Best Movies of 2010 ... so far

[frendo]

Excellent
Kick Ass
Inception
She's Outta My League
The Kids Are Allright
The Crazies
The Joneses
Robin Hood
Splice

Very Good
Brooklyn's Finest
Date Night
Despicable Me
Get Him to the Greek
The Ghost Writer
Greenberg
How To Train Your Dragon
Nightmare on Elm Street
The Runaways

Good
Alice In Wonderland
City Island
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
From Paris With Love
Grown Ups
Iron Man 2
Hot Tub Time Machine
MacGruber
Predators
Salt
Solitary Man
Shutter Island
Youth in Revolt

Shitty
The A-Team
Book of Eli
Edge of Darkness
Knight and Day
Repo Men

Debate Killing Yourself Before Watching
Cop Out
Daybreakers
Jonah Hex
The Losers
Wolfman

[Chienfantome]

Chien, you liked Green Zone more than Splice? And Tamara Drewe doesn't sound good since it's a Gemma Arterton vehicle (I wasn't THAT impressed by her five minutes in Quantum Of Solace and she was more creepy than entertaining in Clash of the Titans).

Oooooh, Buscemi, don't tell me you are surprised I liked "Green Zone" more than "Splice", please !? I mean, up until now, I have always liked Natali's films, from Cube to Nothing, but Splice is a terrible, terrible film. The guy completely lost his sense of originality and went for predictability all the way. Big, big disappointment.
On the contrary I found "Green Zone" to be one of the most challenging Hollywood film of 2010. It is clever and absolutely captivating, and will probably end up being one of my 10 favourite US films of the year.

[Buscemi]

To me, Green Zone was a boring and outdated Iraq War film that felt like it was pro-Bush half the time (I don't think I've seen so many Bush/Cheney signs or non-criticism references to Bush in a movie). Meanwhile, I thought Splice was the best movie so far this summer (I have not seen Inception yet). When you live in a country where things such as Shrek Forever After, Sex and the City 2, Killers, Eclipse and The Last Airbender are considered good entertainment, you are bound to enjoy a film like Splice. For me it worked because it did things that Hollywood would never do in a movie.

[Chienfantome]

Alright, I can definitely understand when you say you liked how Splice went where most Hollywood movies would never go, I can only agree with you on that. The thing for me though is I have not seen (and never really intend to see) Shrek 4, Sex 2, Twilight 3, Killers or The Last Airbender, it's been a few years now I have decided not to go see such unnecessary hollywood garbage, so this is not any reference of good entertainment. I know I'm lucky on that one, because I don't have to see these films if I want to go see a film in theaters. I have much better at my disposal, but I know I'm lucky.

But it doesn't change my mind on the fact Splice bored me and managed to made me laugh when there was no intent of being funny.
As for "Green Zone" being outdated, it has been said indeed, but I find that to be a bit unrelevant. Reflexions on war and all the layers of human implications tied to it make a good subject for a film, be it set in Iraq, Vietnam, WWII or Middle Age. Plus the film works extremely well as an action film.
As for the film being pro-Bush, I am surprised you're saying that. I don't see a pro Bush fim in Green Zone, far from it. What makes you say that ?

[Buscemi]

Here is why I think the film was pro-Bush: the film was nothing more than a standard depiction of "Americans good, Iraqs bad". And every five minutes there is a reference to the Bush re-election campaign with either passing mention or positive mentioning from characters (such as a scene in which Bush appears on a television screen to cheers from the soldiers in the room). Many of the characters seem to enjoy the idea of being in Iraq and the only character who seems to hate the concept is depicted as a villain. So not only did it seem pro-Bush but it also seem pro-Bush's reasons for going there in the first place. The movie was about as subtle as an anvil in a sack of nails.

[Chienfantome]

Wow. Wow. I must say I am astonished by your vision of Green Zone, Buscemi. I can only say I do not share the same. This is not the film I have seen. There are clearly different levels of reading here, or at least it seems, or else I can't explain how you see in Green Zone a pro-War, pro-Bush film, while I undoubtedly see in it an anti-war, anti-Bush film here.
To me this is a film showing how a government openly lied to the face of the world to get into a war for the wrong reasons. This is a film showing how it could have gone right while it went wrong. This is a fiml showing the backstage and the strategics of how to build an unnecessary war This is a very bitter and untriumphant film.
What you mention to me as pro-Bush arguments are things that must be decoded, it is a set. The film does not cheer Bush. The film does not cheer being in Iraq. Characters in it do. But it is vital to distinguish the will of a filmmaker and the will of his characters.

[becs]

Yea, I will have to watch it again, but I recall specific things that were pretty in your face with the negative opinion towards bush, if I recall one of them included the bush speech clip, it was something like a character railing on the situation and how horrible it was without voicing the blame directly, then camera cuts to huge dopey bush video; it was a very leading shot.. Additionally, you seem to have failed to notice that any and all people with their toes wet in politics are portrayed negatively, it's only the military and locals who are really portrayed in a positive light, even amy ryan's character is put in a negative context because of her own corruption in order to get the scoop.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Wow, Banks, you're saying you've seen 95% of the films released this year, and "The Book of Eli" is among your Top 3 films ?! That's a bold choice (meaning WTF man ??!!)

When I'll be at home tonight, I'll post my favourites of the year so far, but I need my list of films, as I have seen wayyyyyyyy too much films so far to write them down by memory without risking to forget one

I meant wide-releases. Most of your list never went wide in the US, and of the 4 that did:

Green Zone was good, but totally forgettable
I pretty much hated Kick Ass and I think it's one of the most overrated movies in years
Toy Story was good, but really it's one of Pixar's more "meh" movies.
Inception is pretty damn great

[Chienfantome]

Well for me, Banks, Green Zone is (or was, up until Inception came out maybe ?) the most important American film of 2010. The most memorable.