My Top 10 Movies of 2011

One habit I have, and I like to think it’s a good habit, is to rate a movie (out of 10) on IMDB immediately after I watch it. There are a lot of benefits to doing it. For instance, I know how many movies I’ve watched in a given year, I don’t lose track of what movies I’ve watched and I know what I think of each movie. For example, this year, I’ve watched 30 movies that were released in 2011 (I have watched more on DVD or just on late releases in Malaysia). I remember the largely forgettable movies I’ve watched – Scream 4, Blitz, Unknown. And the absolutely putrid movies – No Strings Attached, Trespass.

However, while 2011 wasn’t the greatest of years for movies (nothing like 2010 which had The King’s Speech, The Fighter, The Town, Easy A, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, How to Train your Dragon et al) and in terms of anticipation, it’s nowhere near how excited I am for 2012, there were still some movies that stood up and yelled, “REPRESENT” for 2011.

Before I go, here are 2 movies which I think will likely make the list but I haven’t had the chance to watch them yet:-

1. The Ides of March
2. Twilight – Breaking Dawn Part 1

Just kidding.

2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Anyway.

As per usual, I have categories for you.

Category A – If you have time, you should pop some corn and watch these.

Ten – Fright Night (7.5/10)


An all around good fun movie. I generally like vampire flicks. And everyone loves Christopher Mintz-Plasse aka McLovin. But for me, the highlight was the incredibly-off-the-charts-hot Imogen Poots.

Nine – Paul (7.7/10)


A friendly alien-bro! A cool combination between the in-guys for British Comedy, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and the in-guys for American Comedy, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. It’s good laughs all round and nice, fun movie. Pl

Eight – The Hangover 2 (7.8/10)


For the record, I love bro-based movies. And I loved the Hangover. And while the sequel wasn’t as good as the original (I really hate saying this – I really hate it when people diss a sequel just because it’s a sequel. The same way I really hate it when people diss a movie that’s based on a book as not being as good as the book just because it’s the movie), it was still great for laughs all round. Zach Galifianakis had some great moments (the pre-wedding toast) and Bradley Cooper lends some awesome swag.

Category B – Even if you don’t have time, make time to watch these.

Seven – 30 Minutes or Less (8/10)


As you can see, I’m quite a comedy fan. And this one is a solid one. Aziz Ansari, to me, steals the show over Jesse Eisenberg (Mr Social Network himself) with his line delivery. The plot is generally quite refreshing, I think, and it paces itself really well. The movie itself isn’t a long one, it’s about 1.5 hours which I think was spot on in terms of timing. 30 Minutes of Less is worth watching for Aziz Ansari alone.

Best exchange from the movie –

Chet: "You want to have sex with my sister don't you?"
Nick: "Okay, your sister is attractive."
Chet: "My twin sister?! Which is basically like having sex with me?"
Nick: "Remember graduation night?"
Chet: "When you were nailing Tina Scotto?"
Nick: "No, I was actually having the best night of my life with your sister..."
Chet: "What?! You deflowered my sister?! And I know all the details?!"

Six – 50-50 (8.3/10)


The first drama on the list! A very heart-warming tale and to me, sheds some light on the human condition. I think it does a really good job in showing different perspectives of a person who’s undergoing treatment from cancer not just the perspective of the person, but those around him as well. To me, Seth Rogen is the show-stealer here and is balls-out funny. Also, this movie made me fall in love with Anna Kendrick. A must watch for people who prefer more emotional stuff in movies.

Five – X-Men First Class (8.4/10)


This year saw a glut of superhero movies – The Green Hornet, Thor, Green Lantern (putrid), Captain America. But the best of them all was definitely X-Men First Class, which also, I thought provoked some insight into the human condition. I will unabashedly admit that I gushed over both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. A solid superhero plot (of course, it is no match for the Dark Knight) which easily places it ahead of the other superhero moves in 2011.

Four – Horrible Bosses (8.5/10)


Charlie Day is flat out hilarious. I love him in “It’s Always Sunny” and I love him here. The best comedy of the year for me. Let’s be frank, at some point in our lives, we’ve all wondered what would happen if our bosses mysteriously vanish. And here they put it in motion. Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis both put in solid shifts but Charlie Day makes the whole thing worthwhile. Also, when you watch it, look out for the first time the 3 guys meet Motherfucker Jones.

Three – Attack the Block (8.7/10)


Trust. A really, really fun movie of a bunch of British inner city kids defending their flats block from an alien invasion. For me, at least, it was like going back into childhood days where we built forts and pretended to fight against bad guys with our friends. Except of course, these bad guys are dog-like aliens who will maul and massacre the crap out of you. Still though, it’s just a very up-tempo, well-paced alien invasion movie to watch. Believe. It’s real gangster shit, bruv.

Category C – If you don’t watch these movies, so help me God, I am stabbing you in the jugular

Two – Super 8 (9.0/10)


Movie Magic! It’s like Attack the Block (childhood gang battling an alien) but with much greater emotional depth. It evokes the sentiment of the innocence of adolescence and what adolescent friendships and love are like. And the acting was top class in this one with excellent performances by Elle Fanning and the kid who was the director of the movie in the movie. All in all, as you know, I love all things Americana, and Super 8 just invokes that sort of small town Americana nostalgia in me.

One – The Help (9.5/10)


First of all, there’s Emma Stone. Second of all, it provides a perspective which, (un)fortunately, I have never seen before on the human condition – the true extent of racism. Why do we treat people so differently? How could people do that to each other? Y’know, that sort of stuff. Third of all, it’s a super inspiring movie with great emotional depth right across all characters. There’s all sorts of issues addressed here besides racism such as gender equality, the evolution of human nature, the shift in perception from childhood to adulthood, courage under fire and most of all, hope and kindness. Like Jewel says, “In the end, only kindness matters.”

So that’s my list. Thanks to my habit of voting right after I watch movies, there’ll be another list next year. For those of you who are wondering, a certain movie that came out in July this year featuring one of the most popular franchises of all time did not make the list because I’m still actively blocking out. So there. Believe.