Best movies of 2011

Solid performances, perfect atmosphere, a wonderfully creepy soundtrack, and an ending I definitely did NOT see coming. It's obviously inspired by films like Poltergeist, Amityville Horror, and The Exorcist, but it takes the subject matter & puts a fresh spin on it which I found refreshing. Also, I'm pretty sure I won't be going to sleep any time soon tonight.
--from my June 2012 list

AV Club review

Tiny Mix Tapes review

It's just so elegant and heartfelt, so technical yet effortless. And it's wonderfully moving in the way it oozes with an unbridled passion and appreciation for the magic of cinema. And yet, Scorsese's love for the medium is truly given over to his characters and their story in a way that this year's Best Picture winner never achieves.

Another thing that's occurred to me, is that part of my excitement for the film has to do with the fact that I'm still able to find a real appreciation for something as wholesome and entirely free of cynicism as this. What an encouraging sensation!
--Xanadon't from his March Movie Journal (2012) list

Review by JxSxPx

Review by kymberg

This is one of those simple little movies that hit me in just the right way. All the performances are excellent & believable, with each actor/actress successfully disappearing into his/her respective role. Will Ferrell has always shown signs of his ability to act beyond his usual silly roles (well, always so far as I've watched him anyway...by the time he joined SNL I'd long since quit watching so I can't speak to those days), and he does a tremendous job here playing a character that's hit the bottom but still has some sense of humor left. I loved the story, dug the soundtrack, and the ending was very satisfying to me. The only thing holding it back from a perfect score is there was nothing here that's really "new" or otherwise would carry it to a masterpiece status, but for me this is a Great film I enjoy & love.
--from my June 2012 list

Couldn't help but think a lot of Seven Samurai while watching this one, and the main way this one fell short of Seven Samurai for me was the fact that we have far too many characters to establish in order for the audience to care too deeply for any of them. Another 30 minutes to an hour of character development would've made this film PERFECT and marked it for Greatness.

That said, it's among the best Asian films I've seen & now ranks for me as Miike's best film.
--from my Jan. 2012 list

I highly enjoyed the humor in this one & thought the performances were stellar across the board. Probably I also appreciated it a bit more than others due to my identifying with the main character to some degree (mostly with regard to his thoughts & approaches toward dating). The coming-of-age story has been better done by others, but I felt like Submarine had enough in it to stand proudly alongside its predecessors. I felt like some aspects could have been better handled, but overall I really dug it.
--from my July 2012 list

Review by lotr23

So, basically "Piranha 3DD" was one of those films that manages to be so horrible that I'm reluctant to watch any other film.

It was in that light that "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" came at just the right time. They say comedy is about timing and the timing of this film had me laughing quite loudly from the start. This is a film that I'll be revisiting soon and perhaps should make part of my collection and kept on the shelf with 'in case of bad movie despair/depression break glass' clearly marked.
--from jaytoast's June 2012 Cinema Diary

Review by JxSxPx

This is a really interesting and surprisingly thorough documentary about how through great amounts of determination, skill, and good fortune one man turned his hobby/obsession into a world-wide phenomenon.

The documentary never quite "blew me away" or anything. But it kept me 100% engaged and I struggle to imagine what could've been done better.
--from Xanadon't's September Movie Journal (2012)