'Family Guy' Rant Part 2 AKA The Return of Brian

(Spoilers!)

Well, a few weeks ago, I expressed quite a bit of angry thoughts over the episode of ‘Family Guy’ called ‘Life of Brian’. It was the episode that was touted as the one that would be killing off one of the main characters of the show ‘permanently’ and, as that episode title suggests, it ended up being Brian, who got hit by a car. Obviously I wasn’t too keen on that decision, not only because Brian was one of the best characters, alongside Stewie, left on the show since it started to suck, but the episode itself was just tasteless. The writers tried to make us forget about him immediately by having the Griffins buy a new dog instead and apparently eliminating any possibility of Brian’s return. As for the new dog Vinny, it may have been only the first episode he was in but I didn’t care; you can’t replace Brian no way no how. On a show filled with insane/over-the-top and, let’s be honest, rather unlikable characters (mainly in recent seasons), he was the sanest character on the show and the most likable alongside Stewie.

Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who was against this as pretty much every fan of the show was as well. There were numerous petitions filed (I will openly admit that I myself signed one of them) and several fans said that they would be boycotting the show unless Brian was brought back (I too was also one of them; I haven’t been watching the show for about two years but after this episode, I decided to have it stay that way). Two episodes later, during this past weekend’s Christmas-themed episode, ‘Christmas Guy’, fans received the Christmas miracle they were hoping for. After coming across a past version of himself while at the mall, Stewie was able to get a new time machine and traveled back to the precise moment where Brian was hit by the car and pushed him out of the way, effectively saving him from his death. For the record, I just watched the episode and I am glad that Brian is back. Sure, perhaps my initial reactions towards the character Vinny were rather hasty. ‘Sopranos’ alum Tony Sirico did do a good job in the role and while I found the character to be rather annoying at times, his final scene with Stewie (where he accepts the fact that by saving Brian he won’t be the Griffins’ pet anymore) was a pretty touching character moment.

However, that doesn’t change the following fact of how pissed off I still am at the writers for doing this. According to show writer Steve Callaghan, the writers ultimately decided to kill off Brian as, and I quote, “a fun way to shake things up…” I don’t know why they thought this was a good idea because killing a character is not ‘a fun thing’, especially when that character is beloved like Brian is. Again, my problem with this storyline wasn’t that they killed him off. As proven by Joss Whedon shows/movies, it can happen. My problem with it was that the death itself was not handled properly. Also, now I’m left wondering this; was the decision to bring him back from death just part of the writers’ plan in the first place or because we as a fan base were very much against it? I seriously hope that this is the case of the latter scenario, because if it wasn’t, then this would easily have to be one of the worst marketing ploys that I have ever seen. To quote A.V. Club writer Eric Thurm in his review of this episode, “If anything, ‘Christmas Guy’ proves that Family Guy probably doesn’t have a heart except for Stewie and Brian.”, which is something I completely agree with.

Here’s the link to Eric’s review:

(http://www.avclub.com/review/christmas-guy-106514)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) review

In regards to the original ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy, the hardest one to make would have to have been ‘The Two Towers’, basically because it was the ‘middle chapter’ of the story; it didn’t have a proper beginning or end. In fact, when Peter Jackson first pitched his adaptation of the story to Miramax (before the project was picked up by New Line Cinema), it was originally supposed to be two films, which then turned into only one due to budgetary concerns. But overall, ‘The Two Towers’ ended up being my personal favorite of the trilogy. It did manage to work around its ‘middle chapter’ status, it had some incredible action sequences, and it was the film that introduced audiences to Andy Serkis’ incredible interpretation of the creature Gollum (why the Oscars have never recognized Serkis for his work, we’ll never know). But anyway, as Peter Jackson continues the story of ‘The Hobbit’ with the second entry in this trilogy, ‘The Desolation of Smaug’, can Jackson deliver another satisfying ‘middle chapter’ like he did 11 years ago? Or, to be more precise, can this film improve on its predecessor’s major weakness; its pacing?

At the end of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), and the company of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) had escaped from both the Goblin tunnels and the pack of Orcs led by the hunter Azog with the help of the Great Eagles. As this film begins, the group continues their journey towards the Lonely Mountain AKA Erebor, the dwarves’ former homeland, in their quest to take back the mountain from the dragon Smaug (portrayed through motion-capture by Benedict Cumberbatch). While on their quest they come by new allies, including the elf warriors Legolas (Orlando Bloom, reprising his role from the ‘LOTR’ trilogy) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), and the archer Bard (Luke Evans), who help them along the way. Meanwhile, Gandalf investigates the hill Dol Guldur, where a mysterious Necromancer (also portrayed by Cumberbatch) could potentially spell doom for Middle-Earth and this string of events ultimately might have something to do with that mysterious ring that Bilbo found back in the Goblin tunnels.

As I’ve said before, the biggest problem of ‘An Unexpected Journey’ was its length and pacing. Yes, it was the film that was supposed to set up the story but as a whole it just felt too long, like we were already watching the Extended Edition of the film when it wasn’t supposed to be (and ironically there is a special Extended Edition now). Then again, this trilogy is based off of a book that is only about 300 pages long compared to ‘The Lord of the Rings’, a trilogy of books that were each at least 400 pages long so they did have to add plenty of stuff in to make it a trilogy (I’ll get into that more in a bit). Thankfully, this film fixes those issues to a certain extent. The film is still very long but the pacing is much faster, allowing us to get more engrossed in the adventure at hand now that the story and its characters been effectively established. Sure, you do still kind of feel the film’s length at times, but not really as much as the previous film. This one is far more exciting with a far greater scale.

However, perhaps the film is… too big. Again, this is going back to the whole idea of making a trilogy out of such little material to work with. So in order to deal with this situation, Jackson and the writers add in plenty of new characters, some of which were not in the book (like Legolas) and one of whom, Tauriel, is a completely original character. It is sort of like the previous trilogy in that there is a whole boatload of characters in this film, so much so that admittedly they start to overtake the movie. In fact, for a movie that is titled ‘The Hobbit’, the actual Hobbit himself, Bilbo, sort of becomes a minor character in fact for most of the movie. Not only are there starting to be far too many characters, there is perhaps too much going on in this film. For the record, I’m not saying that’s entirely a bad thing because it allows the film to have much better pacing than its predecessor, but that also means the film doesn’t really stop that much in the whole span of its 160+ minute runtime… and I must add, this film kind of ends rather abruptly. Still, considering all that goes on in this film, that was probably the best place they could’ve reasonably ended it at.

Like the last film, the acting is very good from all who are involved. The returning cast from the previous film (including Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and the others who make up the company of dwarves) are excellent once again and the new additions for this film like Evangeline Lilly and Luke Evans are welcome additions as well. While his character may not have been in the book, the return of Legolas to the story is nice and I think Orlando Bloom has gotten a bit of a bad rep as far as these movies are concerned. He was perfectly cast in the role in the original trilogy and while he is sort of overshadowed by his fellow cast members in both trilogies, he still does a very good job in the role. The same can be said for Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, who’s given a pretty good dose of character development, especially when considering that she’s an original character.

But then you have one of the most standout aspects of the entire film; the dragon Smaug. Not only is this dragon incredibly menacing and well-designed, but then you have the character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is excellent as always. I’m impressed with how they were able to do a motion capture performance for a dragon, which is something that I did not think was even possible considering how most of the characters created through motion-capture are mostly human in form (e.g. pretty much character Middle-Earth alum Andy Serkis plays). There are quite a few times throughout this movie where you can certainly see Cumberbatch’s facial features in Smaug’s design, and you really have to hand it to the effects team for creating one of the best dragons ever to be put on film. Like the ‘Riddles in the Dark’ scene from the last film with Gollum, the scenes involving him are the best scenes in this movie, whether they’re just with Bilbo or with both Bilbo and the dwarves.

‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ is a major improvement over its predecessor; a film which, for the record, I did like save for the fact that it was a bit too long. This film might be as long, but it does fix the pacing problem that plagued ‘An Unexpected Journey’. On the other hand, I’m now kind of worried that this trilogy is going a bit too far in terms of the number of characters/plotlines/action sequences that occur in this film. In fact, I’d argue that there’s enough in this movie that there could have actually been another whole movie considering how much is going on in this film. Still, this is another fine entry in Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth film series as was the last film. Sure, they’re not really as good as the trilogy of films that came before them, but at the very least it’s just nice to be back in Middle-Earth. I eagerly await (though with some caution) to see how this series will come to an end next December with ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’.

Rating: 4.5/5

Top 10 Films of 2011

2011 was my first full year as a film critic. However, as a whole, the year was rather lackluster as far as movies go. That’s not to say there weren’t any good movies that came out that year, as you’re about to see. It’s just that the first really good movie I remember seeing that year was in May. It took five months for the film industry to get going as far as the best films of the year were concerned and most of the films that dominated my ‘Worst of’ list of that year came from the first few months of the year. I can also remember that was the year where it had the most sequels ever (28, to be exact) and the year where new remakes were pretty much announced every month. Talk about overkill… I wouldn’t call it the worst year ever for movies, but it’s also not one of the best. As such, this year I only have two honorable mentions.

Fast Five

I’ve gone on record saying that for the longest time, I was never really a big fan of the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise but now, since Justin Lin took over the franchise starting with ‘Tokyo Drift’, I’ve now sort of become a fan. I think 2009’s ‘Fast and Furious’ was really good because it was the first to bring back the cast of the first film under Lin’s direction, but then comes ‘Fast Five’. It’s a film that basically takes the main premise of these movies, street car racing, and switches it out for a heist story. In the case of this film, it works out pretty darn well. Also, this film benefits from the cast’s terrific camaraderie. It’s hard to believe that a franchise would release its best entry to date five films in, but ‘Fast Five’ does just that. This film made me excited for ‘Fast and Furious 6’, a film that dare I say was even better than ‘Fast Five’.

(And yes, on a side note, R.I.P. star Paul Walker, who sadly passed away just a few weeks ago as a result of a car crash. To be honest, I know that they’re currently working on ‘Fast and Furious 7’, but I think they should just cancel the project now out of respect for Walker. I mean, I really don’t know how they could possibly continue the movie now because it wasn’t even finished at the time of his death.)

The Muppets

You can pretty much refer to this as the film that revitalized ‘The Muppets’ film franchise. For a new generation, it’s a great introduction to the franchise and for those longtime fans or those who have grown up with The Muppets like me; this is a much welcome return for these iconic characters. The marketing for the film was really clever, spoofing all of the big films that were coming out at the time and as for the film itself, it’s a nice heartfelt tribute to the franchise. You can clearly see that writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller really care about the property as proved in their writing. It has a bunch of memorable songs (including the Oscar-winning ‘Man or Muppet?’), an entertaining bad guy played by Chris Cooper (“Maniacal Laugh… Maniacal Laugh…”), and overall it does the franchise justice. I am interested to see what they are going to do with the next film, ‘Muppets Most Wanted’, which comes out next March.

Starting things off at Number 10 is a dramedy that manages to blend the two genres together while also doing a great job at handling a difficult subject.

10. 50/50

This film is based off the real-life experience that writer Will Reiser had in 2005 when he was diagnosed with spinal cancer. The subject of cancer is obviously a difficult one to work with but when watching this movie, you really get a sense that everyone involved is taking the subject seriously and that’s part of what makes this movie work. Another thing that makes it work so well is the camaraderie between main stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. Together, they produce the comedy of the movie and it works very well. You root for Levitt’s character Adam all the way and sympathize with him when he’s at his lowest of lows. Rogen’s character Kyle may not always seem like he’s helping Adam cope with his cancer (at first, he suggests that he should use it to pick up women) but by the end you see that he really does care a lot. If this movie wasn’t as serious about the topic of cancer as it was, then I don’t think it would have worked out as well.

Number 9 makes this the second year in a row where a film by David Fincher made it in my Top 10. This one doesn’t take the Number 1 spot like ‘The Social Network’ did in 2010 but in the end it’s another fine effort from the director.

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (The American version)

At the time I am writing this, I just recently watched the original Swedish adaptation of the story directed by Niels Arden Oplev and starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist. While I do think the original is a very good movie, I think Fincher’s version is the superior adaptation and no, I do not want this to look like I’m biased either because I’m American or I saw the American version first. I think the newer version is better for one main reason; its execution in regards to tone. I have not read the original novel, but it’s clear that this is a very dark story that is full of murder, rape, and revenge. The Swedish film certainly had that, but with this film, Fincher takes it one step further. As a director, he has been known for creating some unpleasant environments in his films (like in ‘Se7en’ or even ‘Alien 3’) and that is evident in this film. It’s brutal and unrelenting, and yet that’s part of what makes it so compelling. What’s even more compelling is the performance from Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. Noomi Rapace did an excellent job in the original, but like with this version’s emphasis of its atmosphere and tone, Mara takes the role one step further in her portrayal of this incredibly fascinating character that you just can’t get a beat on. Daniel Craig does an equally terrific job as Mikael Blomkvist and in the end the new version of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ manages to outshine its Swedish counterpart mainly because it took the bigger risk.

Remember how I said that the films of 2011 didn’t really get great until May of that year? Well, at Number 8 is the first great film I remember seeing that year.

8. Thor

Since I’ve talked about this one recently, I won’t go into too much detail. Bottom line; Marvel was playing a risk with this one, but Kenneth Branagh’s direction and Chris Hemsworth’s performance are both excellent so in the end, it worked out in Marvel’s favor.

From one superhero film to another, Number 7 is probably my personal favorite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

7. Captain America: The First Avenger

Again, I won’t go into this much either because I already did. Chris Evans is fantastic as Steve Rogers/Captain America, it has a great ensemble cast, and an ending that was actually quite emotional.

It’s the fourth film in a series helmed by a director mainly known for animated films; for the record, some of the best animated films ever and as such, he ends up making the best entry in this franchise to date.

6. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The first two films in the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise were unfortunately plagued by one major problem; for a series that put emphasis on the idea of teamwork, these first two films were just ‘the Tom Cruise show’, meaning that his teammates weren’t given as enough character development as they should have. Thankfully, J.J. Abrams’ ‘Mission Impossible 3’ was the first entry in the series that really gave more for the other members of the team to do. Then we have ‘Ghost Protocol’, the first true entry in the series to have a great team. Cruise is still the star, but Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg’s characters are each given proper character development. As for the film itself, Brad Bird’s experience in animation transitions well to live-action; this film has some of the best action scenes in recent memory (this film’s also a must-see in IMAX for that reason). The only complaint; rather weak villains because there are multiple in this film but yet each of them only have generally minor roles in the film. Despite that, this is easily the best film in the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise. Hopefully the next film, despite not being directed by Brad Bird, will continue the idea that there’s no ‘I’ in team.

Marvel had a really good year in 2011, with three excellent entries in the superhero genre. At Number 5, here’s the best Marvel film of the year and arguably one of their best to date.

5. X-Men: First Class

Once again, I’ll keep this short. I’m not really a big ‘X-Men’ fan, but this is my personal favorite. It has great direction from Matthew Vaughn, a cool Bond-like atmosphere, great acting, a great villain; overall, this is a great rebound for the franchise after ‘The Last Stand’ and ‘Origins: Wolverine’.

Biopic films can either be hit or miss, and it usually depends on the performance of its lead actor/actress. With the case of this film, we have one of the best performances ever from a female lead in a film centered on the most famous woman in the world.

4. My Week with Marilyn

The main reason why this film succeeds is that while it’s focused on Marilyn Monroe, the most famous woman in the world even years after her death, it doesn’t try to glorify her. Instead, we get to see a softer and more vulnerable side to the actress that we never really see. The story about Monroe’s experiences while working on the Laurence Oliver film ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’, where she befriended the third assistant director Colin Clark (played here by Eddie Redmayne) is somewhat debatable over whether or not it’s really true, but it’s a sweet and touching tale that’s pretty much a real-life fantasy. But in the end, this film belongs to Michelle Williams, who is outstanding in the role of Monroe. In all serious, she should have won the Oscar for Best Actress that year (if not her, Rooney Mara, but as a whole, I think Williams has the edge as far as performances go); a major snub by the Academy.

It’s always nice to see an original story in today’s Hollywood, which is full of remakes, reboots, and adaptations of numerous franchises. In the case of this film, we have a loving homage to both the 1970’s and the films of one of the most famous directors in all of Hollywood. It’s a film that slowly becoming one of my personal favorites in the sci-fi genre.

3. Super 8

With ‘Super 8’, director J.J. Abrams pays loving homage to the films of Steven Spielberg; this film has many callbacks to classic Spielberg films, although the Jaws homage (where you don’t see the monster until the end of the film)… was sort of unnecessary. But that’s part of the beauty of this film; when I first saw it, I honestly forgot I was watching an Abrams film. This movie feels so much like a Spielberg film and yet that’s not even a problem. I may not have grown up in the 70’s, but for anyone who did, this movie is pure nostalgia at its finest. Another one of the highlights of the film are the performances, particularly from the kid actors, most of whom were making their big-screen debuts with this film. Lead Joel Courtney in particular shines as Joe Lamb. He’s a very sympathetic and engaging lead character and I hope Courtney gets more work in the future because this is one of the best performances from a child actor that I have ever seen. Like I said, ‘Super 8’ has become one of my personal favorites and it’s both one of my all-time favorite original films and sci-fi films. Kudos to J.J. Abrams for making this excellent film.

Number 2 holds the honor of being the most underrated film of 2011; a film that serves as the modern-day parallel to a classic sports film that’s just as emotionally-gripping.

2. Warrior

In a sense, ‘Warrior’ is the modern-day version of ‘Rocky’ but it manages something that you wouldn’t expect. For a film that is focused around two characters who end up fighting each other at the end of the film, you end up liking both of them in the end (neither is played out to be the bad guy), although at first Joel Edgerton’s character was more likable while Tom Hardy’s character initially comes off as a jerk. The writing is excellent, with a gripping tale of a family that has been torn apart and I guarantee that this is a movie that will have guys shedding man-tears. It’s phenomenally acted from all involved, including Hardy, Edgerton, and Nick Nolte (who earned himself a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor). So why did this film underperform at the box office? Well, I’m guessing that’s either because MMA is not really the most popular sport out there or, at the time this came out, it didn’t really have a notable cast (sure, Hardy and Edgerton are big now, but that wasn’t really the case when this film came out). Still, this is one of the best films of the year and as such, this is one I highly recommend. You don’t have to be a fan of MMA to like this film.

Finally, taking the Number 1 spot on this list is the epic finale to one of the best film franchises ever, and boy did it go out with a bang (figuratively and literally)

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

As I said in the last list, the decision to split ‘Deathly Hallows’ into two films ultimately worked out in its favor because not only did the filmmakers have enough to work with, but they successfully ended ‘Part 1’ at the right time in order to set up what’s to come for ‘Part 2’. ‘Part 2’ ends on a high-note with the terrific final battle between Harry and his allies and Voldemort’s army at Hogwarts; the movie may be one of the shorter entries in the series but it’s entertaining from beginning to end. My only real complaint with this film is that some of the major deaths are sort of glanced over. Like I said, this is one of the shorter films so it would be nice if they gave us more time to mourn the dead. Still, this movie serves as the proper finale to the ‘Harry Potter’ series, the only series I can think of where every movie in the series, one that has gone on for eight films, is terrific.

And those are my picks for the Top 10 Best Films for both 2010 and 2011. Check back soon for my lists for the Top 10 best and worst films of 2013.

Top 10 Films of 2010

Since we are nearing the end of 2013 and I’m already starting to develop lists for both my Top 10 Best and Worst films of the year, I decided to take a look back into the past and do Top 10 lists for the best films of the year for both 2010 and 2011. I chose these years in particular because these were the first two years where I really started to get into the ‘film critic’ business. I have done lists for both of these years in the past, but these lists have no doubt changed since then. First up, here are my picks for the Top 10 best films of 2010; overall, this was a very good year of movies overall thanks in part to some great sequels, surprising remakes, and compelling dramas. Before I get into the actual Top 10, I have three honorable mentions.

Tron: Legacy

1982’s ‘Tron’ is well regarded as a cult classic of the 80’s but it took 28 years to make a sequel. However, in the end, I think the sequel does manage to be as good as the original. The visuals are spectacular, the film’s techno-based soundtrack by Daft Punk is one of the best film scores in recent memory, and while the writing may not exactly be great, the acting is pretty good all around, primarily from Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, and Garrett Hedlund. Like with this year’s ‘Oblivion’, director Joseph Kosinski does an excellent job at setting up the universe of ‘The Grid’. However, also like with ‘Oblivion’, he needs better writing.

The Karate Kid

This was a film that, at first, I wasn’t particularly interested in; maybe because it was a remake of a classic underdog story or because it didn’t really appeal to me. Thankfully, I was proven wrong as this movie is one of the rare remakes that are just as good as the original. This film has incredible cinematography, which is mainly thanks to the film’s backdrop; China. Both Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan do terrific jobs in the lead roles and the film does a great job at detailing the relationship between student and master in which they work together in order to succeed. I have to give this movie a lot of credit because it truly did catch me off guard.

Unstoppable

Here’s another movie that sort of caught me off guard, but in the case of this movie, it was in the sense that this film actually got really good reviews from critics when it was released, which I really wasn’t expecting from an action movie about a runaway freight train. In the end, this was a very entertaining popcorn flick. It has you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end, and Denzel Washington and Chris Pine both do excellent jobs; the two have great camaraderie. It’s the final film from director Tony Scott, two years before he tragically committed suicide, but it’s perhaps one of his best efforts.

Kicking things off at Number 10 is a sequel that, while not as good as the original or its successor, is still a very entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

10. Iron Man 2

From a series standpoint, ‘Iron Man 2’ is the weakest of the ‘Iron Man’ movies. That’s mainly because the filmmakers went a little too far in ‘upping the ante’ for the sequel. The main problem with the film is that there are just too many characters in it, meaning that some don’t get the proper character development they deserve, particularly the main villain Whiplash. However, despite this, the movie is still very entertaining as a whole and Robert Downey Jr. is still excellent as always in the role of Tony Stark (although this film plays up his arrogance just a bit too much). In the end, while the writing could have been better, this is another entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and another step towards what would come later with ‘The Avengers’.

At number 9 is the most underrated film of 2010, as it performed pretty poorly at the box office despite solid reviews from critics. It’s a real shame because this is a really creative and entertaining film.

9. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

First off, let me just say three things about this film. Yes, it is incredibly weird. Yes, the first 30 minutes or so are rather slow and boring. Yes, the main character is rather unlikable because he abandons his sweet and caring girlfriend for someone else. Despite all of these ‘disadvantages’, the movie is just awesome. Director Edgar Wright’s slick and kinetic direction is perfect for this adaptation of the graphic novel series of the same name. As for the slow opening, once the first of Ramona’s evil Exes appears, the film picks up the pace and immediately improves as a result of it. The film’s many references to video games make it one of the best ‘video game’ movies out there. The irony about this is that it’s not even based off of a video game. Again, it’s too bad that this movie didn’t perform well at the box office because it’s another excellent film from the director of some of the best comedies in recent years; ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Hot Fuzz’, and ‘The World’s End’, three films that could also sort of be called ‘underrated’ because they didn’t really perform well commercially here in the U.S.

In between ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, Christopher Nolan made this awesome movie, which earns the Number 8 spot on this list.

8. Inception

As a director, Nolan has been known for movies with complicated plots and storylines and this film is no exception. You really have to pay attention during the movie; otherwise you’ll get lost pretty quickly. Thankfully, the movie is incredibly entertaining from beginning to end with some incredible action sequences, the standout being the scene where Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character Arthur fights off bad guys in a rotating hallway. Acting is rock-solid all around and Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as usual in the lead role of Dom Cobb. My only real complaint is that at times the movie is a little slow. It’s only 2 and half hours long but when I saw it in the theater, it felt like four hours. But in the end, Nolan delivers an exciting and overall very smart sci-fi film; one of the best of the last decade.

Number 7 is a film where, technically speaking, it mainly consists of its lead actor being the only one on screen for the majority of the film. But in the case of this movie, is that really a problem?

7. 127 Hours

‘127 Hours’ is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s accident in 2003 when he was trapped by a boulder while traveling through a canyon in Utah, ultimately having to cut off his arm in order to survive. That scene in particular is obviously not for the faint of heart, but the whole movie in general is backed by a terrific performance by James Franco as Ralston and director Danny Boyle’s top-notch direction.

From one movie that’s not that easy to watch to another, Number 6 is ‘a love story’ that is anything but one.

6. Blue Valentine

Let’s be honest; this film is rather tough to watch. It’s about a married couple whose marriage is in heavy decline. Not exactly the best film for a romantic ‘date night’, is it? In fact apparently this film is sometimes put in the ‘romance’ section of video stores; talk about misleading. Trust me guys, you don’t want to watch this movie with your loved one unless you want to be sleeping on the couch for the night. But despite that, this movie is still very good mainly because of the execution. Yes, it’s a movie that focuses on a declining marriage but director Derek Cianfrance also does a great job of showing what happened before all of this, when main characters Dean and Cindy first fell in love. But the best part about this whole film is the performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy. Because the film was shot in a way so that the two of them can get more acquainted with each other during shooting, their performances feel even more real. This is one of the best dramas to come out in recent years though, like I said, it’s not the best recommendation for ‘date night’.

Starting off the Top 5 is the film that may have come out more than a decade after its immediate predecessor but nevertheless it was a fitting conclusion to one of the best trilogies ever.

5. Toy Story 3

It’s rare when the third film in a trilogy manages to be just as good as the first two films, but ‘Toy Story 3’ succeeds at doing that. The writing is once again excellent and also very mature at the same time; none of the emotions that are conveyed in the film feel cheap; they feel very real (and this is a movie about living toys, for crying out loud). Of course, this film isn’t afraid to take some dark turns, namely the ‘fake-out’ near the end and yes the ending of this movie is guaranteed to have you fighting back tears. It ends the series on a high note and while it’s not really the best in the series, this is probably the only true trilogy where every entry in it is fantastic.

As I mentioned earlier, ‘The Karate Kid’ was one of those rare remakes that managed to be just as good as the original. In the case of Number 4, dare I say it, this film might actually be better than the original.

4. True Grit

The original ‘True Grit’, starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby, is a classic in the western genre but in a way, the Coen Brothers’ remake is superior because of the change in overall tone. For lack of a better term, this version is ‘grittier’, with a more determined Mattie Ross, a more pathetic but still badass Rooster Cogburn, and an ending that is far from being a happy one. My only real complaint is that the villains were rather lackluster compared to their counterparts from the original film, despite very good performances from both Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. Still, this remake succeeds by taking the bold route and not going with a traditional happy ending.

When it was first announced that the final entry in this famous series would be split into two movies, I was rather hesitant but in the end this ended up working in the series’ favor.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

This film is proof that you can split a film into two parts if you have enough material to work with, unlike other certain films (I’m looking at you, ‘Breaking Dawn’).  Compared to ‘Part 2’ and the final battle of Hogwarts, ‘Part 1’ may seem rather uneventful seeing how most of it consists of Harry, Ron, Hermione on their travels to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. But as a whole, I like that this one was a change of pace from the previous films where it was always them going to Hogwarts and then fighting Voldemort and/or his evil forces at the end. This film also gives leads Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson a chance to shine in their respective roles, especially seeing how they’re usually the only ones on screen for the majority of the film. The film serves a great set-up for the finale and another fantastic entry in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise.

At Number 2 is the film that proved the following fact; Ben Affleck’s career was back on track after it was on a severe downturn in 2004.

2. The Town

On the surface, ‘The Town’ is sort of your traditional heist/thriller film but with Affleck behind the camera as the director, the film holds your interest from beginning to end. It’s also very well acted; in the lead role, Affleck proves that he’s improved as an actor by giving a very reserved but strong performance as career criminal Doug McRay. But the one who steals the show here would have to be Jeremy Renner as Doug’s ‘loose cannon’ best friend and co-partner James Coughlin. Thanks to films like this, ‘Gone Baby Gone’, and ‘Argo’, Ben Affleck has become one of the best directors working today.

Finally, at Number 1 we have the film that manages to be something more than just being about the beginnings of its eponymous creation.

1. The Social Network

The idea of a movie about Facebook seems rather ridiculous, but director David Fincher succeeds at bringing one to the big screen. How? Basically, it’s by making a movie that manages to be more than just the story of how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. It’s also the story about how Zuckerberg made many enemies in the process of becoming the world’s youngest billionaire, whether it’s ‘stealing’ the idea from the Winklevoss twins or getting his friend/business partner Eduardo Saverin’s shares in the company diminished. Add in Fincher’s unique visual style, Aaron Sorkin’s superb writing, and terrific performances all around and you have yourself a movie that may not be entirely accurate but is easily one of the best dramas in recent years and my pick for the best film of 2010.

Check back later this week for the top 10 films of 2011.

The new additions in 'Batman vs. Superman'

Remember back in July 2012 when I said that I was really worried about how DC was trying to get ‘Justice League’ out for 2015 without any confirmed solo films for the members of the team? Well, after it was announced that ‘Man of Steel 2’ would be featuring Batman and it was also announced that a ‘Flash’ movie would be coming out before DC would do ‘Justice League’, I became less nervous because I liked the route that DC was going; in short, they weren’t rushing things. But today, some major announcements have got me worried again. A few months ago, it was announced that Wonder Woman would be making an appearance in the movie and today it was announced that the role would be going to Gal Gadot (‘Fast and Furious’ series). This is not about that casting, which I’m fine with by the way. It’s about this other piece of news that came out just a few hours ago, where apparently Flash is also set to make an appearance as well.

(Sigh!)

Let me ask the folks working at DC something very important… have you not learned ANYTHING from Marvel? This is exactly what I feared back in July 2012. DC’s starting to rush it. I understand that they want to get ‘Justice League’ made as soon as possible, but why do they have to cram everybody into one movie at the same time. I was fine with having Batman being in the film because this would be the perfect place to introduce the next Batman (which of course, as we know now, will be played by Ben Affleck). But where’s a ‘Wonder Woman’ movie? Where’s a ‘Flash’ movie? Where’s the ‘Green Lantern’ movie that they now need to make after the first one bombed both critically and commercially? Don’t you think it would be better to introduce them first by way of their own solo films instead of just throwing them into one film that wasn’t supposed to be a ‘Justice League’ movie in the first place?! Now I’m starting to see why everyone’s criticizing ‘Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Iron Man 3’, and ‘Thor: The Dark World’ for not having more heroes (again, rather unfairly, I might add). It’s because ‘The Avengers’ set the bar so damn high for superhero films that apparently the way to top that is to cram multiple characters into one film (looking at you, ‘Days of Future Past’ and ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’).

I hate to keep bringing this up, but with announcements like these, it becomes truer every day. The reason why ‘Avengers’ worked so well is because Marvel took their time!!! They made solo films so we could be properly introduced to all of the characters. Imagine what would have happened if Marvel immediately made ‘Avengers’ back in 2008 without making ‘Iron Man’, its sequel, ‘The Incredible Hulk’, ‘Thor’, or ‘Captain America’. We wouldn’t have been as attached to the characters as much as we did because this would have been our first introduction to them. This is what ‘Batman vs. Superman’ is shaping up to be, folks. Hell, why should they even bother calling this movie ‘Batman vs. Superman’ (or whatever they might call it) anymore? Why not just call this one ‘Justice League’ now because that’s what it’s starting to look like and here’s the thing… apparently both Wonder Woman and Flash are just going to be making cameos. Again, what’s the point?

Today’s announcements have me worried quite a bit now for ‘Justice League’ AKA ‘Batman vs. Superman’ AKA ‘Batman vs. Superman featuring Wonder Woman and the Flash’. DC got my hopes up when it looked like they were taking their time and making other movies first but now I have the feeling that they don’t even have a plan. It’s not like Wonder Woman and Flash are going to have major roles in this next film anyway so why not give them their own solo films first. You know… like what Marvel has been doing for the last 5 years!? I know everyone’s anxious to see a ‘Justice League’ film come out but solo films are still as effective as the team films. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ may not have been my favorite superhero film of 2012 but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great film. The fact that ‘Avengers’ had more heroes shouldn’t have affected people’s opinions on the film. The bottom line is… I’m really worried. I hope DC doesn’t mess this up because I have a sinking feeling they’re going by the way they’re currently going right now.