2011 Best Movies

Admittedly, this wasn't a great year for me with new movies.  Honestly there just wasn't the draw to the box office that there has been in other years.  I'm been busy with my DVR and Netflix, catching up on great films that I'd missed over the past couple years.  I'm still averaging a couple trips to the movie theater a month but in the past it was once a week or more.  

For me the biggest problem is that I can't trust reviews.  Years ago Rotten Tomatoes was the gold standard for movie reviews.  But in the past couple years it has become horribly inaccurate.  Any movie with action and a little T & A is suddenly the best movie ever made and a must see. Entertainment Weekly is a great resource for information on what movies are coming out but their reviews are awful.  It seems like any movie that has a big budget and can afford to pay Entertainment Weekly to do a feature article on it's film is a must see.  Not to mention that some of EW's critics are directors and film makers who pimp their own films.  

It's much safer to wait until a movie has been out for a while to see if it's really worth your time.  This is my list of the top 11 films of the year.  This list is totally subjective.  I didn't see all of the Oscar nominees and I won't pretend like all of these deserve to be held up as great all time films.  But for one reason or another these movies resonated with me. 

10. Bridesmaids- It's nice to see a comedy that isn't totally predictable and has women in leading roles.  A nice departure from the sappy, romantic comedies that usually involve women and weddings.  

9. Larry Crowne and Everything Must Go- Neither deserve to win any awards but both show great actors in great roles with an enjoyable story line.  Sometimes it's nice to leave the theater with a smile on your face.

8. Super 8- This was a much better movie than I was expecting.  Nice to see young actors that aren't featured on the Disney channel.  This generation's ET.  

7. X-Men First Class- The last X-Men movie (Origins: Wolverine) was awful so I was worried that the franchise had died.  But much like the Dark Knight did for the Batman series, this movie was as good as the original and make me excited about the next one.  Great action and story lines and no unnecessary sex.  

6. Crazy, Stupid Love- Great acting all around and a not so predictable ending.  Lots of laughs without being a stupid chick flick.  

5. Moneyball- Yes, a movie about baseball that involves very little actual play is very enjoyable.  The fact that it is true and that it happened during my lifetime makes it even more entertaining.  Great acting all around. Whoever wrote the script should get an award. 

4. Hanna- This little girl kicks some serious butt.  I'm hoping they make another one just so I can see more people get beat up.  I'm surprised this movie didn't get more hype.  Great story and cinematography. 

3. Thor- The best of the comic book movies by far.  The action, the story line, the ties to the future Avengers movie.  All great.  Edge of your seat action and the lead actor isn't too hard on the eyes either.

2. Win Win- The little independent film that could.  Like any independent film, I wish they had a little more of a conclusive ending but still a great watch.  Paul Giamatti continues to be the darling of independent movies.  If he's in it, you should see it.  Should win for script.  A great story that is well acted and keeps you engaged. 

1. The Help- A fantastic book that was made into an almost equally fantastic movie.  Perfect casting.  Only a few details from the book skipped. Displays a part of history that isn't often discussed.  Nice to see historical fiction that isn't stuck on slavery.  Hope it wins every award it's nominated for.  

Best Picture Nominees that I haven't seen:

 The Artist- Haven't seen it but I'm guessing it's fabulous based on word of mouth.

 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- Haven't seen it.  Been told that the book is better than the movie.

 Midnight in Paris- Woody Allen is hit or miss at this point and so is Owen Wilson.  

 The Tree of Life- Mixed reviews.  Brad Pitt factor may have contributed to hype.  

 War Horse- Not every play needs to be made into a movie.  Using real animals in movies should be a thing  

  of the past.  Would be hard to watch without wondering how the animals were affected. 

Best Picture nominees that I have seen: 

The Descendants- Good by not great.  Only nominated because George Clooney is in it.  

Moneyball- Agree

The Help- Agree

Hugo- Good but not great.  Dragged at points.  Probably best family movie of the year; it deserves a nod. 

2010 Oscar Pics

About a month ago, I wrote down my Oscar pics for this year so I could compare them to the Academy Award nominations once they were announced. I saw forty of the movies that were released in 2009 but I didn't see all of the favorites. Here are some of the movies that I missed that other people have loved: Crazy Heart, Inglorious Bastards, The Hurt Locker, The Messenger, Invictus, A Single Man, The Lovely Bones, A Serious Man, and An Education. Nine and The Last Station are movies that received great reviews but which don't really appeal to me. I'm sure I'll see all these movies in the next year though Netflix or HBO and maybe they'll bump some of my favorites off the list. But until then, here is my opinion of the best movies and performances of the year based on what I saw.

My Best Pictures:
1. District 9- If you haven't seen it go see it. Great sci-fi movie with a great story and plenty of action and drama to keep you glued to your seat the entire time. No huge Hollywood names just fantastic directing and acting. It won't win because no one famous is in it but at least it got a Best Picture Nominations. I can't understand why no Best Directing Nomination.

2. Star Trek- Yes it lived up to the hype. I've never seen an episode of Star Trek in my life and I loved it. No idea why the Academy chose to snub this one in all of the major categories. Should get Best Picture and Best Director nods at a minimum.

3. Avatar- Great special effects. Not so subtle message within a good story. Not sure why there is so much controversy over this one. Well deserved nominations for Best Picture and Best Directing.

4. Julie & Julia- Who knew Julia Child and some random blogger could be so interesting. Meryl Streep has the best actress performance for sure this year.

5. Away We Go- A total surprise. Two comedy actors show that they can do drama. Great story about love and all the tough decisions that come after college. An Oscar Snub not a surprise for such a small market film.

6. Precious- Heart wrenching. Hard to believe Gabourey Sidibe has never acted before. A well deserved best actress nomination for her and for Mo'Nique who is a shoe-in to win best supporting actress.

7. The Blind Side- Yeah the movie had an obvious Disney touch to it but it was still a really good movie. I don't think the writers glossed over how difficult the transition was for an underprivileged black kid to move in with a rich white family in the south. I think they choose to focus on all the positive things that happened to him after he made that transition and I'm okay with that. We don't need a three hour epic cry fest for every "overcoming adversity" story out there. Sandra Bullock deserves the Best Actress Nomination but she should not win.

8. Up- Way to go Disney. Not just for the kids. A really good movie with some great voice actors and fantastic story. Thanks Academy for not overlooking an animated movie as a Best Picture nominee.

So the Academy agreed with 5 of my pics. Not bad. I did see Up in the Air but it wasn't nearly as good as everyone said it was going to be. If you want to throw a nomination to George Clooney for Best Actor I'm okay with that but there is no way this was one of the best 10 movies of the year. The other 4 movies that were nominated are on my list of movies I haven't seen yet and I sure at least 2 of them are better than or as good as the 8 best movies on my list. It's hard to argue with the Best Actor and Supporting Actor nominations with such highly acclaimed performances even though I haven't seen most of the movies. I just hope the star power behind Up In the Air doesn't get it more awards than it deserves.

The Hangover is a movie that people think should have been nominated for an Oscar but the entire movie was ruined by the previews and trailers weeks before the movie was even released. I saw the movie within a week of its release and there was not one funny scene that I didn't know about ahead of time. If it weren't ruined for me then maybe it would have made the list but a comedy movie isn't all that funny when someone has told you all the punch lines ahead of time.

The Oscars are the only award show that I watch religiously every year. I hope there are a few surprises and not just all the big names winning. I can't wait to hear about all the documentary, independent and foreign films that I have never heard of but will add to my Netflix list shortly after the broadcast. Happy movie watching.