Top 10 films of 2011

Hey guys! I thought it was time for me to do one of these lists haha. So hear I am! :P Gosh, this was a hard list! I mean..this year hasn't been that great for film. I didn't have as many favorites as I normally do. So..let's get this underway :P And don't judge me on this list either. I don't look at films to see if they are masterpieces and all of that stuff. I just look at films to see if I enjoy them and to see if I will watch them again. So on this list, there will be films that I know critics hated. But i found them entertaining so..here they are! :P

10. Paul

I wasn't that sure that sure about this one..I mean..I REALLY hate Seth Rogan and the plot didn't look that interesting. But anyways, I went and watched it and I absolutely loved it! Just the fact that it's a road trip makes it brilliant. I love that the two main characters in this are geeks so that makes them relatable to the people that this movie was aimed for. I mean, throughout the whole film there was numerous references and jokes to other Sci Fi films that only us geeks would understand. So that makes the script well-written. The whole film was just so witty and it all just flowed all together :) The cast in this..I loved. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are funny as always and I loved all of the cameos from Sigourney Weaver and Jane Lynch. But to me, the best performance was from Kristen Wigg who I have fallen in love with. Of course this film came out before Bridesmaids which has now gotten in her into the mainstream and I couldn't more happier for her :) In this film, she plays a hardcore Christian who has to wear an eye-patch all of the time haha. But comparing her role in this and to her role in Bridesmaids, you can tell she is a method actress. Bridesmaids was pretty raunchy and then for her to play a goody-two-shoes in this is quite funny to me. My only grip with this film was Seth Rogan. I mean, it's just him playing him. I can't look at the alien without seeing Seth Rogan in a recording booth saying all of these lines. When you can imagine that, it usually means that they aren't a very good voice actor >.< But anyways, I can recommend this film to anyone especially fanboys. Everything is so well executed and it's a joy to watch. Highly recommended :)

9. Abduction

OMG! I own that poster haha!
Now..this film I saw twice in the cinema. I rarely do that with films anymore unless they are absolutely amazing. I saw most of the films in this list twice or more in the theater which is saying something for me..But anyways! Abduction. What can I say! I mean, It's Taylor Lautner going around and kicking ass! What more could I personally ask for? I flipping LOVE Taylor so..I couldn't ask for anything more :) Plus, with him being called Nathan(Which is my name) all of the time literally made my heart jump every time it was said :D If you want a more in depth review, I have it on here on my blog so..go check it out! Anyways, can't wait for this to come out on Blu-ray in a few weeks :D

8. Beastly

Go on. Give me hate. I don't care. I still a teenager so I'm allowed to love these type of films :D Now, this was SOOO anticipated! I read the book early in the year and I loved it SOOOO much! I love all these modern re-tellings of fairy tales so this is just another one to add to the list. I love the tale of Beauty And The Beast to begin with so..anything to do with that, I will gladly support :) Now, the film. Of course, it wasn't perfect but hardly no film is. I love Alex Pettyfer and with him playing the weak, vulnerable character is just so  adorable. Vanessa Hudgens...Ehhhh. I never liked her that much in the first place but she is absolutely fine in this. She isn't in it for THAT much so I guess that's ok. My major grip about the film is that they change quite a lot from the book. In the book, Kyle actually gets turned into a beast. With fur and claws and everything. And in the film, they put on some tattoos and and cuts and thats it? Also, in the book, they added the element of the magic hand mirror which can show you anyone you wanted to see. That isn't featured in the film and also the stories of some of the side characters. Like in the book, there was a massive twist that featured that maid of the house, Magda. But that isn't in here as well. Gosh, it sounds like I really hated this film! But I really didn't. I'm just comparing it to the book haha. Oh! I also loved that Mary-Kate Olsen played Kendra the witch. She is my favorite element of the film and the book :)

7. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Go ahead, all of you film buffs out there. Shoot me now. I know that this should be higher up on my list but meh. I found myself getting more connected to some other films out there so I'm putting this one lower. I know it was amazing and blah blah blah. But...I liked some other films more.
This one, I was REALLY uncertain about. I don't know anything about the franchise and didn't have that much interest in it. But, I went to a special preview of this film and gosh, was I surprised! Everything about this film was perfect! Just perfect! The acting, the special effects were AMAZING and those action sequences..man, they were intense! There was one scene in this where my heart literally stopped in shock. It was this big plot point and gosh, it was just mind-blowing. Ha, I remember in my screening when that moment happened, the whole cinema literally went "Holy Shit!" Which was exactly what I thought. I don't wanna give anything away but if you have seen this film, You will know what scene I mean :P Anyways, this film was exceptionally phenomenal. My only grip is the fact that they had next to no female characters but, I can over look that. Everybody must check this film out ASAP! You won't be dissapointed :)

6. The Muppets

Ahh, Another one that I wasn't that sure about. I had no experience with The Muppets growing up and didn't really know anything about them. But I saw that this got a 96/97% on Rotten Tomatoes and my jaw literally dropped. I thought that this must be good if it is getting universally loved. So I went and saw it and I was very pleasantly surprised! The thing I loved the most about this was the humor. I literally laughed till I cried numerous times in this. And trust me, that doesn't usually happen very often with me. Also, I loved that this was a kind of parody/satire of other children's films. Hell, even films in general. And it all fit together so well! The musical numbers, the characters, the plot. It was all so perfect! My only grips with this one was that..Ok, I REALLY don't like Jason Segal. I don't think he's that good of an actor. He just delivers his lines so blandly. And this didn't change my opinion of him at all. It's just him playing him again. Another thing that I didn't like was that they had a couple of fart jokes. From what I know, the original Muppets never did things that. Well..this film was written by Jason Segal so go figure I guess...But anyways, Highly enjoyable film and I can't wait to give this one another watch :D

5. Thor

Ahhh..Another one that I wasn't that sure about! Jeez, I wasn't that sure about any of these! I am really not a fan of superhero movies. The only ones I ever liked are the Spidermans and Batman and Batman Returns(Yes, I think The Dark Knight is insanely over rated) But..This one was kind of different since Thor is a God and the plot was of him losing his powers and not learning how to use them etc etc. But..I don't know what was so good about this one! It was so much better than I thought it would be! Just everything about this film was so much better than some other superhero films out there. The cast, I absolutely L.O.V.E. Chris Hemsworth (Isn't he gorgeous!?) Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Anthony Hopkins etc etc. And the action sequences in this were just..amazing to watch! All that stuff with the ice giants and then the fight with the big destroyer thing was just so cool to watch. Again, I can't really put my finger on why I liked this one so much! I will have to give it a re-watch and edit this or something haha. Now, I can't wait for The Avengers haha. Now, I am only seeing it because of Thor. I don't really care for any of the other superheroes featured in it. So I'm only seeing it because of Thor/Chris Hemsworth :D

4. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Ahh. I bet you knew this was gonna be on here :D This is only number 4 because there were 3 other filmed that I loved and appreciated more than this one :O Sounds a bit crazy coming from a Twi-Hard but it's true :D   Now, I won't go into this one much since I have already posted a review. If you are interested in what I thought about the film..GO CHECK IT OUT! :D Now, I can't wait for this to come out on Blu-Ray so I can watch it again. I only saw this in the cinema twice and I wish I saw it more...CAN'T WAIT FOR PART 2!!! AHHH!!!

3. Black Swan

Now..I'm not sure if I can put this on here. It was released in New Zealand in January so..that makes it a 2011 for us! But gosh, I was actually looking forward to this one VERY much! Just the trailer of it makes it look so intense and instantly it makes you wanna see it. And gosh, was it intense! I actually have a very bad habit of biting my nails and trust me, this film did not help! The last 20 minutes or so of this was just so heart-pounding and suspenseful that I think I was literally shaking when I walked out the cinema. And that doesn't happen very often to me!
Now of course, everything else about the film was PERFECT! The plot line that I enjoyed the most was the one that featured Nina and her mother. Just the way that the two characters kept fighting of each other and how intense the relationship got between them was just....electrifying. You really don't see that kind of relationship in a film. Now, I don't really want to talk about the other elements of the film because I can go on for forever talking about this. But if you haven't seen this film, What the hell are you still doing here then!? Go check it out!

2. The Help

Now, this I don't have to talk about much either. I posted what I thought about the film in my last post so go read it! I explain everything there :D

1. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

You know I had to put this on here :D Now, this I don't have to explain either. I'm sure that everyone on the planet has all already seen this film haha! But, I don't Harry Potter to end! My favorite thing was waiting for the next Harry Potter film to come out and now I don't have that excitement anymore :( :( But I always have Breaking Dawn Part 2 and The Hunger Games to look forward to :D :D But Harry, you will always be in my heart and I will never forget you :'(

Now, I must give honorable mentions to come other films haha. Firstly Hugo. I haven't seen the film yet since it hasn't been released here yet but I know I'm going to love it :D Also, I loved We Bought A Zoo, New Years Eve, Friends With Benefits, Bridemaids, The Lion King 3D, One Day, Scream 4, TinTin, and numerous others :D Now next time..It's gonna be the top 10 worst films of 2011 >.<

I'm back :D

Hey guys! Sorry for the whole..not updating my blog thing. I have been super busy with HEAPS of stuff going on, Birthday's, Christmas, New Years, everything haha! So this post I will talk about every movie I have seen over the past few months (Minus the ones that I can't remember watching on DVD/Blu-Ray) Luckily, I save all my movie tickets and put them in a folder so I can always know what I have seen :) So let's go through all of the movies that I have seen in the cinema (P.S. This might take me a while :P)

Friends With Benefits

Now, I had a double feature of this with Abduction haha. Watched one right after the other in the cinema haha. Anyways..I wasn't so sure about this. I saw No Strings Attached when it came out early 2011 and I personally HATED it. It was just so boring and unfunny etc. So with a film with the exact same plot..I wasn't that interested. Also, I HATED the poster! I mean, look at the two actors hands and the way that they are positioned :O But, I watched the trailer and it looked quite funny and I liked the cast (Minus Justin Timberlake >.<)  But anyways, Went and saw this and was VERY surprised! This version of the friends with benefits tale had just so much charm to it! I just loved the humor in this and the way that the director filmed everything, I just loved it. Also, the cast in this was just perfect! Mila Kunis, Jenna Elfman, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson, you name it. Plus I LOVED the cameo from Emma Stone :D

The Help

Now, I have been waiting for SOO long for this film. Ever since the trailer came out, I knew that this film was going to be amazing. But..It wasn't amazing..It was FRICKING AMAZING! It was so amazing that I actually ended up seeing this in the cinema three times :O Just everything about this film was perfect! The cast, the script, the direction, just everything. My only nit-pick with this film is that I didn't like the plot-line where Skeeter gets into a romantic relationship. It doesn't really go anywhere and does nothing for the plot. Other than that, I love everything else :) Now..Oscars..I hope that this film gets nominated for quite a few Oscars. I think that Viola Davis for her performance as Abilene  should be nominated for Best Actress. She carries the whole film on her shoulders and some of her lines and scenes are just absolutely heart-breaking. I also think Octavia Spencer for her performance as Minnie and should be nominated for best supporting actress. She was just so perfect in this role and from what I know, the character was actually written with her in mind. And to me that paid off very well. Oh stuff it, everyone should be nominated! I just haven't seen a more Oscar-worthy film this year. (All those other films like The Artist, Moneyball and all of those haven't been released in New Zealand yet so don't give me hate for not mentioning those because I have no way of watching them)

One Day

Ok..Another very anticipated movie in my books :) Romance + Anne Hathaway = perfection :D
I was actually very surprised that we got this over here in New Zealand. It didn't do very well , critically and financially, in America, and when that happens to a film in America, It usually never comes here. So, again. very surprised. Now, I actually really liked this film! Now, I know that I am a hopeless romantic so...thats probably why. But, anyways, this film had a certain charm to it. I think it appears that way to me because it seems so real. People actually go through these types of relationships and have the ups and downs that this couple had. To me, this film is like Beaches. These two friends meet at a young age and go through everything together. Marriage, divorce, alcoholism, careers, you name it. And, I personally love that kind of plot :) And then..Oh gosh, was this film sad..I knew something sad was going to happen but I couldn't exactly figure out what was going to happen but Oh gosh, I didn't expect THAT to happen! Another thing that I loved about this film was the music. The music in this was just so memorable and to this day, I still find myself listening to the main titles track on Youtube :P Now, I know I shouldn't review this film without talking about Anne Hathaway's Accent. Now, ok it wasn't perfect but with me, I personally couldn't tell when she was doing it wrong or bad because I'm not that good at identifying accents. But at least she gave it a go :)

Paranormal Activity 3

Ok so this one was another VERY anticipated film. Me, personally, I don't think I had ever been more scared by a movie than Paranormal Activity 2. That film was just...fucking terrifying! And with this one..I don't think I had ever been more.. disappointed. I knew something was up when they changed the directors and then the rating. With an M rating(That means anyone can get in to see it over here) I knew they must of toned down some bits. Boy, did they ever. Half of the scares in this were fake scares(Which I hate!) And then most of them had to do with these bloody earthquakes which had nothing to do with the plot! That is just a cheap way out, I think. When it actually got to the paranormal stuff..It just wasn't as good as the scares from number 2. And then in this one, they actually copied some of the scares from number 2. Which again, Is another cheap way out. One thing I did like was that they added a camera which spins around. But even, with that, they didn't use it to its full potential. So with me, I don't think I had ever been more disappointed with a film this year (Other than Green Lantern) If they do make a Paranormal Activity 4, they should make it more like the second one and just don't take the rating down so you can get more people in. If you actually make it scary, you will make the money anyway. Oh, and one more thing. TOBY PULLED MY HAIR! Haha, best part out of the whole movie :P

Puss In Boots

Ok..Another one that I wasn't that sure about. I didn't like the last couple of Shrek movies so I was thinking that this would be just as bad. But the reviews were saying that it was decent and better than Shrek 3 and 4. So..I went and saw it :D And..I really liked it! I saw this in 3D but this was one of those movies were they use  3D to add depth. I don't usually get the whole depth thing but in this one, I really understood it haha. The opening credits in this were just AWESOME! :D But with the actual film..It was decent. I mean, it had good character development, a great plot and eye-catching action sequences. Now..I don't really know what else to say about this film since I think that animated films are quite hard to review because you don't have performances to review, cast choices and all that kind of stuff. So..Yeah! I do like this one a lot more than Shrek 3 and 4  but I won't find myself watching this one over and over like I do with heaps of other  animated films.

New Year's Eve

Ok..Another highly anticipated movie. I personally loved Valentine's Day and then when I read that the director was going to make another one of these star studded films, I got super excited :D Now, I really liked this one. I know that hardly anyone else did but.. I did :) The cast was really great(Even though it didn't have Taylor Lautner in it :( ) It was great to some of actors who hadn't been in anything for a long time(Halle Berry)  and also see some new comers(Lea Michele) Now, I can't see all of the flaws that everyone else is pointing out. Thats it's too star studded, to many plot lines that go nowhere etc. I feel the exact opposite.You can never have to many stars in a movie, I think. and I loved every plot in this and thought that they were all wound up quite nicely. I do think that Valentine's Day was funnier but I wasn't in the best mood when watching this so..maybe thats why. If you want some light-hearted fun, this is the movie for you :D

Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipmunks 

......FUCK YOU! AND FUCK YOU FILM MAKERS FOR MAKING THIS GOD AWFUL FILM!  Never have I had I seen a worse movie in the cinema. This is like one of those shitty direct to dvd sequels where it SHOULD be! This was just,,Oh god, I can't believe how bad this was. Just please film makers..Just don't release another one these film in theaters..Save us all..

Immortals

Ok, So..another movie that I wasn't that sure about. The trailer didn't explain a lot but it certainly looked cool! So..it was the visuals that made me go see this film :D And...thats all I got from this film. The plot..didn't make much sense to me. I'm sure they described it early on in the film but they didn't make any effort to retell or do anything to remind us why they were doing all of these things.  From what I can remember it had something to do with this magic bow and... all of these other sub plots with the Gods and the Titans or something. But this movie looked so damn cool! Especially in 3D. I loved all of the action sequences especially the climax with all of the titans. It was all in slow mo and..just so damn cool :P So for me, that was the only thing that had going for this. Not much substance but..a lot of cool moments :D

The Adventures Of TinTin - Secret of The Unicorn.

Ahhh, another movie that I wasn't that sure about. I don't really know much about TinTin other than than I had to read some of the graphic novels in French class. And I wasn't that good at french so I didn't really understand anything haha :P But this.. Oh gosh, this movie was just flipping awesome! Everything about this was just perfect! The humor, the animation, the cast. It was just mind-blowing. There is an action sequence where they have to get this scroll from Morocco which is locked up in a bulletproof case. When they break the glass, It goes in slo-mo and just looks amazing in 3D :D Then, they have this huge car chase scene(Which was shot in one take I might add!) And everything just flowed together so well and it was so bloody exciting :D To me, this is the Indiana Jones movie for a younger generation. Or what the 4th Indiana Jones movie should be :P

We Bought A Zoo

Ok, I have been excited for this one for a while :D Who wouldn't wanna see a Zoo in film :P But..Oh gosh, this film was so much more than that. This had so much heart and emotion than I thought it would be. Gosh, the last quarter of this film was just so flipping emotional. It comes with death, redemption, dealing with loss, you name it. But the first 3 quarters of the film holds up as well. You have great performances, a lot of fun scenarios and of course the animals! And the best thing is that..The animals aren't CG..or talking! If there is one thing I am sick of is bloody talking, CGI animals! But in this film, they might as well be talking because you can tell every single thought that they are thinking and how they feel. Don't ask me how the film makers did that but..they managed to do it :) Now this is a film for everyone. Everyone has something that they can enjoy in this film. Children: Heaps of animals to look at. Woman: Drama and a lot of heart. Guys: Scarlett Johansson to look at :P


OK. So those are all of the films I have seen in the cinema recently. I did see Contagion but I don't remember a lot from it so I couldn't really do much on that one. Okk..Now, DVD/ Blu-Ray :P

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.

Ahhh..I bloody love this film. I only discovered this one recently(Around a year ago) and I wished I had found out about it earlier.  This is the film that I put on in the background if I am doing something or if I want something really light-hearted and something that I don't have to concentrate on. Just the cast in this is perfect!  I love anything that Lisa Kudrow is in so that is always a plus :P But I do think that the best performance and the funnest to watch is Janeane Garofalo playing a character called Heather Mooney. She just has so many great one liners and the funnest to watch :D If you want something to light-hearted and hilarious to watch, this is your film :D

The Emperor's New Groove

Ahhh, This film and I go way back haha. I saw this when it originally came out in theaters and boy, did I love it. And still to this day, I really do admire this film. The plot to this film, jeez! You don't really find a movie where the main character gets turned into a Llama.. And I have to mention that the villian in this film is one of my favorite Disney villians. Ezma is one of those people that you love to hate. But I do think that the main talent is in the voice acting. Eartha Kitt just plays her PERFECTLY! Some of her lines and the way that she says them are just utterly hilarious. Whenever I find myself quoting this film, it's usually one of Ezma's quotes. (Pull the lever,Kronk. WRONG LEVER!)  Also, does anyone else think that this film is a satire/parody? I mean there is the one scene where Ezma (who got turned into a kitten) gets pushed off a ledge and ultimately she would of fallen to her death. But no. There was this huge shipment of trampoline's that just happen to be set up straight away when Ezma reaches the ground. So she bounces on the trampoline right back up to where Kuzco(the main antagonist) is. Now..To me, that seemed like taking the piss out of conventions. Of course the villian doesn't die straight away and of course she/he comes back and gives one last show down but there is usually a reason. In this film, the reason is that a giant trampoline gets set up even though the palace didn't order any? That seems to me like it's taking a piss. But anyways, enough about that. I also love the whole breaking the 4th wall through out the whole film. There is even a scene where Kuzco pauses that film and talks to the audience. Personally, I love it when I film does that kind of humor :D So this is one of my favorite recent Disney films. And from what I have researched, same with the critics and audiences :)

The Fox And The Hound

Now, Here is a Disney film that I never saw as a kid and only just finished watching for the first time..hmm 10 minutes ago haha. This has been one of those films where I have been meaning to watch for the longest time but never got around to it. Well, today I sat down and did it! And from what I got from this, I really liked it! I thought it was better than some of the other Disney's that were coming out around the same time as this one. Now, I don't how how well the transferred the original book into the screen but from what I saw, I absolutly loved. I like that this doesn't have a lot of characters in it so you get to fall in love with the ones that you see on screen which are of course Tod and Copper. And boy do you ever. Especially in the short amount of time that you have. Of course, the comic relief is as great as ever and to me the animation looked stunning. Especially in the last 10 minutes with the whole bear sequence. Now..I don't think this will be one film that I will watch over and over. Because, personally, I hate watching movies when you know that you are going to cry :'(

Bambi

Ok, now this is another film that I never saw as a kid. And personally, there is a reason. My parents never let me watch this when I was small and now..I can see why. But we will get to that later.  Now, this film to me seemed like a segment out of Fantasia. Just so you know, I love Fantasia so that's not a bad thing :) Just the way that the animation is presented is just absolutely stunning and the way that the sound effects go with the animation is just perfect. Now, what I loved about this film is that there is no plot. And when a film has no plot, you usually bash it right? But with this, You don't even notice. You are just swept away in the glory of this film. And of course the trauma of it as well. With just watching this for the first time, I can see why I was never allowed to watch this. I know that if I watched this growing up, It would have messed me up..There was one scene in this that I even found disturbing as a 19 year old. Not the bit when Bambi's mom died..I knew that was coming. The part where a bird got so stressed and panicked that she flew up into the air and got shot. Now, I don't know why I found that hard to watch..I think it must of been the music and the voice acting all rolled into one.
Also, is there a reason why we never see man? I know that man is the villain of this but is there a reasonw hy we never see them? Hell, even there guns for that matter. But I do thing its quite smart that we never see them.
Also, Does anyone else think that Bambi's dad is a bit of a dick?


Ok, so that's it for this time. I will post again, in a couple of days because I still have heaps of films to write about :D