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2011 Movie Reviews
   posted on 04/02/2012
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   04/14/2012 by friday
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The Intersection of Joy and Fear
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2011 Movie Reviews


Created on Monday, April 2, 2012



All in all, it was a fantastic year for movies.

One of the hard parts in making these kinds of lists is that you have to weigh the various qualities of each movie. For example, there were several really ambitious films that were made this year and it is tough to compare them to some of the lighter movies. I think in the future I am going to have to grade a film based on various standards. For now, I will break them down into various categories. I did not see a handful of critically acclaimed films (A Separation is one of them) but I thought I had enough to put out my list.

Most Overrated

Moneyball I did not get the fascination with this film at all. I enjoyed it because I remember the real-life players. Change the sport to soccer and I am lost. I liked the free-thinker angle.

The Artist A cute little movie. Oscar? It wasn't a blip on my radar.

Bridesmaids As formulaic as formulaic gets. Haven't we seen this movie 100 times already? Kristen Wiig is the only reason that this was remotely watchable.


Didn't Expect to Like But Really Liked

Crazy, Stupid Love I had no reason to think that I was going to enjoy this film half as much as I did (especially since the work of Steve Carrell generally escapes me). It was very, very enjoyable. Not unlike "Love, Actually".

J. Edgar The reviews of this film were pretty mediocre but I rather liked it. It was an interesting portrayal of the man in that it humanized an almost mythical man.

50 / 50 I always thought Seth Rogen was comedic cancer. He stars in a comedy about cancer and I love it? Huh? This was really really enjoyable.

Most Ambitious

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy A film for adult movie goers. Gary Oldman says very little throughout the film and absolutely steals the show while not saying anything. A fabulous story and even better acting.

The Tree of Life This film was unique in that I had thoughts of turning it off 10 minutes in (one of the opening scenes is very long and rather monotonous as the viewer has no idea why it is necessary). Other than the scene towards the end where we all meat each other on the big beach in the sky (wtf was that necessary?), it was a tall tale to tell and the tale was told masterfully.

Melancholia This was the tale of two films. The first is a rather funny look at a marriage that should have never happened. The second part.... wow, the second part. I'll say this much - it will absolutely consume you and it is unforgettable. It has to be experienced to be understood.

Kicks You in the Ass

Melancholia When it ended I let out an admiring laugh and said "Wow". It really was that amazing.

Best Action Movie

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Best action movie in many years. It was enjoyable from start to fnish.

My Favorite Movie of the Year

Beginners What is the difference between "Best" and "Favorite"? I'm not completely sure. I loved the hell out of this movie. It was funny, poignant and smart. I mean really smart. The acting was tremendous and the story was really great. It should have gotten a lot more run than it did.

Best of the Year

This is more or less in order.

The Descendants It was such a professional film. Well acted and well written. Clooney's best film, by a mile. This wasn't necessarily the clear-cut winner but I'll put it at the top of my list.

The Tree of Life This edged out the other entries by a nose.

Midnight in Paris I just noticed that I gave this a 9.5 rating, which is higher than I gave the other movies. What the hell do I know?

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

.... read the rest of this article here

Movie Reviews

 
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  Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

  04/07/2012           Rating: 9
This was wall-to-wall enjoybable from the first minute to the last. I don't know why this didn't get more hype. Best action movie in years...... more

  The Artist

  03/31/2012           Rating: 7.5
In his review of this film Roger Ebert said that people held a grudge toward this movie because it is silent and it was filmed in black and white. He gave it 4 stars. I'll accuse Ebert of liking this film too much because it was in black and white..... more

  North by Northwest

  03/10/2012           Rating: 8.5
This would had a higher rating had the ending not completely blown. It is kind of sad that the female lead went from being in On the Waterfront to this movie to... being Cybil Sheperd's mother on Moonlighting...... more

  The Descendants

  03/03/2012           Rating: 9.25
I admit it - I am an unabashed George Clooney fan - I've never been afraid to admit that. This movie received a lot of hype and it completely delivered. It was everything you'd want in a movie - funny, touching, intelligent, moving and well-acted. Loved it...... more

  Melancholia

  02/25/2012           Rating: 9.25
Sometimes a movie is a cerebral experience and sometimes it is an experience. This film was quite the latter. The film - especially the second of two parts - was visually and emotionally stunning. I felt like I was in the scene, both full of emotion and emotionless at the..... more

     


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