Reviews of Movies, TV shows & metro Detroit Restaurants

Short movie & TV show reviews and metro Detroit restaurant reviews

Sunday, March 4, 2012

2011 Movies

2011 was an OK year for movies, but 2010 was better. And now the Oscars are over with. I've seen 6 of the 9 movies that were nominated for Best Picture:


- "The Descendants": This was my favorite of those that I saw. Clooney's performance as an "everyday" kind of guy was his best ever as it showed he could be more than just a cocky know-it-all smarmy dude. And Shailene Woodley's performance as his teenage daughter was exceptional.


- "Moneyball": As a sport fan, I really dug this movie. Brad Pitt as Billy Beane was one of his best performances ever. And Jonah Hill broke out as more than just a funny fat kid. One of the better sports movies to come along. You get a sense that you are in the clubhouse & front office right along with these guys.


- "War Horse": An excellent feel-good, well-made movie from Mr. Spielberg. Much better than his other 2011 effort, Tintin (which was pretty bad). It was the most "epic" movie to come around in awhile...


- "Midnight in Paris": I really enjoyed this movie…It had a very fun feeling to it. It's so well-written & you get a sense of what Paris must have been like back in the 20s…romantic, full of culture & life. Owen Wilson shines as the dopey, sappy Gil…He's a good Woody Allen.


- "Hugo": A good (but not great) movie. I wonder if I'd have liked it more if I'd seen it in the theater in 3D. I honestly don't know if it deserved a Best Pic nod. There were others that deserved it more ("50/50" and "The Ides of March" come to mind).


- "The Tree of Life": This movie was just plain awful. It wasn't even close to linear & just didn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense. I did not enjoy this movie one bit! Maybe I am not "artistic" enough...


Once I see the rest of the nominees, I'll have to update this...


Now MY favorite movie of 2011 was "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". It is a shame it didn't get a nomination for Best Picture and David Fincher didn't get nominated for Best Director. He captures the chill of Sweden, both literally & figuratively oh so well. A dark, intense thrilling movie that is very true to the book. Daniel Craig's, Stellan SkarsgÄrd's & Christopher Plummer's performances got very little critical acclaim yet they all excelled. And of course Rooney Mara's transformation into Lisbeth Salander was incredible.


I think my 2nd favorite movie of 2011 may have been "Bridesmaids." It was by far the funniest movie of the year. It was well-written, well-acted and tons of fun. I laughed throughout most of it, both times I saw it.


Some of my other favorites from 2011:


- 50/50
- The Ides of March
- Super 8
- Warrior
- Crazy, Stupid, Love
- X-Men: First Class
- The Lincoln Lawyer
- Win Win
- Margin Call

1 comment:

Jay and Lori Seppanen said...

Interesting take on the Best Pic movies Lar. I like the blog, keep it up.