Emily's Top 5 of Summer '10

When you think summer, you probably think sun, sand, shorts and Sandy and Danny doing falsetto in the quad (well, maybe not the last one). When I think summer, I think great movies. When it's too hot to even think about being outside (or even when it's not), there's nothing better than grabbing a ice-cold Coke, a few like-minded friends and a light cardi (A necessity nowadays thanks to Cineplex's ridic AC settings) and plopping down for a two-hour cinematic vacay. And this past summer has given us some instant classics, at least on a totally guilt-free This-is-So-Freakin'-Entertaining level.

5) Piranha 3D 

Yes, yes. It's ridiculous. But in the most perfect way possible. I don't know about you, but I think every summer needs movies like this. We usually have to sit through movies that are unintentionally campy and emotionless during the hot-ass holiday season, but it's rare to find one that is overtly conscious of the fabulous frivolity. Or that features a feral fish eating and regurgitating a runaway peen.  Piranha 3D may not be Oscar-worthy, but it was the most fun I've had at the movies all summer. And I'm not the only one who thinks so - it's got a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes! Here's hoping Machete amps up the excitement for the terribly awesome trend and makes Hollywood realize that crass acts aren't so bad after all. In fact, they're delicious.

Photo: Worstpreviews.com 

4) The Other Guys

A few months back, I was sure I was going to guffaw my way through Summer 10'.  There seemed to be some really cool, indie comedies coming out (Cyrus, The Kids Are All Right) and well, that new Adam Sandler flick (I don't even dare speak it's name now). Unfortunately, none of those seemingly-destined-for-major-post-popcorn-quotage fllicks really managed to tickle my funny bone. So when The Other Guys came out, I assumed the worst, anticipating the awful aftertaste of recycled comedic cheese. I was SO wrong. Dirk Diggler + Ron Burgundy = the funniest movie of the summer, hell, maybe even the year.

Photo: Allmoviephoto.com

3) Inception 

Although I usually bow down to low-brow flicks during beach season, I also make a point to find at least one thought-provoking drama. Usually that requires several trips to a seriously-out-of-the-way rep cinema and a majorly open mind. But this year, I just had to drive to the closest Cineplex.  Two years after giving us the brilliant Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan brought us the perfect summer thinker's movie - Inception.  With it's wickedly in-depth script, way-too-real special effects and award-bait cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Marion Coittilard, Ellen Page), Inception blew every pretentious art house movie out of the water, making me, and billions of others, question their sense of blockbusters, gravity and personal reality. I mean, am I really writing this right now? Or am I knee-deep in subconscious sabotage? LEO!?

Photo: Allmoviephoto.com

2) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 

Inception may have changed the way I think about reality, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World did something even cooler - it changed the way I see movies. I may never be able to enjoy a movie again without overhead onomatopoeias explaining every karate chop, head bang and phone call. Or a pee bar regulating the main character's bathroom break. Or 3D hearts flowing out from under a stolen kiss. Or a famous laugh track randomly interrupting a seemingly unfunny conversation.There are just so many things about Scott Pilgrim we've never seen on-screen before, which is way too uncommon these days. The ads claim it's an "epic of epic epicness" and I couldn't agree more. Make you see it before it becomes too cult cool for you.

Photo: Allmoviephoto.com

1) Toy Story 3

A perfect ending to a perfect series. Two words: Spanish Buzz.

Michelle's Top 5 Summer Movies. Ever.

I'll be honest. My favourite summer-themed films of all time do lean on the cheesy side, but isn't summer all about guilty pleasures? While some would rather spend their time loading up on calories from cheesy chili dogs, a cheesy movie can be just as satisfying. (Actually, both at the same time sound even better...) It's not to late to get a little silly with these films before summer's over.

5) Beach Blanket Bingo

Hahaha! Haha! This film is hilarious because it's so ridiculously corny. Honestly, if you're looking for a good laugh to send your summer off then this is it. As if the hairstyles, outfits and dance moves weren't enough alone to do it, the close-up shots of butts shakin' it are just hilarious. Jokes are lame, the story is pretty pointless and it's all about good, clean fun. It's far from the way you expect a film about 20-something-year-olds kicking it at the beach to be nowadays but in the 60s, it was all about Frankie and Annette and their silly singing and frolicking on the beach. Now, it's comedy for a whole different reason.

4) Camp Nowhere

Do not tell me that I'm not fourteen anymore; I do not care. I don't know a single kid that wouldn't have dreamed of a summer like the one in Camp Nowhere: no parents, dozens of friends and very deep pocket change. What more could you have asked for? It's also impossible that there would be so many oblivious parents out there, but that's just part of the charm. For those who haven't seen this fantasy-of-a-film, kids tricked their parents into going away to supposed "fat camps" and "computer camps," led by Mud (Jonathan Jackson) and Dennis Van Welker (an all too fitting Christopher Lloyd), who they've blackmailed into supporting their shenanigans. Come on, don't tell me you still wouldn't go if you had the chance.

Photo: youtube.com screencap

3) Caddyshack

OK, number one reason to see Caddyshack is the "poo" in the pool. Seriously. It's become one of the most brilliant, fool-proof pranks ever. Aside from that, it's got a roster of iconic comedians: Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Ted Knight. For me though, it's all about Chase. He plays the overconfident Ty Webb, one of the co-founders of the Bushwood Country Club where Danny (Michael O'Keefe) is caddying all summer to save up for college in the fall. Ty's subtle moves are hilarious, even after re-watches. He's like an insane man trapped in the body of a golf-garbed sane dude.

Photo: source unknown

2) National Lampoon's Vacation

Evidently, I'm a Chevy Chase fan, and Vacation is just one of his funniest of all time. Clark Griswold (Chase) has decided to take his family on a summer vacation to Walley World and will stop at nothing to get there. And make it on the rides. That includes trudging across the country in one of the most hideous cars ever, visiting Ellen's (Beverly D'Angelo) cousin's crazy family, getting stranded in the desert and ever-so-respectfully disposing of Aunt Edna's body when she passes away in the midst of the trip. It's an awesome, crazy mess.

1) Now and Then

Summer is really about spending time with people you have a good time with and who better than your best friends. This film is so underrated. A 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is just sad. But then again, most critics were older men, not little girls. The film about four lifelong friends taking a look back on the summer they began to grow up. Now and Then has so much heart it just makes me feel mushy gushy inside. It's all about friendship, sticking up for each other and having someone to confide in. It's also a much lighter and more realistic take on that messy adolescent stage in life that so many films tend to either mock or over-dramatize. Not to mention, the late 60s soundtrack is also super groovy.

Photo: source unknown

Michelle's Top 5 of Summer '10

For me, this summer was all about trippy films, be it 3D, mind games or lab experiments gone wrong in every way. Most times it was about being charmed by a beautiful idea, but sometimes it just felt good to be a little girl again. It was like a unconventional summer stay-cation, visiting times and concepts and oddities. Don't forget to pack your thinker!

5) Toy Story 3

Definitely one of the most anticipated films of the summer, led-up to with Toy Story and its sequel and brought back to theatres in 3D. The first two successful films weren't originally done in 3D and it seemed kind of risky to put the third out in 3D given all the major 3D failures lately. It's just that much sweeter when a film rocks it against doubts. But this film couldn't have done it for me without Barbie (Jodi Benson) and Ken (Michael Keaton), cracking jokes about Ken's all too obvious unmanliness and his destined love with Barbie.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

4) Despicable Me

Steve Carell and Jason Segel is more than enough to sell a film but when it comes to kids films, we expect something corny, especially when it's about a two supposed evil masterminds and three chipmunk-cheeked little girls selling cookies. Doesn't leave much room for jokes for the parents but for those of us who are still secretly a five-year-old version of ourselves, this film was just right. I mean, come on, silly faces and sounds are still funny.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

3) Mr. Nobody

This film was all about possibilities. What could have been? What was? They're both meshed in this film. It's an idea so limitless-ly fulfilling that it's depressing, if that even makes sense. Not that it's easy to understand much of the film itself. It's a futuristic utopian/dystopian film set to make us appreciate the way we live our lives right now, but also reminding us of the choices we've had in our own lives. In other words, it's a film for those who hobby thinking.

Photo: teaser-trailer.com

2) Splice

This film's beauty was in its unpredictability. Like Mr. Nobody, the film played with a utopian/dystopian idea: What if we could create animal-human hybrids? The results were repulsive, sweet, terrifying and sexy. This idea was intertwined with the story of a young couple going through their young couple woes but totally shaken up by this new being in their lives. In simplest terms, this film is very, very weird and discomforting. But some of us love that kind of thing.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

1) Inception

How awesome is it when your most anticipated film of the summer actually meets your expectations? Come on. Who doesn't want to a see a film set in imaginations of stunningly unfamiliar worlds where the earth can fold over above or people can die but don't really die or where you can pry through others' thoughts? Just wow. Beautiful idea, great execution and a cast that fits almost seamlessly together. What more could you ask for? And not that I'm an Ellen Page fan but I like to root for my Canadians and this film seemed like a step, albeit a baby step, away from her usual troubled teenager role and into the clever college student role. Who knows, maybe next we'll see her a struggling young adult.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

Cinefilles take on summer '10

Photo: Thomas Hawk

Farewell toasty tans, goodbye patio nights - our sweet and sultry summer is almost at its end. But no worries. To help ease the tremendous pain of our most frivolous season gone by, Cinefilles is sending the summer off with our end-of-summer themed week.

In place of our Monday and Friday regulars, we'll sum up the last few months with our "Top 5 of Summer '10", sharing with you the films that really rocked our flip-flops. We're also rejigging our weekly "Don't You Forget About" to feature our top summer-themed films of all time so you can get your last fix of hot, golden sunshine with some rentals before the days get shorter.

Get ready for your last week to grab a snow cone and hit the flicks!

The Filles

P.S. - Feel free to chime in and comment with your faves too!