So, before we leave all of the mindless explosions, tiresome sequels (there are 27 so far!), cheesy lines, and gimmicks designed to make some extra summer cash for the studios (3D and Aromascope anyone?), let us take a look back at what this year has offered so far, and see if any of them are great enough to be remembered when it comes time for the Academy to put pen to paper.
Or see if any are bad enough to be graced with an infamous Razzie.
Here’s a look at the best (and worst) films of 2011 so far:
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D Aromascope
Only one film was, uh, “worthy” of zero stars. The fourth Spy Kids film was so incredibly boring and stupid that even the little kids in the theatre couldn’t sit still and watch. And Aromascope was the worst movie gimmick yet! Whats next, pointless 3D? Oh wait.
Abduction, Battle: Los Angeles, The Change-Up, The Smurfs
If you were tied to a chair and forced to watch one of these, which should you choose? I’d say Abduction, because at least this poor attempt at an action thriller is so accidentally funny that you will forget why you are tied to a chair…
Conan the Barbarian, Dream House, The Hangover: Part II, The Thing
The Hangover: Part II wasn’t terrible as much as it was just a complete carbon copy of the first one, except the second outing lost some of the funny. They all get wasted and can’t remember what they did? There are clues? And obscene pictures? AGAIN? Fat chance.
Bad Teacher, I Don’t Know How She Does It, Shark Night 3D, Something Borrowed, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Colombiana, Unknown, Zookeeper
If you’re looking for an alternative to listening to Rachel Black’s “Friday” on repeat, give I Don’t Know How She Does It a try. It’s an extremely upbeat tale of a do-it-all mom, played by that one girl from Sex and the City. Actually, I think it’s the exact same character, or at least that’s how SJP plays her. It’s completely mindless, but the feeling of joy it will give you will certainly last. All the way to the parking lot. Maybe.
30 Minutes or Less, Apollo 18, Green Lantern, One Day, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Sucker Punch
Ah, my list of “meh”. These films rode the fine line between good and bad, which isn’t a good thing. Sucker Punch had a fantastically promising opening sequence, but fizzled quickly, so I suppose the least “meh” of the bunch would be Captain Jack Sparrow’s lastest misadventure, POTC: On Stranger Tides. It’s got all of the great swashbuckling and one-liners that we’ve come to love, but it is too often operating in the realm of complete ridiculousness. And why do they have to be so long?
Cowboys & Aliens, Drive Angry 3D, Fright Night, Monte Carlo, Rango, Real Steel
Here we are with the films that are just good enough to get a postive review. If you have a spare buck to spend at Redbox, check out Fright Night when it is released, or catch it at a dollar theatre. It’s got a great cast, led by Colin Farrell as the shady vampire next door. The witty dialogue and suspenseful scares will certainly help pass the time while you’re waiting on your laundry to dry.
The Adjustment Bureau, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Debt, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Fast Five, Final Destination 5, Friends With Benefits, Larry Crowne, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Scre4m, Straw Dogs, Super 8, Thor
Now we arrive at the films that I could proudly label as “Good Movies”. Everything from here on out is certainly worth a watch, but I’ll try and give you a few pointers. Surprisingly, Will Gluck’s romcom Friends With Benefits proved to have much more depth and heart than previously anticipated, and set itself apart from its less serious quasi-duplicate, No Strings Attached. Captain America was a great superhero film that succeded incredibly in capturing the look, feel, and mentality of 1940’s America. And Super 8, while failing to live up to the insurmountable hype, was still a great film about the romance and adventure of being a kid, and of course there was that whole part with the alien too.
Beginners, Contagion, Hanna, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Lincoln Lawyer, Moneyball, Our Idiot Brother, Source Code, The Tree of Life, Winnie the Pooh, X-Men: First Class, Yellowbrickroad
Oh, do I have to pick just one? X-Men: First Class was not only the best X-Men film yet, but was the best superhero movie this summer! The Tree of Life won top honors at Cannes Film Festival, and is more of an existential acid-trip experience than it is a comprehensible film, but if you’ll just sit back and let it wash over you, you’ll find your mind drifting to beautiful places and sweet memories that you haven’t visited in a long time. Our Idiot Brother gave us Ned, one of Paul Rudd’s greatest, most endearing characters ever, and Moneyball made statistics seem absolutely riveting! Ah, just see all of these, will ya?
50/50, Bridesmaids, Cars 2, Crazy,Stupid,Love, Drive, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Help, Horrible Bosses, The Ides of March, Insidious, Limitless, Midnight in Paris, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Rite, Warrior, Water for Elephants
This is the cream of the crop. If you see no other films in preparation for awards season, see these! Taking into account the great strides in artistic creativity, blazing originality, insightful direction, thoughtful and electrifying performances, and technical brilliance that these films displayed, I give you the top three films of the year 2011, so far: #3. The Help. #2. Midnight in Paris. And the best film of the year, so far, goes to: Drive, which in addition to the aformentioned accolades and attributes also gave us one of the most popular Halloween costume ideas for this year.
But the best is (most likely) yet to come, with the thick of Oscar season heating up in November and December, bringing us Steven Spielberg’s War Horse; a promising silent film and festival darling, The Artist; the biopics My Week With Marilyn, and Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, starring Leonardo Dicaprio as FBI honcho J. Edgar Hoover; and many, many more.
Don’t go anywhere folks, it’s about to get exciting!
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