The ones I liked: I've already written about how much I enjoyed Tangled, so I won't go on about it. I was also pleasantly surprised by How to Train Your Dragon, although I probably shouldn't have been because it had such excellent reviews. It was very funny and sweet, and the animation was just incredible. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader improved on the previous films in the series thanks to a more exciting story. I think I'm going to miss Skandar Keynes, who played Edmund in the first three films; he grew up into a pretty decent young actor. It's hard to believe he's still only 19. Luckily, they are being replaced by Will Poulter as Eustace, who totally stole the show. It almost felt like he was in a completely different film; he looked like he was having a great time, while everyone else was taking it maybe a little too seriously. Finally, Ghost Town. It was pleasant enough and quite funny. I always enjoy Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni and particularly Ricky Gervais, although I watched the gag reel and I swear, if I had to work with him I would probably punch him in the face.
The ones I didn't care for: I finally got around to watching Airplane because the video store I went to (naming no names, but it began with B) didn't have either of the movies I actually wanted to watch. It was fine, I guess. I didn't think it was that funny, but that may be because I've heard all the jokes before. And last but not least (although kind of least), Black Swan. Massive disappointment for me. I wish I had written about it immediately after I saw it because I think my feelings have been diluted and confused over time. The biggest issue I had was that I didn't understand the moral. And perhaps that's not what they were going for (although I would argue that everything espouses some sort of moral judgment), but even so, what was the point? Don't try to be perfect? No sex will drive you insane? There were a lot of positives - amazing performances from Portman, Kunis and Hershey and great art design stand out for me - but I'm just not sure I understood what we were supposed to take from it.
And now to 2011. Easy A was not bad. I loved Emma Stone, and the supporting characters were just outstanding (Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, especially Thomas Haden Church). I kind of wish it was a TV show because there's so much interesting backstory to explore. Olive's adopted brother, for example - that seems like kind of a random, though not unwelcome, detail to add if you're not going to dwell on it. My DVD also had a trailer for Burlesque, and now I can't stop wondering about Stanley Tucci's criteria for picking roles. If you put Easy A, Burlesque and The Lovely Bones side by side, it's fascinating. Not that he's not great in all of them, it's just such an unusual list of films. But back to the matter at hand: House. I don't think I've ever seen such an aggressively weird movie - weird in plot, tone, filmmaking techniques, everything. And I loved it. It's kind of nice to see a light-hearted horror film. It looked like everyone involved was just having a great time. Like Troll 2, I think this one has to be seen to be believed.
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