Film Reviews of 2011

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As we leave 2011 behind, I've decided to do some mini reviews of all the movies I watched this year. Now, a confession: I didn't watch too many movies this year and the ones I did watch were pretty mainstream. So there's not going to be any big dramas or cult films (well...with one exception) on this list. I'm not going to give them grades, just give my honest opinions on them. Let's do this shit!


Hobo With a Shotgun: This was, hands down, the most entertaining film I saw all year. An absolutely glorious throwback to Grindhouse exploitation cinema, Hobo With a Shotgun began life as a fake trailer, created for a contest to promote Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse. I remember first seeing the trailer before Planet Terror and thinking "HOLY SHIT, that is the greatest idea ever, someone has to make that." Well, thankfully, someone did. AND IT IS WONDROUS. Rutger Hauer is utterly brilliant as the titular hobo, crochety and vengeful but with a good soul, and Brian Downey is devouring scenery as the villain. And for any Trailer Park Boys fans out there, Ricky (Robb Wells) has an awesome cameo early on (as does George Strombolopolous, who gets killed with a hockey skate in true Canadian fashion). If blood and gore makes you ill, I'd recommend not watching it, but if you just love a good bad movie, check it out. Canadian cinema has never been more entertaining. (Oh, and the end title song, "Run With Us", is just awesome and fills me with huge amounts of nostalgia. If you ever watched The Raccoons as a kid, you'll know what I mean.)

Thor: All of the films taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been good thus far, and Thor is no exception. The movie deals with themes of redemption, identity, and what defines true power. Chris Hemsworth is a perfect Thor, able to play both the brash, arrogant God he begins as and the remorseful, kind-hearted man he becomes. (Not to mention he's VERY easy on the eyes and we get a gratuitous shirtless scene for people to throw dollar bills at and cheer loudly.) Tom Hiddleston is also fantastic as Loki, beautifully sinister and calculating, but not without some semblence of a soul under all that hate. The supporting cast are great too; I love Sif and the Warriors Three, even if they don't get a lot of screentime. Jane, Darcy, and Erik are fun, and I'm really glad Erik's going to be in The Avengers. The crowner for me, though, is the awesomeness that is Heimdall. Seriously, I want to marry this guy. All in all, Thor does have flaws (mainly in pacing and somewhat lacking action sequences), but the good stuff trumps all of them. Definitely worth several rewatches.

Kung Fu Panda 2: Holy BALLS, am I glad this film came out this year, since all Pixar had to offer was Cars 2. The first Kung Fu Panda was a real shock to me: I went in expecting shit and I got gold instead. There's always inherent risk when making a sequel and Dreamworks knows that. Look at how they stepped up their game between Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a great film for two reasons. The first is for all the reasons I liked the first film: the fun characters, the awesome action scenes, the GORGEOUS art design (which was even better in this film), and the genuineness and heart it has. The second is the new villain. I love Lord Shen. This guy is exactly what I think of when I think of Kung Fu movie villains: gracefully, cold, dangerous, cultured, and possessing subtle complexity. I know some people (my brother among them) called him cliche, but for me, I think that worked to his advantage. And you can thank his great design and voice actor for that. I think my only really nitpick with the film is the limited screen time Shifu got, considering he was a main character in the first film. But hey, we got more character development for Tigress, so you win some, you lose some. All in all, though, a thoroughly entertaining flick.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon: I doubt I'm exposing any big secret when I say this movie sucked. All the Transformers films have sucked. That said, I feel they suck in a way that's entertaining, if only because they provide so much fodder for snark. Dark of the Moon is nowhere near as gratuitous and laughably horrendous as Revenge of the Fallen, but my LORD... First and foremost, this film is a million hours too long. It feels longer than ROTF, and I didn't even think that was possible. Second, the film starts off with an actually interesting pre-title sequence, showing the cover up through both the Kennedy and Nixon administrations and with some decent masking done to work the old news clips in with the filmed scenes. I was honestly enjoying it. And then the title pops up and we get a close up of a woman's be-pantied ass walking up stairs and I'm reminded that this is a Michael Bay movie. It was all downhill from there. Third, Shia LeBitch is absolutely UNBEARABLE in this one. In the other films, he was annoying, but at least you got a sense that he was a hero deep down and he cared about his friends. In DOTM, he spends half the film bitching and moaning about how people don't think he's as awesome as he assumes he is, and the other half is spent screaming incoherently like the baby from Eraserhead. He's not a hero anymore, he's a whiny little shit stain who's screaming "PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" in your ear for three hours. Someone murder this guy, please. I'm not going to say much else since every other critic has ranted to hell and back about this film series, but I'll leave on one final note: Shia LeBitch kills Starscream. Just...no.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two: Ahh, the Harry Potter series. I will always have a little heart for this franchise and I'm genuinely sad to know it's over. But at least they went out with a bang. All my favorite parts of the book are included in this film: the flashes of Snape's childhood, Neville taking out Nagini, Mrs. Weasley kicking the shit out of Bellatrix, and the epic battle of Hogwarts. But honestly, the best part of this film was the audience I saw it with. Far too often, I find that people who go see movies at theatres just don't get invested in the film. They're texting, talking to their friends, and refuse to get emotionally involved; I hear so little laughter, exhilaration, fear or sadness from my fellow movie-going peers these days, and that saddens me. Not so with Deathly Hallows Part Two; the theatre was jam-packed with fans, all excited and totally absorbed in the action on screen. I saw not one light from a cell phone, nor heard any murmuring during quiet moments. It was a great cinematic experience and one of the only times in my life that going to the theatre really felt like a community event. Seriously, only ever watch this film with a large group of fans, it's the best way to view it. Oh, and my favorite part of the movie? The hilariously awkward hug Voldemort gives Malfoy. I was dying.

Captain America: The First Avenger: I have to admit, I liked Captain America a little bit more than Thor, partially because of my love for war films, but mostly because I really like the protagonist. Captain America is one of my favorite comic heroes because, even without his powers, he's a genuinely good-hearted, brave, and intelligent man, the type of guy I always end up falling for. Chris Evans played him to a T, and I'm really glad the movie took the time to show what a good man Steve Rogers was even before becoming Cap. And the USO stuff he gets involved in? Fucking priceless, especially the nod to the "punching out Hitler" covers. Seriously, if "Star Spangled Man With a Plan" doesn't get an Oscar consideration, I will be displeased. Hugo Weaving as Red Skull is a delight to watch, even if the character himself is quite simplistic. And DAAAAAMN, does he look fine in those outfits. Rowr. I also really like what the film did with Bucky, taking a doofy kid sidekick and making him a rocking badass. My nitpicks with the film would be the somewhat weak ending (but hey, gotta lead into The Avengers somehow) and the lack of a really developed female character (Peggy was meh), but those are minor. Overall, I love this movie, and I look forward to seeing more of the Cap in 2012. Especially seeing how he'll bounce off of Tony Stark. 8D

Cowboys and Aliens: Oh God, this movie is an absolute delight from start to finish. I love Sci-Fi and I love Westerns, so for me, Cowboys and Aliens is the cinematic equivilent of a Reese Cup. I remember reading critics bashing on this movie and all I could think was that they just didn't get it. This is not the film to go to if you want to see high art. This is the film you go to when you want a fun story and lots of awesome action scenes (done with mostly pratical effects, which earns you a lot of bonus points on my Action-Movie-O-Meter). The film does a great job blending it's genres, and even though it's tongue in cheek, it works as both a gritty Western and an intense Sci-Fi movie, even blending in touches of mystery and drama in there. The acting's fantastic; Daniel Craig is awesome as always, and this is easily Harrison Ford's best perfomance in over a decade. Olivia Wilde, who I'm pleased to see getting more film roles, is terrific, taking what should be a cliche character and breathing new life into her. Overall, this movie is a joyride and I loved every moment of it.

The Help: I'm not a huge lover of dramas, but I do like period pieces and the premise of this film intrigued me. The Help works on quite a few levels, being a very tense and emotional story that could skew in many directions at any point. Viola Davis' performance as Aibileen is fantastic, presenting a woman who has seen much hardship and experienced much suffering, but refuses to let life get her down. Octavia Spencer's Milly is just plain awesome, definitely my favorite character. Honestly, though while I did really enjoy the film, there a couple of issues I took with it. One is that Skeeter, the main character, is dull as a bag of rocks. She's more a role model than a character and I found her really boring. Especially when the shoe horned love story popped up. At least it was thankfully downplayed (and ultimately pointless), but the introduction of her dickhead boyfriend was a definite face palm moment for me. Another is that Hilly, the villain, strikes me as being really generic. She would have worked great if she'd had some complexity (like her friend Elizabeth, who shows genuine conflict over her actions throughout the film but knows no other way to act), but she's pretty much just a bitch for the sake of being a bitch, and that's not very interesting. But honestly, those two aren't where the film's true heart lies. For me, the best parts of the movie were of the blossoming friendship between Milly and the bubble-headed Celia. Celia's completely lack of social skills combined with her sweet nature and naivety work beautifully off of the cynical and stubborn Milly, and their scenes together are a joy to watch. True, the ending they recieve is extremely idealistic and clashes with the film's realism, but it's very satisfying and it made me happy (plus, it's balanced by the bittersweet conclusion Aibileen receives). All in all, a good movie, and one I'll rewatch, but probably not one I'll buy.

Real Steel: This movie is stupid, cliche, mindless...and very entertaining. If you love a good mindless action film and you don't want to give Michael Bay your money, check out Real Steel. This film, for me, is kind of like what The Expendables was for me last year: junk food for the senses. But whereas The Expendables was awesometastic and revelled in it's own idiocy, I get the sense that Real Steel was taking itself a bit more seriously. This does work to the film's disadvantage, as it probably would have been better if it hadn't tried to tell a "serious" story. The non-robot-related plot is as predictable as it gets, with a dead-beat father bonding with his young son over whatever, but that's not the reason it's enjoyable. Oh, no no no. Honestly, shut your brain off during the plot and just watch the action scenes, because this is some great fight choreography going on. Even if it's being performed by robots, the boxing is very well done and the sets are sweet. You really get a feel for this world and the robots themselves are cool looking. Hugh Jackman's performance is entertaining, and Dakota Goyo is one of the few kids in this type of plot that I don't want to strangle with piano wire. Even with as cliche as the plot is, you can still find a great deal of entertainment in the goofy ass dialogue. It's just a great ride. The film has many, many, many flaws, but if you're like me and you love a good dumb action film, give it a watch. Oh, and I spent most of the film humming the Medabots theme, because I swear, Real Steel is Medabots with a PG-13 rating.

The Muppets: I don't think I smiled more this year than I did sitting in the theatre watching The Muppets. I've been a fan of the Muppets since I was a toddler, and I've watched every single one of their films, even the crappy direct-to-DVD ones that no one watched. This film was an experience in every sense of the word. I hadn't seen Kermit and co. on the big screen since the mediocre Muppets From Space in 1999, so I was really excited for this. And it did not disappoint. This film gets everything right, from the fourth wall jokes, to the out of nowhere musical numbers, to the heart. And heart is really the right word here. To paraphrase the Nostalgia Critic, if you forgot about the Muppets and haven't watched any of their more recent stuff, you will feel like an ASSHOLE watching this film. Your heart bleeds for these poor puppets, separated and forgotten in a world that's grown too cynical and self-important for their brand of entertainment. But all it takes is one idealistic fan to remind them of the good times and what kind of magic they can bring to people. This film's probably the most inspirational I've seen all year, and even better, it features fantastic references to previous Muppet movies and tv series (It has Uncle Deadly, for God's sake! I thought I was the only one who remembered him!). Jason Segel and Amy Adams are great as Gary and Mary, Chris Cooper is wonderfully hammy as the villain, and new Muppet Walter is both a great addition to the cast and a loving tribute to Muppet fans everywhere. And the Muppets themselves are great as always, funny and full of heart. Hell, I got misty eyed when they were singing "Rainbow Connection". This film put me through a whole gammut of emotions, and I left the theatre feeling very, very happy, which is exactly the mood a movie should put you in. If you haven't seen it yet, do so; it's worth every penny.
© 2011 - 2024 thedarklordkeisha
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duae's avatar
I know it won't happen. But I could watch an entire movie about Tony Stark leading Steve and Thor around and watching their modern day antics.