Top Ten Movies of 2011

Well after the horrible memories that the last entry brought back I figured its time to counter-act the a top 10 list. There should be more good in the world then bad... but I'll admit it was pretty hard coming up with a list of 10. Anyway lets stop stalling this already long entry, lets get started.

10) In Time- Was there a more timely movie then this in 2011? With the Occupy movements happening all throughout America this movie just shined through its ingenious plot. Sure, the movie wasn't perfect and  it ran a little to long for my taste, but it was gifted with a strong cast (including Justin Timberlake, who we all need to accept is a competent actor).  In the film we see a future world where Time is now the currency, and if you don't have time well, your just not important. You basically are waiting for the 1% to be mentioned, but nothing of that comes through. Instead we get a well made, tense, drama about the needs of the many out weighing the needs of the few.

9) Hanna- On the surface Hanna might just seem like a Bourne Identity rip-off with a female lead, and yes it is a rip-off with an excellent female lead. It's once you start peeling the layers of the character Hanna that you see the brilliance behind this film. Yes the action is fun, fast, and any other f-adjective you can think of; but it is when we see Hanna start discovering the world around her that we see what director Joe Wright set out to do. This is a visual feast, as we watch the titular character learn about the world as she discovers things like music, electricity, and cars. This gives us a strong connection with Hanna, and even though the movie really falls apart in the end, its the ride of the characters that draws us in.

8) Rise of the Planet of the Apes- Now I could go on like every critic out there and praise Andy Serkis' motion capturing performance, but honestly I just like this movie because its fun. Not everyone is good in their roles, and the films kinda on the long side, but in all honesty I would gladly pay more then $10 to watch a gorilla fight a horse. Luckily I got that and a great origin story for Caeser (played masterfully by Andy Serkis... I couldn't help but mention it!).

7) Winnie the Pooh- Well we are a good bit into the list so lets lighten things up a bit. Winnie the Pooh it a homage to the olden Disney movies. This is more of a movie for those who grew up with the older, hand drawn animated Disney movies of the 90's, and buy does it deliver. Pooh, Tigger, Christopher Robin, and the rest of the gang are back after a long hiatus and it just oozes with charm. Honestly this movie is just a delight and the only reason it doesn't rank higher on this list is because of its incredibly short run time of 63 minutes.

6) Limitless- Its not hard to find a movie that uses drugs as a major plot point, but it is hard to find one that doesn't care about the whole "Drugs are Bad!" message. Limitless throws all of that out the window as we follow Bradley Cooper's character Eddie as he finds, uses, and becomes addicted to a mysterious super drug. This drug awakens his full potential and allows him to reach limits that... well, he basically becomes limitless! What this movie does right is it tells a great job of avoiding cliches that rid similar movies. We are never given the "Drugs are Bad" impression, but instead we are never really forced to like Eddie as a character. We know he's using, and we see his mistakes but never feel pity for him. This alongside some excellent use of music and lighting make this just a great experience.

5) Source Code- Here's a little warning about this movie: watch it once, enjoy it and then never watch it again. This is a great movie, an excellent movie even, but what makes it so is the story. The characters are interesting but not very well acted. Everything about the movie is just safe movie making; that is except for the story. It starts off fairly normal, but there is a plot twist that changes everything we have known so far. It is the way the twist is executed that makes this such a great film. Maybe Im over hyping this film, but I am a huge sucker for this kind of film and that is why it is deserving of this spot.

4) Rango- Rango is an iguana... not the normal, cutesy protagonist that most animated films have, and thats why I love this film. Its weird. Nothing is cute about this film and it deals with some real world situations, such as corrupt politics and economic instability. But possibly my favorite part about the film is the character of Rango. He is an iguana who is also an actor. This allows him to constantly change his skin, or role in the world, but no matter what he is still a coward. The constant physical changes that occur to him prevent us from never truly getting a sense of who Rango is, in fact we never even learn his real name. I really can't say if this beautiful connection between the physical and mental character was intended, but whatever it works.

3) X-Men First Class- This movie gets it. It understands its roots are comic books where characters who shot lasers out of their eyes and where bright colored jump suits. No comic book film has embraced this as much as First Class, or what it really should be called: X-Men Origins Magneto. Indeed it never has been so good to feel for the devil. Magneto simply owns this movie. The mixture of comic book action, mixed with James Bond style story, all mixed up in an amazing Cold War era setting blends amazingly to create the perfect blend of action, narrative, comedy, and it actually ret-cons two really horrible movies in the process! This movie understands what it means to be a summer movie, and actually is my favorite summer movie this year. Mutant and Proud, and they have every reason to be.

2) The Muppets- If you walk out of this film not happy or smiling your a bad person. This may not be my favorite movie of the year, but it is the one I had the funnest time seeing. It was great seeing Kermit, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and the gang reunite to put together one last show. The songs were great, the story was tear jerking, and you even have some mildly fabulous human characters also. This isn't a movie for kids as it is more for the fans. Writer Jason Segal is a long time Muppet fan and it shows with the delicacy he puts into keeping each character the same. He understands what makes these characters resonate with fans, and makes sure that shines. Muppets was my most anticipated movie of the year, but not my favorite. That award goes too...

1) 50/50- Can anyone argue against the fact that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of, if not the most talented actors of our time? Here he plays Adam, a young man who works as a radio narrator who discovery's he has a serious tumor on his spine. What follows is a tale of life, death, depression, love, and family all neatly wrapped in a 2 hour gift. We learn to feel for these characters as they all play their own part in Adam's care. But what really makes this movie special is that it awakens us to the reality of death and just how important life is when you have a chance of losing it. When we see Adam break down you want to break down. This isn't a movie about cancer, it is a movie about death and how we really are all afraid of it. Listen movies still have a long way to go before being perfect, but we need excellent movies like 50/50 to make us realize that yes movies can be emotional and thought provoking. We need more movies like this, because simply put 50/50 is the best film of 2011.

Worst 5 Films of 2011

Hello everybody to 2012, and what a better way then to welcome the New Year then look back at the old. So without further adieu here are my least favorite films of 2011.

5) Your Highness- Out of all the movie genre's comedies only have one job to do: make us laugh. So why does this movie not understand that very basic premise? Probably because like the genre it inhibits this movie has only one joke; what if potheads were in a fantasy world. Well it turns out that it wouldn't be funny. At all. One could say that it is fatigue of director David Gordon Green's style, or possibly Danny McBride and James Franco half-assing their parts. I would simply blame it on this: the main marketing tool behind this movie was Natalie Portman's ass. What kind of movie does that?

4) Sucker Punch- Out of every movie on the list I have t say this is the one I enjoyed the most. It has such a cool premise and comes from one Zack Snyder, a director who has proven himself a talented man, but nothing about it works. The movie is highly stylized, and I understand why some might like it, but its boring. The film revolves around dreamscape battlefields in which five girls try to escape an insane asylum through, but because these dreamscapes the movie lacks tension. This movie is pretty but lacking, boring, and overall just a disappointment. Nothing about it works which is so upsetting.

3) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1- Listen, Im a guy so naturally i'm suppose to hate this series, but I don't. I respect and understand the point of this series, but that doesn't excuse this from being a horrible film. Literally nothing, and I mean nothing happens! She gets knocked up, gets knocked down, and then a wolf imprints on a new born baby. Plus this movie has the job of transitioning from an anti-sex position, to a pro-life stance. This movie is painful to watch, and painful to think about.

2) I Am Number Four- I actually forgot this movie existed, that how bad it was. Sci-fi is a hard genre to nail, but I don't think there is any sort of real need for this film to exist. Its brutally unoriginal and entirely predictable. It star's Alex Pettyfer (strike one) as the titular Number Four a survivor of an alien race (strike two) who flees too Earth with his mentor Henri as they are being hunted by the Mog. What follows is Four's journey into high school and desperate attempt to fit in by trying to date the football player's girlfriend and befriending the one kid who knows aliens exist (strike three!) All of this wouldn't matter if it was competent or actually resembled some sort of entertainment but alas it was not to be. Oh also it ends with a possibility for a sequel..... fuck that.

1) Bad Teacher- The whole premise of this movie is Cameron Diaz as a "bad teacher" extorting her kids so she can get a boob job so she could impress Justin Timberlake. Like Your Highness this is a comedy that is not only funny, but its almost deplorable. All of the acting is terrible, especially Timberlake. None of the characters are likable, not even Jason Segel's character who has at least some charm. Cameron Diaz's character is a gold-digger, a liar, and an extortionist. This movie hurt to watch, it isn't bad, it isn't terrible, its an monstrosity. You know how movie theater's have those little walls to protect you from falling of the higher seats? Well while watching this movie I was more interested it jumping off of that. I was more interested in hurting myself then watching this film. Bad Teacher is the worst film I have seen in the past year, and defiantly one of the worst films I have ever seen. Congratulations you miserable piece of trash.