****Favorite Films of 2011****

Favorite Films of 2011

1. Hugo
2. Sleep Tight
3. Super 8
4. The Artist
5. Hanna
6. Drive
7. Michael
8. Attack the Block
9. Bridesmaids
10. Source Code

Honorable Mentions:
Juan of the Dead, Midnight in Paris, Rise of the Planet of the Apes,
Warrior, X-Men: First Class


5 Favorite Foreign Films of 2011

1. Sleep Tight
2. Michael
3. Juan of the Dead
4. Last Screening
5. Invasion of Alien Bikini


Most Favorite to Least Favorite
Musicals from Musical Monday

1. Singin' In The Rain
2. Tommy
3. Cabaret
4. Wizard of Oz
5. Sound of Music
6. Newsies
7. Nine
8. Hard Day's Night
9. Mary Poppins
10. Rocky Horror Picture Show
11. Phantom of the Paradise
12. Producers


Most Favorite to Least Favorite
Shame On Me Movies from Shame On Me Night

1. National Lampoon's Vacation
2. Dirty Harry
3. Planet of the Apes
4. Tombstone
5. Graduate
6. Braveheart
7. Yojimbo
8. To Kill A Mockingbird
9. Bridge of the River Kwai
10. Silence of the Lambs
11. Dracula
12. Bambi


Most Favorite to Least Favorite
Yakuza Movies from Yakuza Night

1. Street Mobster
2. Yakuza Papers Vol. 1
3. Yakuza Papers Vol. 2
4. Female Yakuza Tale
5. Yakuza Graveyard
6. Rainy Dog
7. Yakuza Papers Vol. 3
8. Gonin
9. Tokyo Drifter
10. Graveyard of Honor
11. Like A Dragon
12. Family

When Harry Met Sally

When Harry Met Sally
This has always been labeled as
"the ultimate new year's movie."
Famous for all kinds of scenes.
I've seen clips before but never as a whole
until this morning.
Let's see what the big deal is:
I enjoyed it a little more than I expected.
Learned a few things about relationships.
The most important thing of course is
that no man or woman can ever be just friends
with the opposite sex because well sex
can ruin the friendship.
That's a rule there according to Harry there.
In some cases, that statement should be true.
I like that rule.
I like some of the comedy here especially
in the second half.
I like all the stuff that involved
Harry and Sally's best friends who
ended up getting married.

Definitely a great New Year's movie.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
What can I say about this movie?
It was too soon.
I have the original fresh in my head.
So obviously I had no choice
but to compare the two.
I like this one.
I don't want to trash it just because
Hollywood decided to do it now
for the rest of the American audience.
I like some things on this more than the original.
But the original holds something more special.
This one had a badass score
(I'm a big fan of Trent Reznor).
I didn't like Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander
at first, but, after the rape scene, she kicked
some ass.

Good to check out.
Must buy for David Fincher fans.

Rabid / Grand Theft Auto

FRIDAY AT THE GRINDHOUSE

(This was supposed to be last Friday
but due to the holidays, I decided to
push it to this Friday)


Rabid
This is kind of like a zombie movie.
Directed by David Cronenberg.
I love the way it starts.
Typical grindhouse.
Lots of bites and kills.
Short and simple.
Perfect way to start the day.
All we needed was some of that
John Carpenter music.

I like the way it ends. Straight to the point.



Grand Theft Auto
Another grindhouse classic.
Can you believe it?
It's got Ron Howard in it.
Hell, he even directed it.
Lots of car crashes and action with cars.
Cars running into houses.
Cars running into each other.
Radio hosts tracking the main characters
driving cross country to get married.
A little chaotic.
But I enjoyed it.

Good finish to this year's Friday At The Grindhouse segment.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
This was pretty good.
Slow but powerful spy drama.
I like the build up for the last few scenes of the movie.
I was getting anxious.
This is a performance movie.
Every single actor did freaking good in their roles.
Of course, you can't mess with Gary Oldman.
Lots of details.
My favorite moment is of course, the ending.
Not going to spoil it.

This movie didn't quite meet my
personal expectations, but good
to rent and watching it at home on
a Sunday morning.

Warrior (2011)

Warrior
Another great drama this year.
This one keeps you entertained all the way through.
It's long but very good.
I liked everything except
for the obvious predictable ending.
I mean, I knew the two brothers were going
to fight each other in the end and make peace.
But nothing original was added to that.
I love the development of this story, though.
I like the details.
Tom Hardy's character kicks ass.
Love that he goes into the ring and
gets out right away after knocking out the
other person.

This was very good.
Another great movie this year.

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011)

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY (Encore)


A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
This would make a decent double feature with Hall Pass.
Both came out this year and both have Jason Sudeikis in them.
This was pretty funny.
Not raunchy but toilet humor funny.
Speaking of toilet, this had a scene where they made a bowl
out of a toilet and used it for bean dip.
That's a good idea.
I think I'll do that one day.
Good stupid drinking movie.
The funniest character is McCrudden played
by that one dude from Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil.
Some other characters were alright too.
Nothing to make a big fuzz about just another stupid comedy.

If you're in the mood for a silly movie to drink with,
this is okay to rent.

Win Win (2011)

Win Win
Brilliant performances.
Solid story.
The first half was my favorite.
It gets a little tiring in the second half
but still holds the story together.
I had no idea what this movie is going to
be about other than it's about a coach/lawyer in
a small town.
I like all the characters on here,
including the new assistant coach guy.
Funny but not laugh out loud funny.
Smart funny.

Mood for a good drama?
This will deliver in that department.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Midnight In Paris
I'm not a fan of Woody Allen but
surprisingly, this movie turned out pretty good to me.
Short, sweet, and simple.
I thought they were going to overdo the going
back to the 20's stuff but it was a fair amount.
Love the cameos who play famous artists from the 20's
(like Adrian Brody playing Dali).
It was charming.
A story about focusing on the present not the past.
Even though it's hard sometimes.
I like the writing on here.
The music was also sweet.

Another great film this year.
Probably be in my top 20.

Love Actually

Love Actually
This is a charming story to see for Christmas.
There's like 7 to 8 stories here.
About half of them were really good, in my opinion.
My favorite story is the son and stepdad story.
The son is in love with this girl and
the stepdad (Liam Neeson) helps him out.
This is the first movie I've seen with Colin Firth in it.
He was alright.
The rock star, Bill, was also cool.
I think my favorite scene of the whole movie,
which was a bit emotional, was the kid's show at the school.
They performed "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey.

This is what "New York, I love You" should of been like.
Make you feel good movie to see for Christmas.

The Artist (2011)

The Artist
What can I say about this silent movie?
Beautiful!!
From the very first frame, this movie
captured the heart of the silent era and the film history
experience.
The music went very well.
But what this movie best offered was the performances
by the main actor and actress.
You gotta be badass to perform without any dialogue.
My favorite scene is the "Bang!!" scene.
Love love love the ending.
Gave me a bit of the chills.

Definitely somewhere in my top 10 favorites this year.
Gotta think on that.

Soul Kitchen

Soul Kitchen
Nice little German discovery.
Little bit of comedy and little bit of drama.
I thought it was going to be more about the cooking but
it's more about the restaurant's owner.
It's that one guy who comes out in Run Lola Run.
He plays the thug brother.
Pretty funny.
Love the music and food combination.
I would eat in a restaurant like this.

Had some St. Pauli Girls and Bratwurst with this film.

Los Ojos De Julia (Julia's Eyes)

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY

Julia's Eyes
Pretty intense Spanish flick. Loved it.
I got excited a few times here.
This lead actress did a badass job as a blind person
and even the scenes where she tried to act as if she
was blind was awesome.
The creepy guy that plays "Ivan" was also good.
Not a movie to see when you're alone at night.
Only minor things that I didn't like was the shadow
that kept on running away in the beginning and the
mother scene.
Other than that, good original stuff here.
Love that we don't see people's faces whenever the character
is blind.
The camera shots were tricky and cool.
This was produced by Guillermo Del Toro
(of course, it had to be awesome).

Fans of horror and thriller, I recommend this.
I would buy it for the Foreign section.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

Kung Fu Panda 2
Okay this wasn't as good as the first one.
No surprise there.
But it was a little decent.
Nothing new except for a badass villain
voiced by none other than Gary Oldman.
Mostly everyone from part one is back.
Nothing new to add to their characters.
Actually there wasn't any scenes that stood out for me.
Maybe the last scene where our hero, Po, starts dodging
the things coming out of "the kung fu killer machine."
Pretty much standard.
I guess the way I felt about Cars 2 is the way I felt about this one.
No good Animations this year except for Rango.

There's going to be a part three, but
I won't be watching it in the theatre.

The Yakuza Papers Vol. 3: Proxy War

YAKUZA NIGHT THURSDAY

Every third Thursday of every month of this year,
I'll be watching a yakuza flick.
Love the yakuza genre but haven't really seen a whole lot.
There's a lot of classics out there.
This will help me explore these Japanese movies.
I'll be watching a few from directors,
Kinji Fukasaku and Takashi Miike,
as well other yakuza flicks from the 60's and to the present.


The Yakuza Papers Vol. 3: Proxy War
This continues right where part volume two ended.
Not a lot of things happened here.
Just bunch of yakuzas battling each other
and starting more crap with rival groups.
I like the severed hand scene.
The last 30 minutes of the film seemed
a little to repetitive.
Couldn't help but falling asleep during the last part.
I still love the style.
And I hope to one day own this collection set
and rewatch them all again.
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No trailer found but here's the opening to Vol.1
just for kicks:


At the end of the year,
I'll post my most favorite to least favorite
of the Yakuza films I've seen this year.

Dracula

SHAME ON ME WEDNESDAY

The second Wednesday of every month
I'll see a movie that I am ashamed
to admit I've never seen before.
A movie that most have seen
and it's usually referenced in pop culture.
As a fan of cinema, I shouldn't have missed
these movies, but I did, so shame on me.
This will give me the chance to catch up on those
movies.

This month is Best of Shame On Me.
I took the runner ups of all Shame on Me this year
and had my panel vote for their #1 and #2 picks.

Majority of the Panel chose Dracula as their #1 pick.


Dracula
Well I finally got to see this movie.
I don't know if I never mentioned it but
I'm a big fan of Gary Oldman.
And seeing this movie made me proud of being his fan.
He kicked ass in his Dracula role.
Overall, the movie was a bit confusing for me
and a little too long that I lost some interest
in the second half.
But love seeing some great beheadings and vampire slayings.
I forgot Keanu Reeves is in it with an English accent.
Didn't like that.
Dracula was the runner up for Shame on Me back
in February. It was the month of love.
This was more sexual than romantic, but, oh well.
Can't go wrong with Monica Bellucci as one of Dracula's bride.

I have no other comments on this movie.
This wraps up my Shame on Me Segment this year.
Thanks to my panel for their support.

Fright Night (2011)

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


Fright Night
Okay, I haven't seen the original.
At least I don't remember.
This one has McLovin (from Superbad) as a vampire.
Yeah, he didn't really fit the character.
But we got some other alright characters.
It was a bit funny and a bit scary.
But overall, nothing special.
It wasn't that entertaining.
I mean the first half was interesting.
But it lost its touch somewhere down the line.
I think it was the part where we thought Colin Ferrell's character
dies in the roadside scene.
It got more cheesy after that.

Okay to watch if you're a fan of vampire movies.
I got to learn another thing about vampires.
I didn't know that they don't go inside the house unless
you invite them.
Good to know.

Tesis

Tesis
Decent whodunit movie from Spain.
It's got that one girl from Cria Cuervos
and Eduardo Noriega from Devil's Backbone.
It starts out with a typical plot.
As it unravels, there's more characters
that become possible suspects.
The only flaw is why didn't these people
call the police as soon as they find out
some crazy shady stuff.
Kudos for the Cannibal Holocaust reference in
that one dude's shirt.
This is the first feature film from director Alejandro Amenabar
(who did Abre Los Ojos and The Others).

Okay to check out on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
Wouldn't buy it unless you want to start an Amenabar movie section.

The Debt

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


The Debt
Pretty decent spy thriller.
Some minor flaws but the
story is entertaining.
Some good scenes like when they capture
the evil doctor for the first time with a fake ambulance
and of course the ending was pretty decent.
One of the writers to this is none other
than Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, Layer Cake, X-men: First Class).

Check it out for a one night stand entertainment
with popcorn, M&M's, and a coke.

Mary Poppins

MUSICAL MONDAY

[To expand my knowledge in this genre

and for the sake of trying something different,

every first Monday of every month this year,

I'll be checking out a musical I've never seen before.]

Mary Poppins
Love the first 20 minutes of this
magical musical.
The rest was alright.
Damn, didn't know this was very long.
But cool musical nonetheless.
Love the two main kids.
This is where "A Spoonful of Sugar"
came out from.
Learn something everyday.
I like some of the other songs.
I just want to get on the roof
and dance around like a crazy maniac.

For future reference:
don't see this one late at night.
Good morning movie.
This concludes the Musical Mondays segment.
Got to see 12 interesting musicals.
At the end of the year,
I'll list my most favorite Musical to least favorite.

Beginners

Beginners
I thought this was going to be quirky and funny.
It's got some good old moments but
nothing to be excited about.
It goes back and forth of the father and son story
and son and girlfriend story.
Not really interesting.
I recommend watching Death at a Funeral,
the British original not the silly American remake.

Talking to the dog scenes
and Melanie Laurent (from Inglourious Basterds)
are the only cool reasons to see this movie.

Kidnapped

Kidnapped
Awesome home invasion movie from Spain.
You see one home invasion movie you seen them all.
But what makes this movie different from others
are the badass long tight shots
and of course the cool split screen sequences.
It starts off with a crazy intro
and ends with a crazy ending with nice
music for the credits.
That's the way I like my movies.
This movie won Best Movie and Best Director
at last year's Fantastic Fest.

This made me want to start a Home Invasion section.
Other movies would include,
Funny Games and The Strangers.