My Favorite Movies of 2011

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the movies. I went to a shitload of movies this year and really enjoyed writing my little movie reviews after I got home. This year I only gave one movie a 10/10, which is my number one movie on the list. (Check it out below...) The five movies that I gave the lowest scores to were Sucker Punch, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Breaking Dawn Part 1, The Rum Diary, and Your Highness. Anyways...here is my list of the 10 movies that I enjoyed the most in the year 2011.

10. The Muppets

This movie was totally cheesy, but I loved it anyway. I've always loved The Muppets and this movie just put me in a really good mood. When ever I leave the theater after seeing a movie that I really like I end up walking on sunshine all the way home, and that was definitely the case with this movie. It was made even better by having the always adorable Jason Segel. I was bummed that I didn't get to see this movie with my little sisters, but they probably already know all the words to Man or Muppet because that song was stuck in my head all through Christmas break so I was singing it all the time.



9. Like Crazy

This movie stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as two young people who try to make a long distance relationship work after the girl overstays her visa and is no longer allowed in the United States. This movie has lots of really cute and sweet parts, but also a lot of parts that are really sad. They have to deal with jealousy, breaking up and then missing eachother and getting back together and trying to lift the ban on her visa while they are both leading really separate lives in their different countries.



8. Fright Night

This movie really surprised me. I love the original Fright Night, so I was really curious about how they would update the movie (since the old one is VERY 80s). I think that Colin Farrell makes a very sexy vampire, and I liked the way they changed the character of Peter Vincent. He went from old school vampire hunter in the original to a Criss Angel-type magician in this one. I just think that this movie is really fun to watch.



7. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

This was definitely one of the funniest movies that I saw in 2011. It is about these two rednecks who this group of college students think are serial killers. In reality, they are just on vacation while the students accidentally kill themselves one by one. I just love it because you see so many movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre where this group of kids get murdered by random rednecks who live in the middle of nowhere, and this movie is a comment on those.



6. Young Adult

I absolutely love Charlize Theron and I think that she was amazing in this movie. She plays a YA novel writer who goes back to her hometown to try to get back together with her ex-boyfriend (who is married with a new baby). The best scenes in the movie were definitely the scenes with Theron and Patton Oswalt, who plays a guy she never really talked to in high school, but confides in about her mission to get her ex back.



5. Jane Eyre

I loved this book so I was super excited when I saw that this movie was coming out. I think that the casting for this movie was perfect and that Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender were both really great as Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. In the book Mr. Rochester is described as unattractive, so casting Fassbender wasn't staying true to the novel, but I really don't care! Fassbender is soooo sexy as Mr. Rochester and he is definitely the best part of this movie.



4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I never thought that a CGI monkey would make me cry, but when Caesar draws his window on the wall it just got to me! Anyways, I always think that prequels are a rediculous idea, but Planet of the Apes was a good movie to make a prequel to since it takes place after so much has happened. It was really cool to see the beginning of how apes take over the Earth. While I love me some James Franco, the real star of this movie is Andy Serkis as Caesar. You see him become more and more human as the film progresses and (SPOILER ALERT!) when he finally talks it is NUTS! I just love how I can watch a whole movie of apes talking and think nothing of it, but when he shouted NO! I just went "WHHAAATTTTT!?!?!?!"


3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I know that a lot of people were really annoyed about an American movie version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but I was always super excited. Although I love Noomi Rapace and thought that she was great as Lisbeth Salander, I just did not care at all for the Swedish films. I think that Daniel Craig was the perfect choice to play Blomkvist and that Rooney Mara did an amazing job as Lisbeth. It also has one of the coolest opening sequences ever! I really hope that David Fincher directs the movie versions of the next two books as well.



2. X-Men First Class

There were a shitload of superhero movies that came out in 2011, and X-Men First Class was by far my favorite! I thought that the casting was perfect for all of the characters with the exception of January Jones as Emma Frost (I'm sorry I just don't like her). The star of the movie was definitely Michael Fassbender as Magneto and I'm not just saying that because I love Michael Fassbender. Magneto is one of the more interesting X-Men characters and he is just a badass in this movie! I am bummed because I can't find a Youtube video of that scene where he kills those German guys in Argentina...Whatever...here is another cool scene. I loved the parts with Magneto and Mystique and am hoping that we see lots more of them in the sequel!


1. Bridesmaids

Fooking hilarious! I saw this movie in theaters with my mom and we were both laughing our asses off the entire time! I thought that the entire cast was brilliant, even the people with smaller parts. This is one of the funniest movies to come out in a long time. I laughed my ass off the first time I saw it, laughed my ass off again when I saw it at the movie theater in Coffman with a full crowd of people, and continue to laugh my ass off whenever I watch it on DVD. Love this movie!

Spotlight On: Zooey Deschanel

This spotlight is on actress/ singer Zooey Deschanel. She is known for her big blue eyes, her quirky film roles, and her singing voice (which she showcases in a lot of her films). She is the She in the indie group She & Him is is now on one of my favorite new shoes, New Girl. Here are some of my favorite roles of hers.

Almost Famous

In this film she plays Rita, the older sister of the film's protagonist. She is a rebellious girl who leaves home to become a stewardess after not being able to take her mom's rules anymore.


Manic

Manic is a pretty intense film about a group of teenagers at a psych ward. She plays Tracy, a girl whose mom treats her like crap and who is often up at nights screaming in her room.



The New Guy

This movie is actually pretty stupid, and only worth watching for the scenes where Zooey sings.



Elf

Normally I think that Christmas movies are totally corny, but I think that this is a really cute movie. Zooey plays Jovie, a department store elf who is the love interest for Will Farrell's character. It is also another movie (out of several) where she shows off her singing voice.



The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Here she plays Trillian, a girl who was taken aboard a spaceship right before her planet was destroyed. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is on my list of books that I want to read...



Yes Man

I only saw this movie once, when I saw it in theatres, and the only part that I remember is Zooey's fake band singing "Uh Huh." I actually downloaded that song after I saw this movie. You can find the video for it HERE

(500) Days of Summer

I LOVE this movie!!! I think that Zooey and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are so cute together, I love that it doesn't have your typical romcom ending, and I LOVE all of Zooey's clothes in this movie.



Your Highness

Didn't really care for this movie as a whole, but Zooey was in my favorite scene from the whole movie where Leezar pretends to be James Franco.



New Girl

New Girl is one of my favorite New Shows this season. I love Zooey as Jess, the adorkable girl who moves in with three guys.

My Favorite Movie Lines

My first YouTube video! A compilation of my favorite movie lines. As soon as I made it, I thought of a million more so I'll probably have to make another one...

My Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

This movie here is a good example of why you shouldn't go against nature. You see it in Frankenstein, in The Island of Dr. Moreau, in Jurassic Park, and tons of other films/ books. I thought that this movie was a great prequel, and a good movie all by itself too. It's pretty similar to the Terminator series in that man takes scientific ambition a bit too far. Except instead of the machines getting smart, it is the apes getting smart. While trying to find a cure for Alzheimers, James Franco's  character ends up making his pet monkey Caesar very smart. He can do sign language and his IQ gets higher and higher each year. While he is getting human intelligence, he also gets human emotions, which gets him into trouble. He attacks a neighbor who is yelling at John Lithgow's character and ends up locked up with a bunch of other apes. When he drew the picture of the window on the wall I actually started crying. Poor Caesar. I really wanted to kick Tom Felton's ass while I was watching this movie. He plays such a little shit. Anyways, so Caesar keeps getting smarter, and then he finds his way out of his cage and comes back with some of the chemical that makes him smart and gives it to all the other apes. So, the apes revolt and start attacking everybody.
This is just a really good science fiction film. I really enjoyed watching it and I think that it is really interesting and also has a lot of heart. James Franco is great as always, but I really didn't think that Freida Pinto's role was all that important. She is basically just there looking pretty, but she does that very well. I just love that it is Andy Serkis playing Caesar. They must have used some of his voice too, because I swear I heard a Gollum-esque scream coming from the ape.
I have seen the original Planet of the Apes (and loved it) so I knew that the apes eventually learn to speak, but when Caesar yelled out "NOOOO!" my mouth just dropped open. I also thought that the "Caesar is home" and showing the infected man go on the plane was a very cool way to end the movie. My rating: 9/10

Spotlight On: Sam Raimi

This week's character of the week is one of my favorite horror directors. Sam Raimi is the director of the amazing Evil Dead trilogy, and that just makes him awesome in my book. I loved all three of them, as well as some other films that he has made. If I see a movie with Raimi's name attached to it, I just know that it is going to be really cool. Here are my favorites of his films.

The Evil Dead

No matter how many times I watch this movie, the scene where the girl gets raped by the tree always gets to me. You just see it whip its way in and every time I just go "aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!" It gives me the heebie jeebies. Yikes! Anyways, I love this movie and all of the Evil Dead movies because they have good amounts of gore as well as being wonderfully over the top.





Evil Dead II

I've actually gotten into arguments over this movie. People always try to say that this is a remake instead of a sequel, but god dammit it's a sequel! The only reason why the beginning is exactly the same as the first one is because they are recapping everything that happened. They wanted to show clips from the first movie, but they couldn't for some reason. Anyways, this movie shows the rare occasion when the sequel is actually better than the original.





Darkman

In Darkman, Liam Neeson plays a disfigured man who becomes a superhero! I saw this movie once, and I thought that it was pretty badass. If you're gonna have anyone play a masked hero, it has to be someone with a great speaking voice, and Liam Neeson definitely has that...



Army of Darkness

This movie definitely goes more the comedy route than the horror route. Regardless of this (or because of this?) this movie is still amazing. It's got Bruce Campbell kicking ass with his chainsaw hand, and a whole army of deadites. Love it!



Spider-Man

I REALLY didn't like the third Spider-Man movie, but I did like the first two. I still find myself quoting Bonesaw all the time. "You're going nowhere!" And...you can't beat that upside down kiss!!



Spider-Man 2

Another example of a good sequel. Although I do like the first one better, this one is really good too...



Drag Me To Hell

I absolutely love this movie! It is creepy, hilarious, terrifying, over the top, and disgusting, and was one of the greatest horror movies to come out in the past decade. I remember being very vocal the first time I saw this movie. I was watching it with a big group of friends and we were all laughing and screaming and yelling out in disgust. It was awesome! It has the greatest ending, and I love how baby-faced Alison Lohman gets her badass moment in the graveyard scene when she says "Goodbye!"





Upcoming: his next film is called Oz: The Great and Powerful and it looks really cool. It has the most awesome cast including James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, and Bruce Campbell. Can't wait!

My Most Anticipated Movies for 2011 (Part 2)

My last list only went up to July, so here are the movies that I plan to see from August through December.

August

I am a huge fan of the original Planet of the Apes movie with Charlton Heston, and I didn't think that the Tim Burton version was as bad as everyone says it was. Also, I adore James Franco, so this is a movie that I am really excited to see. What I am really curious about is how the timeline of this fits into the timeline of the original film.

I really like all four of the leads in this movie, and after seeing the trailer, I think this movie looks really funny.

I loved the original Fright Night, and am really curious as to how they will update the story, since the orginal was very 80s. Plus, what beats Colin Farrell as a sexy vampire?

I had this movie on my first list because it was supposed to come out a long time ago!!! I was pissed when they changed the release date, but now it is only a month away!! It is a rarety that a movie trailer can scare the hell out of me, and this one made me scream the first two times I saw it. (Once on my laptop, and once before I saw Let Me In.)



September

Two reasons I want to see this. 1. I'm a sucker for boxing/ fighter movies. 2. Tom Hardy

This is another movie that was supposed to come out a long time ago. I think that this movie looks super cute, and I really like Mia Wasikowska. Plus, I'm curious if Henry Hopper is as good of an actor as his father (who is one of my favorite actors)



I actually haven't seen the trailer for this movie (and can't watch it right now because my speakers are broken), but the cast alone is enough to make me want to see this movie. I heart Joseph Gordon-Levitt!



October

This is supposed to be a prequel to The Thing, so I don't know why they would give it the same title. I guarantee that this is going to be nowhere near as good as the original, but I plan to see it out of curiousity. I'm hoping that it's not all CGI, and that they use practical effects like they do in the original.

I've read both good and bad things about this movie, but I like Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy is one of my favorite movies!), and I am curious about how he does directing a film in my favorite genre...

I am really excited to see In Time, which looks like a modern day version of Logan's Run. Justin Timberlake plays a man who tries to run away from a society where you can't age past 25. Interesting...

You put Johnny Depp in a movie, chances are that I'm going to go see it. Here he is starring in The Rum Diary, which is another Hunter S. Thompson story, which is really cool since I love Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

November

My Week with Marilyn should be pretty good, I think that Michelle Williams will be a great Marilyn Monroe. What I am most curious about is how Kenneth Branagh will be playing Laurence Olivier. 

Hugo is a Martin Scorcese film. 'Nuff said...

Love The Muppets!! My favorites are the Swedish Chef, Professor Honeydew and Beaker, and Animal. I know I'm just going to love this movie! Plus, it was co-written by Jason Segal, so it should be good!!

December

I thought that the first Sherlock Holmes movie was just okay, but I still want to see the sequel. I'm curious to see Noomi Rapace in something besides  the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies...

Speaking of the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo movies...This is my number one most anticipated movie that I want to see for the rest of the year. It looks amazing! While I was skeptical about Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander at first, I have decided that I think she is going to be great. Can't wait until December!!!

Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar Love Triangle

One way that is sure to add drama to a romance film is to have a love triangle. My favorite kind of love triangle is what I call the Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar Love Triangle, named after three characters from Wuthering Heights. This type of love triangle involves two men and one woman. The woman has to choose between marrying the rich man and living a life of luxury and security with the Edgar character, or being with the man she loves, who is usually poor and better looking like Heathcliff. Sometimes the Edgar character is a good man who truly cares for the woman, or other times he is a bastard who only wants a pretty wife. One of the major themes you see in this kind of love triangle is a theme of jealousy. Here are a few examples of the Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar Love Triangle in film.

Wuthering Heights (1939, 2009) Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar

While there have been at least a dozen adaptations of Wuthering Heights, these two are my favorite. In Wuthering Heights, Cathy is in love with Heathcliff, but chooses to marry Edgar because he is "handsome and pleasant to be with" but also because he is rich. This of course breaks Heathcliff's heart, but he gets even by marrying Edgar's sister.

Camille (1936) Armand/ Marguerite/ Baron de Varville

In Camille, Margeurite is in love with Armand. She abandons being taken care of by Baron de Varville to go away with him, but unfortunately for her, Armand's father doesn't approve of their relationship. He threatens to take away all of Armand's fortune if she does not leave him. So, in order to try to make him stop loving her, she leaves him for the Baron.

Room With A View (1985) George/ Lucy/ Cecil

In room with a view, Lucy has to choose between George, the man she loves, or Cecil, the stuffy aristocrat whom she is supposed to marry. Unlike the previous films, this one does have a happy ending for Lucy and George.





The Princess Bride (1987) Westley/ Buttercup/ Humperdinck

This version of the Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar love triangle is a little different. Buttercup only gets engaged to Prince Humperdinck because she believes that Westley is dead. When she finds that he is alive, however, she wants to break off her engagement with Humperdinck. He makes an agreement with her, however, that she will marry him unless Westley comes and stops the wedding. This is a really shitty video, but I couldn't find a good version that could be embedded...



Titanic (1997) Jack/ Rose/ Cal

In Titanic, Rose starts off the movie already engaged to the rich Cal, but then falls for the poor Jack while on the "unsinkable ship." We all know that she chooses Jack over Cal, even making the stupid decision to jump back on the sinking ship to be with him.



Shakespeare in Love (1998) Shakespeare/ Viola/ Lord Wessex

In this film, Viola falls in love with William Shakespeare, even though her parents have arranged for her to marry Lord Wessex. Obviously she chooses the famous writer...



Shrek (2001) Shrek/ Fiona/ Lord Farquaad

In Shrek, the title character rescues Fiona from the fire breathing dragon so that he can bring her back to Duloc and she can marry Lord Farquaad. On the way, Fiona and Shrek fall for eachother, but Fiona intends to marry Farquaad because she thinks that only he can break the spell. Luckily, Shrek stops the wedding (even though he was a little late) and Farquaad gets eaten by a dragon.



Moulin Rouge! (2001) Christian/ Satine/ The Duke

Along with Shrek, Moulin Rouge is an example of when the Edgar character is a bastard. Satine and Christian fall in love, but Satine has to charm and seduce the Duke so that he will finance turning the Moulin Rouge into a theater. This film is actually a lot like Camille and deals a lot with jealousy. There is even a similar plot element to Camille where Satine has to make Christian believe that she doesn't love him.



Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Will/ Elizabeth/ Norrington

In the first Pirates of the Carribean movie, Elizabeth must choose between Will, her childhood friend, and Commodore Norrington who has asked her to marry him. She agrees to marry Norrington, but chooses Will in the end.



The Notebook (2004) Noah/ Allie/ Lon

Noah and Allie are together for one summer and fall in love. After she leaves to go back home and then to college, she thinks that they are never going to see eachother again. So, she gets engaged to a handsome guy named Lon. Before her wedding, however, she sees Noah's picture in the paper and goes to visit him. It is then that she realizes she still loves him.



Tristan and Isolde (2006) Tristan/ Isolde/ Lord Marke

In Tristan and Isolde, Isolde is in love with Tristan, but is forced to marry Lord Marke. Marke is a kind man, so Isolde does not hate him, which leads to Tristan getting jealous. Isolde does love him, though, so she sneaks out to see him. When the guy is James Franco, how could you not love him?



Red Riding Hood (2011) Peter/ Valarie/ Henry

In Red Riding Hood, Valarie is in love with Peter, but is arranged to marry Henry. In this film, Henry actually gets a clue that Valerie doesn't love him and he breaks off the engagement. That is something that you don't usually see in these kinds of love triangles.