Movies seen in 2010 (new movies in bold):
1. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
2. Wall Street
3. National Treasure
4. Die Another Day
5. She's The One
6. XXX
7. The Girl Next Door
8. Fanboys
9. Garden State
10. The Book of Eli
A little on the weird side. I knew it was post-apocalypse, and knew that Denzel plays a dude who's got a book that everyone wants but he's a badass with a preachy side to him. And that Mila Kunis was in it. That was about it.
So that was all true. I guess I felt that it was a sort of middling film that really didn't have much need to be made. Denzel was pretty cool, and Gary Oldman was awesome as usual...even if the character was a bit standard. The post-apocalypse was alright - I felt there was more to be explained. More backstory, more stuff that would give details about what happened, etc. And I was a little sad to find out just what the "book" was, even if I should have known better. There was one huge 'twist' at the end that really caught me off guard and was pretty cool, but when I thought more about it, I found the twist to be sooooo waaaaay beyond the suspension of disbelief that I think it's actually lessened the film for me. And the film was a little too special-effects for me, but I did get used to it after a while to the point that it was fine. I did like the use of color - erm, lack of color. Very effective.
Of course, my biggest complaint is with Mila Kunis's character. It's not that Mila did a poor job - she was great - but rather that she shouldn't have taken the gig at all. They should have had a nobody playing that role. Maybe some fresh face right off the plane from Wisconsin or something. The role was pretty bland and kinda useless. Like, without Denzel, that character isn't as cool. They needed Denzel. Without Gary Oldman, that character is definitely less intriguing. But without Mila...that character is the exact same.
I am totally in love with Mila, and she was the main reason I went to see this, so it really pained me to believe that she wasn't even needed in the movie. She was too clean (everyone else in the film was dirty and disgusting - it was great), she was too innocent and perky (everyone else wasn't), and she was probably too old for me to believe that her mom was ... her mom, etc. I don't know. I guess that maybe Mila wanted to work with Denzel, or she needed another resume builder, or she wanted to try something outside of comedy...but I think this will be one that she looks back on with regret.