The Fighter (2010)

 Directed by cinematic wild card David O. Russell, The Fighter is a bristling family drama with a sneaky battle strategy – it lulls you in with the promise of underdog sports heroics, chides you into dropping your guard with surprising comedic geniality, then lands a powerhouse punch on your movie-loving soft spot, that solar plexus of cinematic adoration occupied by childhood favorites, modern classics, and repeat viewings

The Other Guys (2010)

When I first saw the trailers for The Other Guys, almost every single cinema cell within me screamed “that movie will be terrible!” Granted I’d just recently suffered through the injustice that was Cop Out, and you know what they say about a movie-lover scorned… but nothing about this movie looked good to me.

Then the reviews started sneaking out, and they were trending surprisingly positive. Not just “this is okay for a summer yukfest” positive but “this is one of Will Ferrell’s best movies ever!” positive. On opening night, it was certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score in the low 80s. Second only to Elf (2003). That’s a better score than Talladega Nights (2006), Stranger than Fiction (2006), Wedding Crashers (2005), Anchorman (2004) and Old School (2003). Take a look at that list again. “Wow,” you might be thinking, as I did the other night. “I must have got it all wrong. This movie must be pretty awesome!”

Nope. Nope it isn’t. I mean yeah, it's alright.  But I’d say it’s worse than every one of the Ferrell flicks listed above, save Talladega Nights, which is equally hit or miss. Yes, The Other Guys is funny. Sometimes it’s really, really funny. And yes, it’s better than the promos would have you believe. But no, it is not the funniest movie you’ll see all year, or even this month.