Now that 2010 is bidding us adieu and 2011 is knocking on the door, I thought I would give you a roundup of the best and worst films that Hollywood has forced down our throats. Okay. Hollywood didn’t actually force us to watch movies, but they made it awfully hard not to.
BEST
•Inception. I really like a film that scares, exhilarates and leaves me with questions. Those kinds of films invade your thoughts and your dreams.
•For Colored Girls. Quite a few men are upset about the way males are portrayed in this film. My response to them is to point out that the film is called For Colored Girls, not For Colored Boys. If they are offended by the story line, which is art imitating life for many women, I suggest they see their pastor about that. Tyler Perry did a fabulous job bringing Ntozake Shange’s play to the screen. And I love me some Omari Hardwick.
•Takers. All I can say is Idris Elba, Chris Brown and Michael Ealy in one film make for a steamy, great movie — even though it took the guys of Rain Forest Films, Rob Hardy and Will Packer, almost a decade to get it right. I’m glad they did. They have transitioned from small-time directors to big-time Hollywood producers with a good eye for great films.
•Red. I never thought I would write this phrase: Please stop making us young people look bad. It’s a shame that movie stars in their 60s and 70s have made a better action film than people in their 20s and 30s. Apparently, there are still quite a few things to be learned from the geriatric crowd.
•The Town. That darn Ben Affleck is such a great filmmaker that I won’t even mention his days as a pay-to-play actor in gems like Gigli and Paycheck. Not only has Affleck redeemed himself; he’s giving Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese some serious competition.
•Despicable Me. The best things about this film are little Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher), the minions and the killer hip hop soundtrack. Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes fame and Heitor Pereira are responsible for those grooves. They add a nice urban touch to the film.
•Death at a Funeral. Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan and Martin Lawrence somehow manage to make death funny.
WORST
•The Last Airbender. Hopefully, this is the last film that M. Knight Shyamalan makes for a while, as he regroups and recaptures his glory days when he was that great filmmaker who gave us The Sixth Sense. Until then, no more kids doing tai chi with weak, 3D special effects. That is such a waste of money.
•Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming. This must be the residuals from Rain Forest Films’ tepid movie making. This movie is such a rip-off of the first film that even Columbus Short wouldn’t sign on as a major player. He just cameos. Probably a condition in his contract.
•N-Secure. This film suffers from bad writing, bad acting and a bad storyline. I can see how the film seemed interesting but the delivery is awful and the plot full of holes — not to mention if you’re going to have Bern- Nadette Stanis as a therapist in a psychological thriller, she should have more than three lines.
Also, I give honorable mention to Sex and the City 2, because I am a huge fan of the series. This film actually is in the best and worst categories. In the movie theater, Sex 2 tanked for me. However, I recently re-watched the film on DVD and I loved it. Go figure. Speaking of sequels, if you loved them in 2010, you’ll love them in 2011.
Next year, I’m looking forward to Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, Thor, Cars 2, The Green Lantern, The Hangover Part II, National Treasure 3, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Fast Five with
Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Paul Walker. You can sign me up for anything starring Diesel, The Rock, and Gibson.
– Happy 2011!
Kimberly Grant may be reached at KAliciaG@aol.com.
No Comment