2011 at the Movies

[goodguy]

It’s that list-making time of the year again.


Peerless Masterpiece

  1) A Torinói ló  (AKA The Turin Horse, Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky)  Hungary

Terrific

  2) Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench  (Damien Chazelle)
  3) Beginners  (Mike Mills)
  4) Septien  (Michael Tully)
  5) Brownian Movement  (Nanouk Leopold)  Netherlands
  6) Melancholia  (Lars von Trier)  Denmark
  7) We Need to Talk About Kevin  (Lynne Ramsay)  UK
  8) The Tree of Life  (Terrence Malick)
  9) Womb  (Benedek Fliegauf)  Hungary
 10) Shit Year  (Cam Archer)
 11) Pina  (Wim Wenders)  Germany
 12) Griff the Invisible  (Leon Ford)  Australia
 13) Midnight in Paris  (Woody Allen)
 14) Jane Eyre  (Cary Fukunaga)  UK

Great

 15) Meek's Cutoff  (Kelly Reichardt)
 16) Kaboom  (Gregg Araki)
 17) Attenberg  (Athina Rachel Tsangari)  Greece
 18) Till det som är vackert  (AKA Pure, Lisa Langseth)  Sweden
 19) The Arbor  (Clio Barnard)  UK
 20) Cold Weather  (Aaron Katz)
 21) Drive  (Nicolas Winding Refn)
 22) Dead Hooker in a Trunk  (Jen, Sylvia Soska)  Canada
 23) Putty Hill  (Matthew Porterfield)
 24) Ovsyanki  (AKA Silent Souls, Aleksei Fedorchenko)  Russia
 25) Bellflower  (Evan Glodell)
 26) La piel que habito  (AKA The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodóvar)  Spain
 27) Hanna  (Joe Wright)
 28) Perfect Sense  (David Mackenzie)  UK
 29) A Dangerous Method  (David Cronenberg)  UK
 30) Xiao shi da kan  (AKA Honey PuPu, Hung-i Chen)  Taiwan

Good

 31) Brilliantlove  (Ashley Horner)  UK
 32) Sleeping Beauty  (Julia Leigh)  Australia
 33) Mistérios de Lisboa  (AKA Mysteries of Lisbon, Raoul Ruiz)  Portugal
 34) Daydream Nation  (Michael Goldbach)  Canada
 35) Dreileben Trilogy  (Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf, Christoph Hochhäusler)  Germany
 36) La belle endormie  (AKA The Sleeping Beauty, Catherine Breillat)  France
 37) Take Shelter  (Jeff Nichols)
 38) Jodaeiye Nader az Simin  (AKA A Separation, Asghar Farhadi)  Iran
 39) Welcome to the Rileys  (Jake Scott)
 40) Page Eight  (David Hare)  UK
 41) Never Let Me Go  (Mark Romanek)  UK/US
 42) The Myth of the American Sleepover  (David Mitchell)
 43) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy  (Tomas Alfredson)  UK
 44) Cave of Forgotten Dreams  (Werner Herzog)
 45) Sucker Punch  (Zack Snyder)
 46) Rango  (Gore Verbinski)
 47) Finisterrae  (Sergio Caballero)  Spain
 48) Le quattro volte  (Michelangelo Frammartino)  Italy
 49) The Oregonian  (Calvin Reeder)
 50) Få meg på, for faen  (AKA Turn Me On, Dammit!, Jannicke Systad Jacobsen)  Norway
 51) Kill List  (Ben Wheatley)  UK
 52) Boy Wonder  (Michael Morrissey)
 53) Love  (William Eubank)
 54) The Ides of March  (George Clooney)
 55) Kuky se vrací  (AKA Kooky, Jan Sverák)  Czech Republic
 56) Nostalgia de la luz  (AKA Nostalgia for the Light, Patricio Guzmán)  Chile
 57) For Lovers Only  (Michael Polish)
 58) Juan  (Kasper Holten)  Denmark
 59) My Week with Marilyn  (Simon Curtis)  UK
 60) Source Code  (Duncan Jones)
 61) The Debt  (John Madden)
 62) Rise of the Planet of the Apes  (Rupert Wyatt)
 63) Woody Allen - A Documentary  (Robert B. Weide)
 64) Immortals  (Tarsem Singh)

Okay

 65) Carlos  (Olivier Assayas)  France
 66) Hesher  (Spencer Susser)
 67) Martha Marcy May Marlene  (Sean Durkin)
 68) The Mill and the Cross  (Lech Majewski)  Poland
 69) Love and Other Drugs  (Edward Zwick)
 70) Une vie de chat  (AKA A Cat in Paris, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol)  France
 71) Friends with Benefits  (Will Gluck)
 72) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol  (Brad Bird)
 73) The Adjustment Bureau  (George Nolfi)
 74) Contagion  (Steven Soderbergh)
 75) Tag und Nacht  (AKA Day and Night, Sabine Derflinger)  Austria
 76) Unknown  (Jaume Collet-Serra)
 77) Drive Angry  (Patrick Lussier)
 78) The Woman  (Lucky McKee)
 79) Prezít svuj zivot (teorie a praxe)  (AKA Surviving Life (Theory and Practice), Jan Svankmajer)  Czech Republic
 80) Young Adult  (Jason Reitman)
 81) Hugo  (Martin Scorsese)
 82) Magic Trip  (Alison Ellwood, Alex Gibney)
 83) The Interrupters  (Steve James)
 84) The Descendants  (Alexander Payne)
 85) In Time  (Andrew Niccol)
 86) Deux de la Vague  (Emmanuel Laurent)  France

Mediocre

 87) Island  (Elizabeth Mitchell, Brek Taylor)  UK
 88) Another Earth  (Mike Cahill)
 89) One Day  (Lone Scherfig)  US/UK
 90) The Tempest  (Julie Taymor)
 91) Carnage  (Roman Polanski)
 92) The Future  (Miranda July)
 93) Sound of Noise  (Ola Simonsson, Johannes Stjärne Nilsson)  Sweden
 94) Super  (James Gunn)
 95) Morning Glory  (Roger Michell)
 96) X-Men: First Class  (Matthew Vaughn)
 97) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2  (David Yates)  UK/US
 98) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  (David Fincher)
 99) Texas Killing Fields  (Ami Canaan Mann)
100) Colombiana  (Olivier Megaton)
101) Margin Call  (J.C. Chandor)
102) Restless  (Gus Van Sant)
103) Like Crazy  (Drake Doremus)
104) The Artist  (Michel Hazanavicius)  France
105) Passion Play  (Mitch Glazer)
106) Circumstance  (Maryam Keshavarz)  France/US/Iran
107) Killer Elite  (Gary McKendry)
108) Moneyball  (Bennett Miller)
109) Win Win  (Thomas McCarthy)
110) Warrior  (Gavin O'Connor)
111) Albatross  (Niall MacCormick)  UK

Pretty Bad

112) Submarine  (Richard Ayoade)  UK
113) 3  (Tom Tykwer)  Germany
114) Higher Ground  (Vera Farmiga)
115) It's Kind of a Funny Story  (Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck)
116) Some Guy Who Kills People  (Jack Perez)
117) Crazy, Stupid, Love.  (Glenn Ficarra, John Requa)
118) Priest  (Scott Stewart)
119) Earthling  (Clay Liford)
120) Transformers: Dark of the Moon  (Michael Bay)
121) The Three Musketeers  (Paul W.S. Anderson)
122) 50/50  (Jonathan Levine)
123) The Muppets  (James Bobin)
124) The Rum Diary  (Bruce Robinson)
125) The Art of Getting By  (Gavin Wiesen)
126) Anonymous  (Roland Emmerich)
127) Dirty Girl  (Abe Sylvia)
128) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  (Rob Marshall)
129) J. Edgar  (Clint Eastwood)
130) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1  (Bill Condon)

Crap

131) Unter dir die Stadt  (AKA The City Below, Christoph Hochhäusler)  Germany
132) Film socialisme  (Jean-Luc Godard)  France
133) The Help  (Tate Taylor)
134) The Devil's Double  (Lee Tamahori)  Belgium/Netherlands
135) The Adventures of Tintin  (Steven Spielberg)
136) War Horse  (Steven Spielberg)
137) Jin líng shí san chai  (AKA The Flowers of War, Yimou Zhang)  China/HK
138) Abduction  (John Singleton)
139) Tiny Furniture  (Lena Dunham)
140) Your Highness  (David Gordon Green)
141) Cowboys & Aliens  (Jon Favreau)
142) Thor  (Kenneth Branagh)

[DJ Doena]

It's your own fault that you have seen so many mediocre-crap movies. If you hadn't watched the good ones, that wouldn't have happened. 

[Achim]

I am surprised about some of the stuff listed under Good (Rango or even more Sucker Punch).

I am even more surprised by some films being listed at all! Someone peer-pressured you into seeing Transformers? Not a choice I'd expect from you; I clearly decided against it myself.

Thanky for posting this.

[goodguy]

I've definitely been watching too much mainstream stuff this year. And there is no one to blame but myself. At least I avoided the last Twilight installment. 

I remember Rango as pretty enjoyable. Not great, but better than most Pixar stuff I've seen. AFAIK it was generally well liked, so I'm not sure what's the surprise here, except maybe for me sharing that view. I've only seen two other animated movies this year, the Czech Kooky and the French A Cat in Paris, and while they were certainly charming in their own right, none of them struck me as truly exceptional either.

Sucker Punch I expected too hate based on the trailer, but it is really quite brilliant at times and if I had found the battle sequences less tedious, it would have ended up under "Great".

So, is anyone else making year-end lists?

[Jimmy]

So, is anyone else making year-end lists?

I haven't gone in a cinema since at least 5 years so my list would be short

[goodguy]

Quite a bunch of those I actually watched on DVD, so it's more about being movies newly released in or around 2011.

[Achim]

I remember Rango as pretty enjoyable. Not great, but better than most Pixar stuff I've seen. AFAIK it was generally well liked, so I'm not sure what's the surprise here, except maybe for me sharing that view.

Yes, it was my surprise that yolu shared the general opinion on this one; for movie that is rather rare... Like with Sucker Punch, which was generally not well received, yet it made it onto your list.

So, is anyone else making year-end lists?

I wasn't planning on it. However, mine would only be with what I watched on DVD, as I don't have a list for what I saw in the cinema this year.

[Kathy]

The film The Help might be crap, I haven't seen it, but the book was quite enjoyable.

I'm kind of surprised that the movie was so bad, I like many of the actors who starred in it. I had planned on buying the DVD but will put it way down on my wish list now.

[goodguy]

The film The Help might be crap, I haven't seen it, but the book was quite enjoyable.

Just as I was about to reply to Achim and say that I'm not always a contrarian you had to bring this one up.  
It is one of those reasonably well-made and well-meaning movies, purposefully calibrated as a feel-good tearjerker, with superficial sentiment - you know, just a bit painful, but ultimately uplifting. Maybe it's even unaware of its own dishonesty and perversion. In short, it's like a Spielberg movie, the kind of movie that makes my skin crawl and feel all icky.

Bottom line: I would much prefer that you get curious about some of the top listed ones instead of having my low ranking prevent you from giving something a try.

[Achim]

If I remember correctly Mark Kermode basiclly called The Help Oscar fodder...

[Jon]

It is one of those reasonably well-made and well-meaning movies, purposefully calibrated as a feel-good tearjerker, with superficial sentiment - you know, just a bit painful, but ultimately uplifting. Maybe it's even unaware of its own dishonesty and perversion. In short, it's like a Spielberg movie, the kind of movie that makes my skin crawl and feel all icky.

Bottom line: I would much prefer that you get curious about some of the top listed ones instead of having my low ranking prevent you from giving something a try.

Damn it, why does this forum have to be so frustrating sometimes?  Matthias, I agree with you. I haven't seen the The Help, but it definitely fits your description from what I've read, and a couple of people I know who have seen it did really enjoy it, but still recognised the manipulative nature. By the way, Kathy, they had also read the book, which they consider much better, but still enjoyed the film so much I would encourage you to jam it back to the top of your list and not be put off. At the end of the day, regardless of the tone of the film, the story can't be changed so much that it becomes something else.

But all that said, Matthias, why the jab at Spielberg? Again. It's tedious. He has never made a film like The Help and if he did, we'd be talking about Amistad at least, way back in 1997. It just seems a cheap shot which doesn't suit you and is ultimately misleading.

[goodguy]

Jon, if you read my post, I did encourage Kathy to not be put off by my opinion of the movie. And I'm sorry if my Spielberg comment frustrates you, but to me he is pretty much the epitome for that kind of shallowness and manipulative dishonesty. Of course I haven't seen War Horse yet, but it strikes me as exact another one in that particular vein.

EDIT:
Oh, and I originally intended the Spielberg comparison as an "I hate it, but most people like it" example, but I'm just unable to phrase anything concerning him more positively or even neutral.

[Kathy]

Matthias,

I've actually bookmarked this thread to save your list of recomendations. One of the reasons I enjoy your reviews is because you enjoy things that I would not normally know about.

The Help is one that I won't forget about so it really doesn't matter where it is on my Wish List.

[samuelrichardscott]

I don't get to the cinema anywhere near as often as I would like so most are via rental/purchase:

5/5:
None

4.5/5:
Fast Five
Hobo with a Shotgun
Super 8

4/5:
Attack the Block
Source Code
Unknown

3.5/5:
Bad Teacher
Cedar Rapids
Flypaper
The Green Hornet
Hall Pass
Just Do It: A Tale of Modern Day Outlaws
Just Go with It
Knuckle
Paul
Retreat
Scream 4
Superheroes

3/5:
Battle: Los Angeles
Drive Angry
Never Back Down 2
No Strings Attached
Quarantine 2
Quirky Guys and Gals
Rango
Season of the Witch
Your Highness

2.5/5:
Beastly

2/5:
Dark Vengeance
Kingdom of Gladiators
The Roommate
Spooky Buddies

1.5/5:
Vampire Boys

1/5:
River of Darkness

0.5/5:
None

[samuelrichardscott]

Don't know how, but I forgot my favourite of the year, Super 8.

I have The Lincoln Lawyer on it's way from Lovefilm.