Movie Awards: 2010 Edition

I will post a Top 5 list in the near future.  For now here are some random awards I'd like to...well, award.

Best Movie I Was Led To Believe Was Terrible: Robin Hood
  Sure, it's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it was entertaining and not a waste of my time.  The film's biggest flaw is being called Robin Hood.  Since it has almost nothing to do with the classic Robin Hood story, they could have just changed the character names and given it a generic middle ages title without altering the story one bit.  Then maybe people wouldn't have been so disappointed.

Runner-Up: MacGruber
  It stretches a single joke out for way too long, but it also has a stand-out comedic performance by Val Kilmer and enough clever one-liners to make the viewing experience worthwhile.


Biggest Letdown: Predators
  I should never be bored by a film in the Predator franchise.  Even AVP-R managed to hold my attention.

Runner-Up: Machete
  I enjoy Lindsey Lohan's breasts as much as the next guy, but that's really all this movie has going for it.

Nice, but not enough to warrant a theatrical release.

Best Remake: Piranha 3D
  Piranha 3D delivered on everything that Machete promised.  Gore, boobs, humor and overqualified actors who are in on the joke.  And the film was intentionally shot too bright, so the natural dimming caused by 3D glasses doesn't hurt the movie's visuals.  This was just plain fun.

Runner-up: The Crazies
  It may be sacrilege for me to say this, but George Romero's original film wasn't very good.  Which makes it even more surprising that Breck Eisner (Michael's son and director of the dreadful Sahara) was able to make it into a really good thriller that holds up for 3/4 of its runtime (and really, horror/thrillers almost always fall apart at the end anyway).

Also I have an obsession with Radha Mitchell.
Even more than with Olivia Wilde.

 

 

 

 

 

Best Movie From 2009 That I Didn't See Until 2010: Moon
  Sam Rockwell gives a powerhouse performance in this small sci-fi drama.  Actually, he gives powerhouse performances, plural.  And director Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son) make great use out of a limited budget and essentially one set.

Runner-up: Cargo
  This Swiss sci-fi thriller was made for less than Moon, and the visual scope of it is simply astounding.  It looks like a sixty million dollar movie, yet cost less than five.  The story has its issues, but the film has a lot of really cool ideas, decent acting, and tense pacing.


Best Short Film: Sintel
  Sintel is the latest short film from the Blender Foundation, a group which uses free open-source 3D animation software and a community of users to produce its CGI animated films.  Sintel is their most ambitious project to date, and looks damn good for a movie made by a few thousand amateurs.  But beyond the visuals, the story of Sintel is an emotionally devastating one, especially to anyone who has ever had a beloved pet.


Runner-up: Ollie Klublershturf vs. The Nazis
  An amusing little short starring some familar faces and written by Lost's Damon Lindelof that centers around a nice family dinner which happens to feature espionage, Nazis, a boy genius, and some time travel.  It's quite funny.

2010 Music Roundup

After spending roughly 10 hours on a bus last weekend listening to music, I've decided to do a music list instead of the usual movie stuff.  That's all the introduction I'm giving.

My Favorite Songs of 2010

20.  Goldfrapp, "Rocket"
A catchy 80's song that just happened to be released 30 years too late.

19.  MC Chris, "IG-88's '57 Chevy"
A spiritual successor to Chris' most popular song to date ("Fette's Vette," which has shown up many times on TV and in movies), "IG-88" continues his trend of making catchy songs about Star Wars bounty hunters and their respective modes of personal transportation. 

18.  The Pipettes, "Call Me"
After swapping out 3 of the original 4 members of the band after their 60's-influenced debut album, the new Pipettes lineup is still just as retro-pop infectious as the old one.

17.  The Pretty Reckless, "Just Tonight"
A shameless rock ballad from Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen's band is better than it has any right to be.  I actually feel kinda bad for liking this.

16.  Robyn, "Dancing On My Own"
In a perfect world, Robyn would be outselling Ke$ha and Katy Perry by leaps and bounds.  I just don't understand other people.

Well, maybe I do kinda understand.

15.  OK Go, "This Too Shall Pass"
The video for this song garnered a lot of (well deserved) attention, but no one was ever really listening to the actual music.  It's a good song that was overshadowed by its amazing video.

14.  8mm, "Los Angeles"
I heart 8mm.  I heart them so much.

13.  Metric, "Eclipse (All Yours)"
Hidden in the giant bucket of cinematic puke that was the 3rd Twilight movie was a surprisingly decent soundtrack, including the perpetually-awesome Metric doing the movie's title track.

12.  Brandon Flowers, "Only The Young"
It's a good The Killers song, but without the rest of The Killers.

11.  The Birthday Massacre, "Shallow Grave"
Even though I should have grown out of it by now, I still have a soft spot for catchy Goth pop.

10.  Robyn, "Cry When You Get Older"
Robyn rules.  End of discussion.

9.  The Pretty Reckless, "Since You're Gone"
Again, this band shouldn't be as good as it is, but Momsen really knows how to conjure up some good old fashion white trash rock.

8.  Duffy, "Well, Well, Well"
Her sophomore album was a giant letdown, but a few good tracks still snuck through.  This was the best of them.

7.  Jimmy Eat World, "My Best Theory"
When it comes to well-written pop-rock,  Jimmy eats World still stands supreme.

6.  How To Destroy Angels, "The Space In Between"
Trent Reznor's post-NIN project with Atticus Ross (who also co-created the kick-ass original score for The Social Network) and Mrs. Reznor didn't live up to expectations.  In fact, it kinda sucked.  But at least the lead track was still really good.  And bonus points for a cool music video.

OK Trent, we get it, you have a hot wife. Will you please bring back NIN now?

5.  Hooverphonic, "The Night Before"
Their first single after splitting with their longtime singer Geike Arnaert in 2008.  New vocalist Noémie Wolfs (the band's 4th) fills Arnaert's shoes nicely.

4.  Shiny Toy Guns, "Major Tom"
I was hesitant to include a cover song, but they just do such a good job with Peter Schilling's 80's hit that I couldn't help myself.  This showed up in a bunch of commercials for Lincoln, who sponsored the song's "official" live music video.

3.  Killola, "Cracks In The Armor"
Killola is the balls.

2.  8mm, "Deep Blue You"
 They are just so damn good.  Plus I'm a sucker for foxy singers with sultry voices.

But really, who isn't?

1.  Metric, "Black Sheep"
Metric was all about dominating soundtracks this year.  This one comes from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  And it kicks all of the ass.  All of it.  (In the film, a slightly reworked version of the song is performed with vocals rerecorded by actress Brie Larson.  Larson's not bad, but she's no Emily Haines.)

Honorable Mention:

Hey Riki, you're so fine.

Riki Lindhome, "Places to Rest"
The blond half of musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates, Lindhome generally gets overshadowed by the 1000-watt adorableness of her partner Kate Micucci.  But in reality Lindhome has the better voice.  And she's cuter.  Her solo work is some low-key greatness, like this simple-but-sad little number.

Did I say 1000-watt?  I meant 1000000000000-watt.