Fall Movie Preview

This week, I received the annual Fall Movie Preview edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine. There's a ton of great movies that I'm anticipating so I wanted to highlight my top picks...

Top Ten List

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Link)
This is far and away my first choice. Peter Jackson recently announced that they will be doing 3 movies rather than 2. Some people were worried about elongating the relatively short novel into two movies, and even more people are whining about splitting it into three flicks. To them I say: Bah! Everyone hit the LOTR series out of the park so there's no reason to assume they don't know what they're doing this time around. Anyone that loves the idea of a Hobbit film should be happy that they will be spoiled with three movies - that's how I see it. Dec14

2. Skyfall (Link)
This is the latest Bond movie, and it supposedly completes the pseudo-trilogy for this particular storyline. I have fond movies of many movie nights with my family watching this series, and I really like Daniel Craig in the roles so of course I want to see this on the big screen. Nov9

3. Django Unchained (Link)
Quentin Tarantino isn't exactly my favourite director but I do have plenty of respect for the way he blends his own originality with classic genres. In this case, though, the story really piqued my interest from the beginning and they have a wide cast of actors that I look forward to seeing, especially Jamie Foxx. Dec25

These first three movies are the ones that I will insist on seeing in theatres. I hope to see the rest of my Top Ten list as well, but I can be persuaded to watch the others at home if I can't find companions.

4. Trouble With The Curve (Link)
Baseball, scouts, Client Eastwood, Justin Timberlake, Amy Adams, John Goodman... and the trailer looks fantastic. Hmm, I just changed my mind after reviewing the trailer again. This is a Must-See in the theatre, too. ;) Sep21

5. Wreck-It Ralph (Link)
This is the "Roger Rabbit" of the video game era, featuring oodles of cameos and co-stars from various old-school video games. It follows the "bad guy" in a Donkey Kong style game when he escapes his video game world and tries to become a hero. Geek references galore, should fun oodles of fun for anybody that played those old 8-bit games. Nov2

6. Looper (Link)
A straight-up sci-fi story involving time travel. The description is the hook for me: "In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits." Bruce Willis gets sent back in time to face Joseph Gorden-Levitt and hijinks ensue. Yep, I really love my science fiction. (That reminds me: Need to expand my collection of Isaac Asimov.) Sep28

7. Les Misérables (Link)
Despite being half French, I never got into this novel. I remember my mom re-reading it in French numerous times over the years but this is the first time that I actually care about it. Looks rather epic and emotional. Dec14

8. Cloud Atlas (Link)
This is a more artsy and weird-a$$ sci-fi story. It supposedly follows the same people (like Tom Hanks and Halle Berry) as they reiterate across different eras. As I said, tres weird but I'm into it. Oct26

9. The Man With The Iron Fists (Link)
This Russell Crowe movie came out of left field for me but it looks like a cool geeky genre martial art thing. Funky! Nov2

10. Resident Evil: Retribution (Link)
My brother-in-law and I have made a point of watching all of the movies in this series and in the Underworld series. What can I say? They deliver the type of action movie that they promise so yes, I will almost certainly see this with my bro-in-law. Sep14

Beyond that preferred list, there are a number of other flicks that I would like to see at some point, either in the theatre or at home. In order of release date...

Sep14 The Master (Philip Seymour Hoffman and a fictional version of Scientology.)
Sep21 Dredd 3D (Starring Karl Urban's helmet, gotta be better than the absurdly funny Stallone version.)
Oct5 Taken 2 (Liam Neeson kickin' ass again in the most logical sequel ever.)
Oct12 Argo (Real-life thriller, and Ben Affleck continues to surprise me.)
Oct19 Killing Them Softly (Brad Pitt all gangsterly.)
Oct26 Frankenweenie (Tim Burton redoes his own short animation film from his early career.)
Oct26 The Big Wedding (Robert De Niro in another comedy but the trailer looks surprisingly funny.)
Nov9 Lincoln (Spielberg's biopic - My appetite for the real version was whetted by Vampire Slayer.)
Nov16 Breaking Dawn: Part 2 (Might as well - at least this one will have some fighting, right?)
Nov21 Life Of Pi (I own the book and haven't read it yet but the trailer looks incredible.)
Nov21 Rise Of The Guardians (Animated movie starring Santa, Jack Frost, Tooth Fairy, etc.)
Nov30 Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (The original stars return and the trailer looks creepy-cool.)
Dec7 Hyde Park on Hudson (Bill Murray as Roosevelt, and I'm a big fan of latter-years Murray.)
Dec7 Deadfall (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde in a little heist movie.)
Dec19 Zero Dark Thirty (Director Katherine Bigelow's fictional movie about the hunt for Bin Laden.)
Dec21 Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise kicking off  book franchise - and fans of the book already hate it.)
Dec21 Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away (Gotta love La Cirque!)

And finally, here are the recent movies and August releases that are on my to-do list...

Expendables 2 (Sooo gotta see this. And if Eastwood joins #3, so much the better!)
Hope Springs (Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carrell in a true-to-life romance.)
Total Recall (Filmed in Toronto, died at box office, but I hear the futuristic action is cool even if plot is meh.)
The Campaign (I opted to see Bourne 4 instead of this but I wonder if I made the right choice.)
ParaNorman (Stop-motion "kids flicks" that is too scary for kids.)
Robot & Frank (Highly acclaimed sci-fi heart-tugger.)
Lawless (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce in an old timey gangsta movie.)

Top Ten Movies of 2011

This is my eighth annual Top Ten list. It's running rather late this year but it's just in time for Oscar season. Our daughter Jade was born in September and movie time was definitely on the lighter side as Cam and I tried to keep up with our little one...

As before, this list only accounts for movies that were officially released in 2011. I saw 39 new releases in all this year. I only considered the movies that I actually saw but there are still 56 movies on my future wish list. I'll have to balance out that number eventually. And without further ado...

[10] The Company Men (Link)
This is a little drama with a bunch of recognizable names and faces like Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper. My fave actor is probably Kevin Costner in an understated supporting role. This film has a few different perspectives about the recession and it certainly has some strong opinions to consider, even if it is rather preachy and everything gets wrapped up with a nice bow in the end.

[9] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (Link)
This was a big, bold ending for the series finale, and it was way better than Part I. Some of the actors whined that this wasn't nominated for Oscars and whatnot but I don't agree with 'em. The last two movies were basically a long search for 7 MacGuffins, which was convoluted and dramatically inert. The gigantic battle and the final plot twists were lots of fun, though, so it still makes my list for the year.

[8] Limitless (Link)
This is one of those movies that came in under the radar and really surprised me. I've been a fan of Bradley Cooper since his days on Alias and he had no trouble holding the movie on his own, and duking it out with Robert De Niro. The concept was oodles of fun and they stretched out the idea really well. Great pic to recommend to friends.

[7] Super 8 (Link)
Sure, sure, it's a "found camera" monster movie. However, it also boasts the talents of J.J. Abrams, which is another shout-out to Alias. That automatically sets the bar high, a goal they had no trouble achieving. It focuses on a group of kids making home movies back in the late 70's. The young actors did a superb job and it was all quite satisfying in the end.

[6] Captain America (Link)
Hooray for the modern age of comic book movies! This led a big pack of films including Thor and Green Lantern. Tommy Lee Jones shows up in this flick, too, but the star of the show is clearly Chris Evans. The fact that he played the "scrawny" version of Cap for the first half hour was impressive, both in terms of CGI and plain acting. The story was true to the comic origins and it had a most excellent foil in the form of the Red Skull. The villain was brought to life by Hugo Weaving and it was a perfect old-school Captain America movie. Makes me wish they could have more movies set during WWII instead of fast-forwarding to setup the Avengers movie.

[5] Bridesmaids (Link)
This was definitely the comedy of the year, nothing came close. Sharp writing, layered characterization, actors inhabiting their roles - no kidding it gained so much acclaim. It's a pity the Oscars keep things so serious. Granted, I can't put this any higher on my list due to the gross-out humour but I won't hold that against them. Funny is funny, right? I dare anyone to watch and not laugh out loud a bunch of times.

[4] The Help (Link)
This movie got robbed. It should have won both acting awards for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. (Yeah, I'm not a fan of the fact that the Academy is comprised of so many old white males.) I don't enjoy dark and depressing movies and I didn't know how far they wanted to go in this one. Fortunately, it had plenty of drama and major themes without being brutal on me emotionally. Well, it did get me choked up one time when everyone was gathered in the living room...

[3] X-Men: First Class (Link)
This was my surprise of the year. Waddayaknow, Fox can actually allow a director (Matthew Vaughn) to make a good movie once in a while! The backstory of Professor X and Magneto was the bedrock for everything, and I got a kick out of Kevin Bacon as the big baddie as well. Granted, this conflicts at times with the other X-Men movies and the comics but those are mere nuisances that I was able to overlook since everything else was so well done. High praise coming from a serious comics geek like myself.

[2] Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Link)
The very best way to see this movie is in IMAX 3D. Wow, that was an experience and a half! Knowing that Tom Cruise was actually hanging around outside the world's tallest building made it thrilling, but peering over the edge of the skyscraper was almost too much for me too handle. Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner were the perfect complements to Cruise, and Cruise brought his A-game this time. I also have tons of respect for the director, Brad Bird. This may have been his first live-action flick but he's a resident genius at Pixar and great film-making knows no bounds.

[1] Hugo (Link)
Well, it seems like I agreed with plenty of critics out there on this one. The primary reason that this tops my list for the year is that it really resonated with me and stayed in my brain. You know how easy it is to forget some movies? This one tied back into real-life film history (with a slight sci-fi twist) and the true stories mixed with the fantastical imagery to create something that I won't ever forget. I actually saw this with my buddy Adam and he thought it was kind of slow and lifeless. I'll agree that it takes a while to get going but once it does, it grabs a hold of your mind's eye and sears itself into your grey matter. I really enjoyed this version of Scorsese (drink!), and Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Kingsley left a great impression as well. Highly recommended and you'll learn something, too.

Honourable Mentions:
Fast Five, Cowboys & Aliens, Ides of March, Paul

Most Disappointing
Your Highness was aiming for The Princess Bride territory but it got lost in so many lewd jokes that I have a hard time recommending it to anyone.

Worst Comic Book Movie
This award goes to The Smurfs. I have a bunch of Smurf comics in both English and French ("Les Schtroumpfs") and I grew up with the TV show. Hank Azaria was a lot of fun as Gargamel but it was kind of painful to sit through the whole thing. Just for fun, though: Does anyone know how old Papa Smurf was when the Smurfs made their first appearance in the comics? ;)

My Previous Top 10 Lists:
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,2009 & 2010

References:
Top Grossing Movies of 2011