2011 is over. Let us reminisce its films.

Bomby · 02-09-2012, 10:37 PM

What films did you see from 2011? Which were your favorites? Your least favorites? Of course, many of us probably still have yet to finish watching the 2011 films we had planned on seeing, but yeah...

Films I saw from 2011 included:
13 Assassins (technically 2010, but the US release was 2011, so... yeah)
The Tree of Life
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Attack the Block
Contagion
Martha Marcy May Marlene
The Sorcerer and the White Snake
The Descendants
Young Adult
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Sunny
The Artist

I also saw a Korean film called Ajusshi in late 2010... which was released in the US a few months later as The Man From Nowhere. Not really counting that one. I wasn't very fond of it in the first place, anyway. I also saw an excellent Hong Kong/China co-production, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, on home video in 2010, then in theaters for its American theatrical release in 2011, so I guess that one "sort of" counts, too.

Anyway, I liked most all of the films, though none were without their flaws. The film I feel most ambivalent toward is The Tree of Life. This is the type of film I usually champion as something for people looking for a film a bit different from what they're used to. While the film is visually one of the most impressive I've ever seen, I can't deny the fact that there are certain parts of the film that are much longer than they need to be. This especially applies to the final scene.

If I had to pick favorites, The Descendants and The Artist are the ones at the top of my list, and if I was to include Detective Dee as being a 2011 release (since that's when it was released in the US), that would be up there, too. The Descendants is the best type of film that the "Indiewood" scene has to offer. The balance it strikes between melancholy and humor is phenomenal. There were so many things that could have went wrong that the film that director Alexander Payne successfully avoided. George Clooney can add this to his long list of great performances, equaling his previous career best a few years previous in Up In The Air.

I was a bit skeptical coming in to The Artist. While I didn't doubt it would be a fine film, I wondered how much of the acclaim had to do simply with the fact that it's a black-and-white, silent, 4:3 ratio film getting released long past the era when that was the standard. I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. The film won me over completely with its great sense of humor. While nostalgia for an earlier era was as apparent as one would expect, the film did its homework: everything from the style of the narrative, to the subject matter, to even the blocking and framing of the cinematography perfectly emulates the films of the era it's depicting. I also liked the dog.

Young Adult and Martha Marcy May Marlene will probably go down as the year's most overlooked films. I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance.

Worst film I saw from 2011? Easily, easily The Sorcerer and the White Snake. The film has a great cast and a director whose work in the late 80's and early 90's I greatly admire. This film was laughable, though. Of all the things I wanted to see this year, Jet Li fighting bad CGI was definitely not one of them. When I say bad, I mean really godawful. These graphics look like something that could have appeared on the original PlayStation or N64. The most redeeming feature of the film was the fun chemistry between Charlene Choi and Wen Zhang, but they were not enough to save this film from itself.

Anyway... enough with my rambling... how's about you guys?

***Cosmonautical*** · 02-09-2012, 11:45 PM

Man, I'm not even entirely sure what movies I watched in 2011. Seriously, there was a huge dead spot for a major portion of the year, and now I'm drawing a blank.

I really did enjoy watching Sherlock Holmes 2, though. It was a great film, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The changes between the pacing of the first and the second did not bother me, and I felt that the characters were clearly the most important part of the subject - even if the investigation was more gunfight that inspection.

**Valigarmander** · 02-10-2012, 12:17 AM

I can't believe nobody else on this forum talked about Rango.

***CaptHayfever*** · 02-10-2012, 12:34 AM

^I wanna see it.

1) Real Steel
2) The Muppets
3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2
4) Winnie the Pooh
5) Thor
6) Captain America: The First Avenger
7) Sucker Punch
8) 30 Minutes or Less
9) The Green Hornet

I actually kinda liked the last few down there, but compared to the previous 6, they just don't measure up.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

CuccoLady · 02-10-2012, 01:12 AM

Harry Potter [the last last one], Sherlock Holmes 2, and Thor.

...I am pretty sure that's it. I really want to see The Artist, though

I enjoyed all of them and they were all excellent movies. I just wasn't fond of the second as a representation of Sherlock Holmes.

***Cosmonautical*** · 02-19-2012, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valigarmander

I can't believe nobody else on this forum talked about Rango.

Rango was all right, but nothing to get too excited over. I appreciated the Western theme and the nod to Hunter Thompson.

Thor didn't get into the plot very much, but it also didn't do anything terrible. It's a bit odd to see a movie based on Thor, considering that I never put him very high in the hierarchy of Marvel characters, but I like him a lot more than the Hulk or Fantastic Four. It also somehow got Anthony Hopkins, which is awesome.

SephirothKirby · 02-20-2012, 12:47 AM

The Good: (Best to Least Best)

X-Men: First Class
Limitless
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Warrior
The Ides of March
Captain America
Sanctum
Source Code
Super 8

The Bad: (Worst to Least Worst)

Season of the Witch
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Mechanic
I am Number Four
Just Go With It
Abduction

The Meh: (Lest Meh to Most Meh)

Thor
Green Lantern
The Change Up
30 Minutes or Less
Take Me Home Tonight
In Time
J. Edgar
Contagion
The Help

THE BEST:

Hobo with a Shotgun

***Booyakasha*** · 02-20-2012, 07:34 AM

I don't know from 'best' or 'worst', but for my money, most disappointing movie of the year was 'Ong Bak 3'. Like, I have pretty remarkably low standards, but the one unforgivable sin a kung-fu movie can commit is to be boring, and 'Ong Bak 3' was painfully so, especially as compared to its awesome crazy-ass forebears.

Panfan · 02-20-2012, 05:52 PM

What I've seen, ranked:
Drive ("great" tier starts here)
The Artist
Super 8
50/50
The Muppets
Midnight in Paris
The DescendantsX-Men: First Class ("very good" tier)
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Moneyball
Captain America: The First Avenger
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Cowboys & Aliens ("just plain good" tier)
Thor
Horrible Bosses
Rio
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ("meh" tier)
Green Lantern
The Hangover Part II ("bad" tier)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Transformers: Dark of the Moon ("really, really bad" tier

Wishlist:
The Adventures of Tintin
Attack the Block
Bridesmaids
Contagion
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Martha Marcy May Marlene
My Week With Marilyn
Rango
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Source Code
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Warrior
Young Adult

02-09-2012, 10:37 PM	#1
Bomby You just freaking blew Joe Biden's mind! Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: WHAT?house Gender: Posts: 19,491 Thanks: 513 Thanked 1,449 Times in 849 Posts Blog Entries: 5	2011 is over. Let us reminisce its films. What films did you see from 2011? Which were your favorites? Your least favorites? Of course, many of us probably still have yet to finish watching the 2011 films we had planned on seeing, but yeah... Films I saw from 2011 included: 13 Assassins (technically 2010, but the US release was 2011, so... yeah) The Tree of Life Page One: Inside the New York Times Attack the Block Contagion Martha Marcy May Marlene The Sorcerer and the White Snake The Descendants Young Adult Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Sunny The Artist I also saw a Korean film called Ajusshi in late 2010... which was released in the US a few months later as The Man From Nowhere. Not really counting that one. I wasn't very fond of it in the first place, anyway. I also saw an excellent Hong Kong/China co-production, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, on home video in 2010, then in theaters for its American theatrical release in 2011, so I guess that one "sort of" counts, too. Anyway, I liked most all of the films, though none were without their flaws. The film I feel most ambivalent toward is The Tree of Life. This is the type of film I usually champion as something for people looking for a film a bit different from what they're used to. While the film is visually one of the most impressive I've ever seen, I can't deny the fact that there are certain parts of the film that are much longer than they need to be. This especially applies to the final scene. If I had to pick favorites, The Descendants and The Artist are the ones at the top of my list, and if I was to include Detective Dee as being a 2011 release (since that's when it was released in the US), that would be up there, too. The Descendants is the best type of film that the "Indiewood" scene has to offer. The balance it strikes between melancholy and humor is phenomenal. There were so many things that could have went wrong that the film that director Alexander Payne successfully avoided. George Clooney can add this to his long list of great performances, equaling his previous career best a few years previous in Up In The Air. I was a bit skeptical coming in to The Artist. While I didn't doubt it would be a fine film, I wondered how much of the acclaim had to do simply with the fact that it's a black-and-white, silent, 4:3 ratio film getting released long past the era when that was the standard. I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. The film won me over completely with its great sense of humor. While nostalgia for an earlier era was as apparent as one would expect, the film did its homework: everything from the style of the narrative, to the subject matter, to even the blocking and framing of the cinematography perfectly emulates the films of the era it's depicting. I also liked the dog. Young Adult and Martha Marcy May Marlene will probably go down as the year's most overlooked films. I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance. Worst film I saw from 2011? Easily, easily The Sorcerer and the White Snake. The film has a great cast and a director whose work in the late 80's and early 90's I greatly admire. This film was laughable, though. Of all the things I wanted to see this year, Jet Li fighting bad CGI was definitely not one of them. When I say bad, I mean really godawful. These graphics look like something that could have appeared on the original PlayStation or N64. The most redeeming feature of the film was the fun chemistry between Charlene Choi and Wen Zhang, but they were not enough to save this film from itself. Anyway... enough with my rambling... how's about you guys? Last edited by Bomby; 02-09-2012 at 10:44 PM.

02-09-2012, 11:45 PM	#2
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,151 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	Man, I'm not even entirely sure what movies I watched in 2011. Seriously, there was a huge dead spot for a major portion of the year, and now I'm drawing a blank. I really did enjoy watching Sherlock Holmes 2, though. It was a great film, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The changes between the pacing of the first and the second did not bother me, and I felt that the characters were clearly the most important part of the subject - even if the investigation was more gunfight that inspection.

02-10-2012, 12:17 AM	#3
Valigarmander The Bee's Knees Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: The land of rain and trees (Oregon) Gender: Posts: 29,755 Thanks: 1,649 Thanked 5,700 Times in 2,580 Posts Blog Entries: 20	I can't believe nobody else on this forum talked about Rango.

02-10-2012, 12:34 AM	#4
*CaptHayfever* Smash SuperMod Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: (n) - the place where I am Gender: Posts: 27,659 Thanks: 1,991 Thanked 2,486 Times in 1,513 Posts	^I wanna see it. 1) Real Steel 2) The Muppets 3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 4) Winnie the Pooh 5) Thor 6) Captain America: The First Avenger 7) Sucker Punch 8) 30 Minutes or Less 9) The Green Hornet I actually kinda liked the last few down there, but compared to the previous 6, they just don't measure up. And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

02-10-2012, 01:12 AM	#5
CuccoLady Anime and Cartoons Mod Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: THIS LOCATION REMINDS ME OF A PUZZLE, LUKE Gender: Posts: 9,077 Thanks: 2,825 Thanked 1,222 Times in 822 Posts	Harry Potter [the last last one], Sherlock Holmes 2, and Thor. ...I am pretty sure that's it. I really want to see The Artist, though I enjoyed all of them and they were all excellent movies. I just wasn't fond of the second as a representation of Sherlock Holmes.

02-20-2012, 12:47 AM	#7
SephirothKirby Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it. Gender: Posts: 7,213 Thanks: 373 Thanked 760 Times in 447 Posts	The Good: (Best to Least Best) X-Men: First Class Limitless Rise of the Planet of the Apes Warrior The Ides of March Captain America Sanctum Source Code Super 8 The Bad: (Worst to Least Worst) Season of the Witch Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Mechanic I am Number Four Just Go With It Abduction The Meh: (Lest Meh to Most Meh) Thor Green Lantern The Change Up 30 Minutes or Less Take Me Home Tonight In Time J. Edgar Contagion The Help THE BEST: Hobo with a Shotgun

02-20-2012, 07:34 AM	#8
*Booyakasha* SuperMod of War Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wisconsinland Gender: Posts: 9,945 Thanks: 157 Thanked 1,481 Times in 763 Posts	I don't know from 'best' or 'worst', but for my money, most disappointing movie of the year was 'Ong Bak 3'. Like, I have pretty remarkably low standards, but the one unforgivable sin a kung-fu movie can commit is to be boring, and 'Ong Bak 3' was painfully so, especially as compared to its awesome crazy-ass forebears.

02-20-2012, 05:52 PM	#9
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,250 Times in 1,338 Posts Blog Entries: 15	What I've seen, ranked: Drive ("great" tier starts here) The Artist Super 8 50/50 The Muppets Midnight in Paris The DescendantsX-Men: First Class ("very good" tier) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Moneyball Captain America: The First Avenger Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Cowboys & Aliens ("just plain good" tier) Thor Horrible Bosses Rio Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ("meh" tier) Green Lantern The Hangover Part II ("bad" tier) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Transformers: Dark of the Moon ("really, really bad" tier Wishlist: The Adventures of Tintin Attack the Block Bridesmaids Contagion The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Help Hugo The Ides of March Martha Marcy May Marlene My Week With Marilyn Rango Rise of the Planet of the Apes Source Code Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy The Tree of Life War Horse Warrior Young Adult