Best Movies of 2011

Here is an interesting article from http://www.debbieschlussel.com/ about the best movies of 2011. This follows this post about some movies that have been released over the past few years that you might have missed. Go ahead and click each year and make sure that you've seen them. This follows this post about guidelines to chosing good movies to watch!


DebbieSchlussel.com Best Movies of 2011

By Debbie Schlussel



It’s the end of the year, which means that I give you the magical sack of golden nuggets at the movies after a year of spending hours of my life sifting through a lot of dirt–and sitting in a dark movie theater–to find them. For more recent readers, I stopped doing a Worst Movies of the Year list because it’s impossible to narrow down 50-plus equally horrid pieces of garbage to just ten. I’d probably include 75-80% of the movies I saw this year on that list, as is more and more the case in recent years. Some of the top movies on my list did not come out in 2011, but as a movie critic, I screened them this year, so if they’re among the best, they go on the list. Also, there were some movies that didn’t make my top ten but which I enjoyed nonetheless and were the best in their genre, in my view. I’ve linked to my complete original reviews on the title of each movie, and I’ve also provided a brief summary of each movie. (If you buy these movies through the Amazon ads below, it helps support this site. Thanks.)













1)  “Warrior“:  Former alchoholic father (Nick Nolte) finds Christianity, and he and his two estranged sons come together in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world.  Rocky for the 2010s.  Uplifting and patriotic.  Fun to watch and heartpounding every step of the way, once it gets going.


2)  “The Artist“: Magnificent movie filled with the style and glamor of old.  Don’t let the fact it’s a silent film keep you away.  It’s fun and charming like no other movie.  Bonus:  no filth or trash involved.




3) “Sarah’s Key“:  Terrific movie that spans multiple generations from the Holocaust to the present and goes from Europe to North America. It’s a thriller and a mystery solved in an interesting way. Sometimes who you think you are isn’t really who you are. You never really know from whence you came.




4)  “Winter in Wartime [Oorlogswinter]“:  Intense thriller depicting good versus evil in Nazi Europe.  Who are actually the spies for Hitler and who is working for the resistance?  A brave, precocious young boy learns for himself with devastating and shocking consequences.




5)“War Horse“:  I never thought I’d like a movie about a horse. But this terrific World War I film about redemption and good brings together several families and individuals touched by the war, in a moving, touching way.



6)“Limitless“:  Fun, exciting sci-fi thriller about a loser who discovers a magic pill (a sort of superfix for ADD) that changes his life for the better.  But will it last.  I was never a Bradley Cooper fan.  But he’s fantastic in this light, escapist movie.



7)  “The Way Back“:    Several men, including an American, escape from the Soviet gulag and survive harsh conditions to flee Communist hackles and make it to freedom. Based on a true story.




8)  “The Double Hour [La Doppia Ora]“:  Terrific thriller that even the most jaded moviegoer probably won’t figure out until the end. A former police officer meets a woman at a speed-dating event and begins seeing her. But as they are at the estate, where he now serves as a security guard, a robbery ensues, and he is killed. Soon strange things begin happening in the woman’s life, and to tell you more would spoil it. So many twists and turns.



9)  “Another Earth“:  Sci-fi drama thriller in which a brilliant high school student, destined for a great life on a college scholarship, kills a man’s family while drunk driving. When she gets out of prison, a new planet has been discovered that is coming close to earth. The new earth and the girl’s interaction with the father of the


10)  “Jane Eyre“:  This is the best film version of the novel that I’ve seen.  It’s well-paced, tight, and masterfully acted by Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.  A chick flick even the guys can enjoy.


* HONORABLE MENTION:



“Hugo“: Wonderful story about an orphan who lives in a French train station, fixing a robot. He soon learns that the bitter shop owner has a magnificent past, which he discovers with the man’s charming granddaughter. Excellent 3D and eye candy. Great for kids and adults alike, once it gets moving.



“The Thing“:  The prequel that is actually sort of a remake of the original is thrilling, well-told, and an enjoyable sci-fi action adventure.


“Love Crime [Crime D'Amour]“:  This French murder mystery is a fun and modern psychological thriller.



* BEST ENIGMA:



“Certified Copy“:  You don’t really know what is going on here until the end, and even then, it’s up to your mind to do the math.  Who are these people, really?  And how do they really know each other?  I think I know, but you have to watch and come to your own conclusions.



* BEST ANIMATION:



“The Illusionist [L'Illusionniste]“:  Terrific animated, charming movie about an older magician who travels around Europe doing his routine and trying to stay financially afloat, while he tries to keep the affection of a much younger girl who is looking to come up in the world.



GET YOURS . . .



* BEST ACTION/BEST SEQUEL:



“Fast Five“:  This is the best of the “Fast and Furious” movies. Lots of action and cool stunts, even if it glorifies car thieves. It’s fun and exciting. You’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time.


* BEST DOCUMENTARY:



“Candyman:  The David Klein Story“:  Bert Klein, the son of the inventor of Jelly Belly, tells his father’s story.  We see how the delicious gourmet jelly beans were invented and made into a hit by a marketing genius, David Klein, and how he lost it all (multi-millions), after being strong-armed out of it.  A great lesson for entrepreneurs and an interesting piece of Americana you never knew about. And, above all, a story about a mensch.




* BEST COMEDY:



“30 Minutes or Less“:  Normally, this wouldn’t be my pick, but so many other comedies this year were such utter crap.  It’s raunchy and features some nudity, so it’s not for family viewing or kids (and it has its low-class moments).  Still, it’s a funny, semi-thriller about a pizza delivery man who must rob a bank or a bomb strapped to him will be set off by two losers in their get-rick-quick scheme.  If you are prudish or easily offended, this isn’t for you.


* BEST LEGAL THRILLER:



“The Lincoln Lawyer“:  Matthew McConaughey is the lawyer who works out of the back of a chauffeur-driven 1980′s Lincoln Continental and cuts corners. Now, he’s defending a rich kid accused of raping and killing women. Things are not always as they seem.

Wknd Box Office: Cowboys & Aliens, Crazy Stupid Love, Sarah’s Key, A Little Help

Here is an interesting article from http://www.debbieschlussel.com/  reviewing some of the movies that came out over the past weekend. This follows this post some of the movies from last week and  THIS POST about some movies that have been released over the past few years that you might have missed!  This all  follows this post about guidelines to chosing good movies to watch yourself!

Wknd Box Office: Cowboys & Aliens, Crazy Stupid Love, Sarah’s Key, A Little Help


By Debbie Schlussel



It’s no surprise that the best new movie at the box office, this weekend, is an arthouse Holocaust movie. Judd Apatow and lack of creativity have ruined the silver screen, along with crap, liberalism, and he-chick flicks. I did not see “The Smurfs.” Here’s what I did see:





* “Cowboys & Aliens“: I love a good western (and I enjoy watching re-runs of the old Western TV series, “Wagon Train” and “Alias Smith and Jones”). I also love a good outer space aliens flick. The problem is this was a combination of two bad versions of both–a B-list western and a C-list alien movie.



The aliens were laughable and old hat, and I laughed out loud when I wasn’t supposed to. I really looked forward to this movie, but it was boring, stilted, unexciting, and a waste of time. Sorry. Also, not only is Daniel Craig a bad choice for James Bond (Bond is NOT BLONDE!), he’s a terrible casting decision for cowboy action hero. It’s not convincing to see Vladimir Putin’s doppelganger as an American cowboy. Sorry.



Oh, and the movie should have been called, “Cowboys & Indians and Aliens.” The premise is that warring Cowboys and Indians make peace and become friends over fighting outer space creatures who are kidnapping and killing them. Coming soon to a theater near you: “Jews & Muslims & Christians and Aliens.” That’s how simplistic, moral-equivalence-addicted Hollywood sees things. And that’s why movies like this stink.



Daniel Craig awakens with a bloody gash in his side and a large, space-aged cuff bracelet shackled to his wrist. He doesn’t know who he is. He comes to a small Western town, where he roughs up the hoodlum son of a wealthy crook (the wealthy crook is Harrison Ford). It turns out that Craig is a wanted criminal and he is arrested by marshals, who prepare to ship him and the hoodlum to another town to face justice. But, that night, space ships and giant alien creatures invade the sky and start destroying the town. They also swoop down and kidnap many of the townfolk.



Craig and Ford and a number of others, along with Olivia Wilde, join forces with American Indians to fight the aliens. In the meantime, Craig starts to discover who he is.



Believe me, I’m making it sound far more interesting than it is. It’s a flat, uninspired movie, and while it is not objectionable, it’s just not a good movie.



ZERO REAGANS OR MARXES – A WASH



* “Crazy, Stupid, Love“: This is a chick flick. And the chick is Steve Carell. Chick flicks are bad enough. The ones in which the men are forced to be the sensitive, girlie-men are even more excruciating. It doesn’t help, either, that in the last third of the movie, it’s “Three’s Company”-style stupidity, with this person mistaking that person for having done this when he really did that. It wasn’t funny in the ’70s. It ain’t funny in 2011.



Yes, there were a few funny lines. But the only entertaining, funny part of this movie is when Ryan Gosling, a younger ladies man, tries to school Carell, the chick who’s been dumped by his wife (Julianne Moore) in how to dress and pick up women. The rest of the movie was painful to watch. And it seemed to go on forever . . . and ever . . . and ever. Waaay tooo loooong.



Carell learns his wife has been cheating on him with her co-worker, Kevin Bacon. She divorces him, and he moves out. A sweet man, he can’t make it in the dating scene, until Goslin starts schooling him. And while that part is entertaining, even that has its stupid, low-brow moments. Carell’s face on Gosling’s naked crotch–haha, funny. No thanks.



After Carell is schooled by Gosling in the ways of the pick-up artist, the movie goes completely kaput with a mess of melodrama, screaming, crying, yelling, etc. It’s just stupid, and a waste of time, including the side stories about a young lawyer (Emma Stone) and a babysitter.



Believe me when I say, the trailer for this is far more entertaining than the movie. Remove the words, “crazy” and “love” from the title, and you have everything you need to know about this movie: Stupid.



TWO MARXES

* “Sarah’s Key [Elle S'appelait Sarah]“: This is a terrific movie. It’s part mystery thriller, part moving Holocaust movie, part detective sleuthing, and part drama. It spans a few generations and takes place both in Paris and New York. With parallel stories in the past and the present, it’s woven together like the plot of a great book. No surprise, since this is taken from the best-selling novel of the same name. I liked this movie because it explores the “innocent” French citizens who claimed not to know about the Holocaust but were tacitly complicit.



In contemporary Paris, an American journalist (Kristen Scott Thomas) married to a Frenchman is writing about French cooperation and complicity in the Holocaust and the rounding up of Paris’ Jews. As she investigates, she wonders about the apartment her in-laws have given her and her husband. It became available in 1942, and she wonders about the circumstances. Spliced into this story is the story of Sarah, a cute, young blonde girl whose family is Jewish and is rounded up by the Nazis. Sarah locks her little brother in a hidden compartment in the wall of their apartment, telling him not to come out, and that she will come back for him. Soon, Sarah is separated from her parents, who are sent to concentration camps. She sneaks out of the camp in an attempt to save her brother. We see what happens and what ends up of her life.



It’s tight and fast-moving. Never boring. You want to know what happens next. The movie is half in English and half in French with English subtitles. And the ending is very moving. Could have done without the one comment by a moronic character, comparing the Holocaust to Abu Ghraib and America in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, other than that, a great movie. Tight and well-orchestrated.



The message of the movie: we don’t always know who we really are. And when we find out the truth, we sometimes vehemently deny who we truly are. It’s sometimes shocking, sometimes sad. Sometimes, it’s a cause for joy because we are the product of survival.



FOUR REAGANS



* “A Little Help“: Another movie I absolutely hated. A total waste of time. Jenna Fischer plays a Long Island dental hygienist in 2002, who believes her husband is cheating on her. Something happens, throwing her life into chaos. And her young son lies to everyone using a phony 9/11 story that she backs him up on. Fischer has an annoying, overbearing sister, whose husband is secretly in love with Fischer.



Not sure what the point of this movie is . . . other than to waste your time and money. Hopefully, you’ll read this and save both. You were forewarned. This movie was totally worthless.



FOUR MARXES