My Movie Biography: 2011 and How I Came to Love Jessica Chastain

(2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) 2011. The bestest year ever. Well, in my life so far, but it is not like I have that many years to compare it to. It is kinda hard to write about a year so close to this one, but lemme tell ya, tomorrow is going to be even harder. Anyway, hope you're enjoying the series, and mark your calendars for Sunday. Big things are going to be happening!

• I went down to Wellington for a week with my best bud. It was fun. We went to the cinemas like, four times. I usually never go to the cinemas more than three times on my holidays (I know it is really bad, but hey, I'm in a big city, so how can I refuse that?) We went and saw Tron: Legacy (which we didn't really like), The Social Network (because somehow it was still in cinemas), Morning Glory and Unstoppable. It was so fun!
• One of the worst experiences I've ever had was watching Eat Pray Love when it was excruciatingly hot. That movie is by no means short. And it just does not stop. Ever. Okay it does, but it literally felt like I'd missed Christmas by the time it ended. 
• I get very nostalgic over that summer because I spent the entire thing to the tunes of The Social Network's soundtrack. Sometimes I just listen to 'Painted Sun in Abstract' and it takes me back to those happy times. And then I look outside and it has just started hailing for the fifth time (we are supposed to be in spring).
• That awards season was crazy. It was the first year I really got into it, even managing to watch all of the Best Picture nominees before the show. My love for certain movies changed so much during this awards season. First of all, I kinda resented The Social Network for being more popular than Inception. But what did I really expect? I thought that The Social Network was just gonna sail through and win everything. Then The King's Speech won the PGA. Everyone was now like "The King's Speech for Best Picture!" So I promptly realised that Inception wasn't going to win anything, I went and saw The King's Speech and thought it was pretty average, and then I became team The Social Network. From there on I became the biggest raging The Social Network fan on the planet. Every time I heard The King's Speech mentioned, I would fake gagging reflexes. I knew it was well over when The King's Speech won the SAG, but I refused to let go of the hope that The Social Network might take that award home. My friends and I gathered around the TV and watched The King's Speech win Best Picture. I may have cried.
  Those Oscars tore apart my life, man. Which I realise is pretty silly considering everyone in the blogging world hates the Oscars (seriously, they're still my favourite part of the year). Now I can tolerate The King's Speech, even though I still feel those twangs of pain whenever I hear it mentioned. As I said last night, I still can't decide between Inception and The Social Network being my favourite film of 2010. Ah, to look at things with a clear head...

My 20 Favourite Movies of 2011.

Okay, here we are. 20 may seem like a big number, but it was the only way I could fit in everything that I wanted to fit in. So let's not spend any time waffling - it is time for me to close out 2011 once and for all...

Honourable mentions: Hesher, Moneyball, Like Crazy, The Ides of March, Incendies, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Captain America: The First Avenger, Sarah's Key, The Adventures of Tintin, Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Limitless, Thor, Young Adult, Hugo, Melancholia, Contagion, The Help, Crazy, Stupid, Love., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Super 8, X-Men: First Class, Source Code, Jane Eyre, Rango, Another Earth, Perfect Sense.

20. The Skin I Live In - Dir. Pedro Almodovar

A little strange? Definitely. The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodovar's latest film, explores themes of loneliness, sexual identity, death, and possibly the most unique tale of revenge that I've ever seen. In other hands, this would have been the stuff that fits right into The Human Centipede's generation of horror. Almodóvar creates his macabre, ominous tale with elegance, kitsch and malevolence. The Skin I Live In is almost in a breed of it's own, playing out as a horror that dares you to get under your skin and make you question your own identity. Which is somewhat funny to see these days when horrors are all about scaring you with more blood and guts than are probably possible to be inside one person.

A Jessica Chastain Appreciation Post

Today is the lovely Jessica Chastain's birthday. This time last year, so few of us had heard of her. And then, out of nowhere, she starred in more than enough films to last an actor a decade. Sure enough, she's became my favourite actress, and I've endeavoured to see her in as much as possible. So let's take a look at the performances of hers that I've seen (there's some that haven't reached us here), and where they stand against each other.

6) Sally Ann in Stolen Lives (2008)

Admittedly, I only watched this movie because I'd heard that she was in it. And because the DVD slip said that there was a man called "John Hammm" (no jokes) in it. You probably can't expect great things from a movie which can't even spell it's headlining star right, but the film isn't too bad. It is just a very standard straight-to-DVD made-for-TV feel kind of movie. If I'm being honest, I can't really remember Jess all that much in it because her role is so small, but she was pretty cute.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Best Picture

Welcome to part five of my official Oscar predictions - this season of Annual Awards Nerdism is just about done. Tonight I will rank the 7 Best Picture nominations that I've seen (in order of how much I like them) and end with my final prediction for the big winner, but first, I have a few words about the Oscars this year.
PAST PREDICTIONS: Acting; Writing and Directing; the 'Bests' and Visuals; Sound and Design.

If I've been taught anything about this past year of film, it is that I am big on emotional manipulation. When I go to the movies, I like to have something to show for it when I first come out of the cinemas. Two films that made me show my experience clearly were The Help and War Horse. If you saw me after seeing those films, you would have thought that someone had stabbed me in the heart or something, because the tears just kept coming and coming. And when you cry in a movie, you obviously got something out of it. So where people were turned off by the emotional manipulation, I succumbed to it, and as I watched more and more 2011 films I started to find it was a vital ingredient. Which is perhaps why I didn't take after The Descendants, a film with barely any sentimentality, or I wasn't convinced by Moneyball's emotional coldness. I need emotions - I have to be able to connect with a film, which I believe is the main basis of this blog.

Anyway, enough of all of that deep stuff. A lot of people have been turning off the Oscars this year. Even 'prominent awards bloggers' (what does that even mean?) have been turning off in the Oscars. While I admit that I'm nowhere near as excited for the awards as I was last year, I'm still very much willing to jump to the defence of them. Sure, there are some strange nominations this year. Sure, the ones that did get nominated weren't the most exciting choices. Sure, this awards season has been predictable. But as I said before, I like emotions. And the Oscars are full of those. I like watching the reactions, the gushing speeches, the applause - I like seeing people rewarded, because film-making obviously is hard work, and when you make a movie good enough for the Academy, you did something right. I just think it is a magical day, no matter what happens. That probably stems from my dream to actually win an Oscar one day...I honestly couldn't think of anything cooler. Whatever the outcome of tomorrow, I'll still be checking my phone like crazy in my last class of the day (well, providing the teacher is distracted enough), I'll be rushing home after school to hopefully get a good online stream, I'll probably be squealing over some good wins. Because I'm cliché like that.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Writing and Directing

Welcome to part three of my official Oscar predictions, the big one that this season of Annual Awards Nerdism has boiled down to. Tonight I'll be looking at Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. 
PAST PREDICTIONS: 'Bests' and Visuals; Sound and Design.

Just in case you are not familiar with how Fassy, Loki and Owen are used for predictions, here is a refresher:
Happy Fassy - If this person wins, I will let out a squeal in my biology class that will probably get my phone taken off me...why do I have to have school while the Oscars are on?
Lowkey Loki - This is the only prediction you should really listen to, because it is the one who I think will take home the prize.
Overwhelmed Owen - There ain't no way this movie is going to win that prize.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash - The Descendants / John Logan - Hugo / George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides of March / Steven Zallian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chevrin - Moneyball / Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I have not seen the March that has Ides,
and I still fail to get my tongue around Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,
but the film loving Hugo left me impressed,
I was one of the few who thought The Descendants was a mess,
Moneyball was the one who united two screen-writing Gods,
since we're talking baseball it should have the best odds,
but The Descendants has George Clooney and kids,
so I wouldn't be surprised if it actually wins,
I'll just have to sit in my bitter disappointment party alone,
and wish that the winner was really Hugo.

While I did like The Descendants to some degree, I'm not one of the ones who has been singing it's praises at each corner. I actually think that it is probably the most overrated film of 2011. The screenplay itself was just okay...it did well with the realism and the lack of sentimentality, but I did not think that the character of Sid was very well-written at all. In fact, he is one of the worst written characters I've seen in quite some time. So I have to wonder why so many people love this film, because he was a real deal-breaker for me. (and rant is over) The Descendants has a good chance of taking this award since it won the WGA, but I wouldn't count out Moneyball since Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin did such a bloody awesome job with it. I think Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy could pull an upset, too. Look to this as one of the more exciting categories of this year's Oscars.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - the 'Bests' and Visuals

Welcome to part two of my official Oscar predictions, the big one that this 2012 series of Annual Awards Nerdism has come down to. Tonight, I'll be looking at the 'Bests' (Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, Best Documentary - Features) and the Visuals (Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Achievement in Visual Effects). NOTE: I'm not going to attempt the awards for the Shorts because I'll end up looking like a fool.
PAST PREDICTIONS: Sound and Design

Just in case you can't remember what Fassy, Loki and Owen are used for in the prediction process, here's a quick reminder:
Happy Fassy - Who I want to win. Doesn't mean that they will win, though.
Lowkey Loki - Who I think will win. The only prediction of mine that really matters.
Overwhelmed Owen - The longshot. If this wins, it will be stranger than the Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Best Picture nomination.

The 'Bests' Awards

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

A Cat in Paris / Chico and Rita / Kung Fu Panda 2 / Puss in Boots / Rango

I've already talked out my feelings about this category, so go here for more. We all know that Rango is going to win, though.

AAN: My Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

So, I got up at 2.30am this morning to watch my first Oscar nominations being announced.
This is all I remember:
-Wondering how Max von Sydow came out of nowhere for that nomination.
-Being over the moon about Jessica Chastain's nomination, but getting more excited when I saw her picture was from The Tree of Life than her nomination actually being for The Help. Dunno why.
-Actually squealing when Rooney Mara got nominated. So loud that my puppy came in and barked at me and I woke up the whole house. Awkward.
-NO MICHAEL FASSBENDER?!
-Ummmmmmmmmmmmm...Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? LOL wut.
-Not being able to sleep until 4.30am because I was thinking over how the hell I could write this post, all the snubs and ranting with people on Facebook about it. If I was talking to you after the nominations, I was trying to get to sleep, but I could only count so many sheep (lyrical genius).

I slaved on a post like this ALL DAY last year and no one read it, so I'm a bit hesitant to go into too much detail. But I have waited until the talk has simmered down (and I went to Palmerston North today to see War Horse so that took away most of my day), so hopefully you still might have some interest. Anyway, hopefully you remember what Happy (well, not so happy anymore) Fassy, Lowkey Loki and Overwhelmed Owen mean. If not:
Happy Fassy - I am completely content with these nominations.
Lowkey Loki - Meh. I can't decide whether I'm happy or angry about these.
Overwhelmed Owen - Get. OUT.

Here we go...

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Artist / The Descendants / Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close / The Help / Hugo / Midnight in Paris / Moneyball / The Tree of Life / War Horse
Predictions right: 6 out of 9. Didn't put War Horse and The Tree of Life in my final prediction of six, but put them in my second tier predictions (if that makes sense). But Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close only existed in my November predictions.

There's one thing I'm happy about here: I've watched six of these movies, which is better than I usually do. Moneyball comes out in three weeks, so I'll be watching that asap. The Artist may not make it to any cinemas near me. And Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? Guess I'll have to see that now. I remember thinking that The Help and War Horse probably wouldn't get nominated because their RT ratings were in the 70% range. But no, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, with the 48% rating, gets in. Instead of the likes of Drive, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...anything, really. I'm happy with the other eight nominees (well, not so happy about The Descendants but it was going to happen anyway), but the fact that there are only nine nominees and Extremely Loud was the one to take the ninth spot...it just makes me really peeved off. So that'd be a Lowkey Loki, thanks to that movie dragging things down (although I haven't seen it - I should stop being so mean).
But yay for The Tree of Life!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir for A Better Life / George Clooney for The Descendants / Jean Dujardin for The Artist / Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / Brad Pitt for Moneyball
Predictions right: 3 out of 5. No Bichir or Oldman (thought he'd miss out by a hair).

I honestly thought they'd nominate Michael Fassbender. In fact, this is much like what happened with Christopher Nolan last year. I put up a Facebook status saying that he got a DGA nod and that he'd obviously get an Oscar nomination. But no. With Fassy, I told someone that if he didn't get nominated I'd go all Magneto on the voters. I only said that half-heartedly, because I didn't expect him to get snubbed. However, it happened, and that makes me extremely sad and incredibly angry. Maybe it is because the voters are just jealous of what he has and they don't. Leonardo DiCaprio also didn't get nominated. If he did, I would have just been like 'meh', but I feel really sorry for him. He tried his little heart out in that movie (I'm guessing), but at least I don't need to make a special point of seeing it in cinemas next week. However, what about Bichir? Talk about a nomination like Javier Bardem in last year's Biutiful. And I'm glad that Gary Oldman FINALLY got a nomination. As for the other three, we knew it was going to happen. Now I just hope George Clooney doesn't win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs / Viola Davis for The Help / Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady / Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn
Predictions right: 4 out of 5. Left Rooney out because I wasn't positive it could happen.

I was so so so so happy when Rooney got nominated! But of all people for her to take the place of, I thought it would have been Glenn Close, not Tilda Swinton. Oh well. It is a little sad that Rooney got the nomination while Noomi Rapace got next to nothing for her Lisbeth Salander, but Rooney was freaking awesome so it doesn't matter. Rooney basically makes this category for me...as for the others, well, we knew it was all going to happen. I don't know how you could possibly pick between them. Although I would have loved to have seen some Kirsten Dunst love for Melancholia.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn / Jonah Hill for Moneyball / Nick Nolte for Warrior / Christopher Plummer for Beginners / Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Predictions right: 4 out of 5. Anyone who predicted Max von Sydow deserves a medal.

I thought it was a risky move putting Nick Nolte into my predictions for Warrior, but it paid off. Max von Sydow, however? I may have seen it back in November when I thought Extremely Loud was going to be a good movie and whatnot, but I thought that Albert Brooks had it locked down. Not to be. No Brooks, which practically shut out the very deserving Drive. I've said time and time again that there were so many great options that everyone was refusing to go with, and the Oscars went that way, too. It is pretty weird that Jonah Hill is now 'Oscar nominee Jonah Hill', but I guess the time had to come. Anyway, we all know that Christopher Plummer is going to win, and it better happen that way.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist / Jessica Chastain for The Help / Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids / Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs / Octavia Spencer for The Help
Predictions right: 4 out of 5. Honestly didn't think they'd go with Melissa McCarthy.

It all started with that Emmy. And then everyone decided that it would be a great idea to campaign Melissa McCarthy for Best Supporting Actress. I kept telling myself that it wouldn't work because Oscars don't generally go for comedies, but it happened. While I should be happy that the Oscars are making a change, I just can't go along with this nomination. Especially when it came at the expense of Shailene Woodley, who was probably the only thing I really liked about The Descendants. Who also out-acted George Clooney, who is probably going to win the fucking Oscar this year. But at least we have Jessica Chastain, who just so happens to be the definition of perfect. Look at it this way: this is the day when Jessica got her first ever Oscar nomination. We can look back on this day in our old age and she'll probably be like Meryl Streep.

Everything else after the jump!

10 Things I Learned Thanks to 2011 Films

Now we're into 2012, it is time to make those new year's resolutions. To do that, we usually try to draw on the experiences and lessons we learned in the previous year in order to see what we can do better this year. So if you need a little help, here are some things that I learned thanks to watching films released in 2011. They're valuable lessons, indeed...(there might be some spoilers here, especially for #1)

10. It is possible to be a walking photoshopped figure.
Film: Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Teacher: Ryan Gosling
2011 was undoubtedly the year of Ryan Gosling. He had a couple of star turns in Drive and The Ides of March, but what we will all remember him for is his unreal physique in Crazy, Stupid, Love. It was so unreal that it caused Emma Stone to exclaim "seriously?! It's like you're photoshopped!" Only the Gos could be a walking photoshopped figure.

9. Apparently, Kate Hudson can do whatever the hell she likes and you can still be friends with her.
Film: Something Borrowed
Teacher: Kate Hudson
Something Borrowed taught me a lot of things: like people still make crappy rom-coms and films comprised of completely detestable characters. The most detestable of those characters was Darcy, played by Kate Hudson, who was just plain horrible. She stole her best friend's 'best friend', even though it was obvious that they didn't have a connection. She slept around. She didn't even care about her husband-to-be...just the wedding. And yet, everyone still liked her. Rachel (her best friend) still stuck around, even though I would have cut off the friendship once school finished. Dex (her fiancée) didn't connect with her spirited nature, and yet he was still determined to marry her. So if you wanna be able to do whatever the hell you like and have people still stick by you, you just have to be Kate Hudson.

8. Don't piss off an Olsen twin.
Film: Beastly
Teacher: Mary-Kate Olsen, Alex Pettyfer
She may look a bit questionable, but if you piss her off, she'll make you look even more questionable. I'm not kidding. Alex Pettyfer had to learn that the hard way. But the Olsen means well: what she is really trying to do is teach Pettyfer the valuable life lesson that looks aren't everything. Apparently.

7. Wear slutty clothing and BAM! Female empowerment.
Film: Sucker Punch
Teacher: Zack Snyder, several young actress hotties
According to Zack Snyder, Sucker Punch was supposed to be an epic fantasy film which promotes female empowerment. So if we were to take his message literally, this is what we'd have to do to feel empowered: kill a baby dragon, fight large ninjas, fighting robots, fighting soldiers...all while wearing revealing clothing. Yeah, that would make me feel empowered. Sorry, Zack, you really tried, but your little rape-fantasy movie did not make me feel great about being a girl at all. All you did was make a movie for teenage boys.

6. Can't afford to take part in an exercise boot camp? Hide behind a tree and join it for free...and if you get caught, pretend you're dancing in the park.
Film: Bridesmaids
Teacher: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph
There's something that I never thought of: it is really easy to join in on exercise boot camps that happen in the park. Though I'm not sure why they couldn't just go for a run or something. I also never thought that dancing in the park would be a good cover for it...in fact, I don't think pretending to dance in the park would be a good cover for anything. But that won't stop me from attempting it, someday.

5. You may think that you're watching a nice little drama starring Brad Pitt, but BAM! Dinosaurs!
Film: The Tree of Life
Teacher: Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick really proved that everything is possible with The Tree of Life. That's because he did everything in that movie. Including putting dinosaurs in there to show that nature and grace existed back in the dino-days. Well, that was my interpretation of it. I think most people will interpret it as "WTF ARE DINOSAURS DOING IN THIS MOVIE?!" Don't act so surprised, guys, Sean Penn was top-billed on the poster.

4. Never make your own medicines. They'll leave you feeling a little blue.
Film: X-Men: First Class
Teacher: Nicholas Hoult
Once, Hank McCoy was a lovely looking boy who had big feet, but he couldn't handle that mutation. So he decided he'd put an end to it all, as he was quite skilled with his science. His medicine made a change, that's for sure. As the NZ saying goes, just a normal-ish looking mutant who makes his own medicine, nek minnit, he turns into a big, blue, furry beast. Moral of the story: big feet aren't all that bad.

3. Everyone who presumably can't speak English is from Sri Lanka, just like M.I.A.
Film: Hanna
Teacher: Jessica Barden
One of my favourite parts of Hanna was the family that she came across, who were as funny as anything. Especially the daughter, played by Jessica Barden, who greets Hanna with a story about rapper M.I.A who was from Sri Lanka and couldn't speak English but now she's mega-famous. This was meant to make Hanna feel better because she presumed she couldn't speak English. When her brother asked where this lost Hanna was from, Sophie replies, "Sri Lanka". Because that is where everyone who can't speak English is from, obviously.

2. When the world is about to end, build a teepee with sticks.
Film: Melancholia
Teacher: Kirsten Dunst
This one feels particularly relevant since, you know, the world is supposed to end this year (LOL). While it is really supposed to be a 'magic cave', it just looks like a teepee made with sticks. Which, I imagine, is the best that one could do with an apocalypse just around the corner. What Kirsten Dunst's Justine is really trying to tell us, though, is that her sister Claire's idea of getting some wine and music to celebrate the end of the world is pretty dumb. It's the end of the world, you have to get creative. And if you also hate the world, you may as well steal some of it's resources to do so.

1. Don't eat pork. 
Film: Contagion
Teacher: Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow ate some pork. After doing that, she touched a few people. Then she went home, and she got sick. She touched some more people. She died. Those people got sick. Then people who got touched by those people got sick. Next thing you know, the whole world got sick. A whole lot of people died. All because of Gwyneth Paltrow's pork dinner. Moral of the story: don't eat pork. Or meat. Stick to the veges, that you grow yourself. Eat healthy, stay healthy!

There are the lessons I learned from 2011 movies. What did you learn from them?

Stevee's Unofficial Best Films of 2011

Again, when I say 'unofficial', I definitely mean unofficial. I've seen barely anything this year...it'll be months before I see such movies as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, The Artist, Drive, Shame, The Descendants, Moneyball...one day I'll get around to doing an official one. For now, here are ten movies which I found quite good. And if you look at this list, you'll see just how pretentious and arty I have become over the past year.
Anyway, I know the criteria that I had for films that were really made in 2010 but they came out here this year. I've chosen not to include films like Blue Valentine or Never Let Me Go, even if they were released here in 2011, because I think of them as 2010 films no matter what. There is one film that I've included here that was in contention at the Oscars earlier this year, but I feel that it deserves a spot here considering it was part of this year's film festival and I never got to see it until a week ago. So yeah, I know what I'm doing.

Honourable mentions: The Orator, Meek's Cutoff, Beginners, Contagion, Super 8, Tucker & Dale vs Evil, Trust, Winnie the Pooh, Crazy Stupid Love, Sarah's Key, Captain America, Limitless, Rango, X-Men: First Class, Source Code, Thor, Horrible Bosses.

10. Submarine
I just saw this film last weekend and I absolutely fell in love with it. There is just something about it's quirkiness and being so unashamedly over-the-top that I found it hard not to be drawn in to Oliver Tate's weird little world. Both Oliver and Jordana seem refreshingly real - well, Oliver is a bit pretentious - which makes this UK teen comedy shine. Not to mention, Paddy Considine plays his crazy character just the way Nicolas Cage would have...except he is much better.

9. The Help
This film gets a spot on my list because I had a pretty enjoyable time watching it at the cinemas, and it was a great adaptation of one of the best books I read in the past year (okay, don't take my word for it, I probably haven't read over five books in 2011). Plus, it has so much talent on show: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain (whom I loved in this movie), Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek...such a strong female cast, and how often do we get that? We mustn't forget that I cried at least five different times during this movie, and when I cry, it sure isn't because I didn't like the movie!

8. Melancholia
Melancholia gets a special place in my heart because it was the first movie I ever got to see at the New Zealand Film Festival. Hopefully next year I can watch a few more. Lars von Trier's apocalyptic tale is one of beauty shrouded in sadness, as we see how a rogue planet affects two very different sisters. One of these sisters is played by Kirsten Dunst, whose performance should really be nominated for an Oscar because it is so cripplingly depressing. But the main reason that Melancholia has appeared on this list is because of it's absolutely amazing ending. Seriously, I can't believe how much I was shaking when the credits hit. I literally did feel like the world just ended.

7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
At the beginning of the year, I thought this would be just another one of those pointless prequels with a ridiculous title that would tank at the box office. Boy, I was wrong. Turns out that Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the greatest blockbuster of 2011, with one of the greatest moments of the year. Caesar is the coolest ape ever, and possibly one of the only 'heroes' from the movies that I didn't have trouble getting behind. Hopefully Andy Serkis does get an Oscar nomination, because his work is ground-breaking...and it's time Hollywood had a shake-up.

6. Incendies
A nominee for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars, Incendies is a Canadian film that doesn't shy away from much, and knows exactly how to smack the audience in the face. People who have seen the film will know what I'm talking about...the twist in this film will literally make you feel like someone just punched you in the face. This is an expertly crafted, beautifully shot, completely involving film which takes you to all sorts of places, including hell and back. If you haven't seen this film, then what are you waiting for? It's a hard hitting drama in every sense of the word.

5. Certified Copy
A collection of conversations (and you should know how much I love to see conversations on film) between Juliette Binoche and William Shimell were surprisingly quite enjoyable to me. Abbas Kiarostami's multi-lingual drama is one that makes you question all sorts of things, including and especially the relationship between the two strangers...or were they really strangers? So many questions that this movie asks, and while it doesn't really answer all of them, it is still beautiful to watch.

4. The Tree of Life
My tastes really have changed this year. If you showed me Terrence Malick's ultra-polarizing film last year, I would have really disliked it. But I rolled up to the cinemas, and while I was baffled, I was more intrigued than I had ever been before. Now I have the film on Blu-Ray, I've realised just what a marvel it is, but I don't think I could ever give it a proper rating. I know that a lot of people hate this movie, and a lot more people hate the people who like it. I'm sorry, but I just really liked it, for all of it's pretty pictures and the amount of reading-between-the-lines that it required. A magnificent piece of cinema, no doubt about it.

3. Hesher
While this is technically a 2010 flick, this film took a while to make it to the general public. I was pretty happy that I finally got to see it when it hit DVD back in September. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the titular Hesher, who is a loner that doesn't care about much in the world, but he can help a few people along. Filled with charming indie moments, plenty of funnies and enough heartbreak to go 'round, Hesher is delightfully original and even charmingly offensive. JGL gives a bloody terrific performance, too. If only more people had the chance to see this one...

2. Midnight in Paris
I have never been a huge fan of either Owen Wilson or Woody Allen, but Midnight in Paris is an absolute delight to watch. It's impossible not to love - as Wilson is transported to 1920's Paris and meets such icons as Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Dali, my eyes were having a mad love affair with the screen. I really can't say how much I love this film. It is just pure magic, from beginning to end. There were only two things that I didn't like about it: that it had to end and that Paris is so far away!

1. Senna
Isn't it weird how I have a documentary about Formula One as my number one for the year? But seriously, Senna is a masterpiece. The editing in this movie is probably the best I have ever seen, as I imagine that it isn't easy to edit down a whole lot of archive footage into something that closely resembles a normal narrative. And I must say, considering I didn't know that much about Ayrton Senna before watching the movie, and I was bawling my eyes out at the end, this movie really was something special. It was just wonderful.

So, what do you think of my list? What are your favourite movies of 2011?

And before I go, I'd just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I'll be taking a couple of days off to enjoy Christmas and Boxing Day. As for you all, thanks for all of the support this year - it's greatly appreciated! I hope you all have a great day...eat and drink to your heart's content, and be happy!

Stevee's Best and Worst Posters of 2011...

Well, it's December (how, I do not know), so it's the time of the year when everyone rolls out their 'best of' lists for the year. While I might make a top ten films list (though it would be better if I did one at the end of next year), I'm going to look at all of the promotional stuff that I can see with the click of the fingers. Now, I'm quite the expert on movie posters, so I'll take a look at the five worst and ten best posters of 2011 films.

Here are the top five worst posters from 2011:

5. Main St - I already talked enough about this poster in this post. I still haven't seen this movie (I kinda plan to, just to see what went wrong), but here's some wishful thinking: it might be better than whoever photoshopped this hideous Coronation Street-esque poster.

4. The Darkest Hour - Sure, this isn't a horribly bad poster compared to some other ones. When it was one of the featured trailers on my IMDB app, the poster was so bad that I stopped using the app for a while until they changed it. Working at a DVD store, I see a whole lot of Z-grade straight-to-DVD disaster films, and this one - which is actually going to cinemas - looks exactly like one of those. I mean, just look at the lame lightning ripping through the city. And the awful colouring of the tagline. And that tagline being bigger than the title. It just makes it look really awful.

3. X-Men: First Class - The large majority of the X-Men: First Class posters were the victims of someone who got a bit too excited about photoshop. This one, showing all of the characters from the movie (and there are quite a few, hence the troubling one-dimensionality of some of them), is quite the eyesore. It all starts with the blueness, and then you wonder why half of these people are walking and the other half are just standing there looking menacing. James McAvoy probably came out worse off...I mean, look at how disproportionate his body is. Michael Fassbender looks like he is in pants that are miles too big to him and his turtleneck has made his neck disappear. And if you look really hard, you can see Lucas Till in the distance, all faded away. It's just such a silly poster.

2. I Don't Know How She Does It - Apart from having one of the most annoying titles of the year, this movie has an annoying poster to match. First of all, there is the colour. It makes me think of puke. Then there is Sarah Jessica Parker, who looks slightly uncomfortable and has a bizarre looking smile on her face. She's holding a teddy with her bag, just to show that no-one knows how she does it. On the right side of her she is a whole lot of things that she needs to do. I'm so glad that she has to make cookies. I don't know how she does that.

1. New Year's Eve - I don't know where to begin with this poster. It is just bloody awful. Just the way everyone looks. Some people look like they've been cut out of a tabloid magazine (ahem, Ashton Kutcher), some have been cut directly out of the official film stills, others just look purely idiotic. I'm talking about you,
Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges. I'm sorry, but you look like you're a prisoner applying to be Santa Claus, your smile is that un-genuine. There's just way too much gold. We get it, New Year's Eve is gold, but that doesn't mean it's the annual lottery holiday.

Best posters after the jump...

AAN: Gotham, NYFCC and Spirit Awards

Well, I think we can officially kick Annual Awards Nerdism off. For those of you not in the know: Annual Awards Nerdism is my version of awards coverage, but I do it in a fun-ish way. When we get down to predicting the winners for the Oscars, I put them into poems. Now, you don't see that every day. Check out last years coverage here. Today I'll look at the winners of the Gotham Independent Film Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle winners and the Independent Spirit Awards nominees...

Gotham Independent Film Awards Winners

Best Film: Tie between The Tree of Life and Beginners
Best Documentary: Better This World
Breakthrough Award: Felicity Jones for Like Crazy
Breakthrough Director: Dee Rees for Pariah
Best Ensemble Performance: Beginners
Best Film Not Playing in a Theatre Near You: Scenes of a Crime

What does this mean for Oscar? The tie between The Tree of Life and Beginners is interesting, seeing as a tie has never happened for this award and these films are completely different. But I think between this and the Palme D'Or at Cannes, we could see The Tree of Life becoming a lock in the Best Picture race. Beginners I'm not so sure about...it's a brilliant film, but I can't see it sustaining the momentum until Oscar time as a film. Christopher Plummer will probably be it's only chance at Oscar glory. Also, I was kinda surprised about Felicity Jones winning the Breakthrough Award. I don't doubt her talent, as I'm secretly hoping that maybe she'll get a few more awards, but everyone has been going for Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene and Shailene Woodley in The Descendants to be nominated this year. I wouldn't read too much into it; I think Jones' film is perhaps a little too small and it has seemed to pass by without many people noticing it. But I think people campaigning for Like Crazy should definitely push Jones even more.

NYFCC and Independent Spirit after the jump...

The 'Favourite Film' Argument...(post #700!)

About two weeks ago, I unveiled my Top 100 Favourite Movies of All-Time. Now, if you've made a list like this, you'll know how freaking hard it is. You have to pick and choose out of all the films you have ever watched which films you'd like to see in your top 100. Then you have to pick and choose out of those selections so you're left with 100 of your favourite movies. And then you have to decide which films are better than which, ordering them all perfectly. It's a hard, but totally awesome job. I particularly loved it when I picked up a free copy of Blue Valentine from work and exclaimed, "I just got my 21st favourite film for free!" What I didn't like was the fact that my fellow staff members looked at me strangely.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine said that Despicable Me was his favourite movie ever. Not thinking about whether what he said was a hyperbole or actually a well-thought out statement, I suddenly just blurted out "really?" He thought this was because I didn't like the film, but I actually really did like the film (seriously, every time I go to my niece's and she suggests that we watch a movie I always pick Despicable Me...I've probably seen it at least five times now). But even though I really enjoyed the film, it would never factor into my  top 100 favourite films, because I simply don't see it as 'favourite film' material. To be perfectly honest, though, if you were to put a gun to my head and ask me to choose between watching Despicable Me or my 39th favourite film There Will Be Blood on a Friday night, I'd probably go with Despicable Me. That's because I don't think after a full week of school I'd be down for any milkshake drinking, just easy breezy entertainment.

So what is it that makes 'favourite film material'?

As much as I'd like to say my entire 100 favourite films list came down to films I just simply loved and could watch over and over again, it really didn't. I'm talking films like Confessions of a Shopaholic or even something which was as generally well-received as X-Men: First Class. Yes, I loved them. Yes, I have watched them more than some of the films that actually made my list. But I just don't see them as 'favourite film material'.

'Favourite film material' is something which can't be accurately determined, and there's no rulebook. Except, it almost feels like there is a rulebook to creating your list of favourite films. Y'know, we feel like we should include those arty movies (otherwise known as 'pretentious' movies) just so people will be impressed with our range. And then comes all of the 'essential' movies. Ones like The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption and Taxi Driver, plus anything by Stanley Kubrick. No matter if you'd rather watch some guilty pleasure movie or even comedy as well-received as The Hangover instead of the three hours of The Godfather, we can always tell which film would make the list. That's not to say that I don't like The Godfather. I love The Godfather. But I'm one of those people who, when I rewatch a film, it's usually a recent comedy because if I'm rewatching it's usually because I can't be bothered putting my brain in a movie.  If that makes me a bad person, then I am sorry.

Obviously, if you're going to put a film in your list then you better make sure you actually like it. In fact, like is not the right word. You should love the films you put in your list. Because if you don't love at least 100 films out of all the films you've seen, then I don't think you could call yourself a 'movie-lover'. Unless you purposely put yourself through all of the bad movies ever.

'Best Films I've Ever Seen' vs. 'Favourite Films'

I've always been under the impression that there is a difference between the 'best films I've ever seen' and my 'favourite films'. I'm not sure why exactly this is, but it probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm not really sure what the best film I have ever seen is. However, I do know that my favourite film is Memento, followed by Schindler's List. Schindler's List is a film that I'd be more inclined to say is the best movie I've ever seen, but the fact of the matter is that I just like Memento a little bit more - it's my favourite out of the two.

The problem with the 'best films I've ever seen' is the fact that many people misinterpret it as 'the best films ever'. So, if I were to place Schindler's List at the top of my list, people would be bound to disagree because it wasn't a perfect movie, and then start hammering me about my choice. The problem is that people tend to forget that it's the 'best films I've ever seen', and I have different tastes to other people. People just look at the 'best films' and forget the whole personal taste thing. If one was looking for a best film list, then they should go onto IMDb and look at the top 250. And even then people will still complain about The Shawshank Redemtption being number one. Truth is, there's never going to be a movie which everyone agrees on. And it's then when these 'favourite films' lists come in handy because even while people may not agree with your choices, they better bloody accept them because they're your favourite films, not theirs.

Is it okay to have newer films in your top 100?

Admittedly, I have a lot of newer films in my top 100. Particularly in the higher ranks. I've been told this is wrong, but I don't care. I think this goes with the well-known statement around us film-lovers that films that were made ages ago are simply better than the ones made now. That may be true, but we have had some great movies come out in the last few years. For example, one of the movies I picked in my top 10 was The Social Network. Now, for a lot of people, this was top 10 stuff for 2010, but not top 10 stuff for their favourite films. The reason I ranked The Social Network so highly is because it's exactly the type of movie I'd like to make, and the script-work is literally music to my ears. In fact, I believe that The Social Network is one of the best movies I've ever seen. You may disagree, but no matter what year the film was made in, it all comes down to personal taste, not what other people think. Plus, my top 10 is filled with the likes of Inception, Inglourious Basterds, Mean Girls (if any of you try to say I'm wrong for having this movie in there, I will get as mad as Regina George), and The Dark Knight. All recent movies. All movies that I love. No problem.

That's not all. I had included three 2011 releases in my list, and one hasn't even come out in America yet. These movies are The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris and Melancholia. Admittedly, Melancholia was a tough choice to include in my list, but I simply adored that movie and it's been haunting my dreams for weeks now. Even though I feel strange about including two extremely new movies, this is what I think: imagine that someone back in 1939 was making a list of their favourite movies, and one of the films that was included was Gone with the Wind. That was a new movie, then. Now it's one of those essential movies. We never really think about the future of the new movies that we've watched. Who knows, in twenty years, people may think The Tree of Life is the most meaningful movie ever made (well, I don't know, but I can see that it will be liked a lot more in the future than it is now). And I just simply love Midnight in Paris more than I could possibly say. Yes, movies do get better with age. But hey, if you include a newer movie in your top 100 now, you may be the one in twenty years who goes "I had that in my top 100 from the very beginning!" Yes, it's the little things like this that make loving movies 5% awesomer for me.

Anyway, back to the point...

So now that I have talked all of my feelings out about having favourite films (I'm sorry if it didn't make sense), I've come to realise that maybe my friend wasn't too wrong having Despicable Me as a favourite film. After all, it comes down to personal taste, and what people have and haven't seen. Maybe there's no such thing as 'favourite movie material'. But one thing is that just because one doesn't have some artsy movie or an old movie or even The Godfather as their favourite film doesn't make them any less of a film lover. Some people just love movies more than others. Everyone has different 'best films they've ever seen'. And after all, I doubt many people have taken at least 20 hours out of their life just to decide whether they liked Memento or Schindler's List more. It was a tough decision, but I decided that Memento deserved the top spot because every time I think about how great it is, I just want to cry. I can watch it whenever - it challenges me. You know, people who have made a top 100 list have probably thought it out more than you would ever know.

But then again, I think it will always be deemed a crime for a film blogger to have 27 Dresses as their favourite film.

So, what do you think about the favourite film business? What is your all-time favourite film, and why? What is 'favourite film material' to you?