What I took in: 2011 Film 10-5
Dec. 31st, 2011 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wishfulclickingFilm
I did not go to the theatre that often when compared to everything I wanted to see, but I did go more than I went in 2010--even managed to see more than ten, enabling me to make a Top Ten List. (Before I go into this: ranking stuff is hard. Past a certain point I just wanted to put multiples on the same level and add a note that on another day the order may change.)
10. Thor. For a film featuring a super hero I'd never actually heard of and actors I didn't really know except Natalie Portman and the older scientist dude, I was not predisposed to liking Thor but despite some odd CGI choices and a not quite strong adversary (Loki is interesting to watch and I am glad he's staying around but the plot in Thor felt muddled in certain areas), I did enjoy the film enough. Hopefully Thor 2 is tighter than the first, and lay out a more defined arc for the protagonist. The flirtation between Jane and Thor felt just there, and not really necessary, but perhaps that will be better in the second as well. Hemsworth was charming and affable as Thor and it was pleasant to have a hero be as cheerful and kind of more of the popular guy than most super heroes in film.
9. X-men: First Class. If I didn't have such a strong attachment to X-men as an entity this movie would be placed lower, but I grew up on the X-men. This film has diminished in part with some distance (there are plot holes, the relationship between Charles and Erk was rushed, the supporting cast should have been fleshed out more, the opposing ideas are not really given much shape or examined, the film was rushed and it showed) but if it weren't for the strong performances from the core three--Charles, Erik, and Raven, played by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence--the movie would not have been as enjoyable. Here's to hoping the sequel has more time to develop and some of the side that doesn't want to wipe out humans have more than just white dudes on its side.
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love. This was a Ryan Gosling heavy year for me, for once an actor that I really enjoyed was in multiple films that all appealed so I was destined to go multiple times to the cinema. Besides Gosling, any film that has Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and Steve Carell in it was pretty much singing my siren song, and once I saw that clip with Stone saying 'You're like PHOTOSHOPPED' to Gosling's chiseled physique, I knew I was in. Truthfully, I may never fully tire of the interlocking stories format (though someone kill the NYE/Valentines Day Trend!) and I did see the 'surprise' of Emma Stone's character being Julianne and Steve's daughter coming but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. What did rack up the minus points was the younger sons plot--between being a thirteen year old running around pontificating about true love, stalking his sitter, and then that horrid graduation moment that should have been private or at least not tolerated by a captive audience, and the final offense that just made me roll my eyes was the sitter giving him a nude photo of herself. I will never be okay with the double standard applied to younger boys with older girls or women, this age difference was not so vast that I wanted to call CPS, but the nude photo tipped the scales to distaste.
What I did like about the film: Julianne and Steve being a couple that got together too you and were drifting apart, they were not ultra rich, Emma Stone's character had a job and was successful in part of her life, Stone's character (Hannah) rejected Gosling (Jacob) first and then pursued him for just a fling, Hannah wouldn't let her father dictate her relation ship with Jacob, Julianne cheated on Steve but her character was not painted like some horrible person who committed an unforgivable offense, everything was not fully wrapped up in a bow, there were actual minorities weaved throughout the film and Gosling hit on a Black woman and it wasn't treated like a thing.
What I liked outweighed my one major peeve and I do plan to own this film at some point.
7. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Sometimes I just want to switch off and let a film be what it is and enjoy it and MI:GP gave me all of that. The action is pleasant to watch, Pegg was hilarious, Patton was so hot, Renner was charming and hot and such a surprise, Cruise was good too, everything was so pretty. MI:GP was a film very sure of itself. The only draggy parts were the moments having to do with Ethan's former wife but thankfully there weren't that many of them. The crowd I saw this with was awesome.
6. Captain America.Such a surprise. When I heard they were making a Capt. America movie I was hesitant because I didn't really know much about the character but the film was so charming, they used the historical setting well, Chris Evans was a perfect protagonist (another not so dark main character that made me smile), the barely there thing between him and Peggy was so precious and Peggy was one of my favorite characters and definitely one of the standouts in the superhero films, and Bucky was awesome. I do wish the villain had been better but I walked out that theatre with s smile and made my parents rent the DVD.
5. 50/50 managed to be a film about cancer that didn't flinch from the reality of being sick, facing mortality when young, and not forgetting to be funny. JGL gave another strong performance in this, Anna Kendrick really made me think of Diane Keaton, and Seth Rogen really worked in this role. (I am not convinced he's a great actor but he has a thing that works for him, similar to Timberlake but perhaps not as flexible due to physical limitations. Though I do need to see him in the film with Michelle Williams.) I smiled, I teared up a bit, everything really worked in this. I do hope it pulls some awards recognition.
I did not go to the theatre that often when compared to everything I wanted to see, but I did go more than I went in 2010--even managed to see more than ten, enabling me to make a Top Ten List. (Before I go into this: ranking stuff is hard. Past a certain point I just wanted to put multiples on the same level and add a note that on another day the order may change.)
10. Thor. For a film featuring a super hero I'd never actually heard of and actors I didn't really know except Natalie Portman and the older scientist dude, I was not predisposed to liking Thor but despite some odd CGI choices and a not quite strong adversary (Loki is interesting to watch and I am glad he's staying around but the plot in Thor felt muddled in certain areas), I did enjoy the film enough. Hopefully Thor 2 is tighter than the first, and lay out a more defined arc for the protagonist. The flirtation between Jane and Thor felt just there, and not really necessary, but perhaps that will be better in the second as well. Hemsworth was charming and affable as Thor and it was pleasant to have a hero be as cheerful and kind of more of the popular guy than most super heroes in film.
9. X-men: First Class. If I didn't have such a strong attachment to X-men as an entity this movie would be placed lower, but I grew up on the X-men. This film has diminished in part with some distance (there are plot holes, the relationship between Charles and Erk was rushed, the supporting cast should have been fleshed out more, the opposing ideas are not really given much shape or examined, the film was rushed and it showed) but if it weren't for the strong performances from the core three--Charles, Erik, and Raven, played by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence--the movie would not have been as enjoyable. Here's to hoping the sequel has more time to develop and some of the side that doesn't want to wipe out humans have more than just white dudes on its side.
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love. This was a Ryan Gosling heavy year for me, for once an actor that I really enjoyed was in multiple films that all appealed so I was destined to go multiple times to the cinema. Besides Gosling, any film that has Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and Steve Carell in it was pretty much singing my siren song, and once I saw that clip with Stone saying 'You're like PHOTOSHOPPED' to Gosling's chiseled physique, I knew I was in. Truthfully, I may never fully tire of the interlocking stories format (though someone kill the NYE/Valentines Day Trend!) and I did see the 'surprise' of Emma Stone's character being Julianne and Steve's daughter coming but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. What did rack up the minus points was the younger sons plot--between being a thirteen year old running around pontificating about true love, stalking his sitter, and then that horrid graduation moment that should have been private or at least not tolerated by a captive audience, and the final offense that just made me roll my eyes was the sitter giving him a nude photo of herself. I will never be okay with the double standard applied to younger boys with older girls or women, this age difference was not so vast that I wanted to call CPS, but the nude photo tipped the scales to distaste.
What I did like about the film: Julianne and Steve being a couple that got together too you and were drifting apart, they were not ultra rich, Emma Stone's character had a job and was successful in part of her life, Stone's character (Hannah) rejected Gosling (Jacob) first and then pursued him for just a fling, Hannah wouldn't let her father dictate her relation ship with Jacob, Julianne cheated on Steve but her character was not painted like some horrible person who committed an unforgivable offense, everything was not fully wrapped up in a bow, there were actual minorities weaved throughout the film and Gosling hit on a Black woman and it wasn't treated like a thing.
What I liked outweighed my one major peeve and I do plan to own this film at some point.
7. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Sometimes I just want to switch off and let a film be what it is and enjoy it and MI:GP gave me all of that. The action is pleasant to watch, Pegg was hilarious, Patton was so hot, Renner was charming and hot and such a surprise, Cruise was good too, everything was so pretty. MI:GP was a film very sure of itself. The only draggy parts were the moments having to do with Ethan's former wife but thankfully there weren't that many of them. The crowd I saw this with was awesome.
6. Captain America.Such a surprise. When I heard they were making a Capt. America movie I was hesitant because I didn't really know much about the character but the film was so charming, they used the historical setting well, Chris Evans was a perfect protagonist (another not so dark main character that made me smile), the barely there thing between him and Peggy was so precious and Peggy was one of my favorite characters and definitely one of the standouts in the superhero films, and Bucky was awesome. I do wish the villain had been better but I walked out that theatre with s smile and made my parents rent the DVD.
5. 50/50 managed to be a film about cancer that didn't flinch from the reality of being sick, facing mortality when young, and not forgetting to be funny. JGL gave another strong performance in this, Anna Kendrick really made me think of Diane Keaton, and Seth Rogen really worked in this role. (I am not convinced he's a great actor but he has a thing that works for him, similar to Timberlake but perhaps not as flexible due to physical limitations. Though I do need to see him in the film with Michelle Williams.) I smiled, I teared up a bit, everything really worked in this. I do hope it pulls some awards recognition.
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Date: 2012-01-01 08:12 am (UTC)I think I only saw HP and Super 8 this year. Or was HP last year already? When I say this year, obviously I mean 2011 :)
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Date: 2012-01-01 10:18 pm (UTC)MI:GP opened up internationally first, then IMAX in the US and then wide release; it's been doing really well too. If you're into the franchise, you'd like this one too.
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Date: 2012-01-02 04:55 pm (UTC)Not into the franchise, and TC has ruined himself for me, so I'll skip it :o)
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Date: 2012-01-01 12:20 pm (UTC)I probably wouldn't have hear about the MI movie at all if the Finnish media hadn't made such a fuss about a Finnish actor being in it. ("OMG, world knows that we exist!")
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Date: 2012-01-01 10:20 pm (UTC)Was the Finnish actor the villains main assistance in MI:GP?
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Date: 2012-01-02 04:53 pm (UTC)That's what I heard! In other words if he's Samuli Edelmann, yes.