Where the hell have I been?!?!

Ok, ok, ok.  I admit it, I've been slacking...ok?  I've seen a whole ton of movies over the summer and now into the start of fall and I haven't written a damn thing since Iron Man 2?!?!  I mean, what the hell, right?  For all 4 of you dedicated readers out there you have my sincerest apologies.  I'm going to try and get back on the horse and ride again (or something like that....)


In truth, I was feeling a little bit like this was a pointless adventure.  With so many reviews and critiques out there I don't see how adding my voice to the din is helpful or necessary.  But you know what?  Screw it.  I like talking about movies, and if some of you want to hear what I've got to say, then all the better.


Now comes the tricky part, how do I proceed from here?  I guess it would make the most sense to just skip the summer altogether as most of the movies I would choose to write about are already out of the theaters and on their way to being pressed onto blank DVDs for arrival at your local Best Buy store over the next few months.  Here's what I will say about this summer, and then I will move on to reviewing a couple of flicks I've seen lately (a few of which aren't even playing yet in your neighborhood!!)


This summer was pretty lackluster on the whole for me.  As I think back on it, only a couple of movies really jump out at me as being memorable.  What were they?  I thought you'd never ask....

For me this summer ultimately came down to 2 movies.  First, Christopher Nolan's Inception was an amazing spectacle for reasons so numerous that there isn't a point in trying to go into all of it here.  Suffice to say it's a mind bending film that takes chances like no other major Hollywood release in recent memory and pulls most of them off skillfully.  It leaves you walking away from the theater scratching your head and wondering about all the various possibilities the story puts forward.  While the characters aren't exceptionally engaging, it's the ideas behind the story being told that are the characters to watch for and listen to.  As soon as this final credits rolled I wanted to watch it again, and I did about 5 days later.  Great performances, fantastic action sequences (The fight scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the hotel hallway is unbelievable) and a hell of a premise make this the most memorable movie of the summer for me.

The other most memorable title of the summer?  Easy.  Pixar scored another home-run with their send off of Woody, Buzz and the gang in Toy Story 3.  There isn't a single wrong note in the entire film, it honors everything that has come before it, and leaves you smiling and a bit teary eyed at the conclusion.  It's a sweet film that has tension, heart, and a lot of laughs.  How Pixar continues to nail each and everything they put out there is something that boggles the mind quite honestly.  (I'm a bit concerned about Cars 2 next summer....but here's hoping!)  This is supposed to be the final movie in the Toy Story saga and it couldn't end on a better note.  I truly hope that no one at Pixar or Disney have the idea of trying to revisit this franchise in a couple of years because I don't know what more there is to tell about these characters.  It's great for young and old alike and lets you walk away from the characters knowing they're in good hands.  If you didn't see it this summer (shame on you) you might be able to find it at a $1 movie theatre near by.  Otherwise you'll probably have to wait till the holiday season to catch it when it finally hits DVD racks.


Honorable mentions for the summer?  Despicable Me  had a ton of heart, Splice was uncomfortably creepy, The Switch was hurt by bad promo.  Was ultimately more drama than comedy, and was a decent enough film with a great child actor as the focus.