Admittedly...we're a little later with this article than we meant to be. With the site redesign taking precedence, we've had to put this on the back burner for a little bit.
Jordan
Best - Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
This film was my best of Summer 2011 and after picking it up on blu-ray and watching it a few more times, I still feel it’s the best film I’ve seen all year. Seeing as how I was actually able to keep up with just about every release this year, I feel I can actually make this claim fairly legitimately.
It’s filled with emotion, action, and a story that actually works. It’s been a long time since my emotions ran such a gamut during a movie, but Apes hit all of the right notes. X-Men: First Class and Crazy, Stupid, Love would be my honorable mentions here.
Worst - Green Lantern
I really debated on this one. Green Lantern isn’t really the worst movie I saw this year, but I’m giving it that distinction because it was the most disappointing. It had all of the potential to be one of the better comic book movies, but it failed on all accounts and came out a jumbled mess. Poor plot and weak characters that had no time to develop really killed this film.
Honestly, the blu-ray release of the film is what really cemented it on my ‘worst’ list. The film transfer was so dark I had to adjust the settings on my calibrated TV just to see what was happening. Bad Teacher and Beastly get dishonorable mentions here.
Aidy
Best English-Language Indie film - Martha Marcy May Marlene
Any film that features four girl names in it’s title has the potential to be a good one. The film is about Martha (Elizabeth Olsen), who has just fled an abusive cult in the mountains. She makes contact with her family, her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), who hasn’t seen or heard from her in a long while. The film focuses on the complex issues surrounding Martha and her family, and the psychological hold--leading to paranoia, that the cult still has on her. One of the most poignant, and emotionally conscious films of the year.
Worse - Twilight ‘Breaking Dawn’
Do I have to explain why?
Dylan
Best - X-Men: First Class
Before the release of the film, I had incredibly low expectations for it. When a trailer was finally launched, I was a little more optimistic, but not much. I waited until it was at the discount theater right by my house (where films go a few weeks before they are released on DVD/Blu-Ray) to see it. I loved the film and all my fears about the film were thankfully very wrong. From the absolutely fantastic performances of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, to the great story and simple but exhilarating action pieces, this was, to me, the best film of the year. As a nerd, I loved it and am looking forward to a sequel very much. Honorable mentions would go to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Worst - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
First off, Green Lantern was a worse movie. Just getting that out of the way. But I said the movie would bomb last December, so I had no expectations at all. I was somewhat looking forward to PotC 4 though. I was very disappointed. The plot seemed muddled and made very little sense, I didn’t care for Bill Burner (the unofficial “new” Will Turner) or the half-naked mermaid (why was that in a Disney movie?), or Penelope Cruz with a moustache...it’s hard to put into words my conflicting emotions when I saw that. What could have been a good starting point in the new chapter of the PotC franchise, instead was a big letdown. Dishonorable mentions to Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens, and A FairlyOdd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!.
Dustin
Best – Super 8
I wasn’t too fond of a lot of movies this year, but a few of them popped through. A majority of my favorites were comedies or not that grand of films, but were really good. However the one movie that really stuck out through everything to me was Super 8. It had amazing visuals, but at the same time was one of the few (if not the only) movies that didn’t focus its entire attention on how “cool” everything looked and rather used the power of story. Hell we barely saw the monster throughout the film, and it brought back a lot of techniques that I personally don’t think a lot of blockbuster directors remember how to do. JJ Abrams is a favorite of mine, and things like this really blow me away every time. I wish we had more.
Worst – Hangover Part 2
This year was filled with duds for me. Nothing was really filling that “wow” factor inside me and with everyone focusing on visuals I lost the one reason I enjoy movies, the stories. Personally I don’t see the hate behind Green Lantern when a majority of super hero films have all made the same mistakes. However The Hangover Part 2 was the number one film I absolutely hated and I was on the verge of asking for my money back. I honestly don’t see how anyone could get away with ripping off another film (Hangover (1) ) page by page and then feel good about making people pay to watch it. As a person that wants to write scripts you could never pay me enough to do that to someone, especially to my fans, so it’s no wonder the original writers left. It was honestly like watching a crappy version of the first film, and let’s face it, if that was the first film the “sequel” would have never made any money.
Carla
Best - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
There were not that many films that stood out this year, and it was quite hard to choose a best and worst, but Robert Downey, Jr. beat the odds and made an excellent sequel reprising his role as the famous, and in some circles infamous, detective. There were so many aspects to enjoy about this new chapter in murder mystery. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, the role reprised by Jude Law, throw in equal shares of hilarity, violence and minute details to solving the overall puzzle. Let’s not forget the brief moments of romance and drama. See it for yourself! I am trying to not give away everything.
Worst - Bad Teacher
There were moments of laugh out loud funny, but not enough to save this title from my worst pick of the year. I was hoping for more than a boring and predictable storyline. What was the point? For the most part, it revolves around a dope smoking, gold digging teacher looking for her next big sugar daddy pay day.
Victor
Best Picture - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I liked a lot of films this year, but only Apes has enticed me to see it again and again. After picking up the Blu-ray, I have watched it over and over, taking in the fantastic effects and theorizing on sequels with friends. I was not expecting much from this film when it was first announced. Now, I can’t wait for the next one. Cesar is home!
Honorable Mention: X-Men First Class, Thor, The Conspirator, Captain America, The Beaver, Courageous.
Worst Picture - Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star
Few movies are so bad that even their trailer could incite me to violence. This nearly did. Bucky Larson did one thing right: they advertised, almost exclusively, on Spike TV, the network whose programming director is a pair of teenage testicles, I can only assume. Starring Nick Swardson (and my God, does anyone really think he is funny?) and Christina Ricci’s Frankenstein forehead, this unfunny porn parody can be blamed on one man: executive producer Adam Sandler. Hollywood would not have touched it otherwise. Someone do something about this man, before he destroys us all.
Dishonorable mention: New Year’s Eve, Hangover 2, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, Shark Night 3D
Matthew
First off, I think 2011 was overall a good year for film. While it didn’t have the same level of prestige pics that last year had, it made up for it with pure popcorn movies (and great ones at that)! X-Men: First Class, Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, Captain America—all great, fun popcorn films. But honestly, I had a hell of a time choosing my favorite film this year. Last year, it was easy; The Social Network just stood out from the rest of the pack. But I for the life of me couldn’t figure out my favorite one this year. And you know why? Because I haven’t freaking seen most of them! War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Carnage, Young Adult, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Shame, The Artist, Hugo, Melancholia, The Descendants, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Ides of March, Take Shelter, 50/50, Warrior, Moneyball, Contagion—any one of these film could have made my number one choice, but since I haven’t seen them, they never got the chance to. Because of this, I’ll probably end up changing my choice somewhere down the line. But for now, I choose the film that stood out the most for me, and by far left the greater impact on my personal cinematic year:
Best Film of 2011 - Drive
On the outside, Drive performs like every other action movie you can possibly imagine. Starring a getaway driver who gets in over his head after dealing with the mob, Drive could have easily been a forgettable Jason Statham movie. But it wasn’t. Nicolas Winding Refn delivered a film that was stylish, cool, and thought provoking. Ryan Gosling delivered a star turning performance, and Al Brooks is surprisingly fantastic as the film's bad guy. Maybe Drive isn’t the best film of 2011, but, for me at least, it was certainly the most iconic.
Worst Film of 2011 - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Gah, I don’t even want to talk about this film anymore. If you want to here me lay my hate upon it, just revisit our Best and Worst of Summer 2011 post. At this point, I just want to forget I ever laid eyes on the monstrosity.
April
Best – Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Apes rises above any movie from this year. Hands down. I closely trailed the news following Apes, doubtful of a potential success. Quite the skeptic, I thought it would fail at the attempt of following the footsteps of originality. At times it seemed sketchy, especially with the continual title change, but once I started to catch glimpses of the work behind the scenes, my interest pique. Emotions, technology – it blew me away. Needless to say, the poignancy of the scenes struck hard. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of those movies you can continually watch and still be mystified at its magnificence.
Honorable Mentions: Horrible Bosses, The Rite, Battle: Los Angeles, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Worst – Water for Elephants
So, yeah. It is quite evident why Water for Elephants was deemed the worst film in my book, Twilight mega-star, Robert Pattinson. I had hope that Witherspoon would save the movie, but I was highly mistaken. No matter how you look at it, Pattinson can sink a ship with the lack of his acting abilities and ruin any film set he graces. I don’t have anything good to say except if you want a good night’s rest, this movie will definitely put you to sleep. Out of all the horribly done films this year, this one definitely takes the cake. It is a shame there was nothing to salvage because I have always been a fan of Witherspoon since The Man in the Moon. Better luck next time!
Dishonorable Mentions: Rango, Fast Five, Super 8, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
There you have it. 2011 was filled with it’s ups and downs, but we’re looking ahead to 2012, with the hopes that all of our dreams come true with the many films releasing this year. Now that you know our best of 2011, what are some of yours?
