I love films! Cannot get enough of them. I just enjoy the storytelling that can happen in about 120 minutes. Love the ability to jump in and out of different experiences. I have been averaging about 50+ first release movies each year for nearly 10 years now… sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. If you add in the ones I watch on DVD, on cable, on planes and elsewhere, I probably watch closer to 100 - 150 movies a year. The following is my ranking of first-run movies though. I rarely regret watching a flick. To me it’s always about the experience. The story is the story. I may not like it, I may not agree with it, but I can appreciate different stories. The films I didn’t like just never get a second screening. Simple.
So, here are my 2011 ranking of new movies watched this year:
1. Win, Win: I was amazed at how much this little indie film impressed me. Talk about a lot of heart. Wow! Such powerful performances, a great cast, a meaningful story. I guess it was the realistic approach to the relationships that stood out to me the most. So well done. (I actually saw this one 4 times this past year and have it on my list of all time best movies.)
2. Biutiful: Javier Bardem in one of his best performances. Period. Probably the saddest story of the year, but told with a raw sincerity that helped you get past the tears (or at least connect with the tears).
3. The Help: The themes of empowerment, self-discovery, freedom, support, and more just were amazingly portrayed. And the fact that this was based on a real time period, real challenges, real things that have happened made this movie great.
4. Super 8: Took me back to how much I enjoyed daydreaming and coming up with crazy stories, and developing unimaginable characters. Made me think about childhood dreams. Reminded me how cool it is to have close buddies.
5. Warrior: Unexpected. The trailers did not give this movie enough credit. It spoke to the power of family and relationships in such a visceral way. And the fight scenes were intense. Gripping!
The remainder are presented mostly without commentary.
6. The Lincoln Lawyer
7. Bridesmaids: Funny, funny, funny. A bit gross and definitely over the top, but funny.
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two
9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love
11. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
12. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: A remake that did it well.
13. X-Men: First Class
14. Thor
15. Captain America: The First Avenger
16. Fast Five
17. Hanna
18. 50/50
19. Friends with Benefits
20. Horrible Bosses
21. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
22. The Adjustment Bureau
23. Unknown
24. Machine Gun Preacher
25. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I
26. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
27. Limitless
28. The Eagle
29. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules
30. Tower Heist: Did not expect to laugh as much as I did at an Eddie Murphy movie so long after his hey-day.
31. Drive
32. The Change-Up
33. 30 Minutes or Less
34. Our Idiot Brother
35. The Ides of March
36. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
37. The Hangover: Part II
38. Water for Elephants
39. No Strings Attached
40. Battle: Los Angeles
41. Kung Fu Panda 2
42. Source Code
43. Abduction
44. Just Go With It
45. Mr. Popper’s Penguins
46. Monte Carlo
47. Real Steel
48. The Sitter
49. I Am Number Four
50. Bad Teacher
51. Green Lantern
52. Arthur
53. Final Destination 5: One of two or three times in my life that I actually wanted to walk out.
