My Top 10 and Bottom 5 of 2011

This year I did not get to see all the movies I wanted to towards the end. There was just no way I could catch up after only seeing 1 movie a month starting October. This school year was just rough, and on top of that working 5 days a week starting Christmas break did not help either. I did get to see the ones important to me, for the most part, and the ones I have left on my list probably were not going to reach my top 10 anyway (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tintin, A Dangerous Method, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse, Carnage, Iron Lady, The Descendents, The Artist and many more).
I'm saddened that this happened, for it has not in a while. I am utterly behind, and it's depressing. But I will end up seeing these movies eventually, and there's no doubt in my mind that most of them will be good. It's kind of funny, I was the most excited for Spielberg to come back this year to the directing world, yet I didn't make any time to see his 2 movies. Life's funny.

But without further ado, my Top 10 :)

10. Fright Night

Here we go, this spot took a lot of thinking. I could have chosen a Korean revenge (Enemy at the Dead End) or a creative romantic Japanese flick (Kimi ni Todoke) or a crazy fun-to-sing-along musical (The Muppets) or the super hero film with the most impressive trailer (X-Men First Class). Why may you ask did I chose Fright Night then? The fact is, this movie pretty much summed up my favorite class this year in school. It is by far the most wonderful horror remake of this decade that strayed enough from the first, but still did little homages as well. I really liked it. I have to admit, though, X-Men was a really close 11.

9. The Help

The most pleasant movie of the year had to make my list. I really liked this movie. It was so well acted and so well done. This movie impressed me a lot because I didn't expect it to be that great. It was a nice feel good movie.

8. 50/50

I really liked this movie, and when I saw it I immediately thought it was going to be my favorite of the year, but as I let it settle in my mind, I found it not as great as the others I saw, and possibly not as fantabulous as I originally first thought it was. The more I thought about the acting overall the less I found it outstanding. Great movie though, fantastic writing.

7. Hugo

The movie about movies :). This one was so touching and beautiful to watch. That, and I needed more than 1 kids movie on my list this year, because I feel this year had better children's movies all around than adult movies (statistically speaking). So magical, so well acted, and so well done.

6. Super 8

My nostalgia got the best of me with Super 8, and I instantly fell in love with it the moment I saw the trailer for it during Iron Man 2. There was no stopping it, I knew from the start it was going to be a favorite and it did not fail to impress. Loved this movie.

5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The trailer was great, the movie was even better. I still stand by Andy Serkis getting a best actor nod for his role as the monkey. He's totally brought back monster-movie acting and has made into a pure art form. He's one of the greatest actors of this age. He's been a gollum, a hobbit, a big and smaller monkey. This movie as had one of the greatest moments I've seen all year (Caesar being able to talk much?!). I LOVED IT.

4. Rango

I knew this movie was a love affair the instant I chose to watch it during every usher break earlier this year. I laugh every time, and it's definitely the best Johnny Depp movie to grace the big screen this year. Not only that, but the animation is gorgeous. I'm so glad that someone aside from Pixar and Dreamworks can make an excellent CGI movie. Nickelodeon may have marked themselves as a real competitor this year.

3. Midnight in Paris

This has got to be the best script all year. It was amazingly creative, and if it doesn't win best original screenplay, I will be mortified. I'm still ashamed I missed the first 5 or so minutes of this movie. I cry, I cry. Oh well, this will just convince me I need to buy it on blu-ray yet!

2. Midnight FM

Ah, Korean revenge thrillers. You know just how to make me swoon and sigh (and gasp!). This movie is insanely good, and I cannot stress how much you should watch it eventually. Last year it was I Saw the Devil. Oh man. I just wanna move to Korea and make movies now please. They are beyond perfect. Incredible. This would have been my favorite of the year if it wasn't for one little film...

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

OH MY GOD. The past few years I have withheld Harry Potter films from my lists, but no more shall I repress my love. Harry Potter is my favorite story of all time, and the movies are so well acted and well directed and well shot, I just cannot help myself. I saw this movie a good amount in theaters, and then I bought it on blu-ray and I have successfully cried EVERY TIME. These movies bring the books to life for me, and this one being so close to the films made me just wanna bow down to the Davids (Heyman and Yates). They brought my childhood to life, and they did it so well. I don't know how to thank them more. Behind LOTR, the Harry Potter films are definitely the best films out there. Disagree all you want, but there are 8 HP movies and all of them were good, if not great, if not excellent, if not perfect. The conclusion deserves more recognition than people are giving it. It is the greatest achievement in film. Ever.

A Little Treat: Bottom 5

5. Dream House

4. Apollo 18

3. Immortals

2. The Hangover Part II

1. Red Riding Hood

A Few Quick Mini-Reviews :)

Since I have been gone for some time due to school work and such, I figured for my first post back since October I would write a few quick reviews for the few movies I have seen. Sadly, some are no longer in theaters, but hopefully someone will appreciate that I did see them before writing my Top Movies of 2011 list :D Which I shall begin starting the 1st of January!

Why couldn't this movie be as creative as The Fall?? It was a waste of my time this year, and frankly I almost forgot I saw it. The Grecian myths were jumbled, the protagonist was boring, and the story stayed flat from the beginning. The only thing nice about it was the sparkles and colors, but since when was sequence a popular fashion in BC?? Such a disappointment that, with a better script, could have been a really cool action flick. Many would say this is a male-oriented film, but even my boyfriend hated it, if not more than I. Waste of life.

Immortals: 1.5/5

After what felt like a very long wait, I saw The Muppets a bit after the Thanksgiving break and fell in love with its cuteness. I tried to see it again, but alas! Plans failed and I ended up seeing Young Adult. But I digress, The Muppets was a neat little throwback to puppetry and was also greatly amusing. My favorite part about it was the soundtrack, which this morning I bought on Amazon for $3.99 ;). It's a shame it only got a month in theaters, but what can you do?? With all the kid movies out, it was bound to leave theaters sooner or later. The advertising for this movie was just as great as the movie itself. I hope Disney does more with the muppets now that this movie has kind of brought them back into pop culture.

The Muppets: 4/5

The next holiday movie I did see was Hugo. I know, I know...I'm on a roll with the children movies this season. Probably because they were the best, but also because I have a feeling that my attention span is slipping (oh no!). However, this treasure was longer than most children movies, coming in at a grand total of 2 hours! It would be my only complaint about this one, if that at all. It was slow-paced, but beautifully executed, intriguing, and above all magical. I loved all the blues and golds. It also had enough Harry Potter actors to make me giddy (Helen McCrory being my favorite). And how could I not mention Chloe Moretz, because she is my absolute favorite up and coming actress and as always I cannot wait to see her in more! Sadly, I have noticed this movie is slipping from theaters as well, so please without a doubt go and see it, because it is a grand adventure. Plus, it is getting nominations left and right, so why not??

Hugo: 4/5

I was so excited to see an "adult" movie after so many childrens films, and this one seemed perfect because it had adult in the title :p. Either way, Young Adult is a fine movie, but if I could go back I may have exempted paying $9 to see it. It had quirky conversations that were amusing to listen to, but was in desperate need of some music. The reveal at the end was good. It's not like this writer-director duo doesn't have talent, but it may have flat-lined. I don't know if it has repeat value at all, but it was well acted and well written enough. I would call this one a rental.

Young Adult: 3/5

I really enjoyed the first of this series, but this one just didn't have the same flair. I thought it was a tad too long and the story just seemed way drawn out. It needed some cutting down for sure, but other than that it's a very enjoyable movie for the most part. Jude Law always looks and sounds so dashing ;D. And I really like Guy Richie's style, it feels a lot different that many other blockbusters. I'm intrigued if there will be more, seeing as Robert Downey Jr. is not signed on for a third one. Would be interesting if there was, but I'm sure I could live without it if there was not. The movie was a tad more predictable than the other, even though I was not expecting an early death scene. I must admit, I enjoyed Detective Dee much more than this (and sadly I did not make time to review that one).

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows -- 3/5