Buzzmans Underrated Films of 2010

The films on this list are not necessarily great films that were overlooked; hell they may not even be good films. What they are though are films that either came and went without very much attention paid toward them, were films that I enjoyed but many others seemed to dislike, or films that received a unfair bias toward them based on its material. So alas, here it begins.

#6 | The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism felt like a movie many had seen before. A possessed girl thinking she has the soul of the devil inside her and the found footage documentary style format wasn’t exactly original material.  Right away audiences seemed to develop their own opinion of it without even a single viewing.  What is so strange about the reception of the film was that critics enjoyed it, while audiences did not. It normally is the opposite direction in the horror genre.  The film itself I thought was a great mockery of this entire genre that seems to have a pretty decent sized following. These movies tend to be guaranteed profiteers, but this film was different. It made fun of itself and never took itself entirely too serious, that is until the last two minutes of the film and completely ruined what should have been a great film. I’d suggest just turning it off right before that ending.

#5 | Ondine

Ondine is the case of being such a small film, that I wouldn’t doubt that a single member here has ever seen it and few have actually heard of it. It is not a great film by any means, and it is borderline good, but it does do a few things right. It allows Collin Farrell to act in his natural environment and the first half of the film is a pretty damn good fairytale mystery. The problem was the film backed itself in a corner and the only plausible solution was to unravel the mystery into a very anti climatic finish. Had they had the balls to be creative the entire two hours, maybe more people would have come to see.  Ondine for the year sits right in the middle of the pact for movies and if some of the shitty ones below it got an audience, Ondine certainly deserves one too. 

#4 | Leaves of Grass

Leaves of Grass isn’t underrated in quality; Nearly everyone who has seen it has at least enjoyed it, with some loving it. Here was another case of being so unadvertised, it slipped through the cracks and was left up to Edward Norton fans to tell people about it. I know my review got a few people to watch it, but it always helps to further promote it. This may be the best quality film on this list despite sitting at number four.  

#3 | Daybreakers

It’s very simple, a lot of people passed on this simply because it featured vampires. It is understandable, not only are they oversaturating the market with these films, but most of them have the new lovey dovey ones that are complete shit. Daybreakers bring old school back a bit. These vampires are vicious, spread blood and violence, and burn in the sun. They can actually become scary at times again. It also helps the flipped race dominator flipped and now vampires run the world rather than humans. It was a much needed perspective on an dying breed of movie creatures.  

#2 | Morning Glory

This film rolled out exactly in-between 127 Hours and Unstoppable, so it seemed to be quickly overlooked. It is a shame too because it features a comeback of sorts from Harrison Ford. He is absolutely electric while on screen. It was a quirky movie that introduced you to morning television without ever boring you with too much of the technical perspective of it.   It should have been a tiny box office hit, but instead was quickly booted out for bigger undeserving films. If you ever need to kill two hours, just give this a go. The time should pass quickly and you probably end up having an entertaining time with the film. 

#1 | She’s Out of My League

This is a romantic comedy, but in the good way. Usually they suck, but when they are good, they tend to be really good. She’s Out of My League is a very funny film that gets a pass on its plot because the comedy is handled so well and its full of a great cast that all pitch in to make this the most underrated film of the year. This should have been a box office smash considering it released with no competition of the genre for weeks, but I guess audiences didn’t want to laugh, but rather go see another shitty Jennifer Aniston flick. I promise you the film is funny and even holds up well on multiple viewings. It’s a film everyone can enjoy. It was forgotten because it released at the very start of the year, but its definitely in the top 3 funniest movies of 2010.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

In this booze- and laugh-soaked sequel to The Hangover, the buddies from the earlier film's bachelor party reunite for a wedding trip to Thailand where one of them, Stu Price (Ed Helms), is planning to tie the knot. Stu is determined that his own pre-wedding party should be a restrained and dignified affair, but between the habits of his friends and the multiple distractions of Bangkok, fate has other plans in store for him.

Ah, The Hangover Part II; a sequel that apparently everyone wanted to see based on the box office records it is about to break this opening weekend. They were probably thinking that same thought while coming up with this sequel. I understand completely that you should not deviate too far from the path that made you successful in the first place, but were they really that lazy that they had to use most of the same jokes and situations over again. It is downright pathetic if you were to sit down and compare the two films side by side.

I will be one of the first to say that I thought the original was a hysterical good time. It was a hidden gem that blind-sided you so hard; you could not breathe at times. It was that sense of freshness mixed with a cast with great chemistry that made the film so damn fun to watch, but all of that goes out the door here. That sense of mystery in the first one went by quick because the transition between scenes was smooth, but they rehash the exact same scenario here. Get drugged, wake up with another hangover, find the missing person by retracing your steps, after they call it quits, a sudden epiphany occurs and you save the day at the last possible minute.  I am not going to say some of the scenes were not funny because I laughed quite a bit, but at the same time I found myself bored just as much. This wasn’t new; I get the basic storyline, but I just don’t understand why they had to constantly throw the first films jokes at you. When they did throw new material at you, it was funny, even hilarious, but they just didn’t do it enough to have this stay afloat.

Getting to watch the characters throughout another shenanigan was exciting to see, but once again I find myself wondering the originality of them again. Alan, the obvious fan-favorite, is hit and miss this time around. When the joke works, you’ll be laughing pretty hard, but when he misses, you get that long awkward phase that seems to last an eternity. His little remarks that made the first so great seemed to disappear here. Phil gets the best dialect here and Bradley Cooper plays that cocky dude o so well. Last is Ed Helms as Stu who is the worst of the bunch because if you think about him, he literally gets the exact same jokes except a minor thing is changed. He sings his stupid song, gets a tattoo instead of losing a tooth, and ends up with the girl. He was the weakest of the pack. If it were just the three in the film, it wouldn’t have been a problem but the side characters are just fucking brutal. I don’t understand how Chang ever became so popular. He was great in a tiny dose, but to give him a good thirty minutes of screen time was an absolute mistake, everything funny about him was wrapped up with at the end of the first. And his introduction into the film was disgusting, not funny. That damn monkey kept getting laughs from the crowd that I was in, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I guess I don’t find a smoking monkey all that funny. Throw in Mike Tyson and the final throw the original in your face was complete, but I was half expecting Black Doug to somehow make an appearance with just how bizarre that turned out characters.  

The Hangover 2 is good for a few laughs, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to the original. I’d have a hard time recommending this too a non-Hangover fan, but at the same time fans of the first might feel just as cheated as I. If you absolutely must, have a go at the film, but my advice is to back off and just go see Bridesmaids since it fits the bill as the same brand of comedy, but with a far more fresh perspective. If The Hangover Part 2 doesn’t wind up being the worst comedy of the summer, I will surely be disappointed.

Overall Score: 4.5/10

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

This is a Documentary.

Amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta's project to chronicle the underground world of street art takes a fascinating twist when he meets Banksy, an elusive British stencil artist, in this Independent Spirit Award winner for Best Documentary. Unimpressed with Guetta's footage, Banksy takes over filmmaking duties while Guetta reinvents himself as a street artist and -- much to Banksy's surprise -- instantly becomes a darling of the Los Angeles art scene.

This may be one of the most ambitious documentaries I have had the pleasure of watching all the way through. It features an amateur filmmaker named Thierry, who starts discovering the magical underground world of street art. He becomes so addicted to this bizarre new way of life; he must capture it all on his camera. This is essentially what makes up the first half of the story. The people Thierry crosses path with show him this new world and how images he once never noticed were actually small parts of art.  The stuff he captures is mostly underwhelming, but once he meets the infamous Banksy, the dam comes down. The end products that come from Banksy’s work truly are magnificent to see, even if we only see them on film, rather than physically in our eyesight.   It is not until Banksy starts to be annoyed by Theirry and his view on the garbage he thinks is art that the film turns a 180 on its audience.

The rest of the film not only describes what Banksy thinks of Thierry, but if I understand the message correctly, it is also what he thinks of the people watching. He decides to takeover Thierry’s documentary because it was headed nowhere. Thierry is and will always be an idiot. When Bansky starts displaying Thierry and the show he is going to do, he shows it in a manner that allows the viewer to see how easily people can be manipulated into thinking things. Simply due to the amount of pre-hype Thierry gave his first art exhibit, people flocked to see this new artist in town. We are shown backstage the pointlessness of Thierry work, yet the people seemed to love it because it was expected of them. There is a scene near the end when Thierry spray paints a wall and its completely random junk that many people would indeed call “art”, but then the wall gets torn down and its become the garbage it was in the first place. This simple shot divides the audience into who they are. The kind that loves Thierry and the kind that does not.

The ambiguous interpretation Banksy has on mainstream work allows the film to live on even after the credits roll. It makes you question what art is. How does it come to form? What is the difference between junk and a masterpiece?  That is up to you to decide. The debate on whether the characters in this film are real, but does that really matter? The message was loud and clear and this opens up your eyes into that same world. You could very well be Thierry. That’s the brilliance in the way it was shot.

*Now in the only way I can see fitting, this movie is going to get the score I think Banksy wants it to get; A big fat zero. I find it very ironic that Banksy spends an hour telling its audience how easily people can get manipulated into thinking something pointless is valuable, yet here he is getting worldwide critical acclaim to his film. Do I think he loves this film? No, but I do believe he wants his audience to. I am not falling for that one, Banksy, you cannot fool this cat.  

Overall Score: 0*/10

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tide (2011)

Cunningly clumsy Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) meets his match when mysterious beauty Angelica (Penélope Cruz) forces the pirate to join her in search of the Fountain of Youth in the fourth installment of the humorous and action-packed "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Sparrow tries to determine whether Angelica is friend or foe while the riotous adventure sets him aboard a vessel belonging to the fearsome pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

If you are like any sane person on this earth, you’ve had enough Pirates of the Caribbean to last you a lifetime. After you saw the first one, you thought they were onto something good, but everything after that just kept getting worse and worse until the third one seemed to kill any good that came away from the first one. Yet here we are with the fourth entry in the franchise that nobody wanted nor asked for.

This time around the film focuses on the fountain of youth and the powers it possesses. Three parties covet to control its powers. The first being the new villain, Blackbeard. A prophecy has been that he will die soon at the hands of Barbosa, so naturally his first place to travel to is the same place Barbosa is headed to. That would be my first choice as well. For no other reason than to introduce a new flame for Jack, Angelica (Cruz) decides to tag along and help save her father’s soul, while dragging Jack along with her. Then you have the Spaniards, who are complete joke and forgotten group. Then you have the British who want it simply because the Spanish want it as well. That’s where Barbosa comes in and begins his journey of other intentions there. The entire thing felt like it was written in one afternoon sitting. The big difference between this installment and the others is at least the others had huge over the top action sets that occasionally made the time pass faster. All you get here is a rather predictable boring story, outside of the surprisingly scary mermaid encounter.  

The main reason the film comes off so boring and lazy is old characters feeling stale and the new ones feeling absolutely pointless. Jack Sparrow was always at his best when he was working behind someone rather it be Barbosa, William, or Elizabeth. His humorous behavior and dialogue was never too much. They made the mistake here of focusing just about the entire time on Jack, and this time he felt like last year’s cool toy, but the problem is that something better has come along and he is old news. Then Barbosa is just ridiculous. He has no reason to be here other than that he is a recognizable face. The fact that he’s working with the British seems laughable considering the strict policy they have had on pirates; not to mention Geoffrey Rush looking like he got hit with a make-up covered ugly stick here. Blackbeard is a terrible villain for this kind of movie. Where Barbosa and Davey Jones brought fun into the adventure, Blackbeard is just plain and depressing. McShane acted without emotion the entire time and made you wonder why Angelica wanted to save his soul so much. Cruz as Angelica was so forgettable; I am going to just stop here about her.

Unless you loved the third one, I do not picture many people actually enjoying this. I will say it was better than the third one merely because it was thirty minutes shorter, but it doesn’t offer much that you haven’t already seen before. Do yourself a favor and just pass on by this forgettable entry in a forgettable franchise.

Overall Score: 4/10

My Soul to Take (2010)

Some 15 years after the presumed death of a vicious serial killer, children whose birthdays match his supposed "deathday" start to disappear. But whether the killer -- or his tortured soul -- is responsible remains to be seen. One boy (Max Thieriot) knows for sure, but his own connection to the horrific crimes is far too terrible to imagine.

Every once in a while you sit down with a film and after the credits finally begin to roll you just think to yourself, “WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH?” My Soul to Take might be one of the most embarrassing pieces of shit I have sat down and watch. I would not even bother calling it a film, but completely random scenes where the goal was to see who can fuck the shot up more until the next set piece arrives.  It is no wonder Wes Craven tried everything he could to keep it on the shelves. He would be better off pulling a Polanski and raping a child, it would still look better on his resume than this.

I don’t know what was worse the story or the acting, but I am going to give the young adults a minor break because even a great performance would not save this train wreck. It starts off with an old school slasher style opening. Killer kills, killer dies, years later killer returns to finish what he started. Not very original but that was the least of its problems. Its attempt to build tension and create a mystery on the identity of the killer is a complete joke. Scenes jump back and forth without transition, characters act suspicious for no good reason, and some of the most bizarre back stories are revealed that make no sense to anything in the story. It is just an absolute mess that must have been rewritten at least a dozen times before they said fuck it, let’s just shoot what we got and take our losses now.

Now just because the script was dreadful doesn’t give an excuse for the terrible performances that were given here. The two combined to be so bad, it is as if they were meant to go together. Watching them try and earn sympathy from the audience was a complete misfire that only got a chuckle instead of a sob. When the character needed to be mysterious, they were a retard, and when it calls for heroism, we get cheesy situations. If you are ever unfortunate to see this, just watch the character Alex and make a drinking game out of his pure shittiness. This profession is not for him.

My Soul to Take is so terrible, it made myself go back and actually add it to my worst of 2010 list. Normally I wouldn’t even bother but a film this bad deserves that recognition. It needs to be known that this is an infectious disease that will only steal away minutes from your life. If there is one film you must avoid for the rest of your days, this may be the perfect choice. I am ashamed to admit I watched it.  

Overall Score: 0/10

Bridesmaids (2011)

When Annie is asked to be the maid of honor at her best friend's wedding, she has plenty of reasons to be reluctant. Unfazed, she plunges in anyway, taking her best bud and fellow bridesmaids on a wild trip to Vegas.

I kept hearing that Bridesmaids was essentially a remake of The Hangover but aimed at woman. Watching the trailers, one can make a good comparison of the two, but the two films entirely are two separate films with different intentions. Bridesmaids take the cliché filled romantic comedy genre and adds enough raunchiness to have it being enjoyed by both parties that are in attendance. I’d go so far as to say men will find this better than woman; some of that raunchiness may come to a surprise to them

 The story is broken into two parts, both involving Kristen Wigg. One deals with her being the maid of honor and the duties that come with it and the other involves Wigg stumbling into true love.  The part centered on the pre-wedding festivities is hilarious. The gags and situations that they come up with come off as smart or crude, either way getting a good laugh out of you. It’s awesome to see an actual wedding film that takes some clichés and completely 180’s them into something you just cannot help but laugh at. The other half involving “true love” is the much weaker part, but for the most part it never feels movie fake other than the fact that cops in movies simply do not act like cops in real life, otherwise nobody would ever get a ticket, they’d just get a date. Had this been the central focus on the film, it would have blew but thankfully it played second fiddle to the great stuff.

A film like this needs a selected cass that can make you laugh by working together; they get that here, but never seem to take full advantage of it. Kristen Wigg has a weird sort of comedy. It all seems to always depend on the situation on whether or you laugh. When the joke is right, you’re laughing your ass off at her, but when she misses, you notice that her jokes are always long, so they tend to drag on and make for awkward scenes. With her being the central character and at all, those two situations come and go often. The true star and breakthrough perfmance came from Melissa McCarthy or in easier terms the fat one. She is the female Allen (from Hangover). She makes off the wall comments that are simply dumb enough that you have to find them funny. The thing that is great about her character is they never get lazy and play with her fatness. Those jokes would be too easy and come off boring, instead her character is high in self-confidence and it allows her to thrive. The movie would have been completely average if it were not for her. The other bridesmaids and the bride is where the film does not take advantage of the talent. They were all funny when they were actually given time to talk, but the focused so much time on Wigg, that they probably had 15 minutes of dialogue combined through four people. I laughed every time at their jokes and would have loved to see more of them.

Bridesmaids is being labeled as the one of the only comedies to be aimed at women, but  as I have said before, its jokes seem to be the stuff we see in male comedies only with woman playing the characters. It was a bit weird seeing some the same jokes were accustomed a male saying, but flipping the prospective to the female side and hearing how they say the joke. Bridesmaids is going to be one of the funniest comedies of the year and it would be a shame if the title and box art turned you off because its well worth the watch. The third act drags on a bit and some other parts are slow, but there are still plenty of high moments that make it so fun to watch. The best advice I can give you is to see this and The Hangover 2 back to back in two weeks and make a day out of it. I doubt you could get any better than that.

Overall Score: 7.5/10