Random Ramblings of a Demented DoorVlog S2.7.

Here's episode S2.7.

This particular episode references basically the entirety of Season 1. It also refers to the week-long break in between episodes 7 and 8. This is what you need to know...

Previously, in Season 1 of The Vlog: Nick has faced many obstacles: the loss of his voice in a silent movie skit, being stuck in a never-ending time loop, having to face a lava-covered floor while speaking in a Japanese-style dubbing, dealing with Bill becoming depressed over breaking up with Sookie, and taking a week-long break off from The Vlog. And when he returned, he started being attacked by a stuffed penguin that led up to a big showdown...

Last time on The Vlog: Throughout the season, DPR has been taking care of strange occurrences, even getting a little help here and there. Forced into an unpaid break, however, DPR contacts a super-hacker to look into someone named JS--a set of initials that had been written on his hand when he woke up in the apartment at the beginning of the season.

For the first time on The Vlog, I'm hardly in it! This episode is actually largely consisting of not one, but TWO guest characters. The episode is slightly longer than usual, but it goes by really fast. Both guests gave me multiple takes of everything, so I got to have a lot of fun mixing and matching in editing, which was excellent (so even they don't know exactly how it's gonna go). Not to mention they only got their halves of the script, so they have no idea what the other is gonna do. And I might say, it turned out fantastic. Coincidentally, if you place the DPR segments of this season in the timeline of the first season, this one falls directly in the spot where I took a week break, so it makes a strange kind of sense that I'm not in this episode much, and when I am, it's just as DPR (it's almost like "Nick" is taking yet another break).

Special thanks to my guests and their wonderful improv skills, even adding bits of their own here and there.

Anywho... I'll stop talking now, so... enjoy!

60/60 Review #10: Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels.

Having seen a couple other Guy Ritchie films in the past, I knew what I was getting into here. This is a title I've known for many, many years... but one I'd just never seen. Finally, however, that ghastly oversight has been fixed. And strangely, it transitions well from the previous film. This film takes on multiple stories. There's Tom (Jason Flemyng), Soap (Dexter Fletcher), Eddy (Nick Moran), and Bacon (Jason Statham), all of whom lose a high stakes card game to sex club owner Harry (P.H. Moriarty). They have a week to get half a million pounds or else they start losing some fingers. Meanwhile, Harry gets his right-hand man Barry the Baptist (Lenny McLean) to hire a couple idiots (don't remember their names, sorry) to steal some antique shotguns which end up getting sold to Nick the Greek (Stephen Marcus) on accident, as he's looking for guns for the original 4 guys, as they're planning on stealing money and drugs from another set of guys to get the money they owe to Harry. Also involved is Big Chris (Vinnie Jones), a bit of muscle hired by Harry for various reason.

There's probably even more I'm leaving out, but I'd learned from Snatch. how involved and confusing Ritchie's plots could get. (That's not a complaint, though.) If I did have a complaint, it was that I did get confused frequently at the beginning... maybe up through the card game. I was having a hard time following along with who was who and what was going on. There were so many characters and scenarios being thrown at you at once that it was just a wee bit tough keeping track. But I started to manage after a while.

The acting was great and the characters were a lot of fun. My favorite was probably Vinnie Jones' Big Chris. He's essentially a hitman who takes his son around with him and is always polite and patient. The dialogue was fun, too. Sometimes it was hard to follow, but I stayed with it for the most part.

I do really enjoy these types of stories. It isn't exactly an anthology, despite it being a collection of multiple, interweaving stories. It's similar to Pulp Fiction where just a bunch of random stuff is happening to different characters, but they all affect each other (here much more than Pulp Fiction). Really, when you break it down... all it is is that four guys owe money to a dangerous man, another set of guys need to sell some weed, and the aforementioned dangerous man wants a pair of antique guns. But when you mix all of those together, chaos ensues.

I found it an interesting directorial choice to have those kind of grayish tones and shadows throughout the whole film. It gave the whole thing a kind of wet, gritty, grimy feel to it with just the color. Otherwise, I don't have a hell of a whole lot to say about the movie. I need to rewatch Snatch. now that I know what I'm getting into (that one was my first, and I was really left like WTF afterwards). Right now I like this one a little better. I watched it last night and thought on it, and the more I think about it, the more I think I like it. So before I get on rambling too much, I'll just go ahead and stop here.


A Keanu 'Whoa'

TRON: LEGACY.

This is awfully late, I know. But better late than never. Tron: Legacy picks up not long after the first film. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) becomes obsessed with creating a perfect Grid--the virtual world--even to the point he creates a virtual version of himself named Clu. Flynn, Clu, and Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) work together to make the perfect world. But after a certain event, Clu turns on them, forcing Flynn out into the outlands so that he misses his window to get back to Earth. Because of this, his son--Sam (Garrett Hedlund)--must be raised by his grandparents, as well as Flynn's friend, Alan (also Bruce Boxleitner). After getting a message that seems to be from his father, Sam ends up in the Grid and must find his father--with the help of a young woman named Quorra (Olivia Wilde)--and escape before his own window closes and he can't get home.

Yeah, that's about it on the plot. They have to escape before the time window closes. There's a little subplot about perfect beings and destroying everything bad about the real world, but it's the one thing about the plot I didn't feel should be spoiled (if you want any kind of surprises, that is). The main problem? This movie is slightly over 2 hours long. That is definitely not enough plot to require that length. There should have been at least 30 minutes trimmed off. Around the middle or so, I actually felt so bored I wanted to fall asleep.

Besides that, though, there's not a whole lot that bugged me. To be honest, I was never a huge fan of the original movie, and those visual effects are so dated it's ridiculous. And considering the visual effects is what it's all about, it makes the original very difficult to watch at times. However, I always felt that if they attempted the film today, it would help tremendously. And you know what? It does. The visuals for this film are gorgeous. They really are outstanding. Everything is a lot of fun, and there is just a detail to everything that is amazing.

To add to the visuals is the awesome action. The movie starts as somewhat of a heist film in the real world which is fun. But once you get into the Grid, that's when things really get fun. From light cycle races to the ring destructo game and more, the action (well, and the visuals) is truly the reason to see this movie.

Acting-wise, everybody did a fine job. The only person to really bother me was actually Michael Sheen, who was a bit too crazy and over-the-top for my tastes. Though that's probably more of a directorial complaint than an acting one. And Olivia Wilde is gorgeous as always. Also... random Cillian Murphy appearance, WTF?

The only other thing I wanted to bring up was the fun soundtrack by Daft Punk. Sure, a lot of it seemed to be the same song on repeat, but it did vary it just enough to be good. Otherwise, I think it's clear what word best describes the movie for me: fun. It's not a great film, particularly thanks to the lackluster plot that tries to stretch itself out over 2 (at times quite long) hours. But the visuals and action are great and are really the main reasons to see this movie.


I Am McLovin!

Musical Monday: Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (#51).

[Every Monday, I'm going to be counting down my 52 favorite musical numbers from musical movies and TV shows. I might not like the full movie/show, but the number makes the list for various reasons: 1) I have to like the song, 2) the visual of how the number is performed is most likely unique or fun, 3) both song and visual mixes well to create an exciting or powerful number. So let's get to the next on the list.]

Yet another number from a film I don't care for, Time Warp is easily the best and most memorable song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie is definitely an acquired taste, and (believe it or not) I actually enjoyed the Glee version of Rocky Horror better. However, I do--as most do--enjoy this one particular number. It's fun, it's catchy, and it's totally bizarre. And there's just something about those high pitched voices that would make a dog's skin crawl that are so captivating. So here it is...



And just for fun, despite me actually enjoying the original version more in this particular case, here is the Glee version:

Random Ramblings of a Demented DoorVlog S2.6.

Here's episode S2.6.

This episode actually does not reference anything from Season 1 except for the fact that DPR is not in any of the latter episodes prior to the finale.

Last time on The Vlog: DPR is on an unpaid, extended vacation after Nick blames him for all the crazy stuff happening. That's pretty much all you need to know.

This is probably the only episode this season that doesn't blatantly reference Season 1. But don't take that to mean there's no plot continuance. Actually, this episode introduces us to my next guest character! It also introduces a new character of my own. It's strange--last week I thought I was gonna have too much footage and would have to scale back, but I ended up being short. This week I didn't think I was gonna have enough and I ended up almost at limit. Strange how that happens. Anyway, this is the episode that really kick-starts the plot... or at least turns on the engine. Starting next week, things will slowly start being revealed up through the finale.

Anywho, enjoy!

The Demented Podcast #6 - Reviews For Knobs.

For the sixth episode, I have on my first international guest, long-time blogging pal Tom Clift of Movie Reviews By Tom Clift (formerly Plus Trailers). He tells us a little about himself and his newly titled blog before we get into some reactions about Travis' attempt at the Demented Tower in the previous episode.

The Challenge is up next, where I think Tom had a bit of a hard time getting through without laughing. And then we go to our main discussion, our Top 5 Most Anticipated Films For 2011. It's not too long of a conversation, but it's certainly a good one.

And then we wrap things up with The Demented Tower. Tom tries to do his best impression of James from a couple episodes back... but does he succeed? Listen and find out!

Current Leaderboard (The Demented Tower):
1) Rachel - 179 Points
2) James - 135 Points
3) Jess - 95 Points
4) Jason - 33 Points
5) Travis - 32.5 Points

You can listen to this episode on the player below or by subscribing through iTunes.



That being said, enjoy! Thanks goes out to Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech website for great, royalty-free music. And thanks to Google for helping me find a website that will give me free video game audio samples.

60/60 Review #9: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Sorry this one is a bit late in the night, but there's been a bit of... difficult surrounding this particular film. This film was one of the ones on my list, believe it or not, that I was most ashamed of not having seen (not the #1, though). I love kung fu in movies, and this is supposed to be one of the best. A modern classic, as they say. The film's title has even become synonymous with jokes about kung fu. So it was much to my surprise that this one was also one of the hardest damn movies for me to get my hands on. I couldn't get it through Netflix because they've been taking too long through the mail recently and I wouldn't have gotten it on time. I went to rent it in-store, but there wasn't a single copy to be found for whatever reason. So I started looking around for an actual copy to buy, and--can you believe it?--there was only 1 copy available, and it was out of order on the shelf, mixed among the fray. Because it was only 10 bucks, and because I do love kung fu, I went ahead and bought it. But was it worth it?

For those not in the know, it's tells the story of two warriors--Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) and Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). Li is a master warrior who owns a 400-year-old powerful sword, and he's decided to get out of the warrior life. He gives the sword to Shu Lien to give to Sir Te (Sihung Lung), but it ends up stolen by an old adversary named Jade Fox (Pei-pei Cheng) and her protege, Jen (Ziyi Zhang). Jen also happens to be the daughter of an aristocrat who is forcing her to marry, but she's really in love with a desert bandit named Lo (Chen Chang). However, Jen is stubborn--and very skilled--and her ego gets a little too big for her to handle. So Li and Shu Lien must go after her both to tame/train her and retrieve the sword (and find Jade Fox to defeat her once and for all).

For some reason, this movie was simultaneously disappointing and exactly what I expected. I don't think that's possible, but it's how I feel. I think it's because that, maybe, I hoped it would be better than I expected, but it turned out just the same. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, as I expected some pretty big things out of it. First, I want to begin with the negative.

The story was relatively thin and boring. There wasn't much there except a stolen sword and a couple love stories. Normally this wouldn't be an issue. However, this movie is two hours long, and that's the only plot there is going for it. The two love stories are decent. Li and Shu Lien are two that are in love but can't do anything about it because Shu Lien was originally engaged to Li's best friend who died in war. Then there's the parallel relationship between Jen and Lo. I thought both were endearing relationships, special in their own way, but after a while I felt really bad for Lo because Jen is such an unlikable person.

On the other hand, the action is effing fantastic. Of course, this is to be expected. The choreographer is the same as The Matrix Trilogy and, hell... almost every awesome kung fu action movie ever made. And thankfully, there is a lot of action. It's gorgeous to watch--truly stunning at times. That's really all I can say about it, though, without getting redundant.

I do appreciate the movie's themes, too. Between the parallel love stories and the more obvious "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" theme of hiding your true potential, it was really clever. I didn't hate the story as much as I made it sound I did. I just thought for the time span, there wasn't enough plot to fill it up, stretching it a bit thin at times. But the action scenes more than made up for everything, balancing it all out nicely. So in the end, it gave me exactly what I expected--a thin story yet strong themes and amazing fighting sequences.


A Keanu 'Whoa'

Musical Monday: Let It Be - Across The Universe (#52).

I'm going to start a new weekly segment that will span the remainder of this year. It's not as intensive as my 60/60 List, so I'm not too worried. Every Monday, I'm going to be counting down my 52 favorite musical numbers from musical movies and TV shows. I should also mention that there will be multiple instances where there is more than one number from a particular movie.

The way I choose will involve a few different variables. First, of course, I have to like the song. Second, the visual of how the number is performed is most likely unique or fun. Third, both song and visual mixes well to create an exciting or powerful number. All of these things (and probably a few more) work together in creating what I feel are good-to-great musical numbers. That being said, the numbers at the top of the list are less exciting for me--but they might not be for you! It's also possible (as I know there are a few) where I don't actually care for the movie, but I just like or love that particular number. Now, let's get into the first number on the list.

Coincidentally, this is one of those I just mentioned where I don't particularly like the movie, but I enjoy the moment. It's a very sad and powerful moment that could almost be a short film unto itself on the pains of war and violence. It's a great song, of course, originating with The Beatles. But the visuals of a war-torn town and the deaths of those involved, then turning the song into a gospel type is appropriate. And here it is...

Random Ramblings of a Demented DoorVlog S2.5.

Here's episode S2.5.

This particular episode references Episodes 6 and 7 of Season 1.

Last time on The Vlog: DPR is on a bit of a hiatus from The Vlog after being put on mandatory, unpaid vacation, being blamed for all the bad stuff that'd been going on lately. So now he doesn't have all that much to do...

If you'll notice, I didn't put up a 'previously on' for the last season episodes, mostly because I want the intro to be a surprise. But if you really wanna know, you can check here. Also there, you'll find an updated list for the rest of the episodes of this season with a few hints and what's to come.

I actually thought this episode was going to be overly long, so I didn't script a whole bunch. Instead, it turned out to be a bit short, so I had to go back in and add a couple things. It's still about 40 seconds shy of the new maximum time limit, but overall it's the same length as most of the older vids (this one just includes credits time). And the end joke is one I've been waiting to do for at least a couple months now...

Anywho, enjoy!

2010: The Year End Post.

It's that time of year... you know, being the next one and all. I gotta do some type of massive Year-End Lists that cover everything about the previous year and whatnot. So that's what I'm gonna do.

But before I do that, I want to get this out right off the bat: there are some films I haven't seen (*gasp*)! Of note (read: possible award films and/or films that I think I might love), the following have not yet graced my eyes and ears: 127 Hours, The King's Speech, Toy Story 3, Cyrus, The American, The Kids Are All Right, Buried, and The Fighter.

So what movies of 2010 have I seen? The following films are 2010 films I've seen either in theater or at home:

*On DVD/Blu-Ray/Netflix/iTunes
**2009 Film Seen In Theater In 2010

After.Life*, Alice In Wonderland, Black Swan, The Book of Eli, Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Clash of the Titans, The Crazies, Date Night*, Daybreakers, Defendor*, Devil, Dinner for Schmucks, The Disappearance of Alice Creed*, District 13: Ultimatum*, Easy A, Exit Through The Gift Shop*, From Paris With Love, Get Him To The Greek*, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Hot Tub Time Machine*, How To Train Your Dragon, The Human Centipede*, Inception, Iron Man 2, The Karate Kid, Kick-Ass, The Last Airbender, Legion, Let Me In, Machete, Monsters*, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Paranormal Activity 2, Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, Predators, Prince of Persia, Repo Men, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Restrepo*, Saw 3D, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, She's Out Of My League*, Shutter Island, The Social Network, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Splice, The Town*, True Grit, Twilight: Eclipse, Up In The Air**, When In Rome*, Winter's Bone*

Total Theater Visits (not including repeat viewings for same movie): 35

Total 2010 Films Seen: 51

Note: As of this post, I have not actually seen Date Night, but it will be viewed by the end of the day, so I put it on the list.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now it's time to get to the only part people care about: the lists! First up, I'm going to talk about my favorite movies of the year. These might not necessarily be the best movies of the year, but they're the ones I liked the most. So without further ado, here are my Top 10 Favorite Movies Of 2010.

Top 10 Favorite Movies Of 2010

10) True Grit

Not usually too big on westerns, but the Coen Brothers' dialogue totally made this movie. It wasn't perfect and suffered in its third act, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. Not to mention it had some excellent performances from its three leads.

9) Let Me In

Yes, I've seen the original. Yes, I still really liked the remake. In fact, there are some aspects of this remake that I think are better than the original (while there are some aspects of the original that are better than this remake). Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee do very well with their roles. It could have used a bit less crazy CGI with the vampire freak-outs, but otherwise it was a very well-done film.

8) The Social Network

Like True Grit, this movie shines in its dialogue. But this movie also has some truly unlikable characters that you somehow can't stop watching. A truly fascinating film that I really need to see again.

7) Easy A

I love movies like this, where they take a classic story and modernize it, especially when they do it very well. Thankfully this one is done very well with special thanks to its great cast. Emma Stone is hot and nerdy, her parents are dorky and funny, and her English teacher has a dry wit that makes it a lot of fun.

6) Kick-Ass

This movie split a lot of people. But for me, it's the second Chloe Moretz film on my list. Sure, it's gritty and hyper-violent. Sure, the movie is more about Chloe Moretz and Nic Cage than Aaron Johnson's Kick-Ass. But the dialogue is fun, the action is fun, and the overall film is pretty, well... kick-ass.

5) Black Swan

The most recent addition to this list. As I said in my review, this is a visceral and sexy film. It can be hard to watch at times, yet you can never take your eyes off of it. Masterfully shot with fantastic performances and a great score make this not only one of my favorites of the year but one of its best.

4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Was there any doubt this would be here? My current favorite of the series (which has changed practically every time David Yates released a new one). It's a much more quiet, internal film than any of the others. It has some beautiful cinematography. It also has some of the best performances from any of the Trio, particularly Emma Watson.

3) Inception

I'm not gonna spend long talking about this one. It's been talked to death by this point. But it has some fantastic action and some of the trippiest and wonderful visuals I've ever seen.

2) How To Train Your Dragon

Some people adore this movie. Some don't see the big deal. But I rode with Toothless in 3D in theater, and it was one of my favorite 3D experiences I've ever had. But does it hold up without that extra dimension? It sure does. With fun characters, a good story, and a shocking ending, this becomes one of the funnest and one of my favorite films of the year.

1) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

This is no surprise to anyone. I've been saying this for quite a while now. With its quick wit, video game and comic book humor, and over-the-top action, this is hands down not only my favorite movie of the year, but my new favorite movie, barely edging out Shaun of the Dead... by the same director!

Honorable Mentions: Exit Through The Gift Shop, The Karate Kid, Monsters, Predators, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, The Town

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that I've covered my favorites, which do I think are actually the best of the year? What I mean by best is this: best overall made and best performances... mixed with enjoyability factor. I believe that a film isn't worth considering as "best" unless you can actually like or enjoy it. It might be a stroke of genius cinematically, but if there is no entertainment value, the film is useless for me. Of course, for these films, I put the focus more on the first two elements instead of the latter, because "best" does require a sense of greatness first and foremost. Also, keep in mind those films I have yet to see. So the following are what I consider to be the Top 10 Best Films Of 2010.

Top 10 Best Films Of 2010

10) Restrepo

I'm not usually bit on documentaries (or war films), but this film was pretty dang powerful. The decision to tell stuff rather than show stuff at times was good. I did have some issues with it, however, which you can read in more detail in my review.

9) The Disappearance of Alice Creed

It's almost impossible to talk about this movie without spoiling something. After about 30 minutes, there starts to be twists and turns all over the damn place. It's a nontraditional kidnap movie, focusing only on the two kidnappers and the kidnapped. You don't see or hear anyone else. They even make calls to the cops and parents off screen and come back to talk about it later. It has a slow start, but about halfway in, it really picks up and is really captivating... no pun intended. Not to mention it has one of the best uses of a title card, I think (though I can't get into why without spoiling it).

8) True Grit

I've already talked about this movie in the previous list, so I'll just leave it at that.

7) Exit Through The Gift Shop

It could be a documentary... it might not be. Who knows? Banksy does. This was a trip of a movie with one of the most idiotic focal characters ever. It was very meta in nature, and we all know how I love meta stories. And if it's all fake, then this film really is a masterstroke (again, no pun intended). Regardless, it was made in such a way that has spurred controversy about its legitimacy either way, which makes it good in and of itself.

6) Let Me In

Again, I've talked about this film in the last list. The use of camera and music alone makes this film worthy of the list.

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Yes, I am including this in my Top 5 Best of the Year. Regardless of the subject matter or what you thought of the story, it was masterfully made. The cinematography is gorgeous. The acting is superb. The film is very introverted with its characters this time around, taking a lot of quiet moments just to see the internal struggles of these young adults. The action, when there, is thrilling. And... I could just keep going, but I won't. Wonderfully made and highly enjoyable. I think it deserves this spot easily.

4 & 3) Tie: Winter's Bone and The Town

I know, a tie is kind of a cop-out, but I was literally stuck trying to figure out what order to put these in. To me, Winter's Bone is the better-made film, but The Town (for me) is much more enjoyable. Winter's Bone has some amazing acting. The Town is a gritty heist film, and we know how much I love my heist films. Both films are dark and gritty and involve poor people and drugs. They both have pros and cons, and in the end, they equal each other out. That's why I had to put them in a tie.

2) The Social Network

This is probably the number 1 on a lot of people's lists. I did really enjoy the film, but it didn't resonate with me as strongly as it did with most people. There were amazing performances all around. The fantastic script flowed off the actors' lips and through the camera's lens wonderfully. It was a greatly made film that was just as enjoyable to watch. But I think there was one film that was better this year.

1) Black Swan

Visually alone, Black Swan tops every other film on this list. I know I keep harking back to those mirrors, but that was damn impressive. I won't talk about this movie anymore. Over the last couple days, you're probably tired of hearing me talk about it. So... visceral and sexy. Yup.

Honorable Mentions: Inception, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Monsters

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK, so I've talked about my favorites and the best. It's time to venture into the opposite spectrum. These are the movies from 2010 that I've liked the least. Some of these might actually be the worst of the year. Some might be decently made, but I just did not like them. Some might be somewhere in the middle. Because I don't go out of my way to watch bad movies, there are very few I actually went to go see or have seen since. So here are my Top 5 Least Favorite of 2010.

Top 5 Least Favorite Movies of 2010

5) Resident Evil: Afterlife

I didn't actually dislike this movie a whole lot. The series has been on a steady decline in quality, though I do think this one is better than the third. Regardless, I needed to fill this spot.

4) Hot Tub Time Machine

Probably the only controversial pick on this list. A lot of people really love this movie (I know Dylan put it on his favorites of the year). But it just did not resonate with me. I laughed a couple times, but that was it. I just did not enjoy this movie. Sorry.

3) District B13: Ultimatum

A vastly inferior sequel in all ways. Usually in sequels to action flicks, they amp up the action. This time I can honestly say the action was better in the first film. It's not unwatchable, but you can see the first film and get a better version of exactly the same thing.

2) Legion

An end-of-the-world movie with angels being the cause. What's not to love about that idea? Oh well. While it was a decent idea, the execution was poorly done.

1) The Last Airbender

The single most disappointing movie of the year. I love the series, and M. Night doesn't bother me as much as he bugs other people. But this movie really was awful. It was so bad that, at the time of my review, I was still trying to talk myself into finding good in it. It took the heart and soul of the show and just smashed them to tiny pieces. This is in serious need of a reboot, hopefully this time keeping the feel (and characters, honestly) of the show.

Honorable Mentions: Clash of the Titans (I didn't hate it as much as others. I thought it was mindless fun... though I do recognize it as a not-good movie), Twilight: Eclipse (What can I say? I'm a sucker for these so-bad-they're good flicks).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that I've talked about the movies, what about performances? The Oscars are coming up quick, so I wanna briefly detail what I think were some of the best performances of the year (in no particular order):

Best Supporting Actress
1) Mila Kunis - Black Swan
2) Emma Watson - Deathly Hallows Part 1
3) Ellen Wong - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
*As you can tell, this was a difficult category for me... outside of Black Swan, I haven't seen any of the films where the actresses in this category came from (the ones being talked about in awards circles, I mean). And I don't count Hailee Steinfeld as supporting.

Best Supporting Actor
1) Andrew Garfield - The Social Network
2) John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
3) Jeremy Renner - The Town

Best Actress
1) Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
2) Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
3) Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Best Actor
1) Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
2) Jeff Bridges - True Grit
3) Leonardo DiCaprio - Inception (or Shutter Island, really...)
*Because I haven't seen either 127 Hours or The King's Speech, this category is difficult since James Franco and Colin Firth seem to be up there for their roles (respectively).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And I think that'll about do it! I'll soon be posting my most anticipated for 2011, so keep an eye out for that. If there is anything else from the previous year you'd like me to give my thoughts on, just post a comment. Got beef with one or more of my choices, or do you actually agree with some of these? Post a comment!

Happy New Year!