Worst Films of 2011

This is another very overdue posting. We're a month into 2012, and I've barely even made mention of the highlights and low points for the films of 2011. That's mainly because I've been playing catchup with the year's films that I didn't get a chance to see. I was determined to do a proper Top 10 Best and Worst of list this year, unlike in 2010 when I did a Top 10 best films but only a Top 5 worst movies (plus a few dishonorable mentions). So, in an effort to do a proper year-in-review, I not only tried to see as many of the year's best, but also forced myself to sit through more shlock than I would have cared to see. To be fair, I still think I missed a lot of the year's truly bad films (for example, I haven't seen Breaking Dawn, Jack and Jill, and a few others). With that said, some of these films really aren't THAT bad (though some are), but rather felt like missed opportunities or poor executions of promising material. Nonetheless, I think I took in enough shlock to provide a reasonable list. If there's any I see later and feel like should have been on this list, I'll write a review. Until then, here are my picks for the worst films of 2011.

10. Bad Teacher
To the film's credit, this actually wasn't a terrible movie, but rather a huge missed opportunity. The concept was promising, it had a few funny scenes, and the cast was great. I'm not a huge Cameron Diaz fan, but her surprisingly dedicated performance was so spot on that she came so close to salvaging the movie. Unfortunately Diaz, and the rest of the talented cast, was let down by mediocre writing and unfunny jokes. It's really too bad, I can tell a lot of work and effort went into this movie.

9. I Am Number Four
The admittedly decent alien vs alien battle in the climax saved this sci-fi themed Twilight-wannabe from ranking any higher, but it doesn't excuse the fact that the first two-thirds of this movie do pretty much everything wrong. The story had promise, but the flat performances, stale dialogue, and slow pacing killed the movie's potential. Actually, this content might have functioned better as a TV series than a movie. Still, it's not to say that a good movie couldn't have come out of this, just not this one.

8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
It's by no means as bad as the irredeemably terrible Revenge of the Fallen (still not letting you off the hook for that one Mr. Bay), but it's still a disappointment. The story was weak, the performances were annoying, the characters were one-note, and the action was hit and miss. I guess the special effects were decent, the 3D wasn't too shabby, and the finale had it's moments, but there was nothing particularly memorable about it either. At best, its a mediocre movie in a less-than-stellar series.

7. Arthur
This is a remake that is as unfunny as it is pointless. It takes an especially gifted actor to be both bland and annoying, yet Russell Brand (or maybe Russell Bland?) pulls it off, with a portrayal of Arthur that's thoroughly unlikable, annoying, and lacking in emotional depth. Not to mention, it wastes the talent of Helen Mirren, who looked as bored as the audience who saw this piece of crap. Skip the remake and watch the original Dudley Moore version instead.

6. Shark Night 3D
If Piranha 3D was the blueprint for how to make an intentional "so-bad-its-good" exploitation film, Shark Night is the blueprint for how NOT to make one. Boring characters, weak suspense, fake-looking effects, and PG-13 rated violence and sex. There's only one thing a movie like Shark Night has to get right: excessive amounts of blood-soaked violence and gore! Instead, we got a B-Movie with all the typical faults, but none of the enjoyment.

5. Green Lantern
When I first saw this movie, my reaction was something along the lines of, "It wasn't that good, but it wasn't really terrible." Looking back at it now, while I still wouldn't call it the worst superhero movie ever, it's still a definite letdown. It's not much more than ho-hum effects and action, a poorly written script, boring performances, and a weak portrayal of the comic book's mythos and stories. If it weren't for Peter Saarsgard giving it a little bit of an edge, it could have been much worse. Too bad, this was one of the most promising films of the year.

4. The Green Hornet
It's not that I had particularly high expectations for The Green Hornet, but I still thought it could have been better. I mean, this movie was a failure on nearly all levels. Oh sure, Kato was kind of fun and Michel Gondry is a decent enough director to give it a bit of stylish flair, but it didn't make up for the annoying characters, forgettable action, and unfunny humor. I guess for superheroes in 2011, it wasn't easy bein' green.

3. The Hangover Part II
You could watch The Hangover Part II, or you could get the same experience by simply watching the original and muting the audio every time something funny or clever happens. On top of being a generic carbon-copy of it's predecessor, The Hangover Part II takes the quirky and fun humor from the first and makes it considerably darker and more unpleasant. It's one of those films that, in addition to just being plain bad and lazy, also makes you feel kind of dirty after watching it. Don't bother.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
There are a lot of words you would expect to hear to describe a summer blockbuster like Pirates of the Caribbean. Fun, exciting, thrilling, adventurous, etc... but the one word you never want to hear is this one... BORING!!! Unfortunately, that's exactly what On Stranger Tides is. What started off as a promising adventure series has descended into dull and lifeless moneygrab sequels. Depp's shtick as Jack Sparrow was wearing thin in the last two movies, but here's it's lost all of it's charm. Some of the other actors try to pick up the slack, but are let down with a bizarre and ridiculous story. Take that in account with the forgettable action, weak characters, and a strange Christianity vs Paganism subplot... and you've pretty much got a disaster. Thar she blows!

1. Bucky Larson: Born to Be A Star
I........ got nothing. To it's credit, all the other movies on this list look like Gone with the fucking Wind compared this mess! This movie is more than just bad... it's more than a disaster... it's a fucking shitty miracle! Nothing works... absolutely nothing! The characters are annoying and offensive, the actors look lost, the direction is nonexistent, the humor is... SO INCREDIBLY DISGUSTING AND PAINFULLY WRONG!!! How did this get made??? Who thought this was funny??? I'm usually the first to say that you can make a good movie out of anything, but this is one of the first movies to seriously make me second guess my theory. I mean... it's putrid, disgusting, unbelievably offensive and terrible on so many levels. As I write this, I'm actually stuttering while trying to project my feelings toward this ungodly mess. Who thought this would work? How did they manage to get so many established actors to sign on to it? I've never been a Nick Swardson fan in the first place, but any respect I've ever had or may have for him is gone now!!! This is just a whole new level of bad. If I could find a way to personally destroy every copy of this movie in existence, I would do it!

So... now that I've calmed down a bit. Those are my picks for the worst films I saw from 2011. Don't bother watching them.

Drive - Review

You know what folks... I suck! I have completely negated the whole reason I started this blog in the first place, to help contribute to worthwhile films playing in theatres (especially under-the-radar films like Drive). I imagine Drive probably isn't even playing in many theatres anymore, which is even more disappointing considering it had a pretty limited release in the first place. I'm sure I've waited far too long to be able to persuade any potential readers of this blog to see this incredibly awesome movie, so I'm going to start by saying one thing. If you are reading this, and Drive is playing in your local theatre... stop reading and go see it RIGHT NOW! You won't regret it!

The film stars Ryan Gosling playing an unnamed man simply credited as the Driver. He is a mysterious and elusive person who seldom speaks and lives by himself in his tiny low-rent Los Angeles apartment. He works as a mechanic and Hollywood stunt driver while moonlighting as a getaway driver. He's an expert at practically everything he does... a genius mechanic, a top-notch stuntman, and a keen getaway who never gets caught and never works with the same client twice. One day, his auto-shop employer Shannon (Bryan Cranston) makes a deal with a mobster named Bernie (Albert Brooks) for a stock race car in which the Driver will take the wheel. At the same, the Driver strikes a friendship with with his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos). He helps them out in any way he can while Irene's husband Standard (Oscar Issac) is serving time in prison. Suddenly, with little warning, the Driver finds himself caught in the middle of a mob conflict between Bernie's mafia, setting their sights on him as well as Shannon and Standard, forcing the Driver to fight for himself and those he cares for.

You know what I love about this movie? Just about everything actually. It's a character driven action-drama that pays homage to many films that came before yet stands on it's own as a unique and compelling contemporary film. It's hard to precisely explain what kind of movie Drive is. It's partly film noir, part art house, somewhat experimental... and a straightforward drama too. It takes cues from many different movies, the first of which most have drawn comparisons to would be the 1968 Steve McQueen thriller, Bullitt.

Others may include 60s and 70s gangster movies like Point Blank, or 80s cop thrillers like Miami Vice, or even classic westerns like The Man with No Name films starring Clint Eastwood. It's a dynamic style, with all of it's cues seamlessly coming together to create something so familiar yet very unique. The cinematography is top notch. It has well framed shots with a good sense of composition and interesting color correction. The action isn't too erratic either, but rather well framed and easy to follow. The soundtrack is awesome too, arguably the best of the year. I'll probably have to download the music on iTunes soon. Make no mistake, there's no denying the inherent awesomeness of Drive's creatively stellar style.

As far as the casting... let's just say that it all just works! I've never been a huge Ryan Gosling fan, but he's really started to grow on me after I saw him in this movie and another film from this year, The Ides of March. There's a certain subtlety to his performance in Drive that I found quite compelling. He doesn't have much dialogue, but every time he's on screen, he owns his role. You can see that there is something going on in his mind, and without spoiling the ending, let's just say that Gosling gave one of the most interesting performances of the year. Mysterious, dark, and driven are probably the three best words to describe Gosling here. It's hard to say whether the film's subject matter will end up turning off the Academy from giving Gosling an Oscar nod, but I'm really hoping he gets recognized for this performance.

The other stand out performance would have to go to Albert Brooks as the mob boss Bernie Ross. Unlike the subdued and quiet Gosling, Brooks is vocal and animated (but not too over-the-top). He's one of the more interesting mob boss characters I've seen in a while, because, like Gosling's character, there's something dark and mysterious about Ross too, but in a different way. To reveal what I mean would be something of a spoiler, but there's definitely something driving him that you can't see right away. Is he totally evil, are his intentions ill, or is he just a businessman? Brooks plays his character to a tee, and should hopefully net an Oscar nomination as well. The rest of the cast is all solid. Bryan Cranston (who is finally getting some good roles) does his usual solid job. Carey Mulligan plays the love interest Irene and gives a good performance as well. The great Ron Perlman also has a few scenes as rather intimidating mob hitman... good casting there. No real complaints about the acting, everyone was generally good if not great.

As far as complaints... to be honest, this is another one of those movies that I don't really have anything negative to say. Some criticism I kept hearing about was regarding the ending and a questionable choice made by the Driver. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that it never really phased me, nor did it strike me as odd. It seemed like a logical conclusion and I felt like it wrapped up the story well. It is a rather violent film, with a particular shift in tone of the violence in the 3rd act. It comes somewhat out of left field and might turn some people off. None of this bothered me personally, but for those who aren't a fan of blood or brutality may be a little bothered by some of it. Those who can stomach their violence shouldn't need to worry about it. Overall, I can't think of anything I disliked about this movie, it's pretty damn close to perfect.

In short, Drive is easily one of the best, possibly the best, film of 2011. I dug the hell out of the movie's concept, style, and performances. I only regret not posting this review sooner. If you missed it in theatres, then definitely check it out when its on Blu Ray and DVD! This is one I'll be adding to my collection the day it comes out!

My Score: 5 out of 5!

The Help - Review

I've been dreading this review for a while, but the hype and impact surrounding The Help has been so immense that I feel kind of compelled to give in and share my thoughts. Based on the best selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, The Help is a civil rights era dramedy set in 1960s Mississippi. In addition to being a well-received crowd pleaser and a likely Oscar contender, the film is also this year's movie people judge you for based on your opinion. Does it live up to it's hype or it just overblown Oscar bait.

As mentioned, The Help takes place in the town of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s civil rights era. It focuses primarily on Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone), an educated and ambitious 23-year-old who has just moved moved back to Jackson after graduating from college. Despite pressure from her family and peers to get married and start a family, Skeeter instead focuses on her writing career and lands a job with a local newspaper. During this time, she also starts her own ambitious writing project, a novel from the perspective of The Help, the underpaid, overworked, and discriminated African American maids to upper class suburban white families. After being repulsed by her peers' racist attitudes toward the help, especially the particularly despicable Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) who was spearheading numerous Jim Crow-style bills and laws, Skeeter decides to interview various maids about their true feelings toward their employers. The first maid Skeeter approaches for an interview is the soft-spoken Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Due to the controversial nature of Skeeter's book, Aibileen is at first reluctant, but eventually agrees to the interview in order to express her true thoughts about society's treatment of minorities. The second to come forward is Aibileen's close friend Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), a sharp tongued maid whose tendency to speak her mind has landed her in trouble on more than one occasion. More follow suit, and soon Skeeter has a groundbreaking book to correspond with the changing times.

I'm just going to come forward with this... I've had reservations about this film since I first heard about it. Upon hearing the plot, it just seemed like another "White Savior" movie like 2009's The Blind Side (aka Sandra Bullock's vanity film). Also, I have not read the novel, just in case you were wondering. I'm judging this movie strictly on it's merits as a film. I don't know how well it follows the novel nor can I say whether it's better or worse. So, with that in mind, what do I think of The Help? In short, it's not horrible but it's not particularly good . Parts of it are solid, at times even excellent, but other parts are terrible misfires. It's a missed opportunity to say the least, for multiple reasons.

Most of hype for The Help was surrounding it's star studded ensemble cast. The large cast includes Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cicely Tyson, Ahna O'Reilly, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janey, and many others. I'll start by saying this, despite all my reservations with this movie (and I have many), none of them are concerning the cast... for the most part at least.

Emma Stone leads as Skeeter, and while I have issues with her character and plotline (which I will get into later), I have to give credit to Stone herself. Stone's been on a roll lately, with well-received parts in movies like Superbad, Zombieland, Easy A, and others. A true talent to say the least, she does an admittedly solid job here in The Help. This is far from her best performance, but her easy going demeanor, natural comic timing, and decent dramatic range is overall a success. Not much to say about her other than that she does a solid job.

By far, the most discussed and easily the most memorable performance has to go do Viola Davis as Abilene. Believe the hype her folks... Davis is awesome in this role! Whenever she is on screen, she brings a commanding charisma to her role that is by far the most compelling performance in this film. Is it an Oscar worthy performance? Quite possibly. She's all but guaranteed to receive a nomination and should stand a good chance at winning too. By far, the best thing about this movie is Davis' performance, and could have easily carried this movie on her own.

The second most talked about performance would be Octavia Spencer as Minnie. While there's no competing with Davis for who gave the best performance, there's no denying that Spencer kills with her role as well. Her character has a few notable dramatic moments, but mostly serves as the comic relief, or at least one of the more humorous characters. She has a few different noteworthy scenes, the most memorable of which is the infamous pie scene (if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about). An Oscar nomination seems all but guaranteed for Spencer as well, though a win is a little up in the air (though certainly possible).

The rest of the cast is all solid. The main antagonist, Hilly Hollbrook, is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. I've always had mixed feelings toward Howard, since she's shown some decent range though her choices in roles has been kind of hit and miss. Here, once again I have some mixed feelings. Her character is a nasty, dispicable, and thoroughly hateful person that drives most of the film's conflict. She's certainly one you love to hate, but I can't help but feel like Howard goes a little over the top at times. Still, she more or less accomplishes her role, so I'll give a pass. I won't critique everyone else, but rather say The Help is a thoroughly well acted movie.

So the acting is all great... no major complaints there. The story, on the other hand, is kind of a mess. Like I said before, the all-to-common "White Savior" story arch this film embraces has always been a major annoyance to me. According to The Help, the Civil Rights movement in Jackson wasn't kicked off by oppressed minorities standing up for their rights or inspiration from notable Civil Rights era figures like Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks, but rather the chick from Zombieland. It has a couple passing references to civil rights era figures, including a mention of the death of Medgar Evers, but that's about it. On top of all that, most of the black characters conform to stereotypes and cliches that have been present since the formation of the motion picture. For instance, there is a scene with Minny where she professes her love for fried chicken and how it makes life seem better... eek! It's kind of annoying, if not flat out nauseating, that The Help resorts to such an overdone storyline with borderline racist undertones. Unfortunately, the problems with the story go beyond simple concept. Even more frustrating is that it has moments of greatness that are barely utilized or explored.

Even if I could get behind the general idea of the white savior storyline, it still doesn't work in this movie because the movie's central plot (the one with Skeeter) just isn't all that interesting. Skeeter and Hilly aren't very interesting characters. They're both nothing more than generic archetypes (as are nearly every character in the movie) that conform to overdone cliches. Skeeter is your typical perfect enlightened do-gooder whose status as a writer makes me think her character represents a blatant author insert (though that's just a theory). There's also a couple go nowhere subplots about Skeeter's terminally ill mother as well as one about her getting a boyfriend. The one about Skeeter's mother, Charlotte (Alison Janey), is only barely mentioned and rarely developed aside for two or three scenes. The other, where she dates a senator's son named Stuart (Chris Lowell) gets hardly any attention as well. Maybe these plots were more relevant in the book, but here they're just deadweight that adds to the film's already long runtime.

Hilly is just your flat out person you love to hate. She's just another one-dimensional greedy, selfish, and prejudice "villain" without any real depth or subtext. I know people like her exist, and were probably fairly common in the respective time period, but it just doesn't make for a very interesting character. The rivalry between Skeeter and Hilly is predictable, dull, and despite the film's subject matter, kind of shallow. That said, Hilly's story did have a few of the movie's more enjoyable laughs, so that has to count for something.

The Help has two primary subplots that are significantly more interesting than the main plot. The first of which concerns Aibileen. Out of all the maids, she is the one who receives the most screen time and development. Her tragic backstory sets her character arch in motion and is the closest the time the film comes to being truly special. She mentions how maids make a meager living raising the children of wealthy white families while having little to no time to spend with their own. This is all the more tragic for Aibelene as her only son, one she barely saw, recently died. It's heart breakingly tragic story that gives the movie some real emotional weight. Only problem... IT'S BARELY DEVELOPED!!! Since the movie devotes so much time to Skeeter's storyline, Aibileen's is left in the shadows.

The second subplot that I got into was a friendship between Minny and her new employer. After Minny's acting out landed her in hot water with most of Jackson's residents, the only person that would hire her was Celia Foote (Jessica Christian), a sweet natured but naive and outcast resident of Jackson. At first glance, Celia comes off as any other of Jackson's wealthy white families... wealthy, married, and expecting their first child. That said, Celia's non-conformist ways and naive attitude have made her the outcast of the town. Both her and Minnie bond over their time together and form a friendship. It's a great relationship and sweet natured subplot that ties in well with the themes of prejudice and conformity.

It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but I can't help but feel like the movie would have been substantially better had they dropped Skeeter's storyline. The Help would have been a far more compelling drama had it made Aibileen the movie's primary focus with the Minny/Celia story as the subplot. Both easily tie in with the film's themes of prejudice and civil rights, and could have been considerably compelling had they received more attention and development. Still, the film's acting is superb, and I'm almost tempted to give it a recommendation just on the strengths of the performances from Davis and Spencer. That said, due to the film's massively flawed script, I just can't bring myself to do that. It's out on DVD now, so I imagine anyone who wanted to see this movie already has, but those are my two cents. Still, I say skip it.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5!