I will tell you this. The best movie I've seen so far this year is Toy Story 3, and the worst movie I've seen is MacGruber. The rest of the movies I've seen this year are as follows (alphabetically):
Get Him to the Greek
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Iron Man 2
Kick-Ass
Shutter Island
Winter's Bone
A limited range of movies that I do not feel much like writing about. Let's just say only one of those movies is really good, two of them are decent, one is fair, and the rest are poor. So instead of focusing on the best so far this year (as there aren't many I have evidence of) I will focus on six movies coming out over the next six months that I really want to see.
Inception
Release Date: July 16th
In a summer filled with sequels and uninspired adaptations, here is what appears to be the only original movie to come out of Hollywood in the summertime. Thank God for Christopher Nolan, who can make almost anything he wants now that the Dark Knight is the third biggest money maker of all time, domestically. Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, and Marion Cotillard all star in this intriguing thriller about dreams, or something. The trailers are intentionally vague, and I refuse to read any reveal about the plot elements. Nolan hasn't made a dud yet, so let's hope he doesn't start here. This movie looks amazing.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Release Date: August 13th
It doesn't look like a masterpiece by any means, but Edgar Wright is a talented director (he helmed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), and this movie looks endlessly inventive. Michael Cera is Scott Pilgrim, in a boy-meets-girl story with a twist: apparently they exist in some video game/comic book universe, because in order to date the girl Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) he must first fight off her seven evil exes. It's a nice set-up, and the film's palate reflects both a comic book and a video game as various actions are accompanied by their verbal form (for example, ding dong). This movie just looks like plain, awesome fun at the end of the summer, and one of only two movies I am actually looking forward to this season. Otherwise, it's the art house for me.
Machete
Release Date: September 3rd
The fake trailer that opened up the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double bill Grindhouse three years ago has actually morphed into a feature film of its own. There is no official trailer, though Rodriguez released another fake trailer on Cinco de Mayo that made the film look like it was about immigration (which it apparently isn't, according to Rodriguez himself). Still, the man can be entertaining when he's not doing Spy Kids sequels or Sharkboy and Lava Girl, and instead focuses on adult-themed movies. Lindsay Lohan is in this, as a nun or something, which is a big what? Overall, though, I will be happy to see this when it comes out.
The Social Network
Release Date: October 1st
A movie about Facebook? No thank you. Oh wait, it's written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, starring Jesse Eisenberg? Sign me up! I don't know much about this film, except that it's about the invention of the revolutionary networking site that this entry will be published on (and you too blogger), and Jesse Eisenberg is giving Michael Cera a run for his money as the uneasy but sympathetic young male. The poster states "You don't get to 500 Million Friends without making a few enemies first," and is about how the creator had a falling out with one of his close friends, played by Andrew Garfield. I'll admit, if anyone less credible was attached I wouldn't be interested, but Fincher can usually produce something interesting.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
Release Date: November 19th
I am a lifelong Potter fan, but the movies have never really done the stories complete justice. Current director David Yates is the oddest choice to take the series into the finishing stretch, but the film has been shot, and we are now getting Part I of two parts. This might become a trendy new way to capitalize on your ending series, as Twilight has now unnecessarily decided to break its final book into two parts, rather then make a three-hour movie. Whatever. Basically the final two movies focus on Harry's journey to find and destroy Horcruxes, which are dark magical objects that Lord Voldemort has hid his soul in to ensure immortality. Hopefully Yates delivers, but we'll see.
True Grit
Release Date: December 25th
The Coen Bros. are hit and miss with me. I love Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and A Serious Man, but could care less for The Big Lebowski (though I want to give that a rewatch) and Burn After Reading. I haven't seen John Wayne's True Grit, though I plan to before this is released. Really, I know nothing about this movie, but it's the Coen Bros., and with them you are always in for an interesting treat. This also marks the fourth movie they've released in four consecutive years, which is quite a feat for anyone. IMDb has three projects in development for them, but no word on if they are taking 2011 off. If they are, they deserve it. Either way, I will be there to see this movie.
