MOVIE REVIEW - The Rite

The dead of winter generally is movie purgatory. A virtual no mans land where far below than average movies show up in new release form. But alas, The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins is here to help dispel that theory.

The Rite is said to be inspired by real events of a few years ago. It's the latest in a line of demonic possession movies. And for a change this subject is approached and portrayed in a fashion that is a a bit more tolerable than normal.

The Rite is about a young man who is studying to be a priest. At the end of his theological education, he decides that the priesthood is not for him and he leaves the order. He is then convinced by his teachers to go to the Vatican and study the newly instated course on exorcism There, he is in contact with an aging priest, (Hopkins) who is well versed on the ancient rite, and he comes face to face with demons. Both in forms of possession of others, and his own personal ones. Will this experience convince him the order is for him? Or is he a young man craving faith, but not able to accept it?

This movie is certainly compelling, and scary. This is a tough subject to tackle as a movie maker. Not simply because of the touchy subject matter, but the challenge is try to do it in a way that hasn't been done before, or doesn't look silly and special effect laden. This story is told in a straight forward, and easy to follow fashion. Very exciting at times, riveting too. I was enthralled by the direction this movie took, and found myself unable to figure out the eventual end. For the most part this is pretty darn good. And Hopkins is very, very good.

As word of extreme caution. This movie is laden with numerous scenes of extreme demonic possession. If you are uncomfortable at all with this, steer clear. Although these scenes are done very well, they could still be difficult for many and just flat out not some people's cup of tea.

The Rite. For what it is, well done and thought provoking. Hopkins is at his best.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Mechanic

Action star Jason Stratham is back in another shoot-em-up modern day action flick, The Mechanic.

In this movie the term "mechanic" is referring to a hit man. Stratham plays Bishop, who secretly woks for a company that pays him big dollars to kill various types of people that the company's clients request and pay for. He does it with skill and precision, and usually very discreetly. After power struggle within the top level of his employer, he is forced to kill his mentor and boss. Afterwards feeling remorse, he takes in his dead bosses young adult son, who wants to get into the killing business too, (for some reason, never completely made clear.)

Doesn't all this sound so lovely? Well that's a Stratham movie. He generally plays the same kind of character. The lone wolf, never smiling, always glum, trained killer of some kind. And for him this is working. He always seems to find an audience and a following. This of course is nothing new, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Steven Seagal before him, Sly Stallone too. Lots of creative, and not so creative ways to kill people and tons of things blowing up, and even more gratuitous violence. That's just the formula that has worked for years, and will work long after Stratham ages out, and someone else takes his place.

This is not a bad movie. It's not a good movie. It's just a movie.....and for me that's the sign of the fact that I may have just wasted my time, and you may feel that way too. Granted, Stratham is who he is, and you're not expecting miracles here, but I think you are entitled to see something new, something exciting, and maybe something you have not seen before a hundred times. At the very least a signature scene that you can take with you to work and talk to your buddies about. But nothing new happens here at all. It's a video game come to life.

The Mechanic. Not bad, not good, not anything. For an action based, blow-em-up movie it just kind of lays there. Netflix in 90 days at best.

Oscar Preview

This week the Academy Awards nominations were announced. A few surprises. We'll get to those in a minute.

But the big news is twelve nods for The Kings Speech, True Grit gets 10 and the big winner at the Golden Globes, The Social Network gets 8. Let's look a the major categories and I'll give you my picks for the years best.

Best Picture

True Grit -Fantastic job by the Coen Brothers casting and adapting this movie for a 21st century
fan base. This is great movie making in every regard. The King's Speech is a close
second. The Fighter is also terrific. Best three of the year.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges - True Grit. He is simply Hollywood's best actor these days. This is not the
Slam dunk best performance like his last years Crazy Heart. But he is great as
Rooster Cogburn. Think winning back-to-back is deserved.

Best Actress

Natalie Portman - Black Swan. There's a lot of momentum for Annette Benning to win
this year. But in fairness, Portman is the years best in this category by far.

Best Supporting Actor

Geoffery Rush - The King's Speech. Fantastic as King George's speech tutor. For me, this is
the runaway performance in a category this year. Simply great.

Best Supporting Actress

Hailee Stienfeld - True Grit. It's very difficult for a 13 year old to star in a movie with Jeff
Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and look like you actually belong there.
She does. This in one of the best child performances in cinema in a long time.
Plus, this is her first role. Amazing.

And as far as the big Oscar surprise was?

Biggest Oscar Snub

Justin Timberlake - The Social Network. His supporting role in this movie was the best
thing in it, and not by a little. Certainly should have had a nomination.

The Academy Awards are handed out February 27.

Feel free to e-mail me with you thoughts at scott@wqmx.com

MOVIE REVIEW - No Strings Attached

He are clearly in the depths of slow movie season, and the new movie No Strings Attached is more proof positive of that fact.

NSA stars Natalie Portman, and Ashton Kutcher in that story of a young woman Emma (Portman) a medical student who is pressed for time. She meets Adam, (Kutcher) who is just this dude with a so-so job who has all the time on earth. The basic premise of this romantic comedy is, Emma just wants Adam to be her sex partner only. They together come to this agreement that he is to meet her any place, any time she wants to end up in bed with her. And the whole thing is there will be no strings attached. Emma is very emotionally non connected with the whole relationship thing. But can this kind of thing be sustained?

First off, this basic story is so uninteresting it's almost pathetic. But be that as it may, that's what we've got here. This is so predictable, you already know the end at the beginning. You care so little about these two especially in the first hour, you wish this thing would just limp to the finish so we can go get coffee. This ridiculous story does improve as it goes on, but can't shake off that damage that has been already done.

On another point, this movie is so incredibly immature. Line after line of locker room dialogue, from all characters. Written again by a generation that thinks that the more references to body parts is actually funny for us to watch. And I unerstand there is a sect out there that thinks that is really funny stuff. They ask Portman to do physical comedy at times, and let's hope we don't have to see that again. And Kutcher is the exact same dude in every movie. He is among the least versatile actors out there today. And this whole movie with Portman, after her stellar performance in a real movie, Black Swan is nothing short of career self sabotage. I know, check her bank account. But there is a credibility factor. I would like to think that some of these guys do care about how they will go down in history, but maybe not.

One thing more to observe. For a lot of this movie, most of our young characters are terribly drunk, smoking weed with their dads, trolling for anyone to have sex with, and are projecting an attitude that all of this is just the way it is. Keep in mind our characters are way more 30 than 20 in this flick. Sad state. This is the killer. You just don't really care about this bunch. And that is the key to a romantic comedy. You have to like, care for and be pulling for the principles to have an interesting outcome. Here, you just are hoping that they grow up to sophomoric.

No Strings Attached. If you must. Netflix in 90 days.

Hollywoods Best Actor

Lots of actors have their great run. The few years when they are not just doing good work, but the best work of their already great careers.

I can think of Tom Hanks in the 1990's. Oscars for Forest Gump, and Philadelphia. Great performances too in Sleepless In Seattle, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and The Green Mile. George C. Scott with Oscars in Patton and Hospital. And the list goes on. But is there anyone in Hollywood on this kind of roll right now. Yes.

Jeff Bridges is right now, Hollywood's single best actor. Now a bunch of this has to be attributed to the wonderful roles he's gotten the past two years, but everyone on our list was the beneficiary of the same fate. Once you land the role, you then have to make the best of the rarest of opportunities. Bridges has cashed in in 2009 and 2010.

Son of veteran actor, the late Lloyd Bridges, Jeff and brother Beau both took off on a nice career path early in their young lives. Jeff has been making movies for almost 40 years. There have been numerous Oscar nominations, and finally a win last year for Crazy Heart. Bridges has also made his share of dogs too. Who can forget King Kong 1975. One of the real disasters of the decade.

Bridges in Crazy Heart last year, was the runaway single best performance in any movie by any actor in 2009. He played Bad Blake in a fictional story of a down and out country singer who was a serious drunk. But no matter now far down he falls, the music is still in him. Bridges is so believable you forget he's really not Bad Blake. Bridges does his own singing of some fantastic T Bone Burnett songs, and that is the separator. This is one of the most compelling performances in many years. Simply great!

Let's flash forward to this year. Bridges cast as the iconic U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn in the Coen Brothers stellar western True Grit is amazing again. Cogburn is the only role John Wayne ever won an Oscar for the 1969 original. The challenge here, make viewers not see Wayne. Mission accomplished. Wayne was playing Cogburn. Bridges is Cogburn. A coveted role, that is Oscar worthy again. He is simply terrific playing a character I'm sure many would have loved to play. Funny too, in the last two years seems the worse he looks on camera, the better he is.

If you have not seen Crazy Heart, rent it, and watch one of the greats be great. See how an Oscar is won. Same for True Grit, get to the theater and see it on the big screen. The jury is still out as to whether he will repeat or not, and I'm hoping he does. Huge roles, huge performances.

Jeff Bridges. Right now, Hollywood's best actor.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Green Hornet

Seth Rogan produces and stars in the new action flick, The Green Hornet this week.

After on hour and forty-eight minutes, I was walking out of the theater literally talking to myself saying, "Sheesh, hope we don't have to go through that again!" Good gravy man, are we really out of ideas to the degree that we have to go see Seth Rogan as a supposed superhero?

TGH is based of course on the 1960's TV show of the same name. A young son of a media tycoon has to take over the newspaper that his father founded after his untimely death. Trouble is, all Britt (Rogan) wants to do is party and womanize. Britt then meets Kato. Kato was his fathers most trusted employee. Kato is also a mechanical genius who invents amazing gadgets, and he is a martial arts expert. This role is what made the late Bruce Lee a star at the time.

Together Britt and Kato somehow decide to become crime fighters under the name of The Green Hornet, and his side nameless side kick. The rouse is, they operate under the assumption that they are the bad guys, so they can infiltrate the gangs on the street. OK, I've spent enough time on the basic premise of this thing, let's get on with some serious wood-shedding.

Where to begin. Rogan is terribly cast. The script is so juvenile it seems to be targeting 14 year old boys. The story is... well lousy, and it is so busy trying so hard to be so many different things it's just a mess. It's trying to be funny, charming, exciting, suspenseful and ten other things, and it ends up being none of them. Lots of good people in this movie too. Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as the villain, and Cameron Diaz as Lenore, Britt's secretary. By they way, Diaz looks fifteen years older than Rogan here, and that really falls flat. I don't think she's supposed to be. Bad casting again, not her fault.

Tons of action, in fact way too much...very fatiguing. Silly punchlines and just a big bag of mess here. This idea is really not very good, and Rogan who can do really funny work at times, is hopeless to pull this off in his own movie.

The Green Hornet. Hoping against hope I fear. Hoping for one and done.

A Quote To Remember

Earlier today, my partner Sue Wilson was checking her e-mail. She showed a message that a listener had sent to us regarding our Quote Of The Day feature we air every day at 6:45 on our show on WQMX. The quote hit him deep in the heart as he had made the very tough decision to put down his dog that he loved endlessly, who was suffering so.

The note was extremely eloquent and heartfelt. He went on to say the quote was his beloved pooch sending him words of comfort through our show. Sue and I were both very moved. Both by the note, and by the fact that someone would take the time to sit down and send us such a powerful letter thanking us, at a time when he needed comfort. Humbling to say the least. But Sue and I are both "dog" people and we really took it to heart. I can not thank him enough for sending that note in.

After I left the office it got me thinking of a day I have not really thought of in a decade or two. The one and only day, I too had to make the same decision our listener friend did. My dogs name was Taffy. Taffy was originally my brothers dog, and after he left for college, Taffy became my dog. Taffy was a border collie. Taffy and I were both children together doing child-like things. We had a huge backyard and we'd play for hours on end. Taffy had a good life, she was a part of everything we did as a family. Even after an accident where she lost a front leg, Taffy lived the second half of her life with three, but was just as wonderful as the first half.

Years later on a late Friday afternoon, I came home to find Taffy in a chronic seizure state in the bushes. It was clear that Taffy was in serious peril and suffering terribly. And because neither one of us were children anymore, I knew that this was the day I always knew would come, and always hoped wouldn't. It was dinner time and the vets were closed, and I was alone for the night with almost no money. I called my friend Joe. I was about 18 or so, and I was crying, watching Taffy suffer so. I explained my situation to my friend. And somehow we found a vet that was willing to wait for us.

This was about a year or so after my father died, and I was still struggling mightily with death and dying. I was not afraid, I do remember that, but I was sad, simply sad. As Joe drove Taffy and I to the vet, the drive of a couple miles seemed so long. The whole thing is still so fuzzy to me. I remember the faces of the office staff as I carried Taffy in. They were very nice to me, and assured me all would be alright. And then, slow motion.....that's all I remember.

Days later I was told that Joe's mom and dad had stepped in and paid the vet to end Taffy's suffering. I don't think it was considered a whole lot of money even then, but it was to me, and I didn't have it. I said I would pay it back, and they lovingly said, no thank you. To this day I still owe them the money, but I owe them much, much more. I think to be honest, it's maybe the best money ever spent on me. It certainly still stirs me when I think of it. Every time I see Barb and Paul, it's the first thing I think of. The huge act of kindness shown to a high school boy at a time Taffy needed a hero.

In my life I think it was landmark day. I loved Taffy more that day than any other. Her final day. And that day she loved me same. And the love shown to me that day by my friend and his family has always been close to my heart, even on most days when I keep that memory far from my mind.

Bless you our listener friend. Bless you and the walk you had to take. It may feel like a walk taken alone, but you're not alone...not alone.....

Oh, and the Quote Of The Day? "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" - Dr. Seuss.

GRRR.. To The Golden Globes

The Golden Globe Awards were given out last night.

There are so many categories and so much of the ancillary stuff going on it's tough to focus on one aspect of the show. But for this article, let's look at the movies. The Social Network won 4 last night, and to be honest, I feel the GG's really blew it. The Social Network wins for best drama, screenplay, director and musical score. Simply a travesty. We can only hope this is not the usual precursor for the Oscars which will be handed out next month.

Don't get me wrong, The Social Network is a nice movie. Certainly a top ten or fifteen of the year flick, but the best movie of this year? Or any year? Man, everyone should've taken a deep breath and gotten a hold of themselves. And think that the award is forever. Not just for today.

The Social Network is the story of the advent of Facebook and it's founder Mark Zuckerberg, and did he rip the idea off? To be honest, the story in itself is somewhat interesting, but not sit on the edge of your seat compelling. It's a good script, that is performed by the principle actors well. There is a nice soundtrack too. But this is just a movie. - Period! This is not a great story. This is not courageous, original or groundbreaking movie making. There is nothing that separates this movie from 20 others this year. And it certainly is not in the class of The King's Speech, True Grit, The Fighter, Black Swan or many other fine movies from 2010.

Strange too, the best part of The Social Network is Justin Timberlake's supporting performance. Easily the best thing in the movie. And he sat it out last night. This is a shame. This movie is a good example of many people thinking that a movie is really better that it is. I like Facebook as much as anyone, and I am thrilled that it's owner and founder is giving billions away to charity and needy organizations. But this is about the movie. And it's just not there. Hopefully the Oscars will get it right. Last year, I had such little faith in them, but they came through with The Hurt Locker coming out on top of a great list. I, and the rest of the world was betting on Avatar. That too would have been a shame. The Hurt Locker will still be compelling, stirring movie making in 20 years, Avatar will not. And The Social Network certainly will not.

The Social Network is simply a good movie for this year. A look back in 10 years, and the honoring of this movie will look trendy, and poorly thought out, or better yet not though out at all.

MOVIE REVIEW - Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is in limited release, and is in some local theaters this weekend.

There is a whole lot of critical buzz about Blue Valentine, and that combined with limited release can set off a few alarms with some movie goers. BV is a very real, very powerful movie that attacks many hard to watch issues head on. And right up front is not for the casual movie goer. BV in short, is the story of a young married, very blue collar young couple with a little girl. Their marriage is on the rocks, as they have grown apart over the years. He is a hard drinking commercial painter. She is a nurse, who seems to be the only relatively mature person in the family.

It's the story of love gone wrong, and losing the keys to each other that can, and does happen to many couples. They head off on a getaway weekend to a cheesy hotel for a weekend of lovemaking in hopes of rekindling their relationship. At least he does. She is done, and wants no part of any sex or lovemaking, and he has no clue about women. The ill-fated weekend comes to an quick end, as she is called into work. It all works up to them deciding if they want to stay together or not. This is hard, potentially depressing movie making, that looks very honestly at love going wrong.

The movie is told in flashback form too as they weave in and out of today, and yesterday at the beginning of their dating. To a better time, and when they found the keys to unlock each others hearts. It shows how much in love they once were, and then how far they have fallen. Very emotional and powerful stuff, hard to watch sometimes. There are some genius moments in this movie. A scene from their dating, when he plays the ukulele and sings with "You Always Hurt The One You Love" (poorly I might add) while she dances for him equally as poorly in a storefront in the city, is absolute magic. You can feel the love, the whole range of emotions of early dating. It is one of the best movie scenes of the year. This moment and few others are fantastic.

This movie stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and they basically are the only real characters. BV is harsh at times, violent at times, and there is a ton of nudity, and very uncomfortable sex scenes throughout. This is not a beautiful love story, but one that is about love on the way out. This move is not for everyone. This is a rated R movie and it is every bit of it. This is deep, emotive movie making that will not register with many. But if you're willing to go to down the road with them, it is a very powerful experience. BV is not the reason many go to the movies, but if you are a real movie fan, this might be for you.

Blue Valentine. Limited appeal, and limited audience. But for what it is, very well done.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Dilemma

There's a bunch of really good people tangled up with The Dilemma new this week, so what happened?

The new Ronnie Howard directed, sort of comedy has a big cast. Vince Vaughn, Keven James, Jennifer Connolly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah. Sounds like it should be a winner, but a funny thing happens on the way to the theater. If you've seen the trailer for this movie, don't be fooled. The actual movie is very different from the package you were sold before hand.

Meet Ronny (Vaughn) and Nick (James). They are business partners and best friends since college. Their small business is on the verge of blossoming, when a huge problem comes up. Ronny accidentally sees Nick's wife Geneva (Ryder) fooling around with another man, Zip (Tatum). So the dilemma is, what does Ronny do with this information? Does he tell Nick or his girlfriend Beth (Connolly)? Or does he simply turn the other cheek and let well enough alone? Lots of side plots too, but that in short is The Dilemma.

Well if you're thinking you're going to see a crazy, screw-ball comedy with James and Vaughn doing what they do, you would be wrong. Oh, there is some predictable silliness that these two do, but as this movie moves on, it becomes increasingly dark. Yes, dark. And to be square, all the supposed comedy that was the first 30 minutes is long gone, and The Dilemma becomes some kind of dark comedy that is trying to be some kind of male feelings, male bonding,coming of age movie that really falls flat on it's face.

The Dilemma could have been much better under different circumstances. If this had a rewrite with some of ancillary plot lines and characters erased. And if this had much more of an Indy film feel with little known actors, and if it kept it's eye squarely in it's original mission, this could have been far more compelling. Instead, it will come on as a tremendous thud for the core fans of these two comedians who will without question walk out wondering what just happened to their money and the lost two hours on a weekend night. Word of honest warning again. This is not the comedy you think t is going in.

The Dilemma. This movie is what it is. This will more than likely leave way more people way more disappointed than glad they went. Not just because it's not really funny, but many will feel duped.

MOVIE REVIEW - Season Of The Witch

Here we go again. Back down a road traveled hundreds of times before in story.

Season Of The Witch stars Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman in a story that takes place in the 1300's about witchcraft and demonic possession. I think this is supposed to be exciting. It's not. I also think this is supposed to be scary. It's not. And most of all I think this is supposed to be entertaining. It certainly is not.

Nic and Ron play these two knights that desert the order and break out on their own after having a falling out with the church they are sworn to defend. They are ordered to kill anyone not in perfect belief with the church, and after a slaughter of women and children, they leave. They find themselves arrested a month later in a village that makes them for deserters. They are granted freedom if they do one more task for the church. That is to transfer a young girl suspected of begin a witch that has spread plague on the country. She is to be tried in another village by those ordained to do so. The journey of course is dangerous and what will they find once they reach their destination. That is SOTW.

Sometimes when you go to the movies, you can't help but ask why? Why are we doing this again? Why this special effect laden, sorcery, witchy, demonic movie? My heavens are we really out of ideas? This movie has not one new thing to offer anyone on any level. Cage again is in a supernatural movie of sorts. Much violence, be it tame for the most part. There is no real clear reason to tell this story other than it was written by someone. This is completely non-compelling. I have seen few movies in the last few years where the time has passed slower, and my watch was seemingly frozen. I am a story guy. This is ho-humm story telling.

SOTW has the same look and feel as virtually every other like it. But here you get a ton of violent/non violent battle scenes. The sword killing of a ton of animated wolves, and enough little girl turning into a demon to go around. These kind of movies can be disturbing for some, so if you are not comfortable with possible demonic possession played out in front of you, then go see the movie down the hall.

Come to think of it, go see the movie down the hall anyway. It has to be more entertaining than Season Of The Witch. As we wait for new and more original ideas to come down the line.

MOVIE REVIEW - Country Strong

Sometimes the quality a movie has everything to do with the writer and director and almost nothing to do with the actors or anything else involved.

That is this weeks new country music movie, Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw starring. This project was written and directed by Shana Feste who has made a few pics and is considered an up and coming film maker. To be fair, and a bit kind, this project is all hers, and a smarter decision at the studio level could have been made to never have gotten this off the ground.

CS is the fictional story of a middle aged drunken country singer, Kelly Cantor (Paltrow) and her husband manager (McGraw). The Kelly character is loosley based on Brittany Spears according to the writer. She is a bit past her prime after being firmly on top. She goes to rehab, but leaves early to go on an ill-advised concert tour with two new young talents, one of which she is sleeping with. She of course is not recovered in any way, and goes on a series of self-destructive antics, that damage her further and drag down everyone around her. It all culminates in a predictable fashion. With a very odd plot twist at the end that doesn't make it better.

CS has a few problems that are hard to overcome. Walk The Line from 2007, and Crazy Heart from 2009. And there are more very good country music movies over the years that have won Oscars, and been highly heralded. Trouble is this formula has nothing new to offer at all. The actors have no chance here, as this is poorly written, poorly directed, very awkward at times, and the story is just flat out not good or original. All of our stars Paltrow, McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester are completely helpless to make this a winner. Victims of a very poor script and worse direction. Hard to be harsh on the performaces so I won't. No one had a chance here.

Nashville holds up its end as some of the original songs are nice, and the stars doing their own singing should be applauded. That is a huge challenge when making these kind of flicks and Paltrow, Meester and Hedlund pull it off well. There were some nice moments on the stages of the honky-tonks that were the movies best scenes by far, where some rather intimate performances took place. CS is kind of two movies. The music part which is pretty good, then the movie and story part which doesn't work at all.

An observation too. With this being a fictional piece, you really don't care about the characters in this movie. This is the key missing element. Although Crazy Heart was fiction too, the script was light years superior and Jeff Bridges with his highly developed and wonderful character Bad Blake, and his Oscar performance was the separator. Blake was relateable, had depth, and you always wanted to know more about him. That tangible and necessary element is sorely missing from our lead character in CS. Plus, the original music in Crazy Heart was off the charts fantastic, maybe as good as any original soundtrack in recent memory.

You can lay this all on the movie makers, and studios and not the actors. Music good. The idea that this was going to hit the bulls-eye critically was naive. Put this squarely on maker and writer. This overall just doesn't work.

The Five Worst Movies Of 2010

Every year there is no shortage of really bad movies at the box office. 2010 was no exception. Many problems these days in Hollywood. The romantic comedy is really in bad shape, stars that are NOT stars, and no new ideas are really causing huge troubles. Toss in an ever present, consistent and declining maturity among movie makers and you can have some real awful projects that you wonder how they ever happened.


It will seem as if I hate romantic comedies from this list, but nothing could be further from the truth. They can be great fun and there are many in years past I have loved. But the genre is in real jeopardy . Most of the leading women, are not stars with real talent or star drawing power. There is also real shortage of leading men that can do comedy that people want to go see. Plus the writing is just so juvenile for these movies sometimes, the actors don't have a chance. There of course are exceptions to this, and there are some from time to time that do break through.

But with that said, it is kind of fun to see a stinker from time to time and it's even more fun to hammer away at it at years end, so here goes.

The Five Worst Movies Of 2010

1/ When In Rome - From last February. Kristin Bell stars in the putrid annoyance of a movie. This is supposed to be a romantic comedy. But it's no romantic or comedic. This is so horrible, I can't imagine the cast members mothers liking this, or even getting through this. This is really embarrassing. It's almost laughably bad. Hard to think that anyone involved with this thought they were doing anything worthwhile here.

2/ MacGruber - An ill-advised full length movie based on the Saturday Night Live skit. Highly
offensive, completely junior high in every regard. It's actually hard to watch at times because if any movie maker really thought this was funny, they are in need of immediate professional medical help.

3/ Just Wright - Queen Latifah. I like her, but this was horrible. Latifah, some guy named
Common, and a bunch of "I can't act" NBA players in this train wreck of a movie. A whole bunch of money right down the drain. Another romantic comedy mess. Almost walk-outable.


4/ How Do You Know - Oscar winning Reece Witherspoon in the head scratcher of the year. Only her Oscar and co-star Jack Nicholson's Oscar kept this from being number one. Where to start? Terrible story, worst dialogue of the year, from an out of touch film maker James L Brooks who has done great work many years ago. This should seal the deal for him. Horrible, terrible, awful..take your pick. Can't even call this a romantic comedy. It's just that bad.

5/ My Family Wedding - America Fererra. Another romantic comedy that wasn't funny or
anything near good. There is not one single solitary laugh in this movie. I ran for the door when this was over.


Honorable Mention

Clash Of The Titans - "Release the Kracken" Great line. Horrible movie.

The Last Airbender - Big on TV. Looked like a bunch of kids playing in the backyard. Terrible.

Youth In Revolt - There have to be better ideas out there somewhere.

There's the list...feel free to send me your thoughts to scott@wqmx.com

The Best Movies of 2010

It's that time again to name the top five movies of the past year. Overall, 2010 I feel was a down year for movies in general, regardless what the box office take was. The quality of the movies was not up to par as some other years, but there were some gems in 2010. I'll name the five best here and list a couple of honorable mentions as well. Let's get going!

The Five Best Movies Of 2010

1/ True Grit - The Coen Brothers are incredible film makers. They took this really great story
and kept it true. Jeff Bridges is fantastic in the lead and the supporting
cast is terrific. This not only is good film making, but courageous as well. It is
simply great. They took a great story and made the remake infinitely better than
the original.

2/ The King's Speech - A very close second this year. A wonderful true story about King George
VI, and his bout with stuttering as WWII is closing in. This is so well cast and so
well done. It tells the story of a King who has to gain the trust of his nation in
very dark times. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are fantastic. Not to be
missed.

3/ The Town - Ben Affleck stars in this really great drama about a bank robbing syndicate in
present day Boston. They took a simple idea, made some great plot twists and
came out with a real original story, when it would have been easy not to. Lots
of action, but real smart too.

4/ The Fighter - Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, and Christian Bale
star in this movie about the seedy side of local and national boxing.
Based on a true story that really sings. You may not like boxing,
but it doesn't matter. Great performances, solid story. wonderfully done.

5/ The Joneses - A real sleeper. David Duchovny and Demi Moore star in a story
no one has seen before. A perfect couple moves into a rich neighborhood,
and for some reason, everyone has to keep up with them. A very original story
told very well, and not predictable at all. You may have missed this one,
Redbox it. Gets all kind of originality points. Tough in today's Hollywood.

Honorable Mentions

Black Swan - Extremely well done in many regards but overrated. Technically superior.
Letters To Juliette - Completely charming love story shot in Italy. Vanessa Redgrave is great
The Social Network - Well done and topical, but again, overrated. Justin Timberlake is great.

There they are, The Top Five Movies and Mentions of 2010. Coming later this week, the Five
Worst Movies of 2010. A much easier list to compile. More to choose from. Feel free to e-mail me your thoughts scott@wqmx.com

MOVIE REVIEW - The Kings Speech

You've heard a bunch of buzz about the new flick, The Kings Speech no doubt. Much of it swirling around all the awards it could potentially win. And most of it apt. Sit back and brace yourself, this could be the big winner of 2010.

The Kings Speech is a true story based on the life of King George VI of England, who had a strange road to the thrown just before the advent of World War II in Europe. The King (Colin Firth) has been unable to speak much at all as he has a terrible stutter. The King and his loving wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) somehow find themselves working with Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue is a very eccentric speech teacher who has unorthodox methods of curing stuttering, or "stammering" as it is called in the movie. This is the story of the road to getting the King to be able to to lead a nation, and maintain it's confidence in its leader as the days grow dark and Germany is on a collision course with England for war. It is also a story in friendship.

This movie may sound a bit high brow, a bit boring, but nothing could be further from the truth. Truly great performances turned in by all involved, and a very strong supporting cast too. But as I say, all great movies start with a great story, and this is one. This movie is very dramatic, very enveloping and very interesting in every facet. It's a story you don't know, told very carefully, and with a very nice slow burn to a finish that is emotional, inspiring, and best of all, not overdone.

TKS takes you behind the closed doors of royalty and shows you just how the structure works, or doesn't. It dares to show you the underside of the royal family from the 1930's and doesn't pull its punches. Also, it shows that Lionel was way ahead of his time in his treatment of this "ailment", as he believes it is not physical but actually rooted in the mind. TKS is expertly written, superbly cast and flat out well, well done.

The Kings Speech. You may get tired of hearing these three words come award season, but small price to pay. This movie is a little bit of everything. Drama, humor, and suspense. But most of all it is a whole lot of good. Really, really good.

One of the best movies of this year, or any year.