Last Airbender was the brainchild of M. Night Shyamalan, who’s now trying to scare audiences by trapping people in an elevator. The American tried to be deep but was just boring, and The Last Airbender turned a popular cartoon series into a painfully embarrassing example of poor special effects. I saw 33 films over the summer movie season, and though I sat through some real pieces of trash, these two were by far the worst.
3. Most Overrated Movie: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Runner Up: Salt
: Critics absolutely raved about Scott Pilgrim, but although the graphics and special effects were uniquely impressive, the end result was still too weird to be enjoyable, even for a hardcore comic and videogame fan like myself. As for Salt, Angelina Jolie did give a good performance as a female super-spy, but I think her star power significantly overshadowed a mediocre and highly unbelievable plot. Don’t get me wrong, these two films definitely had redeeming qualities, but they in no way deserved the hype or accolades that they received.
4. Best Action Film: The Expendables
Runner Up: Iron Man 2
: The Expendables was a pure, testosterone and adrenaline-filled, guy film…audiences watch Sylvester Stallone and his team of badasses go from point-A to point-B and kill everything in sight, and it was awesome, regardless of whether or not the script made sense. Iron Man 2 was an easy second, with Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle using their superhero armor to send any teenage male into nerd-overload…granted, Iron Man 2 wasn’t as good as the original, but it was more than enough to please fans of the series. Next summer’s winner is going to be a far tougher call, with four superhero movies coming down the pipe, including Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger, Chris Hemsworth as Marvel’s favorite thunder god in Thor, Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern, and a whole new group of mutants in the series reboot, X-men: First Class. Get excited.
5. Best Comedy: Dinner for Schmucks
Runner Up: Get Him to the Greek
: I know what most of you are thinking…where’s The Other Guys? However, aside from some funny lines from Ferrell and Wahlberg, The Other Guys really wasn’t that great of a comedy…it boiled down to a buddy-cop film that got a little too political. Dinner for Schmucks and Get Him to the Greek on the other hand, were consistently hysterical, whether Steve Carell was trying to speak Dutch or Russell Brand and Jonah Hill were running from an insane P. Diddy. I know that many will disagree with me on this one, but based on my sense of humor, these two films were the clear comedy champions of the summer.
6. Best Movie: Inception
Runner Up: The Kids are All Right
: This one was obvious…Chris Nolan’s pet project absolutely astounded audiences with a thrilling (albeit confusing) story, an all-star cast, jaw-droppingly epic special effects (seriously, how cool was the hallway fight scene?), and an ending that provoked countless debates. As for The Kids are All Right, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore delivered Oscar-worthy performances as a troubled couple, and had it not been for this indy-film’s limited appeal, I would have ranked it above Inception. Even casual movie fans owe it to themselves to see these two summer champions.
7. Breakthrough Performance of the summer: Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid
Runner Up: Zac Efron in Charlie St. Cloud
Honorable Mention: Sharlto Copley in The A-Team
: Hollywood is always on the lookout for growing talent, and this summer was filled with some impressive performances from unexpected sources. Jaden Smith successfully tackled an update to a classic film series, reminding audiences of his father and becoming an instant crowd pleaser. And like I said in my earlier review, Zac Efron actually made Charlie St. Cloud watchable and moved beyond his High School Musical roots. Even though I usually only name two films in a category, I can’t leave out Sharlto Copley, whose personification of the insane pilot Murdock was easily the best part of the disappointing A-team. Let’s see what these guys can deliver in the future.
8. Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Runner Up: Despicable Me
: Again, this category is no big surprise…Disney/Pixar struck gold again by returning to classic characters with a heartwarming tear-jerker that brought in more than one billion dollars in box-office revenue. Coming in at a close second is Despicable Me, thanks largely to clever humor, an impressive voice cast, and of course, the minions. Shrek tried his best, but he couldn’t come close to likes of a Spanish-speaking Buzz Lightyear or a moon-stealing Gru…I wonder, will The Smurfs (whose voice cast includes Neil Patrick Harris and Katy Perry) be able to take down Disney-Pixar as top animated film next summer?
9. Biggest Overall Disappointment: Jonah Hex
Runner Up: Knight and Day
: I had been weary about Jonah Hex leading up to its release, but even I couldn’t have predicted the near-epic failure of this comic book film…after less than 2 months in theaters, it only made just over $10 million, and was royally crucified by critics in terms of everything from a stupid story to the casting of Megan Fox…ouch. Then there was Knight and Day, which was seen by many as Tom Cruise’s last chance to redeem himself in Hollywood. The great tragedy is that Tom Cruise’s performance was actually good, but the movie itself sucked. Oh well, looks like we’ll just have to wait for Mission: Impossible 4 (Yes, they’re making another one…look for it in December 2011).
10. Top Distributor: Tie between Paramount and Disney
Runner Up: Sony
Paramount: Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, The Last Airbender
Disney: Toy Story 3, Prince of Persia, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Sony: The Karate Kid, Grown Ups, Salt, The Other Guys, Takers
: I’ve been analyzing the marketing and box-office performance of each of the biggest studios all summer, and when you consider the number of films released by the studios listed above and the subsequent success of those films, it’s obvious that each was able to turn a very nice profit.
Summer Box Office Champions (Source: Forbes; Numbers as of 8/24/10)
: Obviously, these numbers have changed since the initial reporting, but even with this cut-off, there is no way any other film is going to break into these top five. I had predicted either Toy Story 3 or Twilight: Eclipse as top-dog, and I’m very glad that animated toys dominated sparkly vampires. Hollywood has a lot to be proud of this summer.
1. Toy Story 3: $895 million
2. Shrek Forever After: $663 million
3. The Twilight Sage: Eclipse: $650 million
4. Iron Man 2: $622 million
5. Inception: $478 million
