TOP 10 OF 2011!!!!

The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things....

 Like my top 10 movies of 2011! I'm excited, for this is my first year having an actual blog to do said list on  :). Because my new medium is larger, there will be a couple bonus treats for you at the end...

My rules are as they've always been. To qualify, they just need to have been released this year and I need to have actually seen them. There are a handful I have not seen yet that I don't know (but have a hunch) if they'd make this list ie; War Horse, The Debt, Troll Hunter, Contagion, Melancholia, Anonymous, The Muppets, The Artist

Here we go!

10) Thor
When unknown actor Cris Hemsworth was announced to be taking on the role of Norse Thundergod Thor, many people had no idea what to think. Known mostly for his small role as Kirk's doomed father at the beginning of the Star Trek reboot, Hemsworth had some big shows to fill, literally. Me managed to pull off a nice mix of nobility and awkward naivety the character of Thor is known for in his 60+ years of comics. Anthony Hopkins as the father of the gods, Odin, brought a credence to the story as well. Thor will be seen next teamed with the Avengers in 2012.

9) The Adjustment Bureau
Philip K Dick has had a number of his novels and short stories adapted into films. This one is based off the short 'Adjustment Team', starring Matt Damon who gets a glimpse into the inner workings of people's day to day lives when he stumbles upon a strange group of 'people' with the means and ability to  govern and influence our choices and events that happen in our lives. One of my favorite themes, fate vs free will, is laden throughout this film. Also, when Damon's character figures out the means himself, we are taken on a surreal cat and mouse chase through reality itself.

8) Insidious
Insidious is on this list because it hit a personal nerve with me. A horror film involving what happens during night terrors, and the forces at work against you during that time, a found myself actually quite unnerved for I personally experienced numerous night terrors as a kid. This film reminded me of some of them, and connecting those events with what occurs in this film, truth be told I was afraid. The song 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips' will always haunt a part of me now as well...

7) Hanna
I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to watch this film. Action movie? Drawn out drama piece? Coming of age tale? Spy thriller? Thankfully it turned out to be a nice blend of all of those. The tale of the daughter of  a rogue CIA operative, raised and trained in the arctic to be a killing machine only to be brought back to civilization and aimed and let loose after her targets, I found myself really enjoying this one. Saoirse Ronan as the title character brought a gentile yet sharp-as-a-knife mentality to her role. I found myself believing in a young woman discovering herself and the world for the first time, while holding a capability for extreme measure and violence within. As she ventures forth to seek out answers and vengeance, I found myself really rooting for her.

6) Paranormal Activity 3
The Paranormal Activity films have continued what the Blair Witch Project started. While this franchise has begun to blend together a little too much, I'm including this one on here because of the surprising left turn the story in this film takes that I'll admit I never at all saw coming. The ongoing story of a family plagued by paranormal entities and captured on film via home movies, most people were led to believe this was a case of family/house haunted by spooks. Turns out it's far more complicated than that, and the reasons for such both shocked and disturbed me enough to put it on this list. If there is to be a 4th film, I can see it going into some pretty dark territory...

5) Rango
I don't watch a whole lot of cg family movies anymore because a lot tend to be the same. Rango looked different though so I took a chance on it, and I'm glad I did. Johnny Depp voiced the titular character in what amounts to be a full-out western film only with small desert animals instead of people. The animation is very well done, and less cartoony than many films. The jokes are a little more adult, so it caters to the older crowds as well, and many of us older viewers will catch numerous references and nods to classics such as Unforgiven, Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, etc.

4) Harry Potter & The Deathly Hollows prt 2
And so the saga ends. I've never read any of the books (Gasp!I know!) so my Harry Potter experience is tied into the films, but what a ride it was. I began not liking them at all. I thought the first couple were too 'kiddie' and naive. By the 3rd or 4th though I caught on there was a reason for that. We were growing up with Harry, and much like our own lives, his world began to get darker and harsher as he grew. By this final installment, Harry's story had reached it pinnacle, and all he'd learned and trained for had come to this moment. His face off with The-One-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named provided one of the most visually stunning sequences in any film in many years. Thank you Harry.

3) X-Men: First Class
I'm a lifelong X-Men fan. Since 1992 when the animated series premiered I've followed the comics through uncountable story arcs and tales that still I enjoy to this day. The films however...not so much. X-Men 1-3 and Wolverine were all let downs in different ways (X2 was the best of them, but not by much). So when First Class was announced, my excitement didn't really register. But being a fanboy, I of course still went to see it just once, and boy was I surprised. While it still has it's faults, it seems Fox has finally learned from many of it's mistakes and rebooted the franchise. Tying the cold war and other historical moments into the emergence of mutants was clever, and many of the characters were finally used to their potential (Beast was far better utilized for example, though Azazel made no sense being there...). If they continue along this vein of storytelling, I see a brighter future for the series.

2) Captain America: The First Avenger
Nostalgia. That's what this film has going for it, and it has it by the truck load. Like actual WW2 propaganda this film is laden with both subtle and obvious references to north american culture during the 40s. I was never a big Captain America fan but this film made me more of one. The archetypal story of the little guy going against the odds is a favorite of many viewers so it manages to hit a chord for a lot of us. I do find it funny though that one of Marvel's top heroes is basically a guy who started out weak, took a secret drug (like a steroid?), got bigger and therefore better, and is now a leader of many of the most famous super heroes ever. Cap will be seen next in the Avengers in 2012.

1) Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes/Drive
That's right, for the first time ever...a tie for 1st place!! And for very different reasons.
Rise of the Apes came out of left field and became my favorite of the summer movies. Though basically a reboot of the 70s Apes franchise, this film had a lot of heart and worked on numerous levels. It manages to make us truly feel for an imaginary ape. I will also take this chance to acknowledge the amazing work of Andy Serkis, the incredible performer who gave a face to Caesar the ape. I feel Andy Serkis is our modern day Lon Chaney Jr . What Chaney did back in the day with makeup and prostetics (The Wolfman, Son of Dracula, etc) Serkis now does with CG (as Caesar, and Lord of the Ring's Gollum most notably). I really do hope Serkis gets the recognition he deserves ala Oscar nomination...

Drive was the biggest surprise hit for me this year. Ryan Gosling brought in a great performance as a stuntman-by-day bank-heist-driver-by-night man with a troubled past who just wants to escape it all. The real hero of this film was the director, Nicolas Winding Refn, who delivered a stylish crime drama powered by an amazing music score. All the film''s elements came together to create a powerful film that I never expected to enjoy as much as I did, so hat's off to it.

That's my top 10 of 2011, and now the bonuses I promised....

Top 5 WORST FILM OF 2011
5) Twilight : Breaking Dawn prt 1
It's Twilight. Enough said.

4) Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
While the film itself wasn't bad per se, it was far too obvious that it was just an attempt to squeeze more money out of a franchise that has already wrapped up nicely. You could skip this film entirely and not miss a beat of the overall story, and for that it's on this list.

3) Battle: Los Angeles
What was a promising alien invasion flick turned into a blatant military recruitment video. Too much 'Oorah! Lets shoot em!', zero story. Simple as that.

2) Skyline
Following the alien invasion theme, this one also had a promising start, then went downhill. Here's a tip; don't make your main characters, who are trying to survive an epic alien invasion, into Paris Hilton wannabes. We are just left literally hoping they get fried. And that ending? It went from bad alien invasion flick and turned into and even worse moving comic book that was just plain silly.

1) Green Hornet
A prime example that many studios are trying to cash in on 3D for the WRONG reasons. This film is not only a bad story with lame characters, but the 3D elements were outright distracting and turned moments of the movie into a bad music video. I chose to NOT see it in 3D and the elements were still there, they made the film from the beginning as basically one long test of 3D, and all it managed to test was my patience. It's been a long time since I've watched a movie and actually wanted it to end sooner because I was feeling like my time was being wasted.

Most Anticipated of 2012!

1) Prometheus
2) The Avengers
3) The Dark Knight Rises
4) The Hunger Games
5) The Hobbit
6) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
7) 007: Skyfall
8) World War Z

Let me know what you think of these lists, or comment on your own favs and downers.

Take Care :)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.... technically speaking, is not a remake

   Ok, I've heard the gripe over the fact that Hollywood deemed to make a North American version of the Millennium Trilogy within a few scant years of the Swedish version. There appears to have been some anger over this, and many people claiming that, having seen the Swedish films, will not want to see these ones.
   Well then these people will be missing out.
   First you have the fact these films are being helmed by David Fincher, arguably one of the best filmmakers out there. Just take a loot at his work (Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Social Network).
   Next you have great actors taking on the roles. Daniel Craig manages to take an uninteresting character and turn it into something to root for. Stellan Skarsgard and Christopher Plummer round out great performances as well.
   But of course the breakout performance goes to Rooney Mara, a relative unknown previously seen by most in The Nightmare on Elm Street remake and a small role in Social Network. But her performance as expert hacker/investigator Lisbeth Salander kills.
   While I don't like to compare performances between different actors, I really need to give the nod to Mara's version compared to the Swedish version's Noomi Rapace. In the Swedish film, Rapace's character was a hard-as-nails young woman you know you don't want to mess with. While that take on the character wasn't by any means bad, it does kind of discredit the scenes in which she is abused, because when she gets her revenge on her tormentor you completely see it coming. Mara's version is more drawn inward. Her Lisbeth is a strong woman as well, but with a vulnerability that leads to some surprise when she is able to exact her punishment on those who hurt her. Put simply, I felt Rooney Mara's version makes you root for the character more.
  I'll point out now that I have not read the books, so you may take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. Swedish version vs American version, all I know is that apparently the Swedish version cut scenes from the book while the American version didn't  really (which accounts for its 2.5+ hours runtime). But I guess my point is to perhaps persuade folks into not seeing the American version as a hasty remake of the Swedish version, but to see it as a different adaptation of the books. Plus I should mention it having one of the most visceral opening themes I've ever seen...
  All in all a very well made film by an incredible filmmaker and a wonderful cast. I recommend it.