Theme(s) of 2011: we said goodbye to Harry Potter, hello to Ryan Gosling, a bunch of Best Picture nominees made my overrated section, Scorsese gave us a clinic on 3D, and really there were only two great films and a bunch of good flicks.
Favorite Action:
Obviously Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will always have a special place in my heart, but objectively, it's probably a five-way tie between that, The Adventures of Tintin, Captain America: The First Avenger, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and X-Men: First Class.
Favorite Animated:
Rango, with The Adventures of Tintin, Arthur Christmas, and Winnie the Pooh as worthy runner-ups.
Crazy, Stupid, Love., though I also enjoyed Bridesmaids, Cedar Rapids, Midnight in Paris, The Muppets, and Paul.
Favorite Dark Comedy: N/A
Drive. Any other year, Warrior would've won.
Favorite Dramedy: 50/50.
Favorite Documentary:
Four way tie: Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, Catching Hell, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, and Unguarded.
Winnie the Pooh for younger kids, The Adventures of Tintin for older kids, The Muppets for the young at heart, and Arthur Christmas for the holidays.
Favorite Trippy:
Tie between Rango and The Tree of Life.
Favorite 3D: Hugo.
Favorite War: Captain America: The First Avenger.
Most Underrated:
Arthur Christmas, Cedar Rapids, and Everything Must Go.
Bridesmaids, followed by The Artist, The Tree of Life, and War Horse.
Most Disappointing:
The Artist, Attack the Block, Cars 2, and The Ides of March.
Despite that the ending disturbed my military friends, I thought Source Code had Razzie all over it, but it was actually very entertaining. Honorable mentions to Arthur Christmas, Crazy, Stupid, Love., Dolphin Tale, and Rango.
Drive.
Best Acted:
The Artist, Crazy, Stupid, Love., The Descendants, 50/50, and Warrior.
The Artist and Attack the Block.
"Do one thing, do it well" Award:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon for being a gratuitous computer graphics explosion-laden 3D action-fest.
Most Likely to be Unintentionally Funny in Five Years:
Moneyball, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (will history repeat itself?), Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Tree of Life, Warrior (is MMA truly here to stay?).
Favorite Cinematic Moments:
Ceasar's animation/performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, mind-blowing fly-through the station in Hugo, Drive's Taxi Driver-like vibe, clusterf*ck scene and Gosling's abs in Crazy, Stupid, Love, foot chase during a haboob in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, every death scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Hunter S. Thompson's cameo in Rango, a Decepticon devouring a skyscraper in 3D from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Tree of Life kicking Planet Earth's butt, semifinals of Warrior, motorcycle chase from The Adventures of Tintin, The Artist during main character's dream sequence, seeing the paintings for the the first time in Cave of Forgotten Dreams, and any nostalgic moment from The Muppets.
Notable Missed Movies:
Beginners
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Fast Five
Fright Night
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Green Lantern
The Hangover Part 2
Hanna
The Help
The Iron Lady
Jack and Jill
Melancholia
My Week with Marilyn
Pariah
Red State
A Separation
Shame
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
Sucker Punch
Take Shelter
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Win Win
Young Adult
Zookeeper
Drive and Hugo. Longshots are Arthur Christmas, 50/50, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Rango.
Favorite Best Picture Nominee:
Hugo.
Favorite Film Not Nominated For Best Picture:
Drive.
Favorite Movie of the Year:
Hugo or Drive. I keep wavering each time I think about it.
Thanks for reading!
