Top 5 and Bottom 5 movies of 2011
Top 5 and Bottom 5 movies of 2011 (that I've seen):
Top 5
Bridesmaids
One good thing we had plenty of this year (mainly during the summer) were adult comedies. After a drought of quality comedies in 2010 (can you remember any?) we were finally rewarded with funnies such as Horrible Bosses, Crazy, Stupid, Love, 30 Minutes or less and Paul. However Bridesmaids is the cream of the crop by far. This movie is painfully hilarious. All of female leads hold there own in their hysterical antics. Kristen Wiig proves she's got the acting chops to be funny but also hold the movie together with heart. Great comedy that is deserving of the praise it has received.
Rango
Terri and Submarine
I lumped these two independent movies together because they are similar in content but done in a completely different way. Both the films are coming of age stories following their teenage boy protagonist through their adventures at school and at home. However both movies approach the matter in very different ways. If I had to pick one, I would choose Terri because the story is more raw and emotional and John C. Reily is superb as the principal who is genuinely trying to do the right thing. However Submarine is more unique in its use of narration and editing and is an intellectual treat as it analyzes it's protagonists' relationship with a girl and with his parents. Both are excellent films that deserve and view and give us the joy of discovering that great independent film.
Bottom Five
I try not see a lot of bad movies because they are in my mind a waste of time. If I'm going to invest 2 hours of my time, I would like to get something out of it. Most of these I caught on DVD because I had some interest in them or maybe had been recommended by a friend. And ever once in a while I do end up loving a badly-reviewed movie (I don't understand why people and critics didn't like 30 minutes or Less), however in these cases, these are just mistakes that should be avoided.
Green Lantern
Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Onto crappier sequels
Super and Rubber
This is the risk with the indie. Despite there being many quality independent films being made everyday, there is a lot of crap out there too. Both of these movies had interesting premises and had the potential of being an enjoyable and interesting film, but instead they went off in some other direction that left a bad taste in your mouth. I was interested in Super because it has an outstanding cast and I love dark superhero movies. But I was not prepared to make as many wrong turns as the director did. Rubber had a simple and an interesting premise. A tire that comes to life and kills people. Even the poster looks awesome. However, it turned out to be some weird film school experimentation that went down a road that I did not want to go down. These films remind us that movies are hard to make, and sometimes those clever ideas don't turn up on film the way we intended.
Valentines Day 2: New Years Eve
3-D
Top 5
One good thing we had plenty of this year (mainly during the summer) were adult comedies. After a drought of quality comedies in 2010 (can you remember any?) we were finally rewarded with funnies such as Horrible Bosses, Crazy, Stupid, Love, 30 Minutes or less and Paul. However Bridesmaids is the cream of the crop by far. This movie is painfully hilarious. All of female leads hold there own in their hysterical antics. Kristen Wiig proves she's got the acting chops to be funny but also hold the movie together with heart. Great comedy that is deserving of the praise it has received.
Rango
There have been quite a few quality computer-animated children films that have come out this year, but Rango isn't one of them. For those who actually saw Rango, you should know that it has too much violence and adult situations to be considered a children's film. While the movie is inhabited by talking animals, these are not cute, fluffy, happy talking animals we are used to but rather ugly, rough creatures of the ruthless desert. The movie has amazing action sequences, clever dialogue, and a creepy surreal backdrop. Rango is an enjoyable post-modern western that should have an age-8 and up sticker on it so you aren't in a theatre with a bunch of screaming infants.
50/50
50/50 deals with a serious issue in a fun way. Trying to beat cancer is always entertaining if your best friend is the loud and obnoxious Seth Rogan and your therapist is the presumptuous Anna Kendrick. A terrific and young cast keep this film funny and heartfelt. Definitely check it out on DVD.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
This was blockbuster reboot prequel that was better than it should have been. This movie had every reason to be a run of mill summer movie that would have made money no matter what because it is part of a previously popular franchise. However, this movie went the extra mile to create a living, feeling, sympathetic creature that the audience really cares for. The relationship between James Franco and Cesar the ape is what sets up the movie for greatness. Andy Serkis does an exceptional job portraying the intelligent ape and the action scenes are incredibly exciting.
Terri and Submarine
I lumped these two independent movies together because they are similar in content but done in a completely different way. Both the films are coming of age stories following their teenage boy protagonist through their adventures at school and at home. However both movies approach the matter in very different ways. If I had to pick one, I would choose Terri because the story is more raw and emotional and John C. Reily is superb as the principal who is genuinely trying to do the right thing. However Submarine is more unique in its use of narration and editing and is an intellectual treat as it analyzes it's protagonists' relationship with a girl and with his parents. Both are excellent films that deserve and view and give us the joy of discovering that great independent film.
Bottom Five
I try not see a lot of bad movies because they are in my mind a waste of time. If I'm going to invest 2 hours of my time, I would like to get something out of it. Most of these I caught on DVD because I had some interest in them or maybe had been recommended by a friend. And ever once in a while I do end up loving a badly-reviewed movie (I don't understand why people and critics didn't like 30 minutes or Less), however in these cases, these are just mistakes that should be avoided.
Green Lantern
It's not completely this movie's fault that it sucked. While extremely heavily promoted, this movie could not compete with the 3 other far superior superhero movies that came out this summer. Marvel cleaned up with Thor, X-men, and the Cap. And there is a reason the Green Lantern hasn't been made into a movie until now. Only a select few have read the comic and he is a wierd supermanish hero with kind of abstract powers. If it had come out 10 years, I probably would have that this movie was pretty decent. However that was before the Dark Knight, Iron Man and Spiderman movies. Compared to what we should expect from a superhero movie, the Green Lantern was pretty lame.
Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Onto crappier sequels
I know you can't match up to the original. We already saw 2 mediocre/crummy sequels. I had low expectations for this one. I was just hoping it would be better than At World's End. Apparently that was too much to ask. Whatever, fine then I can accept that. Hollywood made another terrible sequel to a blockbuster. No big surprise there. But why did it have to make a billion dollars? Frustrating.
Super and Rubber
This is the risk with the indie. Despite there being many quality independent films being made everyday, there is a lot of crap out there too. Both of these movies had interesting premises and had the potential of being an enjoyable and interesting film, but instead they went off in some other direction that left a bad taste in your mouth. I was interested in Super because it has an outstanding cast and I love dark superhero movies. But I was not prepared to make as many wrong turns as the director did. Rubber had a simple and an interesting premise. A tire that comes to life and kills people. Even the poster looks awesome. However, it turned out to be some weird film school experimentation that went down a road that I did not want to go down. These films remind us that movies are hard to make, and sometimes those clever ideas don't turn up on film the way we intended.
Valentines Day 2: New Years Eve
Didn't see NYE but I saw about 20 unbearable minutes of Valentines Day, and I think we can safely assume that New Years Eve is probably cut from the same cloth of crap.
3-D
3-D needs to die faster. It was never that great, even in Avatar, and just an excuse for theaters to charge those ridiculous fees. I hate looking up showtimes only to find out that all the next showings are in 3D. If it is a quality movie, I never even notice if it is in 3-D or not. And please people, don't pay for any 3D re-releases such as Beauty and the Beast, Titantic and Star Wars. Save some money and rent them on DVD.
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