Go

Go; Casting is done to perfection for this multi-narrative piece that tells three stories that occur independent and intertwined within 24 hours. Mixing equal parts drama, comedy, and action, the film is a constant joyride. Diggs is a true breakout, as is Polley in their take charge roles. Mohr and Wolf supply the biggest surprise in their feature piece, a story that plays with all preconceptions. The pacing is kinetic, the direction exquisite. A movie about teens that doesn't belittle teens. In fact, despite the occasional forced dialogue this film is more grown up than most Hollywood fables. Successfully breaking up the linear narrative, so that time bends and characters come in and out of play is only one reason why this film is so captivating!; A-

Gods and Monsters

Gods and Monsters; In one of those instances where Hollywood romanticises its past by making a feature about one of its own, Gods and Monsters succeeds. But what really puts it into a category of its own is the love at which the subject in question, director James Whale, is handled. Played beautifully by McKellen (in a truly Oscar worthy performance), Whale comes off not unlike his most famous work, Frankenstein, and his monster. Misunderstood by the industry, and all those around him, Whale is cast as an outsider. His open homosexuality adds further to his alienation and bewilderment in his final years. Fraser and Redgrave are magnificent supporting McKellen's performance as the only two who truly get to know him. Wonderful portrait of an artist in his later years; B

Godzilla

Godzilla; The mother of all monsters gets the Hollywood treatment, and once again Hollywood proves it can ruin almost anything with its formulaic take on anything. We end up watching a cross between Jurassic Park and Independence Day without a hint of something new or original (not that ID4 had any to begin with). The characters are totally underdeveloped, despite Broderick and Reno's valiant attempts. The Siskel and Ebert characters are the sole source of enjoyment in a film that fails to surprise at any time. It is so annoying to watch countless crane shots zoom in on the human as he stands frozen in the sight of Godzilla. The destruction scenes aren't even of interest. In fact this film offers very little, just some cheap thrills. Not worth seeing again; C-

Going Down the Road

Going Down the Road; Canadian cinema at its best, full of real drama and real scenery. Shebib captures Toronto with his lens as the two leads capture the audience. Hilarious at times intended, and other times not, the film truly became a fable of the East Coast jobless coming to the heartland of Canada, only to find that its the same situation, different locale. The honesty that comes forth from the two leads is brilliant, and their friendship is one that is often ignored in filmmaking. Their bond and the strains placed upon by women, economics, and just plain stubborness is a treat to watch. Though they seem to be on a constant downward spiral the duo (and Shebib) still manage to find a pleasantry in their otherwise awful existence. An unforgettable tale; B+

Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting; This amazing screenplay is really in touch with a younger generation of movie goers without leaving traditionalists behind. There's something for everyone's tastes in this movie that combines comedy, drama, and romance in their physical, spiritual, and mental aspects. Gus Van Sant makes the writing even better by getting soul baring performances from the whole cast. He makes the emotions physically manifest themselves on the screen. He dares to shoot one emotionally revealing scene between two lovers with the actors very plain and naked, not like the heavily mood lit/make up sensualizing of romance we're used to. This lets the inner emotions, struggles really reach out and touch the audience. The multi-layered script hits personally and universally; A-

Pulp Fiction (Pan & Scan)

Pulp Fiction; A reviewer's paradise. I would review this movie a thousand times and still find something new to rave about. After seeing it four times at the theatre and countless times on video (I own 3 different copies) I managed to catch his film on Showcase. That is why it has only received an A. The movie loses very little in its Pan & Scan version but that "little" is Tarantino's amazing use of the widescreen. Pulling from influences like Scorcese's long tracking and Kubrick's horizontal shift through walls, Tarantino manages to mix great filming with fresh, natural sounding dialogue to visual appeal is an A+. Everything that is except the Pan & Scan format; A

The Secret World of Arrietty

The Secret World of Arrietty; Beautiful art and inspired English voice casting (Carol Burnett) liven up story easily told in 10 minutes; B-

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon; Can we just agree 2 pretend that we saw this & give the billion dollars to foreign aid? Album is better; D

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes; Despite 1 dimensional characters & convenient plot advances, apes entertain via cool F/X & Serkis acting; B-

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol; Exciting, tense, straight up action. Delivers the thrills, stays relevant after 3 sequels, well done; B+

The Muppets

The Muppets; Faithful to the franchise, almost to a fault. Whimsical, w/good, silly songs & cameos, but overly dramatic & slow at times; B+

Friends With Benefits

Friends with Benefits; Cleverly address conventions of genre, leads have comedic & sexual chemistry, great reminder of how romcoms work. A-

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.

Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens; Exactly what its title implies, genre mash-up delivers w/ absolutely NO surprises. Fun, yet formulaic & underwhelming. B-

Hugo

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

Yogi Bear

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

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger; Solid acting from Evans, Atwell, Jones, Weaving & Tucci make this the best "true" movie from Marvel; A-

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two

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; A-

Foo Fighters: Back and Forth

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

Bad Teacher

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

Super 8

Super 8; Average B monster movie made special by top caliber direction & nostalgic feel. Whimsy & charm, could easily have gone wrong; B

Green Lantern

Green Lantern; Simply OK. No fault of Reynolds or F/X, but rather a too dark & serious tone that takes itself too seriously. Lacks fun; B-

X-Men: First Class

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

Kung Fu Panda 2

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

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; swashbuckling vs. Blackbeard lends darker tones, fresh faces fit well w/Depp & Rush; worthy B+

Thor

Thor; Cleverly humanizes the hero to connect with audiences. Great action and set pieces overcome any story shortcomings. Excelsior!; B+

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

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

African Cats

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

Tron Legacy

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; C-

Rio

Rio; Beautifully renders the city itself, Nigel steals the show w/hilarious song, fun when the music is playing, lame otherwise, rent it; B-

Hop

Hop; Cute kiddy fun w/eye popping colourific candy scenery. Humour & story no smarter than a child could handle, but great fun 4 families; B

Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch; If only all music video games could look as good as they cost. Fantasy eye candy genre bending imagery without complexity; B-

The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights

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

Gnomeo & Juliet

Gnomeo & Juliet; Pint sized fun for little ones, but little for adults to hang on to. Harmless misadventures with decent casting. C+

Rango

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