Iron Man 2 (2010) - Favreau and Theroux's boisterous, entertaining sequel

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Sound (lost to Insidious) 

+ Best Superhero Movie of the Year

The very professionally crafted poster for Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2

Iron Man is under pressure: The Iron Man suit makes him sick, the US military wants his technology and a bitter Russian by the name of Vanko is joining forces with his competitor Justin Hammer to eradicate him...

Unlike many other critics, I feel that the second chapter in the Iron Man trilogy is a vast improvement over the first film. It contains the rather bizarre parring of Robert Downey Jr. (The Shaggy Dog (2006)) and Mickey Rourke (Point Blank (1998)). - Few if any would have believed 15 years ago that these two troublemakers would be heading a major superhero movie, commanding the world box office in 2010.
Rourke plays the villainous Whiplash, who comprises the film's excellent heel duo together with Sam Rockwell (Moon (2009)). Everything sparkles here; the dialog is smart and snappy, and although Stark's narcissism gets the best of him in the second half of the film, he gets much better counter-balance in this sequel than in the first film; from smolderingly sexy Scarlett Johansson (The Jungle Book (2016)), pal Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda (2004)) and Garry Shandling (Trust the Man (2005)), who is very funny as a senator that tries to oppose Tony Stark aka. Iron Man.
None of the action is revolutionary, but it's done with a sense of joy. This is a tall tale of Hollywood nonsense, glittering and ridiculous, but enjoyable nonetheless because it is well-made and thoroughly dedicated in all of its well-sounding formula affection.
Iron Man 2 is solid good fun throughout. It is written by Justin Theroux (Rock of Ages (2012)) and directed by Jon Favreau (Elf (2003)), who left the director's chair on the franchise after doing these two first films.

Related posts:

Jon Favreau: The Jungle Book (2016) - Favreau's great, widest appealing movie to date
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 200 mil. $
Box office: 623.9 mil. $
= Box office success
[Iron Man 2 premiered April 26 (El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood) and runs 125 minutes. One of the things that raises the film is that it replaced Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle, a decision that didn't go over silently, understandably. Filming lasted 71 days from April - July 2009 in Monaco, California and England. The film opened #1 to a 128.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed atop for one more week before getting the boot from Shrek Forever After and grossed 312.4 mil. $ (50.1 % of the total gross). It had the highest-grossing opening weekend in North America of 2010, where it was also the third highest-grossing film of the year after Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland. Internationally, it was the 7th highest grossing film of the year. Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 30.4 mil. $ (4.9 %) and South Korea with 27 mil. $ (4.3 %). The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Effects, losing to Inception. Iron Man 2 is certified fresh at 72 % with a 6.5 critical average.]

What do you think of Iron Man 2?

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) - Herzog and Vasyukov invite us to meet a remote, tough Siberian people

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Documentary (lost to Secrets of the Tribe)

The wild nature of Siberia looks captivating on this neat poster for Werner Herzog and Dmitry Vasyukov's Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

From the small Siberian village of around 300 people, Bakhta, the trappers head out into the wilderness for several months of the year to fix and check their traps and huts, hunt and live only with their dogs.

Happy People is a film brimming with natural beauty, full of wow-moments often caused by what might appear to be small things such as the craftsmanship that is involved in making skies and a boat from a chopped down tree, the fierceness of the dogs etc. The film offers a lovely look in at an unusual way of life and also a fascinating and sad meeting with an indigenous people, the Ket people, who are going extinct.
Apart from this, it is generally life-affirming to meet this bunch of Russians that one can hardly but like. Directed by great German filmmaker Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo (1982)) and Dmitry Vasyukov (Pomori (2013)), Herzog's narration is as usual an added, wonderful quality of Happy People. One senses clearly that the Taiga-people here are idealized to some extent, but that seems okay in the context of this great documentary.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 338k $ (North America only)
= Unknown
[Happy People: A Year in the Taiga premiered in September (Telluride Film Festival) and runs 94 minutes. It was edited together from Vasyukov's Russian mini-series of around 3½ hours, Schastlivyye Lyudi (2007). The film was shown at some festivals and in a few countries. It opened to a 10k $ first weekend in just one theater in North America, where it peaked in 23 theaters and grossed the above figure. It isn't possible to label its theatrical performance on so little intelligence. Happy People: A Year in the Taiga is certified fresh at 87 % with a 6.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Happy People: A Year in the Taiga?

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) - A well-made, dazzlingly animated family favorite

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Animation (lost to Toy Story 3) 

+ Best 3D Movie of the Year

The poster for Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders' How to Train Your Dragon seems to promise kids everywhere the chance to meet a cool dragon almost first-hand

Hiccup is a scrawny young guy, who fits in very poorly with his father's macho-viking world. But then he meets a different kind of dragon and learns something that might change the world for everyone...

How to Train Your Dragon begins with an action sequence that can exhaust adult audiences unduly. Because after its end follows a good story with fun and strong character animations, - in particular the dragons are done with great skill and inspiration, - and sweepingly handsome landscape-, fire- and sky animation. The flying scenes are rich with wow-moments.
How to Train Your Dragon is written by William Davies (Johnny English (2003)) and co-writer-directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch (2002), both), based on Cressida Cowell's (How to Be a Pirate (2004)) same-titled 2003 children's book. It is a fine family favorite, (if not quite as great as the directors' Lilo & Stitch.)

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 165 mil. $
Box office: 494.8 mil. $
= Box office success
[How to Train Your Dragon was released March 26 and runs 98 minutes. It competed for 3D screens with Alice in Wonderland. It opened #1 with a 43.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 217.5 mil. $ (44 % of the total gross) and stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks, taking the #1 spot back in its week 5. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 26.4 mil. $ (5.3 %) and South Korea with 25.1 mil. $ (5 %). It is the 5th highest-grossing animated film of the year and the 10th highest-grossing film of the year overall. It got Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Feature (losing to Toy Story 3) and Best Score (losing to The Social Network). It is currently #162 on IMDb's Top 250. Roger Ebert gave it 3/4 stars, equal to the rating here. It has sold more than 6.5 mil. DVDs and Blu-rays, accruing more than 121.8 mil. $ additionally. A sequel came out in 2014 and another one is set for 2018. How to Train Your Dragon is certified fresh at 98 % with a 7.9 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of How to Train Your Dragon?

Howl (2010) - Epstein & Friedman debut with great poetry-centered gem

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Lead Actor: James Franco (lost to Stephen Dorff for Somewhere) 

+ Best Art Film of the Year
+ Best Poster of the Year

A creative and very keen poster for Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman's Howl

Allen Ginsberg was the son of an insane mother and became a groundbreaking gay poet in 1950s New York, who after travels, hospital admissions, loves, relationships and personal insight reads and publishes his poem Howl, which causes outrage in 1955.

Howl tells the true story of Ginsberg and his titular poem, written and directed by great documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman (Lovelace (2013)), who make their fiction debut with it. It is an eclectic, attractive, stringent film, which both arranges the poem, lets Ginsberg speak, - through James Franco's (The Adderall Diaries (2015)) inspired performance, - and portrays the 1957 obscenity trial that the work underwent in San Francisco. This part of the film is adorned with such gifted actors as David Strathairn (Simon Birch (1998)), Jeff Daniels (Dumb & Dumber (1994)), Bob Balaban (Girl Most Likely (2012)) and Jon Hamm (Sucker Punch (2011)).
Without my awareness, the film got under my skin and made a big emotional impact. It is touching, strong and exhilarating as the poem itself, which it breathes cinematic life into in the most ideal way with a mix of a resplendent Franco and playful animation created by Eric Drooker, who also collaborated with Ginsberg while he was still alive. Anyone interested in literature, poetry, wordplay and/or art in general should find themselves surrendering to this splendid, surprising gem.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: At least 1.6 mil. $
= Unknown (but likely a big to huge flop)
[Howl premiered January 21 (Sundance) and runs 85 minutes. It was shot in just 14 days in and around New York from March - April 2009. It opened #51 in just 6 theaters to a 51k $ first weekend, peaking in 29 theaters and grossing 617k $ (38.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 305k $ (19.1 %) and (surprisingly) Vietnam with 240k $ (15 %). Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars, a grade lower than this review. An extensive interview with the directors by the A.V. Club's Keith Phipps can be read here. Howl is fresh at 62 % with a 6.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Howl?
Other poetry-centered films that you think are recommendable?

Demonlover (2002) or, The Dangers of Cyberporn

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+ Worst Poster of the Year

Connie Nielsen is threatened with a gun on this poster for Olivier Assayas' Demonlover

Demonlover is the 9th film from great French writer-director Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)).

The potential purchase of a major Japanese porn company is taken over by the mysterious Diane after a nefarious take-down of her boss. The stakes are high and the moral basis is lacking in the executive environment we meet in Demonlover.

Demonlover presents a weird environment I haven't seen depicted elsewhere in movies, which is probably to a large degree thought up: An executive branch to the porn industry, which is a cynical sphere governed by some intense, dangerous business-people. - Not brutish gangsters but cold business-folk. Women are at the forefront of Demonlover, as in other Assayas films, and multi-languaged, sophisticated, impressive Connie Nielsen (Return to Sender (2004)), sexy Gina Gershon (Bound (1996)) and hot-blooded Chloë Sevigny (3 Needles (2005)) are fascinating to watch as the three main ladies, all so nuanced and fierce in each their own way as to make the film worthwhile watching.

Unfortunately, the strange environment isn't opened up too invitingly. For the majority of the film, I was far removed from Nielsen's antiheroine and unsure as to the intent behind this excursion to the backstabbing, top-layer of the porn world. The film has neat cinematography by Denis Lenoir (Still Alice (2014)), emphasizing a live, fast camera and obscureness such as rain and reflecting lights. The plot seems a bit contrived and never manages to steal the scene from the actresses and aesthetics at play. - Demonlover is more a film that seems to want us to ponder the new and ever-expanding universe of the world wide web and what its darker corners has to say about us and do to us, SPOILER offering the insight that it dehumanizes us and is dangerous.
The film also has a great music side made by Jim O'Rourke (Love Liza (2002)) and the great American alternative rock band Sonic Youth (Things Behind the Sun (2001)). Fans of electronica and rock removed from the mainstream will appreciate this element of the edgy Demonlover as well. Not at all a bad film, but one that also isn't quite good. 

 

Related post:

 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Here's a video on the making of the film's soundtrack

Cost: 7.2 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 0.685 mil. $ 
= Box office disaster
[Demonlover premiered May 19 (Cannes) and runs 117 minutes (the unrated cut, the R-rated runs 115, while the initial Cannes cut ran 129 minutes.) Filming lasted from July - September 2001. The film opened in September 2003 #60 to a 39k $ first weekend in 8 theaters in North America, where it peaked in 15 theaters and grossed 232k $. It made 230k $ in its native France. It played in several other countries, many just at festivals, but still only racked together a very small gross, especially compared to its relatively high budget. Demonlover is rotten at 49 % with a 5.5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Demonlover?

Hesher (2010) - Susser's immature, rebel-centered debut

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Child Actor: Devin Brochu (lost to Kiernan Shipka for Mad Men S4) 

The poster for Spencer Susser's Hesher emulates old heavy rock styles just as the film itself does

The boy TJ gets bullied crudely and is neglected at home by his grief-stricken father, when the crazy, stoned out individualist Hesher moves in with them, unannounced and uninvited.

Hesher is the feature debut for co-writer/director Spencer Susser (Lana Del Rey: Summertime Sadness (2012, music video)), a very strange, downbeat and violence-preoccupied dramedy. Its main quality might be the impressive cast, Susser has managed to gather in it: Piper Laurie (The Crossing Guard (1995)), Natalie Portman (Black Swan (2010)) who also co-produced it, Rainn Wilson (The Stream (2013)) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Premium Rush (2012)) as the dubious title hero. The boy actor Devin Brochu (Rubber (2010)) stands out in the bunch; he is very good and cinematic in Hesher.
Under scrutiny, the film appears incredibly immature and unreal. It is a slight affair that may attract some young audiences. Susser co-wrote it with David Michôd (Animal Kingdom (2010)), based on a story by Brian Charles Frank (Wolfpack of Reseda (2012), TV-series).

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Here's a trailer for the film

Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: 0.449 mil. $
= Box office disaster
[Hesher premiered January 22 (Sundance) and runs 105 minutes. It was filmed May - June 2009 in California. It opened #36 in 42 theaters to a small 126k $ first weekend, its widest weekend in North America, where it grossed 382k $. It made 66k $ in Italy but other international grosses are not made public. The catastrophic performance of the film probably accounts for Susser's not having made a film to follow it up yet. Hesher is rotten at 54 % with a 5.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hesher?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) - Harry's abysmally dour and long penultimate chapter

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One of the very dark posters for David Yates' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

The Hogwarts school days are over, Dumbledore is dead, and the forces of evil still wish Harry Potter dead. SPOILER His friends also become fewer, and Dobby now also dies.

Deathly Hallows - Part 1 is very long. Harry's loyal friend Ron (Rupert Grint (Wild Target (2010))) seems jealous and angry for most of the film, and despite the cast having reached adulthood by now, there are still only the weakest of approaches towards romance and sex that otherwise might have enlivened things. - Plus their absence seems absurd for anyone who has ever met youths in this age in real life. The film is insufferably dark, kept in uncompromising tones of greys and browns, which makes it outright depressing to look at. The light moments are few and very far between, - it is nearly completely devoid of any color and fun, - and the CGI effects are no longer impressive. The highlight of the film for me was a story inside the story, a fairytale of death, possibly done with stop-motion.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is a really long, ugly and boring whopper of a sequel. It is written by Steve Kloves (The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)), based on J. K. Rowling's (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)) concluding 2007 novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and directed by David Yates (The Legend of Tarzan (2016)).

Related post:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 125 mil. $ (Part 1 and Part 2 had a joint budget of 250 mil. $)
Box office: 960.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 premiered November 11 (London's Odeon Leicester Square) and runs 146 minutes. An attempt to convert the film to 3D was scrapped, and it was instead rolled out in 2D and IMAX formats. The film opened #1 to a 125 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed atop for another week and grossed 295.9 mil. $ (30.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 86 mil. $ (9 %) and Japan with 82 mil. $ (8.5 %). It was the highest grossing film of the year in many countries separately, and the third highest globally, behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland. In excess of 7.2 mil. DVD and Blu-ray units have also been sold, accruing an additional 86.9 mil. $. The film was nominated for two Oscars, for art direction (lost to Alice in Wonderland) and visual effects (lost to Inception.) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is certified fresh at 78 % with a 7.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1?

Insidious (2010) - Wan's thrilling, scary ghost horror

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1 Film Excess win:

Best Sound 

1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Sound (won)

+ Best Horror Movie of the Year
+ Best Mega-hit of the Year

The eerie poster for James Wan's Insidious, prominently featuring Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World (2015))

A family moves into a new house, where their oldest son soon after has an accident that puts him into an unexplainable coma. Meanwhile the house is haunted, but so is the next one that they move into. - Turns out that it's the comatose son who's haunted!

Rose Byrne (The Internship (2013)) and Patrick Wilson (Bone Tomahawk (2015)) have chemistry and seemingly play the terrorized parents, whose lives are under a malicious attack. Lin Shaye (The Penthouse (2010)) is also great as the clairvoyant brought in to solve the issue. Once the horror begins in Insidious, it works fast and pummels us good, despite most of its effects being relatively simple camera tricks, peppered with terrific, affecting sound work. Great Malaysian director James Wan (The Conjuring (2013)) is a master of ghost horror, SPOILER and the red-faced demon of Insidious is seriously scary.
We are terrorized to a degree that few movies can here, even if the small budget becomes recognizable in some moments of the film. The very end of the film is super cool and whets the horror fan's appetite for more. Insidious is a remarkable horror. It is written by Leigh Whannell (Cooties (2014)), who also stars as one of the supernatural investigators that also work as comedic relief in the movie.

Related posts:

James Wan: The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Conjuring (2013) - Best horror film in 7 years   
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Here's an interview with James Wan about his great The Conjuring

Cost: 1.5 mil. $
Box office: 97 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[Insidious premiered September 14 (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 102 minutes. Wan wanted to prove that he could make an effective horror that didn't rely on torture and gore, following his success with Saw (2004). Filming lasted just 3 weeks in April - May 2010. Less than 12 hours after the film's Toronto premiere, the US distribution rights and worldwide rights to sequels were acquired by Sony. The film opened #3 (behind Hop (37.5 mil. $) and Source Code (14.8 mil. $)) with a 13.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 54 mil. $ (55.7 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 11.5 mil. $ (11.9 %) and Spain with 7.7 mil. $ (7.9 %). Insidious is reportedly the most profitable movie of 2010. It has so far spun a 2013 sequel, a 2015 prequel and will get another sequel, probably releasing next year. Insidious is fresh at 66 % with a 6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Insidious?

In a Better World/Hævnen (2010) - Bier's Big Moral Drama lives on its actors' performances

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Child Actor: William Jønkh Nielsen, Markus Rygaard (lost to Kiernan Shipka for Mad Men S4)

One of the very dramatic posters for Susanne Bier's In a Better World

The story starts in Southern Funen, Denmark, where a boy gets bullied as 'the rat', until he gets a new friend, who knows how to fight back. In a refugee camp in Africa, the victimized boy's father works as a doctor.

In a Better World is full of moral dilemmas and is an ideal conversations starter, which certainly inspired disagreements among the people I saw it with. All the actors are outstanding, and they are the film's main quality: Trine Dyrholm (Daisy Diamond (2007)), Mikael Persbrandt (One Way (2006)) and Ulrich Thomsen (Banshee (2013-16)), but also the film's two main boy actors, William Jønkh Nielsen (Danny's Doomsday/Dannys Dommedag (2014)) and Markus Rygaard (The Great Bear/Den Kæmpestore Bjørn (2011)).
Unfortunately the script, by Anders Thomas Jensen (The Salvation (2014)) and Danish master co-writer-director Susanne Bier (Brothers/Brødre (2004)), carries the subtext out in its dialog a bit too candidly. The shakiness of the camera, (cinematographer Morten Søborg (Valhalla Rising (2009)), is unnecessary, SPOILER and I also find the ending too neat.
Still, In a Better World is a pretty good film.

Related posts:

Susanne Bier: 2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess
Love Is All You Need/Den Skaldede Frisør (2012) - Bier strikes gold with Italy-set romcom
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Brothers/Brødre (2004) or, A Woman Came Between Them

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Approximately 5.5 mil. $ (30 mil. DKK)
Box office: 9.6 mil. $
= Big flop
[In a Better World was released August 26 and runs 118 minutes. Filming took place in and around August 2009 in Funen, Langeland and Kenya. Bier has stated about the film: "Our experiment in this film is about looking at how little it really takes before a child – or an adult – thinks something is deeply unjust. It really doesn't take much, and I find that profoundly interesting. And scary." The film opened #53 to a 33k $ first weekend in 4 theaters, peaking in 51 in North America, where it grossed 1 mil. $ (10.4 % of the total gross). The films 3 biggest markets were its native Denmark, where an impressive 448k paid admission to it, with 4.9 mil. $ (51 %), Sweden with 2.2 mil. $ (22.9 %) and Spain with 1.3 mil. $ (13.5 %). The film won the Best Foreign Film Oscar, beating Incendies, Biutiful, Dogtooth and Outside the Law, and the foreign film Golden Globe as well as the Danish Bodil Best Actress award to Dyrholm. In a Better World is certified fresh at 77 % with a 7.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In a Better World?