The weather is finally starting to turn into a fall-like state here in the great state of Missouri (except actually it’s not. It’s actually 70 degrees and sunny outside as I’m writing this, I just wanted a creative way to say that summer is over.) After that long, almost unnecessary introduction to this post, I would like to apologize for not posting in a really long time, but certain complications arose, i.e. school and the forgetting of the password to this site by both Kyle and myself. But now we’re back, or at least I am, to write on this blog semi-regularly once again. To start of my return, I’d like to reveal my list of the top 5 films that I saw in theaters over the summer. Based on the reviews we posted, I think it’s pretty clear what numbers 1 and 2 will be so I’m not going to bother even counting down from 5 to 1. Instead I’m just going to go down from one to ten. So here it is:
1.The Dark Knight – This is the obvious choice for the best movie of the summer season and so far it’s the obvious choice for the best movie of the year.It’s a complete movie that has everything; action, great special effects, wonderful performances by everyone involved, and it made a ton of money. It’s going to be the first superhero movie that will be seriously considered for the best picture award by the academy.
The Best part: The much talked about performance of Heath Ledger. He was nothing short of brilliant. The magic trick he performs is quite impressive as well.
Least talked about thing that should be talked about more: The performance by Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. He was inspiring as Dent and terrifying as Two-Face.
The Worst Part: Probably Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes but she’s still a huge upgrade from Katie Holmes.
My original rating: 5 out of 5
My rating now: 5 our of 5
2. Wall-E – This may have been a more universally liked film than The Dark Knight (solely because it wasn’t as long, people really need to get over the length thing. I’d very much rather sit through a long good movie than a 90 minute pile of garbage like You Don’t Mess With the Zohan). The bottom line here is that Wall-E is THE BEST THING THAT PIXAR HAS EVER DONE. I think that says it all. I mean it’s pixar. Come on.
I’d Just like to mention another thing. Look how adorable the robot to the right is. How can you not like this robot? Seriously.
The Best Part: The well-done commentary on how people are becoming fat slobs. Also the fact that the first 40 minutes or so are completely dialogueless (I completely made that word up) yet the movie still manages to keep the audience captivated.
The Worst Part: I think that little robot likes “Hello Dolly!” a little bit too much.
My original rating: 4.5 out of 5
My rating now: 5 out of 5
3. Iron Man – This was a pretty early summer release much like Spiderman 3 was the year before. The difference between this and Spiderman 3 though is that Iron Man was actually a good movie. All of the pieces fit together in this film (even Gwyneth Paltrow is great as Pepper Potts). In a summer loaded with superhero films such as The Dark Knight, Hancock, The Incredible Hulk, and Hellboy II, Iron Man stood out as one of the better ones. Jon Favreau did a great job directing this and not making the action too ridiculous. He brought a lesser known superhero to the bigscreen and made a great film out of it.
The Best Part: Robert Downey Jr. is the what makes this film what it is. His performance as Tony Stark is absolutely awesome. He’s charming, funny, and he plays a rich guy with a big ego very well. I also have to mention Jon Favreau’s direction one more time. This movie could have been very cheesy, but the combination of Downey’s performance and Favreau’s direction made everything seem plausible.
The Worst Part: Terrence Howard as Rhodey. I didn’t think he really fit into the movie all that well. Terrence Howard is a very solid actor and he does a pretty good job here, but my other choice on this was Jeff Bridges and I’m not making him the worst part of anything
What my rating would have been if I had reviewed it on this site: 3.5 out of 5
My Rating Now: 4 out of 5
4. Tropic Thunder - Robert Downey Jr. gets his second appearance in the top 5 with this bizarre, hilarious, surprisingly clever comedy about actors going into the jungle to film a movie. Only the actors don’t realize the director has actually been killed and they’ve
been put into a real life survival game. Everyone in the film does there job well, with a possible exception being Jack Black who was a little bit over the top even though that is very hard to do in a movie like this.
The Best Part: Robert Downey Jr.’s character discussing how an actor should “never go full retard”. Also, the fake trailer at the beginning (with the exception of Jack Black’s).
The Worst Part: Jack Black
What my rating would have been if I had reviewed it on the site: 3 out of 5
My rating now: 3.5 out of 5
5. Wanted - I’m getting tired of coming up with this list, and since there are a number of movies I could stick at this 5 spot I’m going to justify this pick by putting up a picture.
Basically any time there is a doubt to which movie I like better I think “which of these movies has Angelina Jolie in it.” Plus, people curve their bullets in this movie.
Best Part: The curving of Bullets. Morgan Freeman cursing. Angelina Jolie.
Worst Part: It was a little bit cheesy.
My original rating: 3.5 out of 5
My rating now: 3 out of 5
So there’s my list, and if anyone wants to argue with me, make a comment (although I probably won’t pay attention to any of them.)
