Most Disappointing of 2010
Inception
Dreams, the unconscious, collective memory, tortured spirits: they make for such unbelievably rich and wonderful subject matter, and Inception does nothing with it. No sex, no surrealism, no fucking imagination. No significant issues brought up, not much to add to the dream dialogue (except the cliché maybe we’re dreaming right now!). Instead, a regressive and monotone shoot-em-up, flat abandonment and escapist issues as DiCaprio’s emotional story, and an overly complex puzzle of a film, to the tune of two and a half hours. On the bright side: awesome wardrobes, decent architecture and neat interior design.
Life During Wartime
Todd Solondz might be my favorite auteur but for this limp, self-indulgent work. His reprisal of the characters from Happiness (one of my favorites) lacks a compelling narrative. I appreciate his daringness to attempt this cinematically, and his conceptual casting is interesting, but the film feels awkward. I never feel too attached to Solondz’s characters, because that is just not how his movies work: they simply illustrate the fables he tells us. Here it feels like he has little to say, so it’s like watching a bad chess or basketball game. Perhaps it deserves another viewing.
Cyrus
Some interesting work has come out of the mumblecore movement, which I take to mean films made by Joe Swanberg, Andrew Bujalski, Lynn Shelton, Mark Duplass, and others. The Duplass brothers directed Cyrus, which is the first time one of these DIY filmmakers has had a large budget and marquee talent. It’s not as good as Kissing on the Mouth, Humpday or Funny Ha Ha. It’s okay. Of course the three leads are quite watchable, but the movie could have been better. Maybe my anticipation killed an otherwise pleasant and low key dramedy.
Alice in Wonderland
It’s simply sad to see Tim Burton phone it in. Set design, palette and detailing are very good here, but the script and narrative arc are awful. It bothers me to see unique vision (which obviously Burton has) squandered on a trite film. I love Disney’s animated Alice in Wonderland, but this one feels ruined by its 2000s-ness: stiltedly epic, glossy, Lord-of-the-Ringsed. What place do action sequences have in this mind-bending head-trip of a tale? Feels watered down and meant for masses; such pandering should offend us all.
Tiny Furniture
This film sort of asks for a whatever response, so that’s what I give it. All static shots from a Canon 5D that are framed well enough but lack spirit, this slice-of-life picture tells an obvious okay story of post-college malaise about a sympathetic 22-year-old, but tells it in as straight a way as possible; sort of a yawn. It’s cool to see Lena Dunham accomplish this, so if you aim to be creative, this could suffice as inspiring.
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was an impressive, dark take on the action/thriller that incorporated taboo sex, a compelling mystery and a unique perspective on many cultural points, as well as being filmically superb. This sequel is totally redundant and tame. Most photographs should not be triptychs; most films should not be trilogies.
Winter’s Bone
Gritty melodrama about teenager stepping up and into family affairs: this plot resembles True Grit, but with the entertainment sucked out. Mildly intriguing look into an underexposed American sub-culture (that of the impoverished Ozarks), this film relies on its ability to suck you into its world; I wasn’t.
Sex and the City 2
I liked this show. There was some good discourse about life and relationships in there, and none of it made it to this clear cash-in job. I only saw the first hour, but it was enough to realize that it’s no longer sharp or relevant, which is sad. Why make more movies when people can just watch the show? Furthermore, why turn old, good shows (Alvin & the Chipmunks, Yogi Bear, etc) into Hollywood garbage instead of letting the original writers and animators just go to work? I’d love to see a two-hour version of the cartoon Transformers or GI Joe or even Sex and the City, but not the junk that masquerades under the purchased name and then changes everything that made those things good.
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