Top Films 10 of 2011
1. The Tree of Life
A rare film that only comes around every so often that not only lives up to it's ambitious nature but exceeds it. Completely moving, surreal and other worldly experience, this could well end up being the film of the decade.
2. Burning Man
Australian brilliance. Not only an artistic triumph but succeeds in telling an extremely engaging and, apparently, very personal story for director Jonathan Teplitzky about dealing with personal tragedy, all the while resisting the urge to add even a hint of sentimentality. Kudos.
3. A Separation
I haven't written about this one yet (although will soon), this Iranian film offers up a fascinating multi layered exploration of family, truth, lies and religion while not becoming preachy, and sympathising with every character and presenting all different points of view on display fairly and equally. With such a rich variety of character and themes this one would be studied in English classes for the rest of eternity, if only the film were in English.
4. Hugo
Martin Scorsese's passionate and wholly original work about childhood and the beauty of film making is a visual stunner that has the storyline to back it up. Shame that you'll need a 3D TV to recapture that magic from cinema.
5. Shame
Unsettling, yet powerful and honest portrayal of a man who has become a complete slave to his sex and pornography addiction. This exploration of what happens when men lose their way is difficult to watch and recommend due to it's graphic content, but is undoubtedly a near masterpiece.
6. The Descendants
Dubbed as the sentimental favourite of 2011, probably due to it's heart warming story that just about anyone can enjoy about family bonding together during crisis. Excellent characterisations, funny script and a plot that starts strong and loses no momentum along the way.
7. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Complex yet masterfully crafted spy film that will, if there's any justice, be recognised as a classic of the crime genre somewhere down the track. Will probably require a couple of viewings due to the complex narrative, but it's worth it.
8. Melancholia
Lars Von Trier's flawed masterpiece about the end of the world is like no other Armageddon film you're likely to see. No pointless love stories or sappy farewell speech's, but rather a look at how two sisters deal with their impending doom differently based on their mental state. The use of Wagner's prelude to Triston and Isolde is used to great effect, especially when blasting through the speakers to signify that the end is nigh.
9. Moneyball
The combination of Brad Pitt in a lead role and an Aaron Sorkin script had all the markings of being a winner, and didn't disappoint with Sorkin providing his usual witty and intelligent dialogue and Pitt providing the acting goods to bring this intimate character study to life.
10. The Guard
Rounding out the top 10, this Irish film works well as a comedy, a crime/action film and a serious character study. On top of that, Brendan Gleeson gives a brilliant performance, so what's not to like?
Five Worst Films of 2011
This part is by no means an exhaustive list. For obvious reasons, I usually avoid films that receive bad reviews from critics and the public, and therefore I'm sure there are a lot of duds I haven't seen. However, every now and then I have the misfortune of coming across some stinkers for whatever reason, and these are the five worst from last year.
1. (Being the absolute worst) Jack and Jill
Adam Sandler has clearly come to the point in his carer where he has realised he can sell a film base solely on his name and nothing else, so putting any actual effort into the movie would be a waste of his time. And no, putting on a wig and playing his own twin sister doesn't qualify as effort, it qualifies as completely moronic. No laughs to speak of, no plot or characters to care about, loads (and I mean LOADS) of product placement, and Al Pacino playing an insane version of himself confirming the sad reality that his star has fallen, this is one huge steaming garbage pile.
2. Your Highness
The aim of the game in this fantasy comedy is to use the F word as much as possible in each sentence, and apparently that automatically equals laughs. The special effects are lame, the story is utterly pointless and none of the jokes work. Pathetic.
3. Battle: Los Angeles
To save you the pain of sitting through Battle: Los Angeles I'll sum up this snooze fest in a few words; Army guys are introduced briefly - aliens invade - BANG BANG BANG - generic war speech 1 - BANG BANG BANG - generic war speech 2 - BANG BANG BANG - the end. Next.
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The worst entry in this insipid trilogy (ok, the first one was actually not bad) obviously has no substance to it, but I've heard many appeals made to the fact that the final battle was worth sitting though the other mindless two or so hours for. But I can't understand why. The battle goes on forever, it's all over the place and has no flow to it whatsoever, and with nothing invested in the story or characters I couldn't give a stuff who ends up winning.
5. Sleeping Beauty
It's a shame that this was the film to effectively represent Australia at Cannes last year. Slow, boring and pretentious, the director seems confused between subtle character development and not giving enough information for the audience to care.
Most Underrated Film of 2011
The Ides of March
The critics didn't seem to think all that much of George Clooney's latest directorial effort, however I was compelled by this political story of shifting loyalties and loss of innocence from beginning to end. A tad contrived perhaps, but no more so than any other film of it's type.
Most Overrated Film of 2011
Warrior
Cliched, heavy handed and unrealistic, this MMA film's only saving grace is it's performances, which although prevent it from becoming a disaster, certainly don't propel it to a level worth of the critical praise it's received.
warrior was better than descendants. descendants was really clunky and you could tell the narration was thrown in in post, and generally the film screams rescued in editing. clooney's oscar nom was slightly beyond the grasp of the actual performance.
ReplyDeleteyour highness was incredible. it was an instant stoner classic in the vein of pineapple express.
jack and jill actually had some funny moments. tell me you didn't laugh when pacino sits down with depp at the basketball game in disguise then gets pointed out big time on the playback screens.
you may have considered all i just said blasphemy.
I didn't find that at all with The Descendants, instead I was really impressed with how the story lost no momentum at any point like these sort of movies often do (Alexander Payne's other movie Election would be an example of that). Warrior on the other hand had an ok beggining but by the use of the fight commentators to act as storyline narrators was so unsubtle that I was completely turned off. I guess Jack and Jill and Your Highness comes down to different taste in humor, bur I couldn't find anything in Your Highness that was an actual joke. But there's no blasphemy in your comment.
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