Best Movie Match-Up
In Win Win, Veteran Actor Paul Giamatti and newcomer Alex Shaffer have an effortless on-screen chemistry that helps make this simple film extremely moving. Giamatti plays a lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach who ends up taking care of a teenage wrestler (Shaffer) because of a legal scam, involving the teen’s grandfather. You may have missed this film at the box office, but it’s definitely worth a rental.
Best Supporting Cast
I’m a big fan of the lead cast (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) in the Harry Potter series, especially their performances in The Deathly Hallows Part One and Part Two, but the stellar supporting cast deserves a big shout out. One of my favorites is Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall. Her scenes in the final battle are outstanding.
Crazy, Awesome Fun
OK, so I had just driven 26 ½ hours from San Diego, CA to Austin, TX, with only 1 ½ hours of sleep in the car, when I saw the film Attack the Block, out in limited release in cities like Austin. All I know is I stayed awake, and it was hilarious. The film is basically about a teen gang in South London protecting their block from an alien attack. It was cheaply produced, but beats many of the blockbusters for an epic, alien adventure.
Most Versatile Actor
Joseph Gordon-Levitt gave two outstanding performances this year that could not have been more different. In Hesher, a dark comedy/drama, Gordon-Levitt plays a fairly psycho, squatter resident in a home torn apart by the death of the mom. In 50/50, a sincere comedy/drama, he plays a man battling a 50/50 chance of living due to cancer. In both films, you ride a roller coaster of emotions from laughter to sadness to shock. Gordon-Levitt is an awesome actor (see also 500 Days of Summer from my 2009 list, over and over again).
The Super Hero (And a Halloween Costume)
Yes, Thor inspired my Halloween costume, but even despite that, this is a surprisingly good action hero flick. I went to the theater with pretty low expectations and left pumped to represent this arrogant warrior with the hammer. Chris Hemsworth owns the character, and we can look forward to him teaming up with Iron Man and Captain America in this summer’s Avengers.
A Worthy Revival
The Lion King 3D was a great 3D experience back in the theater, especially at the high-end luxury theater in my neighborhood (my new costly movie addiction). Of course, I realize since this 3D re-release did so well, more are on the way. Though, I doubt they can top the king of the jungle’s return to the big screen.
Actor Who Does Not Disappoint
Ryan Gosling plays smooth, engaging, and intense better than most actors today. Drive is a wild violent ride. Crazy, Stupid, Love is a better than average romantic comedy. The Ides of March is more than just a George Clooney-driven political drama. The common denominator in all of these 2011 films is Ryan Gosling.
A Spielberg Tribute
If you remember seeing Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, and other 80’s Steven Spielberg classics when they originally came out in theaters, you know that Super 8 is a perfect tribute to these classic Spielberg films with superior 2011 special effects. Super 8 was produced by Spielberg and directed by J.J. Abrams, who worked as an underling on earlier Spielberg films. Film students take note: no film job is too small and could pay off big one day in the future.
Movie Magic
The Muppets beginning to end. It had me at “Hello” -- basically from the time the movie poster began to circulate. As a Muppets fan since childhood, this newest incarnation of my favorite puppets held true to the goofy, fun, irreverent Kermit, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy of my childhood. Bringing in director James Bobin and music supervisor Brett McKenzie, both from the hit HBO show The Flight of the Conchords, helped make The Muppets hip and current
again.
A Salute to Cinematography
The Tree of Life and Hugo were two movies this year that blew me away with cinematography. Love it or hate it, The Tree of Life is visually stunning. Abstract and grandiose, director/writer Terrence Malick attempts to tell the story of life, faith and more through one family’s journey. Martin Scorsese’s Hugo is breathtaking as well. This adapted tale of an orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station is one of those rare films worth the extra price of seeing it in 3D. Film lovers will also appreciate the salute to film history within this movie’s story.
Funniest Female
Melissa McCarthy is laugh out loud funny every time she appears on the screen in Bridesmaids. Originally known as a supporting character in the television show the Gilmore Girls, McCarthy won an Emmy this year for her latest TV show, Mike and Molly. In the Bridesmaids, she plays the soon-to-be sister-in-law and a bridesmaid in this comedy that proves women can reach the over-the-top comic heights like the boys in The Hangover.
A Timeless Reminder
There are few things in this world I despise more than racism and discrimination. I have personally seen it tear a part school systems, communities, and families. While The Help (and its exceptional cast) remind us in a thought-provoking and heart-moving way how far we have come from the days when black maids could not use the same bathrooms or plates as their white bosses, this movie is also a reminder that racism still exists, just maybe not always as blatantly as in the past.
Personally Poignant and Powerful
The King’s Speech, the Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, was one of the most impactful films of my life, in a year where I personally battled a new and confusing speech impediment. Officially released in 2010, the film went into wide release in January 2011. This moving tale of King George VI, his speech therapist, and the friendship between them is a must see film. I personally re-created, on multiple occasions, the scene where the therapist encourages the King to yell a barrage of curse words to help his speech flow – unconventional and seriously therapeutic.
A Classroom Preview
My friend and co-worker’s first feature film, I Am Not a Hipster, is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this January. Destin Cretton is already a Sundance award-winner for the short film Short Term 12. Destin pre-screened I Am Not A Hipster for my high school film students this past fall, and it is an awesome movie. I hope you will be able to see it in a theater near you soon. Watch the trailer here: http://iamnotahipster.com/
2011 Honorable Mentions: The Rum Diary, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Moneyball, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-men: First Class, Machine Gun Preacher
2011 Movies I Still Need To See: The Descendants, The Adventures of Tin Tin, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Oddly enough, the small town I am staying in over the holidays does not find most of these films worthy of showing.)
Here’s to a great 2012 movie season. Please go to the box office. My film students need an industry to work in when they graduate!
No comments:
Post a Comment