ReZourceman Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Welcome to the fantastical and ever improving with age (like a fine wine) Review of the Movies of 2011 in Review, Looking Back and Forward with words and smilings. I am ReZourceman, and I am going to guide you through my own reactions, recommendations and a-void-ations of the years offerings, before inviting you to reply with your own reviews of this years movies. Lets kick things off with the statistics. I watched 36 movies at the cinema this year, about on par with 2010 but down from 2009. Statistics are boring. On with the show, in chronological order. 1) Love And Other Drugs The romantic comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Jake G.....(ylenhal? yllenhall? ennhale?) in a...fairly good/okay movie. Erm. It had a sub plot about something wrong with Anne Hathway, but I cannot remember what was wrong with her. Oh yeah. Alzheimers I think it was. It was okay....it felt like a bit of an unnecessary addition, like they were trying to be different. But...the film needs to be applauded for the amount of skin of the two leads that is shown...serious boner material. Would be more than easy to get-busy-to. Serious Hathaway bum/back/arch epic. Watch 2) 127 Hours James Franco is usually very good. This movie was pretty fantastic really. Visually very beautiful, great and non standard editing, sublime acting and a very heartfelt and emotional journey. Must Watch 3) The Green Hornet (3D) Fine. Not particularly anything to ride home about the cows write to hotel. Green Hornet and Kaitos chemistry and dynamic was a blast however, and made the film a lot of fun. I don't remember it being 3D though....not sure if the ticket is lying. Worth A Watch 4) The Dilema Hmmm. I had hoped this would be good. It was okay. It was really quite forgettable. Meh 5) Tangled (2D). One of the best Disney films. I am not exactly a fan of Disney, but the voice acting was great, the design was great, it was quite humorous (and not annoying Disney kiddy humorous) and it was bright, bold and colourful. Watch 6) Paul. Had several references to Invincible. Had Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and Kristen Wiig and the vocal talents of Seth Rogen. There was a lot to like, and its got some killer cameos with an amusing and nerdy plot. It was enjoyable! Watch 7) Hall Pass bloody surprisingly amusing. The bits that were funny were quite hilarious. The cast is funny, Stephen Merchant steals the show in the movies closing scene....really very surprising. Must Watch 8) Limitless The super slick Bradley Cooper wows the women and is the guy that guys wanna guy. Wanna be. A pretty high concept, high thrills and high spills movie, some cliche slick dialogue feels a bit hammy like a pig sometimes, but there is so much style making its way off screen that you can't help but be enthralled by a lot of it. Must Watch 9) Source Code The pressure was on for director....(forgets his name) Duncan? Jones? David Bowie's son after the original and highly rejoiced "Moon". Source Code doesn't live up to Moon's visually satisfying romp, but JG is fantastic as always, the idea is very interesting and the overall plot is clever, unique and engaging. An extremely solid sci-fi-thriller type affair. Must Watch 10) Sucker Punch Words fail me. I've said it before and I'll say it again....technically terrible, but technically mind blowingly good. Sometimes a movie doesn't need to have the strongest plot or be super duper mega intelligent...sometimes you just want to watch Steam Punk Nazis, dragons, robot giant samurai etc. I think all of the action pieces in this movie were so well put together with the "day dream" aspect, and the style and the look of this movie are so strong...coupled with the unbelievably sexy cast for the most part. It made for one of the most visually gorgeous and exciting movies that had EVERYTHING you could ask for. Really. God. I love this film. So much. I want to bathe in Zack Snyder's semen. GOLD Must Watch 11) Scre4m. Returning to a horror franchise that was dead for close to a decade. It was actually rather enjoyable, with a fairly reasonable cast. Monica from Friends' face is sometimes hard to witness but it was a pretty cool movie and Sid/Sydney/Cindy (lol) @Paj\! sass was an enjoyable watch. Worth A Watch 12) Your Higness Merging the comedy and fantasy genres is an interesting concept. Adding Natalie Portman is an even more arousing prospect....throwing in James France and Danny McBride ensures success. A highly amusing throw down in teh olden thymes and Natalie Portman is a beautiful woman to view for prolonged periods. Watch 13) Fast and Furious 5 Surprisingly enjoyable. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Cars. Explosions. Etc. Watch 14) Thor (3D) And so comes the first Marvel offering since Iron Man 2. Extremely well done. Thor was the Avengers pre-movie I was looking forward to the least. It utterly blew away my expectations. It was HIGHLY amusing, close to Iron Man levels of win and humour. The action was great and the balance between Earth and the humans and Asgard and the Asgardians was really well struck. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is absurdly genius casting, one of my favourite villain portrayals ever. The rest of the cast is equally as perfect. GOLD Must Watch 15) Insidious. It was nice to have a horror film that really nailed the pacing, and got some solid chilling moments with "its not what you see, its what you don't" which makes a change to the shitty Paranormal Activity/Saw/Whatever reboots came out this year. I have a bit of a *huge* crush on Rose Byrne which helped, but this movie was just really chilling, well designed and acted. Shame about the ending, but it didn't sour the experience too much. Watch 16) Attack The Block Joe Cornish from cult series The Adam And Joe Show delivers a directional debut of giant quality. Set in chav ridden London, and focusing on a young woman and a group of chavs....the acting is effectively flawless, the setting is flawless, the alien design is new, simple and daunting, the pacing and structure is amazing. A true sci-fi classic. Must Watch 16.5) X-Men First Class (lost the ticket. Slash my friend paid and I didn't get it off him). Michael Fassbender, aaaahhh. <3 Unbelievably solid cast and a stellar story and setting brings the X-Men franchise back from the brink of destruction. Must Watch 17) Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2D) Starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. The beautiful Penelope Cruz fills the void left by Keira Knightley and she manages to inject a lot more sex appeal into the series than the previous. Did not save the movie from 2 hours of mediocrity though. Meh 18) The Hangover Part 2 Not as good as The Hangover, but had its moments. You could argue that it followed the pattern laid by the first too closely, but....I suppose its an amusing take on it. Roll on the third, roll on more Justin Bartha, and roll on more innovation on the series - these are great characters and it was fun to revisit them. Watch 19) Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D) Practically identical to the first but instead of exceptionally choreographed and over the top fight screnes and imposing and strong villains it had mediocore fights scenes and went the route of comical villain. Also not remotely amusing. Dreadful. Avoid 20) Green Lantern (2D). GL is a hard movie to create. It requires a big budget and its such a rich mythology that it would have been hard to choose a stroy that involves all of the most important characters and elements of the mythology. I think they actually did a pretty decent job. Adapting some of the elements of the mythology worked INCREDIBLY well IMHO, like the birth of Parallax. Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan was great....sure there may have been better choices, but he looked and sounded the part. A lot of people had a lot of problems with the movie, a lot of which I absolutely disagree with (Willpower being a driving force and Hal not really showing Willpower till the end....I say the ring knew it had it inside of him etc), but....the only real major flaw of the movie that everyone could argue is - not enough Sinestro. Mark Strong delivered one of the best performances of a comic book adaptation-ed-villain. A god damn fun movie all the same, lets hope a sequel does happen. Watch 21) Transformers The Dark Side of the Moon (3D) Finally a 3D movie that makes watching it in 3D a worthwhile task. I really adored the first Transformers movie and I still think it holds up well, but it doesn't quite match the scale and action of this third outing. Some great plot elements and so many smashing robots....thoroughly thrilling. Must Watch 22) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two (2D) Technically the best HP movie....technically not. I mean...its half a movie. Technically it is a let down. It really had...not a gigantic amount of action. Some of the fights are stupid. The most anticipated and epic encounters are limited to just a few seconds of clips on screen so that more time can be given to the shitty Harry/Voldermort fight and unnecessary emotional scenes. Hell I don't even remember. But....as a film it was entertaining, dark, enjoyable...but then when you think that this is what 7/8 films have lead up to, and this is the culmination of a decades worth of on screen story....holy shit - HUGELY disappointing surely? Worth A Watch 23) Horrible Bosses Good dynamic of the cast. Some MASSIVE laughs, and a ridiculous plot. Good fluff. Watch 24) Captain America : The First Avenger (2D) A fantastic cast, some unbelievably astonishing special effects, great villains and special visual design. The plot was great and the Marvel world as shown over 70 years was really something cool to behold. A period super hero piece. Brilliant. As RDJ IS Iron Man, as Chris Hemsworth IS Thor, as Chris Evans IS Captain America - perfectly cast. Must Watch 25) Super 8 Potentially the best child cast of any movie I've seen. Certainly recently. Better than The Goonies or Stand By Me cast? Strong words, but worth a ponder. The movie itself had a nice setting and strong visual design...it gave a great sense of the neighbourhood and area which helped the emotional aspects of the film. Must Watch 26) Rise of the Planet of the Apes Aaaaahhh. Surprise hit of the year. Everyone seemed to love the movie. Andy Serkis as Caesar is a fantastic character/acted/nuances/mannerisms/pet/monkey. The film becomes more and more exciting as it goes on, and it has one moment that sends giant shockwaves down your spine - any movie that does this is worthy of a giant applause. Must Watch 27) Cowboys and Aliens. Olivia Wilde is so staggeringly beautiful. Lets cover her up with as many clothes as possible! I know I sound like a pervert and I could go into more, like the boring and generical alien design, but I'll leave it at this. Meh 28) The Inbetweeners Movie. Highly amusing. You will like it a lot if you liked the TV show (i.e. if you have a sense of humour). Watch 29) Friends With Benefits Reboot of last years hit movie "No Strings Attached", or maybe it was this years. [/Lol Lol I'm So Witty]. It was actually pretty good. Justin Timberlake still desperate to prove he can act, and he is certainly getting there. Mila Kunis is gorgeous. It was pretty fun and smiley. Watch 30) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy I didn't care about any of it. Apparently this film was amazing. The cast was good, but none of them had that much to do to be perfectly honest. Tom Hardy was very good. Boring story. Meh plot. It was just "..........." Meh 31) Whats Your Number <3 Anna Farris. Typicalish romp. Good. Chris Evans and Anna Farris chemistry was good. Some fun cameos. Yeah. Heartwarming? Worth A Watch 32) In Time Thriller. Cool concept. Leonard from The Big Bang Theory - loollllzzzz. Good. Enjoyable. Some bits didn't make sense, but minor niggles in a fairly cool concept, brainless thriller/action/type movie. Worth A Watch 33) 50/50 Amazing cast, amazing story. Seth Rogen and JGL react to JGL's diagnosis of cancer and him being given a 50/50 chance of survival. Emotional and realistic, heartbreaking in points and just....brilliant. GOLD Must Watch 34) The Thing. Fine. Worth A Watch 35) A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas (3D) (twice) Absolutely fudging hilarious. One of the years funniest movies, over the top, Harold and Kumar are hilarious and they get into some epic hijinks, all the smaller characters and cameos are brilliant, particularly Amir Blumenfied and Thomas Lennon. The best of the series and some really great use of 3-D ina comedical fashion. "Its gonna be amazzziiinnggg!!!" *points at screen, pauses*. GOLD Must Watch 36) Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol Jeremy Renner <3. It was kind of great. The bit with the tallest building in Abu Dabbi Dhubai (?? ?? ?? ??) was just....white knuckle....amazing. Its practically the only thing I can remember from the film (joke) but that scene truly does make the movie worth watching. Plus there is a bit where the main chick wears an outfit that makes her boobs look incredible. That was good too. Shame I did not witness that bit in IMAX. Good though. Watch ReZourceman's Movies of the Year 6) Super 8 = Captain America = X-Men First Class 5) Attack The Block 4) Sucker Punch 3) A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas 2) 50/50 1) Thor How about you? Edited January 1, 2012 by ReZourceman
Retro_Link Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 You've basically just made a list of films for me to watch in 2012, because I've really seen bugger all new films this year. Of those of seen... THOR (2D) - also gets my Film of the Year Award! LOVED IT SOOOOOOO MUCH!! Now get to the cinema and watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows! It's a MUST WATCH!
Beast Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Obviously Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 gets my Film of the Year award. I didn't mind Thor though but it weren't the best. Also, ReZ, Kung Fu Panda 2 was good!
Cube Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Tangled. Very entertaining, even if it did feel like it copied elements from Shrek. Up there with Bolt, but nothing on Pixar. Limitless. Like ReZ said, it was full of style. The directing was prety great, and decent plot and characters, too. Although spoiled slightly by an utterly ridiculous moment involving blood. Paul. After Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, hugely disappointing. It's still a good film, it just wasn't as funny as it should have been. Super. Unfortunate release dates made this feel like a copy of Kick Ass (both films were in development at the same time, I believe). Ellen Page was awesome, and I loved Nathan Fillion as the extremely lame Holy Avenger. Thor. Little in the way of plot, the character's weren't liable and Loki was a terrible, terrible villain. There was never any feeling of danger - Thor was just too powerful, even without his hammer. On the flip side, the CGI was absolutely gorgeous. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. While it felt a bit like a side-story, it was still full of great moments. Although I think another film may be too much. X-Men: First Class. The main characters were great, with some unbelievably sucky ones thrown in too (the dragonfly girl, screech guy, chest blast guy). Some great action, too. Super 8. I fully agree with ReZ on this one. Great cast, good plot and visual design was great. I still don't understand why they did that "playable" trailer in Portal 2. Green Lantern. I saw the extended version and loved it. I knew nothing about the comics (apart from ReZ' blabberings at the meet-up) but I thought the characters and universe were great. Cars 2. Much better than the first film, and I was surprised how the McQueen actually had a much lesser role, giving lots screen time to Mater. Transformers: Dark of the Moon. An improvement on the second, and it had Nimoy and Star Trek references in it, which were the best part. Overall a terrible film. Bay still hasn't managed to do fight scenes with more than two transformers where you can work out which ones are good and which are evil. And Bumblebee's voice got very old by the end of the first film. Give him his voice FFS! Captain America: The First Avenger. I thought I was going to hate it, instead it was really good, right up until the final battle, where the Red Skull was just warped away. Even though I hated Thor, I do like the use of Norse technology, and Stark was pretty awesome. Great film. The Smurfs. I was bored and this has NPH in it. While I wasn't a fan of the smurfs themselves, both Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria (his portrayal of Gargamel reminded me of Robbie Rotton) made the film somewhat enjoyable. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Trailer: Apes attacking. Nothing else. My perception of the film from the trailer: Some scientist will give apes a drug in the first 15 minutes, then generic action film stuff from then. Thankfully, I was completely wrong. Instead it's the story of Caesar, who is a fantastic story. It isn't really what the film say it is either (the Apes escape the compound, they haven't exactly risen yet). Oh, and Rodney McKay causes all humans to die. I reckon he ate a lemon. That's all I've seen this year, but there's plenty for me to still watch.
Wesley Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Ha! Thor! LOL! ReZ for funniest member most def. (In all seriousness though) Nice thread, I love the effort you put into this community. (That's genuine as well) Much love.
Magnus Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 I really liked Tangled. Going by ReZ's list, that was the only new movie I watched in 2011. Whoops.
Coolness Bears Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) I will not be including any 2010 films in my list such as Tangled, Black Swan, True Grit etc. :p I have seen some poor films this year and actually need to see good films. We Need To Talk about Kevin, Take Shelter, Shame, Martha Marcy May Marlene, A Seperation, The Descendants and so on and so fourth. Here is the rest of my list: The Green Hornet Don't Bother. I have nothing else to add. Rango Worth A Look. The animation is mentally good, it is let down by its lacklustre story. Source Code Approach With Caution Disappointing since it is from the director of Moon. It just ends badly with averageness inbetween. Sucker Punch: Approach With Caution I personally enjoyed this but it doesn't mean to say it is good. All style and no substance. Winnie The Pooh Recommend Strong effort from Disney this year which gave us a solid Winnie The Pooh tale. The only bad thing about it was it felt short but realistically it was the perfect length. No Strings Attached Approach With Caution. Natalie Portman says one good line and Ashton Kutcher produces carrots. Hangover Part II Approach With Caution I preferred it to the first one because it cranked up the ridiculousness. X-men: First Class Worth A Look. For Fassbender in the bar scene the rest is laughable. Rio Approach With Caution. Colourful but a standard animated movie, if you don't enjoy them this won't change your mind. Tree Of Life Recommend. It's aboutLIFE. Some of it gets overzealous and preachy towards the end but it's still a great film. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Worth A Look. Decent end and stuck to the book, shame the book ending sucks anyway. Part 1 is better. Cars 2 Approach With Caution If you didn't like the first Cars movie this is most definitely worse replacing character development for action sequences. It is beautifully animated and I actually love the Cars franchise so for me it's a good film but it's definitely very flawed. Just Go With It Don't Bother. crap. Limitless Approach With Caution Interesting idea that unravels poorly. Bradley Cooper is smug. Hop Don't Bother. I had fun with this but it is dire. No one ever needs to see this not even Children. Captain America Worth A Look Decent superhero film. I thought Chris Evans was good. Super 8 Approach With Caution. The children are good, It starts off good and then the train explodes and after that excellent set piece it begins to fall apart right up until its rushed finale when you just don't care any more. So much is unresolved. Horrible Bosses Don't Bother. Second worse film I have seen this year. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Recommend. Purely for the monkeys. The human scenes lack any depth or great acting (lol malfoy) but it's the monkey's that make it. I wanted gorillas, Chimps etc. causing havoc and that it was I was patiently rewarded with. The Smurfs Don't Bother. Poor film but it amused me no end what with all the unnecessary word replacements with the word smurf. The Skin I Live In Highly Recommend Brilliant. Twisted, intricate story that keeps you hooked as it all unfolds. Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Don't Bother. The worst pirates movie with no redeeming features. Nope not even Penelope Cruz. One Day Approach With Caution. Yeah this was terrible. There is no chemistry, Anne Hathaway puts on an awful accent and they realised it was actually dull and tried to spice it up at the end and made it even worse. The Inbetweeners Movie Don't Bother. The worst film I have seen this year and was made to see. Ridiculously unfunny. Bridesmaids Worth A Look. Certainly not Comedy of the year or in decades or whatever nonsense was being spewed but certainly a decent effort, though some of it drags. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension Worth A Look If you love Phineas and Ferb this doesn't disappoint. It still doesn't live up to the cartoon though. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Highly Recommend Fantastic film. Everything about it felt cohesive apart from a few scene transitions which made things unnecessarily confusing and interrupted the flow. I just didn't particularly enjoy it personally. Bad Teacher Don't Bother Cameron Diaz is getting old. Johnny English Reborn Approach With Caution. Stupider than the first one but there was some bits about it that were redeeming. The Adventures of Tintin Approach With Caution. I had no real interest until buzz started about it. I thought it would be alright with Steven Spielberg at the helms but what I was met with was an empty, soulless adventure that failed to spark anything inside of me. The animated faces also creeped me out. Paranormal Activity 3 Don't Bother Boring and silly. In Time Approach With Caution. Fun at the time but instantly forgettable. It also has a good concept that they don't explore enough which leads it to being frustrating. 50/50 Worth A Look. Joseph Gordon Levitt does his best to cover up the weaker areas in this film. Amusing/heart warming though. Anna Kendrick remains cute. Hugo Highly Recommend Martin Scorsese's love letter to cinema has more going for it than what appears on the outside. It is truly a spectacle to behold. Everyone needs to see this. Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked Don't Bother. The second worst film of the year. There is no need for this to exist. Why is there a basketball with Totoro's face on it? Theodore is cute. Drive Highly Recommend. The most stylish film of the year. Ryan Gosling is brilliant. I love the 80s vibe that comes off and the obscure dream like state it leaves you in. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Recommend Expertly directed by David Fincher. Mechanical in all his details and meticulous in how the scenes are constructed. There is no denying it is well crafted. Lizbeth is an excellent character and portrayed well. By the end the story is where it is let down slightly for me as it all comes out in a familiar unsurprising way but then perhaps the book is also like that? The Lady Worth A Look. Based on the true The story Aung San Suu Kyi it isn't that well directed but the story still shines through and it left me feeling humbled for a great while afterwards. The Artist Highly Recommend. Cheekiest film of the year. A fitting film to finish the year on. I left with a great big smile at the end. My top films: 1. Drive. 2. The Artist. 3. Hugo. 4. The Skin I Live In. 5. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Edited January 1, 2012 by Coolness Bears
Jimbob Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 I don't really warrent a list of movies, only seen 2 new movies this year. Which were Conan and Mr Poppers Penguins. I only saw Poppers out of curiosity, and saw Conan with a few mates. I suppose if i had a Missus, i would have seen/saw quite a few other movies. Both the films i saw were pretty decent though.
Paj! Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 I enjoy this thread. And I like ReZ's system too. OK! PAJ'S MOVIE REVUE Love & Other Drugs I enjoyed this. A definitie cut above most romantic films/romcoms/whatever it would be classed in. I felt that the backstory for Hathaways character really worked and was done very well. I am in love with both Anne Hathaway and Jake Gylenhaal and was basically in heaven the entire time. Enjoying Life Black Swan I was eagerly awaiting this, and was STUNNED when I saw it. Like so blown away, just by the combination of everything. It was very effectively done I thought. I saw it twice in the cinema! HOWEVER I had a weird nonchalance towards Portman's performance herself. Like...she was fine, but then I'm unconvinced she can act very well, and in this it seems like she was just herself. Which is often hardest to pull off in a film, and it fitted perfectly, but...dunno. Also, I like it less and less the more I think about it, especially compared to Aronofksy's previous works. However, still good. Loving Life/Life's Fine The King's Speech It was well done, perfenctory/better than the average film. So bored of the awards earlier in the year though. It tried to do some nice things with the framing/visually...well acted...I had a stammer/still have the haunting effects of prior speech problems (never as bad as him, though my dad is almost) so it rang true. Meh though, not interested. Life's Fine The Fighter Yes! Really good. I mean, I have no interest in boxing or anything, so this wasn't interesting to me until I heard how stunning the acting is. And yeah, Bale/Adam/Leo were stunning. Melissa Leo was probably my favourite of the lot, but really, very fine performances. Loving Life True Grit Technically good, but really not my scene. I barely made out a word Jeff Bridges said, and while it was all done well, I have no desire to ever see it again. But by no means bad. Life's Fine (Technically Enjoying Life) Source Code Really enjoyed this! Smart, slick sci-fi thriller that felt like it was different to the rest of the pack. Duncan Jones is a really promising director. Again. Gylenhaal Loving Life Sucker Punch I voiced my feelings on this ages ago. I do want to see it again though, as I feel it could eventually just be a stupid fun movie if I give it another go. There's just so much UGH about it though. Really questionable. Mentally ill girls...abused girls...prostitutes....dancing...murder...male fantasy....hmm Hating Life (maybe Life's Fine) Limitless This was fun. Enjoyable enough, some silly bits, but that's the nature of the story. Solid overall. Bradley Cooper is cool. I question the way the women are written in this, but gsjhjh. Enjoying Life Scre4m YESSSSSSSS. I love this series so much and have thus far seen this 3 times already this year. I was prepared for it to be bad though...as 3 is so...strange, and it had been so long since 3. But I was pleasantly surprised by the sharpness of it all. I notice it's a strange colour...or exposure or something...a lot of soft lighting. Probably to hide Courtney Cox's face. LOVED the twist at the end, didn't see it coming at all. The whole last act had me smiling ear to ear. So so good. Loving Life Hanna Thought this was great - went in knowing very little and with no expectations. Really really liked it. Excellent direction, looked great, well acted, cool story, brilliant score etc. Loving Life Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) I liked this quite a bit. Strangely long, but enjoyable. And sad if I remember correctly. Wouldn't mind seeing it again. Think it was like the biggest ever film in France or something. Enjoying Life Catfish The documentary about strange people doing strange things via facebook. Very compelling and just...bizarre to see these sorts of things. And sad (in a detached "Oh that's sad for them" way). Worth a look definitely. Enjoying Life X-Men: First Class So glad X-Men is back on track as it's the comic series/team I care most about. I really enjoyed this as it took the most VITAL part of the whole mythos and went on about it. The whole 'embrace your mutancy' thing 'be yourself' etc. Mystique was a stunning character in the original films, and her iconic exchange with Nightcrawler in X2 always summed up the entire nature of X-Men to me. And it feels like Vaughn took that exchange as the starting point for this film, which is fantastic. So obviously loved that Mystique was a main character. Good acting from most involved, and they packed in TONNES for a short time. Bits did feel rushed/cheap and tacky or unelaborated on, but not to the film's particular detriment. Enjoying Life (with a hint of Loving Life because I'm a fanboy) Green Lantern Quite poor. All involved tried their best and I guess it was a decent job of condensing the mythos, but yeah. Weirdly paced. You shouldn't notice pacing in a film, unless it's a stylistic choice, which it certainly wasn't here. Life's Fine/ SLIGHTLY Hating Life. Horrible Bosses I rarely go to see comedy films at the cinema, let alone watch them (I find most comedy films lacking in comparison to comedy tv shows), but this was fun. Quite a few genuine laughs, and the cast was excellent, all giving good performances. I loved some bits so much. Enjoying Life Thor I enjoyed this. A friend I saw it with was saying it was a terrible film, but he was obviously in a bad mood, since it's not. In the Marvel mould, it was a solid popcorn film with good bits. Portman was utterly unconvincing and I'm liking her less and less as an actress, bur yeah. Fine/good/nothing. Life's Fine/Enjoying Life Captain America I preferred this to Thor I think. Again very typical in the current Marvel mould of Avenger films, but that means it's of decent quality. Packed in a lot, which meant Red Skull wasn't very satisfying, but you deal. I like Chris Evans a lot as a leading man, a role he hasn't been allowed to have really....which is crazy. Enjoying Life/Life's Fine Tangled Really really lovely. Everyone's gone on about it already, but yeah, a great Disney film. Loving Life Never Let Me Go Bleak, but I liked it. Leaves you with a really dry mouth at the end. I love Keira Knightley in a blanket on the beach. She's so premium. The whole cast is though. I liked how it's sci-fi with a twist, so it feels nothing like sci-fi whatsoever (or the associated things that fall under the sci-fi umbrella). Come on windy fields in England. Come on school. Enjoying Life with a pinch of Loving Life Super-8 Technically good, especially the superb cast of young actors. Children FUCK me off so much in most fims (usually cause they're written shitly), but these guys were great. Story was blah and I didn't care, but worth a watch for the kids. Enjoying Life No Strings Attached Crap, but Natalie Portman shows she can be a bit funny, sometimes. Bad though. Hating Life One Day I really liked this. Yes it was a bit of a 'weepie' but sometimes I like them. It was done well, I though. I got to like the characters, and did actually have tears behind my eyes near the end. (So easy to push my buttons!) I love how it's set in Edinburgh too, for loads of it. Weird to see my hometown. Enjoying Life Tree Of Life Never seen a film like it, and I was stunned. Not even meaning I LOVED it all (some bits felt kinda like "hmm") but really a completely unique, engrossing, and compelling film. The story really resonated with me quite a bit. Loving Life Trust David Schwimmer-directed thing about children being exploited by internet fiends, with Clive Owen and my fave Catherine Keener. Fine, but nothing special, and really some bits are just like "Why didn't you use Skype, silly?". Life's Fine The Skin I Live In Nothing like Almodovar's ever done to my knowledge, but an expertly crafted film. I didn't get the twist/truth until it was revealed, which worked perfectly. Shocking/quite disturbing...but really really well made, like all his work. Loving Life Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy I really appreciated it's craft and acting...direction and visuals too but...I just SO wasn't into it. Wasn't following it properly really and just...it lost me. I would watch it again though. Life's Fine (but probably Enjoying Life after another viewing) Drive Unf. Loved this a lot. Really cool. Well directed, and a gorgeous visual and aural aesthetic. Ryan Gosling is life. I love so much silence. Almost to the point of surrealism. Loving Life Wuthering Heights My feelings on this change day to day - can't tell if I loved it or just liked it. Visually is AMAZING and truly memorable, and I really like the sparseness of it all. The sound design was stunning too. Every line cuts through the air. The brave choices Arnold made in adapting it and making it different to other adaptations worked brilliantly I felt. I love "Fuck you cunt." Enjoying Life, maybe Loving Life Melancholia Lars Von Trier is my boyfriend. I was so ready for this, and it blew me away, LOVED IT. Makes Antichrist (which I liked too) seem a bit of a pointless thing, IDK. So so good. There's still a third film in this trilogy to come (he works in thematic trilogies - there should be one more. People say Antichrist was his take on the horror genre, and Melancholia his take on the disaster film, so I wonder what's next? ) Loving Life We Need To Talk About Kevin Yes..yes....yes! Thought it was brilliant. A must watch. I LOVE Tilda Swinton, and of course she was great here. Ezra Miller (is that his name) was "!". Gorgeously directed, like a quilt of moments. Loving Life Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Really enjoyed this! Knew nothing of the story beforehand...Fincher delivered, with Craig and Mara giving great performances. Long film but doesn't feel needlessly so. Quite a stunner. Loving Life Beastly Piece of shit, but aimed as 6 year olds I assume (despite the swearing? Hush your mouth Vanessa Hudgens). Almost worth watching for Mary-Kate Olson's emofabulous could've-been-a-Queen-of-Life role as Kendra the witch. Hating Life ---- *whew* That took ages.
Ganepark32 Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Probably missed out a few but these are the ones I remember watching in 2011: It's Kind Of A Funny Story - I really liked this, particularly for Galifianakis' performance. They could have done better in dealing with the relationship of the two leads and their psychological problems (They didn’t bother explaining why Emma Roberts' character was in the hospital at all) but overall, it's enjoyable and probably worth a watch. Black Swan - Brilliant film. Loved how claustrophobic the cinematography was, loved the psychological torment of the main character and thought everyone put in great performances. Definitely one of the best movies of 2011 and wholeheartedly recommended. Biutiful - Another fantastic film. Rather moving, and emotional, story once you penetrate beneath the top layer of what's going on. Bardem was superb in his role and Inarritu showed a return to form with this gritty tale of a father trying to hold on long enough and make ends meet for his kids while dealing with his wife's psychological problems. Everyone should give it a watch. Blue Valentine - I got what the film was going for but just didn't care for it really so I perhaps wouldn’t recommend it. I know a lot of other people who loved it and would recommend it though. Hanna - Another great film, probably one of the better action films of the year. Saoirse Ronan was brilliant and I loved how it blended the action with Hanna herself being part of this fairy tale and completely oblivious to the world around her. Recommended viewing. Captain America – It was ok. I was rather indifferent towards it after watching; the glut of superhero movies being released beforehand didn’t help to dispel thoughts that it was just another one of those, but I liked it for the more human hero and it looked great (the V-bomber for example). Probably the best of an average set of superhero movies this year (of course basing this on reviews I’ve read rather than what I’ve seen) but wouldn’t recommend it over some of the other films this year. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Loved it. Serkis’ motion capture for Caesar was scarily accurate and believable as the real thing and it was great to see great John Lithgow on the big screen again. A must see even if you haven’t been a fan of the previous films. Favourite film of the year has to be Biutiful because it was just brilliant in almost every way, and it saddens me no one else has mentioned it. I'd argue it was perhaps the best film of the year, or at least very close to it.
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 ReZ ... you ... hated Kung Fu Panda 2 ... disagree with everything ... I'm afraid we can't be friends anymore. And you even started so well by praising the pure Disney genius of Tangled and the amazing style of Sucker Punch.
Sméagol Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Going through all the tickets (that I can find). All the films I’ve seen in the cinema, which include some old films. Let’s see how my memory holds up, or else there’s IMDB. Catfish - Meh - Mildly interesting, but in the end I didn’t care much about it. I also didn’t like the hype surrounding it at the time. Le quattro volte - Great - Amazing, but only if you’re into arthouse, and don’t mind slow films. There’s no dialogue (well, only as background noise). Yet it manages to tell a complete story purely with visuals. One amazing shot which I assume is one take, can’t image how the director managed that. Men on the bridge - Ok - A Turkish film I went to impulsively, because it was a special screening, and the director was present, and she did a Q&A, and I like Q&A’s. The film was nice actually, 3 storylines about ordinary people in Ankara, but I may be biased because of the Q&A. I always find I appreciate films more with some background info. Skellig: The Owl Man - Ok - Family film. I went simply for the cast: John Simm, Kelly MacDonald, and Tim Roth. Nice adventure film but not amazing. La solitudinei di numeri primi - Great - If you’re into heartbreaking dramas once in a while, than this Italian film will provide your fix. Great performances by the lead actor and actress. They play two traumatised characters who struggle with their love life. If you’re not sobbing at the end of the film, you have no heart. Les amours imaginaires - Hmm - I found it pretty boring. It’s a French film about a love triangle: one straight woman, one gay man, and one bisexual man. The trailer suggested a more comic film, but this wasn’t the case, so I was left disappointed. That said, I think I’ve seen worse. The actress was hot though. 127 hours - Meh - Pretty boring, but since it’s based on a true story, it’s not really the film’s fault. I like James Franco, his performance was excellent, but I didn’t really care about the dude he played. My main problem was (if I remember correctly) just the stupidity of that dude being so antagonising. He lost an arm which he could have easily prevented. No sympathy from me. Incendies - Great - Great French drama / thriller about a brother and a sister, with roots in the middle east, who go find out who their dad is after their mother dies and leaves them a letter. The film switches between their search and flashbacks of their mother. The conclusion is chilling. True grit - Meh - Of all the Coen brothers’ films I’ve seen, easily the worst. Like Paj, didn’t care much for the setting, but I can look passed that. Still, the film did very little for me. To top it off, there were ugly CGI snakes and a fake horseride to end the film. Go watch No country for old men instead. Biutiful - Great - Another one for the depressive people. I love Javier Bardem, and he doesn’t disappoint. A very intense drama with a slight supernatural element to it. It’s about Javier Bardem’s character tieing up loose ends before he dies, which he does with good intentions, but not everything works out the way he wants. Black Butterflies - Bah - A Dutch film with Rutger Hauer and Carice van Houten, which I won’t say anything more about. Black Swan - Great - Awesome cast, and awesome story. You all know this one, so I’ll leave it at that. Never let me go - Great - Again, awesome cast, and awesome story. A drama with a slight sci-fi element to it. Loved the atmosphere. A very disturbing faith awaits the main characters, yet this is never emphasised. But when you think about it, it leaves you a bit nauseous.. In a good way. Blue valentine - Ok - The story of 2 people falling out of love. Nothing amazing, but good for the people who like to wallow in misery. Rundskop - Good - Belgian film, which I saw at a sneakpreview, so I was going in blind (I rarely go to the sneakpreview). Pleasant surprise though, I’d never seen the film otherwise, the setting / themes doesn’t appeal to me (farms and hormonal drugs). But looking passed that you have a good story and a good performance from the main actor. It’s about a guy who lost his testicles as a kid, and has to take hormonal drugs to compensate. Obviously, his life hasn’t been easy. The troll hunter - Ok - Very disappointing. Some cool troll designs, and nice action, but can’t look passed the dumb script. (Untitled) - Great - For those who have a very, very dry sense of humour. About the New York art and music scene. The film appears cynic at first, but actually has a positive message in the end. But before you get there, you’ll witness many absurdities. Arrietty - Great - Latest Ghibli, needs no further explanation. One flew over the Cuccoo’s nest - Great - Never saw this classic before. Jack Nicholson is simply awesome. Almanya; Willkommen in Deutschland - Good - Another sneakpreview, and another pleasant surprise. A German film about Turkish worker immigrants. Told from the perspective of a (modern) Granddaughter. It shows the initial hardships they went through, but the film is lighthearted and very funny. Since it’s told by the granddaughter who is more German than Turkish, everyone is the “flashbacks” speaks German. But to illustrate the language barrier, all the German people in the flashbacks speak.. uhh.. I think it’s Swedish. Very funny how they did that. Sweet film. Submarine - Good - British film, (teen?) comedy drama. About a boy looking for love. Once again, I get annoyed at bad decisions the main character makes, but it all works out in the end. A sweet film, great performances too. Circumstance - Ok - A political film about the situation in Iran. It’s about two girls who.. develop romantic feelings for eachother. In other words, hot Lesbian action. Again, this one is for the people who like to wallow in misery, and don’t mind a “bad” ending. That said, Persepolis has a similar theme, but is more entertaining. The two actresses are smokin’ though. Restless - Bah - Love story about two teens obsessed with death. One because his parents died and is now haunted by a ghost, and the other because she’s terminally ill. Should have been sweet, but I couldn’t get passed the dumb dialogue, and the acting of the two main leads. The artist - Lovely - Someone had the balls to go so oldskool it’s very fresh again. A black & white silent film. Amazing. A joy to watch from beginning to end. You laugh, you cry, and the performances from everyone, but the main actor and actress especially, are fantastic, and I have a huge crush now on Bérénice Bejo! The film manages to simultaneously poke fun at, and pay tribute to its inspirations. Film of the year for me. Beginners - Good - With Ewan McGregor. Another sweet film, about people dealing with relationships and love. Ewan McGregor’s dad tuns out gay. His dad, now he's dieing, finally found love, and now it’s his turn. Another film with great performances. Medianeras - Meh - two people in Buenos Aires, also struggling with their love life. Some mildly amusing events, but in the end I didn’t care for the two characters. And the director went out of his or her way to show Buenos Aires at its ugliest. Boring. The wizard of Oz - Good - No info needed. Just fun to see a classic on (half of the) big screen. Carnage - Good - Excellent cast, and again for people with a dry sense of humour. It’s not a film for people who like to sympathise with the characters, they are all assholes! Well, except for Jodie Foster’s character. This film is only dialogue though. If the humour isn’t your style, well, then there’s nothing else. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Great - You definitely need to pay attention, I seem to have missed some details. I loved how this was a different kind of spy film. Great cast (I’m becoming a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch after seeing Sherlock Holmes). The atmosphere is great.. Seventies was it? All the telex machines etc. Anyway, eventhough I didn’t get all of it apparently, I liked the unraveling of the conspiracy. Midnight in Paris - Ok - Not my favourite Woody Allen, then again, I have seen very few of his films. Owen Wilson’s character was getting on my nerves, despite being sympathetic. The time travelling was fun though. Ok, that’s it, my recap for MMXI. Around 30 films is appalling for someone who can see them for free. I’ll have to do something about that this year. Anyway, my shortlist of recommendations: The artist Never let me go La solitudinei di numeri primi Incendies Some recent films from last year currently still playing I intend to see: 50/50 La piel que habito We need to talk about Kevin Sherlock Holmes 2 Mission: impossible 4 Drive Oh that’s it actually, I thought there were more. Probably missed out on a few again. Edited January 2, 2012 by Sméagol
ReZourceman Posted January 2, 2012 Author Posted January 2, 2012 ReZ ... you ... hated Kung Fu Panda 2 ... disagree with everything ... I'm afraid we can't be friends anymore. And you even started so well by praising the pure Disney genius of Tangled and the amazing style of Sucker Punch. Come on though! It was SO generical and fell into the traps and cliches of all the other typical shitty Dreamworks animations (Monsters VS Aliens excluded). Seriously the fight scenes were as boring as hell, and it was not remotely funny. I really really really really want to see Drive and Melancholia. Will Blu-Ray purchase both.
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I can only say that I disagree entirely. I think the fight scenes were amazing, the humour great - and, heck, the entire film just awesome! But you dislike DreamWorks in general?
Brussel Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I've only been to see a handful of films at the Cinema last year. A pity as I was going to see more but my "Cinema Buddy" is unreliable. X-Men: First Class: Got to admit I've never watched X-Men Movies before. Not really been a comic book movies kinda guy. First Class though I ended up watching as I was stuck in Llandudno Junction for hours due to a train delay. Got to say it was very good. I enjoyed it muchly. The Hangover 2: Basically the same film as the original. It's still a good solid comedy. Enjoyable and I wasn't bored watching it in the slightest. The Inbetweeners Movie: If you enjoyed the series you should enjoy the movie. It was pretty average but a nice way to say goodbye to The Inbetweeners for good. Limitless: Another movie I just randomly decided to watch. Overall the movie concept was good. Nothing really wrong with it at all. Though the ending was smug.
Dog-amoto Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) No mention of Animal Kingdom? By far the best film of the year. Says it's a 2010 film, but it came out over here last February Edited January 2, 2012 by Dog-amoto
Raining_again Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Puss in Boots 3D was the only film I saw in 2011, therefore the best =P It was utter brilliance, even moreso if you love cats like I do :3 Everything is in 3d these days so its not often I go... its a waste of money going, buying rubbish I shouldn't be eating, watching a mediocre film and coming home with a headache/no 3d enjoyment /bitter
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I need to see that! Always loved the character! But surely you can just go see the 3D films in 2D?
Raining_again Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 You can but 1/ my friends want to see 3d 2/my cinema isn't big and seems very focused on the push of 3d cinema. Hope it dies a death because it is a bit shit, and gives a lot of filmmakers the excuse to make shit films because its 3d and therefore amazing :p
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 But it can also really enhance the experience if used correctly. Still, I agree it's often just a cheap gimmick.
Raining_again Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Even if its used correctly a lot of people will never see it (people with vision in only one eye) so you really have to have a film that stands by itself without 3d
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