My Top 25 Favorite Movies of 2011, Part 3

-Thor-

Is it perfect?  No, but I still find this movie so damned charming.  "Charming" seems like a strange word to use when describing a Nordic-inspired yarn about a lunkheaded alien prince (Chris Hemsworth) who gets exiled to Earth courtesy of his jealous, snotty brother, falls for an adorable astrophysicist (Natalie Portman) and finally learns how to grow up while simultaneously pounding the crap out of a fire-breathing alien robot.  Silly, right?  This should have sucked eggs, but it works.  It successfully widens the scope of the Marvel Universe in a way that no previous film has before it, all while indulging in grand theatricality (thanks to the Shakespearean background of director Kenneth Branagh) and laced with witty humor (from uncredited rewrites by Joss Whedon).  And the cast!  Did I mention charming?  Everyone, from the great star-making performance by Hemsworth, to all of the supporting characters (Odin, Dr. Selvig, Darcy, Agent Coulson, Heimdall, Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood, etc), to the dastardly villains, to Stan Lee, all are imbued with a sense of fun and earnestness which Marvel certainly does better than DC and all of their forced attempts at dark grittiness.  While "Spider-Man 2" or the original "Iron Man" may be the most well made movies in the Marvel library, "Thor" was the one I've popped into my Blu-Ray player most often.  Until "The Avengers" came along, that is.

-The Debt-

2011 brought us a couple of great spy tales.  While "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" provided the recommended daily allowance of popcorn, movies like "The Debt" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" gave us more subdued, realistic, dramatic thrills.  I dug "Tinker", but prefer "The Debt".  And not just because Jessica Chastain is in it - it's all good.  It's the story of three Israeli spies who infiltrate East Berlin on a mission to extract a Nazi war criminal who's now posing as a normal, everyday gynecologist.  Of course, things go terribly wrong.  The story unfolds in parallel timelines - as the mission is happening in the 1960's, where the young agents are played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas, and over 30 years later, with the characters now portrayed by Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson.  The entire cast is excellent, but I have to give kudos to Jesper Christensen as the Nazi doctor.  He's easily one of the best villains of 2011 - he's a detestable character, yet still very much a human being - and that's frightening.  Director John Madden has a tight grip on the reins and knows how wring every ounce of suspense from each situation, and also how to orchestrate powerful moments of drama without pouring on the sap.  This little tale of truth, and the costs we incur by denying it, is well worth anyone's time.

-Battle: Los Angeles-

Sure, it's chock full of both war movie and alien invasion movie cliches, but I've watched this one too many times to disregard its inclusion on my list.  I make no excuses, I love this movie.  Then the summer of 2012 came along and the good qualities of "Battle: Los Angeles" were thrown even further into sharp relief.  Why, you ask?  A stinking turd named "Battleship".  It's the same damn movie, only it's bad.  Both are about water-obsessed aliens invading Earth.  Both feature protagonists in the military (Marines in "B:LA" and Navy in "BS").  Both films nobly set out to honor our veteran soldiers.  And both are riddled with cliches.  It's "B:LA", however, which wins on all battlefronts.  Better special effects, better actions sequences, better musical score (Brian Tyler rules), better acting (Aaron Eckhart is great, even when spouting awkward dialogue), more involving drama (if you can overlook the cliches), and weirder, cooler aliens foes.  There's only one thing "Battleship" does better - it features a kick-ass supporting role played by real Iraq war veteran and double amputee Greg Gadson.  Frankly, the movie should have centered around him.  Instead, he's pushed off to the side and we're stuck with those other boring bozos.  "B:LA" has some real veterans in its cast too, and is a better ride.  Even if it does seem a little too familiar.

-Hugo-

This was not what I expected when I first saw it in theaters.  I was merely expecting to see was a kids-oriented movie directed by Martin Scorcese.  While the movie can certainly be viewed by tykes, what I ultimately got was a tribute to fantasy films of the silent era with a special emphasis on the works of George Melies.  If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a film lover.  In particular, I enjoy films in the science fiction, fantasy and horror vein - you know, the stuff of dreams.  In college I studied film history and focused much of my attention on the life of film pioneer Melies.  He was, arguably, the first and most influential fantasy filmmaker of all time and I found his story to be fascinating and quite inspiring.  Cut to the holiday movie season of 2011:  I'm nearly halfway through my first theatrical viewing of "Hugo".  Throughout the movie, some nagging, nebulous thought kept nibbling at the memory core of my brain - certain details in this movie seemed familiar to me. . .  then came the scene where the automaton drew the picture of the rocket hitting the eye of the man on the moon, and everything clicked into place.  Melies!  For the rest of the movie, Scorcese and I were on the same page sharing the same passion for the same works of art, celebrating together the life of a master filmmaker and bringing his tale to light for those unfamiliar with the man and his legacy.  Simpatico, baby.  And that's why "Hugo" is one of my favorite movies of 2011.

-I Saw the Devil-

Okay, here's a movie that I have trouble sitting through.  Is it a bad movie?  Hell no.  It's a movie by South Korean master craftsman Kim Jee-Woon, whose previous flick "The Good, the Bad, the Weird", an action-packed comedic Western, made it onto my 2010 list.  He makes good, quality cinema.  It's just that this particular one is so dang disturbing.  So why have I watched it so often, you ask?  Because some horror movie fans have become jaded and feel that the scary stuff of today has lost all of its power and can no longer frighten them - this is the movie I bring out to wipe those smarmy little grins off of their faces.  The plot is one we've seen many, many times before - a cop's wife is murdered by a serial killer, so the cop goes rogue and hunts the guy down, intent on making the killer feel the pain his victims felt before they died.  Lee Byung-Hun turns in another fantastic performance as the cop, and Choi Min-Sik is the killer.  In a brilliant move, Choi plays the killer as completely evil without any redeeming human qualities.  Still, by the end, you start to feel a bit for this guy and what he's going through, and that's really saying something!  It's got jump scares, suspense, gross-outs, and deeply, deeply disturbing bad behavior.  On the other hand, it's finely crafted, beautifully photographed, and not without its moments of wicked dark humor (like when the killer hides out with his friend, who happens to be a cannibal).  Watch if you dare, but prepare to be disturbed.

Jessica Chastain: Not My Girlfriend

She responded to one of my comments on her Facebook fan page.  Technically, that's a relationship.

Of course two months later she posted a message telling all of her fans that she would no longer be able to answer most individual comments because she'd gotten way too busy.  Breaking up is hard to do. . .

This isn't a post.  This is a brief plug for my ultimate celebrity crush, Ms. Chastain, who's currently up for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in "Zero Dark Thirty".

She burst into view in 2011, when she co-starred in two of my favorite films of the year, "Take Shelter" and "The Tree of Life".  In those films she was playing variations on the same role - the supportive wife/mother who holds the family together.  Ah, so she was going to be typecast, then.  I should look for her in similar roles in the future.  Wait a minute. . . that was her in "The Help"?

Yup.  She was even nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of the free-wheeling Celia Foote, though she didn't win.  The woman's got talent, there's no denying that.  But don't let that fool you, for I am a man and it was more than just her acting prowess that drew me in - at that time she was "the slender flame-haired beauty with the adorable cleft chin who could also act".  So I looked up her first starring role in the movie "Jolene" mostly, I admit, because of the ample amount of nudity it offered, only to be taken by surprise once again.  The movie affected me on a personal level - see, I've loved a couple of Jolene-types in my day.  I totally know that girl.  If I were to compare myself to any of her lovers in that movie I'd say I was closest to being a real-life Mickey. . . though I've never jumped off of a bridge.

Since then, she's popped up movie after movie after movie.  There she is again in "Coriolanus" - and again, in "Lawless" - now she's a gynecologist-stabbing Israeli spy in 'The Debt" - now she's an animated circus jaguar in "Madagascar 3" - now she's hunting down Osama Bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty" - now she's a punk rocker tangling with a possessive ghost in "Mama" - jeez, slow down and take a breather, lady!

But do you know what really made me a wobbly-kneed fan?  A story she told about coming face-to-face with Kurt Russell at an awards event.  Apparently she geeked out because, when she was a little girl, her favorite comedy of all time was "Big Trouble in Little China".  So not only is she a gorgeous vegan hippie with a cute three-legged dog and loads of talent, she's also a full-on film fanatic with honest-to-goodness Geek Cred.  I have mad respect for this woman.

I will be watching the Oscars on Sunday, February 24th.  It will be the first time in about 10 years that I've watched the ceremony.  Now I have a good reason - someone to root for.  Good luck, Jessica!

Update:  Crap.  Jennifer Lawrence won.  Oh well.  A woman with her level of talent will undoubtedly sweep up many more awards in the future.  She can sweep me up any day.  ;^)

James Bond: Not a Cyborg

Well then, what is he?  If it's supposed to be one continuous series of films, shouldn't Bond be in his 80's or 90's by now?  Surely he must be some sort of robot/alien/clone/time traveller/immortal, right?  Is "James Bond 007" merely a title passed down to different spies over time?

Of course not.  The Daniel Craig movies are clear cut reboots.  But what about the other Bonds?  And what about the supporting casts?  Are Miss Moneypenny, M, and Q immortal as well?  Heck, Felix Leiter looks completely different almost every time he appears - sometimes he's even a whole new ethnicity!  Just what in blazes is going on here?

Friends, in honor of the home format release of the most excellent 50th anniversary Bondstravaganza known as "Skyfall", I would like to present to you my interpretation of the James Bond film legacy.  It is, in fact (okay, my opinion), not one long series, but four separate storylines, all unconnected to each other.  Despite the fact that some actors are portraying the same characters in different timelines, and despite the many in-joke references to Bond movies past, I advise you to think of each series as a fresh start.  It will save your sanity.  It didn't save mine, but that's another story. . .

Also, this list is strictly for the Albert R. Broccoli/EON Productions James Bond movies, often called the "official series".  It will not include the 1954 American T.V. movie version of "Casino Royale" (with "Jimmy" Bond - don't be silly), nor the 1967 version of "Casino Royale" (a spoof of Bond movies), nor 1983's "Never Say Never Again" - yes, I know it stars Sean Connery, but it's really just a remake of 1965's "Thunderball" and should be considered separate from all the rest of them.  If you want to know why that movie even exists at all, look it up.  There's a lawsuit and a settlement and all sorts of filmmaking kung fu that led to its inception in the first place.  But I digress.  Back to the "official" list.

So here they are, Series by Series with some of my arguments/excuses to back up my decisions -


Series 1 - The Connery Years

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Dr. No (1962)

From Russia with Love (1963)

Goldfinger (1964)

Thunderball (1965)

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Diamonds are Forever (1971)

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All of the Sean Connery Bonds.  There is a hiccup here - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was released in 1969, starring George Lazenby.  Unsatisfied with the box office performance of that one, the producers dumped Lazenby and managed to get Connery back to do "Diamonds", before he bugged out as well.  I'll clarify later why exactly "OHMSS" is better placed in a separate timeline, but "Diamonds" fits perfectly here, both for reasons of tone (it fits well with the others) and reasons of character continuity (Lazenby is a younger actor than Connery).  "Diamonds" isn't very satisfying as the end of a series (it's the least best of all the movies in Series 1), but it's okay.


The Lazenby/Moore Years

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On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Live and Let Die (1973)

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Moonraker (1979)

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Octopussy (1983)

A View to a Kill (1985)

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George Lazenby and Roger Moore always seemed, to me, like they were playing the same version of the character.  They're both have very flippant, easygoing attitudes and even kind of look like each other.  This is the longest of the four series, giving Bond the opportunity to go from young (Lazenby in "OHMSS") to old (Moore, "Live and Let Die" onward and the oldest actor to play Bond, unless you count Connery in "Never Say Never Again").  The tragic cliffhanger ending of "OHMSS" pays off spectacularly when you get to the opening scene of "For Your Eyes Only".  If you watch the movies in the order of their release, "Diamonds are Forever" gets in the way, making the opening of "FYEO" less satisfying.  And, once again, "A View to a Kill" isn't the best example of a final chapter, but it's not my least favorite movie in Series 2 (that would be "The Man with the Golden Gun").

Series 3 - The Dalton/Brosnan Years

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The Living Daylights (1987)

Licence to Kill (1989)

Goldeneye (1995)

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The World is Not Enough (1999)

Die Another Day (2002)

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Timothy Dalton ("Daylights" and "Licence") and Pierce Brosnan ("Goldeneye" and onward) seem to be a good fit.  They both fought to bring back the edginess of the character from the original novels by Ian Fleming, and succeeded - to a certain degree.  Longtime C.I.A. ally Felix Leiter, who gets half-eaten by a shark in "Licence", is replaced by agent Jack Wade for the Brosnan films, and the opening scene of "Goldeneye" takes place in 1986 when Bond was just a noob agent, one year before "The Living Daylights".  Plus Brosnan seems to be playing an older, more world-weary version of Dalton.  As for the climax, "Die Another Day" has its problems, but it's a decent enough ending - after all, it was the big 40th anniversary Bond movie, so the producers went all-out to make it an "event".  Personally, I think they went too far (robotic control armor, anyone?), but that's a debate for another time.  It's a decent end point for Series 3.

Series 4 - The Daniel Craig Years

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Casino Royale (2006)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Skyfall (2012)

Font of Kickassery - or whatever they're going to call it - (2014)

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No, they're not prequels.  It's obviously a whole new beginning this time, from Bond earning his 00 status at the start of "Casino" to the fresh introductions of his supporting buddies, it's a series that clearly stands on its own.  And it stands tall, since I consider "Casino" and "Skyfall" not only two of my favorite James Bond movies, but two of my favorite movies, period.  And it's official - Craig has replaced Connery as my favorite Bond actor.  Sacrilege!  But true.

So there are my thoughts on Bond continuity (Bondinuity, if you will) - four distinct storylines.  Where Series 4 will end, who knows?  Will it be a solely Craig series, or will some other guy carry the story torch to the finish line?  We'll see.