My favourite films of 2011

So it's the first day of 2012 - and this is the first post on my movies blog for almost a year. In fact, other than my 'best of 2010' list from last January, I haven't contributed anything here for the best part of 18 months. You've got to be pretty committed to keep a blog going, and entertaining too, and it appears I have failed abysmally on both counts. BUT... a new year is a new start, and I can only try again while I have some shiny enthusiasm inside me. Plus it's a horrible day here in Leeds, and the football's been rubbish on the box.

(I've actually been thinking about starting a tumblr as it looks easier - can anyone recommend?)

The criteria used last time out was 'my 10 favourite films of 2010 that I've seen to date and are contenders for the current awards season... in no particular order'. It's a bit clunky, but I'm sticking with it (for movies of 2011, natch). The 10 films I chose were: Animal Kingdom; Another Year; Inception; Kick-Ass; The Kids Are All Right; The King's Speech; Never Let Me Go; The Secret In Their Eyes; The Social Network; and Toy Story 3.

I don't have any regrets over those choices, but I hadn't seen True Grit at that point - and it would definitely have made my list. Maybe Black Swan and The Fighter too. And I've only just got 127 Hours on Blu-Ray as a Christmas gift; haven't watched it yet, but hey, it's a contender.

Now for my top 10 films for 2011, plus what I tweeted or wrote on Facebook at the time (in italics), and any thoughts I may have now.

ARRIETTY - "Arrietty really is exquisite. Studio Ghibli adaptation of The Borrowers. For all ages! (trailer is dubbed, I saw it in original Japanese which is obviously better...)"



THE ARTIST - "Everything I hoped it would be. Witty, romantic, expertly paced. Deserves all the awards it gets. And if Uggie - who plays 'The Dog' - doesn't win Best Supporting Actor, there is no justice in Hollywood."



DRIVE - "For a movie with a script that could have been written on 2 sides of A4, it's actually pretty engrossing. Loved the retro feel to LA, titles, some of the cars, the hoods. Felt Mulligan prob miscast but Gosling & Albert Brooks so watchable. And that 'Real Human Being' song could have come across as cheesy but fact it didn't shows ending had some weight. Ergo, I recommend."



THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - "Fincher's Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is actually a few minutes longer than the 2009 Swedish version but feels much tighter, more thrilling. Hard to choose between Rooney Mara and Noomi Rapace (both excellent Lisbeths) but Daniel Craig makes a far better Blomkvist in my opinion." Of all the adapatations from page to screen I saw this year, think this was the one I enjoyed most (apart from THAT scene).




HUGO - "Hugo might just be my favourite movie of 2011, but then I think I'm probably the ideal audience - cinephile, Scorsese nut, big softie, etc. I'm can't imagine many kids today falling in love with this film (maybe just too 'educational' in parts) but it is beautifully made, the set design & score are perfect, and the 3D actually enhances the experience. So just remember it's Marty magic, not Harry Potter magic."

MONEYBALL - Methodical, structured, analytical - what you would expect from a drama about sports statistics but lifted by a sharp screenplay and a powerhouse Pitt performance.



SOURCE CODE - "Absolutely loved Source Code. Thanks Duncan Jones and The Hyde Park Picture House. And IMDb trivia for informing me about the nods to Chesney Hawkes and Scott Bakula..." Several friends of mine said they didn't care for this much - maybe it just caught me in a good mood! Having loved Jones' Moon, I was well disposed to it in advance.




SUBMARINE - "Having been bowled over by Submarine at the Hyde Park Picture House tonight, I'm listening again to the Piledriver Waltz by Alex Turner." Script, style and soundtrack combined to make one of the best British movies of recent times.



THE TREE OF LIFE - "The early cosmic dreamscape sequences aside, give it time and The Tree of Life does manage to gradually realise its mad ambitions. I don't think any filmmaker moves the viewer quite like Malick..."



X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - "X-Men: First Class is just that. Focus is firmly on the story and characters, so not just one set piece after another, and it weaves in Cold War history expertly." Best of the big comic-book blockbusters for me.

Here's some other contenders that didn't quite make the list but that I enjoyed to varying degrees (!):

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Attack The Block, Bridesmaids, Captain America, Gainsbourg, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Ides of March, Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Super 8, Take Shelter, Thor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomboy, Troll Hunter, We Need To Talk About Kevin.

And here's some 2011 films that I haven't yet seen, but may well have come into my reckoning:

50/50, Beginners, Blue Valentine, Crazy Stupid Love, Fast Five, The Guard, Hanna, The Help, The Inbetweeners Movie, Incendies, Kill List, Margaret, Melancholia, Midnight In Paris (which I'm seeing tonight!), My Week With Marilyn, Neds, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Senna, A Separation, Shame, The Skin I Live In, Snowtown, Tyrannosaur, Warrior.

Finally, here's the movies I'm most looking forward to seeing in 2012:

JANUARY: Coriolanus, The Darkest Hour, The Descendants, Haywire, J.Edgar, Red Tails, War Horse.

FEBRUARY: A Dangerous Method, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Muppets, Safe House, The Woman In Black.

MARCH: Casa de mi Padre, The Hunger Games, John Carter, The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists, The Raven.

APRIL: The Cabin in the Woods, Headhunters.

MAY: The Avengers, Dark Shadows, Men In Black III (although I have fears about it).

JUNE: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (if only for the concept), Brave, Jack the Giant Killer, Prometheus.

JULY: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises.

AUGUST: The Bourne Legacy, Neighborhood Watch.

SEPTEMBER: Argo, Dredd, Gambit, Looper, Savages, Welcome to the Punch.

OCTOBER: Cloud Atlas, Frankenweenie.
NOVEMBER: Gangster Squad, Skyfall.

DECEMBER: Django Unchained, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, World War Z.

No date yet set: Cogan's Trade, Cosmopolis, The Master.


So plenty to look forward to there... now can I make this blog more than just an annual event?!