I felt that 2011 was actually a fine movie going year and a marked improvement over 2010 for certain. Instead of a year where some good films are scattered throughout the first 10 months of the year and all of the great material arriving during the winter holiday season, 2011 was a year where I saw what I considered to be great films from as early as April, throughout the entire summer and even more at the end of the year.
For this first installment in my 2011 wrap-up, I turn to my "Honor Roll." These are the films which I awarded star ratings of three and a half stars and they are listed in alphabetical order. Full reviews of all of the following films are housed on this site and if you wish to locate one in particular, just ask and I will provide you with the link.
And finally, all of the following films are available to view on DVD except where indicated.
THE HONOR ROLL OF 2011
“50/50” Directed by Jonathon Levine
This film, too easily described as a “comedy about cancer,” was understandably a difficult sell and just as understandably, a box office disappointment when it was released in the Fall. That said, this film was one of the most empathetic, emotional films of 2011 as it delved into the life of Adam Lerner (beautifully underplayed by Joseph Gordon-Leavitt), an athletic, eager, young Seattle public radio employee with his entire life ahead of him confronted with a rare cancerous tumor located on his spine. Seth Rogen co-starred as Adam’s best friend and the lovely Anna Kendrick made a terrific impression as the young therapist in training who counsels Adam throughout his cancer treatment. What Levine accomplished most of all throughout “50/50” was a mastery of tone as it walked a precarious emotional tightrope by exuding a risky amount of ribald humor combined with the painful realities of cancer treatment and the unpredictable fragility of life itself. I laughed heartedly only to find myself choking back tears and then suddenly laughing heartedly all over again showing that this film really captured the odd rhythms of life as it is lived.
Scheduled for home video release on January 24, 2012
“THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN” Directed by Steven Spielberg
A splendidly executed, staggeringly well-animated treasure hunt starring an intrepid young journalist, a blustery yet alcoholic sea captain and a faithful wonder dog. Steven Spielberg, collaborating with Peter Jackson for the first episode in this proposed trilogy, has effortlessly crafted a joyous experience that is his most unabashedly entertaining film in years. The high amount of fun he is having with the material, based upon Herge’s comic book series, as well as the animation format is deeply infectious. What a feat to create something that is simultaneously nostalgic and forward thinking through its usage of the most state of the art animation techniques on hand, including terrific motion capture performances from Jamie Bell and the amazing Andy Serkis as the story’s heroes.
Currently playing in theaters
“BEGINNERS” Directed by Mike Mills
An exquisite short story of a film that tenderly encompassed life, love, family and death with the questions of the true origins of our personalities as the film’s succulent core. Ewan McGregor gave one of his most empathetic and emotionally bare performances as Oliver, a young man and artist coming to terms with the death of his Father from cancer (an enchanting Christopher Plummer). Even moreso, Oliver is coming to terms with the life lessons taught to him through his Father’s unwillingness to live his final years in vain as he comes out as a gay man after 45 years of marriage to Oliver’s Mother. “Beginners” is a languid, non-linear film that flies through the past and present as it explores our relationship with our own memories and how sometimes unreliable those memories may be in regards to providing us with the fullness of truth about the people we love and who have shaped our lives. Also featuring a terrific performance by the beguiling Melanie Laurent as Oliver’s potential new love interest, Mike Mills delivers a film that is equal parts deliriously romantic and beautifully melancholic.
“CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER” Directed by Joe Johnston
Our comic book film warm up to this summer’s “The Avengers” continued in wonderfully old-fashioned style with the origin story of our red, white and blue clad hero armed with the mighty shield and an unshakably innocent good will towards his fellow man. Filled with gorgeous cinematography, great special effects and action set pieces, what made this film special was how very wisely, Johnston and the film’s star Chris Evans focused their collective sights upon the man underneath the costume. This quality, plus some of that trademark Marvel comics melancholy, gave the film the proper amount of humanity to guide us through the admittedly and unashamedly corny story depicted completely without any irony or 21st century hipster cool.
“CEDAR RAPIDS” Directed by Miguel Arteta
This charming, raunchy, perceptive social comedy stars Ed Helms as Tim, an idealistic and sheltered insurance agent from Brown River, WI who nervously travels to the titular city for the annual insurance convention. Over three days, Tim meets and is adopted by a collective of colorful characters including the perpetually crude and drunk Dean Zigler (John C. Reilly) and the darkly alluring yet unhappily married Joan Ostrowski-Fox (a wonderful Anne Heche). The film is laugh out loud funny from beginning to end yet it is completely grounded by realistic characters who all utilize this convention as a simultaneous escape from reality as well as a period for deep self-reflection. For Tim, it is a time to stretch his wings, see the larger world, have his sense of integrity tested and discover exactly what kind of a person he is and aspires to be. “Cedar Rapids” is a simple film yet what makes it so special to me is the high quality of the writing, the acting, the construction of the characters, storytelling and overall direction. When you have all of those qualities on display at the level presented in this film, you just cannot go wrong.
“EVERYTHING MUST GO” Directed by Dan Rush
Will Ferrell gave a rare dramatic performance as Nick Halsey, an alcoholic salesman whose life rapidly spirals down the tubes to the point where his wife has taken all of his possessions and placed them upon the front lawn of his home. Over the course of three days and nights, and under the advice of his sponsor, Nick reluctantly holds a yard sale, figuratively and literally ridding himself of his life’s baggage. Surprisingly, he obtains two tentative new friendships along the way with a lonely latch-key kid (Christopher Jordan Wallace) and a sad, pregnant housewife (the consistently excellent Rebecca Hall), a new arrival to the neighborhood who is wearily awaiting the arrival of her husband. Like “Beginners,” this is a film that encompasses large, complex themes within an easily digestible package with excellent performances thrust front and center. Ferrell is absolutely terrific in the leading role as he miraculously is able to convey the various levels of sobriety with complete and controlled nuance. This film was criminally underseen during its theatrical release and I gently urge you to check it out now that it has been released on home video formats.
“FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS” Directed by Will Gluck
Ah yes, the romantic comedy for people who hate romantic comedies. This selection may arrive as a shock to many of you, dear readers and I have to admit that it did arrive as a shock to me as to how much I actually enjoyed this film. Gluck, who previously directed the amazing “Easy A” (2010) has created a romantic comedy expertly designed for my sensibilities as I have long displayed my dread for the current state of romantic comedies. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis make a wonderful pairing as like-minded, emotionally guarded and yes, sexually voracious individuals who forge a terrific friendship that contains an emotionally free sexual relationship. What made this film stand out for me from all of the other romantic comedy pieces of dreck that have littered our movie theaters for too many years now, is that the film was very witty, sexy, and completely self-reflexive as it gently satirized the horrible traps of movie romantic comedies while also upholding those same qualities. And most of all, Timberlake and Kunis displayed incredible chemistry in one scene after another as Gluck wisely allowed his two leading actors to talk, talk and talk some more, weaving a flirtatious spell that proved to be infectious. For those of you that may feel that my tastes tend to swing towards the more esoteric, the inclusion of “Friends With Benefits” is a perfect illustration of how strong writing, snappy direction and energetic performances can make cinematic cotton candy confections as entertaining and as artful as any other type of motion picture.
“FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH” Directed by James Moll
This affectionate portrait of the alternative rock giants led by the charismatically engaging singer/songwriter/guitarist/drummer extraordinaire Dave Grohl is the first of four music documentaries that made 2011 a great movie watching year for me. What made this particular film so winning to me was viewing the band’s level of perspective with their good fortune as well as how grounded and downright innocent they continue to be, even after all of their global success. The film ultimately works as a portrait of a band that is fully aware of the graces that have been bestowed upon them and their refusal to not waste a moment of it. As with two other musical documentaries that will make an appearance throughout this review of 2011, “Foo Fighters: Back And Forth” joyously presents the career of a band made up of music fans performing for music fans and through the shared love of music, we witness rock and roll dreams being fully realized.
“GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD” Directed by Martin Scorsese
While the life and career of George Harrison would technically make Martin Scorsese’s epic two-part, three and a half hour film qualify as a music documentary, in many ways, this film transcends that particular genre. What Scorsese has accomplished by placing George Harrison’s spiritual life, quest and beliefs front and center is to craft an experience that nearly emulates the philosophical outlook Harrison held for himself and tried to impart upon the world. Scorsese has created a languid film designed for us to become washed inside of. While Scorsese presents elements and events from Harrison’s early life to his death in 2001 in a chronological trajectory, I loved how he allowed the film to float forwards and backwards in time as well as digress into a variety of side stories and memories, much like how we experiences our lives each day. Martin Scorsese has helmed a deeply spiritual film. A sublime, anecdotal, hypnotically conversational, sprawling experience that beautifully presents this legendary figure not as a pop-culture mythical being but as the idiosyncratic, individualistic humane being he gloriously was. And the film is loaded with the very best soundtrack any film could hope for!
This film aired on HBO and is currently not in the programming schedule. Hopefully a home video release will arrive shortly.
“THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO” Directed by David Fincher
Although I was armed with all of the skepticism I could muster, David Fincher happily proved me wrong. The American adaptation of Steig Larsson’s blockbuster thriller was a film I had more than enough trepidation towards, in regards to its actual purpose as the three Swedish adaptations of the same material felt to be definitive. Yet, Fincher has ingeniously devised a way to make his version stand firmly on its own cinematic feet by creating a more visceral and therefore more cinematic experience than the chilly docudrama original version. Additionally, I must give high praise to the gusty, full throttle, caged animal and wholly realized performance by Rooney Mara as the dark titular character. Mara, and the film as a whole, is an experience that does not exist to compete with the original film(s) and what I felt to be an iconic performance by Noomi Rapace. The two films work together as brothers…or better yet, as sisters in arms…weaving an engulfing and provocatively grim spell.
Currently playing in theaters
“MONEYBALL” Directed by Bennet Miller
This was one of the most unlikely films that I would’ve seen in 2011 due to its subject matter of baseball statistics, something that interests me even less than the game of baseball itself. But, this film, the second feature from Bennet Miller who debuted with the excellent “Capote” (2005), was surprisingly one of the most maturely satisfying films I saw. Brad Pitt gave one of the finest, most nuanced performances of his career as Billy Beane, General Manager of the disastrously low ranking Oakland A’s who utilizes the unorthodox ideas provided by Yale Economics graduate Peter Brand (an excellent Jonah Hill) to hopefully transform the losing team into winners and ultimately, the game and business of baseball as a whole. Despite the subject matter, “Moneyball” is not strictly a film about baseball or even the statistics. What Miller has accomplished so deftly is to present us with another character study of an almost unknowable figure and phase that study into a cultural commentary of the trials and pitfalls of sitting at the altar of winning above all costs.
“THE MUPPETS” Directed by James Bobin
I bow down to actor/writer Jason Segal for his bottomless love of Jim Henson’s collective of felt creations. It is a love so enormous he essentially rescued the characters from pop-culture irrelevancy due to his sheer force of will! “The Muppets” was truly one of the warmest, most entertaining films of the year that, like a few other very special releases geared towards families and children, perfectly demonstrated that family entertainment need not be shrill, dumbed down or flatulent (despite a brand of comically noisy shoes Fozzie Bear wears in one scene). “The Muppets” was a film of reunion between the collective of long disbanded characters as well as that entire collective of characters will all of us in the audience. It is a film of tender friendship tinged with that classic, earnest, melancholic wistfulness merged with manic energy, sincere laughs and smiles from start to finish and a heart as wide as the open sky.
Currently playing in theaters
“PEARL JAM TWENTY” Directed by Cameron Crowe
My affections for this film have already grown…ahem…tenfold (I couldn’t resist). Cameron Crowe’s passionate, accelerated, celebratory yet professionally clear-eyed documentary is a visual scrapbook designed for longtime fans of the seminal alternative rock band as well as existing as a supremely effective window into their world for new listeners and for those, like myself, who had never previously felt an attachment to the band. As with the Foo Fighters, the birth of Pearl Jam arrived through tremendous tragedy yet the newfound musical brotherhood between the band members and commitment to forge ahead for the sake and spirit of artistic creation made for a surprising and powerfully emotional experience. Watching events from the band’s twenty year history, during which they have shown a ferocious vow to creating and performing on their own terms, showed me exactly what I had not previously understood about Pearl Jam and I now see them in an entirely new light. The film’s extraordinary finale, which stitches together two performances of “Betterman” and “Alive,” show how the communal bond between band members to each other and the audience is a moment that gives honor to our collective shared experience and in one shining moment, a perfect rock concert brings forth harmonic convergence. These are not mere songs to simply perform and enjoy. The music of Pearl Jam is an act of fierce integrity and spiritual deliverance.
“SOURCE CODE” Directed by Duncan Jones
The story of a man who suddenly awakens upon a train headed into downtown Chicago and forced to relive the final eight minutes of his life over and again in order to discover the identity of a bomb maker and potential nuclear terrorist was one of the more gripping surprises I saw in 2011. Jake Gyllenhaal gave a performance of feverish intensity as the man caught in the fateful time loop and he shared terrific chemistry with Michelle Monaghan, a passenger with whom he tragically falls in love. I have deeply appreciated how Duncan Jones, now with his second film, has so effectively created science fiction films that are about ideas and emotions and not entirely abut cataclysmic pyrotechnics, although “Source Code” does provide much bang for its buck. With this feature, Jones has proven himself to be a filmmaker to keep your eyes wide open for. I have a feeling that he is just beginning to hit his stride and when he makes that GREAT film, it will be a stunner. But for now, we have this strong film, which presents to us a decidedly grim wheel of karma yet also functions as an easily digestible edge-of-your-seat thriller.
“TERRI” Directed by Azazel Jacobs
Jacob Wysocki gives a winning, meditative performance as the titular character, a tall, overweight teenage boy who is always dressed in a set of pajamas, who was abandoned by his parents, is currently caring for his Alzheimer afflicted Uncle and is mercilessly teased at school. John C. Reilly co-stars as the school’s unorthodox Vice Principal who notices how deeply Terri is caught in an emotional downward spiral and the twosome begin a tentative friendship. This quiet, perceptive sensitive, sad little film where nothing actually happens may seem to be the type of film many of you would not make an effort to see. But I gently urge you to give this film a try as its empathetic spirit and nuanced messages against teenage bullying made “Terri” a film to root for.
“THOR” Directed by Kenneth Branagh
This film was a blast as it took me back to the summer movie seasons of my youth when comic book features were filled with terrific storytelling, strong performances and characters and the special effects and action sequences were utilized solely in support of the story and characters. Chris Hemsworth starred as the hammer swinging warrior Thor, the arrogant son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who is banished from his astral plane of Asgard and falls to Earth to walk among humans to learn humility. Along his journey, he meets and falls in love with astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), battles a collective of mean ice giants and also finds himself under the jealous gaze of his duplicitous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Yes, this is all very silly yet Branagh fully knows it and does not allow the film to descend into any false sense of importance. Branagh gave us all a rollicking good time loaded with great action, psychedelic vistas of rainbow bridges and wonderful sections of humor. Again, this film not only made another exciting set up for “The Avengers,” I am also looking forward to seeing Thor’s next solo adventure.
Coming soon...2011 IN REVIEW PART TWO-"NUMBER 11"
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