the movies in the middle

So I'm almost ready to do my top and bottom 10 movies of the year. Just have to watch one or two more. But I thought that in the mean time I'd mention a couple that won't make either list. I had high hopes for these movies but they fell flat in the middle "average" column. Most people disagree with me but....

District 9
There are great things about this movie. The main actor is absolutely fantastic. He gets to play an amazing arc and I bought every second of it. I really admired a lot of things about this movie. I admired the acting, I admired the originality, I admired what they accomplished on a tiny budget. But, as a whole, I just wasn't totally sucked in. I don't know if it was the actual creature design, or the lack of ending, but it didn't make my top 10 list. But I would recommend it.

500 Days of Summer
This one was pretty much what I expected. A cutesy indie movie that was trying so hard to be hip that it bordered on annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But Zooey Deschanel is one of my least favorite actresses of all time. Ugh! I just find her so grating. So I didn't care about their love story and, consequently, didn't care about the movie.

Sherlock Holmes
This is the one movie I left and thought "this movie could have been so much better!" I mean, really. Robert Downey Jr. is absolutely charismatic and charming in everything and this was no exception. And he was great with Jude Law who, for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed. But something about it just wasn't executed well. I didn't like the color and the look of the whole movie. I thought Rachel McAdams was horribly miscast, and I thought it was too long. Oh well. Maybe they'll get it right in the sequel.

It's Complicated
Now this is (or should have been) a Lisa movie homerun. Seriously. It's been called femme-porn and I agree with that. A woman with a lot of money, a lot of free time, a gorgeous house with a gorgeous kitchen and gorgeous furnishings, and a little bakery we'd all love to own. Meryl Streep is lovely as usual. But Alec Baldwin was distracting as...well, Alec Baldwin. That's all he can do and it's great on "30 Rock" but sort of weird in a romantic comedy. Still enjoyable but John Krasinski was the best part of this movie.