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RackedFocus: Summer Movie Wrap-Up

By Gaveliers, The Gavel Media Team, on September 3, 2010 8:17 PM

By Sean Meehan, Video Editor -

Developing a summer movie wrap-up for 2010 has been a relatively unremarkable experience. It’s common knowledge that these last few months haven’t been too kind to moviegoers with triple-digit IQ’s, but luckily we were treated to a few gems.

What follows is a breakdown of my personal top 10 films of the summer, ranked according to my sensibilities. What this means is that someone’s favorite movie will be “misranked” or just outright “snubbed,” but I’ll preface this write-up like most summer movie recaps are worded – everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. You just happen to be reading mine.

Top 5 Summer Films 2010:

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - I know, I know. There’s a certain movie that starts with the letter “I” that seems to be misplaced. For me, Scott Pilgrim roundhouse-kicked me in such a way that there’s no way it’s getting knocked off of the number one spot. It’s the only flick of the summer that I saw twice – and I did so in within the span of two days. Edgar Wright’s breakneck, vivid genre-collage is sure to erupt on DVD, and I’m sad that, apparently, eight people saw the film. Fans of Wright’s Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz will eat this film up, and anyone who is tired of Michael Cera being Michael Cera owes it to themselves to see him do something truly different. This film was so good that when someone told me that the trailer “looked dumb,” I couldn’t help but judo-chop them into 100 coins.
2. Inception - Coming in a close second is Christopher Nolan’s Inception. So much has been written about this film that I can’t add too much to the argument. I will say that all of Nolan’s films work in such a way that, upon first viewing, the flick washes over you, and makes it hard to criticize anything. I need to see the film again before I really decide how much I like it, but I do know one thing – anti-gravity fight sequences = amazing.
3. Exit Through the Gift Shop - Welcome to my official “What the What?” pick of the summer. Allow me to give you a quick breakdown – A French videographer who is constantly filming becomes swept up in the street art scene and follows some of the most famous taggers in the world, deciding to become an artist himself and eventually rising to international acclaim. Oh, and one more thing – it’s a documentary. The film is directed by Banksy, arguably the most famous graffiti artists in the world, and it’s one of the most entertaining potentially true-life stories you’ll ever encounter.
4. Toy Story 3 - No surprise here. Pixar does it again. The film felt surprisingly fresh considering it was a threequel, and in my opinion the credit for that goes to first time director Lee Unkrich, who uses the virtual camera to really immerse the audience in this micro world.
5. Cyrus – I have no idea how many people saw this, but more people should have. Names like Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly have been well known for their improv skills for years now, but you’ve never seen improv like this. Co-writers/directors Mark and Jay Duplass bring a unique approach to improv that is totally unconcerned with who can make the rest of the cast laugh the hardest, but rather focuses on throwing out what’s written in favor of finding the truth of the scene organically. The result is a series of fantastic performances from Reilly, Hill and Marissa Tomei, as well as some of the most perfectly executed awkward comedy I’ve ever seen.

Honorable Mentions:

1. MacGruber – Much funnier than it had any right to be. Well directed, too.
2. Get Him To The Greek - Not as good as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but still funny as hell.
3. The Kids are Alright - Just a very well executed, unconventionally family drama, with a great performance by Mark Ruffalo.
4. Despicable Me – This movie looked horrible, but I was proven wrong. It’s only concerned with being cute, and in that respect it’s very successful.
5. The Other Guys – It’s no Anchorman, but it’s probably on par with Talladega Nights, which means that it’s pretty funny and has a few killer moments.

Bottom 5/Disappointments:

1. Sex and the City 2 - I was dragged to this two and a half hour train wreck. I can’t say that it’s unsuccessful, because this movie only serves as a huge, bedazzled bucket of in-jokes for fans of the show, so in that respect, I suppose it got the job done.
2. Best Worst Movie – This film has almost universal critical acclaim, and I just can’t understand it. It’s a documentary about the novelty that surrounds Troll 2 – what is generally considered the worst film of all time. In my opinion, I can think of another movie that teetered dangerously close to that title.
3. Knight and Day – Loud, chauvinistic and obnoxious. If I had a “fail” stamp, I’d pop it on Tom Cruise’s head.
4. Iron Man 2 – I loved (and still love) the first film, but the sequel plays as more of a two hour teaser trailer for The Avengers than a cohesive film. What’s worse? Sam Rockwell was wasted – blasphemy!
5. Prince of Persia – It’s a video game movie, so you can’t expect too much, but this film squandered any potential (I thought it actually had some) by heaving attempted witty banter at the audience and by shooting the action apparently blindfolded.