Movies of 2011
The BEST
10 // Toast
This will no doubt fly by a lot
of peoples radars, which is a shame because it's a great little feel
good drama. Helena Bonham Carter always adds a little something "extra"
to films she's in, i loved her in this.
09 // We Need To Talk About Kevin
Kevin
is one fucked up kid, and this movie will no doubt leave feeling ill
afterwards. Tilda Swinton was amazing in this, probably one of the best
performances of the year.
08 // Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2
A
fitting, if slightly short end to a mostly entertaining series. What
really sells this finale is the emotional aspect of the story, which
much like the book, is quite powerful.
07 // The Woman
Definitely not a film for everyone, but if you can handle the graphic nature of
the story, you're in for an intense and dark movie experience.
06 // Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I
love that Andy Serkis is causing an uproar in the film industry by
bringing up the debate over whether motion cpature is a legitmate form
of acting. His work in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong was
fantastic, but he really hit his peak this year with 'Apes', he brought a
lot of genuine heart to his character, Ceasar. A surprisingly moving
film.
05 // X-Men: First Class
I've loved all the X-men
films, but the franchise did need a bit of an adrenaline shot after ther
rushed 'X-Men: The Last Stand'. 'First Class' gave the franchise the
life it needed. We haven't had a X-Men film this strong since the
brilliant X-Men 2 almost a decade ago.
04 // Black Swan
I
know this came out in the U.S. in late 2010, but the rest of the world
got it early 2011. It's a dark mind bending experience into madness with
Natalie Portman giving the performance of her career. You literally
watch a girl lose her mind for 2 hours, you almost feel tired by the end
of it all.
03 // 50/50
The mixture of serious drama and
comedy was done so perfectly, you'll find yourself laughing and crying
at the same time. Joseph Gordon Levitt proves he's still one of the best
young actors in Hollywood, Seth Rogen is hilarious, Anna Jendrick is as
charming as always, and Angelica Huston was fantastic but sadly
underused. I had this film stuck in my head for days afterwards, i loved
it.
02 // Jane Eyre
I'm unfamiliar with the book and the
previous film adaptations, so i'm not sure how this stands up against
them. As a stand alone film though, i thought it was beautifully shot
and the chemistry on screen between Mia Wasikowska and Michael
Fassbender felt very natural and genuine. It was very romantic, i even
cried like a baby in the end *turns red*.
01 // Bridesmaids
It's
not common for me to pick a comedy as my #1 film of the year, but this
is one of those rare moments. Not only was this my favourite movie of
the year, but it's also one of the funniest movies i have ever seen in
my life. I haven't laughed this hard non-stop over a movie in a long
time. The film doesn't just bring the laughs though, it also addresses
some relatable depressing moments in peoples lives, especially around
the main character, played brillianty by Kristen Wiig.
Honorable Mentions:
The Help
Wasted On The Young
Martha Marcey May Marlene
Thor
The WORST
Cowboys & Aliens
Is it just me, or has
Steven Spielberg been attaching his name as a producer to some SHOCKING
work over the last few years? First the last 2 Transformers movies, and
now this mess? You'd think cowboys shooting lasers at aliens would send
your imagination wild, but this ended up being a massive bore.
Sucker Punch
Visually
it's fantastic, and the soundtrack is great too, the rest however is
the biggest clusterfuck mess of ideas i've ever seen. Nothing flows,
nothing makes sense, nothing feels like a complete film. The sexy, yet
cardboard thin characters didn't help either.
Tree of Life
Congrats
to anybody who can sit through this over blown, boring as hell,
pretentious mess of a movie. Shots of buildings, people whispering
endlessly, and footage from "the best of National Geographic" is all
you'll get from this load of self indulgent garbage.
Green Lantern
There
were some great comic book films this year, Green Lantern wasn't one of
them. Who's idea was it to cast Ryan Rynold's as a serious superhero?
the guy cannot do drama, he constantly look like he's trying not to
laugh, he has that face in ALL his films. And don't even start me on the
mess that was his costume.......glowing green eyes, pouty lip glossed
lips, perfect hair, practically naked body suit, he looked like a gay
Mardi Gras float character. Awful.
