1. The Dark Knight

Watching again reminded why I love this movie so much.  I’ve never understood the retroactive dislike people had for this movie in the year or after.  I think it’s as strong as I did when I first saw it, and it is easily one of my favorites ever.  From the little nuances, like Ledger’s perfect pronunciation of every syllable he utters and a throwaway Catwoman joke, to the larger aspects, including just how much Nolan filmed with practical effects and the soundtrack’s expert integration, it all comes together to be one of my most enjoyable movie-watching experiences.  I will always remember seeing that truck flip in IMAX, but I’ll remember the character work, the blending of dramas, and the thematic and dramatic scope even more.

2. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

I don’t have much to say about the film as I watched it with a commentary from a podcast I listen to, which made the movie far better than it actually is.  The film actually takes forever to get to the hook of the “Home Alone” films – the traps set up around the house – and by the time it does you’ve wasted an hour and a half watching such boring filmmaking it’s not very entertaining.  Perhaps the worst part is the traps at the end of the film are so violent, so dark, that (as the commentary rightly pointed out) it’s more like watching the birth of the torture porn genre. Any of the set-ups by Culkin could have caused such brain damage or actual death to the robbers that it becomes disturbing to watch.  How this was considered family fare I have no idea, but it is so riddled with plot clichés and contrivances that I think the only way I could get through it was thanks to the commentary.

 3. Tron: Legacy

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did.  I’ve never seen the original “Tron,” but I felt the movie kept things accessible but also a bit too shallow.  I never came to care too much about what was at stake, and the characters never mattered much to me.  Sure it was nice to see Olivia Wilde be a bit spunkier than most of her roles and to see Jeff Bridges play a lighter version of The Dude, but my emotional investment never went beyond waiting for the next sequences.  I did enjoy portions of the film though.  Action sequences looked great and there was a sense of space to the world, which I’m glad they pulled off crafting this virtual world, if that makes much sense.  Daft Punk’s soundtrack definitely stood out and serviced each scene as a great partner to the stunning visuals.  So while the style was better than the substance of the film, I did like the movie for what it promised.  The whole film felt more like a prelude to something larger, like it simply wanted to reintroduce the world into pop culture.  While it could have done so with a little more weight, I am excited for whatever comes next.

4. The Expendables

So much wasted potential – that was all I could think while I watched.  I don’t care about romantic subplots in something like this.  When you put that many action stars in a film together and promise the testosterone-fueled movie that the marketing implied, there’s a problem when I become distracted on half a dozen different occasions.  The film just couldn’t keep my attention for very long, with only some of the gunfights and other hand-to-hand combat engaging me for a few moments.  I might at some point force myself to watch it again before the second releases, as I do have some hope the sequel will be a nonstop action film.  As for this first one though, I came away disappointed by the film’s surprisingly dull scenes delving into the team’s personal lives while enjoying a few of the mindless action scenes.  There’s a really enjoyable film somewhere in this one, they just didn’t succeed in bringing it out to its fullest potential.