We've come to the end. Over the past week and a half, Films From the Supermassive Black Hole has covered everything worth covering about the year that was, from posters, to trailers, to lines. It wasn't the best year there ever was, but, though it was a rare occurrence, everyone found something to enjoy at the movies this year. It was a good year, all in all, so before we finally bid goodbye, I'd like to take the time to make a toast.
Raise your glasses.
To 2010, and the movies it gave us. To the good and the bad. To the socially inept jackasses getting rich. To an epic about dream invasion. To a ballerina slowly losing her mind. To vampire love. To western revenge. To fighters making a comeback. To A-Teams, bank robbers, and foul mouthed superheroes. To rockstars, serial killers, and valiant warriors. To stuttering kings and sentient toys. To wizards. To benders. To lovers. To haters. To rocks. To aliens. To utopias. To computer programs. To lesbian moms. To The Expendables. To video games. To everything else in between. To film!
And, now, the time has come! Here it is, the end all, be all. The definitive list of the year. Here are Films From the Supermassive Black Hole's Top 10 Movies of 2010!
Movie soundtracks are awesome, aren't they? They usually do a lot to heighten and intensify the experience of watching a film, and, as a plus, you can take them with you wherever you go, thanks to Apple and their ever present desire to conquer the world! 2010 had some winner soundtracks, and some that just fell flat, and some that didn't stand out or bring anything new to the table at all. The best soundtracks, however, were spectacular. More than any other year, to my recollection, we had popular artists moving over to scoring films, and it paid off wonderfully. Here are the Top 5 Best Soundtracks/Scores of 2010!
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Beck and Others)
Gonna be honest here, any other soundtrack could have found a place at number five. The top four really spoke to me, but I was left out in the rain searching for a fifth. I eventually settled on SPVTW, which boasts songs written for the film from the likes of Beck, Broken Social Scene and Metric. That's all well and good, but what seals the deal is that this movie is the only one to my knowledge to have the theme song from The Legend of Zelda in it. That's hard to beat.
4. Black Swan (Clint Mansell)
WHAT? IT'S NOT ELIGIBLE FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE CONTENTION? BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!! No, really. I'm steamed about that. Though it is based on the actual music of Swan Lake - and it makes sense that it would be - Mansell's score is a truly original piece of work. Beautiful and haunting, it really evokes the craziness and madness that Nina is experiencing. Plus, listening to classical music while someone freaks the hell out is just creepy as balls! That's gotta count for something.
3. Inception (Hans Zimmer)
A traditional-esque score needed to show up on this list at some point, and there was no traditional-esque score this year better than Hans Zimmer's amazing score for Inception. Taking everything he did well with The Dark Knight, and then turning it to 11, Zimmer has crafted a score that is exciting to listen to, giving off a very epic feel, while still feeling shockingly intimate and subdued. Oh, and he has Johnny Marr on guitar. What's not to like?
2. The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
This is something really special. Trent Reznor has made some weird music in his time, and, I gotta admit, a lot of it doesn't really appeal to me; I'm not the world's biggest Nine Inch Nails fan. But, I have to say, what Reznor does with Atticus Ross for David Fincher's film is brilliant. When listening to it out of context, you can't fathom how it will fit with Mark Zuckerberg's tale of the founding of Facebook. When paired with the movie though, it fits seamlessly! Evoking such scores as The Dark Knight and Fincher's own Se7en, the music of The Social Network makes the rest of the movie seem a whole hell of a lot grimmer than it actually is. Which is the way it should have been done! Good job Trent!
1. Tron: Legacy (Daft Punk)
Now, this is perfect! Just perfect! Daft Punk's brilliant score for Tron: Legacy not only fits the film like a well worn glove, but it is also the only soundtrack this year that can be listened to outside of the film and still be a complete experience. Mixing traditional, symphonic scoring with their trademark electronic beats and mixes, Daft Punk have crafted a score that's unlike any I've heard. It's truly marvelous!
Well, that does it with the superficial stuff. Now we get into the real meat of The Retrospect. Tune in tomorrow for MVPs of the Year (Actors). It's gonna be lovely! See you then little ones. Get some sleep.
At every movie you go to, there's that one moment that sticks in your mind as you walk out of the theatre. You know, that one scene that just wowed you with whatever excellence it was displaying? You know what I'm talking about. Picking the Top 5 Scenes of a year is always a hard task, since there are so many to choose from. But, I persevered for you like the savior I've deluded myself into thinking I am. Here are the Top 5 Scenes of 2010! (Warning: Possible Spoilers)
5. "Rub the furry wall!!" (Get Him to the Greek)
Easily the funniest sequence of any film this year, this ten-ish minute scene comes right at the beginning of Act 3. Sergio has cornered Aldous and Aaron at some elaborate hotel in Vegas. He proceeds to "mind-fuck" them into oblivion so that they continue on their journey to the Greek Theatre. What follows is a chaotic stew of gunfire, arson, sodomy, adrenaline rushes, all capped off with a mad chase through the hotel hall ways. Funny stuff!
Audio's a little funky on this one...
4. Nina's Freakout (Black Swan)
The punchline before the punchline, if you will. The night before her big opening, Natalie Portman's Nina finally loses any remaining sanity that she had. Starting with a crazed hallucination of a woman stabbing herself in the face, Nina descends into a crazed freakout, seeing pictures move, hallucinating that people are following her, and, to top it off, imagining that she painfully morphs into a massive swan in her room. It's terrifying and memorable scene.
Can't find a clip of it, so here's the trailer, which will suffice.
3. The Lightcycle Battle (Tron: Legacy)
The action scene that gives most other action scenes a run for their money. Though it comes early on in the film, it sets the bar high, and is not topped for the rest of the runtime, despite the fact that everything that comes after it is visually astounding. Once Sam is outed to the world as a user, CLU throws him into the Lightcycle ring, forcing him to engage in heated combat against programs far more powerful than him. It's a beautifully made scene, exciting, with an aesthetic touch unlike anything out there.
Quality on this one's not the best...
2. The Creation of Facemash (The Social Network)
We've all been dumped, I'm sure. It's never a good feeling. We usually retreat to our respective fortresses of solitude, wallow in self pity, until someone comes along an slaps us in the face and tells us to get a grip. Well, most everyone does that. Mark Zuckerberg, on the other hand, goes back to his dorm room, gets drunk, and proceeds to build a website rating the hotness of his female classmates. He'll narrate for us, showing off how much of a hacking genius he is, while many of the girls he is rating are off partying up a storm. Oh, and it'll be set to a song written by Trent Reznor, and it will be one of the most enthralling scenes of the year.
Can't find the actual scene, but this one's pretty cool...
1. The Hamster Wheel Hallway (Inception)
Well, duh! It's the most exciting sequence of the most exciting movie of the year. Cobb and the rest have entered the third level of the dream, leaving Arthur on the second to guard them. Unfortunately, Yusuf's driving on the first level is making this difficult. Yusuf is suddenly forced down a hill, causing the van to tumble wildly. Since the environments of each dream level are effected by the preceding level, this causes the hallways on the second level to suddenly start spinning. Arthur enters into a heated fistfight with a projection in the middle of all this. Pure! Amazing! Awesomeness!
Ignore Jimmy. He's not welcome...
I'm enjoying these. Aren't you? Tune in tomorrow for the Top 5 Soundtracks/Scores of 2010, and be sure to refresh yourself on all the Black Hole's opinions regarding the year that was with 2010: The Retrospect. See you tomorrow younglings. Listen to Yoda.
Day 3 of 2010: The Retrospect is gonna focus on the most popular part of a film's advertising, the trailer. It's the thing that gets people most excited about upcoming movies, and the aspect of a films production that many film bloggers avoid like it's the plague... or Battlefield Earth. People like going into movies blind, and they have every right to. I, on the other hand, love trailers. Not only do they lovingly tease me with what I'm going to experience, but they also help me decide whether or not I should go see a film. You didn't see a review of Burlesque from me, did you? Maybe its lame trailer had something to do with that. There have been some amazing trailers this year, but only five can make the cut. Sit back. Enjoy.
5. Tron: Legacy (Comic-Con Footage)
It's not an official trailer, doesn't delve into plot at all, and doesn't reveal anyone involved with the film with the exception of Jeff Bridges. But, that's all technicalities. Even though it wasn't played in theaters, this is the one that got me über excited to see the return of Flynn and all that it would bring. It may be cheating, putting Comic-Con footage on my list of best trailers of the year, but, since when have I played by the rules. Got a problem with it? Talk to the caribou outside. He's wise.
4. The Tourist
So, apparently, the movie actually sucked. Well, that's a shame, because this trailer kicks ass. It's kind of awesome, looks cool, and all that, but you all know why I love it. It's the Muse track that's playing in the background. Oh, advertisers. You have a key to my heart, and I love you so! It's a weird thing though. The last film to have a Muse song in its trailer was disappointing as well, despite having talented people working on it. LE GASP!!! Maybe Muse is cursed... Oh, whatever. Here's the trailer.
3. Inception
Oh, please. What did you expect? The most exciting action movie of the year. Of course the trailer would show up on this list. The music is epic! The imagery is epic! It beautifully tickles you with plot elements and character motivation, while still keeping most everything a mystery. For an example of quality advertisement for a pop product, look no further than this.
2. The Social Network (IM Trailer)
This one inches past the competition because of its totally bitchin' idea. No characters are shown. No scenes from the film are shown. Just dialogue, shown via a Facebook chat. That's brilliant. It got me excited for the film, and adequately showed how friggin' boss the dialogue of the film was.
1. Sucker Punch
I could tell you, but why would I do that, when I could show you?
Hope you enjoyed that. Tune in tomorrow for Top 5 Best Scenes of 2010, and be sure to refresh yourself on everything that 2010 had to offer with the Black Hole's 2010: The Retrospect. See you tomorrow kids. Eat your vegetables.
Day 2 of 2010: The Retrospect. Today, we're going to look at what 2010 had to offer us in cinematic still images (how's that for oxymoron?). That's right. That crucial, but short lived, act of advertisement, the poster. 2010 had some winner posters, some awesome (Black Swan), some not so much (The King's Speech). These are the creme de la creme of 2010 posters.
5. Let Me In
Brilliantly evoking the dark and scary atmosphere of Matt Reeves' brilliant film, this poster is quite a sight to behold. Very moody, it's sparse use of color is really striking. The image of Abby lying in a pool of blood is terrifying. Look closer, and see how sad she looks, and it becomes almost heart wrenching, like the movie. Normally, I'd say it overdoes it on the black, but since the image of Abby is that much clearer because of it, I'd say an overabundance of black is a good thing. Plus it just looks sick!
4. Get Him to the Greek
Fine, the movie may not hold up all that well, but this poster is still hilarious! Effectively capturing the insanity of the movie, it's also just a funny thing to look at. Russell Brand is all kinds of crazy and depraved, throwing up those horns as Dio were on the other side of the picture and he wanted to impress him. Jonah Hill's terrified and confused expression is the perfect counterpart to this. All in all a hilarious poster for a pretty funny movie.
3. Buried
Didn't see the movie. Yeah, I know, you can't believe. How could I reference a movie in my 2010 retrospective without seeing it. Well, I have seen the poster, so, put a sock in it! Evoking a Hitchcockian motif, this is a very haunting and off-beat poster, effectively capturing the claustrophobia and abject terror of the scenario into which Ryan Reynolds' character is thrown. Now, I've heard that the film wasn't all that. Oh well. At least the poster was pretty effin' boss!
2. Predators
Now that's awesome! Who knew something as simple as a solitary Predator standing with its wrist blade extended could so brilliantly set up a balls to the wall action movie. The minimalist use of color sets up the grim world and tone of the film very well, while the viciousness of the monster's blade and his stance alludes to something far more brutal. The fact that we only see have of the creature gives off a sense of ambiguity. We ain't never seen Predators like this before. What else is gonna be new? This is a poster I would be proud to have hanging in my room.
1. Inception
This is a poster I have hanging in my room. This was, quite simply, the best example of one sheet advertisement to come out this year. Not only is it an artistic achievement in its own right, it expertly sets the tone and feel of Nolan's film. This poster is positively sick! I mean, come on! How can you not look at the picture and walk away impressed? Nolan's film is a mind trip. This poster is a mind trip. In a year full of hundreds of one sheets, this is the one that best fit the film it was attached to. That and, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is holding a really big gun. What's not to like?
Well, that was fun. Tune in tomorrow for Top 5 Best Trailers of 2010. Cya tomorrow children. Don't drive without the lights on.
So, I realize that the summer season has a good two weeks left to go, but, I'm already at college, and the nearest theatre requires catching a shuttle that only runs once on Wednesday, and once on Saturday. Also, I'm making new friends and shit like that. Movies can wait for a little bit. So, I'm presenting my Fun In The Sun Awards a little early this year, as summer, for all intents and purposes, is over for me. Like last year, we have a bunch of categories, all a part of the Best and Worst type, with your usual Best/Worst Film, Action, Comedy, Direction, Fun, Sequel, New Franchise, etc. and so forth. So, with out further ado, let's go!
Before we start the ceremony, let's review the summer as a whole. I said in my Iron Man 2 review that I had high hopes for the summer. Those hopes were not realized. Movie goers were consistently disappointed with the offerings at the theatre this year. For every Inception or Toy Story 3, we had a Jonah Hex, ora The Last Airbender, or a Salt, or a Robin Hood to go with it. Granted, the best films of the summer were so friggin' good that it is not a total waste, but, compared to the last two summers, which offered plenty of top tier films, Summer 2010 was lacking.
In which Dylan, Nick, Rachel, Tom, and I go in depth about that tricky little flick, Inception. We talk about the ending, for, I don't know, a good 20 minutes, among other things. This long as hell conversation is followed up by a few games of Last Lamb Standing, one which I handily won, and then some heated Trailer Talk. Enjoy!
Thank God for Christopher Nolan! Thank God that there is at least one man out there who still has the talent, the chops, hell, the damn decency to make an intelligent action movie. It's been said before, but I'll say it again. This summer has sucked! There hasn't been one, truly spectacular film so far. Usually, the season brings us at least a few. We had Star Trek, Up, District 9, and (500) Days of Summer last year, Iron Man, WALL-E, and Nolan's own The Dark Knight in 2008. Well, all your petty grievances can be laid to rest. Summer 2010 is back on track! Inception is here, and it is brilliant! You thought The Dark Knight was good? You ain't seen nothing yet!
Well, here I am. Sitting in a slowly filling up IMAX theatre. What am I here for, you ask? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count. Go ahead. Guess. I'll wait.
...
INCEPTION, you tosser! It's my annual midnight movie premiere. Last year, I foolishly attended an after hours screening of TRANSFORMERS 2. Imagine my displeasure. I'm hoping to remedy that this year. I still got a good two hours before showtime, so, I'm gonna get real comfortable here. Tagging along, as always, is my mate from the spawning pit, Nic. This is gonna be fun. Review in a few hours. See you then.
We're really coming down to the wire here, aren't we? As July 16th inches ever closer, the crazy levels of anticipation begin to reach monumental levels. I honestly have not been this excited for a movie since, well, since The Dark Knight. It's Chris Nolan, man! The guy knows where my weak spot is, and continually jabs at it with his sword of righteous awesomeness. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right! As I have said before, as July 16th looms around the corner, I will continue to review and analyze all the juicy little things that have made up the marketing. I've already gone over posters, so, now's the time to go over the trailers. Take a seat. Open your mind.
Is it July 16 yet? No? RAGE! We still have a good month before Inception, the sure to be masterpiece from Chris "Batman Legitimizer" Nolan, hits the market. As I said previously, I would be closely stalking following the progress of the marketing/advertising as we inch closer to its release. Four new banners were just released to the public, so I though now would as good a time as any to take a look at all the posters that have been a part of this weird journey. Take a seat. Let's look at some pictures!
K, so. Now's about the time that of year where I start to obsessively follow my most anticipated movie of the year. In the past, I have stalked the progress of The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, and Avatar. This year, it's all about Inception. No one has any idea what this Christopher Nolan mind trip is about, although the new trailer attached to Iron Man 2 does offer more insight into the plot. Here's what I know so far. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a man named Cobb who specializes in a very specific type of security, the subconscious kind. In this world, the technology exists to invade a person's dreams, and Cobb is a man who makes a living off entering an individual's subconscious and stealing their secrets. Ok, I'm confused, but, I don't really care. Let me break down for you what me and my mind discussed when this movie was first announced.
Me: So, what is this?
Mind: It's the new movie from Christopher Nolan.
Me: Really? Sweet! What's it about?
Mind: No one knows.
Me: Ok. Who's in it?
Mind: Leonardo DiCaprio. Joseph Gordon-Levitt...
Me: STOP! I'm sold!
Nolan seems to have tapped into my own, personal fantasy (by way of dream invasion, no less), because he has assembled a cast to die for. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, AGHHHHHH!! Never before have I seen a cast filled with so much promise! DiCaprio looks like he will turn in an Oscar ready performance yet again, Page is doing an adult movie for a change, Cotillard is branching out, bringing her amazingness into blockbuster territory, Murphy and Watanabe both impressed the last time they worked with Nolan in Batman Begins, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks absolutely badass in what appears to be a villainous role! Throw in some gob-smaking visuals, a script written by Nolan, and more mystery than surrounded Cloverfield, and Inception looks to be a serious contender for one of the year's best films. God, I can't wait! There will be more coverage on this as we get closer to July 16. Keep in touch.
