EDITORIAL: 2011 in Film

With the end of the year and the 2011 RROROFL awards coming up, I thought it proper to make an overview of the films that I saw this year in theaters. Admittedly, 2011 was not one of the strongest years for movies. Screens were littered with sour sequels, pointless remakes, and a plethora of downright awful cash-ins. This year it was gaming that took the spotlight, but that isn't to say that there weren't any good films out this year. In this editorial, I will split the 32 new films I saw this year into categories based on how god they were: Superb, Good, OK, and Awful, and announce the seven films competing for this year's Best Film RROROFL. The best and worst films will have descriptions, while the middling films will just have the names. Note: I have not yet seen Sherlock Holmes 2 or Tintin, and I expect I will like both of them enough to give them a nomination, but since they are not out I cannot. 

Superb Films
Rango (RROROFL Nominee)

This spectacular animated film from Nickelodeon was a breath of fresh air- a mouthwateringly beautiful cartoon shown in traditional 2D and owning an omniscient flair that set it apart from all of the other animated flicks this year. With superb voice acting, exciting action, and a tremendously funny screenplay, Rango was definitely the surprise critical success of the year.






Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (RROROFL Nominee)

The final film in J.K. Rowling's phenomenal Harry Potter series was also the most fast-paced and watchable movie of the series. It was a perfect end to the series, combining top-notch acting with impeccable production design and clever dialogue. Hopefully, this will win some Oscars.


X-Men: First Class (RROROFL Nominee)

Marvel's new "We'll do things properly" idea worked varyingly well this year, although all of the studio's films were at least decent. X-Men: First Class, the only prequel of the three Marvel films this year, was also the best. With suave acting and a fun production, First Class was a powerful Marvel film, although does the announcement of a new Spiderman film foreshadow the downfall of superhero cinema?








Super 8 (RROROFL Nominee)

Spielberg, you've done it again. While not wholly original in my opinion, Super 8 was a fun ride and somewhat nostalgic of older kids films. Gritty but witty and fast-paced yet fully emotional, Super 8 was a terrific sci-fi film. If only all family films today were like this.




The Beaver (RROROFL Nominee)

While not very popular in real life this year, Mel Gibson shone on the screen in Jodie Foster's "The Beaver", an enlightening drama about a depressed man who finds both happiness and pain in a beaver hand puppet. The film explores schisms in modern families and how anyone can be affected by depression (Gibson's character is a CEO).






The Green Hornet (RROROFL Nominee)

Seth Rogen is awesome, Jay Chou is slyly funny, and Christoph Waltz is fantastically absurd in this thrilling and fun "superhero" movie. One of the better movies in 2011's early months, The Green Hornet is well worth watching.






Paul (RROROFL Nominee)

Simon Pegg & Nick Frost once again proved their worth in Paul, another film with a hilarious Seth Rogen performance that showed just how well Pegg and Frost could write without legendary Edgar Wright. I watched Paul more (5) times than any other film this year. It was a bit over the top (especially with the profanity-related jokes), but overall it was awesome.




Attack the Block

Another film starring Nick Frost, Attack the Block was a crazy sci-fi film that was actually very timely, showing well the struggles of bored youth on the streets of London. The aliens were actually original this time (completely black monkeys with only their blue teeth visible in the dark), and the action was both hilarious and awesome.




In Time

With a few plot holes here and there, In Time shied away from perfection, and was no "Inception". But Timberlake's promising performance was highlighted and the film was deviously original, possibly the next source for science memes. (Although I don't think it was influential enough for that).








Limitless

A fast-paced film with solid acting, intense action, and a triumphant ending. One for the blu-rays with it's stunningly good editing.

Hanna
A very interesting and funny film about a girl who escapes the CIA and lives a continued and confused life on the run. A great movie about power, survival, and friendship.









Johnny English Reborn

A superior sequel to the first Johnny English movie, Reborn is not amazing but has enough funny scenes to keep kids and parents laughing throughout. A great warmup for the upcoming bond film.









Arthur Christmas

The best Christmas film since The Polar Express. What else could you expect from Aardman? This film answers all questions about how Santa does it (although later somewhat refutes them). It is cute, intelligently written, and gorgeously animated.









Good Films:

• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides
• Thor
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Cars 2
• Horrible Bosses (Would be excellent if not for Jennifer Aniston trying too hard)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
• Arthur
• Real Steel

Ok Films:

• Transformers 3
• Cowboys & Aliens
• Rio

Awful Films:

• Your Highness
• Battle: LA
• I am Number 4
• Zookeeper
• Gnomeo & Juliet
• Hop

Worst Film of the Year:

Hoodwinked Too!: Hood vs. Evil

If you were to mix every rage comic in the world, Tommy Wiseau's "The Room", the thought you get when you lose the game, MLP and 4chan into one movie, it would tower above this. Hoodwinked Too is absolutely despicable, with 90's animation quality and a horrible story. Don't ever see this. Buy your kids Rango or take them to see Arthur Christmas.