Film Reviews of 2012 Releases

388 Arletta Avenue
Battleship (2012)
Corridor, The
Contraband
Cosmopolis
Dark Shadows (2012)
Devil Inside, The
Divide, The
Haywire
High School
i am a good person i am a bad person
Innkeepers, The
Inside Lara Roxx
John Carter
Mirror Mirror
Moon Point
Raid: Redemption, The
Secret World of Arrietty, The
Snow White and the Huntsman
Tyrannosaur
Underworld Awakening
Viral Factor, The

DVD Releases
2-Headed Shark Attack
7 Below
Aggression Scale, The
Sinners and Saints

If you are looking listing of 2012 releases you can find them here: by title or by release date.

The Best Films of 2011 & The Films I Enjoyed The Most in 2011

When 2011 I started writing a memoir like fashion about the films I saw and each month I would tally up the films in terms of which I thought were the best, and which films I most enjoyed. They had very different results from the get go, and I've long been a supporter of acknowledging and embracing films you enjoy, even if they aren't perfect, or 'important' or meaningful or touchstones, revolutionary, etc. Those are all great marks in film, but how much YOU enjoy a film is important too. The reverse logic held up because one of the early theatrical releases of 2011 was the brilliant yet brutal Incendies, and as much as I can acknowledge it as a formidable film, I got zero enjoyment from watching it. So, in an effort to acknowledge and support both the films I think are formidable as well as the ones that warmed my heard and made me light up, I'm writing 2 lists the year; and here are in my opinion The Best Films of 2011 (I saw 100/400 released) and the Most Enjoyable Films (to me) of 2011:

Movie Moxie's The Best Films of 2011:

These are the films that I think are hands-down brilliant films on all levels.

1. Drive (2011)
2. TrollHunter / Trolljegeren
3. The Tree of Life
4. Small Town Murder Songs
5. The Guard (2011)
6. Four Lions
7. Melancholia
8. Incendies
9. In a Better World / Hævnen
10. Beginners
11. Jane Eyre (2011)
12. Meet Monica Velour
13. Pina
14. One Day (2011)
15. Thor
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
17. Beautiful Boy
18. Familiar Ground / En Terrain Connus
19. Another Earth
20. The Adjustment Bureau

Movie Moxie's Films I Most Enjoyed in 2011:

These are the films that made me laugh, smile, cry and giggle. They are the films where I felt that the film was speaking directly to me, and I wanted to hear what it had to say.

1. Drive (2011)
2. Soul Surfer
3. TrollHunter / Trolljegeren
4. The Adjustment Bureau
5. The Tree of Life
6. The Guard (2011)
7. Thor
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
9. Fast Five
10. The Three Musketeers (2011)
11. Jane Eyre (2011)
12. Small Town Murder Songs
13. I Am Number Four
14. Super 8
15. Country Strong
16. Another Earth
17. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1
18. Kung Fu Panda 2
19. One Day (2011)
20. Melancholia

Special shout out to both Rubber and Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, which would have made both my lists but I saw them prior to 2011 therefore they don't meet my own parameters!

I'll be writing more about the particular films and their impact in a separate post about my movie memories of the year.

Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Best Films of 2011 (so far)

Above: Movie Moxie's List of Best Films of 2011 (so far)

It's no secret that I loved list. Film lists, to do lists, grocery lists (okay.. that's uber practical..), goal lists... lists are awesome. You can check things off lists, highlight them, disagree with ranking or nod along in agreement.

I usually do a mid-year check in list of films that I'm loved and the ones I'm looking foward to in the future. At the end of 2010 I switched things up a bit with The Perfect List of films that I literally feel achieve perfection. So, I naturally thought my mid-year check in would be of those perfect films. But then something along the way happened. More specifically The Adjustment Bureau and totally messed up my whole perfection thing because... it wasn't perfect. I love it to pieces, but it wasn't perfect. What's a film lover to do? Whelp. Fix the problem of course with not one list but two. First I have my list the 10 Best Films of 2011 (so far) and then I have my 10 Favourite Films of 2011 (so far), because as much as I can acknowledge and appreciate perfection (and I really do), the experience of enjoying a film can be just as, if not more, powerful. After thinking about it I decided I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate both types of cinematic achievement. There is similar in titles with 6 out of 10 films grace *both* lists, although rankings are rather topsy-turvy.

Movie Moxie's List of Best Films of 2011 (so far)
1. The Tree of Life
2. Small Town Murder Songs
3. Four Lions
4. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
5. Incendies
6. In a Better World / Hævnen
7. Jane Eyre (2011)
8. The Adjustment Bureau
9. Thor
10. Super 8


Above: Movie Moxie's List of Favourite Films of 2011 (so far)

Movie Moxie's List of Favourite Films of 2011 (so far)
1. The Adjustment Bureau
2. The Tree of Life
3. Rubber
4. Soul Surfer
5. Thor
6. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
7. Jane Eyre (2011)
8. Super 8
9. I Am Number Four
10. Country Strong

Please note these lists were created before seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Source Code or Kung Fu Panda 2. I'm not sure exactly where those would fall in my lists, but there is a strong possibility they would have made the cut, especially Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Titles that qualified for consideration to this list are films that had a theatrical release in Toronto during the 2011 calender year.

Building Anticipation for the Rest of 2011!

I'm surprized at how few of the titles are aligned to my Most Anticipated Films of 2011 List, but you never know how films will turn out until you see them! To complete this mid-year cycle I'm adding a handful of new titles to the anticipated list, and again I'm surprized that it's only 5 titles as usually it's a good set of 15-20. Even when you keep patterns in place, you never know where your interests and energy will land! Here are the five will become added grace to the original list:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I, like many, wasn't a huge fan of the recent Planet of the Apes reboot and with that I pretty much wrote off this new version until I saw the trailer, and I was captivated. It looks like there really is an interesting story and moral question in there. Cast includes James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton and Andy Serkis, and it's directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist).
Release date: August 5, 2011

One Day
This is earnestly a recommendation that started though the power of Twitter. I was looking to fill the last spot for 2011 for the Book to Film Club, and was instantly won over by the idea of seeing two peoples lives and relationship unfolded by seeing them 1 day a year over many years. I loved the idea and I simply adored the book. I think the casting of Anne Hathaway (Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married) and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, Heartless), is simply perfect. Directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education).
Release date: August 19, 2011

The Help
Another Book to Film Club Selection that won me over, this one based on the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett, this one is set in Mississippi during the early 1960s the centred on unlikely friendships and courageous women. Stars Emma Stone (Paper Man), Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, Directed by Tate Taylor (Pretty Ugly People).
Release date: August 10, 2011

Anonymous
I'm feeling super literary here with almost all my additions being book released, and this one is close to as it looks at the questioning of who really wrote the works of William Shakespeare. Stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and David Thewlis, and directed by Roland Emmerich.
Release date: September 30, 2011

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I was semi interested in this John le Carré novel adaptation until the trailer. At that point I was glad I decided not to read the book as it's clear it's a mystery, and I can't wait to see it unfold (and hopefully solved) by lead actor Gary Oldman. Also stars Colin Firth (The King's Speech) and Tom Hardy (Bronson) from director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In / Låt den rätte komma in).
Release date: November 18, 2011