I recently sat with some friends and discussed the best films of 2011.
Some films got an “oh yeah, that was really good!”, while others got “I could go a lifetime without seeing that again!”
2011 has seen the release of some much anticipated movies, many of which have been sequels – some of which can be considered a hit and others will have left actors shuddering at the thought of the movie review pages.
The 3D movie is no longer a novelty in 2011, and its unstoppable rise has seen the majority of films released in both 2D and 3D formats. This year people have not thought anything of purchasing their tickets, being handed glasses, and sitting in a cinema looking like the crowd at a Blues Brothers tribute gig.
And of course, the final curtain fell for the phenomenon that has been surrounding us for over 10 years, the Harry Potter saga – but more on that later.
Sequels and prequels
FILM is becoming a lot like music. You know when you hear a song on the radio and think, “oh that sounds just like...”, well that’s because people are using the same ideas, and at times totally ripping off songs. The same is happening in cinema, with the same characters, in the same films, in very similar plots, becoming a theme.
So let’s take a look at some of these prequels and sequels: the much anticipated The Hangover 2, flop; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, flop; Fast and Furious Five, flop; Final Destination 5, flop.
Three of the above films are in their fourth and fifth installments, no wonder they are going stale and people are getting a bit bored.
And as for the Hangover 2, well that’s just a re-release of the original with the same jokes, just in a different location...Yawn!
Then there is those that can only be described as “alright”.
Paranormal 3, Kung Fu Panda 2, Cars 2 and Rise of the Planet of the Apes – all movies from 2011 that you can just take or leave and are probably just about worth paying the entrance fee for – but not the pick ‘n’ mix.
Of course they haven’t all been bad and there are two highlights of 2011 that just got it right on.
X-Men: First Class was, well... first class. It had humour, action, romance and great visuals, everything you could want from a movie, and was far superior to many prequels I’ve seen in the past (I’d put all three Star Wars prequels in that category).
Transformers: Dark of the Moon managed incredibly to keep a storyline, which could have been put in the same bracket as those above, and credit to Director Michael Bay for keeping it fresh in a third installment.
Is that in 3D sir?
IN 2010, 3D films rose to prominence as a novelty in UK cinemas. I thought it would just be a phase like the mini-disc player or yo-yos. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Films have been released left, right and centre offering both 3D and 2D viewing. Pretty much every film I have seen in the cinema this year has seen me being asked “Is that the 3D version sir?”
I will own up now, I am not a fan of 3D per se, but having sat and watched numerous 3D films, in all honesty it works for some, and not for others.
In October, Disney offered the delightful, king of cartoon movies, The Lion King in 3D. It really was a delightful visual feast, mainly because it’s bursting with colour and spectacular animation.
However, films such as Green Hornet and Captain America just did not work as they contain real human actors, and the dance movie, Step Up 3, made me feel physically sick. It just does not work with a movie where action is happening fast. With movies like this cinemas need to offer a sick bag as well as glasses.
2011 also saw a 4D film hit theatres. Spy Kids 4D was about as rivetting as it sounds, but it was marketed on the basis that it was this all new 4D technology. In a word – overrated, and I’ll put it out there, I really don’t think 4D will take off.
The originals
THERE have been some fantastic blockbusters hitting our screens in 2011, which are what I would call the original first time cinema delights.
2011 kicked off with Danny Boyle’s, 127 Hours, a long-awaited film which sees a mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoning alone near Utah and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive (yes that’s the bit where he cuts his arm off).
There were the terrifying tales of Spielberg’s Super 8, Contagion, and the harrowing The Rite, for those who like their movies to make you scared of things that go bump in the night - or anytime in the hours following seeing the films.
The Adventures of TinTin offered viewers a rip-roaring, globe-trotting narrative and its visceral dedication to pure white-knuckle thrills was one of the best offerings of the year.
Bridesmaids provided some American, crude, laddish humour, but from the female perspective. But Bridesmaids wasn’t a patch on the genius of the long awaited, much anticipated, summer spectacular, and box office sell-out, The Inbetweeners Movie.
A film that did not disappoint, and let’s be honest there was plenty potential for it to do so, the crude and disastrous final holiday of four friends who are leaving sixth form to go their separate ways provided laughs and rave reviews up and down the country.
Harry Potter
MANY people will have watched the final installment of the Harry Potter saga through tear filled eyes, clutching a pack of tissues.
Millions of Brits have followed Harry from his first trip to Hogwarts, to his first conflict with arch-enemy Voldemort, and later to Dumbledore dying and the final battle with he who must not be named.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the final chapter before the book closes on Harry, Ron and Hermione’s friendship as they tackle and defeat the world’s most feared wizard, Lord Voldemort.
2011 was the end of an era for one of cinema’s most enticing and rivetting film journeys, with laughs, tears, romance, drama, dragons, magic and of course butter beer.