The Top 10 Worst Movies of 2009

1) The Goods: Jeremy Piven needs to stay on Entourage.
2) Duplicity: A beautiful movie with breathtaking hotels but who cared about the story?
3) Law Abiding Citizen: Far fetched and unbelievable. A waste of talent.
4) New Moon: When this is watched by the next generation they will wonder what the fuss was all about. Nothing happens other than a boy turns into a wolf.
5) Spread: I give Ashton Kustner credit for constantly trying things but this one does not stick to the wall.
6) Inglorious Bastards: I am a HUGE Quentin Tarantino fan and I just thought that this was not his best effort.
7) Terminator: Please let's put this franchise to rest.
8) Transformers 2: Each action scene ran on way too long.
9) Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: The title tells the whole story. This one crashed and burned.
10) Watchmen: This is one superhero flick that did not work.

My 2009 Top Ten Movies

1) Taken: Relentless action and well paced.
2) Star Trek: Everything just worked. JJ Abrams is the new Steven Spielberg.
3) The Hangover: I was waiting for Wedding Crashers 2 and this one makes you wish for Hangover 2.
4) Tyson: Comes across honest and real.
5) Up In The Air: Clooney shows a new side to his character.
6) The Informant: Not many people saw this one but it was a great performance by Matt Damon.
7) Up: Another heart wrenching Pixar movie that you can't resist.
8) District 9: I was pleasantly surprised by the story and the new talented actors in this movie.
9) Julie & Julia: Meryl Streep is the BEST LIVING actress on the planet, period.
10) I Love You Man: If you watch it and you don't get it than it's not for you.

Top Ten Movies of the Decade

Article feom the NY Post. I am a big fan of A.I. but top movie of the decade???

10 years and countless films later, the aughts produced a bumper crop of great movies. Here are Kyle Smith’s and Lou Lumenick’s top picks of the decade. Read a full discussion of the movies here.

Kyle Smith:

1. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

2. United 93 (2006)

3. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

5. Batman Begins (2005)

6. Amélie (2001)

7. Once (2007)

8. Team America: World Police (2004)

9. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

10. Almost Famous (2000)

Lou Lumenick:

1. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

2. The 25th Hour (2002)

3. Zodiac (2007)

4. Wall-E (2008)

5. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

7. Almost Famous (2000)

8. United 93 (2006)

9. Up in the Air (2009)

10. LOTR Trilogy:

The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The Two Towers (2002)

The Return of the King (2003)



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/lou_kyle_top_movies_of_the_decade_sp9UN7BWFVJVuGG4NHlzMP#ixzz0bKMD8aPw

Precious

I didn’t want to see this movie because of the depressing subject and the hype of Monqiue’s performance.
I guessed prior to seeing the movie that Mo'Nique was being Mo'Nique. In other words if you have been a fan of Mo'Nique you have seen her do the angry black woman sthick before. I was right however during my various discussions regarding this flick someone did point out to me that even though I have seen Mo'Nique do this before it does not take away the performance she gives, I agree. The movie takes place in Harlem and is about an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child and is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. Newcomer Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe gives a breakthrough performance as Precious and even though people say there are no roles for her I bet you will see her again. The singer Lenny Kravitz shows up in the movie as a male nurse as well as Mariah Carey without makeup and Sherri Shepherd from The View without her wigs. Mariah keep the makeup on and Sherri you keep wearing those wigs.

Verdict: Don’t confuse Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe with the girl in the TV show Glee, I already made that embarrassing mistake. No mater what color you are see the movie when it comes out on DVD because we all have a Precious in our family.

Avatar

We have waited a long for James Cameron to do another movie epic. After Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, and even The Abyss I expected a lot. Sad to say there is not much here. The story is about a paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home. I never thought I would give kudos to Kevin Costner but Kevin already did Avatar with Dances With The Wolves. If you are a Baby Boomer you can go as far back as A Man Called Horse. In other words Avatar is not original. The movie is a bloated mess. The only new thing is new 3D technology and be careful if you plan to drive after the movie. After having 3D glasses on for over 2 hours I found it difficult. I hope studies are not done later that show this new technology ruins your eyes. Look out for Sam Worthington, he is good ala a young version of Mel Gibson.

Verdict: Disappointing. See only for the visuals and new 3D technology.

The Hurt Locker

This movie is on pretty much every critic’s Top Ten movie list of 2009. Don’t believe the hype. I pretty much watched this movie while doing my laundry and the only reason I watched it to the end is because I wanted to see who was going to get blown up next. The story is about an elite Army bomb squad unit that must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb. The movie comes off like a documentary and is very slow. Critics may feel this movie has to be on the list because it deals with the war and while it’s an interesting movie I would not recommend people go to the theater to see it, wait for DVD. This movie is different than the dozen or so movies that have been done about the war. It’s not a movie like Blackhawk Down with lots of action. Jeremy Renner, the star of the movie, joins the group as a hotshot expert and he does a good job of holding his own. However his character does not ring true when he gets punched in the face by a superior. Steve, Clint, and even Bruce Willis would not take a punch in the face without doing something?! Again this movie does not have a lot of action but it is engrossing and you watch it only to see how it all is going to end for the team.

Verdict: Overrated

Is Avatar Racist? Reprint of article from Essence Magazine

"Avatar" may be number one at the box office, but on the blogosphere and Twitter the buzz is growing about the film's supposed racist subtext.

The premise of the movie is simple and somewhat familiar: a White man goes and lives with the "natives", learns their ways and somehow becomes their leader. If it sounds familiar it may be because the theme has been visited in movies like Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves" and last summer's South African sci-fi "District 9" says writer Annalee Newitz on the sci-fi blog I09. Newitz calls the all too familiar plot "a fantasy about race told from the point of view of White people."

In films like 'Avatar' she continues, "Humans are the cause of alien oppression and distress. Then, a White man who was one of the oppressors switches sides at the last minute, assimilating into the alien culture and becoming its savior."

Will Heaven of the Telegraph questions why the Na'vi (the blue skinned "natives") wear African jewelry and dreadlocks and are voiced by Black actors like Zoe Saldana, Laz Alonso and C.C.H. Pounder. "The ethnic Na'vi," he writes, "need the White man to save them because, as a less developed race, they lack the intelligence and fortitude to overcome their adversaries by themselves."

On Twitter, where "Avatar" continues to be a trending topic, conversations are not steering clear of the race issue. "Which is more racist, avatar or HP computers?" tweets one "Dr. Cop." "Why would I go see Avatar?" tweets screen name Savage575, "If I wanted to watch a racist, badly written, poorly directed, FX masterpiece I'd just watch 'Stars Wars' again."

Have you seen "Avatar"? Do you agree that it's revisiting racist themes?


Read more: http://www.essence.com/entertainment/hot_topics/does_sci-fi_blockbuster_avatar_have_a_ra.php#ixzz0aZkq28Pd

Up In The Air

This is a movie that everyone that travels for business can relate to.
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham and has a job that has him traveling around the country firing people. Bingham leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected: ground him.
Clooney shows a new side of himself in this movie, vulnerability, and he wears it well. Director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan Reitman director of Ghostbusters) has written a screenplay that is contemporary and spot on. Vera Farmiga, who was in The Departed, does an excellent job of convincing the audience that George Clooney is the one for her. Anna Kendrick from New Moon shows that she does not need a cast of vampires to act, she is great all by herself. The movie plays on the current economy and reviews what is really important in life, Silver, Gold, Platinum access or having something to come home to once you come back from being on the road.

Verdict: MUST SEE. Clooney adds a bright new chapter to his body of work.