Best Movies of 2011, So Far
POSTED BY: SHINYGOODGUY
UPDATED: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 21:32
VIEWED: 12552
PAGE 5 of 6
That was somewhat my point, the year has been mediocre at best. With the economy such as it is, Hollywood doesn't want to take a chance on losing money (hell, when is that not true), but it is more evident than ever in the releases this year - with few exceptions.
Here is one strange one that comes to mind: Cowboys and Aliens - I was surprised somewhat at this venture. Hollywood rolled the dice (although they were partially loaded) when they chose to greenlight this movie. Ok, they had a director with a couple of hits on his hands (Iron Man 1 & 2) and thought, "why not?" "He knows this territory" "He's on a hot streak" sci-fi, Harrison Ford - Let's go for it.
XXX - (insert buzzer sound FX here).
You're probably right about Spielberg's Tin Tin.
Although the rest of the landscape is somewhat questionable, the Twilight Saga notwithstanding.
SGG
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I want to give you a BIG thanks Oppyh, for posting The Myth of the American Sleepover. That looks really good. I will put it on my list and reserve comment for after.
Thanks again.
Here I'll return the favor: The Kids Are Allright. Solid movie with solid perfs by everyone. I will not say more than that.
SGG
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Hey there Sleepy,
I wanted to finish up where I left off in Part 1.
Here's Part 2:
Biutiful - it's with Javier Bardem, whom I happen to like and that's all I know. I have some time for the next 2 weeks (work is slow and nothing of interest in the movies or TV) so I will try and catch it. I will let you know by posting here in Cinema.
Green Hornet - I agree with your take. I was not happy that Seth Rogan was chosen to do this, but I thought Jay Chou as Kato was perfect. The script was horrible and Rogan was horrible, he should stick to comedy (oh that was a comic take on the character). It was so wrong.
Adjustment Bureau - I liked elements of it (the doors was one), Emily Blunt (sigh!), and a couple of the character actors; but overall I wasn't loving it. Just ok, I guess.
Lincoln Lawyer - Matthew McConaghy, murder-suspense?, court room, attorney action - sort of. It didn't work for me.
Kill the Irishman - interesting title, took a chance; poor man's Goodfellas mob story. Meh.
Bad Teacher - Cameron Diaz played it raunchy, but didn't go far enough, neither did the film. They underutilized the hilarious Jason Segal. He was the love interest? Enough said.
Notice I've said nothing of Paul and Hangover 2. I'm waiting to catch it sometime to see what I think.
Preist - I had a bad copy of this, so here it goes: It was more style than substance for me. Some of the action sequences were well done, it felt somewhat like a spagetti western at times (not necessarily a bad thing). Paul Bethany was good. (Ropey!?)
Son of Best of 2010:
The Fighter - I resisted this film at first. A friend, who's into boxing, said he liked it but it surprizingly didn't have a bunch of boxing scenes in it. Bale was solid, and Amy Adams (Yum!) surprised me. Good solid cast, good solid movie. Based on a true story. But you're right about the Batman - I'm totally stoked about TDKR.
The Kids Are Allright - Is a small indy film. Good, solid acting, realistic without being boring. It was nominated for some Oscars (these days I don't know if thats good or bad). But there you have it.
True Grit - 2 words; Jeff Bridges.
END
"Thereafter I would also agree with the kind of year 2011 is regarding films, but I think this has been a pattern for some time. I personally attribute it to me just getting older and my sensibilities changing. I'm just not as engaged with films as I used to be."
I get your meaning. I too think that way from time to time, and then a film like Tree of Life comes along and restores my faith in the magic of movies. The word filmmaker and artist are flung about too easily in more recent times, Terence Malick earns that distinction and then some. Kubrick, Speilberg and Scorcese - even Eastwood; they are in rareified air.
SGG
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Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I want to give you a BIG thanks Oppyh, for posting The Myth of the American Sleepover. That looks really good. I will put it on my list and reserve comment for after.
Thanks again.
Sure. It has a lot of heart.
Strangely enough both films I mentioned are available through my cable provider(XINFINITY ON DEMAND in the 'Same Day as Theaters' category) for only $6.99! That is actually cheaper than going out to the movies. But there is a small theater in my town that plays foreign/independent features. I try to support them as much as possible.
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70's TV FOREVER
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I thought that the Asgard part was well done and it had some overall good moments, but it didn't knock my socks off.
It didn't knock my socks off, either, but I thought it was good. All the performances were at least solid, some were very good, the visuals were great (especially in Asgard) and the plot was standard superhero fare, but it didn't suck.
I had about the same response. Didn't blow me away but I had a good time watching it. Curious: Am I the only one who thought of Mario Kart and Rainbow Road every time they showed that stupid bridge?
Can't believe no one else has mentioned Win Win but I guess few people could see it. Definitely worth it. It is not a sports movie!
And Zeek, don't let 'em bring you down man. What some people call cynical, others call having standards. Super 8 = lame. The only way that movie could have been worth seeing is if it had a surprise ending where it turned out to be a prequel to Cloverfield.
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I pray for one last landing,
on the globe that gave me birth.
Let me rest my eyes on the fleecy skies
and the cool, green hills of Earth.
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Quote:
Originally posted by DMI:
Am I the only one who thought of Mario Kart and Rainbow Road every time they showed that stupid bridge?
No.
(PR *hearts* MarioKart)
What reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye, which shows how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.
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"But there is a small theater in my town that plays foreign/independent features. I try to support them as much as possible."
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Good for you dude.
BTW thanks for the tip about Myth/Sleepover. I just checked my cable (I have Time Warner)there it is $6.99.
SGG
Tawabawho?
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"Can't believe no one else has mentioned Win Win but I guess few people could see it. Definitely worth it."
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Just saw it on Amazon the other night, sorry I missed it in the theatre. Paul Giamatti is one of my fav character actors - he's awesome. Plus how awesome is Amy Ryan. That kid was really good, he's going to go places.
Definitely, worth it!
So I'm officially adding it to my Best of the Year list.
SGG
Tawabawho?
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I guess I'm alone in kinda liking Green Hornet- sure it was a mess & not at all the flick I would REALLY have liked to see, but I'm a sucker for Hong Kong-style action, and that was the saving grace for me. 
Really wanna see Tree Of Life & the new Apes movie.
The laughing Chrisisall
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Well I just saw and totally enjoyed Cowboys and Aliens. I wasn't expecting all that much from it but some of the shots they had were neat. Liked the old west charm and thought it was just a fun movie, utterly ridiculous and illogical but fun.
It may have just been the fact the Harrison Ford was in it (doing and awesome job) but I got a bit of an Indiana Jones feeling just from the sort of 'manly adventure' sort of deal and specifically in this one scene during an explosion where Jake picks up his hat after it falls off on the way out.
I also really enjoyed Super 8. It was predictable despite doing all of the typical things SLIGHTLY differently but still fun, loved how they conveyed the era that they were in even though I wasn't born at the time...blah.
Pretty much the same alien story as has been told a million times, essentially a more antagonistic E.T. but definitely enjoyable, liked the whole movie making plotline as well.
Saw Thor in 3D...HATE 3D. But while not groundbreaking I did enjoy it. I like those kinda 'epic warrior out of his element' type stories, and laughed EVERY time Thor got hit by a car. And yes, I did think of Rainbow road in Asgard, immediately.
Adjustment Bureau surprised the hell out of me because I hadn't seen any trailers or anything and hadn't heard about it until someone brought over the DVD, one minute it's just a regular sort of movie and then BAM! Everybody is frozen! Ahh! Haha but yeah, I thought that was pretty good.
Transformers 3 and Pirates 4 both surprised me as well just because I thought Pirates 2 and 3 sucked and never bothered to see Transformers 2, both back to form and thoroughly enjoyable as far as I was concerned.
So there you go, I liked everything. I am the anti-Zeek :P
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