December Numbers

Back on the movie watching train with a whopping 52 movies viewed.

I added a few new movies to my best of the year list. We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of the best horror films I've seen this year. The Myth of the American Sleepover is a little seen film about high school kids and the events covering one night. The unknown cast bring a nice realistic feel to the film. Also, the cancer comedy 50/50 is added. Very funny movie about cancer. Who knew? I still have a few more films from 2011 that I need to watch before I have a final list of 2011 movies.

I also added some more to my worst of the year, Friends with Kids, Extinction The G.M.O. Chronicals, The Girl with the Naked Eye are unwatchable crap.

Making my honorable mentions list are seven films that would probably be in my top 20, if I made one. Tyrannosaur, A Separation, The Skin I Live In, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Four Times, Bill Cunningham New York, and Tabloid are all great films worth watching.

This year I've seen 479 movies.

Best releases of 2011

1. Drive

2. Confessions

3. 13 Assassins

4. Bellflower

5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

6. We Need to Talk About Kevin

7. The Myth of the American Sleepover

8. 50/50

9. Snowtown

10. I Saw the Devil

Honorable Mention: Adventures of Tintin, Crazy Stupid Love, Attack the Block, Gantz, Troll Hunter, Vanishing on 7th Street, The Big Bang, X-Men: First Class, La Casa Muda, Limitless, Paul, Super 8, Captain America, Rango, Bad Teacher, The Guard, Der Sandmann, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Beginners, Fright Night, Tyrannosaur, A Separation, Hanna, The Skin I Live In, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Four Times, Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, Bill Cunningham New York, Source Code,Tabloid, Kill List

Best films I saw in 2011

1. Cool Hand Luke

2. Bridge on the River Kwai

3. Blackboard Jungle

4. Anatomy of a Murder

5. Pretty Maids All in a Row

6. Hickey and Boggs

7. The Big Heat

8. Hunger

9. Rififi

10. The Collector

Worst of 2011

1. Sanctum

2. Tamara Drewe

3. Melancholia

4. Wound

5. Elektra Luxx

6. Mother's Day

7. Friends with Kids

8. Extinction The G.M.O. Chronicals

9. The Girl with the Naked Eye

10. The Howling Reborn

All of December movies

50/50 4.5/5

Tyrannosaur 4/5

The Ides of March 3/5

A Separation 4/5

Santa Claus 2/5

The Revenant 1/5

We Need to Talk About Kevin 4/5

Warrior 3.5/5

Final Destination 5 2.5/5

Friends with Kids 0.5/5

Arthur Christmas 2.5/5

Martha Marcy May Marlene 3.5/5

Home Alone 2.5/5

The Skin I Live In 3.5/5

Love 3/5

Contagion 3/5

Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater 4/5

Some Guy Who Kills People 3.5/5

Hostel III 2/5

The Inbetweeners Movie 2/5

48 Hrs. 3.5/5

Broadcast News 2.5/5

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead 1.5/5

Jurassic Park: The Lost World 3/5

Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back 3.5/5

Extinction the G.M.O. Chronicals 0.5/5

The Four Times 3.5/5

Little Deaths 3/5

The Girl from the Naked Eye 1/5

Blow Out 3/5

The Searchers 3.5/5

Hunger 4.5/5

A Christmas Story 3.5/5

Carnage 3.5/5

Another 48 Hrs. 2.5/5

Switching Channels 1.5/5

Tabloid 3.5/5

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 3/5

2 Days in the Valley 2/5

The Myth of the American Sleepover 4/5

The Trip 2.5/5

The Future 1.5/5

The Turin Horse 3.5/5

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows 2.5/5

Bill Cunningham New York 3.5/5

Moneyball 2.5/5

Nostalgia for the Light 4/5

Like Crazy 2.5/5

Drive 4.5/5

A Lonely Place to Die 2.5/5

Guilty of Romance 1.5/5

November Numbers

November was a slow month. Lots of stuff happening. 30 Minutes or Less might be the unfunniest comedy of the year. Coupled with Your Highness, Danny McBride further confirms that he shouldn’t do movies.

Bellflower continued to impress upon second viewing. I really enjoy that movie and don’t see it leaving my top ten of the year. Cowboys & Aliens is my biggest disappointment of the year. How can that movie be so freaking boring? It’s cowboys fighting aliens.

Fright Night is the best horror film I’ve seen this year. It’s an improvement over the original is so many ways. Beginners is another solid film that came out of nowhere to impress. If I listed my top 20 films of the year, it would be there.

This year I've seen 426 movies.

Best releases of 2011

1. Drive

2. Confessions

3. 13 Assassins

4. Bellflower

5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

6. Hanna

7. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

8. I Saw the Devil

9. Snowtown

10. Source Code

Honorable Mention: Adventures of Tintin, Crazy Stupid Love, Attack the Block, Gantz, Troll Hunter, Vanishing on 7th Street, The Big Bang, X-Men: First Class, La Casa Muda, Limitless, Paul, Super 8, Captain America, Rango, Bad Teacher, The Guard, Der Sandmann, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Beginners, Fright Night

Best films I saw in 2011

1. Cool Hand Luke

2. Bridge on the River Kwai

3. Blackboard Jungle

4. Anatomy of a Murder

5. Pretty Maids All in a Row

6. Hickey and Boggs

7. The Big Heat

8. The Thin Man

9. Rififi

10. The Collector

Worst of 2011

1. Sanctum

2. Tamara Drewe

3. Melancholia

4. Wound

5. Elektra Luxx

6. Mother's Day

7. Super

8. Sucker Punch

9. Red State

10. The Howling Reborn

Gatta in Calore, Space Jam, La Setti Madonna, Hercules, Touch of Evil

Gatta in Calore is a decent enough thriller but nothing special. Fans of Italian cinema will want to check it out. 2.75/5

I thought it might be fun to watch Space Jam again. I was wrong. Just a horrible film. 1/5

La Setti Madonna sounds like it would be a fun revenge film. Three men attack a group of nuns and one goes on a killing spree to get revenge. Sadly, nothing that exciting really happens. 2/5

I really enjoy Hercules. James Woods does a fantastic job as the villain. One of my favorite Disney villains. 3.5/5

Touch of Evil is a beautifully photographed but flawed film. Charleston Heston as a Mexican doesn't work on any level. The blu-ray looks amazing. 3.5/5

Beginners, Jane Eyre, TT3D: Closer to the Edge

Beginners is an amazing film. The time shifting and non-linear storytelling add depth and bring the story to life. 4/5

Jane Eyre is much better than it has any right to be. I normally don't really care for costume dramas but it's very well done. 4/5

TT3d: Closer to the Edge is a compelling look into a freakishly dangerous race. A couple of people died while filming the race. 3.75/5

Our Idiot Brother, Quills, Too Much Pussy

Despite the excellent cast, Our Idiot Brother doesn't work as a comedy or a drama. It skirts the edges of both and fails on both counts. 2.5/5

I haven't seen Quills since it's initial theatrical release. It doesn't hold up very well. It's about 15 minutes too long. 2.5/5

Too Much Pussy is an odd documentary about a group of feminist artists as they travel around Europe. More of a curiosity piece than anything. Hard to recommend. 3/5

Fright Night, Cowboys & Aliens, Soldier

I didn't expect to enjoy Fright Night very much. I really enjoyed it. One of the best horror films I've seen this year. Just a lot of fun. 3.75/5

I had heard bad things about Cowboys & Aliens. I didn't think it could be that bad. It's on my list of the worst films of the year. 1.5/5

Very early P.T. Anderson film. Soldier is a very simple but very fun movie. There isn't much going on but it has lots of fun doing it. 3.25/5

Falling Down, Bellflower, Devil's Double

I haven't seen Falling Down since it originally came out in theaters. I remember liking it quite a bit. If I lived in the world Michael Douglas lived in, I would probably have gone crazy and killed everyone as well. What a bunch of assholes. 3.25/5

I still really enjoyed Bellflower. I can see more of its flaws but overall, it's better the second time. Still in my best of the year. 4.25/5

The Devil's Double had lots of potential but the directing just didn't do anything with the material. Worth watching once then forgetting. 3.5/5

Lost in Space, 30 Minutes or Less, Q The Winged Serpent

Lost in Space...more like Bored in Space. So amazingly dull. 2/5

30 Minutes or Less is horrible. It's one of the unfunniest films I've seen this year. 1.5/5

I was really hoping for good things from Q the Winged Serpent. I didn't get that. It was really dull. 1/5

October's Numbers

October was a good month. I checked off several classics from my list,
added a new film to my favorite of the year and had a lot of fun
watching movies.

Snowtown jumped on my list at number nine. Very disturbing film with
lots of uncomfortable moments. I have a hard time recommending it but
it’s a solid viewing experience. Other highlights include the
excellent Adventures of Tintin, the very funny Crazy Stupid Love, and
the spellbinding Cave of Forgotten Dreams. All of them made my
Honorable Mentions list.

The indie darling Another Earth is good but fairly mundane and
forgettable. Margin Call, Flypaper and Faces in the Crowd are all
pretty disposable films. You won’t regret watching them but once they
are over, you won’t care.

Finished out my 10 worst films of the year with The Howling Reborn,
more like The Howling Still Born.

This year I've seen 406 movies.