Business & Tech
PJ's Movie Picks for Best and Worst of 2010
Where PJ picks his favorite films of the year and points out the ones that are notable just for being bad.
Well, 2010 is winding down, the Golden Globes nominations have been released, and PJ guesses it is about time to submit his nominations and comments.
Much of the movie product this past year was unremarkable if not forgettable.
Notable among worst of the year are:
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Wherein Josh Brolin tries to resurrect the Western, but only accomplishes to convince PJ to shy away from playing True Grit, another Western. An awful movie.
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M. Night Shymalan's latest disappointment. M. Night is kind of a one-hit wonder. The Sixth Sense, his first, was terrific, but all that followed fell flat--big time.
The eagerly awaited second installment was just plain lousy.
Leonardo, what are you thinking? While Shutter Island was merely deliberately ambiguous, (was he crazy, did it really happen?), Inception is purely unfathomable. It is this year's Emperor's New Clothes. It has been nominated for awards and, yet, none of the critics are honest enough to admit they had no clue what the movie was about. PJ tried watching it five times and fell asleep each time thus entitling the movie to best sedative of 2010.
Best Bad Movie of the Year: Burlesque.
Two hours of great fun, yet really awful. Stanley Tucci helped. It is noteworthy that after making the film, Cher was taken immediately to Madame Toussad's where she is now on permanent display. PJ would liked to have seen Pia Zadora in the Cher part. That would have taken "campy" to the next level.
Scene PJ wishes happened in a movie
In Letters to Juliet, a nice movie, there is a toast at the end. The guy who delivers it looks exactly like the "Most Interesting Man in the World" guy in the Dos Equis beer commercials. When he lifted his glass, it would have been great if he said, "I don't often drink beer, but when I do... I drink Dos Equis. Stay thirsty my friend." But, no, he played it straight. Darn.
And now... here are PJ's favorites of the year:
Rent it. Brilliant, upbeat, fun. Junoesque. Featuring Julia Roberts's niece, Eric's daughter.
Denzel rocks. From the opening frame to the conclusion this flick just built ever to a frenzy. Best of its kind since Speed.
A real good "small" independent movie. The creation of Andy Garcia. It featured his daughter, as well, Dominick, a funny name for a girl.
PJ loved this one. So smart, so funny. And with a heart.
PJ firmly believes that we like movies when we like the characters. This movie, however, does not contain one likable character, yet it is undeniably a very well-made and very good film. PJ can't think of any other movies that fit this description.
Julianne Moore and Annette Bening get triangle-ized by that rascal, Mark Rufalo. Good flick.
And PJ's pick for best movie of the year realizing full well that he is not including titles such as The King's Speech, Black Swan and The Fighter (because he hasn't seen them yet) is…
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
Two and a half hours of spell bindery. Everything a movie should be and/or contain. Suspense, thrills, mystery, intensity, delicious villains, an honest, decent hero, scenery, atmosphere, intelligence, passion, and most of all... Lisbeth Salander, one of the great movie characters of all time.
