2011 in Movies

2011 was a terrible year for movies. There were only 5 really good movies that came out last year. I am not all that excited for the Academy Awards this year mainly because it seems obvious that The Artist will win Best Picture and the other major awards (Director, Screenplay etc.) and that was clearly my favorite film of 2011. There is no close second runner-up this year as there had been all the previous years that I've been following the awards. However I do have a few opinions on what was nominated for Best Picture this year, but first I will list my five favorite movies of 2011.

My Favorite Movies of 2011

1. The Artist - This movie was excellent. There wasn't anything about it that I did not like. It flowed very nicely and told a wonderful story while being a black and white silent film. What makes this film interesting is that it is the first black and white silent movie I've ever seen in the theater. It was a very neat experience. I hope this film causes people to watch more silent films. They can be quite pleasant and it's a nice change from all those CGI and 3D movies.

2. Hugo - I did not expect this to be that good. I mainly went to see it because Martin Scorsese directed it and a few friends mentioned that they liked it. I was very pleasantly surprised. Hugo was an excellent film. I loved the story and what this film was really about. I'm not sure I want to reveal the film's theme because I think I liked it better coming as a surprise and if you want to see it I want it to be as good as it was for me. The trailers suggest this film is about something else (and it is actually) but the main theme is what makes this film magical.

3. Paul - Not Academy material but this movie was very funny and I loved the Spielberg references this film had. A lot of people thought Super 8 did better when it came to Spielberg nostalgia but Super 8 for some reason did not impress me that much. This film was very fun to watch and it was kind of cute in a crude way. I was very surprised at how much I liked this film considering it was made by the same people who did Superbad (a film I did not like).

4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - I heard many bad reviews about this film. However those bad reviews did not deter me from seeing this wonderful film. I had read the book several months before seeing it. I had great anticipation for this film starring Tom Hanks. I was very disappointed when I heard many people saying they did not like it. I was worried but I went to see it anyway. I was very pleasantly surprised. I was kind of expecting this film to stink but I was very pleased. It was such a wonderful film. I really liked the boy and his story of trying to find the lock to the key his father left before he was killed during the 9/11 attacks. It was fun to watch and I could really relate to the boy as he has Autistic characteristics. I also thought his mother (played by Sandra Bullock) did a wonderful job. I of course loved the few scenes that had his father (played by my favorite actor Tom Hanks). This film was not as sad as I had expected but that was a good thing as it wasn't supposed to be entirely about the death of the boy's father, but about the boy's life after his father died. I was so happy when I heard that this got nominated for the Best Picture Oscar because I know very few people liked this film. I'm glad someone else recognized it for a story well told and acted. I actually even liked it more than the book!

5. Midnight in Paris - This was a very interesting film. The time traveling concept was very neat and I loved seeing the 1920s/30s Paris come to life. It was fun and entertaining to watch and I thought Woody Allen did an excellent job making it. It may now even be my favorite Woody Allen film!

There were a few other good movies but the above are the only movies of 2011 that I would call great, or movies that I really liked.

As for the nominees here's how I feel about them:

The Artist (2011): Thomas Langmann -- I think this will win Best Picture and I do not see any close second contenders. I will be very shocked and disappointed if this does not win.

The Descendants (2011): Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor -- This film was good but nothing special and I will probably forget about it in a few years.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011): Scott Rudin -- I was so happy to see this get nominated. I'm glad it is being recognized as a great film even though most people seem to find this film "annoying."

The Help (2011): Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan -- yuck! I'm sorry but I hated this movie. It was too chatty and it felt like I was watching a 2+ hour family argument. I wasn't surprised that this got nominated because everyone else seems to love it, but I seriously hope this does not win any awards which is not likely as it will probably get a few acting awards :(

Hugo (2011/II): Graham King, Martin Scorsese -- I was so glad to see this get nominated and kind of expected it as many people found this film to be great. I hope it gets a few awards.

Midnight in Paris (2011): Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum -- I am also glad to see this on the list. I hope this film gets at least one award.

Moneyball (2011): Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt -- This film was good but something I will forget about in a few years.

The Tree of Life (2011): Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner, Grant Hill -- Kind of blah, but not as yuck as the Help. There were a few sequences that I really liked but 75% of the film stunk.

War Horse (2011): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy -- I thought this was well done considering how well it was adapted from the source material. It is kind of long but I thought it was a story well told. I am glad to see it nominated as it's directed by my favorite director.

So there you have it. It just so happens that one of my favorite shows is on (The Walking Dead) during the Academy Awards. I am not as upset as I don't really care as much about watching the Academy Awards this year (I don't expect many surprises). I think I will flip back and forth during the time my show is on though.

~ Juli