Greetings again from the darkness. Well, it’s July, so 2010 is half over. Of course, as any movie lover knows, the movie year is only about 40% complete and we always have high hopes for the final 6 months. Have received a couple of requests to do a recap of the first half, but before I do, I’ll provide a little insight into the structure of a typical movie year:
JANUARY – APRIL: “Schlock and Seconds”
Those of us not living in NYC or Los Angeles get to play “catch up” on the Oscar contenders that were released just ahead of the deadline the previous year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we are also subjected to the latest round of low budget horror films, schlock action films, and weak rom-coms. Luckily, there are some interesting foreign, independent and documentaries films that hit during this time as well.
MAY – JULY: “Big Ad Movies”
It’s summer blockbuster season … the season for huge advertising budgets, animation and the newest round of computer generated special effects … these films are designed to WOW you with sensory overload (yes, and make LOTS of money)
AUGUST – mid OCTOBER: “The Lost 10 weeks”
Typically, this is the dead season. Not much going on except for those films with production delays and/or deemed unable to compete with the summer crowd. This is a great time to catch up on any films you missed during the first half … or do something other than go to a movie, though I have no idea what.
Late OCTOBER – DECEMBER: “My movie is Important. No really.”
The serious movie period. The producers of these films tend to believe their films and/or actors are worthy of Oscar consideration. These films are released at year-end because the producer’s believe that most people can’t remember what they had for breakfast, much less what movies they liked in April!
OK, so that provides some perspective to the following recap of the first six months of 2010 films. Please note, none of the films or categories are in any type of order, and if a film deserved to be in two categories, I just picked one. This way I don’t ruin any surprises for the year-end recap.
FIRST HALF RECAP – 2010 Films
BEST SO FAR:
WINTER’S BONE
TOY STORY 3
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
BIGGEST SURPRISES:
CYRUS
PLEASE GIVE
CITY ISLAND
GREENBERG
MOST DISAPPOINTING:
JONAH HEX
ROBIN HOOD
BABIES
WORST SO FAR:
PREDATORS
KNIGHT AND DAY
VALENTINE’S DAY
Here are a few UPCOMING FILMS that are of interest:
INCEPTION: Director Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending twister starring Leonardo Dicaprio
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (Wall Street sequel with Michael Douglas, Shia LeBeouf
THE EXPENDABLES (all star action cast led by Sylvester Stallone and friends)
EAT PRAY LOVE – best-selling book, with Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 – sequel to the surprise hit of 2009
MACHETE – for Grindhouse lovers only, by Robert Rodriquez
THE OTHER GUYS – Will Ferrell comedy (you just never know)
JACK GOES BOATING – directorial debut of Philip Seymour Hoffman
THE KILLER INSIDE ME – Winterbottom’s creepy murder-drama
GET LOW – offbeat dramedy with Robert Duvall and Bill Murray
BURIED – claustrophobic thriller with Ryan Reynolds and a casket
Thanks for reading and please pass it along to anyone you think might enjoy.
*** SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES!! ***
Movie Reviews from the Dark 
[…] Clear your mind for 2 and a half hours and let a terrific filmmaker take you on a journey through mindspace that we never really pay attention to. The payoff is dream-like. This film was on my “films of interest” list on my First Half recap. If you missed the recap, here is the link: https://moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/2010-first-half-recap/ […]