Also, if a film played film festivals in 2010 but didn't get a DVD release in my neck of the woods until 2011, I'm counting it.
Keep in mind, this isn't really a 'best of' list. Just shit I liked. It's always too hard for me to do a top 5 or top 10 or best of. This is everything I liked that I could think of, actually. I'm sure I missed some things, and I'm sure some of this stuff questions my sanity and/or credibility, but that's okay.
Movies:
13 Assassins
Takashi Miike's samurai fest is a masterpiece. Beautiful cinematography, great acting and one bad ass story. The last 45 or so minutes is non stop awesome that was more fulfilling than any Hollywood blockbuster I can think of released in 2011.
Attack the Block
Had an absolute blast with this projects vs aliens movie. The monsters/ETs look fucking awesome, the dialog is fast paced and funny, and there is a long running slo-mo sequence towards the finale that is one of the best I've seen.
Batman: Year One
I strongly urge any fan of Frank Miller's Year One comics to check this shit out. I watched it about 5 times in a week. So fucking good.
Bellflower
A movie about two buddies with a measureless amount of love for Mad Max. They like building flame throwers and shit like that in preparation for the inevitable apocalypse. Throw a girl and a love angle in the mix and things get the fuck outta hand. I loved this movie.
Bereavement
Stevan Mena's prequel to Malevolence. My review is right here.
Burke & Hare
Read a lot of hate for this film before getting the chance to watch it, but I had a blast. Great comeback for Landis. It's funny as shit, unexpectedly bloody in some areas, and the ending fucking ruled.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Poster by Kevin Howdeshell.
Really taken back by this, as I think Marvel movies had been sucking pretty bad the last few years. 2011 kinda turned that all around for me. FX on Chris Evans early on in the film is pretty damn amazing. Hugo Weaving was a bad ass Red Skull, Sebastian Stan fucking owned as Bucky, Tommy Lee Jones was a damn delight, so on and so forth.
Cars 2
Highly underrated. Had just as much if not more fun with this as the first one. Sure, I fucking detest Larry the Cable Guy, but Mater is fun and his dumb ass pulls it off. I look at it this way; I think Tangled is fucking awesome and Mandy Moore did a good job. Doesn't make me a fan of her. Some people are cool if you don't have to look at them.
Chillerama
I don't think I am as batshit crazy ecstatic about Chillerama as most fans of it are, but I still had a wad-ton of fun! With that being said, I actually quite liked the I Was a Teenage Werebear story. I dig movies like Grease, and Werebear reminded me of Grease if Grease were making fun of High School Musical or some shit. What disappointed me was Joe Lynch putting the shitty gold that was Deathacation on the backburner to finish up that wraparound story, which I thought none too much of. And that sucks, because I dig Lynch. Oh well, movie was still fun, and Diary of Anne Frankenstein as well as Wadzilla are pretty goddamn genius.
Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2
Yup, quite liked this sequel. Thought the acting was better, story was, well, there was one, music was less lame, gore was great, so on. Austin Green fucking owned. Here is my review.
Drive
Good grief I fucking love this movie. All the people complaining that they didn't get a Fast and Furious type flick... they should be thankful. Fucking great soundtrack/film score, out of nowhere violence, awesome car chases and stunts, beautifully shot, great chemistry between Gosling and Mulligan, and if you close your eyes you can listen to Albert Brooks and pretend Marlin from Finding Nemo is saying "fuck" a lot. Great flick, indeed.
Drive Angry
Hell yes I enjoyed Drive Angry! This is the kind of movie where Nicholas Cage belongs forever. Stay away from that Next type shit, dude. Embrace your ridiculousness and fucking run with it. Camera work is friggin great, action is damn near non stop, gore is fantastic, Amber Heard is fucking hot, Nicholas Cage's hair is fucking hotter, William Fichtner steals the show. Excited to see what Patrick Lussier does next.
Final Destination 5
Just recently watched this. The Final Destination was a gigantic fucking turd of a film. I don't really think this one is any better in terms of acting or dramatic element, but goddamn are the kill scenes a delight! CGI is horrendously apparent (I'm not a CGI hater but this shit looks pretty bad. Entire characters are computerized for some death scenes), but the deaths are so damn crude and punishing that it doesn't matter. The bridge premonition is almost on par with the highway tragedy in part 2, which was my favorite. This wraps it all up on a genius level, too. Unfortunately, you know New line is gonna keep it going.
Hanna
This started out kinda slow. I am cool with that, as I enjoy slow movies. I'm also cool being tricked as long as the trick is rewarding. Fifteen minutes in, Hanna is going fucking batshit bananas, I think I may have even broke a sweat. Great intense chases and fights and leaping over shit and all kinds of other bad assness. Bana and Blanchett and Ronan all own here.
Hobo With a Shotgun
Kinda like Chillerama, I don't think I went as crazy over this as the masses. I much prefer Machete, and am still dying a little inside that Eli Roth's Thanksgiving isn't a fucking movie yet. However, that in no way means that Hobo With a Shotgun isn't a lot of fun. I was mostly put off by the bad guys. I do get it. I know this shit is intentionally over the top. But I think there is a difference between over the top and just straight fucking lame and obnoxious, and that's what the bad guys were. Either way, the movie itself more than made up for my nitpicking and Hauer is fucking unbelievably awesome.
A Horrible Way to Die
Loved this shit and the manic camera work and have a movie boner for Adam Wingard and A J Bowen. Here is my review.
I Saw the Devil
Fuckin' brutal South Korean flick that makes Fincher's Se7en look like a goddamn Barbie movie. Highly recommended to fans of Park's Vengeance Trilogy.
The Innkeepers
As I mentioned in my review, I didn't love The Innkeepers, but I did enjoy it. Just wanted more. Wanted to shit my pants at least once.
Insidious
I like James Wan. Dig most of his movies and he just seems to be a real cool dude. If you haven't seen Death Sentence, I recommend the fuck outta that. To me, it's what The Punisher (any of them) should have been. Baconator goes bananas, shaves his head in "don't give a fuck" fashion and swears vengeance. Shit owns. Anyway, Insidious is surprisingly awesome, and there's a few moments that unsettled me. Especially that damn baby monitor shit and the fucking curtain scene. Holy crap.
Kaboom
Not my favorite Araki film, but dammit, I was glued to the screen the entire runtime. It's crazy messed up, hella sexual with a ton of fucked up characters and has one truly weirdy but priceless ending. All I ask from an Araki film.
Paul
Definitely a bit different from an Edgar Wright, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg collaboration, but I actually dig Motolla's films, so no worries. Not a huge Seth Rogen fan, but I'm not exactly a hater, either. I found him quite funny in Superbad and The 40 Year Old Virgin, and he was straight hilarious in this. Tons of Sci-Fi nerd love, with nods to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Star Trek (the fight reenactment is fucking gold) and all kinds of other dorky shit. Even got kinda choked up a few times. Dig it.
Rango
I was just saying this on Facebook the other day, but I fully expect that in the near future Tim Burton and Gore Verbinski will have a fight to the death for Johnny Depp ownership rights. They won't leave that dude alone! Either way, Rango reigns as my favorite animated movie this year, hands down. The soundtrack rules, I love westerns so that feel was so on point for me, The Clint Eastwood/Man With No Name references were genius, the Fear and Loathing reference was genius, and there is some kick ass voice work from Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton, Timothy Olyphant.... this shit just keeps on keepin' on! Rango is a totally lovable character, and the movie was an all around great experience.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Definitely one to add to my "watch every December" list. Kinda reminds me of something Joe Dante might think of on mushrooms or some shit. Some pretty freaky scenes, and one helluva satisfying and unique ending. The true secret of Christmas has been found, and it aint no jolly ole bastard comin' down your chimney, either!
Red Hill
This hit DVD over here in the states in January 2011, so it barely makes the list. This is one bad ass revenge tale, starring Ryan Kwanten as a cop in a new town full of secrets and assholes. Recommended to fans of Mad Max and First Blood, though, it stands on its own. Here is my review.
Red State
Still trying to wrap my brain around the whole "this is a horror film" marketing, but whatever... I greatly enjoyed the movie. John Goodman and Michael Parks are fucking astounding, and Kevin Smith does more than just point and shoot. Here is my review.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
For something that I had zero interest in initially, this film blew my mind. I'll admit, I'm not a Planet of the Apes loyalist. I love the original film, but I can take or leave the sequels. Tim Burton's movie I thought was a straight up piece of shit. If you're going to make a movie with a heavy amount of CGI, I think WETA is the absolute best choice. They kill all else in computer imagery. There's a lot of heartfelt shit in this flick, and Andy Serkis should win an award or something. Sometimes I think that dude was supposed to be born anything but human.
Rubber
Pretty much every poster that I saw for this film was bad to the ass, but this one in particular just oozes awesome. One helluva unique flick that no doubt divided audiences. Here is my review.
Scream 4
It's a shame that this film tanked. I absolutely loved the first Scream, thought part 2 was okay enough, and 3 was goddamn abysmal. What I disliked the most about Scream was the hefty amount of lame ass shit slashers that came in its wake. Sure, it put some life back into the slasher genre, but it wasn't the best resurgence. Anyway, when news of Scream 4 surfaced, I didn't give a shit. Then the trailer hit and I was on board. Highly surprised by the movie. All kinds of fun and puns and disses and cool shit. David Arquette rules, despite that he got over his severed spine limp. Courtney Cox was lookin rough. Neve is still pretty hot and really easy to attach to. Enjoyed the ending reveal, though, nowhere near on the level of the original in terms of surprise. But, how batshit crazy the killer was... total win.
Stake Land
Like I thought Daybreakers did, Stake Land makes vampires fucking bad ass again. Great friggin story with characters you give a shit about. Here is my review.
Sucker Punch
Yup, I loved Sucker Punch. For me, it was completely eyeball candy popcorn entertainment. Tons of hotties running around whoopin' ass, with Scott Glenn checkin' in periodically to let you know that he still fucking exists and rules. What can I say? I have a hard-on for Zack Snyder and think he's a visual genius. Sometimes, I am completely cool with style over substance.
Super
Not gonna lie; Super made me laugh and cry and wince in pain. Even though I quite enjoyed Kick-Ass, it absolutely disgusts me that some peeps pass this shit off as a ripoff before actually even watching it. Rainn Wilson shreds in his performance, plus you get Ellen Paige looking surprisingly seductive (for me at least) Liv Tyler lookin' legit drugged out, Michael Rooker lookin' cool (duh), Kevin Bacon ruling as the asshole and more. The ending threw some curve balls I didn't see coming, and I wept again before the final credits. I'm a little bitch.
Super 8
I dig the shit out of J.J. Abrams. A lot of people said this had the feel of Goonies and Close Encounters and E.T. You can tell those inspired this, but there's differences for sure. What sold me were the kids being inspiring horror filmmakers. What sold me more was the amount of emotion put into the kid characters. What sold me even more than that was Elle Fanning's performance. Goddamn that girl kills and she made me cry. I'll watch anything with Kyle Chandler. Been a fan since Early Edition.
The Thing
Yeah, I enjoyed it. But I'm still a generally nice guy, I promise! I'm even kinda cool sometimes! Here is my review and an explanation of why I hate going out to the movies.
Thor
Another Marvel movie I didn't think was a piece of shit. Though, I didn't think it was on the level of Captain America. Thor is pretty damn cheeseball, but that's actually what I liked about it. The town scene reminded me so much of the small town scenes in Superman II, total win, in other words. Sometimes, it was really hard to look past Chris Hensworth's fake ass blonde hair and eyebrows, but other than that, I had fun.
Trollhunter
I think Trollhunter just may be my favorite 'found footage' film fucking ever, and I am a fan of shaky cam shit. Here is my review.
Tucker & Dale vs Evil
I think I liked this more for the comedy more than anything else. The horror aspect is awesome, but it's also pretty damn funny. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk fucking rule together, but I think Labine is a show stealer. Dude is just a big lovable teddy bear. Katrina Bowden is holy shit hot. One of the better horror comedies in recent memory.
The Violent Kind
Still not really sure what I think about the Butcher Bros as a whole. I thought The Hamiltons had potential and don't even want to talk about April Fool's Day. I guess a lot of people didn't dig on The Violent Kind, but it was just too fucked up weird to not be entertained. It did take a bit to get going, but once it did I was cool with the ride. Here is my review.
Wake Wood
I'm pretty fucking glad that Hammer is back. Big fan of some older Hammer goodness. I may have enjoyed Let Me In more if it had brought something new to the table. Having already seen Let the Right One In (which I thought was fucking brilliant), it just didn't do much for me. The Resident seemed pretty uninteresting to me, so I never watched it. From what I've heard, I aint missin' much. Wake Wood is fucking awesome, though. Helluva bad ass ending and one of the best kid horror movies since the original Village of the Damned.
The Woman
I sadly haven't read the book, but Lucky Mckee's latest is one mother fucking intense experience. Pollyanna McIntosh freakin' kills. It's impossible to not feel for Angela Bettis' character here, too. Sean Bridgers plays one of the largest cinematic assholes in shit, a decade maybe. I've heard a lot of people were put off by the film's soundtrack. My buddy over at Guts and Grog said he heard the same. But like him, I think it works. Kinda fucks with your emotions with how strangely the music fits with the scenes at hand. Excellent movie.
X-Men: First Class
Once again, I was impressed by a Marvel Movie. This was my favorite comic related film of the year. A massive improvement over Last Stand and Wolverine. It helps that every single person on the cast killed in their roles, and Matt Vaughn is turning out to be a pretty bad ass director.
Wow, that wraps it up. Like I said, there's some stuff I didn't get to see yet that I wish I had. Namely, Melancholia, Tree of Life and Ides of March. I'm sure there's more. I'll get to it eventually.
