2010 Movie Review Midterm Report Card: 2.39 GPA
Hard to believe this year is better than 2009 to this point
Despite hating applying grades to my movie reviews, I know it is something readers like to look at. Also, at times like this, it is actually interesting to see how it all shapes out. Especially when the result comes as a bit of a surprise.
It's a rather general consensus that this year's crop of films hasn't been all that impressive so one would think the GPA for the year so far would be quite low, and while it's not exactly burning the house down with a 2.39, it's actually .24 points higher than last year's at the exact same time. At first I thought this had to do with the fact I went to Cannes and handed out two A's, three B+'s and four B's, but in fact the Cannes GPA was only 2.61 and with those 18 reviews taken out of the equation the GPA for the year so far drops, but only to 2.33. So is the first half of 2010 actually better than the first half of 2009? A question that speaks volumes toward my hatred of grading movies, because it's obviously not that simple.
If you ask me, 2010 is merely a more consistently average-to-below-average year while 2009 enjoyed more dramatic highs and lows pulling its six-month GPA a bit further down. Once all was said and done, 2009 ended up with a 2.48 GPA after all 142 of my reviews were tallied, giving it the third highest GPA out of my first seven years of reviewing movies. Considering 2003 and 2004 are at the top of the pack, each sporting 2.52 GPAs, I unofficially count 2009 as the year with the highest GPA. As I explained with last year's mid-term report, it took me a little while to even know what I was doing when it came to reviewing movies.
- 2003 (67 reviews) – 2.52 GPA
- 2004 (101 reviews) – 2.52 GPA
- 2009 (142 reviews) – 2.48 GPA
- 2007 (58 reviews) – 2.44 GPA
- 2005 (57 reviews) – 2.42 GPA
- 2006 (39 reviews) – 2.34 GPA
- 2008 (138 reviews) – 2.20 GPA
As you can see from the number of reviews in the list above, it wasn't until 2008 that I really took reviewing movies rather seriously. From 2003 through 2007 I had a couple of people doing the majority of the reviews for me until I took things over full-time in 2008.
So far this year I have reviewed 81 total movies and I didn't include the three mini-reviews I did for the Seattle Film Festival, even though adding those three grades to the equation doesn't change the outcome at all.
Featured below are the GPAs for my 2009 and 2010 reviews. I wrote detailed explanations for 2003-2008 with last year's edition if you are interested in taking a look back in time and getting a little more perspective on where the site started to where it is today and my history of reviewing movies.
I will have an article very soon taking a look at the second half of 2010, but for now, here's a quick look back.
2009 was at a 2.15 G.P.A. at last year's mid-year mark and I still think it is appropriate to look back at it as "The Year that Suffered Due to the Writers' Strike." However, the year picked up for me as it went on and I actually managed to piece together a Top 25 Movies of 2009 list. Of course, my #1 film from 2009 (A Prophet), didn't technically open until 2010, so its A+ grade gets attributed to 2010. Had I added it here that GPA would read 2.49, but that's not exactly a major bump.
BEST REVIEWED
- In the Loop
- The White Ribbon
- Paranormal Activity
WORST REVIEWED
- Fanboys
- The Last House on the Left
- I Love You Beth Cooper
- All About Steve
2009 saw my largest total of movie reviews since starting RopeofSilicon in 2003 and 2010 is on its way to breaking that personal record and I couldn't be happier about it. I still remember back in 2005 when Stealth almost made me give up reviewing movies altogether as an onslaught of terrible movies began eating away at my brain. However, a couple of years of reviewing assistance from Laremy Legel returned me back to sanity. On top of that, I broadened my movie perspective. It was no longer about only watching the year's major blockbusters. Sure, those are the reviews that get the most reads, but without the independent films a reviewer will lose their mind in the mud of Hollywood spectacle that often results in mediocrity.
This year Cannes already brought me a large dose of diversity and with 81 reviews so far it is more reviews than I wrote in 2003, 2005, 2006 or 2007. Albeit not combined, but to think I have written about more movies in only six months than I was able to over a 12 month span in those four years is shocking to me. It's only 16 fewer reviews than I wrote from 2006 to 2007 combined and by the end of the year I'll likely have written more reviews in 2010 than I did from 2005-2007. To say I've turned a job into a passion would damn near be an understatement.
BEST REVIEWED
- A Prophet
- Toy Story 3
WORST REVIEWED
- Leap Year
- Valentine's Day
- Cop Out
I'll be doing a list of my top ten films from the first six months of 2010 very soon, so for now how about sharing your best and worst experiences at the theaters in 2010 in the comments below. Also, how do you see this year shaping out? Do you expect the second half to make up for the first half or are you worried the trend from the first six months of the year is going to carry over into the final six?
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1. Shutter Island
2. How To Train You Dragon
3. Kick Ass
4. Date Night
5. Iron Man 2
This is based on movie that were in theaters on Portugal in the first 6 months of the year, so it is natural that Toy Story 3 or Karate Kid wont be here.
Some good movies that aren't on my top 5 are Remember Me, Alice in Wonderland and Robin Hood.
I agree that this year has so far been better than last year. I think that last year had some abysmal movies in the first six months and only started picking up towards the end of the summer. This year has seen a decent March period with Shutter Island, Remember Me, How to Train Your Dragon and the average Alice in Wonderland plus there were decent limited openings like Ghost Writer – I think that these compare favorably to the 2009 March openings of Knowing, Monsters and Aliens and Duplicity.
As for my highs and lows so far this year, my highs have definately been Shutter Island, Toy Story 3 and Kick Ass. My biggest low big a long margin was The Wolfman which I hated so much it became only the second movie that I have ever walked out of.
I've enjoyed this year Shutter Island (my favourite of the year so far), Robin Hood, The Wolfman, The Ghost, Crazy Heart (I didn't see it til 2010 so I count it!).
I know the two Universal flops got panned everywhere else but that's not a problem for me.
The inbetweens have been – Iron Man 2 (they really have to pull their socks up with number 3), Date Night (over-rated and not very laugh-out loud funny) and Daybreakers.
Worst of the year so far – The Bounty Hunter (did not laugh once) and by far my worst film this year was Legion. Which reminded me in many ways of Terminator but was just abysmal in every way.
Not had a chance to catch much of the art-house/limited releases this year but I usually have to catch them on DVD anyway.
Least favourite – The Bounty Hunter, Date Night,
I enjoyed Crazy Heart, too. Date Night was entertaining but nothing more.
Favorite:
Shutter Island (Creepy and great)
Kick-Ass (Entertaining, Effed Up, and Truely Hilarious)
Toy Story 3 (Perfect Movie)
The A-Team (Very entertaining, Good Acting, Extremely Fun)
In Between:
The Wolfman (Ok, but the Wolfpeople looked like Chewbacca)
Robin Hood (Good Action, Good Acting, Boring Middle Section)
Iron Man 2 (Same thing as Robin Hood)
MacGruber (Funny, but very immature humor)
Least Favorites:
Eclipse (God awful)
Legion (Same with Eclipse)
Alice in Wonderland (I felt high well watching it, and i bet someone who was actually high while watching was probably uber high)
Grown Ups (Not funny, just immature humor, fart jokes)
The best I've seen so far this year are Shutter Island, Remember Me, How to Train Your Dragon and A Single Man. The worst is without a doubt Sex and the City 2.
I can't really compare to last year since this is the first year I've started to make a list of movies I've seen. But it feels like there's been a whole lot of good movies this year. Although it could be because a lot of end of year Oscar contenders open here at the beginning of the new year. So we don't really get the same slump in January as you do in the States.
Highs:
Winter's Bone
Toy Story 3
In Between:
Shutter Island
Micmacs
Ironmen 2
Harry Brown
Ghost Writer
Low:
Eclipse
Hater.
FAVORITES:
1. Toy Story 3
2. Shutter Island
3. Date Night
4. How to Train Your Dragon
5. Iron Man 2
Favorites:
Toy Story 3
The A-Team
From Paris With Love
Biggest Surprise:
How To Train Your Dragon
Worst of the year:
Clash of the Titans
Valentine's Day
Biggest Disappointment:
Shutter Island. I get why people love it, as a movie it is very entertaining. But I find it did not do the book justice. The ending is so much more disturbing and intense when you read it than what the movie showed.
That reminded me I forgot to add Clash of the Titans to the 'worst of' segment, into which 'Hot Tub Time Machine' can also be placed.
I liked the trailer for HTTB as well – but the movie was an incoherent mess with no laughs.
I can believe it, looking at comparable features year to year:
"How to Train Your Dragon" was better than "Monsters vs. Aliens"
"Toy Story 3" and "Up" were both excellent.
"Iron Man 2" was far better than "Wolverine".
I haven't seen "Kick-Ass" but I hear it's more fun than "Watchmen".
And for a grab-bag of big titles:
"Alice in Wonderland" vs. "Transformers 2",
"Robin Hood" vs. "Angels and Demons"
"The Karate Kid" vs. "Night at the Museum 2"
"Prince of Persia" vs. "Terminator: Salvation"
2009 does have some clear winners in Star Trek and The Hangover, but really a lot of the big films last year fell pretty flat.
Watchmen wasn't supposed to be fun – that's the misconception everyone made with it.
Oh, I know… I'm a fan of the graphic novel. I only paired the two of them as spring-released comic adaptations of lesser-known properties (both with a superhero deconstruction theme). Based on source material though, Watchmen is so far above Kick-Ass that it's laughable. But I felt it was a mixed bag as a film, and fairly flawed… whereas a "fun" movie is more easily forgiven its flaws.
My Top 10 of this year are:
1. Toy Story 3
2. Shutter Island
3. The Ghost Writer
4. Kick-Ass
5. Iron Man 2
6. Harry Brown
7. The Karate Kid
8. Hot Tub Time Machine
9. Get him to the Greek
10. The A-Team
Right under those 10 are: MacGruber, Youth in Revolt, Remember Me, Extraordinary Measures, The Crazies, She's Out of My League, Death at a Funeral, The Book of Eli, Prince of Persia and Grown Ups.
I haven't seen movies like "Another Year" or "Cyrus". I've only seen movies that have been released in theaters nation-wide. And I've only seen 39 movies. My bottom 10 are:
30. The Back-Up Plan
31. The Last Song
32. Repo Men
33. Tooth Fairy
34. The Spy Next Door
35. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
36. Leap Year
37. When in Rome
38. Clash of the Titans
39. Splice
By the way, Splice was the most horrible experience in my life.
I think Exit Through the Gift Shop, Shutter Island and Toy Story 3 are all brilliant films each in its own way and definitely have spots in my Top 10 list of the year secured.
How I Ended This Summer, the Russian psychological thriller that got Best Actor and Cinematograpghy at Berlinale, I would rank 4th so far, and How to Train Your Dragon follows. Most of other films I saw this year all have their share of good and bad aspects, but still above average and enjoyable – Splice, The A-Team, Kick-Ass, Daybreakers, Book of Eli, Frozen, The Crazies, Get Him to the Greek, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Losers – each one those I at least enjoyed, and some I really liked, Splice and A-Team in particular. Definitely good films at the very least.
Of course, I've experienced disappointments and saw some downright terrible movies. Alice in Wonderland was a complete, utter and even a bit shocking disappointment. Green Zone left me very underwhelmed. The Wolfman was just plain bad. Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood were good, but I expected more. Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void was an absolutely unique and extremely beautiful, yet ultimately hollow film – something I didn't expect after Irreversible had me literally shaking in my seat, it was THAT intense and powerful. Finally, Clash of the Titans was one of the worst movies I've seen in several years – it was so bad, that several times it had me laughing like crazy. But on the whole, when I look back at the past 6 months, while I don't think this year was truly great… it was pretty damn good.
1. Shutter Island ( By far )
2. Kick Ass
3. Robin Hood
4. Iron Man 2
5. She's Not in My League
These are based on the movies I've managed to see here in Pakistan and entertainment value.
I've seen only eight films from 2010. At this point last year, I had seen 20+ from 2009. Here are the ones I've seen so far with the ratings I would give each one:
Fish Tank- A- (notable performance from Katie Jarvis)
Shutter Island- A (notable direction from Martin Scorcese)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- A- (notable performances from Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace)
The Human Centipede- B+ (notable direction from Tom Six)
Alice in Wonderland- B-
Clash of the Titans- C+
Toy Story 3- A+
Iron Man 2- B+
1.Toy Story 3
2.Shutter Island
3.How To Train Your Dragon
4.Kick-Ass
5.Iron Man 2
Haven't seen many this yr, but so far it's gotta be:
Shutter Island
Kick-Ass
Book of Eli
Iron Man 2
Alice in Wonderland
Best So Far:
1. Toy Story 3
2. The Secret in their Eyes
3. Shutter Island
4. A Prophet
5. A Single Man
Anyone who lists "The Human Centipede" as best of the year is a moron.
Am I the only one who thinks "Shutter Island" was just plain mediocre?
Greenberg should have made some lists.
Hard to believe I've only seen 12 films in theatres this year. It's been exceptionally dry so far.
1. Shutter Island
2. Toy Story 3
3. Animal Kingdom
4. How to Train Your Dragon
5. Iron Man 2
6. Kick-Ass
7. Date Night
8. Alice in Wonderland
9. Edge of Darkness
10. Knight & Day
11. Green Zone
12. The Wolfman
That reminds me, Brad, I have to thank you for putting me onto In the Loop. It remains my favourite film of 2009, my favourite comedy of the last decade, and I'm now obsessed with The Thick of It, which is one of the most ingenious television shows I've ever had the pleasure to watch. So thank you, sir.