Summer 2010 at the Theater

Didn’t get out to the theater much this summer? Well, you didn’t miss much. Here’s the lessons we learned from what was supposed to be the best movie-going season of the year.

Action Without Story Fizzles

Remember Robin Hood? Neither does anyone else. The Russell Crowe vehicle was supposed to be the first big summer blockbuster, but tanked right out of the gate. Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t shake up Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Jonah Hex was cursed. Salt lacked spice. Tom Cruise failed to light up Knight and Day. The A-Team was a B- at best. The Killers didn’t slay. The lesson? You can fling arrows, daggers, bullets, grenades, and guided missiles around all you want, but if you don’t have an interesting story, you don’t have a movie. One movie, Inception, lived up to and transcended its hype. (More on that below.)

Watch This: There were a few bright spots. If you’re looking for an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, check out Iron Man 2, which wasn’t as good as Iron Man, but was at least respectable. The Expendables, also, stood out as a fun ride. It had a shockingly smart script that wasn’t above poking fun at its own genre. That Stallone, he’s still got a few tricks up his sleeve.

Stupid is the New Funny

This summer’s comedies were about grown men acting like morons. Grown Ups, which was very juvenile, was Adam Sandler’s take on being a parent. Steve Carrel starred in Dinner for Schmucks, as the mouse-diorama-building schmuck. And Will Ferrell was a cop you don’t want on your case in The Other Guys. Like a room full of adolescent boys, the comedies also cranked up the raunch. MacGruber, a Saturday Night Live skit turned into a film, barely stayed with the bounds of a R rating. Get Him to the Greek, a hard-R as well, was the funniest of the bunch, if you’re someone who doesn’t mind Judd Apatow-style crass and disgusting comedy. It’s a small crowd.

Watch This: Dinner for Schmucks and The Other Guys are worth a rental. Get Him to The Greek is as well, but be warned, it’s extremely crass and raunchy. Avoid Grown Ups and MacGruber, like you would a guy with a mullet with explosives.

I am Woman, Hear me Whimper

The chick-power flicks of the summer turned out to be sleepy duds. Sex and the City 2 abandoned New York for fashion fabulousness on a camel trek through the Middle East. How weird is that? Eat Pray Love, a Julia Roberts headlined exploration of faith and travel, was more sleep-inducing than Ambien. It was also gratingly self-indulgent. The bright spot? Surprisingly, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse turned out to be more enjoyable than the previous two installments, if you’re into brooding dreamboat vampires.

Watch This: If you’re the Twilight type, you’ve probably already seen Eclipse. If you’re not, you won’t want to. Anyone looking for a strong, vibrant, powerful performance of a young woman should watch Winter’s Bone. Jennifer Lawrence, as a teen trying to find her meth-cooking father, gives the best female performance of the year. By far.

A Candle in the Darkness: Family Films

While other genres were mostly disappointments, family films shone this summer. Sure, The Last Airbender, which looked like a sure thing, was a major disappointment and there was Shrek Forever After and Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. However, most of the genre turned out to be way better than a family film has a right to be. Despicable Me was fun and delightful. Karate Kid, which looked like another tired remake, brought enough freshness and chemistry to the story to make it a very good movie. The book adaptation Ramona and Beezus sparkled. Zac Efron’s Charlie St. Cloud packed a lot into an enjoyable film. The recently released Nanny McPhee Returns offered radiant performances and a touching ending. Of course, the stand out of the summer was the amazing Toy Story 3, which should put Pixar in the running for a Best Picture Oscar again. (More on that below.)

Watch This: Despicable Me, Karate Kid, Ramona and Beezus, Charlie St. Cloud, and Nanny McPhee Returns will all be delightful for the entire family.

The Must-Sees of the Summer

Inception blew audiences away with its incredible imagination, fresh storyline, gravity-redefining action sequences, and underlying mystery. Look for it at the Oscars, unless Christopher Nolan is a victim of anti-populace backlash again. His The Dark Knight was widely anticipated to sweep the Oscars, but wasn’t even nominated, a snub blogged about ‘round the world.

Toy Story 3 upped the Pixar ante by making a funny, fun, marvelous film that turned into an exquisite exploration of the bittersweet transition from child to adult.  You thought Pixar made great films? This one is better. Perhaps an animated film will finally be in contention to win a Best Picture Oscar.

Winter’s Bone, an indie film set in the backwood Ozarks, crackles with determination and menace. Call it an Ozark Western. It will be in the running for Oscars, and Jennifer Lawrence is an early contender for Best Actress.

Get Low, another indie starring Robert Duvall, follows an anti-social hermit as he throws himself a funeral before his death. Again, Oscar buzz is starting for this film.

Those long winter nights are coming. At SixSeeds, we live to serve. So, hopefully you can find a few flicks you may have overlooked to keep you entertained once winter kicks in.