Review Of The Year 2010: 5 Movies Which I Didn’t Like That Much, But Most People Seemingly Did
It’s the end of the year, and consequently if you read as many blogs as I try to you do end up reading as many lists of top movies as anything else. Everyone has their opinions, so consequently one of the things most likely to happen as soon as you post your list favourites is seeing the comments start to appear will be the stream of comments along the lines of “You suck!”, “Where was Alvin and The Chipmunks 2 in your list?” and “You have won the National Lottery of Nigeria! Please send $93.72 for immediate happiness.” Admittedly it’s the second of those I’m most bothered about.
So I’ve picked out a handful of this year’s films that got a generally good response (or, in one case, didn’t get the massive amounts of vitriol I heaped upon it). You may be wondering why they didn’t appear on my end of year list; in each case, it’s because I just didn’t enjoy them very much. It’s as simple as that. Here’s a fistful of movies that didn’t make my end of year list.
The Ghost Writer
What the critics said:
“Mr Polanski’s work is consistently subtle… this very fine film…” — New York Times
“A dark pearl of a movie” — Los Angeles Times
“A supple, amusing, lightweight entertainment” — Film4
What I said then: “For a film marketed as a comedy, to put all of the laughs in the trailer is unfortunate; for a film such as this with thriller aspirations to put all its thrills in the trailer is nearly unforgivable…
“…the final shot, which attempts to be profound and different and just ends up feeling slightly silly – much like the film itself, unfortunately.”
What I think now: Haven’t changed my views. It’s a thriller that doesn’t thrill, with accents that put Mary Poppins to shame and it’s both predictable and silly. Obviously been locked in a house for months did Polanski no favours.
Green Zone
What the critics said:
“A wham-bang actioner… Damon and Greengrass deliver their most provocative mission yet.” — Empire Magazine
“An energetic, frenzied thriller” — Hollywood Reporter
“A red-hot action thriller” — Los Angeles Times
What I said then: “…there is an almost Michael Moore preachiness at times… a missed opportunity where maybe greater things should have been.”
What I think now: One of the year’s major disappointments. Damon and Greengrass were amazing when making the last two Bourne movies, but this had none of the narrative thrust and was as exciting as eating wicker place mats.
Enter The Void
What the critics said:
“…has to be seen to be believed.” — The Guardian
“You have to admire Noé’s ballsy vision and loopy execution” — Time Out
“An astonishing work of cinema, alternately brilliant and disgusting” — Boston Globe
What I said then: “This is a visual feast… However, this is counterbalanced by the early heavy-handedness of the script, the generally unexceptional quality of the acting but more than anything else by the length.
“Noé’s provocative style continues, but on this evidence it’s as likely to prompt frustration as anything.”
What I think now: The last time I was this frustrated in a cinema was fifteen years ago; on that occasion, the cinema I saw Heat at left the house lights on for the duration and I came away utterly unimpressed, only to realise it was a masterpiece on my next viewing. If any film this year is likely to go up in my estimation, it’s this one, but it will entirely depend on how bored I get watching it second time around.
The Road
What the critics said:
“The Road might just be one of the most heartfelt end-of-the-world movies yet made” — The Times
“Hillcoat’s movie is a resounding triumph” — Time Out
It’s one of that rare breed of remarkable films… that, once you’ve seen it, you would be quite happy never to see again. Then again, it’s so good you won’t need to” — Sunday Times
What I said then: “…this doesn’t have the direction it needs, and cannot get by on mood alone…
“this has many effective moments, that sadly do not all add up to being the sum of their parts.”
What I think now: The book’s better. I loved Hillcoat’s previous movie, The Proposition, and of course I would happily marry No Country For Old Men and have its babies (the last Cormac McCarthy adaptation), but for me this fell some way short of either, dramatically inert and not able to sustain itself on misery alone.
The Rebound – my worst film of the year
What the critics said:
“Saddling two game actors with a tone-deaf, charmless script, the film makes recent J.Lo vehicle The Back-up Plan look like Billy Wilder in comparison” — Hollywood Reporter
“The Rebound deserves a special boot up the backside for its raging incompetence.” — News Of The World
“Why is a movie that’s trying to evoke some of the cool metropolitanism of late-’70s Woody Allen so rammed with hoary gags about New York being awash with transvestites and homeless flashers?” — Daily Telegraph
What I said then: “…a painful excuse for a movie whose jugdement [sic] you find yourself calling into question at every turn…” Yes, it was so bad I lost my grip on the English language. I recovered it for:
“Catherine Zeta Jones isn’t likeable or sympathetic, the supporting cast get nothing interesting to do, the score is incredibly poor and kills some scenes stone dead, there’s maybe one scene that will linger in the memory after you’ve seen it, the movie has nothing interesting to say about any of the concepts it raises, and there’s scant believability in the passage of time that the movie portrays, which also serves to rob you of whatever emotional investment you had left in the final scenes. Hopefully whatever movie you see on the rebound from this one will be better – it would be hard for it not to be.”
What I think now: Don’t get me started. And there is still something wrong with her face.
The Movie Evangelist 
December 27, 2012 at 11:18 pm
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