As my introductory post to my new blog I figured I'd start with the movies I loved and hated over the year 2011. There may be some omissions due to a variety of reasons, but this list is based on what I saw this year, from the movies that were released this year. Enjoy!
TOP TEN FAVORITE FILMS OF 2011
10. SUPER 8:
JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg. Those two names are enough to get me into a theater. Together, they are a geek bomb explosion going off in my head. When I first heard of this film and started seeing trailers I was hoping for perfection. I nearly expected it. Unfortunately, what I got was not perfection, but still a fantastic film. The subtle moments worked best for me, seeing first love blossom, and dreams of making movies come true was where the film flew. But once the monster was revealed at the end, I started to lose interest. I wanted more of what we saw in the first half. Overall though, it was good enough to break into my top ten.
9. RED, WHITE & BLUE
Now, here is a little film that snuck up on me when I least expected it. The first ten minutes are brutal to get through. I mean, just depressingly tough to endure. They are sexually graphic yet mundane, but they are absolutely necessary. They open a window into the life of this sad, pathetic character. This broken woman who uses sex as a means to ignore and forget her past. The moment she meets an older man who falls in love with her for who she really is, the movie switches gears so drastically and suddenly that it forces you to pay more attention. It really is startling as to how different the second half of the film is. I haven't seen a movie do that since From Dusk Til Dawn. The acting is incredible, especially from Noah Taylor who gives a performance I never would believe he could give. It's on Netflix instant and I recommend it to those who can handle very dark subject matter. A truly powerful independent film.
8. ATTACK THE BLOCK
For almost a year I had heard universal acclaim for this film. And once I got my hands on it, I was afraid that it was gonna be over hyped and I would be left unfulfilled. Wow, was I wrong. This film was scary, funny, and all around entertaining. My favorite thing about this movie was how the main characters are completely unlikeable. They are thugs. Assholes. Their introduction is them mugging a young woman for Christ's sake. But as the movie drags on you begin to sympathize with them and by the end you are rooting for them to succeed whole heartily. It is a very clever film that is incredibly fun to watch and get caught up in.
7. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
I have never been a Woody Allen fan. I've seen his films, I've even enjoyed some of them, but never proclaimed myself to be a fan. But this was a pleasant surprise. It was suggested to me from a friend after I told her I wasn't an Allen fan. She got upset and sent me directly to the theater. Okay, maybe it didn't exactly go down that way but I did eventually see it. I enjoyed that it had a “twist” to it. I mean, who saw Woody Allen doing a time travel movie? I thought that Paris was beautifully shot and more than any other film, this one made me want to travel there. A very funny and sweet film about meeting your idols and finding yourself.
6. X MEN: FIRST CLASS
Oh Marvel, how marvelous you are. With every year, and every new character Marvel brings alive to the screen, the more rich their universe expands. But the X Men series has always been hit or miss. The first two films were fantastic and without the original X Men movie, Marvel would probably have never given us any other character on screen that has come since. But Ratner's abortion that was The Last Stand and Wolverine Origins were just plain terrible. I was anticipating this film, but from their track record, was nervous leading up to the release. It could have gone either way. A prequel, trash. None of the original actors, trash. Changing the original films time line, trash. Everything was set against it. Then it was released and holy balls. This film fleshed out the back stories to every character we love and made their plights more understandable. Michael Fassbender as Magneto was by far the scene stealer of the film and I could have watched him hunt down Nazis for two hours and the film still would have made this spot on the list. Major credit goes to Kevin Bacon though, who was by far, one of the best villains of the year, if not of the entire X Men series. This movie was way better than it ever should have been.
5. LIMITLESS
As much as I loved this years X Men entry, this was the best superhero movie of the year. And yes, it was a super hero movie regardless of what you think. Bradley Cooper takes a pill that makes him smarter than everyone else. He can remember everything he has ever seen, read, or heard. Which gives him the ability to fight, think fast, and always know what's going to happen next. If those are not super powers than I don't know what is. This is a film that is so cleverly shot and edited that the story is completely unpredictable. The moment where he has to drink blood oozing from the dead guy on the floor to get the drug in his system I realized that this film was bug fuck nuts and deserved respect. I really enjoyed it and watched it a second time just to make sure it was really that good. It really was. Now all I got to do is get my hands on that drug.
4. HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2
Wow. To think that the eighth film based on a series of novels about a boy wizard would cause the amount of emotions it did to me is ludicrous. But this is Harry Potter so all bets are off. I know I fell into this series a bit late but by the time the fifth film had come out I had completed reading the entire series. And I was hooked. Not 'dress up as a wizard at the premiere' hooked but a fan nonetheless. This was such an immense series that spanned over a decade for all involved and made more money than anything else that had come before. For that alone, it deserves admiration. But this single film alone, this finale to such a loved lore, was absolutely perfect. It was paced at a break neck speed, delivered the best effects and action of the entire series, and gave a fitting conclusion to the story of the boy who lived. This film and it's series will be loved and remembered a hundred years from now, mark my words. It is the Star Wars of a generation.
3. CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE.
I am kind of crushing on Ryan Gosling right now. This guy is charismatic, funny, good looking and talented to boot. And as much as he is the best thing in this film (he is), he isn't the prettiest. That title belongs to a beautiful little ginger named Emma. This chick is the girl of my dreams. Literally. Moving on, Steve Carell is a force of fucking nature. The guy is comedy gold, responsible for one of the greatest television characters ever, and when handed a heavily dramatic role like this, he kills it. Who did he sell his soul to to be this good? I expected to like the film, but I never expected to fall in love with it. I walked away from the theater with a smile on my face and an upbeat positive attitude. It made me want to change my life. Not a lot of movies have that effect on me. I don't want to say anything more, just go Redbox this flick right now!
2. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
What? Planet of the Apes? The original series is fun, harmless camp. The Burton remake from 2001 only had the costumes and makeup going for it. Who expected this prequel to be this good? No one. But it is. It's better than good. It's great. It's one of the best films of the year and deserves to be recognized as such. This movie had so many “OMG WTF” moments it's hard to keep count. When Caesar speaks for the first time I literally gasped. Like a thirteen year old at a Twilight screening, I gasped. It just blew me the fuck away it was so unexpected. The movie also hosts the best performance of the year, by far. And no I am not talking about James Franco. Andy Serkis is probably the best actor working right now. And you never would know it's him. He is responsible for delivering the most nuanced and subtle performances without ever being on screen. Gollum, Kong, Caesar, and Captian Haddock from another great film from this year, The Adventures of Tintin. He is the king of motion capture performance. In this film, his character Caesar is impossible to look away from. And not just because of Serkis' performance. The visual effects used to bring this film together are by far the best of the year, and if it doesn't win that award next March I will probably punch my cat in the face. I know it's hard to believe that this film is this fantastic, but believe it, it is.
1. DRIVE
This film is pure art cinema. It has huge balls and is not afraid to swing them to and fro. When I saw the Fast and Furious-esque ads for it I had to laugh to myself because I knew this film was not going to be a Fast and Furious rip off at all. I read the script about a year ago and immediately started counting down the days to the release. And when I finally saw it I was mesmerized. The tone, style, music, cinematography were all spot the fuck on. Not a missed beat in this film and throughout the performances. Even throwaway characters were fully realized on screen. This movie owned me from the silent opening all the way to the face crushing, shotgun spewing end. The soundtrack has been playing through my iPod for weeks now, and when I listen to it while driving I feel the power and attitude that Driver, played by Ryan Gosling has. Unfortunately I am a much less talented driver. Director Nicholas Winding Refn is a force to be reckoned with and I can't wait for future films of his. Without a doubt, Drive is one of the smartest, boldest, and ballsiest films to come out in a long time, and for that it's my favorite film of the year.
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TOP FIVE WORST FILMS OF 2011
5. THE HANGOVER PART II
Oh the lame money grabbing sequels that Hollywood spills onto us. The Hangover, released two years ago was one of the most funny, clever, and re watchable films I've seen in years. It's a movie I love to quote and do on a regular basis. But when I heard they were making a sequel I wasn't expecting a remake. This new Hangover adventure is a step by step, joke for joke, carbon copy of the first film, and that's not a good thing. The first film had originality on it's side, this one has familiarity. Which isn't always bad, but in this case, I've been there, done that.
4. THE TREE OF LIFE
Oh boy am I gonna get shit for this one. This film will no doubt be nominated for a bajillion Academy Awards and end up on most critics “best of” lists. But I'm not most critics. I am an avid movie watcher and I love movies of all shapes and sizes. Give me a two hundred million dollar blockbuster and I'll double feature it with an indie, I have no qualms about that. But this film was an over hyped, overrated, pretentious bore. Just because a guy makes one film every ten years doesn't mean all of his films are great. There I said it.
3. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
I had high hopes for this flick. I really wanted a realistic alien invasion war film. Maybe that's what I got, but I got to believe an alien invasion war would warrant more action. My main problem with this flick is that it thought it was more important than it really was. Don't be heavy handed when your slaughtering extra-terrestrials, just give me piles of green blood. Either way, this movie struck a chord in me that was off key and I did not approve.
2. GREEN LANTERN
Worst comic book movie of the last decade? Done. Worst special effects of the year? Done. Worst casting for superhero movie since Fantastic Four? Done. Do I need to continue?
1. SUCKER PUNCH
I got into a heated argument with a co-worker over this film. That's how serious I am about hating it. He claimed it to be the best film ever made. Not of the year, but ever made. Now, we all know he is full of shit, but he couldn't be more wrong if he tried. This movie is one of the most visually striking films and it's such a disappointment that the story, acting, structure and plot are all fucking terrible. A reviewer said this about the film, “ If you like Inception with more rape, than Sucker Punch is for you.” Boy, could he not be more on the money. The film was so offensive in it's “hey these girls are being raped but let's ignore that and watch them fight giant samurais instead” that it deserves an award. By far this is the worst film I've seen this year and possibly of the last decade. A terrible travesty. And the director is giving us a new Superman in 2013. May God have mercy on our souls.
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