I don't really have a top ten list of films for 2011 because I don't feel like I saw a complete sample of things that came out - I missed A LOT of movies that I wanted to see. But several things did come out that, if I had a top ten list, would most likely have made the cut:
X-Men: First Class and Captain America, both two of the finest super hero movies the genre has turned out since, well, ever.
Drive, which won't get nearly as much awards press as I want it to.
Hugo, which I liked a whole lot more than I expected to, due to an unfortunately misleading trailer.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a movie which manages to be more exciting than both the original source material and the first adaptation.
Margin Call, which I tried to write about but had difficulties I can't really articulate; it's a wonderfully sharp piece of writing and acting that I maybe didn't really understand completely? There's a lot of financial business that I didn't get, but it's a testament to the power of the actors that it didn't matter. Check it out if you get the chance - I don't understand how it didn't get a wider release, with the surplus of powerhouse names in it (Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany).
Maybe Moneyball? I didn't write about this one, either, because I have a problematic relationship with it. I want to recognize the wonderful writing and excellent performances (especially by Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman), but...it didn't resonate with me the same way it seems to have with the rest of the world. I just didn't feel like there was enough of a story to fill the whole time slot - all the bits about Pitt's family life felt like padding to me, and didn't really add anything in terms of emotional development. I wish it had been a really tightly-focused 60 minute film, concentrating on the baseball aspects of Pitt's character's life rather than a weakly-written relationship with a daughter I didn't care about. The fascinating moments of this movie are the negotiations and the game itself, not the private lives of the characters.
If I get the chance to see more 2011 films before the end of January, I'll do a list for you guys. Otherwise, what's above is pretty much my greatest hits of things I actually saw.
My biggest hope for 2012 in terms of film is simple: MORE. ANIMATED. MOVIES. Is it just me, or was 2011 COMPLETELY LACKING in good animation? I'm not sure I realized it until I watched the Golden Globes on Sunday, but to follow 2010, a year which gave us Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, and Tangled with a spat of sequels and poorly reviewed items that disappeared almost as soon as they hit theaters seems...sad. I hope Pixar delivers with BRAVE, is all I'm saying.
X-Men: First Class and Captain America, both two of the finest super hero movies the genre has turned out since, well, ever.
Drive, which won't get nearly as much awards press as I want it to.
Hugo, which I liked a whole lot more than I expected to, due to an unfortunately misleading trailer.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a movie which manages to be more exciting than both the original source material and the first adaptation.
Margin Call, which I tried to write about but had difficulties I can't really articulate; it's a wonderfully sharp piece of writing and acting that I maybe didn't really understand completely? There's a lot of financial business that I didn't get, but it's a testament to the power of the actors that it didn't matter. Check it out if you get the chance - I don't understand how it didn't get a wider release, with the surplus of powerhouse names in it (Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany).
Maybe Moneyball? I didn't write about this one, either, because I have a problematic relationship with it. I want to recognize the wonderful writing and excellent performances (especially by Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman), but...it didn't resonate with me the same way it seems to have with the rest of the world. I just didn't feel like there was enough of a story to fill the whole time slot - all the bits about Pitt's family life felt like padding to me, and didn't really add anything in terms of emotional development. I wish it had been a really tightly-focused 60 minute film, concentrating on the baseball aspects of Pitt's character's life rather than a weakly-written relationship with a daughter I didn't care about. The fascinating moments of this movie are the negotiations and the game itself, not the private lives of the characters.
If I get the chance to see more 2011 films before the end of January, I'll do a list for you guys. Otherwise, what's above is pretty much my greatest hits of things I actually saw.
My biggest hope for 2012 in terms of film is simple: MORE. ANIMATED. MOVIES. Is it just me, or was 2011 COMPLETELY LACKING in good animation? I'm not sure I realized it until I watched the Golden Globes on Sunday, but to follow 2010, a year which gave us Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, and Tangled with a spat of sequels and poorly reviewed items that disappeared almost as soon as they hit theaters seems...sad. I hope Pixar delivers with BRAVE, is all I'm saying.
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