*Favorite Films of 2011*

I saw a ton of movies from August of 2012 through February of 2013. I knew I had been in a rut movie wise, so I took advantage of the deal Blockbuster had, which was rent as movies as you want for $15 a month. Basically, you rented one, brought it back, and then picked up another. I was probably averaging about 15-20 movies a month. I was really out of the loops movie wise, going back to at least 2010. So, in the spirit of the 2012 list, here is 2011 retroactive list.

(Excellent****)

The King's Speech
My Week With Marilyn
Burning Man
Midnight In Paris
The Descendants
Warhorse
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Intouchables (French film)
Captain America
One Day
Moneyball
50/50
x-Men: First Class
Like Crazy
Sarah's Key (French Film)
Beginners
Happythankyoumoreplease


(Very Good ***1/2)

The Ides of March
Hesher
The Help
The Adjustment Bureau
30 Minutes or Less
Our Idiot Brother
Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol
Stupid Crazy Love
Drive
Horrible Bosses
In Time
The Sitter
Contagion
Super 8
Scream 4
Margin Call
Trishna

(Good w/Some Flaws ***)

We Built A Zoo
Hall Pass
Cowboys & Aliens
Fright Night
The Lincoln Lawyer
Just Go With It
New Year's Eve
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Dream House
Seeking Justice
Friends With Benefits
Young Adult
Source Code
Thor
The Grey
Warrior

(Average: Go Rent at your local library ** to **1/2)

The Debt
Friends With Kids
The Hangover II
The Change Up
Attack the Block
Bad Teacher
Green Lantern
Harold & Kumar's 3D Christmas
Larry Crowne

(Awful: Don't Bother * to None)

The Double (Predictable & downright stupid)
Another Happy Day (Great performance by Ellen Barkin, but the family dysfunction was so over the top, and disgusting)

I have seen exactly 2 of those movies, Green Lantern and Captain America.

I haven't seen nearly as many, but from the ones I have and your categories:



Brilliant:

Midnight In Paris
The King's Speech



Almost Brilliant:

MI: Ghost Protocol
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Artist

Flawed but enjoyable:

Captain America
Paranormal Activity 3

Average (rental):

Thor
Super 8

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

I haven't seen nearly as many, but from the ones I have and your categories:



Brilliant:

Midnight In Paris
The King's Speech



Almost Brilliant:

MI: Ghost Protocol
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Artist

Flawed but enjoyable:

Captain America
Paranormal Activity 3

Average (rental):

Thor
Super 8

I need to see "The Artist", but I have to be in the mood, when it comes to movies with subtitles.

metalinmyveins wrote:

I need to see "The Artist", but I have to be in the mood, when it comes to movies with subtitles.

Not technically subtitles, "title cards" as used in silent films. You really don't even need to read the cards because everything in the film is communicated via visuals and music.

S.D. wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

I need to see "The Artist", but I have to be in the mood, when it comes to movies with subtitles.

Not technically subtitles, "title cards" as used in silent films.  You really don't even need to read the cards because everything in the film is communicated via visuals and music.

Okay...good to know. It's on my short list.

metalinmyveins wrote:

S.D. wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

I need to see "The Artist", but I have to be in the mood, when it comes to movies with subtitles.

Not technically subtitles, "title cards" as used in silent films.  You really don't even need to read the cards because everything in the film is communicated via visuals and music.

Okay...good to know. It's on my short list.

The Artist was every bit as good as the critics said and then some. Then again, I adore silent films.

corplhicks wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

S.D. wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

I need to see "The Artist", but I have to be in the mood, when it comes to movies with subtitles.

Not technically subtitles, "title cards" as used in silent films.  You really don't even need to read the cards because everything in the film is communicated via visuals and music.

Okay...good to know. It's on my short list.

The Artist was every bit as good as the critics said and then some. Then again, I adore silent films.

Damn, I guess this might be the next movie that I rent...

Okay, here's my 2011 list:

Excellent (****)
The Artist
Source Code
The King's Speech
Midnight In Paris
Drive
Like Crazy
The Descendants
My Week With Marilyn
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Very Good (***1/2)
Another Earth
50/50
Hanna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Adjustment Bureau
Young Adult
Moneyball
X-Men: First Class
Super 8
Horrible Bosses
Captain America: The First Avenger
Crazy, Stupid, Love
The Whistleblower
The Help
The Ides of March
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene

Good (with some flaws) (***)
No Strings Attached
Friends With Benefits
The Lincoln Lawyer
Melancholia
Paul
Hesher
Contagion
Thor
Bridesmaids
Attack The Block
30 Minutes Or Less
Our Idiot Brother
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Average (** to **1/2)
Season Of The Witch
In Time
Cowboys & Aliens
We Bought A Zoo
Take Me Home Tonight
Sucker Punch
Insidious
Your Highness
Scream 4
The Guard
Final Destination 5
Fright Night
Apollo 18
What's Your Number?
The Big Year
The Thing
The Rum Diary

Horrid (* or none)
The Dilemna
The Roommate
Drive Angry
Battle: Los Angeles
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Change-Up
Conan The Barbarian
Dream House
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Real Steel

S.D, you're another one that has seen "Another Earth" and really liked it. I'm going to have to look into that one immediately. I forgot about Source Code, but I know that I didn't as much you did. I actually go with the same star system that you do, but I didn't include it in this go around. Since you seem to like many of the same movies that I do, regarding "Independent" releases, I would say you should definitely check out the movie "Burning Man". It was quite possibly the best movie I saw that year. I had "50/50" for 2012, but I see it debuted in 2011, and I noticed I was wrong about the movie "Beginners" as a 2011 flick, it was a 2010 flick.

I finally saw the movie "Like Crazy" last night. This movie has been on my short list since the end of last year. Even though I hadn't seen it, I recommended the movie to one of my ex's a few months ago, knowing that I would probably really like it. After watching it, I remember her telling me how disappointed she was with the ending. That might have been the reason it took me as long to finally see this movie. I didn't love the ending, but I didn't necessarily hate it either. I felt the ending was an accurate representation of where that relationship was by movie's end, so I didn't have a big problem with the final scene.

One movie I had forgotten about, and had left off my list, was "Another Happy Day" (2011). I was reminded of this movie after watching "Rachel Getting Married" (2008) last night. In some ways these movies parallel each other, as they are both steeped in dysfunctionality, along with a wedding weekend as the back drop. Where they were differed, "Another Happy Day", produced possibly one likable/sympathetic character, played by Ellen Barkin, along with a family which for all intents and purposes was loathsome. The movie was utterly cringe worthy, and made a character like Charlize Theron's character in "Young Adult" seem normal, when compared to this narcissistic group. The reason "Rachel Getting Married" succeeded was, under the layers of dysfunctionality, there was a warmth that you knew existed. There's a point in "Rachel Getting Married" where Anne Hathaway's character literally has one of those forks in the road moment...It's what happens after that moment, that allows this movie to succeed. I also loved the multiculturalism, and how the score was utilized in this movie.

One of the primary things I admired about Like Crazy was the fact it's a film that tells an honest story...a story that doesn't follow the usual preconceived blueprint you see in movies like this. That alone made it hard to swallow for viewers that wanted the usual ways these stories progress, but made it even more rewarding for those of us seeking out more nuanced delivery of familiar ideas. Felicity Jones is the other reason the movie works so beautifully, she can communicate so many things with just an expression.

I look forward to seeing Breathe In the latest film from Felicity and director Drake Doremus.

S.D. wrote:

One of the primary things I admired about Like Crazy was the fact it's a film that tells an honest story...a story that doesn't follow the usual preconceived blueprint you see in movies like this.  That alone made it hard to swallow for viewers that wanted the usual ways these stories progress, but made it even more rewarding for those of us seeking out more nuanced delivery of familiar ideas.  Felicity Jones is the other reason the movie works so beautifully, she can communicate so many things with just an expression.

I look forward to seeing Breathe In the latest film from Felicity and director Drake Doremus.

Well stated, and I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding your thoughts about both the flow of the movie and Felicity Jones. It's unique when an actor can convey feelings with just their body language, and how it becomes ever bit as powerful as the spoken word. After watching "Like Crazy", I immediately checked out her resume, which seems to be more T.V oriented. S.D, have you seen Ms. Jones in anything else which you enjoyed? I thought "Albatross" looked interesting???

Felicity Jones has had small roles in several ensemble films, not many true *lead* roles yet but I predict that will soon change.

I'd recommend checking out Cemetery Junction, a highly enjoyable and poignant comedy, co-written & directed by Ricky Gervais. Albatross and Cheerful Weather For The Wedding are a couple films where the actors themselves are superior to the film but I think are still worth checking out.

If you have a soft-spot for cheesy 80s sports comedies then you might like Chalet Girl, the setting for the film is present day but everything about the script just screams 1986. Felicity and the rest of the cast are great fun, but the film itself falls into the guilty pleasure category.

She has tiny roles in a couple other movies I really enjoyed; Hysteria (about the inventor of the vibrator) and the fine BBC drama Page Eight starring Bill Nighy.

S.D. wrote:

Felicity Jones has had small roles in several ensemble films, not many true *lead* roles yet but I predict that will soon change.  

I'd recommend checking out Cemetery Junction, a highly enjoyable and poignant comedy, co-written & directed by Ricky Gervais.  Albatross and Cheerful Weather For The Wedding are a couple films where the actors themselves are superior to the film but I think are still worth checking out.  

If you have a soft-spot for cheesy 80s sports comedies then you might like Chalet Girl, the setting for the film is present day but everything about the script just screams 1986.  Felicity and the rest of the cast are great fun, but the film itself falls into the guilty pleasure category.  

She has tiny roles in a couple other movies I really enjoyed; Hysteria (about the inventor of the vibrator) and the fine BBC drama Page Eight starring Bill Nighy.  
 

Thanks for the thoughts on the movies. I'll have to take a look at "Chalet Girl", as it sounds like something that might be right up my alley.

All of these titles with Felicity Jones are available on Netflix streaming right now:

The Diary of Anne Frank 2009
Chalet Girl 2011  
Albatross 2011  
Like Crazy 2011
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding 2012
Masterpiece Contemporary: Page Eight 2011

Of the original list and of the ones I've seen (I've cut back on new movies a lot in recent years), I think the best are:

Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol
Attack the Block
Drive

Horrible Bosses made me laugh a lot, which is usually all I need from a comedy.

These were entertaining. Not spectacular but not bad for superhero movies:

Captain America
Thor
X-Men: First Class

The Help had a lot of good acting. Story was the usual Hollywood BS about white people getting enlightened by watching brown people get shafted.

Moneyball had some good stuff in it but I was distracted by the real life events not aligning with the story told in the film. Art Howe, one of the most genial men in baseball and a guy who was on-board with sabermetrics from the start, being portrayed by Hoffman as a glowering stiff was one of the weirdest things I've seen in a movie in recent years.

Green Lantern...eh, missed opportunity.

I just rented both "Margin Call" and "The Grey" from my local library. I really enjoyed "Margin Call", as it gave me greater insight into the reasons behind the collapse of 2007-2008. Powerful performances from both Jeremy Irons and Kevin Spacey, and great ensemble to boot. "The Grey" was enjoyable, but I thought the pack mentality behind the wolves seemed somewhat contrived (Blame all violence by animals or fish on the movie Jaws). Liam Neeson as usual delivered...

I love Moneyball but yeah the Art Howe stuff felt like an unneeded add-on for dramatic purposes. Always meant to read the book.

I won't defend it as good - but I did enjoy Drive Angry in a big stupid violent fun way. And I would watch a sequel with The Accountant.

Quote :

I won't defend it as good - but I did enjoy Drive Angry in a big stupid violent fun way. And I would watch a sequel with The Accountant.

Ditto. Also, Amber Heard rocked those Daisy Dukes better than anyone since...well, since Daisy Duke.

I made it about 20 minutes into Drive Angry before I angrily ejected the DVD from the machine and watched something else instead.  

I watched the movie "Sarah's Key" last night. It's a movie about the mass arrest/roundup (July 16th & 17th 1942) of French Jews in Paris by the Parisian police department under the direction of the Nazis. The movie goes back and forth between 1942 and modern day Paris. Kristin Scott Thomas is a reporter, who is doing a story on the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup. Coincidentally she and her husband are renovating a home, which is in what was a densely Jewish populated neighborhood back in 1942. She investigates the history of the home and what she finds out changes her life forever. The other half of the story involves the Starzynski's, a Jewish family who are the focus of those horrible events in 1942. It's a great movie, which puts the viewer on an emotional roller coaster. "Sarah's Key" is easily one of my favorites from 2011.

I haven't gone back to watch many films from 2011, but I did watch the brilliant Happythankyoumoreplease this summer.

Still on my list to watch from 2011:

Limitless
Everything Must Go
The Tree of Life
Beautiful Boy
The Guard
Higher Ground
Hugo
A Dangerous Method
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Another Earth
Company Men

Another Earth is a must.

S.D. wrote:

Another Earth is a must.

I will check that out next. One of my exes was singing it's praises when it came out.