Sarah: Alright, dear readers, we had to take a couple days to recover from our AWFUL scores from the Oscars! But we still stand behind most of our nomination picks, even if they didn't win.
Now that award season has officially come to an end, we are going to give you OUR Top Ten movies from 2011 that you need to see on DVD or Blu-Ray, if you haven't already.
So, Andrew, why don't you go first?
Andrew: Well here's how we're going to do it - we're going to alternate giving the names of films we each think you, the reader, should see if you haven't already. These aren't all going to be Oscar movies necessarily, either. Just the ones we enjoyed the most this year and recommend seeing before any others.
I'll kick things off with a film I know we both had a blast at this year, and that's "Mission Mission
S: Another one that I know we both liked would be "Thor," the third installment to The Avengers series. Starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, it was a fun action movie that is part of the perfect set-up for "The Avengers" which opens this summer!
A: I will say I was pleasantly surprised by "Thor" and it held up the second time I saw it. Whole-heartedly endorse that as one of our picks.
My second pick WAS an Oscar contender and it was one that, while it didn't win any of the awards it was nominated for (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapated Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing), it held up incredibly well the second time we watched it when your dad visited - and that's "Moneyball."
It's just a solid all-around film with great performances by Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, and it did a great job explaining all the statistics that the plot is based on. It’s definitely one of my personal Top 5 films of the year.
S: That is a good one! My next pick also falls into the superhero category with "X-Men: First Class." It was everything it should have been and more. It re-vamped the series and took it in a great new direction. The actors they picked to play young versions of the X-Men characters we have all come to love were perfect.
I love me a good action flick and this one didn't disappoint even with Kevin Bacon as the bad guy. I am very much looking forward to the next installment in this part of the franchise.
A: Great choice. Fun performances by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. I'd put "X-Men" on this list solely because of Fassbender's breakout year (along with "Shame" and "A Dangerous Method").
My next pick is one that I know Sarah won't agree with, but if we're talking about breakout years for actors, then I have to recommend "Drive" starring Ryan Gosling. He just burns on the screen with intensity reminiscent of a young Marlon Brando or Al Pacino. It's also just an awesome gangster movie and one that I think will be remembered in the future more than some of this year's Best Picture nominees. But see this one for Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks' fantastic performances.
S: While I won't say that it was one of my favorites of the year, it was an amazing performance by Gosling.
Ok, the next one on my list leans toward the childish, but still a great movie to see, especially in the theatres! "Happy Feet Two" was one of the cutest movies I have seen in a long time, and it was one of the most beautiful movies that I have seen on the big screen since "Finding Nemo." The voice actors were so much fun to listen to in this family-friendly movie!
A: Holy crap, great choice! Loved this movie, and yes a lot of that had to do with my love for penguins, it was also just a fun movie. Brad Pitt’s part was totally never mentioned when people talked about his big year in 2011. Well played, dear.
Because I know that we both share the same top 2 films, I'll save one of them for my last pick, and instead go with one I believe didn't get enough attention and should have been seen by more people - and that's "50/50" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen.
It was incredibly well-acted by it's cast (JGL, Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston), it was funny, it was touching.....just a good, solid overall movie that I think a lot of people had no interest in seeing for whatever reason. I know we really liked it and I recommend it to our readers for sure.
S: Yes. People, you need to see this movie. Puts a whole new look on cancer patients and the people around them that are affected by the disease as well. Just a good movie.
My next one was an Oscar nominee but didn’t get as many noms as it should have. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was an amazing film that just didn't get enough recognition. Now, this is might be a tough story for some people to watch, but it was so good! It should have been a Best Picture nominee as well as a Best Original Score nominee. The music literally put you in the exact mood you need to be in to see this movie. Rooney Mara definitely deserved her nomination and she will go on to do great things in movies.
I will say that while I couldn't finish the book (a little too disturbing for me) the movie really captured the book beautifully.
A: Couldn't have said it better. Definitely one of my favorite films of the year, and it continues to show that David Fincher is one of the top five directors in film right now.
Ok! So that brings us to our undisputed top two favorite films of 2011 and the ones we recommend the most seeing if you haven't already. The first of those two is "Crazy, Stupid, Love" starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone. This film is hands-down the best romantic-comedy since "Love, Actually" and maybe longer than that. It's funny, it has an incredible amount of heart, and the chemistry between all the lead actors is top-notch. Carell and Gosling kill it in this one.
S: Another one where I want to say "People! See this movie! It is the perfect date movie, comedy, and romance rolled into one!" I know that rom-coms don't usually get nominations for awards, but this one should have.
OK, now, this last one we have definitely talked about before. It DID NOT get enough love while it was in the theatres and still hasn't gotten much love since, but "Warrior" is our number one FAVORITE movie from 2011. If you have not seen this movie because you think MMA is stupid or that it looks like a knockoff of "The Fighter,” shame on you. This movie is so much more than just another fight movie. It has heart and shows such a struggle between father and sons, husband and wife and brother against brother. This movie will make you cry, make you cringe with each punch both physically and verbally, and will bring you to your feet at the end (I know, corny. But it’s so true!).
A: Again, I couldn’t have said it any better than that. Go rent “Warrior” and thank us later.
S: Alrighty everyone! Here is the full list of our Top Ten Movies from 2011 You Should See ASAP! We should mention, other than #1 and #2, this list isn’t in a particular order:
1.) “Warrior”
2.) “Crazy, Stupid, Love”
3.) “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
4.) “50/50”
5.) “Happy Feet Two”
6.) “Drive”
7.) “X-Men: First Class”
8.) “Moneyball”
9.) “Thor”
10.) “Mission
These were our top 10 favorite movies of 2011. But, we know they aren't everyone's, so tell us about your favorites! We are very excited for 2012's movies. Some of the big ones were looking forward to are: "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Avengers," and "The Hobbit." We're excited to share all of our upcoming reviews with you guys!
A: And odds are you can be on the lookout for a preview we’ll do of our Most Anticipated Films of 2012. (Hint: all three of the ones Sarah just mentioned will be on the list.)
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