Best of 2011

Well its a new year and thought I would do a year end list.  While I did not many of the  movies I wanted to see this year and haven't seen many of the movies getting all the attention this time of year I still thought it would be fun to do a list.

1. The Help- while it has been called a white guilt film it is still one of the best movies I have seen this year.  Great acting and good story. 
2.  Bridesmaids- The funniest movie I have seen all year.
3.  Circumstance-One of the best movies I saw at Sundance in 2011 even it won the Audience Award and got a very limited release in theatres but wish more people had got a chance to see it. It is about two girls in Iran who fall in love.  The very limited release probably had something to do with it being in a foreign language and about lesbians. 
4.  Martha Marcy May Marlene-Another Sundance movie but this one did get a wider release and more recognition.  With great acting especially by newcomer and younger Olsen sister Elizabeth Olsen.
5.  Attack the Block-In a year filled alien invasion  movies this was one of the most original and coolest looking one. 
6.  Red State- Who knew that Kevin Smith could write an action thriller with one of the best endings of the year. 
7.  Sound of my Voice- Another great movie I saw at Sundance but did not get released but hopefully one day it will. About an investigative reporters that infiltrate a cult.  I heard the writers originally planned this as a trilogy hope it works would love to see more.
8. and 9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: First Class- Two of the best action movies of they year.
10.  Hanna -  Another cool action movie with an awesome soundtrack from The Chemical Brothers. Hope it gets a Best Score nod at the Academy Awards.   

Honorable Mention:
Although I didn't want to put it in the top 10 the movie that I probably talked about the most this year was The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence.  With it's over the top gore and violence was a big topic of conversation. 

Best Documentaries
1.  Rebirth - About the lives of those affected by the 9/11 attacks. It was very emotional and inspiring.
2.  The Interrupters - Caught this one at the Milwaukee Film Fest about ex gang members who try to stop violence in Chicago. Very timely and impotrant film.
3.  Marathon Boy - Missed it at the Milwaukee Film Fest but caught it on HBO. Very interesting documentary about an Indian boy who like to run or did he?  What starts off as a interesting story about what appears to be an over enthusiastic coach turns into a political thriller.  Never seen a documentary take such a weird turn of events.
4.  Becoming Santa - A fun little documentary about a guy who decides to be Sana one year and his different experiences.
5. Make Believe- About a group of kids who enter a magic contest in Las Vegas.  The coolest thing about seeing this at the Milwaukee Film Festival was hanging out with some of the kids afterward.

Honorable Mention:
Another movie that I talked about a lot but didn't make my list was Hot Coffee. Very interesting story but a little too one sided. 

Sundance Review

Well now that I am home and have got a little sleep I thought I would do a little Sundance Wrap up.
I ended up seeing 10 movies, and 18 Shorts.

My 5 favorite feature films are
1.  Rebirth-about the aftermath of 9/11
2.  Circumstance-(which ended up winning the Audience Award) about two girls coming of age in Iran
3.  Martha Marcy May Marlene-with great performances by Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes about a girl who is trying regain her life after being in a cult.
4.   Sound of My Voice-about a couple who try to infiltrate a cult who's leader claims to be a time traveler.
5.  Take Shelter-about a guy who is either having dreams of a coming apocalypse or a psychological disorder.

Worst movie we saw at Sundance was Letters From the Big Man about a girl who trys to protect big foot.

Best Short Movies
1.  Fight For your Right Revisited- start studded short about the Beastie Boys
2.  The Legend of Beaver Dam-a crazy musical horror movie.
3.  Living for 32-a documentary about a survivor of the Virginia Tech murders
4.  Grandpa's Wet Dream-a funny documentary about a 75 year old Japanese guy who stars in porn movies with out his wife or family knowing about it.
5.  Out of Reach- a documentary about two girls who try to reconnect with their mother


With alot of movies playing at Sundance it is interesting to see what themes come out. This year there has been alot made about the cult theme. With something like 5 movies about cults(two of which I saw) it is an interesting theme. But I found a different theme in the movies I saw. The psychology of surviving. With Rebirth, Living for 32, and The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement all documentaries about surviving horrific events and having to deal with the psychological drama. Also, with the fiction movies like Martha Marcy May Marlene where the main character is dealing with her survival of a cult. And even in Take Shelter where a guy is preparing to survive either a coming apocalypse or a mental illness.  The movies I saw this year were a psychologist dream of mental  illness and grief and made for some fun twisted movies. 

Sundance Day 3

Well since I didn't review it last night and technically I saw it today I will start with the Catechism Cataclysm. Being a midnight film you have to know what you are getting into.  This is a crazy comedy.  It is about a priest who is really no good at his job and goes on a canoe trip with a guy he idolized in high school.  Things just go wacky on their trip.  It is a funny movie that just keeps getting more bizarre as it goes along and you never know what to expect. 

After 4 hours sleep I got up at 6:30am and we barely made it to the first movie this morning due to some bus issues.  But we made it in time to see Sound of My Voice. I wasn't sure what to expect. The description was kind of vague with something about a cult. I was kind of expecting something over the top like Eyes Wide Shut, but it was nothing like that. It was actually really grounded in reality. The characters felt real and even though the cult leader was crazy she was not over the top.  She claimed she was from the future and knew what was to come. This was one of the first times I actually asked a question during the Q&A. I was curious where they got the idea for the time traveler from because it sounded like the story of Jon Titor who claimed he was a time traveler and the director confirmed that he did base the character on him.  There were some bizarre things in the movie that they never really explained but I really enjoyed the movie. 

I went right from Sound of My Voice to Hobo With a Shotgun.  This was one of the most entertaining screening I have ever had.  Rutger Hauer who played the Hobo was at the screening and showed up with an actual shotgun. Then during the Q&A he ran around the theatre with a video camera recording peoples questions.  Was a lot of fun. The film is exactly what you would expect from a movie in the midnight category called Hobo with a Shotgun.. Basically a hobo goes on a rampage with a shotgun to clean up a town. Just lots of blood and disgusting scenes and a whole lot of fun. 

Before all these screenings there were short film screenings.  Before the Catechism Cataclysm the movie was Sasquatch Birth Journal 2. It was a pretty ridiculous movie about a big foot giving birth. It was kind of amusing since the movie I had seen right before this was Letters From the Big Man which was an awful movie about big foot. While this wasn't very good it was funny.  Then before Sound of My Voice the short was Pandemic 41.410806, -75.654259.  This is part of a larger project at Sundance that includes the Internet, cell phones, and random tokens left around Park City. The movie didn't make much sense by itself but I am interested in seeing what else this guy does. The whole idea of the project is that this pandemic is sweeping the country and turning adults into zombies and leaving the kids to fend for themselves.  While you don't get all of that from the short I am hoping maybe he will do a feature as I like the concept.  Then before Hobo with a Shotgun the best short I have seen so far was shown and that was The Legend of Beaver Creek. This is a funny horror musical about kids on a camping trip. Similar to Hobo with a Shotgun it is ultra violent and overly gory and a lot of fun. 

Thats it for now. Another midnight movie tonight and early morning movie tomorrow then some skiing.