2011 New Release Database

[Lucky]

Certified Copy - yay

[elixir]

The Artist - mild yay

[eternity]

Melancholia - nay

[Lazlo]

Warrior - Yay

[Rowland]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - yay

Overstuffed and undernourished, but still compulsively watchable, and vastly superior to the original.

[Stay Puft]

Winter in Wartime - nay

The film is compelling when it's about the naiveté of the brother and sister in wartime politics, and the immaturity of their relationship with the RFA soldier. Unfortunately, the film eventually decides to plaster major dramatic developments with an overbearing and manipulative score, and excessive slow motion. And just when it seems to be over, cue plot twist with hilariously unsubtle flashbacks (the score basically goes dun dun DUNNNNNN). A lot of promise, but ends up fumbling significantly. A shame; not a bad film, but wouldn't really recommend it, either.

[Watashi]

The Artist - yay

It's no Singin' in the Rain, but it's enjoyable. I think this would be an acceptable choice for Best Picture considering it has no star power and very little sound. Better than most Oscar-bait films out right now.

[baby doll]

Guilty of Romance - nay

Jesus, this guy's gotta learn to tone it down once in a while. Instead of bourgeois normalcy, we get BOUGEOIS NORMALCY complete with obsessive rituals involving the placement of the husband's slippers. That said, the lead actress has some A-1 titties.

[Spinal]

Jane Eyre - yay

Fantastic.

[eternity]

Super - yay

[Dukefrukem]

Super - yay

:)

[NickGlass]

Margaret: Y_a_y

[Mysterious Dude]

The Artist - Yay
The Descendants - Yay
La Havre - Nay
Incendies - Yay
The Last Circus - Nay
Shame - Yay
Tomboy - Yay
The Four Times - Nay
Win Win - Nay

I believe I have been counted twice for Contagion, by the way.

[B-side]

Carnage - eh, I was entertained, so yay

[B-side]

Arirang doesn't seem to be coming to the US anytime soon, but I'm a yay anyway.

[Lazlo]

The Adventures of Tintin - Yay

[Watashi]

Senna - yay

Yeah... wow. More people need to see this (it's on Netflix Instant). It's probably best that you go in completely blind and aren't familiar with Formula 1. It's one of the best sports movies I've ever seen.

[Henry Gale]

Contagion - yay
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - yay
The Sitter - nay


The Sitter - nay

I don't know why I'm naying 'The Sitter' when I yayed 'Your Highness,' as they're about the same level of pleasures and idiocies, but The Sitter is a through-and-through lark while Your Highness at least had the conviction of its homage and production scope. Green's thing is throwing things at the screen and hoping it sticks, is funny, and perhaps is even resonant and interesting, and as per usual, it's hit, miss, and "Why are you making this movie? It's ultimately pretty lazy."

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Whereas I unapologetically like Your Highness quite a bit, I don't think The Sitter works nearly as well because it tries its hardest to offer more substantial development and genuine heart (amongst its already scattershot humour), but it's ultimately too short and slight to really warrant its sudden efforts to do so. Plus between the two films, Jonah Hill as a modern day slacker delivering the same sort of crude, improv-y material that Justin Theroux did as an evil wizard in a medieval fantasy world just doesn't feel nearly as unordinary.

[Ezee E]

Certified Copy is not my type of thang.

[Pop Trash]

Young Adult - yay

Still not sure how I feel about the very end, but gotta hand it to Diablo Cody: good script. Very nice performance from Theron too.

[Lucky]

Le Quattro Volte - Nay

This must be my Dogtooth of the year. I understand what it's trying to say but cannot appreciate its presentation. At all.

[dreamdead]

The Trip - yay
The Adventures of Tintin - nay
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - mild yay
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - mild yay

[Mysterious Dude]

Dammit, Ezee.


La Havre - Nay


LE HAVRE - 4 out of 5
yay - Tripzone, Bosco B Thug, NickGlass, Isaac

[Ezee E]

Two more times left. One at nominations, and one after:

BOX OFFICE - DECEMBER 28th:
1. Tree of Life - 48
2. Drive - 40
3. Super 8 - 37
4. Bridesmaids - 36
5. Source Code - 35
- Melancholia - 32
- Rango - 32
- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall Past Lives - 32
9. Certified Copy - 29
10. Hanna - 28
Midnight in Paris - 28
X-Men: First Class - 28

Melancholia and Midnight in Paris make their first appearances in the top ten. Source Code loses ground to Super 8 and Bridesmaids. Drive and Tree of Life continue to dominate.

[Ezee E]

Last year's top ten for good measure:
BOX OFFICE:
1) Inception - $550
2) Shutter Island - $530
3) Social Network - $440
4) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - $400
5) Toy Story 3 - $390
6) The Ghost Writer - $370
7) Kick-Ass - $370
8) Iron Man 2 - $360
9) Alice in Wonderland - $310
10) Greenberg - $290

[Derek]

Dammit, Ezee.

Hey man, you use the wrong definite article in a film title and Ezee makes you pay the price.

[Dukefrukem]

MELANCHOLIA YAY!

[Ivan Drago]

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Yay
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - YAY

[soitgoes...]

Captain America - nay
Cave of Forgotten Dreams - mild yay
Contagion - yay
Cowboys & Aliens - nay
The Debt - nay
Drive - yay
Fast Five - nay
Fright Night - yay
The Future - nay
Melancholia - yay
Moneyball - yay
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - yay
Straw Dogs - nay

[Weeping_Guitar]

Weekend - yay
One Day - nay
Brighton Rock - yay
A Somewhat Gentle Man - yay
The Time That Remains - yay
Certified Copy - yay
The Ides of March - Yay

[Pop Trash]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - mild yay

[Bosco B Thug]

Attack the Block - yay

Puss in Boots - nay

The Adventures of Tintin - yay, barely

[kopello]

Beginners - yay
Meek's Cutoff - YAY
The Skin I Live In - YAY
The Black Power Mixtape - mild yay
Weekend - yay

Some great stuff.

[elixir]

A Dangerous Method - nay

[eternity]

50/50 - yay
The Darkest Hour - nay

[Lucky]

The Adjustment Bureau - Nay

[baby doll]

Le Quattro Volte - Nay

This must be my Dogtooth of the year. I understand what it's trying to say but cannot appreciate its presentation. At all.You mean its presentation through sounds and images that are frequently stunning?

[B-side]

If Le Quattro Volte is as good or better than Frammartino's first film, it'll surely be terrific.

[Spinal]

The Artist - yay

Hello, Bérénice Bejo, nice to meet you.

[Watashi]

The Artist - yay

Hello, Bérénice Bejo, nice to meet you.
Yes. She's quite the looker.

[Rowland]

The Adventures of Tintin - Yay

Yeah, this is a bit empty, and while the climactic action sequence provides nice closure for the film's real star, Haddock, I agree that it plays like one climax too many, and is somewhat clunky compared to most of what preceded it. But on the whole, I enjoyed this a great deal as a breathlessly paced machine for delivering setpieces, most of which are imagined, choreographed, and animated with a thrilling degree of inventive wit and virtuosic cinematic craft.

And since everyone is comparing this to Indiana Jones, I'd rank it well below Raiders, but way above the others.

[soitgoes...]

Nostalgia for the Light - super yay

[TGM]

I'd like to change my 'Yay' for War Horse to a 'Nay', please.

While technically not a bad movie, the more I think about it, the more I just start to hate it. It just feels so artificial, like Spielberg is just desperate for tears, yet doesn't quite know how to go about getting them. It appears to be built entirely around some sort of non-existent emotional investment, yet the movie just completely lacks any kind of real emotion or genuine heart. One of the most blatantly manipulative movies I've seen in a while...

[eternity]

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - nay

[kopello]

Senna - yay

[eternity]

Shame - yay

[Raiders]

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - yay

[Watashi]

Attack the Block - fuckin' yay

[Ezee E]

She was my favorite thing about the movie. Don't really know why everyone is backing Dujardin.

[Ezee E]

Only two of us have seen War Horse? Doesn't seem right.

Attack the Block seems to have the momentum to possibly sneak in a Best Pic nod.

Attack the Block
Certified Copy
Drive
Melancholia
Tree of Life
Uncle Boonmee?

[Derek]

Attack the Block - fuckin' yay

Jury's still out, but we may have our next Carpenter...

[Derek]

Only two of us have seen War Horse? Doesn't seem right.

Doesn't look good.

At all.

[Watashi]

Jury's still out, but we may have our next Carpenter...
It's probably the best Carpenter flick in decades. Has Sven seen this one?

I loved every minute of it. The score kicks so much ass.

[Watashi]

Only two of us have seen War Horse? Doesn't seem right.

I definitely want to see it. I just don't want to go when it's packed with seniors. Next week.

[Watashi]

Doesn't look good.

At all.
Not to go all Rowland, but I've read some interesting raves from respectable critics. Scott Tobias loved it.

[Derek]

Not to go all Rowland, but I've read some interesting raves from respectable critics. Scott Tobias loved it.

Don't get me wrong. Chances are I will see it in the next month or two, but I think there's a reason (that it looks not, not that it necessarily is bad) most of us here haven't rushed out to see it.

[Spinal]

Yes. She's quite the looker.

It's been a good year for impossibly beautiful actresses.

[Spinal]

Only two of us have seen War Horse?

It's on my list. I'll see that before I see Dragon Tattoo. But I'm thinking Tinker Tailor might be next.

[Lucky]

Jane Eyre - yay

[Bosco B Thug]

Hugo - yay.

Uneven and inconsistent, but it's a good, small story well told. Pushing it into "good" territory are the very affecting performances from every single one, and a surprisingly well-earned emotional peak that's almost charmingly ignored for the first three quarters, then rushed into formation in the final quarter of the film

[Rowland]

Not to go all RowlandWhat's wrong with going all Rowland? I was singing the praises of Attack the Block months ago, foo. :P


Scott Tobias loved it.Or, He Who Must Not Dislike Anything. Just kidding of course.

[B-side]

The Day He Arrives - yay

[dreamdead]

Jane Eyre - Yay
Super 8 - Yay

Very nice films, those two. I see why they have their accolades.

[EyesWideOpen]

The Adventures of Tintin - nay

Started decent enough but quickly turned into snoresville.

[Dukefrukem]

Drive YAY
Bad Teacher - NAY

[Thirdmango]

Sherlock Holmes -- Yay

[Thirdmango]

Tree of Life -- Nay

As I said in the actual thread I understand why it's good, but I did not enjoy it.

[Pop Trash]

Beginners - big yay

Mike Mills is definitely more talented than his wife.

I'd also like to say this deals with cancer/father & son grief process much better than Magnolia.

[transmogrifier]

Beginners - big yay

Mike Mills is definitely more talented than his wife.

I'd also like to say this deals with cancer/father & son grief process much better than Magnolia.

Good thing Magnolia was about 50 other things as well then, huh?

[Pop Trash]

Good thing Magnolia was about 50 other things as well then, huh?

I guess. Too bad only approximately 29 of them worked.

[B-side]

I'd say at least 37 of them worked.

[soitgoes...]

A Separation - big yay

[B-side]

The Innkeepers - yay

[Dukefrukem]

CONTAGION yay

[Stay Puft]

The Adventures of Tintin - nay

Agreed with EWO. A snoozefest.

[Dukefrukem]

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - yay

[Watashi]

Certified Copy - I'll yay it.

[EyesWideOpen]

A Dangerous Method - big yay

[Lucky]

No Strings Attached - Nay

Natalie Portman's character was insufferable. Why would anyone want to pursue a relationship with that psycho? "She's hot" only goes so far.

[Lazlo]

Our Idiot Brother - Nay

[dmk]

Nothing but yays for Happy Feet Two here warms my heart.

Happy Feet Two - YAY


The Innkeepers - yay
American, I hoped you watched that On Demand.

[Dillard]

Adventures of Tintin - mild yay
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - big yay

[B-side]

American, I hoped you watched that On Demand.

Like I have money.

[Sycophant]

Super - nay
The Muppets - (a somewhat conflicted and disappointed) yay
African Cats - yay
Hanna - yay
Sherlock Holmes 2 - yay

[transmogrifier]

Nothing but yays for Happy Feet Two here warms my heart.
.

If it's anything like the first one, expect a nay from me.

BUT I doubt I'm ever going to watch it, so the streak can continue :)

[Rowland]

I believe this may technically be a 2012 release, going by US theatrical release dates, but for now:

The Innkeepers - Yay

More flawed than The House of the Devil, but scary as hell.

[Spinal]

The Muppets - (a somewhat conflicted and disappointed) yay


Don't doubt yourself. It's the film. Not you.

[B-side]

I believe this may technically be a 2012 release, going by US theatrical release dates, but for now:

The Innkeepers - Yay

I figured we'd count it as a 2011 release because of its Dec. 30th On Demand release, but I'm not sure if that's how this works.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm gonna go;

Moneyball NAY
Scream 4 NAY

[Lazlo]

Certified Copy - Yay

[soitgoes...]

The Innkeepers - mild yay
The Skin I Live In - yay

I just remembered I did see Bad Teacher awhile back. Big nay.

[Lucky]

Margin Call - Yay

First movie I've seen from 2011 that I can get excited about.

[eternity]

The Artist - nay

[Henry Gale]

Young Adult - yay

Easily my favourite of Reitman's films. Theron and Oswalt are both really good, the mood of it manages to be so beautifully uncomfortable throughout, and it's just a great surprise that feels like it should be getting talked about more than it is. Between this and her web series, Cody is now officially on my good side.

[soitgoes...]

Mission: Impossible - the mildest of yays

[B-side]

Uncle Kent - nay

[dreamdead]

A Dangerous Method - ubermild yay (for Knightley's performance more than anything)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - big yay

[Winston*]

Tintin - Yay
Mission Impossible - Yay
The Trip - Yay
X-Men - Nay
Captain America - Yay
Kung Fu Panda 2 - Yay
The Perfect Host - Nay
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - Nay
Contagion - Yay
Midnight in Paris - Yay
Source Code - Nay
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - Nay
Attack the Block - Yay
Everything Must Go - Yay

[EyesWideOpen]

You must really dislike The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

[Winston*]

You must really dislike The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.
Why?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Why?

You listed it twice.

[Winston*]

You listed it twice.

That's for two different films called The Greatest Movie Ever Sold: Morgan Spurlock's, and Catherine Breillat's.

[Kurosawa Fan]

That's for two different films called The Greatest Movie Ever Sold: Morgan Spurlock's, and Catherine Breillat's.

:lol:

[Derek]

That's for two different films called The Greatest Movie Ever Sold: Morgan Spurlock's, and Catherine Breillat's.

Were you as surprised as I was that Spurlock's had more nudity?

[Watashi]

War Horse - yay

Dat cinematography.

[Kiusagi]

Sherlock Holmes - mild yay

Tintin - mild nay

[MadMan]

The Guard-Yay

[Rowland]

We Need to TALK About KEVIN - mild nay

[Spinal]

Were you as surprised as I was that Spurlock's had more nudity?

Has he lost the Super Size Me weight? Cause if so, that's hot.

[Ezee E]

We Need to TALK About KEVIN - mild nay

:lol:

[EyesWideOpen]

Love Exposure - yay

[DavidSeven]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - a surprisingly solid yay

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - a surprising nay. Perhaps there's a solid film here for people familiar with the source material or mini-series, but as a fresh-eyed viewer, the plot struck me as needlessly dense. Biggest disappointment of the year.

[Stay Puft]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - nay

Has some good moments but pretty clunky overall. Left me rather indifferent.

[Lazlo]

The Artist - Yay

[Watashi]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - nay

Has some good moments but pretty clunky overall. Left me rather indifferent.
You do not nay the Lithgow.

[Watashi]

I'm really surprised that me and eternity are the only nays for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. What's up with that, Match Cut?

[B-side]

I'm really surprised that me and eternity are the only nays for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. What's up with that, Match Cut?

You and eternity can't recognize good craft?

[eternity]

Wasn't everyone really down on the Swedish film? Although Mara is spectacular and Fincher put his stamp on it, it's still the same awful, overlong story that doesn't work as a film and the script does nothing to better it.

[B-side]

Wasn't everyone really down on the Swedish film? Although Mara is spectacular and Fincher put his stamp on it, it's still the same awful, overlong story that doesn't work as a film and the script does nothing to better it.

But Fincher's stamp is what makes it a good film. I haven't seen and don't care about the Swedish film, but Fincher's detached approach brings more attention to the form and the overall narrative as opposed to trying to make a mediocre plot interesting.

[Pop Trash]

The Change-Up - mild nay

It's predictable and Hollywood cookie cutter as fuck, but I enjoyed this more than I care to admit.

EDIT: just found out Leslie Mann's boobs were CGI. Lame Hollywood.

[TGM]

I'm really surprised that me and eternity are the only nays for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. What's up with that, Match Cut?

Well, my yay for it is just a mild one...

[Weeping_Guitar]

Cowboys and Aliens - nay
The Debt - yay
War Horse - yay

[Raiders]

The Eagle - yay

Give Kevin Macdonald credit for choosing to emphasize faces and the progression of landscapes to hammer home the film's underlying theme of interconnectedness-cum-brotherhood and the washing away of "master" and "slave" (literally in one scene) and to give its subtle critique of the arrogance of manifest destiny. Macdonald's film isn't really interested in re-defining the moral ambiguity of the Roman empire's expansion and conquering, but to rather show the consequences of believing in your natural superiority. The film is still problematic in its depiction of the Seal warriors and in so casually creating in them rather ultimate evil and a late scene where some former legionnaires re-dedicate themselves to Tatum's former centurion is terribly hokey. Nonetheless it is a resonant film and also one that uses the "shame" of Rome's loss of the eagle to examine the object's checkered past. Also, Jamie Bell is fantastic; he manages to create so much of the conflict and complexity to his character just from wordless expressions.

[Lucky]

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Yay

Vast improvement over the original.

[eternity]

But Fincher's stamp is what makes it a good film. I haven't seen and don't care about the Swedish film, but Fincher's detached approach brings more attention to the form and the overall narrative as opposed to trying to make a mediocre plot interesting.
It's Fincher's worst film. That which is good about it doesn't save it from being almost too dull to sit through.

[Lucky]

It's Fincher's worst film. That which is good about it doesn't save it from being almost too dull to sit through.

Wow, I didn't check my watch once. The epilogue dragged slightly, but the payoff was worth it. Zodiac would be my pick for Fincher's dullest film.

[Ezee E]

2012 movies have been moved over. This list should be good to go as far as ballotmaking goes.

[kopello]

Poetry - yay
Contagion - yay

[B-side]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - yay

[Stay Puft]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - nay

Like his last film, I appreciate what Fincher is bringing to the table (nailed the atmosphere, tone; some well directed sequences) but this material is a load of rubbish. (For the record, I knew nothing about this trilogy going in, nothing about the Swedish films, only knew the books existed because of posters for them plastered all over the Toronto subways last year.)

[TGM]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - mild Yay

[Kurosawa Fan]

The Adventures of Tintin - Yay

[Weeping_Guitar]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - YAY

[EyesWideOpen]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - YAY

[Dukefrukem]

We Need to talk about Kevin YAY
The Ides of March YAY

[Dukefrukem]

oh 13 Assassins Yay

[eternity]

Arthur - nay
Mars Needs Moms - nay

[Stay Puft]

Contagion - nay

Another nicely mounted film, in service of material for which I couldn't muster an ounce of interest. I appreciate that the film hits the ground running (the text overlay declaring that we are already on the second day of the outbreak), and Soderbergh keeps thinks moving briskly, but yeah... amounted to a whole lot of zzzzz. Still feels rote, forgettable.

Wondering if perhaps I'm just burning out on 2011 films at this point...

[Boner M]

Check out Resurrect Dead, Puft. One of the year's stealth discoveries for me.

You too, everyone else.

[Lazlo]

Poetry - Yay

[Stay Puft]

Check out Resurrect Dead, Puft. One of the year's stealth discoveries for me.

Haha, the movie about the toynbee tiles? I do want to catch up with some more docs but I have to admit I (unfairly, I'm sure) skipped that one earlier because I didn't think I'd enjoy a movie about the toynbee tiles.

[MadMan]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2-Yay

[Spinal]

Horrible Bosses - nay

[Rowland]

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil - mild nay

[Boner M]

Haha, the movie about the toynbee tiles? I do want to catch up with some more docs but I have to admit I (unfairly, I'm sure) skipped that one earlier because I didn't think I'd enjoy a movie about the toynbee tiles.
I didn't actually know about the story going in. Anyway, the doc's more about the fascination that ostensibly silly urban mysteries hold on impressionable, dejected youths, even as it eats its cake by simultaneously playing up the mystery surrounding the tiles. I think my only qualm is that it's merely functional filmmaking (although it doesn't need to be anything more).

[Dukefrukem]

Hugo - nay - Scorsese's worst movie.

[B-side]

Le Havre - yay

[Stay Puft]

E, you missed my nay for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.


I didn't actually know about the story going in. Anyway, the doc's more about the fascination that ostensibly silly urban mysteries hold on impressionable, dejected youths, even as it eats its cake by simultaneously playing up the mystery surrounding the tiles. I think my only qualm is that it's merely functional filmmaking (although it doesn't need to be anything more).

Well, I'll check it out as I catch up on some docs here. It'll be after a couple others on my list, though, like Senna and The Arbor.

[Boner M]

Forgot about...

Le Havre - yay

[Kurosawa Fan]

Contagion - yay

[transmogrifier]

Thor - nay

Potentially interesting fish-out-of-water take on a boring "superhero" totally ruined by the intercutting with yet another green-screen lazerlightshow alien world populated with ultimately meaningless mumbo-jumbo and quasimystical fate crap

[TripZone]

Correspondencia Jonas Mekas - J.L. Guerin -YAY
Winnie the Pooh -yay

[NickGlass]

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol: Nay

I do, however, like when Ving Rhames shows up and gives everyone the finger.

Moneyball: This is why I would like a middle-of-the-road choice

Suitably well-made, but it's more hyper-dramaticized than it is rousing. Also, Wally Pfister, would it really hurt to use a bit more lighting? I'd like to see the actors' faces.

The Arbor: Yay
Senna: Yay

[Derek]

The Arbor: Yay
Senna: Yay

Nice. Recently added to my Netflix queue, so good to hear more good things about them.

Any thoughts on The Arbor? It sounds like it'll either be amazing or fail spectacularly.

[Watashi]

Nice. Recently added to my Netflix queue, so good to hear more good things about them.

Any thoughts on The Arbor? It sounds like it'll either be amazing or fail spectacularly.
Did you ever explain your one star rating for Best Worst Movie? That's pretty harsh, dude. I like the film's tonal shift halfway through that went from celebratory to just plain sad and creepy.

[StanleyK]

Immortals- hell nay.

[Derek]

Did you ever explain your one star rating for Best Worst Movie? That's pretty harsh, dude. I like the film's tonal shift halfway through that went from celebratory to just plain sad and creepy.

Yeah, wrote a mini-capsule on my site:

"Unlike Troll 2, which, along with Samurai Cop and Gymkata, is deserved of its so-bad-it's-good tag, Best Worst Movie is a frustratingly amateurish, occasionally self-involved, more often bewilderingly aimless doc that never says anything meaningful about the cult status of Troll 2. Instead, much of the film is spent with George Hardy, the earlier film's "star", and while he first comes off like an incredibly genuine and likeable person, as they tour around the country attending midnight screenings and conventions, even he begins to tire of the film's subject. Had their been any self-awareness in this, perhaps an acknowledgement or examination of Hardy's growing ego in the midst of this rebirth, this could have offered something interesting. Instead, it leisurely cuts to interviews of various cast member amidst Stephenson and Hardy's palling around, hanging out in the latter's home town in Alabama. The most interesting scenes were with the original film's director, Claudio Fragasso, who still stands behind his film, espousing its success in juggling many themes with great depth. He's borderline delusional, for sure, but his complete inability to understand the (mostly) American response to his film as a complete joke is the conflict and counterpoint this film needed. Unfortunately, he's mostly written off as a spoilsport and the doc would rather focus on everyone who's in on the joke than the one attempting to defend the film's integrity."

[EyesWideOpen]

Beats Rhymes & Life - yay

Please Michael Rapaport make a Wu-Tang documentary. I neeeed it!

[EyesWideOpen]

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - hell nay

[transmogrifier]

Drive Angry - nay

Admirably scuzzy and kinetic, but totally lacking in true wit, and not especially creative in its set pieces, making it a bit of a homogenous mish-mash of faux-hardness. Only Fichtner and the sex scene/shoot out really stand out, and Amber Heard plays a completely pointless character - she almost literally has no function at all in the story, except perhaps to sell jean cut-offs.

[Rowland]

Senna - mild yay

Pretty riveting at times, particularly during the middle act when the conflicts are at their most heated, and it's a very impressive feat of archival editing, but the tone is overly hagiographic throughout, which reaches a fever pitch during the final stretch, and it left me with a fairly indifferent, if reasonably entertained, aftertaste.

[Ezee E]

I can add to my documentary list.

A yay for Senna. Thanks Wats for the rec.

[NickGlass]

Nice. Recently added to my Netflix queue, so good to hear more good things about them.

Neither is a glowing recommendation. I agree with Rowland that Senna is compelling and impressively edited, but a bit too hagiographic--it especially plays up the heroes and villains angle too much. I would have preferred a more balanced look at Senna's ego; even when he visibly seems falsely modest, everyone touts his "humility."


Any thoughts on The Arbor? It sounds like it'll either be amazing or fail spectacularly.

It certainly does not fail spectacularly; it's quite shocking how well the technique works, actually--especially since it's more a hydra-profile of a community and a family than just Andrea Dunbar and her plays. The lip-syncing doesn't add a layer of brilliance, but other flourishes (particularly random excerpts from Dunbar's plays) give it some needed spunk.

[Rowland]

I found the meta-experimentation of The Arbor's first act dazzlingly brilliant, but once the focus of the film shifts from Andrea Dunbar to her daughters, the techniques begin to feel more strained and thus less purposeful, while the material being covered evolves into a more boilerplate, kitchen-sink melodrama variety that didn't strike me as all that comparatively interesting or revealing.

[Watashi]

Don't listen to Rowland and Nick. Senna is a near-perfect film. In my top 3 of last year.

[Weeping_Guitar]

Film socialisme - Nay

[elixir]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - yay

[Boner M]

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - mild nay

Acceptable as a fussily aestheicised Finchervision mood piece, otherwise I'm just glad I never read the books. Rapey Goth Scooby Doo.

[transmogrifier]

Rapey Goth Scooby Doo.

Sold!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - yay

Admirably serious and well-crafted, with no shoe-horned comic relief or ironic distance from the original. You can still see the odd sign of manufactured four-quadrant studio marketing poking through (seriously, why even HAVE the Frida Pinto character if not to try and make the movie more palatable to women in the audience? Not sure how that would work, because she literally does nothing. "Hey, here's a woman! Now watch her stand around as men and apes do everything"), and while it reaches some emotional high points, it does not really have the transcendent adrenaline rush the best summer movies have. Good attempt though.

[Bosco B Thug]

Rapey Goth Scooby Doo. Hmm, yeah. Well, I appreciated the Rapey Goth stuff 'cause without it it would've just been Scooby Doo.

Believe it or not, these were my expectations going in: it was a heavy rape-revenge tale where Daniel Craig played the villain. In other words, Hard Candy (which I haven't seen).

My imagination is bereft. I'm happier with this - pulpy, mystery-novel fun.

Dragon Tattoo - I'm gonna go with 'mild YAY'

[B-side]

You have Elena listed as a 2011 film, but I don't believe it's received any sort of release in the US yet. I'm a yay on it, btw.

[B-side]

Paranormal Activity 3 - yay

[NickGlass]

Cold Weather: borderline yay

[Lucky]

The Ides of March - yay

[Rowland]

The Mill and the Cross - yay

What a weird fucking movie. Kind of amazing, kind of terrible, but always compelling and even infectious in its many inexplicable eccentricities.

[B-side]

The Mill and the Cross - yay

What a weird fucking movie. Kind of amazing, kind of terrible, but always compelling and even infectious in its many inexplicable eccentricities.

More or less.:P

[transmogrifier]

Captain America - mild yay

It is what it is. Sturdy, stout-hearted, square-jawed, functional and efficient - the lead character made celluloid. The first set-piece is the best (taxi cab), because it has a single focus and a genuine sense of wonder (what is he capable of?). The rest of the film unfortunately resorts to mainly gunfights, which drag after a while. Hayley Attwell is a mainstream find, being able to find the balance between tough, sensitive and (crucially) charismatic, even as the movie find news ways to sideline her (she is literally forgotten at the end).

[Rowland]

Unknown - mild yay

[Mysterious Dude]

Not sure if I'm gonna see any more for a while, so here's another dump:

Beginners - Yay
Bellflower - Yay
Circo - Yay
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame - Nay
Hanna - Yay
Submarine - Yay
Super - Yay

[Rowland]

A Separation - YAY

[Ivan Drago]

The Adventures of Tintin - YAY

[Derek]

The Mill and the Cross - yay

What a weird fucking movie. Kind of amazing, kind of terrible, but always compelling and even infectious in its many inexplicable eccentricities.

Good to hear. This is among the dozen or so I'm planning to get through before final list-making time. What an odd year for Rutger Hauer....


A Separation - YAY

:pritch:

[B-side]

Immortals - yay

[EyesWideOpen]

The Debt - mild yay

[eternity]

Just Go With It - nay
War Horse - nay

[EyesWideOpen]

Cedar Rapids - yay

What a cute movie.

[eternity]

The Hangover Part II - nay

[transmogrifier]

Your Highness - nay

It appears as if the film was designed to merely be a vehicle for hilarious ad-libbing in a medieval environment, but unfortunately there is not a single joke that works, and so all you have is Green hanging back to let his actors loose, and the actors basically getting the cinematic version of writer's block, and so the film just limps along lamely. If Green had realized that the comic mileage was going to be so horrendous, maybe he would have actually tried to make the film LOOK decent, but it's far too late now, isn't it?

Of course, I could be wrong and every single line we hear comes straight from the script. If that's the case, then you have to wonder about the taste of everyone involved, because this is just desperate.

[Thirdmango]

Limitless -- Nay

I was on the line of yay or nay. It had some big problems but I liked the overall idea, just not enough to save the film.

[Rowland]

Poetry - YAY

Quietly devastating, and deeply resonant for me in a very personal way.

[NickGlass]

A Dangerous Method: Yay

Cronenberg does Merchant/Ivory with a sexual twist? It's pretty stodgy and dryly academic--I really liked it!

Carnage: Nay

The characters in Carnage are such lightweights. A couple sips of scotch and they're all stumbling over drunk? Unfortunately, it's not the most entirely implausible behavior from an "over the top" satire that really just plays it broad.

[soitgoes...]

Paranormal Activity 3 - nay
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - mild yay
The Ides of March - yay
The Eagle - nay
A Lonely Place to Die - mild yay
Project Nim - mild yay
50/50 - yay

[eternity]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - nay

[Lazlo]

War Horse - Yay

[dreamdead]

Hugo - borderline yay

[Boner M]

Young Adult - nay

A step down even from Juno, to my surprise. I guess Theron's unlikeability is what gives it the illusion of authenticity, but aside from that there's nothing much else here, aside from a shitload of clunky visual metaphors and a glib and pandering repudiation of romantic narrative catharses. 9 out of 10 yays? wtf?

[Dukefrukem]

Delhi Belly - WICKED YAY
Meek's Cutoff - NAY

[Pop Trash]

Young Adult - nay


No love for Oswald or Theron? You didn't find their relationship interesting? I also don't know who this would be pandering to. Hipsters? Cynical people?

[Weeping_Guitar]

Mysteries of Lisbon - yay

[Ivan Drago]

War Horse - yay

[Derek]

the illusion of authenticity

That just about sums up Jason Reitman for ya.

[B-side]

War Horse - yay

[Boner M]

No love for Oswald or Theron? You didn't find their relationship interesting? I also don't know who this would be pandering to. Hipsters? Cynical people?
Yeah, the Oswalt/Theron scenes built a bit of goodwill (hence the **), but I was annoyed by how the script offers a fat cripple with a broken cock as the lump of coal that she deserves for thinking her plans'd work. As for the charges of pandering; the whole design of the film seemed eager to congratulate its audience for knowing well in advance that love doesn't conquer all as Theron naively believes (shouting at one point), that young adult books and soap operas and pop songs of the culture surrounding Theron peddle lies about love, that Cody/Reitman are da realest for rebuking all that... blech.

[Dukefrukem]

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY YAY

[Bosco B Thug]

A haul:

Shame - moderate nay

Underwritten is the key word here (taken from some review). And the biggest ditto to Reverse Shot on the score: "... that he’s gone further and weighed the already heavy film down with the most self-serious molasses-thick score in recent memory (even a habitual button-pusher like John Williams would cringe), is arrogance of the highest order."

A Separation - Yay

Blistering. Morally complex. Really good. Amazing dramatic story/screenplay.

War Horse - minor yay

Due to the story being okay enough. Survey of war yadda yadda, which is fine and good, but always tilting towards retrograde in the hands of fuzzy, the-values-we-hold-dear, let's-keep-on-holding-them-dear Spielberg.

[transmogrifier]

Bridesmaids - yay

Wiig's show, basically. Her reactions to the gallery of oddballs she interacts with are a high-wire mixture of self-possession, disbelief and insecurity, while not descending into blatant mugging. The film is curiously non-judgmental - Wiig's character is a bit of a bitch, really, viewed objectively, yet the film neither condemns her nor lets her get away with her behavior just because she is the nominal protagonist, or is not as bad as Byrne's character. She simply stumbles in and out of relationships and situations, and thankfully there is no last act "turn her life around" string of conveniences - she is still homeless, jobless and a bit wayward, and there is no guarantee there is a future with the guy she walks away with.

I could have done without the McCarthy tag with the food and the air marshall, the sign of a director not quite knowing when enough is enough, and it is way too long for the ground it covers narratively. But hey, a fun time with some good jokes. Can't complain too much.

[NickGlass]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: A suitably stately yay

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: a meh nay

I'm baffled by its popularity, frankly.

Pina 3D: YAY

[EyesWideOpen]

Certified Copy - mild yay

[Dukefrukem]

The Ward - Nay

[elixir]

Our Idiot Brother - nay

[TripZone]

Our Idiot Brother - nay

aw

[Lazlo]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Yay

[elixir]

aw
It's not awful or anything. I did like that its humor was derived from a good-natured mentality rather than nastiness, and the cast is pretty charming, but it's pretty cliched and forgettable.

[Acapelli]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - YAY

[Rowland]

Le Havre - mild... I dunno, nay I guess. Could go either way really, but given the endless praise bestowed upon this thing, the negative hits me harder. Sure is a formal delight though.

[B-side]

Our Idiot Brother - eh, yay, I guess

[Boner M]

The Descendents - solid yay

[Derek]

Le Havre - mild... I dunno, nay I guess. Could go either way really, but given the endless praise bestowed upon this thing, the negative hits me harder. Sure is a formal delight though.

It's like Bresson and Fassbinder got together and decided to make a socially conscious refugee comedy. What's not to like?

[Lazlo]

Another Earth - Yay

[TGM]

Another Earth - Yay

:pritch: More people should see this movie!

[StanleyK]

Senna- mild yay

It's a pretty simple movie, less interested in actually exploring Senna's character than exalting his exploits (and despite the talk about him being humble, he didn't strike as particularly humble at all. He brags about having the world pole-position record or whatever, and when he's beaten by Schumacher he blames the car). Happy music when he's winning, sad music when he's losing. Still, it's pretty entertaining and well-assembled, and even if I don't feel like I really got to know Senna, at least his passion for racing was strongly conveyed.

[NickGlass]

Senna- mild yay

Senna (Kapadia 10) D+

Me so confused.

[StanleyK]

Me so confused.

My scale works like this:

A - Excellent
B - Great
C - Good
D - Decent
F - Bad (Encompassing all manner of bad movies, from 'almost passable' to 'utterly wretched')

A 'D' is supposed to be a passing grade, right?

[Derek]

My scale works like this:

A - Excellent
B - Great
C - Good
D - Decent
F - Bad (Encompassing all manner of bad movies, from 'almost passable' to 'utterly wretched')

A 'D' is supposed to be a passing grade, right?

You realize kids who got C's and D's in high school were mostly morons, right? Sometimes even when you pass, you fail.

[EyesWideOpen]

My scale works like this:

A - Excellent
B - Great
C - Good
D - Decent
F - Bad (Encompassing all manner of bad movies, from 'almost passable' to 'utterly wretched')

A 'D' is supposed to be a passing grade, right?

A D is not a passing grade in any school I went to.

My scale goes:

A - Excellent
B - Above Average
C - Average
D - Below Average
F - Fail

[Lucky]

Moneyball - yay

[Kurosawa Fan]

You realize kids who got C's and D's in high school were mostly morons, right? Sometimes even when you pass, you fail.

:cry:

Or they were just on a lot of drugs. Wait, is that the same thing?

[Adam]

C's get degrees, yo

[Spinal]

War Horse - nay

[Irish]

Drive - nay

Edit: Catching up --

13 Assassins: yay
Adjustment Bureau: nay
Bad Teacher: nay
Beaver: nay
Bill Cunningham New York: yay
Bridesmaids: yay
Captain America: nay

[Dukefrukem]

My scale works like this:

A - Excellent
B - Great
C - Good
D - Decent
F - Bad (Encompassing all manner of bad movies, from 'almost passable' to 'utterly wretched')

A 'D' is supposed to be a passing grade, right?

Wow this scale is F@@ked.

See this is why people don't understand other people's grades on here... Putting a C next to a "Good" Movie is unacceptable.

Forget comparing grades to movies. It doesn’t translate. Grades are closely tied in with a tangible number. It can’t work this way with art.
Put a number next to instead. Whether you use 1-10 or 1-100. Both of these scales work fine.

[Dukefrukem]

Oh and the Help YAY.

Why is MC not liking this movie?

Tintin also YAY

[Dukefrukem]

Delhi Belly - WICKED YAY


and a bump for this

[EyesWideOpen]

Oh and the Help YAY.

Why is MC not liking this movie?

Tintin also YAY

I thought The Help was fantastic but it was obvious for me that MC was gonna hate it.

[Dukefrukem]

I thought The Help was fantastic but it was obvious for me that MC was gonna hate it.

Because it insists upon itself so much? ;) It's a great story. And it entertained me more than Tinker.

[B-side]

The Interrupters - yay

[Boner M]

but it was obvious for me that MC was gonna hate it.
why

[EyesWideOpen]

why

It felt like the type of movie that MC back lashs against like Crash or Slumdog Millionaire.

[Rowland]

Another mixed response for me, could go either way, but I suppose I'll say mild... yay for Fast Five. Oh wow, I'm already there! :cool:

[StanleyK]

Wow this scale is F@@ked.

See this is why people don't understand other people's grades on here... Putting a C next to a "Good" Movie is unacceptable.

Forget comparing grades to movies. It doesn’t translate. Grades are closely tied in with a tangible number. It can’t work this way with art.
Put a number next to instead. Whether you use 1-10 or 1-100. Both of these scales work fine.

'Unacceptable'? I think you're taking this a bit too seriously. Letters, numbers, stars, whatever, they're just shorthand for an actual opinion. Of course different people are going to interpret the scales differently. But I guess if people are getting confused by my ratings then they're not doing their job. Time to sacrifice room for a couple more movies on my sig and revert back to stars.

[Derek]

It felt like the type of movie that MC back lashs against like Crash or Slumdog Millionaire.

Yeah, it looked like a tepid, half-baked liberal white guilt trip. Glad to have confirmation. :)

[Derek]

:cry:

Or they were just on a lot of drugs. Wait, is that the same thing?

No, that's why I said most not all!

[Lucky]

50/50 - yay

[Kurosawa Fan]

No, that's why I said most not all!

No, I was kind of a moron. It's alright. Getting my life back on track made me comfortable realizing this.

[Ezee E]

50/50 gets a yay from me.

Is there a thread somewhere? THe Advanced search doesn't take that title. Thought this was great.

[EyesWideOpen]

Moneyball - YAY

I have zero interest in baseball and knew nothing about this story including the outcome and I was fascinated throughout.

[Lazlo]

Of Gods and Men - Yay

[MadMan]

The Descendants-Yay (really strong, too)

Ides of March-Yay, but its a merely solid one-my gut about some of it being boring was spot on

[transmogrifier]

Contagion - nay (would be mixed on the new scale)

Really flat direction of inherently interesting topic.

[TGM]

The Artist - YAY!