The Movies Of 2011 Part 1: Lawyers, Psychics, Space Cops And Clones, Oh My!

Once, twice, three times a theme week (hmm, maybe I should have swapped this and the previous one around to make this joke). This week, I'm ranking the fifty movies released this year that I have seen.

For anyone who has read previous blogs, it's probably no secret that I love movies. Almost never do I have a empty “to watch” pile and as of writing, my amount of movies to view is between twenty-five to thirty films. I've been collecting movies for over a decade and I have no intentions of stopping.

So, I present my personal ranking for each of the fifty films released this year that I have seen. And as of writing, I have all but three on DVD (though most of them I watched on DVD anyway, some were straight-to-DVD here and some would have been straight-to-DVD regardless of where it was released)

Now, I want to cover a few things before I get into the blog proper:
Some of these films might have been released overseas in 2010 (or earlier even) but I'm going by Australian release, cinema or otherwise.
Not everything here is going to be a big release so if it's not on here, I haven't seen it yet and it's not among the movies I have to watch (stuff like Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Cars 2) and there are some I'm not going to. Ever (like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol). I'll probably get to my thoughts on those another time once I actually see them
I won't be doing plot synopsis because that would take up more time and going through fifty films with a short statement of what I thought is long enough. Also, in some cases, I imagine you know the story or the gist of the goings-on.
I'm going to do things in a slightly different matter. I'm going to save my bottom five for the last post, to go with my top five, as comparison to what the year has seen in good and bad movies. This post will cover #45-#26, listing title, director and rating.

So, with that out of the way, let's start the movie rankings, in reverse order

45. The Ward (John Carpenter)
I've seen two films set in an asylum in this year, and both seem bent on destroying any chances for films set in asylums to be good. The acting is sub-par, the pacing boring and the ending... well, without spoiling anything, let's just say I've seen another film involving a crazy person with a very, very similar ending. After a long absence from the film world, this is a disappointing return from a man who's done so many horror classics. 2.5/5

44. Season Of The Witch (Dominic Sena)
Despite Nicholas Cage, Christopher Lee and Ron Perlman being experts at making crap seem... well, less crap, this film can't rely on them alone. It's dull and dreary and lacking surprise. Hopefully Nic and Ron get to act together again, in a much better film. 2.5/5

43. Morning Glory (Roger Michell)
This film had serious potential to be something, with decent acting from Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton and even better acting from Harrison Ford. But the plot basically throws up its hands and goes “You win, standard cliches, I'll behave more conventionally” and the romantic sub-plot is poorly handled. Not the best work of any of the actors/actresses involved, or even the director. 2.5/5

42. The Next Three Days (Paul Haggis)
Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks work really well together and the ending is neatly executed. But this is one long movie. And I mean it, the time really drags on. And you feel it could be better edited. Still, it's a good little film. 3/5

41. Dead Space: Aftermath (Mike Disa)
Yeah, I probably should have played the games first (as of writing, I only have the first) as I might have understood it better. Though I have seen Deadfall and I got that with little trouble. I mean, it's not a bad film, but it doesn't really take kindly to newcomers. But I guess that's more my fault than the movie's. Though, what the movie can take blame for is switching back and forth between animation styles, one of which is ugly and off-putting. 3/5

40. The Mechanic (Simon West)
Jason Statham as Jason Statham alias Jason Statham in Jason Statham Shoots Stuff While Looking Serious. Really, if you don't know that going in, you don't know Jason Statham. Still, not a bad action film. Needs more Donald Sutherland though, the man's an icon. 3/5

39. Unknown (Jaume Collet-Serra)
So, is Liam Neeson the guy who loses stuff on a regular basis instead of Harrison Ford?
“We now return to Liam Neeson in Liam Neeson Wants His Identity Back”
“Give me back my identity!”
“I want my identity back!”
But seriously, it's an OK film. Neeson is as good as always and the ending is well thought out, but it's all that remarkable. 3/5

38. Limitless (Neil Burger)
Interesting premise and Bradley Cooper can carry a film. Abbie Cornish still hasn't improved since I first saw her though and in the second half, the film seems to become a new film almost divorced from its first half. Also, the ending is a cop-out. Still worth a look. 3/5

37. Veronika Decides To Die (Emily Young)
I've been a fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar since her Buffy days and it's always nice to see her try something different (still have to see Ringer, too) and she, along with David Thewlis, are the saving graces. Otherwise, the film is easily distracted and doesn't seem to have a lot to say. Maybe the book will offer more depth. 3/5

36. The Lincoln Lawyer (Brad Furman)
You would almost think you're watching a John Grisham adaptation (it actually is based on a book, he just didn't write this particular one, this one is a Michael Connelly). Matthew McConaughey manages NOT to suck (very rare) and I especially like the casting of Marisa Tomei and Bryan Cranston. Also, I did a double take when I first saw William H. Macy, I barely recognized him! Plot holds up, too. 3/5

35. Peacock (Michael Lander)
An unusual little film, held together by the solid acting in a double role by Cillian Murphy, with support from Ellen Page and Susan Sarandon. It does take a bit of time to get into, unfortunate since the running time is only 90 minutes, but it does pay off. 3/5

34. Hereafter (Clint Eastwood)
Three stories all related to death and how we cope with it. One involves a tsunami aftermath and is forgettable. One involves a retired medium (Matt Damon) trying to get by and its really good. And the other involves a little boy trying to find a way to communicate with his recently deceased twin and it too shows promise. Well, two out of three ain't bad as the song says. Not one of Eastwood's stronger works but considering his resume, he's allowed to make films that don't always hit the high notes. 3/5

33. Insidious (James Wan)
Much like Wan's previous effort Dead Silence, he's proving he has what it takes to make a decent horror film and not rely on cliches. He knows what makes a jump scare work and writer Leigh Whannell knows how to write smart and likable characters. It's a bit disorienting in the third act but then that's not a bad thing for a horror movie. 3/5

32. Bad Teacher (Jake Kasdan)
A real mixed bag. On the one hand, it doesn't portray the leading character as always being right and Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel do really good work. On the other, the toilet jokes are weak, some of the supporting characters are irrelevant at best, irritating at worst (especially the best friend of Diaz's character) and Justin Timberlake's character is inconsistent. I've seen worse, but I think this film needs a parent/teacher conference to get it to focus its attention more. 3/5

31. Thor: Tales Of Asgard (Sam Liu)
Unlike his bigger brother, this film is a straight-out adventure. Roughly on par with Marvel's previous straight-to-DVD affairs, which is good since this is currently the last planned, which means they don't get slack with their last film. It's also bad, though, since none have been able to stand up to the dynamic entries DC offers. Still, I'm hoping for more Marvel movies like this. 3.5/5

30. Green Lantern (Martin Campbell)
Only slightly beaten by the above entry as least favourite comic book movie of the year. Ryan Reynolds does a great job, the constructs are well thought-out and the supporting cast of fellow Green Lantern alumni are excellent. But at the same time, the film suffers from what I call “Transformers Syndrome”, which means it has too many squishy pathetic humans, not enough of awesome stuff from space. Also, in regards to Parallax, that is the worst design of an adapted comic book villain since Galactus. I would love a sequel, so long as its mostly set in space and lacking in Blake Lively. 3.5/5

29. X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn)
Summarizing my own review, it can't make up its mind as to whether or not it's a prequel or a reboot and some of the characters behave in ways that don't ring true with what I know, new continuity or not. But the acting is strong (especially from Michael Fassbender) and the action solid. A good start to a new look at the X-Men. 3.5/5

28. Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek)
A charming little film about clones and how we tend not to think of them as people, merely appendages meant to enhance our lives. Picks up the pace after the first act and very emotional, with great performances from the three leads (Keira Knightly, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan). 3.5/5

27. Your Highness (David Gordon Green)
Well, I certainly didn't think it was all that bad. There were worse comedies this year. James Franco plays his role seriously and it totally works and rather than make him an obnoxious twat, he's a really likable character. The main villain's henchman aren't all that engaging, though and anyone wanting lots of Natalie Portman screen time is due to be disappointed. 3.5/5

26. Hanna (Joe Wright)
Boasting one of the best soundtracks of the year (The Chemical Brothers and I totally called it when I first saw the movie), we have another solid action movie. Erik Bana and Cate Blanchett deliver some of their best performances (and Erik Bana gets to kick some major arse). Though, I really, REALLY hate the character of Sophie. Yeah, I get that she's meant to be a representation of the youth of today's bad values versus Hanna's old ways but do we need to be hit over the head with it constantly? 3.5/5

And that ends part one of this countdown. Next blog, it's #25-#6. But of what I've listed so far, what have you seen and what did you think of it?