Piranha (2010)

The problem with this exploitation remake/homage to “Piranha” (1978) isn’t the gratuitous blood and breasts. The problem is execution. Richard Dreyfus’ cameo — and eventual death — in the first scene hints at 90 minutes of fun, then the movie disappoints.

d: Alexandre Aja | imdb.com | trailer | Chew on this. | In the water.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Edgar Wright directs a mash-up of ideas — comic books, video games, Michael Cera’s deadpan comedy — into something just-right. Cera plays Scott Pilgrim, who crushes on Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who carries the baggage of seven evil ex-boyfriends.

d: Edgar Wright | imdb.com | trailer

The Other Guys (2010)

Much better than “Cop Out” but no match for “Hot Fuzz,” director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell goof on the buddy cop genre. Ferrell keeps his shtick in check and Mark Wahlberg plays it straight, while Samuel L. Jackson and the Rock send up their images.

d: Adam McKay | imdb.com | trailer | Lion and tuna | Who is that?

Get Low (2010)

Robert Duvall is pefectly grizzlied and Bill Murray perfectly glib in a depression-era story of a funeral party, but the performances aren’t quite enough. The movie meanders and never delivers on wild stories of a hermit, settling for a too-safe third act.

d: Aaron Schneider | imdb.com | trailer

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Lesbians Annette Bening and Julianne Moore have a complicated marriage and two kids — just like everyone else! Then the kids contact forgotten sperm donor Mark Ruffalo, who again plays a scruffy, emotionally impotent fuck-up who fucks everything up.

d: Lisa Cholodenko | imdb.com | trailer | Charlie Rose
How did you meet? | So, Paul? | It’s her job. | Team sports

Inception (2010)

Director Christopher Nolan creates a visually stunning, surrealistic dream world, then one beyond that and then another beyond that. Along the way, Leonardo DiCaprio leads a heist of another man’s mind and finds closure with dead wife Marion Cotillard.

d: Christopher Nolan | imdb.com | trailer | First lesson
The most skilled extractor | I need an architect. | Don’t be afraid.