The Weekend Report: The Wicked Flee

What? There are absolutely no new releases this weekend? Well that makes another one of these posts seem rather superfluous, but I might as well do it anyway. There were a lot of under-appreciated films released this year, mostly on account of the fact that people were stupid with their time and money and decided to see The Last Airbender, Yogi Bear, and Little Fockers. As a matter of fact, at the end of this, I'm going to give you a list of all the films you shouldn't see. There are better ways for you to use your time, and that's pretty much the inspiration for this series.

Among the early and unappreciated films of the year was Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer. It's gotten a somewhat strong following from critics this year, but there's a broader audience that I believe would truly embrace it if they gave it a chance. Another film people were afraid to give a chance until it was released was How to Train Your Dragon. I'm not sure if there are still people out there who haven't seen it out of disgust with Dreamworks' other features, but it's definitely worth checking out. There were also a great many films that inexplicably bombed at the box-office. MacGruber was never expected to do well, but it's an extremely funny film for what it is. It's not exactly good, but it's entertaining.

I also think that Kick-Ass and Let Me In, Chloe Moretz's major debut pics of the year, got the short end of the stick with audiences. Kick-Ass is a hilarious low-budget satire of the superhero genre, as well as offering some moral commentary and fun action sequences. Let Me In was the more emotional piece, and it worked for me wherever the original didn't. Finally, probably the most under-seen film of the year is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which got a depressingly low income at the box office. That's definitely the film that will be most appreciated on home video, maybe going on to be a cult classic.


Films to Avoid Altogether:
-Legion
-Edge of Darkness
-The Wolfman
-Alice in Wonderland
-A Nightmare on Elm Street
-Splice
-The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
-The Last Airbender
-Despicable Me
-The Sorcerer's Apprentice
-Dinner for Schmucks
-The Other Guys
-Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
-Saw 3D
-Yogi Bear
-Little Fockers
-Gulliver's Travels