The Best and Worst Films of 2011

Of any year end list of best and worst films, this list for 2011 is by far the most inaccurate or incomplete of any I've compiled. Partly for the fact that a quarter of the movies I watched were actually films released in 2010, that I happened to see in 2011 (as per my arbitrary rules that movies must be selected from either films I saw in theatres, new release Blu-ray/DVD, or The Movie Network premiere in the 2011 calendar year), and partly for the fact that there was a stretch of close to three months in 2011 when I didn't see a single movie. When the final strike fell on the clock of 2011, I had seen a grand total of 27 films, slightly more than last year, but feeling more like the lowest total in all my years of keeping track of my film (re)viewing.  The overall quality of films in 2011 seemed rather low.  If 2011's slate of 27 had to be summed up, it was a pretty vanilla crop, with nothing too awful but a rather weak bunch to select a Top 10 from.

Is this an indication that I've entered the dreaded next age bracket of the entertainment industry (are they even making films for MY demographic anymore??) or that 2011 offered very little to entice me to plop down the inflated prices for 3D versions of films I only wanted to see in 2D? Don't get me wrong. I'm very much a supporter of 3D movies, but when I have no choice as to the option of 2D or 3D and am then asked to pay for not having a choice, it is reason to rethink seeing a film theatrically, pocketing the surcharge, and taking a chance at buying the Blu-ray version a few months down the line. This seems to have become my daughter's mantra, as she doesn't like wearing the 3D glasses, and would just as well await a home release that she can watch over and over again. Even with this sentiment in mind, the number of 3D films we went to see in theatres rose from 7 in 2010 to 15 in 2011.

I recently read somewhere that movie studios are needing to counter plummeting ticket sales and rampant pirating of their films (not to mention increased home viewing options like digital downloads--R.I.P. Blockbuster Video--) by offering a slate of films that demand the cinematic experience of seeing it on the big screen. This is evidenced by the fact that some of the highest grossing films weren't as highly pirated as one would expect, because who wants to see Harry Potter 8 or Transformers 3 on a crappy bootleg with dim lighting, European subtitles, muffled sound and the occasional person walking across the screen? Not me, which is why I'll be seeing The Dark Knight Rises, The Lorax, and The Hunger Games at a cinema near you. Here's to a more exciting and entertaining selection of films in 2012.  May I present the best of 27 in 2011...

10.  Black Swan; Grips you from the 1st frame, would be =ly powerful as silent film, lots of crotch grabbing, intelligently crafted & creepy




















9.  Kung Fu Panda 2; With heart, humour & spectacular animation, this sequel does Pixar style entertainment better than Pixar of late

8.  X-Men: First Class; Focus on family, history and science grounds the film in reality, makes for a tense, exciting prequel. Top Notch!

7.  The Social Network; Nicely executed film buoyed by a combination of smart direction, snappy dialogue & savvy score. Very timely & talky

6.  Hugo; Lovingly rendered and fantastically filmed, if tonally off-beat, Hugo is for lovers of film history and children's lit. Magical.

5.  The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights; Intriguing portrait of Jack & Meg White with Rocky Canadian tour as the backdrop

4.  Foo Fighters: Back and Forth; Raw, honest, invigorating exploration of band's history & present. Candid and slick, a must see for fans

3.  The Fighter; Fascinating story, superbly executed. Spot-on performances evoke many emotional responses. All aspire 2 epitomy of cinema

2.  Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2; All out action filled climax to the series ends well, even if it has little arc of its own












and the number one film of 2011 is...

1.  Rango; Animated cretins unlike anything we've seen b4, in tried n true tropes of ole westerns; humour & violence more suited for adults




















Honourable mentions:  Thor, Captain America:  The First Avenger


Looking back over the ones I did manage to see in 2011, I can't really put too many on an honourable list or dishonourable list.  Like I said above, it was pretty vanilla this year.  Movies that critics seemed to loathe, like Sucker Punch, weren't really all that bad when you went into the theatre knowing what to expect.  Other films like The Green Hornet, The Green Lantern, Pirates of the Caribbean:  On Stranger Green Tides and Super 8 (green?) were sub par, but not entirely awful, and I'd definitely sit through them again on TMN or video.  They just aren't something to write/tweet home about.  So picking a five worst films wasn't exactly fair, but these are the ones that were most underwhelming.


The Top 5 Worst Films of 2011 are...

5.  Bad Teacher; Traileritis strikes again, funny bits all in ads. Good cast plays well, but script offers few surprises. Worth a rental

4.  African Cats; Narrative & narration (by Samuel L. Jackson) would be better served by a R-rating, as these cats do very little on screen

3.  Tron: Legacy; Coolness factor is obviously the look and sound of the film, other than that, a real bore filled w/talk & walk, truly corny

2.  Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil; Sequelitis strikes again! None of the charm, wit and clever asides of the original, pathetically lame




















and the worst film of 2011 is...

1.  Yogi Bear; Incredibly fake looking, unfunny & devoid of humour, originality or charm. Even worse w/o obvious 3D gimmickry. Craptacular




















Dishonourable mention:  Gnomeo & Juliet


All in all, it was a rather sad year for children's entertainment.  Pixar has been swallowed by Disney and is pumping out uninspired sequels while the mouse house offers their best films revisited in 3D format only to prove that original fare can't quite compare.  Rango is number one for the reason that it offered some spectacular animation from Industrial Light & Magic's first foray into the genre while providing a story that, though based on tropes, really stood out as original and inventive.  Apart from that, the animated films were satisfying, but uninspired (Hop, Rio).  


Fittingly, last year I foretold of Yogi Bear's crapiness in my Top 10 of 2010  yet failed to heed my own advice.  Follow me @joejameskireel so you don't make the same mistake(s) I did.