I need to see Hanna, I think, judging by the best-of lists it’s making here.
I Saw the Devil where can I get that coat?
I actually just grabbed Hanna on Blu-Ray during one of the various holiday sales, and it’s next on the watch list. Oh well. The fourteen movies released this year that I have seen:
Top Notch:
Drive
The Muppets
X-Men First Class
Super
Enjoyed, would watch again:
Bridesmaids
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (IMAX)
Moneyball
Source Code
Fast Five
Okay, but basically just forgettable:
Harry Potter 7-2
Contagion
Thor
Would not recommend:
Hangover pt II
Battle: Los Angeles
I get the issues some people have with Drive, but I completely fall for the style. When that comes out on BR, I may just watch the opening scene over and over again. I went into The Muppets with high expectations, as a fan of both them and of Jason Segel, and it exceeded them. I went into X-Men with low expectations, as someone who has seen the two prior movies, and it blew them away, especially the quality of the acting. If I wasn’t already an Ellen Page fan, her performance in Super would have gotten me on board all by itself.
I will manage to see Hanna, Take Shelter, Attack the Block, Shame, and Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas at some point over the next few months, as they become available and/or I get my hands on them. Most of the other movies mentioned here are either a little farther out into art-land than I’m comfortable with so far (working on it every year!), a little too difficult to get my hands on, or something that I’m not remotely interested in seeing.
In no order, except I’m putting the Muppets at #1.
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The Muppets - this movie turned my niece into a Muppets fan. Seeing it with her was pure joy. The only real flaw was not enough NPH, or cameos from the rest of HIMYM.
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Drive
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Super 8
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Bridesmaids
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My idiot brother
I can’t say anything about these films that anyone else hasn’t already said, and better.
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Super - in any other year this would be the best black comedy but it happens that there was another great contender and I’m not sure which I would chose if I had to chose one. Rainn Wilson is underrated. Superb kick in the nuts.
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Cedar Rapids - might actually be a better kick in the nuts and black comedy to boot. Great performances and a fun part for an AD alumnus to boot. Also, and I’m not sure I would have believed this had I not seen it, the movie has incredible heart and sincerity while still being a (great) black comedy. Because it’s secretly a coming of age story. And Helms is just so sweet in it. He’s also underrated.
Also I want to single out Isiah Whitlock Jr, who was an incredible fourth horseman. And his “I do a pretty convincing Omar” scene from the trailer was better in the movie.
I didn’t get to nearly as many movies this year as I wanted to. I wouldn’t really put anything else on this list (X-men was close).
Didn’t see/want to see: A Dangerous Method, Hannah, Margin Call
Another Earth. I think it really helped that I had no clue what this was about going in. A thought provoking drama with a sprinkle of scifi that impresses its melancholic and redemptive mood for days.
Drive. I desperately hope that Refn turns this neo-noir Man with No Name into a trilogy.
X-Men 1st Class. Simply the best superhero film I’ve ever seen. Just lemme forget January Jones.
Also liked: Dragon Tattoo Girl, Super8, Bridesmaids, Moneyball, Source Code, Hanna, Columbiana, Rise of Planet Apes, Green Lantern.
Hey, ditto. There’s a few that were already on my list that you’ve reminded me about (Shame, Take Shelter), a few I forgot (A Separation), and few that will see release over here this year. Do you have any honourable mentions or catch-up films of note? I’ve only seen stuff like A Prophet that’s worth mentioning, and most people who know about it will already have seen it.
Out of curiosity, what took your fancy?
My top 5 this year, in order were Take Shelter, Tree of Life, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Margin Call and The Future. But there are so many movies that look interesting that I haven’t seen yet that I feel a bit sheepish saying those are my favorites. There are still at least a dozen films from last year I’m dying to see. Hanna, Drive, Melancholia, Midnight in Paris, A Separation and Beginners just being the top 6.
It’s a been a great year for film.
Tree of Life. The scenes with the kids are some of the best filmmaking I’ve ever watched. The movie would probably benefit by cutting all of Sean Penn’s scenes, however.
The poster for this seems to indicate that it’s a movie about a girl who is terrible at identifying small, cute mammals. How close am I?
The fact that I haven’t seen them yet & know nothing about them took my fancy, since they’re coming highly recommended.
If by terrible at identifying small, cute mammals in the plural, you mean excellent at identifying one large, ugly mammal, then yes! Or not, it depends how you misinterpret that.
I’m surprised to see Hanna at or near the top of so many lists. I thought it was just ok.
Anyway, there’s a lot of probably great stuff that I haven’t seen, but out of the things I have seen, my top three are all one-word-title tours de force that are not named Hanna: Drive, Super, and Rubber. Then I guess The Muppets and Bridesmaids, though either/both of those will probably fall off the list if and when I finally get around to seeing all the awesome stuff that came out last year.
Some people are picking their “to watch” list based on this thread so I’m gonna throw Fright Night a mention. Not so much a “remake” as a “reimagining” it was a tight, fun horror movie that I can’t imagine why it didn’t get more traction
You’re not alone. It was my most hated movie of the year: I was flabbergasted to the point of inarticulation that anyone thought it more than mediocre. My very own alexlitel moment, really. I will say no more of it, however.
Was it gory?
Gory in a “blood goes flying way” not a “torture porn” way.
But yeah, lots of blood.
Didn’t see a ton of 2011 releases but my favorites were Tree of Life, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Moneyball, Contagion, Margin Call, and I guess Hanna.
Attack the Block. Is seriously a great movie with fantastic, fanTASTIC art direction. The lighting, camerawork, elevates what is, essentially, a very straightforward run around monster movie to something that’s a joy to watch.[/QUOTE]
Totally agree about the art direction, and the monster design in particular. The monsters seem so simple, yet the “twists” to the design are unlike anything I’ve seen in film, and there’s even something very unnerving about them.
Monster Design
Specifically, the glowing teeth that make their closed mouths look like eyes. I thought that was a really, really cool idea.
Rubber was like Trollhunter in that it was released in late 2010 but didn’t really make it outside of France until 2011.
I care less about whether it counts, though, since my reaction to Rubber was similar to Austin’s reaction to Hanna.
Started writing my favourites from this year then realised how few new films I really thought were fantastic this year. Hugo made me pretty weepy and it’s opening was amazing, I don’t know how much I like Chloe Moretz. She always feels a bit like she’s just remembering words without really understanding them.
I read that the box office revenue for 2011 was a 16yr low.
Margin Call, Hannah, Tree of Life, and Martha Marcy all have stuck with me as best movies of the year. Despite what I consider a bad year for mainstream films, I thought there were really fantastic indie/off beat films this year. I just saw Take Shelter and it only reaffirms the greatness of Michael Shanon. Would have placed it on the list but need more time to ponder it.
Although I don’t think it was the best movie of the year, I thought Captain American was a surprising mix of Indian Jones and Superman. I’m a real sucker for pulp art/story direction and Captain America was a pleasant surprise.