You Don't Know Jack

At some point when I've seen all (or most) of the films from 2010 I will redo my list. Probably around May or June would be my guess. As we shift into another year I can't help but look back and compare this year to others. Some people think it's been a down year, and in some respects it has been. But I look at the top ten and I say it's been a pretty darn good year, especially the top seven. 2009 was an outstanding year with Avatar and 2008 had The Dark Knight . I'm going to squeeze all 50 into one post, to make it easier. Let's take a look back at the 50 best films of 2010. 50. The Runaways Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds, Man on Fire) has never been better and Kristen Stewart (Adventureland, Twilight) is on top of her game. This isn't Walk the Line , but it will suffice. 49. Winnebago Man This is a hilarious documentary. For those of you who're often on YouTube, you can find the Winnebago Man quite simply. He's been proclaimed the worlds angri

A bunch of these films I have yet to see, most of which I will never see. I'm not one to see animated films anymore since I'm 23 years old. Even the "good" animated films like Up I find unfunny and easy. I will give a comment for each film I've seen and a few others. These rankings will change a little bit with films still being released, but now is as good a time as ever to do this. 1. Toy Story 3 I will probably give this one a try because everyone loves it so much. I saw the first two when I was young and enjoyed them, but I'm a lot older now. 2. Alice in Wonderland (F) I don't quite get the appeal of this type of film. It's targeted for adults because of the subject matter, but kids flocked to see it because of the PG rating. 3. Iron Man 2 (C) A brutal, embarassing sequel. I guarantee the third chapter will be better. 4. Eclipse The first one was average. The second one was terrible. So I gave up. 5. Inception (A) One of the two best films of 2010

I made sure to not watch as many bad movies this year. I was successful, I think. There's a big difference between "bad" movies that are kind of funny and the "horrible" films that make you want to die. A few of these films have one or two good scenes, but the rest is yuck. Let's start it off! 10. Unthinkable Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Deep Blue Sea) plays the same old brain-dead character that yells the entire film. The special effects are laughable and the dialogue isn't believable. It's a shame because Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Damned United) actually gives a decent performance. 9. Clash of the Titans Brutally disappointing remake. Everything about this film makes me angry. A sequel is in the works and the director says it's going to be much better...doubtful. 8. Jonah Hex Some graphic comics just simply don't need to be made into motion pictures. This is one of those comics. Megan Fox (Transformers, Jennifer's Body) is ter

I'm now going to list the top films in each genre. Some genres will have more films than others. Bottom line is that I've seen dozens more comedies and dramas compared to horrors and foreign films. Comedy 1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 2. Hot Tub Time Machine 3. Easy A 4. The Other Guys 5. Date Night 6. Youth in Revolt 7. Get Him to the Greek 8. Jackass 3D 9. She's Out of My League 10. Due Date Independent 1. City Island 2. Solitary Man 3. The Extra Man 4. Defendor 5. Frozen 6. Breaking Upwards 7. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done 8. The Exploding Girl 9. Leaves of Grass 10. The Dry Land Drama 1. The Social Network 2. The Kids Are All Right 3. Holy Rollers 4. Please Give 5. Temple Grandin 6. The Killer Inside Me 7. Winter's Bone 8. Greenberg Thriller 1. Inception 2. Shutter Island 3. The Town 4. Edge of Darkness 5. The Square 6. The Ghost Writer Foreign 1. A Prophet 2. The Secret in Their Eyes 3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4. Mother 5. Red Riding: In the Year of Ou

Now, this is quite different from my overrated post from a few days ago. Regardless of how these films were reviewed by critics, I (emphasis on the I) was disappointed by these ten films. The majority of these films had either good casts or good directors, but didn't pan out. Three of the films I mildly enjoyed, but the rest I basically hated. If you haven't seen these movies then I suggest you keep your distance. 10. Robin Hood (C) I wasn't expecting this to be epic, but I think we all expected more from Ridley Scott (Gladiator, American Gangster) and Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind, The Insider). While it isn't terrible, it's just so mediocre and so different (in a bad way) then any other Robin Hood tale. 9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (D+) I knew this wasn't going to be one of the better films of 2010, but the original had so much to improve on. Unfortunately, it's basically a rip-off with slightly better graphics but less thrills. Jackie Earle Haley (Wa

I will now list the twenty best films that no one saw in 2010. None of these films hit a wide audience. Although nobody saw Let Me In or The Ghost Writer , they did hit a large amount of theaters. This list will include a good mix of independent and foreign films, as well as documentaries. Enjoy, and please give these a try! 20. Best Worst Movie (Directed by Michael Stephenson) This is a documentary that gathers the cast from the "the worst film of all-time," Troll 2 . It's simply amazing how bad and confusing that film is. People have since embraced the terrible, yet hilarious film. 19. Greenberg (Noah Baumbach) It's hard to rank Baumbach's (The Squid and the Whale) films because they're all so different, yet similar in a few aspects. Ben Stiller shows us a side we haven't really seen before, and I give his performance two thumbs up. 18. Solitary Man (Brian Koppelman) This film features one of Michael Douglas' best performances to date. His charac

I'm going to be doing a lot of end of the year lists, and I will try to keep them all interesting. This time around I will be listing the five most overrated and underrated films of 2010. For a film to be underrated, it must be certified "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes. For a film to be overrated, it must be certified "fresh." There are obviously dozens of films I haven't seen yet, but I've seen practically every film released through July. As well as, mostly every film worth watching released after July. I will start off with the overrated films. Overrated: 5. Paranormal Activity 2 (C-) This wasn't a terrible horror film, it was just a huge letdown for me. It's practically a rip-off of the original, with a dog that barks for half the film and a baby. 4. Daybreakers (D+) The final scene in this film is one of the most idiotic scenes of all-time. Basically, a bunch of Vampires eat and rape each other in a blood orgy. 3. Iron Man 2 (C) While Downey

I've decided to list which actors/actresses had the best year, that was 2010. We will start off with the top ten females of 2010, then move onto the males. To qualify, each actor must appear in at least one film. Being in two or two doesn't hurt. Box office success accounted for only a small percentage. Let's get it started! 10. Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism) We shall see if her role in The Last Exorcism , 2010's third best horror film behind Let Me In and The Crazies , will get her bigger and better roles. In many ways she outdid Linda Blair (The Exorcist). 9. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) Her Golden Globe nominated role in Winter's Bone has already got her two major roles in 2011 (The Beaver, X-Men: First Class). She has a long career ahead of her. 8. Gemma Arterton (The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Tamara Drewe) Gemma had a huge blockbuster year. Her movies didn't really get critical pra

10. The Thing (10/14) - Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. Starring Joel Edgerton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. A remake of one of the best horror films ever made sounds good to me. Joel Edgerton (The Square) is a guy who will have a breakout year in 2011, I guarantee you that. I really hope this film isn't a letdown. 9. The Tree of Life (5/27) - Directed by Terrence Malick. Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn. This film looks intense. Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds, Fight Club) is a beast of an actor, and he looks rather intimidating in the first trailer. Sean Penn (21 Grams, Milk) chooses his roles wisely, so you know this movie is going to be great. 8. Your Highness (4/8) - Directed by David Gordon Green. Starring James Franco, Danny McBride. Green (Pineapple Express) is hooking up again with Franco (Howl, 127 Hours). That is good news! The trailer looks hil-ar-ious. Can't wait! 7. Battle: Los Angeles (3/11) - Directed by Jonathan Liebesman. Starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle

30. Restless (3/11) - Directed by Gus Van Sant. Starring Mia Wasikowska, Jane Adams. Van Sant's (Elephant, Good Will Hunting) films are always interesting and Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right) is quickly becoming a star. The trailer is intriguing enough. 29. Immortals (11/11) - Directed by Tarsem Singh. Starring Mickey Rourke, John Hurt. Rourke (The Wrestler, Domino) is a must-see as of late. Even though this director is rather inexperienced, he's done some interesting work. This film could be what Clash of the Titans should've been. It does have a similar premise. 28. X-Men: First Class (6/3) - Directed by Matthew Vaughn. Starring James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence. The first X-Men film was fantastic. Then, one by one, the next three got worse and worse. What makes this one different? Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass), it's that simple. And the cast looks great. 27. Thor (5/6) - Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman. I

50. Red State - Directed by Kevin Smith. Starring John Goodman, Melissa Leo. Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) has been talking about making a horror film for four plus years. Time will tell whether or not it happens in 2011, but he says it will. A strong cast and a good directer is enough to intrigue me. 49. Limitless (3/18) - Directed by Neil Burger. Starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro. Apparently the screenplay was to die for, so that's what drew me in. I'm not a huge Cooper (The Hangover, Case 39) fan, but having De Niro (Little Fockers, Righteous Kill) on board is never a bad thing. 48. Live With It - Directed by Jonathan Levine. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anna Kendrick. If you read the plot line for this film you would probably think..."wait, wasn't Funny People already made?" Well, apparently (despite an eerily similar plot) this film is quite different. It's going to be much more serious and will boast a killer cast. A premiere date has yet to be

Awards season is finally upon us. First up is the Golden Globe nominations. The winners will be announced on Sunday, January 16th. I will put my guesses in bold lettering, and I will put two asterisks by my votes. On a side note, I'm not going to get into all the television awards. Those are meaningless to me. Here they are: Best Motion Picture - Drama: Black Swan The Fighter Inception ** The King's Speech The Social Network Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Alice in Wonderland Burlesque The Kids Are All Right ** Red The Tourist Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)** Colin Firth (The King's Speech) James Franco (127 Hours) Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine) Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter) Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Halle Berry (Frankie and Alice) Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) Natalie Portman (Black Swan)** Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) Best Perfo

I really want to get caught up on my DVD reviews, but I simply don't have the time. So, I've decided to keep it simple and write a paragraph on each film. I will give the title, the year it was released in the U.S., the rating and the director of each film. I will follow that with a few thoughts on the film and a final grade. I will certainly let you know if you should see it, or skip it. If you wish to know more on a film, please comment and I can elaborate. I've seen a bunch more movies over the last three months, but I've decided to keep it fresh with films from the last two years (with one exception). I'll start with the films I've seen most recently and go from there. As I've stated before, it's been a rough month and a half for films. October was a very good month with The Social Network, Let Me In and Jackass 3D , but November has been a snoozer. December should be better with the releases of True Grit, TRON: Legacy, Little Fockers, Black Swan a

10. The X-Files ('93-'02) Mulder and Scully were my heroes in the 90's. Every single episode is either enjoyable, creepy, scary, funny, weird or fresh. The first X-Files film was awesome of course, but the second one was actually quite bad. We shall see if a third film gets made, but I think they should leave it at that. David Duchovny (The Joneses, Evolution) is always a treat to watch on screen. 9. Big Brother ('00-Present) I may be in the minority amongst my peers, but A LOT of people watch this show. It's good old fashioned summer fun. Three episodes a week? You can't beat that! It doesn't try to be something it's not like Survivor does. It's sheer raw emotion. There's always a small group of people who you can root for, as well as some people you absolutely despise. It's amazing to see just how crazy people can be. I'm talking seemingly normal people, not crazies from Jersey Shore or Real Housewives and all that crap. 8. Reno 91

20. Community ('09-Present) Thursday's are one of my favorite nights for television because of NBC's Community and The Office . It didn't take long for me to get hooked on this show. Chevy Chase (Fletch, Caddyshack), Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Role Models) and Joel McHale (The Soup, The Informant!) first attracted me to the show. But the whole cast (minus Yvette Nicole Brown) is quite good. If you've ever spent time at a Community College, you should love this show. 19. Freaks and Geeks ('99-'00) This show vaulted so many careers. Seth Rogen, James Franco, Peter Segel and Martin Starr all got their start on this show. Also, Judd Apatow, Jake Kasdan and Mike White directed/wrote a lot of episodes. America just wasn't ready for this show yet. Although I can't relate to many of the characters, I know a lot of people who can. You've seen episodes of this show, even if you don't remember. 18. Hung ('09-Present) This show rules. HBO continues to

30. Space Ghost Coast to Coast ('93-'99, '01, '03-'04) This was one of the first Adult Swim shows I began watching. An animated Space Ghost would interview real celebrities from a strange planet. His sidekicks Moltar and Brak would add fuel to the fire. Space Ghost did interviews with the likes of Jim Carrey, Weird Al, Willie Nelson and Bill Shatner to name a few. 29. Tosh.0 ('09-Present) This is one of my favorite new shows. It airs quite often on Comedy Central, and Daniel Tosh is hilarious. It's basically just like The Soup with Joel McHale, but way dirtier and funnier. You won't ever need to go on YouTube ever again. 28. Jackass ('00-'02) Jackass only lasted three seasons, which is hard to believe. Although their episodes aren't usually as funny as their films, they're still worth watching. Still one of the best MTV shows ever made. We shall see if a fourth film will ever be made. 27. SpongeBob SquarePants ('99-Present) To b

For what it's worth, this is officially the third Predator chapter. The original Predator (starring Arnie) was fresh, fun and action-packed. Predator 2 was a much different film, set in a big city. It wasn't great by any means, but Danny Glover (Saw, Lethal Weapon) helped it along. The two Aliens vs. Predators are not considered sequels. The first AVP was scary bad, so I didn't dare go near the second film. I had high hopes for this film for some reason. Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Machete) produced it and Adrien Brody (Splice, The Darjeeling Limited) stars in it. Sounded like a winning combination. It took me about a minute to realize this film was going to be disappointing. Director Nimrod Antal (Armored, Vacancy) is fairly new to film-making, and it shows. His two previous films are at least somewhat suspenseful. This film is anti-climatic and predictable. The film begins with Royce (Brody) waking up as he is falling through the air. It takes him a minute to grasp t

Sincere apologies for the lack of reviews as of late. I have recently found a job and that takes away most of my energy. I promise that I will continue the blog, but there will be days that I am unable to access my Blog, unfortunately. Films that I see in theaters will be reviewed as fast as possible, but I'm backed up on DVD reviews. I'll pick and choose which films I'll share with everyone. Tuesday and Thursday are my upcoming days off, so I will try my best to get caught up. Reviews often take over an hour to write, not to mention the rest of the features on the site. If you would like to help out, please click on the advertisements. I earn a small amount of money for each click. Every little bit helps. Thanks for tuning in, and please feel free to comment on each review/list. Comments let me know that people are out there reading this, and that motivates me to continue to do what I love. Love, Jack Ryan P.S. I have been listing my favorite television shows of all-time.

10. Sam Mendes Mendes won an Oscar for his first film, American Beauty . He has made five films to date, and they're all very good. Jarhead was one of the most underrated films of the decade. Revolutionary Road stars DiCaprio and Winslet; which is a golden recipe. His most recent film, 2009's Away We Go starring John Krasinski, is quirky and touching. -American Beauty -Revolutionary Road -Jarhead 9. Wes Anderson All six of Anderson's films are different, fun, interesting and good. Wes introduced us to Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and Jason Schwartzman. The Darjeeling Limited is one of my favorite films of all-time. I've never seen anything quite like it. His films aren't for everyone. I haven't met too many people that have actually seen a Wes Anderson film. -The Darjeeling Limited -Rushmore -The Royal Tenenbaums 8. David Fincher Fincher's first film, Alien 3 , was a fail. But he didn't write the awful script, and there was a lot to admire in that film. H