Joey’s Top 50 Films of 2011
1. Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows 2 – No movie had the emotional impact as the final chapter of my beloved Harry Potter. Oh, how I will miss thee!
2. Ides of March – Why am I the only one who loved this movie? (Eric, I’m talking to you!) Politics and Ryan Gosling and George Clooney? How can that not be great?
3. Super 8 – I’m a sucker for aliens and kids — plus Elle Fanning was amazing. If it were a math problem, it would be (Goonies + Jurassic Park) x ET, parenthesis intentional…and to be done first.
4. Source Code – Impressive in many ways. Only complaint: I sort of wish it would have ended at the freeze frame.
5. The Artist – Not as original of a story as I had hoped (hello, Singin in the Rain!), but certainly captivating and endearing. My pick for Best Picture.
6. Crazy Stupid Love – Other than Harry Potter, the only other movie on this list that I’ve already seen twice. Funny and sweet. And I do love Ryan Gosling.
7. 50/50 – Sweet, sad and funny. What more can you want from a comedy?
8. The Muppets – Such a happy movie. Really well cast, and I love the music.
9. We Bought a Zoo – Did anyone else see this? Sweet and totally entertaining.
10. Drive – Okay so my 3rd Ryan Gosling movie in the top 10, maybe I’m obsessed. I could have used a little more dialogue and back story.
11. Hanna – Story, Action and fascinating character. A little heavy on style but very very fun.
12. Beginners – Such a sweet movie
13. Bridesmaids – Yes, it was funny. However I, for one, would have thought it was funnier without the bridal store scenes, but we Americans seem to love our bathroom humor.
14. Moneyball – Just like baseball itself: pleasant, all-American, and crowd-pleasing but a little slow and long for my taste. (Baseball should really only be 6 innings.)
15. Midnight in Paris – Fun and entertaining
16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – A lot like the original, but with a prettier cast and no subtitles. And the story ended about 20 minutes before the movie
17. The Descendants – I expected this one to be funnier and lighter, so I was disappointed to find myself in a seriously sad movie – even a good one. I just wasn’t prepared.
18. My Week with Marilyn – I loved every character in this movie, except Marilyn. Michelle Williams was good — but the character was annoying as anything.
19. Horrible Bosses – I laughed. Seems no one else really did.
20. Jane Eyre – Michael Fassbender was way too pretty a Rochester. If you haven’t read the book, I can’t imagine you’d want to see the movie.
21. Hugo – It took too long for the story to get started. And the film preservation angle felt a little heavy handed.
22. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Solid popcorn fun. But I cannot buy James Franco as a scientist.
23. J. Edgar – I will say it again, Clint Eastwood lacks subtlety. And why was Leo’s age makeup so much better than Armie Hammer’s?
24. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – I want to like smart movies, but I wasn’t really in the mood to think that day. I still don’t understand the girl’s connection.
25. Like Crazy – I couldn’t get past the fact that they foolishly brought the entire situation on themselves. Therefore, I never felt that bad for them. She should have gone home.
26. Our Idiot Brother – Paul Rudd is funny.
27. Another Earth – Really wanted to like it more.
28. Young Adult – I had high hopes and was disappointed. The last 30 minutes were painful.
29. X-Men: First Class – Exactly what I expected/wanted it to be.
30. Win Win – Okay I barely remember this one — other than that I liked it okay.
31. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows – Better story this time around (less Scooby-Doo). Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law have amazing chemistry. I could listen to their banter all day.
32. Battle Los Angeles – I admit I love seeing movies set in LA and my reaction to watching it be destroyed was almost giddy. I know everyone hated it, but I had fun.
33. Rum Diaries – I was annoyed that Johnny Depp was cast in a role that is supposed to be early 20s, but I must say Johnny Depp doesn’t age. And I don’t think I could have sat through it without him.
34. The Help – I never read this book and had low expectations for the movie, but it got to me in the end.
35. Martha Marcy May Marlene – Why didn’t the sister take her to a therapist immediately? Why did she join the cult? Who is this girl? Why doesn’t she talk? Ever?
36. Water for Elephants – I read the book and saw the movie and wasn’t impressed with either.
37. Limitless – I argue with the science on this one. I feel like he should have had super powers instead of just adding more memory. Telekinesis, mind-reading, something. All my friends disagree with me, but I’m pretty sure I could fly if I had access to 4x my current brain functions. I think the possibilities would be, well…limitless.
38. Bad Teacher – Bad Movie.
39. I Am Number Four – I love Young Adult stories and sci-fi but this one was hard to sit through.
40. Shame – How about some dialogue? Some answers? Some motivation? Some story?
41. Anonymous – This movie took itself way too seriously.
42. No Strings Attached – Ashton Kutcher’s character easily transitions into a working entertainment industry writer?!!? That pissed me off.
43. Thor – A magic hammer? A rainbow bridge? Seriously? And it was like 2 separate movies in between the 2 worlds — completely different feel and tone.
44. Your Highness – This is when James Franco is believable!
45. 30 Minutes or Less – Who thought this was a good idea for a comedy?
46. Straw Dogs – I only saw this because I recently watched all of True Blood and fell hard for Eric Northman. Sort of wish I could un-see it. But now feel compelled to watch the original.
47. Hall Pass – When you try to play toward the lowest common denominator, this is the result.
48. Dirty Girl – This movie is based in my hometown, so I had to see it. My hometown deserved better.
49. Wrecked – I would have rather sat through Buried again. It’s just Adrain Brody wandering in the wilderness for 1 1/2 hours. Note to self: if the lead character’s name is “Man,” skip it.
50. Conan the Barbarian – Oh my! This movie has sworn me off 3-D for a while. What a mess. And it’s not like I had high expectations. The worst movie of the year.
And…That’s it!
Want to join in the fun in 2012? Watch as many movies as you can this year and keep track! And the end of the year I’ll post the lists. It’s the Great Movie Challenge of 2012. (Click that link for the details.)
The reason “Ides of March” isn’t great (or, to more accurately answer your question: “why are you the only one who loved it?”) is because it’s kind of one dimensional.
Spoilers ahead.
Ryan Goslin plays a guy who has real political convictions. We know this because he tells us. Then he has those convictions tested. And then other stuff happens. There’s also a “big twist” with no real set-up, so when it happens, it doesn’t pay off anything. Sure, it’s surprising. But it’s surprising because we had nothing set it up prior.
Now, just writing that paragraph, I realize that you could make an argument for a pay-off within the Goslin character (who was so memorable, I can’t tell you his name). He believed one thing about Clooney’s candidate character, and he has that shattered. But it feels artificial.
Also, the Goslin character has to kind of be an idiot (nice way to say that is “naive”) to think that anyone in the world — politician or otherwise — is perfect. If he’s so experienced in the world of politics (“Ahf dun more campaigns in mah 25-yeahs than most haff done in ah lafftahm”), wouldn’t he be more expectant of that sort of thing? I’ve done ZERO campaigns and I believe half of what a politician tells me.
so that’s why you’re the only one who loved it. Or that’s why other people didn’t love it. It’s a movie that looks like it’s important and about something more than it is, but it’s not. In my opinion.