Doug's Favorite Movies of 2011

Rango
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Shame
The Descendants
Cedar Rapids
Win Win
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Jeff Who Lives at Home
Contagion
Horrible Bosses

Honorable Mention:

The Adventures of Tintin
Source Code
X-Men: First Class
50/50
Dragonslayer
Melancholia

The Adventures of Tintin

Who is Tintin? Is he a boy? Is he a man? Where are his parents? Thankfully, Spielberg doesn’t answer any of these questions as he hurls his audience head first into one chase after another, each more gravity-defying and hair-raising than the last. There’s a motorcycle chase through a town featuring some of the most Wile E. Coyote, high-wirey insane minutes ever conceived for a movie. The 3-D is crisp, the pace is brisk, and the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. I’ve always said Spielberg is an excellent director of sequences, which is abundantly clear in Tintin. But there is a cohesiveness that’s missing, as is subconscious desire of Tintin’s that leaves the emotional core of the movie lacking. It’s still an amazing movie and really worth seeing. (Even though it’s no Rango. But hey, what is?)

My Week With Marilyn

Marilyn Monroe is the least important part of this. She’s the complication for the protagonists, a narrator, Eddie Redmayne, and Sir Laurence Olivier, played by Kenneth Branagh. In what is ultimately a very good movie, the filmmakers go out of their way to explain that in spite of all of the problems she caused, Monroe was a movie star in every way, and was therefore worth the trouble. But if this movie could have another title, it would be called “Untreated Addiction.” So many of her quirks and problems, from the littlest things all the way up to her miscarriage, were obviously caused by a serious abuse of pills. Filmmakers give us a happy ending. Olivier gets the film he wants and the narrator gets a good story to tell. But in spite of the fact that this chapter of Monroe’s life winds up okay, we all know the rest of the story ends in tragedy.

The Artist

It’s amazing how much a good, old-fashioned happy ending can make a movie joyful and memorable. While many critics and reports refer to The Artist as a “silent” film, in truth, it’s a film about the silent film era that uses sound sparingly. The black and white film stock, the music, the performances, and the Hollywood locations elevate this to an Oscar worthy favorite. But the thing no one will dare admit is it’s really the silent film gimmick that’s getting people into theaters. Not that there’s anything wrong with selling a movie based on a gimmick, as long as it’s good, which it is. But you can’t really say it’s daring, or truly original. It is, however, definitely entertaining.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Didn’t I just see this movie a year ago?? The English version of the Swedish version of the Swedish book features some excellent acting, a brisk pace, and the trademarked, gloomy Fincheresque visuals. A bigger budget and more appealing movie stars makes this a must-see for anyone who hasn’t read the books or seen the Swedish films. If you have seen the other movies, while this is still a good movie, it might give you a feeling of déjà vu.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes knows Kung fu. That is all.

Shame

It’s a courageous and unflinching drama of one of the great human taboos; a man is sexually attracted to his sister. Does his attraction to his sister make him a sex addict? Or does the fact that he’s a sex addict make him attracted to his sister? Shame dares to ask forbidden questions, and dares to portray these questions cinematically and visually. The leads, Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, deliver brave and naked performances, eliciting such sympathy that by the final third of the movie you start to wish they would just sleep together and get it over with. The only way this movie could have been more daring and courageous is if the leads weren’t so physically attractive. Otherwise, in a slew of sequels, remakes, and safe historical adaptations, Shame is a truly unique movie. Never sexually unsavory but always trail-blazingly original and refreshingly honest about the complicated sexual kindling that fuels the human condition.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

It’s everything you could possibly want in an impossible mission. Yes, Tom Cruise is crazy, but he knows how to deliver the goods, and the sequences during which he hangs from tall things are thrilling. My gripe: there are scenes that happen off screen that need to be awkwardly explained by the characters later. But it’s not really about the plot, I guess. As long as a guy is hanging by his fingernails from the tallest building in the world, you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Gary Oldman plays a proper English spy trying to flush-out a mole in his clandestine spy agency. I’m certain there are literary types, cinephiles, and British people who’ll be able to follow the plot and find this movie subtle and brilliant. The acting is very important-sounding and production design is impeccably drab. So, I apologize if I sound like a typical, guns-a-blazin' American, but I found this to be a little too “Masterpiece Theatre.” There were moments, brief moments, when it got vibrant; stylish even. But there’s a lot of gray and a lot of whispering in between… I’d rather watch Homeland.

The Muppets

A perfectly pleasant movie featuring the old characters with slightly newer voices. It’s fun to see all the Hollywood locations, too. It’s not really a classic, but it invokes a lot of nostalgia. And nostalgia feels good.