BY MIKEY MIGO
I’ve slacked off on my 2011 consumption of certain areas of pop culture. I’ve missed the boat on a lot of music, but I still caught a healthy nerdy amount of movies. I know I’ve not seen ALL the big movies of 2011, but I can still vouch for my share of really good movies. I’ve NOT seen The Descendents, the new Diablo Cody movie, or a few other “critic lists” or “nomination” favorites. Never the less, here’s my favorite movies of the ones I DID see in 2011.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
I think having an honorable mention section is a huge cop out. It’s like saying, “I really like this movies, but not enough to put them on my list… but I also don’t have enough balls to just ignore them.” That said, I don’t have the balls to ignore some really quality work for 2011 that was on the cusp of this list. “Horrible Bosses”, “Red State”, “Peep Show”, and the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” were all worth watching and have enjoyable aspects. Surely there are more, but those are the four movies that instantly came to mind when making this list, but slowly found themselves off the list completely.
10. CEDAR RAPIDS
Take advantage of movies like this. Smart R-Rated comedies are becoming harder and harder to find these days. Ed Helms plays a naïve small town guy who works at an insurance company. The company sends him away from his comfort zone, to “the big city” that is Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There he is roomed with Isiah Whitlock Jr. playing an uptight type, John C. Reilly as a loud mouth, and Anne Heche as an awkward middle age woman. Even the smaller supporting cast is awesome. Stephen Root plays the company’s boss, Kurtwood Smith plays the conference host, Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat plays a hooker with the heart of cancer, and we also get Sigourney Weaver, Rob Corddry, Thomas Lennon, Mike O’Malley, and a few other familiar faces. I don’t want to get too deep into the plot because it’s worth exploring on your own. There are a lot of laughs in this movie. Hopefully it catches on in DVD/BluRay. There are some great one-liners, good direction, a fun story with some good heart, and a whole lot of raunchy goodness. I know it has a lot of the ingredients of what I like in a movie, but I can’t be the only one.
9. EVERYTHING MUST GO
Will Ferrell is an alcoholic man who relapses and then finds himself fired from his job, kicked out of his home by his wife, and stuck in his front lawn with all of his belongings. He has to face the fact that he has to get his shit together. So with the help of a neighborhood kid he sells all of his stuff in one huge rummage sale. We get support from Michael Pena, Glenn Howerton(Dennis!), Stephen Root, Laura Dern, and others. So Will’s definitely not alone in this one. The two main stand outs here not named was Rebecca Hall playing a troubled neighbor who relates to Will’s character because she’s possible more screwed up than him. The other is Biggie Small’s son, Christopher Jordan Wallace. The kid did well. He and Will had some great chemistry back and forth and I hope to see him in the future. The movie has A LOT of heart and ended up being a really good and charming movie. It’s easy to laugh at Will Ferrell, but here you feel his struggles to stay afloat. If you like Will Ferrell you’ll want to see this movie. It’s not a laugh a minute type of flick, but it’s never boring. It’s fun to see Will step out of his comfort zone, sadly it doesn’t seem like many of his fans joined him.
8. ARTHUR
I’m not on crack. I REALLY enjoyed this movie. I never cared about the original, but I love me some Russell Brand and Helen Mirren. The fact that they’re in a movie together is just awesome. I know Russell Brand is an acquired taste, but if you’ve actually given this movie a chance you’d find that it was one of the funniest, most charming, and laid back comedies of the year. It came off so effortless that I think people mistake it for no effort. The chemistry between Brand, Mirren, Gerwig, and Garner is fun stuff. It’s not going to blow your mind or anything, but I find it hard to believe someone can’t find enjoyment in this perfectly silly movie.
7. CAPTAIN AMERICA
I didn’t care about this movie. I put it off and when I finally watched it I was blown away. This was easily the best super hero movie not named Dark Knight in a LONG time. I’d even rate it above Iron Man and I really liked that movie. It’s just the movie is VERY well done. We get the “origin story”, but we also get to see Captain America beat up some Nazis. That’s always fun. I’ve heard some praise for this movie, but I don’t agree with it being snubbed right now by everyone else. If you like good popcorn action movies or superhero movies then you should really treat yourself and see this. You’ll be happy you did.
6. HESHER
Joseph Gordon Levitt is making lists in way of 50/50 being on some lists. I call bullshit on that. His best role released in 2011 is Hesher. He plays a grungy, long haired, evil, screwed up, asshole who is like a living Tyler Durden for a small kid who recently lost his mother. Meanwhile, we get Rainn Wilson as the grieving dad and Natalie Portman as a weird and homely grocery store cashier. It’s a gritty indie style movie. It looks good, it’s well done, it’s dark, and I think more people need to see this one.
5. OUR IDIOT BROTHER
Paul Rudd’s best leading role? For sure! Rudd is a hippie dude who finds himself really down on his luck. He has a loving mom and three sisters, a over protective Emily Mortimer who is married to a extra fun douchy Steve Coogan, Elizabeth Banks who is in a weird place with the underappreciated Adam Scott, and Zooey Dechanel who is partnered with a very “butch” Rashida Jones. Each sister has their own thing going on and their own worlds. Rudd comes into each of their lives and with good intentions sends their lives upside down. Each of their side stories is pretty interesting and entertaining. I’d almost want to watch a movie from any of their perspectives, it’s THAT strong. Jesse Peretz kicks ass in the direction department as well. The cast is pretty stacked. I’m a fan of pretty much everyone that appear on the screen during this movie so I’m a little bias. There wasn’t a point at all in this movie where I didn’t enjoy myself and want a scene to end.
4. BRIDESMAIDS
This was hands down the best American comedy of 2011. The girls owned it this year. The plot revolves around Kristen Wiig’s character, a woman whose life is falling apart. She’s in a rut and nothing is going her way. Her best friend, Maya Rudolph, pops up with the announcement that she’s getting married. She goes with Wiig as the maid of honor and then the rest of bridesmaids are Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, and Rose Byrne. They all play their roles well. I think it’s safe to say this movie put Melissa McCathy on the map in a big way. She went from TV steady hand to movie sensation. In what many consider the best R rated female comedy of all time, we get a female Allstar cast kicking ass in “This summer’s Hangover”. Next year, we’ll most likely be hearing “this summer’s Bridesmaids”. I want a sequel!
3. THE TRIP
This counts because I say it counts. This movie was originally a 6 episode series, but edited into a 2 hour movie to be released in theatres. The result was a hilarious road trip movie that digs deep in ways you don’t expect and pulls laughs out of you that you’ve not given in years. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are amazing together as two actors on a road trip to a big gig. There is an overall arch and I LOVE the way the movie ends with so much balls and bleakness. What makes this movie is the little conversations and quiet time the two leads have. The back and forth banter and “impression battles” are seriously among the funniest moments I’ve seen this year.
2. WIN WIN
I wanted to put this as my number one movie of the year. It’s just a great movie. Paul Giamatti is awesome in this. I think it’s his best movie. Even better than Sideways. His story and reactions were great. I think this is also his most likeable and relatable. It’s not that he’s a “good guy”, but more so a real one. We also get Amy Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor, Bobby Cannavale, and the awesome newcomer Alex Shaffer. The cast is awesome. I loved this screen play, the direction, the casting, the acting, and just about everything this movie had. It’s a perfect “corporate indie”.
1. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Woody Allen returns to the high as hell plateau he set for himself with movies like “Annie Hall”, “Manhattan”, “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, “Broadway Danny Rose”, and his other iconic films. This movie isn’t just another European rom-drama as his last few have felt like. This movie captures the imagination and showcases Allen’s love for the 1920’s probably much in the same way I look at the 60’s and early 70’s. Woody Allen is older and keeps cranking out quality movies. It’s still probably shocking to some that he made THIS movie THIS late in his career. I can’t say enough good things about this movie. It’s one of the only movies in 2011 that I can honestly say grew on me and stuck in my head in such a manner.
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