The best, worst films of 2011
The year 2010 saw such film making successes as Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” and Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.” As usual, with the good came the bad, and Hollywood released such disappointments as M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender,” and Roger Kumble’s “Furry Vengeance.” With the eclipse of 2011, I offer to you some of my insights into some of the best and worst movies of the year.There were a number of great movies which were accompanied by poor counterparts. Here is a look back at a few of the best and worst movies of 2011.
“Super 8”
Set in the summer of 1979, a group of young friends inadvertently film an intense train crash, which they discover has a sinister and extra-terrestrial explanation. “Super 8” combines elements of mystery, action and suspense to create a genuinely interesting movie. What’s more, director J.J. Abrams, in collaboration with Stephen Spielberg, reveals how throwing aliens into a storyline does not simply result in mindless and illogical action, as we saw earlier in the year with the disappointing “Cowboys and Aliens.” Instead, “Super 8” appears more a tribute to the supernaturalism of “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
One could accuse “Super 8” of catering more to an underage audience, given that its cast consists of mostly children, but most refreshingly child actors Riley Griffiths, Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney deliver superb performances and their relative newness to the film-making industry does not compromise the film’s dramatic effectiveness.
Overall, Abrams successfully combines suspense with explosive special effects, but, most importantly, he makes the audience care about the fate of his likable young protagonists, who are plunged into a world of action and mayhem.
“X-Men: First Class”
“X-Men: First Class” is another success of 2011. In the latest installment of the widely successful X-Men series, the film reveals the origins of the X-Men squad and the rivalry between humans and mutants that characterizes the previous X-Men movies. It is obvious that the very nature of a prequel invites an array of complications. The director must cast and portray characters that resemble their sequel counterparts.
However, director Matthew Vaughn does a great job of presenting believable, and both likable and hate-able characters; although one can be forgiven for letting out a brief sigh upon discovering that the main antagonist, like so many other Hollywood titles, is — once again — a Nazi.
James McAvoy delivers a convincing role as Charles Xavier, and similarly Michael Fassbender encapsulates the Machiavellian yet subtly moral spirit that we love about Magneto. Comic book lovers will be unavoidably enticed to watch this title, however, “X-Men: First Class” offers the exciting visuals and interesting characters that are imperative to attracting newcomers to the Marvel franchise.
“Thor”
Director Kenneth Branagh’s summer blockbuster spans the ascension of Thor, played by Australian-born Chris Hemsworth, from a reckless and mighty prince of Asgard into a true hero, following his banishment to earth after provoking an ancient war. It is no secret that Thor, along with most marvel productions, is formulaic. However, Branagh shows us that a combination of action, romance, peril and humor can create a very watchable blockbuster.
Thor has a huge number of special effects that deliver battle scenes that are awesome in the true sense of the word. At times laugh-out-loud funny — as Asgard-born Thor struggles to adapt to his earthly exile — Thor does not fail to achieve laughs, and the romantic subplot with the gorgeous Natalie Portman creates further diversity to Hemsworth’s hammer-wielding persona.
Now that I’ve looked at some of the best films of 2011, I will poke some fun at the ones that did not quite make it last year.
“Jack and Jill”
The mild semblance of storyline offered by director Dennis Dugan involves the rivalry between Jack Sadelstein, played by Adam Sandler, and his twin sister Jill, also played by Sandler, as she sojourns with Jack’s family during Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, “Jack and Jill” offers little more than a gaudy concoction of anti-Semitic and al Qaida-based jokes. Even worse, Dugan waits only 20 minutes before resorting to most tedious fart jokes.
Any sympathy that one can feel for Jill, who is shunned by her brother, wholly dissipates with the relentlessly annoying shrieks and shouts of the cross-dressed Sandler. In a society becoming fixated with political correctness, one has to question why a man dressed as a woman is the premise of a 2011 comedy.
Further, lacking the emotional emphasis of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” this film offers nothing more unique than a curious cameo from Al Pacino. Still, very young audiences may derive some amusement from the slapstick comedy, most of which will appear close to vulgar to any mature viewer.
“War Horse”
Spielberg’s anticipated 2011 Christmas release “War Horse” tells the story of an unbreakable bond between man and beast during one of the darkest recesses of human history, World War I. To name this movie one of the worst of 2011 is probably a harsh accusation on my part, given its huge production cost of over $66 million; but because the movie was marketed as a Christmas sell-out, I feel my criticism is justified.
As a young adult, I cannot help but deplore the expectation that I would “be moved to tears.” I found the movie corny, over-hyped and even historically anachronistic. After leaving the cinema, I felt somewhat peeved at Spielberg’s depiction of the Battle of the Somme. I hardly think during a battle in which more than 1 million soldiers lost their lives, that one slap-happy Geordie soldier would be naive enough to traverse the almost certain death of no-man’s land, converse and joke with an enemy German soldier and rescue a rather romanticized horse.
Now, one can retort that a film based on a children’s novel will unavoidably contain overly-emotional and intellectual inaccurate scenes and that I should cast my socio-political analysis of War Hor
se aside. However, as an Englishman myself, I cannot help but feel that this movie has confirmed my suspicion that the Devonish accent in any artistic guise will tantalize any inquisitive American to part with the cost of a movie ticket.
It is unfair though to entirely condemn “War Horse” as an ignorance of the horrors of war, because the movie did include intense fighting scenes, which attracted its PG-13 certification. Despite any problems I have with the storyline, one cannot deny that the visuals of “War Horse” were at times stunning. Spielberg’s directorial mastery really surfaces when he captures the rich and colorful English countryside. Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel that if the movie was marketed as a children’s movie rather than Christmas blockbuster, my cynicism would abate.
– simon.fisher@aggiemail.usu.edu