Saint Mort’s Most Memorable Movies of 2011!

For me 2011 was a pretty weak year of movies. There were a couple movies I greatly enjoyed but only 1 or 2 that I really LOVED. That being said, I still haven’t seen Geekscape favorites like Attack the Block, Warrior and Tree of Life. Regardless, here were the movies that left an impression on me this year.

10. Your Highness – As a long time fan of D&D and the short film The Gamers this was everything I could hope for. Danny McBride and Ben Best took all the elements of a great game of D&D (with sex jokes and all) and crafted it into a brilliant narrative film that David Gordon Green directed with a nice touch of style creating a hilarious fantasy comedy.

9. Paul – Fuck Super 8. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s love letter to all things Geek was the most nostalgic feeling Spielberg tribute of the year. Furthermore the titular character Paul is the most impressively realistic looking CGI creation since Gollum. Plus, I respect any movie that makes a Mac & Me reference

8. Our Idiot Brother – Much like Adventureland a few years previously this film suffered from a poorly thought out advertising campaign. While it was advertised as a laugh a minute comedy in the vein of I Love You, Man instead we had a dysfunctional family film in the vein of indie hits Little Miss Sunshine and Running With Scissors (except leaps and bounds better). This film has some solid laughs as well as real tear-jerking moments.

7. Moneyball – It doesn’t matter if you love or hate sports Moneyball is a film that so well paced and intriguing that anyone can enjoy it. Based on the incredible true story of Oakland A’s Billy Beane Bennet Miller has directed a film for the whole family which will certainly earn Brad Pitt an Oscar nomination.

6. Take Me Home Tonight – I love 80’s movies, absolutely love them. Topher Grace’s pet project for the last few years is an 80’s film in every sense. Unlike comedies like The Wedding Singer the film never once plays to inside jokes (“Take off that Van Halen Shirt before you jinx the band and the break up”) and instead used the 80’s as a set piece and time period to tell a story. It’s funny when it wants to be funny and when it wants to strike emotional chords it’s equally successful

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – I used to hate the Harry Potter movies, but I’ve always loved the books. I’m still not a huge fan of the first few films but around Order of the Phoenix I started to feel the movies were starting to get the mood and story properly. While the films still had to miss major notes in the books, it wasn’t as noticeable. That being said the last 2 films (The Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2) are as true to the source material as you could want. An appropriate ending to the film that the trailer declares “The film series of a Generation’.

4. Super – This is the movie I wish Kick-Ass was. James Gunn is my favorite writer working today and his directorial debut Slither was one of the finest horror films of the last decade. It’s well acted and brilliantly paced. While it’s still imperfect, it’s fun, dark and has enough blood-shed to make the average gore-hound salivate.

3. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil – Since it premiered at film festivals last year I’ve heard nothing but good things about Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and with good reason. Tucker and Dale is everything a horror/comedy should be. It has lots of gore, a few genuine scares and side-splitting comedy. A comedy of errors to the truest sense, first time director Eli Craig took a beautiful premise and made it work from start to finish.

2. The Muppets – Let’s face it, This was going to appear on my list, it’s not a surprise to anyone. Thankfully however, the film is great. The Muppets is from Henson fan Jason Segel and the films shows his undying fandom. The film is a love letter of Muppet nostalgia and has a delightful musical score from Flight of the Conchords member Bret Mckenzie. It’s far from a perfect film, but no movie left me smiling as long as The Muppets did.

 

1. People Vs. George Lucas – Yes, Jonathan London appears in this movie. Yes, Jonathan London is my friend and boss. No. That’s not the reason this is my number 1 movie of the year. Alexandre Philippe has crafted one of the most fair and two sided documentaries out there. It’s not the shit storm at George Lucas the title implies but instead an examination of a strange man and his even stranger fans. The true highlights are seeing some really amazing Star Wars fan films