#8: Horrible Bosses
It's a timeless story. Hard worker, under-appreciated at their job, and a douche of a boss. Horrible Bosses takes this theme and creates three hilarious characters played by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. Their bosses are quite literally the scum of the earth in the forms of Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, and Jennifer Aniston. The men, fed up with the crap from their bosses, decide it would be best to off each others bosses. What ensues is a hilarious mish-mash of insanity that leaves you guessing. Will they pull it off or will them end up being slaves to "the Man" forever? I rate it 9.5 out of 10. The plot leaves you guessing up to the last second. The deduction is for laughing so hard, I nearly got a cramp. Great flick. Standout for me in the veteran category was Jennifer Aniston. This movie has proven that she hasn't lost her comedy chops just yet. And the rookie standout was Charlie Day. I've never watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but he might have changed my mind.
#9: The Mechanic
Jason Statham stars as Arthur, a very capable hit man aka "mechanic." His mentor is played by Donald Sutherland, who has been doing something shifty *bum bum bum*. Arthur is then contracted to kill him and does so. Feeling guilty, he takes the mentor's son, played by Ben Foster, and teaches him how to be a "mechanic." Eventually something changes the game and the boys take you along for the ride. The action is non stop in this amazing film and has very well done cinematography. I give it an 8 out of 10. Occasionally the dialogue gets stiff when the action can't cover it, and it sometimes gets rather gory. But overall, the story moves well and makes for an entertaining viewing. Also, Ben Foster and Jason Statham are hot so, you know, great man candy who are well dressed.
#10: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (American Version)
Ok, so I finally went and saw this in theaters. For fuller details check out my stuff on the Swedish version, but since I already covered it, this one is going to be shorter. I really really really liked Daniel Craig as Mikael. And I really really really liked Rooney Mara as Lisbeth. The two of them have chemistry that is straight out of the book. Everything was great. Except two things. One is the insanely weird/long intro. While I enjoyed the cover of "The Immigrant Song," the intro was just too long. The cinematography of it was well done, but so weird. The other thing I can't really go into because it is plot related, but I went "WTF?" hardcore when it happened. Because it seemed like it could have been done appropriately to the story based on time and such. But it wasn't, and I didn't enjoy it. Which is why I am giving it a 7 out of 10. The intro was just too much and the plot twist was mismanaged. Apart from that, the cast was phenomenal and the cinematography was well done.
#11: The Switch
Did this movie seem like a cheese factor? Yes. Did watching it seem like a good idea? No, not really. Did I kind of fall in love with it? YES. Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman play Kassie and Wally, best friends who tried to date but realized they had better chemistry as buddies of the non-fuck variety. Kassie's biological clock is ticking and she decides she wants a baby the non-old fashioned way. Wally doesn't know if it's a good idea, and in his attempt to be supportive he screws some shit up. Drunkenly replacing the donor sperm with his own, Kassie goes her way and he goes his. Now several years later, she's back in town and he's starting to remember what happened that boozed up night. The movie stars adorable Thomas Robinson as Sebastian, Kassie's son. I give it a 8.5 out of 10. I deducted two points for being a semi predictable will they-won't they movie. But I gave back half a point because the son is so frickin' cute, you spend the whole movie going "Aww, I just want to hug him!" Also, Jason Bateman is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Get with the program people, he's awesome and needs to be in more movies!
