Lots of websites have been posting their 'best of' lists for 2011. Interested to hear what Skullbrainers rate as their favorite films for two thousand and eleven. From mainstream to indie, from local to international. Documentaries can also be included. What rocked your boat? Two that immediately come to mind for me are: Attack the Block Super 8 Captain America was also great. Only just watched it on the weekend.
four that spring to mind 13 ASSASSINS (strictly 2010 but not seen by most people outside Japan until 2011) Submarine The Adventures Of Tintin - The Secret Of The Unicorn True Grit
I've got a backlog of films to have a look at on video, but of the stuff I caught on the big screen... Hugo Melancholia Enter the Void The Tree of Life
Shame Melancholia Enter the Void (But wasn't that 2010? Still awesome....) X-men First Class the Prometheus trailer....
Faves: Melancholia The Tree of Life Drive Great stuff: Hugo Source Code Midnight in Paris Bill Cunningham New York Buried Cave of Forgotten Dreams Does Ken Burns' "Prohibition" count if it debuted on TV? I thought it was his most entertaining doc. Red State The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Hon mention: Rise of the Planet of the Apes Very good but not much fun: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Shame Meh: Contagion Bleh: Super 8
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (I really enjoyed this film) Moneyball Super 8 Enter the Void (crazy ass film) Bridesmaids
Best (in no real order): Drive Melancholia Tree of Life We Need to talk about Kevin I Saw the Devil Attack the Block Hanna Martha Marcy May Marlene (Which may be my #1 of the year) Hugo Shame Kill List 50/50 Skin I Live In
I thought Enter the Void was better than Irreversible because at least it has a happy ending. It brings you through hell and then back up again and completes a circle in the end. Although the druggie aspect was a little over played I thought. Irreversible was just brutal. **Spoiler sorry, Shame was just as dark but I thought it at least left it up to the veiwer to decide what happens. Did Brandon (and his sister) finally have enough and decide to get help? That's what I got from his facial expression looking at the girl on the subway the second time in the end. So for me Shame was better, or at least not as depressing. There was still a little hope left in the end of Shame. Michael Fassbender deserves an Oscar for that. All are amazing films. EDIT- the post I was responding to was deleted i guess...
i havent seen muppets yet... bummed. but i dug super 8 it was fun. past that wasnt really stoked on any movies this year that i remember i will have to really think about it
I didn't see much in 2011 but what I did see, i really liked: Captain America - competes with first Iron Man as best Marvel movie X-Men First Class - (wasn't expecting much upon hearing characters, but really liked it. Fassbender is awesome as Magneto. He makes the movie.) Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Root for the apes. It will go better for you that way.
X-Men First Class Rise of the Planet of the Apes (really surprised by these first two, was expecting lameness) Super 8 Tucker and Dale vs Evil Swordsman (aka Wu Xia) Reign of Assassins (really 2010) Detective K Yellow Sea Rare Exports (also really a 2010 flick) Point Blank was fun.
Nice to see some love for "The Tree of Life" here. It's been slammed to death by a lot of people. Who cares if it was a bit pretentious? The director shot for the stars from the heart. How frequently do such personal and artistic movies get mainstream release? This is a smart bunch. But we knew that.
Fast Five Super 8 Rise of the Planet of the Apes 50/50 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ... Deathly Hallows pt 2
Right you are, Dean! Caught another rarity yesterday - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - I can't think of the last time I had the pleasure of seeing a film in English that had so much reverence for careful pacing, for telling it's story as much through the decision's of the camera's eye as in the nuance of the spoken tone, with such respect for an audience's potential to slowly understand the story as it builds and unfurls. I had high hopes for it, as it was made by Tomas Alfedson, director of Let the right One In, and it did little else but top my expectations. Truly an amazing film. 'Course, as it just opened in Detroit this week, I'll have to wait until next year to put it on my Best Of list!
Question re: Tinker Tailor ... how many people who liked it already knew the story from the book or the famous BBC production? I knew neither and saw the new version "cold." It was excellent in many ways but I had to REALLY pay close attention to the names, code names, and relationships to make any sense of the thing. I had the feeling that the film was made for people who already knew the story. (?) There's a bit of that about "Dragon Tattoo," too. Both versions. You can see it without having read the book and still understand it, but it all makes soooo much more sense if you know the book. BTW music video of the year is the opening credits of Fincher's "Dragon Tattoo." Beautifully creepy!
I read the TTSS book prior to watching the movie. Never watched the BBC series. And yes, I do believe the movie is best for people that know about the story. Majority of the people in the theater had a WTF reaction when the credits started. I must say the ending with the 'la mer' song was fantastic for the movie (the singer is the father of the movie's composer).
I understand a lot of people like 'Tree of Life' but I have to say it's one of the few movies I've ever walked out on. I hated it that much (I left right after when it started going back to the dinosaurs). I didn't find it pretentious just absolute Existentialist BS dribble. Me and my g/f took one look at each other and said let's get out of here. I can't think of any really good films this past year. Honestly the last good films I raved about seeing were 'No Country for Old Men' and 'There Will Be Blood' which came out around the same time a few years ago. It's been really weak since. I do want to see Drive though.
