Best & Worst of 2011

BEST & WORST OF 2011

We don’t do Top Ten lists like most reviewers because when it comes to movies it is so subjective, how can you pick the top movie of the year, despite the Oscars? The following are the movies we thought the best and worst 2011 had to offer (in alphabetical order). We are in general agreement about the best movies. The worst is another thing altogether so we are branding our picks this year.

THE BEST

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART II – I had my doubts when Part I was slow and soggy, but the magic is definitely back as this last film in the Harry Potter series ties it all together. Harry grows up and steps up to be the hero he was always meant to be. What a fantastic adventure it’s been. Thanks J.K. Rowling! – Ann Marie Oliva

HUGO - Martin Scorsese’s salute to a bit of early cinema history (an abiding interest) courtesy of a boy residing in a Paris train station who happens upon film pioneer George Melies (Ben Kingsley), now a bitter, forgotten owner of a toy store. The coincidents and side stories somewhat strain patience and credulity, but the lush 3D and eye candy visuals (courtesy of photographer Robert Richardson, production designer Dante Ferretti, and set decorator Francesca Lo Schiano) successfully elevate the tale being told. - Charles Zio

MARGIN CALL – Behind the scenes look at a fictional financial services company willing to sacrifice unwary and trusting clients and the public to save itself and its personnel’s fortunes, and an insight into how the economy melted down. As the top dog and most cutthroat, Jeremy Irons declares there are only three ways to win – be first, be smarter, or cheat. The cast of characters amorally follows suit in a lucid script in this impressive first feature by J. C. Chandler. - CZ

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS – Visiting Paris, Owen Wilson, a writer engaged to a materialist, hops in a car one night and time travels back to the golden ‘20s where he meets the Fitzgeralds, Picasso, quotes Hemingway’s words on Huck Finn, gives Bunuel the plot for one of his movies, and gets craft advice from Gertrude Stein. Ultimately, the writer realizes it’s better to be a participant in the present than a mere delighted observer in the past. The movie may be a clever quip too long but it’s a Woody Allen gem nonetheless. – CZ

MONEYBALL – An entertaining movie on the transitional transformation of baseball scouting? Yes, thanks to an intelligent adaptation by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin of the Michael Lewis book, under the polished direction of Bennett Miller, with a valuable contribution by Jonah Hill as Peter Brand (Yale economic grad) who develops the revolutionary system, and the invaluable layered portrayal of Billy Bean (Oakland A’s GM) by Brad Pitt. – CZ

THE ARTIST – What seems like a gimmick at first by writer/director Michel Hazanavicius is really a homage to the early days of filmmaking, and reminds us why we so love the images on the big screen. This silent movie has the benefit of two expressive actors in Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo. What you notice is that there actually is sound in the perfectly suited original music of Ludovic Bource. The black and white photography by cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman helps focus attention on the shadows, angles, and soft curves of the actors’ faces. A poignant, romantic, nostalgic look back. – AMO

THE DESCENDANTS – George Clooney turns in a sterling performance as a man dealing with troublesome family issues. Discovering his wife’s infidelity just before she dies in a coma, he tries to re-establish and assert control over his daughters (portraying the elder teenager, Shailene Woodley, is a standout) while sorting out the government mandated selling of his extended families’ Hawaiian heritage holdings (the photography throughout is first class). Well and subtly directed by Alexander Payne. - CZ

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Rooney Mara, who portrays Lisbeth Salander the lady of the title, commands her role (and the screen) with an able assist from Daniel Craig as a disgraced journalist. Sweden is an appropriate and austerely lovely setting for a cold case that a rich family patriarch cannot let go. Steve Zaillian ably adapts the popular book by Stieg Larsson retaining the mystery as well as its behind the façade look at Swedish society, while David Fincher skillfully directs. - CZ

THE RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – There are a few nods to the original, but this prequel works so well it stands on its own. Never learning, Humanity (repped by James Franco), with good and/or scientific intentions, messes with Mother Nature and dire consequences follow. Andy Serkis, again motion captured (formerly Golum in the Rings), most convincingly encapsulates Caesar, the chimp that will be king. Neat, unfussy, sci-fi at its best. – CZ

THE SKIN I LIVE IN – Dark and disturbing, this is Pedro Almodóvar at his creepy best. Adapted from Thierry Jonquet's novel Mygale ("Tarantula" in English), it is a chilling horror/sci-fi movie about a vengeful doctor whose surgery/experiments are bizarre and depraved. Antonio Banderas is effective and frightening, and back in top form. - AMO

THE TREE OF LIFE – Terrence Malick addresses big ideas (religion, society, morality, spirituality, etc.) via the parallels, conjunctions, and contrasts of Nature (objective laws of the physical world) and Grace (kindness, sympathy, love). Jessica Chastain is effective but it is Brad Pitt, as a conflicted father, who shines. Rendered with Malick’s visual painterly sensibility and a title indicating the universal and eternal, cinema studies students should thank him for a film that will afford them subject matter for no end of interpretative papers. – CZ

WARRIOR – If there is any justice in Hollywood Tom Hardy would be nominated as best actor for his role in this tough-to-watch movie. If you have ever had an alcoholic in your family, among friends or acquaintances you know the damage such addiction can do. Jokes about how Nick Nolte, as the recovering alcoholic father, is playing himself are mean-spirited, as it must have taken guts to put himself out there knowing he would face exactly that criticism. Played out through the brutal world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) two estranged brothers battle their past and each other for a chance at redemption. – AMO

WIN WIN – Is a winner all the way. We don’t often have interesting movies made about relatively normal people who have realistic but serious problems. This charming movie unfolds naturally and believably in a small New Jersey town as a struggling lawyer makes a fateful decision that has unintended consequences, both good and bad. Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan are at their likable best. Young actor Alex Shaffer perfectly embodies the brooding teen who comes into their lives, and Bobby Cannavale is wonderfully humorous as the lawyer’s best friend. - AMO

MOVIES WE ALSO LIKED:
50/50, ANOTHER EARTH, BRIDESMAIDS, INCENDIES, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, MEEKS CUTOFF, OF GODS AND MEN, THE DEBT, THE HELP, THE IDES OF MARCH, SOURCE CODE, TAKE SHELTER, WAR HORSE, X-MEN FIRST CLASS.

THE WORST

BEASTLY - This “horror” is almost unwatchable, and not because of the make-up. I didn’t think it was possible to thoroughly corrupt the Beauty and the Beast mythology. I was wrong. - AMO

HALL PASS – Yep, the Farrelly brothers have secured their place as the top grossers, not to be confused with top-grossing, filmmakers today. Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis are a pair of jerks who need a break from their wives and get a “hall pass” to do anything they want for a week. By the way, a comedy is supposed to be funny, isn’t it? An insult to women, and men who respect women. - AMO

I AM #4 - Another sci-fi miss. Adapted from the novel by a writer called Pittacus Lore (listed as Jobie Hughes and James Frey), it is as derivative and uninspired and boring as you can imagine. Will teenagers save the world as we know it, or will it be destroyed because of them? Who cares? - AMO

MELANCHOLIA – It’s Kirsten Dunst’s wedding and she is progressively and consistently sad, gloomy, and depressed. The reception itself is interminably tedious. In the second half, attention shifts to her increasingly skittish sister and quirky brother-in-law. But then, the world is coming to an end as a new planet, Melancholia, approaches. Given the story and pacing, it takes way too much time in arriving. - CZ

SHAME – In terms of a movie whose subject is sex addiction – computer porn, one night stands and nooners, threesomes, prostitutes, same sex gratification – there’s no insight to be gained here, except it’s a lonely, bleak state of being. Yeah, Michael Fassbender appears naked (at the start, briefly) as do, later, several women including Carey Mulligan who at least gets to sing, and not badly, a lengthy, slow tempo version of New York, New York. Who knows why? – CZ

SOMETHING BORROWED – A best selling book is no guarantee of a winner, especially when the characters are young New York professionals made to look like self-centered doormats or bores. A bland young woman (Ginnifer Goodwin) has been in love with the perfect man since college, but he ends up engaged to her best friend, and she never says anything? Give me a break. Kate Hudson needs to rethink her choice of roles after early promise. - AMO

THE BEAVER – Jodie Foster directed this movie about a suicidal man who takes to communicating through a ratty beaver hand puppet he finds in a dumpster and, in a display of loyalty and friendship, chose the publicly out of favor Mel Gibson as her co-star. A bad idea gone worse. CZ

THE CHANGE-UP – Ryan Reynolds seems like a nice guy, but is another actor caught in a cycle of poor choices (as of 2011, we’ll see about 2012), but he’s not alone in this disaster. Jason Bateman is right there with him. This gross, raunchy, male buddy movie about guys who switch bodies, and where every imaginable bodily function is seen as hilarious, is not just wrong on so many levels, it’s wrong on every level. - AMO

THE HANGOVER II – Speaking of wrong, everything that is wrong with sequels is epitomized in this dreadful movie. The first Hangover, while crude/crass/vulgar, was actually funny. This one repeats basically the same storyline but tries to one-up all the crude parts without the humor. What’s worse, the filmmakers seem to do a “hit-and-run” to cash in without offering a quality product. More than disappointment/annoyance, this one provokes disgust. - AMO

THE RITE - Why, oh why, must we watch Anthony Hopkins act variations of Dr. Hannibal Lecter? That’s not the only problem. Catholic priests trained in the Rite of exorcism battle the devil with prayer, holy water, and faith. But the devil is in the details, and the ones here are too familiar, have little impact, and at times, are even laughable. – AMO

YOUNG ADULT – Charlize Theron is a successful writer of adolescent fiction because, duh, she has yet to grow up as evidenced by a decision to go back to her hometown to reclaim her now married and newly fathered former boyfriend. She smokes, drinks a lot, schemes, grows close to an old classmate, and makes a very public spectacle of herself. And you thought the teenage years were rough. - CZ

ZOOKEEPER – The human animals in this movie are embarrassingly bad, the others simply exploited. You’ll get more satisfaction if you pet a dog, any dog. - AMO

These are our, admittedly, subjective lists. On to 2012...

Thanks to our readers!
Ann Marie Oliva & Charles Zio