Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011: A Year in Movies

I love to go to the movies but Bangkok (despite having spectacular theatres) does not really play many of the types of movies I like to see. However, I did manage to sneak in quite a few (thanks to airplane trips to Europe, Asia, and South Africa).

Loved:
1. Captain America - reminded me of Indiana Jones. I particularly loved the USO show part with the cheery music!

2. The Help - brought me right back to South Carolina

3. The King's Speech- saw in Feb 2011, good old Anglophilia movie

4. Little Red Riding Hood* - lush and romantic with some amazing images. Great Scenery chewing by Gary Oldman and much better teenage love than Twilight.

5. True Grit** - particularly Matt Damon! But everyone was great in this movie. You can't go wrong with the Coen Brothers!

6. Jane Eyre* - another stylistic and beautiful retelling of an old favorite - plus Michael Fassbender!

7. Midnight in Paris - Don't like Woody Allen anymore but could not resist this film. The guy who played Ernest Hemingway was amazing!


8. Hanna* - A crazy race around Europe. I loved it. The girl assassin is amazing and I love Eric Bana.

9. Cedar Rapids* - fantastic and funny and surprising. I felt like I had been to this conference. Better than Bridesmaids in my opinion.

Not Too Bad:
10. Contagion* - you get to see Gwyneth Paltrow's head be sawed off in an autopsy!

11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2* - I wept, I'll admit it. Some pretty good war scenes and very intense. A great ending to one of my favorite kid's series.

12. Submarine* - some great 70s scenes, a great protaganist, and a good reminder of heart break.

13. Water for Elephants* - Robert Pattinson is not too bad and I do like Reese Witherspoon but Christophe Waltz steals the show as usual.

14. Bridesmaids - had to see it after all the hype but was rather under-whelmed. It did hit female friendship quite well but I could have done without the diarrhea jokes. But I loved the Irish cop.

15. Get Him to the Greek** - love Russell Brand but don't like the fat guy with the curly hair. I don't find him funny, just weird. But P Diddy was quite funny....


Should have been better:
16. One Day - the book was great, the movie sucked but had some okay parts. Anne Hathaway was completely miscast and the aging effects were terrible.

17. X men First Class* - stylistically beautiful but I didn't buy Kevin Bacon as the villain. I also saw because I'm obsessed with James Macavoy and Michael Fassbender.

Saw because I was desperate to watch a movie:
18. The Priest - surprisingly interesting - cowboys, the Spanish Inquisition, and ugly vampires. And I like Paul Bettany.

19. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - I thought I was going to see Fright Night and surprise! A shitty Katie Holmes movie about the tooth fairy!

20. Mr. Popper's Penguins* - some amusing parts but why is watching penguins shit a crowd pleaser?

21. The Hangover 2 - loved watching Bangkok in its squalor but again, it went too far and was not funny enough.


Hated:
22. Tower Heist - seriously bad. I could have re-written the whole thing and was tempted to do so. I felt like I could predict the lines. And Eddie Murphy should have been funnier.

23. Somewhere - As my friend Brian Griffin said at the end of this snoozefest - "I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit" - come on Sofia Coppola!

24. Thor - small people rattling around in a big set and an annoying hero who I wanted to see die. Watch the trailer I linked to - its definitely better than the movie.

25. Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon* - See previous review. "CRASH, THUD, BANG"


KEY:
* Saw on the airplane
** Saw on the movies on demand in the hospital

No comments:

Post a Comment