Overall Score: 5/5
Also, Woooo!
Overall Score: 5/5
Also, Woooo!
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For anyone who has ever been bullied, seen someone get bullied, or knows someone who has been bullied, you should go check out this movie when it reaches theaters.
Bullying is a real problem, and I hope this documentary has some positive effect. It’s really too bad that it’s been given an R rating and the very people it is about and who should be watching it will be unable to attend without an adult.
Because this summer is all about former US Presidents killing things.
Shut the fuck up, Einstein!
Overall Ridiculousness Score: 5/5
“City of Life and Death” is the most moving wartime moving I have ever seen. It attempts to capture the rape of Nanking by the Japanese army during World War II, and it succeeds. You see some of the true horrors of war, but it is hard to turn away.
It is violent, cold, and merciless. It is easy to see why this event affects relations between China and Japan to this very day. I highly recommend you watch this movie, but do so knowing it is difficult to watch. It does not attempt to hide anything.
Overall Score: 4.5/5
11. 50/50 – It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you appreciate life. What more can you ask for in a movie?
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/AbkpLf
10. The Housemaid – This is the first of three films on this list that thrive in the uneasiness they invoke. Watching Eun-yi Li slowly crumble from the pressure of her situation is mesmerizing.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/zhSD3d
9. Bridesmaids – The best comedy in a year full of comedies. Melissa McCarthy is getting a lot of (deserved) praise for her role, but this film shines due to the whole cast and the relatable story it tells.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/y47NXb
8. 13 Assassins – My favorite “action” movie of the year. The final battle lasts the entire final hour of the film, and yet, it never feels drawn out.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/wpbgJs
7. Super 8 – A true summer blockbuster. “Super 8” feels like an ode to the great Spielberg movies of the 80s. I enjoyed it all the way through, especially the performance by Elle Fanning.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/Ax27cU
6. The Skin I Live In – It’s been a long time since a movie has twisted in a way that truly caught me off-guard, but this movie surprised me. It is told in three parts, each delving a little further into the story, and grabbed my attention in a way few films did this year.
5. Margin Call – Great movie that takes place in a hypothetical firm the day before/of the market collapse. It portrays a lot of different sides of an issue affecting all of our lives and is written beautifully.
4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – A true thriller, but make sure you pay attention. The information comes quickly and subtly. Gary Oldman is well deserving of his Oscar nomination.
3. The Artist – Everything I expected plus a little more. The is no dialogue until the last minute of the film, but “The Artist” does not fail to tell a beautiful story.
2. Drive – I could list a lot of reasons why “Drive” is my second favorite movie of the year, but more than anything I enjoyed the style, the mood, and the minimalism in Ryan Gosling’s performance. Truly enthralling.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/zq3nDH
1. Martha Marcy May Marlene –Elizabeth Olsen is brilliant in this film, which matters because she is the keystone of the movie. Is she being paranoid? Is the cult really after her? The tension builds, as more and more information is given, right up to an ending that will either make or break this film for you. It made it for me.
Honorable Mention: Win Win, Midnight in Paris, and The Adjustment Bureau
Ok so I’m only ranking movies that I saw that were released in theaters in 2011. The year as a whole was pretty bad, so why should the movies be any different? Out of my top 11 of 2011 only my top five are honestly must see’s, the rest are really nothing more then Netflix rentals. So here they are going from #11 to #1…
11. The Adjustment Bureau - In a better year this would have never even come close to my top ten list but at the very least it was somewhat of a different story compared to the rest of the field.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/zsXeH6
10. Battle L.A. – Again, in a better year this movie never comes close to a top ten. It’s the exact same alien invasion story that’s been done over and over again. Michelle Rodriguez is apparently only capable of playing one character. The action was good but it reminded me a lot of Blackhawk Down in the way that you only get a brief introduction to the characters and then the whole movie is just one long battle scene.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/ziu0LE
9. Captain America - This one may just be a victim of too much hype. I actually enjoyed this movie, but it just didn’t live up to all of the build up for me. Also, the acting was pretty weak across the board.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/yOrSvo
8. Horrible Bosses - This was a far-fetched, over the top comedy, but I was genuinely entertained throughout the whole thing. Charlie Day was pretty much Charlie from “Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” but for the first time I actually enjoyed Colin Farrell in a movie. Also, Jennifer Aniston can be my boss any day!
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/xJX84V
7. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - This is typical Transformers movie, so I don’t think I need to say a whole lot about it. It’s significantly better than the second one but not as good as the first.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/xFFBWQ
6. Lincoln Lawyer - This was a standard Mathew McConaughey smooth talking movie, but it actually works in spite of him. It was a pretty decent crime drama worth giving a look on a boring night.
Okay now to the actual good movies of the year…
5. The Hangover Part II - It’s “The Hangover”, need I say more!? As long as you go into it knowing your pretty much going to see the same movie you will have fun. Just sit back and enjoy the nonsense.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/yXAgcZ
4. Bridesmaids - It’s “The Hangover” with women! If this came out the same year as the first Hangover movie, it doesn’t beat it. Going up against the sequel? I give the nod to the slightly more original movie.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/y47NXb
3. Rise of the Planets of the Apes - If you don’t sit though the very final scene right before the credits then it’s a little to far-fetched. The number of apes they expect you to believe are in San Francisco is a little ridiculous, but I suppose you can overlook that for the overall quality and realism they got into a movie about Apes taking over the world. By far the best Planet of the Apes movie yet!
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/wGW5jm
2. X-Men: First Class - If you’ve made it this far into the X-Men franchise, then I assume you’ve made your peace with inconsistencies in the story lines. I liked getting the back story, but I’m afraid by the next movie they won’t mesh up again. However, watching this movie in a vacuum the story line kept my interest and the action was good without being over the top. My favorite X-Men movie so far.
Our Review Here: http://bit.ly/xAHe0V
1) Drive - This was by far the biggest surprise of the year for me. My only complaint was the dialog was to minimalistic. Just when you think you know right were this movie is going they throw something at you that you weren’t expecting.
There are hundreds of movies that show you the love story. We all know it. Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl live happily ever after. And we love that fantasy, that idea that love is everlasting and all that is necessary, so movies rarely show us what happens in the ever after.
“Blue Valentine” shows not only the love story, but what happens next. It shows that love is not often enough. That in the real world, there needs to be more. So we see Dean and Cindy as they struggle through this realization.
Dean, played by Ryan Gosling, didn’t plan on this life. He didn’t set a child and a wife as his life goal, but that was the life he got and he is happy with it because he loves his wife and his daughter. That is all he needs. Cindy, played by Michelle Williams, needs more. She needs the relationship to keep growing, keep evolving. We get to see how they deal with those different outlooks, broken up by glimpses of the past and how they fell in love in the first place.
“Blue Valentine” is well written and well acted. It is heart wrenching. It does not try to distinguish who is right and who is wrong or who is the villain and who is the victim because life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, there is no right or wrong side. But you will be moved. We have all seen the love story. “Blue Valentine” shows what sometimes comes next.
Overall Score: 4/5
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Sorry, but no reviews on these movies as Tim and I are working on our end of year lists.
Midnight in Paris 4/5
Margin Call 4.5/5
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 4.5/5
At least two of the three will probably make my list, so I’ll make comments there!
