Thursday 29 December 2011

Top Films Of 2011



These are the films that I’ve enjoyed most over the past 12 months. All of them were “on target” in 2011.

The Next Three Days
Russell Crowe hatches a plan to help his wife escape from prison in this excellent re-make of the French film Anything For Her. Going into this one I didn’t know anything about it or that it was a re-make. This worked greatly in the film’s favour as I didn’t know how things were going to turn out.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/film-next-three-days.html

Let me In
Another re-make and again I haven’t seen the original. This tale of a child-like urban vampire manages to be the rarest of films, a great horror.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/dvd-let-me-in.html

Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist
Also known as Fast Five this sequel really delivers. Big on action and excitement it also features a brilliant fight scene involving Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Full review here http://www.ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/film-fast-furious-5-rio-heist.html


Cell 211
A rookie prison guard finds himself locked in with the inmates during a riot in this brilliant Spanish drama. Can he keep his true identity hidden? Ferocious film with cool performances.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/film-cell-211.html

Terry
This British mock-documentary from director / star Nick Nevern follows a London wide boy as his life spirals out of control. It’s powerful stuff and very realistic.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/dvd-terry.html

Mother’s Day
Rebecca DeMornay is amazing as the Matriarch of a violent family in this excellent home invasion film from director of Saw sequels Darren Lynn Boussman.

Full review here http://www.ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/11/film-mothers-day.html

Horrible Bosses
What do you do when your boss is a tyrant? Three hapless friends conspire to bump theirs off in this surprisingly good comedy featuring fine performances from Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/film-horrible-bosses.html

Thor
The God Of Thunder finally arrived on the big screen and director Kenneth Branagh delivered a film packed with action, effects and …….laughs! Excellent precursor to the upcoming Avengers film.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/04/film-thor.html

Rio Breaks
This emotional documentary follows two young boys as they attempt to escape a life in the slums of Brazil through professional surfing.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/film-rio-breaks.html

Warrior
At last, a decent MMA (mixed martial arts) film. An estranged family bring all their problems into the octagon in this modern day Rocky with great performances from Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy.

Full review here http://ricsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/film-warrrior.html

Near misses
Biutiful, Red State, Outcast, Stake Land, Collapse, Faster and The Troll Hunter.

8 comments:

  1. Fast Five and Thor are in my top five. You should check out the original, Let the Right One In. Very chilling and effective.

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  2. Let Me In was a solid remake. Don't understand the hate for it. Also totally agree about Warrior. One of the best of 2011.

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  3. Love that someone besides me puts "The Next Three Days" on their list of faves for the year.

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  4. A few of these I'd like to watch. I saw the French original of the Russell Crowe flick and if his movie comes anywhere close to creating the tension in the French version, then he will have done very well indeed. Horrible Bosses surprised me. There are a lot of sub-par comedies out there but this one was very, very funny. Jen Aniston's potty mouth took a bit of getting used to. But then I got over myself. GOT to see Warrior and Cell 211

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  5. I plan to Alex!
    Thanks Ty, didn't know there was hate for it.
    I loved it Eileen.
    I suspect the original will be great Michael if the re-make was that good. Yep Horrible Bosses was a pleasant surprise, good comedy is hard to find. Warrior and Cell 211 are essential viewing.

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  6. I dig your list. For my top of 2011 I had Mega Python v. Gatoroid, and a new entry, In the Name of the King: Two Worlds-- at least those are my DTV top for 2011.

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  7. Thanks matt. I've got Mega Python v Gatoriod on my tivo so I'll be checking it out soon and anything with Dolph is always worth a watch.

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  8. horrible bosses was so funny. had a lot of fun watching it. and you gotta see let the right one in (the basis for let me in), it's so awesome!!!

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