2011 Films, a recap of viewed titles

I am closing the book on 2011 films. I took in 43 films last year and managed to stay away from a lot of crap in my opinion. There were some guilty pleasures of course but for the most part I was pleased with the chosen titles. Here's what I won't be seeing:

• The Artist - sure it may win best picture but I'm just not interested.
• The Iron Lady - it's a given that Streep will win best actress, she has no peers.
• Tin Tin - yes it's Peter Jackson & Spielberg teaming up but I'm not into it and I saw Hugo.
• War Horse - just wasn't into it, probably spectacular visually but I took a pass.
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - it's my anti-Bullock sentiments that get in the way.
• Flowers of War - I had a chance to see this during the NYC Film Fest Extravaganza but since it clocked in at 2:30 it made fitting other films around it difficult so it got cut.

In 2011, I managed to see 3 documentaries, 3 foreign films and 4 superhero/comic book films. I won't rank all 43 films but I will give my top 20 and perhaps my 3-5 worst films. 

As I stated previously I didn't see a lot of bad films since I'm being a bit more selective. For example Cowboys & Aliens was a silly premise but I knew that going in and I didn't think it was too awful but here's the list of the "worst" films that I saw in 2011:

• There Be Dragons - big disappointment, I expected more.
• Transformers 3 - too over the top
• Sucker Punch - you'd think that hot babes in revealing outfits dispatching zombies & other hideous creatures via machine gun & samurai sword would be cool. It wasn't.

Be advised, none of the documentaries I saw last year made the top 20. Documentaries aren't really meant to entertain but if anyone gets a chance to see any of them I recommend all 3 titles. So here are films 11-20:

20. X-Men: First Class
19. Kill The Irishman
18. Hugo
17. Cedar Rapids
16. Thor
15. Ides Of March
14. Outrage
13. Martha Marcy May Marlene
12. Melancholia
11.  The Debt

These films were all well acted and nicely done but the top half was tough. Thor was the best of the superhero films. I liked Hugo but not enough to put into the top 10. Ides of March was real good make no mistake but I had enough issues with it (albeit relatively minor) to keep it out as well. Some titles might be in other people's top films but this is my list. Here are 6-10:

10. Bellflower

9. Conspirator
8. A Dangerous Method
7. Margin Call
6.The Guard

The Guard was in the top 5 but I saw it early in the year. It's easily the most audience friendly in terms of pacing, dialogue and action. Margin Call had an all-star cast all of whom brought their "A game."  All these films that are in the top 20 I would recommend. Here it is, my top 5 films of 2011:

5. Drive - I liked this film a lot. Some might not agree that this is a top 5 film but it makes my list and I won't apologize.
4. The Skin I Live In - this was one of 3 foreign films I saw & it has everything including a lot of strange plot twists.  I was glued to my seat and was not able to see things coming. People should see this film.
3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - what can I say, I dig a good spy thriller. Excellent cast that was excellent and a few plot twists. I didn't have a problem with the pacing but some people might. Another must see.
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - I don't think it got a nomination (despite the academy going to 10 films, WTF?) but I thought this lived up to expectations and more. Another excellent cast that did an excellent job. Fincher is a director that when he puts out a film, you have to see it.
1. Descendants - I may have liked the #2 entry more but this was a flawless film. I would be stunned if this film doesn't get the Oscar.

Now I'm not going to watch the Oscars and as of now I don't even know what's been nominated or if the nominations have come yet. Hope you enjoyed reading this and as usual, your input is welcome. Hope all is well.

James Bond...The best & worst of - The Finale

Pierce Brosnan ended his run as James Bond in 2002 at nearly 50 years old. I felt he did a nice job in the role despite that, in my opinion anyway, the films could've been better. They were ok but fell short. Brosnan had completed his contract (3 films with an option for a 4th) and producers were looking for to go younger. The next Bond film would not come out until 2006 and it would feature Daniel Craig in the role of 007.

On a side note, the Brosnan era gave us Dame Judi Dench as the new "M." This was pretty much casting genius. Not that the other actors who portrayed the character were bad (not the case at all), it's just that there was more interaction between "M" and Bond. Dench is very judgmental with Bond, she makes no qualms about how he works but although she may not agree with his tactics she is happy with the results. Nice work.

Lots of different names had swirled around about who was going to replace Brosnan. The name I remember hearing was Clive Owen (which I thought would've been a very good piece of casting) but producers settled on 37 y/o Daniel Craig. Craig had starred as Paul Newman's weasely son in The Road to Perdition, an Israeli agent in Munich (a great film). Most notably he played the lead in the gangster film, Layer Cake which was an excellent film. So guys like me had no problem with Craig being 007 and his 1st role would be Casino Royale ( the franchise would get a complete reboot at this point).

To date Craig has done 2 bond films and is currently film his 3rd Bond film entitled Skyfall set for a late 2012 theatrical release. Craig followed up Casino Royale (2006) with A Quantum of Solace (2008). Casino Royale (after undergoing a reboot) starts off with Bond earning his newly attained "00 status" and the rocky start he gets off to. I won't mince word about this film, I loved it! Craig had a raw edge to him and you get to see him try to combine that raw edge with the charm & debonair that we've become accustom too. Everything about this film was done well (maybe it's a stretch to believe that he lives through that car crash at the end but he is James Bond) and you see that Bond makes mistakes (something you never saw the character do before) and let's his emotions cloud decisions. You also get t see Bond is more clever than people give him credit for ("M" calls him a "blunt instrument" and he turns around and breaks into her apartment, decodes what "M" stands for and hacks into her computer).

I saw A Quantum of Solace in the theater and I've managed to only see it once and I recall not liking it as much as Casino Royale (Casino was so awesome the follow up film really had the odds stacked against it). It got mixed reviews in the critic community as well. When possible I would like to see this film again to give it a another chance. I dig the plot device of a international corporate cabal trying to control things (it's my belief that this is actually happening to a degree) and again you get to see Bond continue to hone his skills as an MI6 operative.Something else that happens during Craig's (thus far brief but hopefully longer) tenure is that Bond is vulnerable. Connery got knocked around a bit but not like Craig. Moore never got knocked around as much as Connery and only Brosnan comes close as Craig. Craig had to endure his genitals getting smacked in Casino Royale and you get to see the "scars" of his employment. Even when Connery got worked over by Dr. No's thugs, he didn't look too bad afterwards.

When Skyfall is released later this year, it will mark the 50th year of James Bond in film. I for one am looking forward to it's release.

Instead of ranking all the Bond films I will just do a top 10 list. These are my personal opinions and I'm not going to take into account any box office numbers or Rotten Tomatoes ratings. I think that Lazenby and Dalton get an unfair rap but that's how it goes. Here are the rankings:

1. Casino Royale: Craig does a lot of his own stunts & it's the most physical of any of the Bond films. Maybe because its the most modern (as great as some of the films are some don't stand the test of time due to technological advances in film).
2. Thunderball: Again it's my favorite of the Connery era.
3. From Russia With Love: Widely regarded as the best overall Bond film by some (like my Dad).
4. Goldfinger: See above
5. For Your Eyes Only
6. Dr. No
7.  The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Live and Let Die
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. A Quantum of Solace

Quantum gets the nod over some of Bronan's other stuff because I've got fundamental problems with some of the stories during his era for reason's I've stated in part 3 of this series. If were to have seen Her Majesty's Secret Service or Quantum recently it could've altered the ratings but I haven't bothered to watch Lazenby's Bond and Quantum is available for streaming yet on Netflix. I won't rank the actors who played Bond. You can decipher for yourself were I stand based on what titles made the top 10 (I do feel that Craig has the potential to be the best Bond as long as the material is good but he needs at least 4 films to qualify, that's just my requirements. If Skyfall is really good then 3 films is the minimum).

For no other reason than for beer & skittles, here are my top 5 Bond film theme songs and the artists who performed them:

1. Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney (the best hands down end of discussion!)
2. You Know My Name by Chris Cornell (Casino Royale)
3. Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey (a classic that stands the test of time!)
4. A View To A Kill by Duran Duran (yes I enjoy Duran Duran, it's not grounds for a lawsuit!)
5. Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon (The Spy Who Loved Me)

The White Stripes did the song for A Quantum of Solace but I don't remember a lot about so it doesn't make the list. Personally I dislike all the songs from the Brosnan/Dalton films (Finnish pop band A-ha, who had a huge hit in the 80's with Take on Me did the song for The Living Daylights).

That pretty much wraps it up. With any luck maybe I will spot a few familar faces while standing in line for Skyfall later this year. A happy and safe 2012 to everyone and as always your opinions and comments are welcome. See you on down the road!