2011 Movie Assessments

Since everybody puts out a top ten movie list around this time for the passing year, here we go.  This list was culled from only the movies I went to see. I know there are a bunch of great movies that I haven’t seen yet.  I’ve also included what I considered to be the worst movies of the year, good with the bad kind of thing. 

Top Ten for 2011

1.  Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – so tough to bring a great book to the screen, especially one that had already been done well – best movie of the year.  Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig nail their respective parts. 

2.  Midnight in Paris – Woody’s back!  Great movie where Woody Allen finally realizes we’re sick of his neurosis and gets the best performance of Owen Wilson’s career.

3.  Super 8 – nostalgic look back at the 1970’s, who thought that was possible!  This also has a very good, suspenseful sci fi plot.

4.  Insidious – I have not been this scared at a movie in a very long time and I see a lot of horror movies.  One of the greatest shock scenes in movie history with an unexpected dining room table guest – if you’ve seen it – you know what I’m talking about.

5.  Cedar Rapids – sweet story about lovable losers who stay true to themselves and each other.  A movie about insurance agents that actually works – yep!

6.  Larry Crowne – Tom Hanks getting back into his Terminal type persona making us all feel the pain of the recession with quiet dignity and comedic flair.

7.  Paul – I was so surprised by this movie.  Sci Fi geeks who run into an actual alien who is a foul mouthed, but lovable pervert.  Some great observations on life.

8.  Battle for L.A. – science fiction so well done, seen through the eyes of an infantry platoon (all right maybe I’m a little biased) fighting for their lives against aliens (real ones) in L.A.  They get the personal relationships perfect as well as the sense of duty.

9.  The Descendants – Clooney is so good in a very understated way as he deals with the wreckage left by a comatose wife.

10.  Hugo – who knew Scorsese had this type of heart.  A homage to movie lovers told through the eyes of a precocious orphan hiding out in a 1920’s Paris train station.

This list was tough to make up because there were so many other movies worth considering which surprised me because I thought this was kind of a down year in terms of quality.  The following movies made it to the final cut, in no particular order:

Honorable Mention:

Bridesmaids – so funny, best chick flick ever made.  I’d heard women had a sense of humor about themselves.

Capt America – so hokey it was fun.  Evans goes through an amazing transformation – I’m still trying to figure out how they made him so skinny in the beginning

Fast 5 – great action with a really tight plot – big surprise that this franchise could transcend but it does with this installment

Immortals – amazing special effects with a very engaging cast

Drive Angry – guilty pleasure movie, alright, really guilty pleasure but Cage breaking out of hell to save his granddaughter while pursued by a well mannered demon was great.

Source Code – lots of heart as a “dead” soldier goes through multiple incarnations of a bombing to send a message to his father and find true love

Lincoln Lawyer – Connelly finally makes it to the screen with a highly intelligent movie with McConaughey finally living up to his potential

J. Edgar – takes on one of the most important and intriguing figures of the 20^th century and DiCaprio is finally believable

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – so tough to bring home a beloved, yet complicated story but they succeed, this was the last cut from the top ten and I’m not even a big Potter fan.

Top Comedy (co-winners): 

Paul

Bridesmaids

Top Drama:

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Top Romance:

Larry Crowne

Top Action:

Mission Impossible:  Ghost Protocol – edge of your seat the whole way

Best Special Effects:

Source Code

Best Foreign Film

Trollhunter – documentary of the hunt for trolls in modern day Scandinavia, my wife actually believed it was real and couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard of these 100 foot giants before.

Worst Movies/ Biggest Disappointments

Drive – so, so bad, worst movie of the year, by far

Your Highness – McBride should stick to supporting roles, what were Portman and Franco thinking

Straw Dogs – sad effort on re-making Peckinpah’s classic

Red Riding Hood – some of worst acting, ever, Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons – worst actors ever

Conan the Barbarian – destruction of one of my favorite characters and movies ever, who knew Arnold was so good – this remake was a certified disaster

Three Musketeers – felt like asking for my money back after seeing this disaster, sad effort with this classic story