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My 2011 movie year in review
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Top films seen per month
1349
8
8.1
Mary and Max (2009)
January pick
After coming across rave reviews for Mary and Max all over Listal during the course of 2010, I decided I needed to check it out. Simply put, this is one of the best films I've ever seen. Brilliantly written with a perfect mix of darkness and comedy...the characters come off as completely real despite being created out of clay...the adult subject matter handled with intelligence.... It's so true to life, without coming off as pretentious or playing out like a documentary. I enjoyed this movie so much that I've left it in my Netflix instant queue until they either remove it or I buy my own copy (whichever happens first).
See also: Best of 00s
After coming across rave reviews for Mary and Max all over Listal during the course of 2010, I decided I needed to check it out. Simply put, this is one of the best films I've ever seen. Brilliantly written with a perfect mix of darkness and comedy...the characters come off as completely real despite being created out of clay...the adult subject matter handled with intelligence.... It's so true to life, without coming off as pretentious or playing out like a documentary. I enjoyed this movie so much that I've left it in my Netflix instant queue until they either remove it or I buy my own copy (whichever happens first).
See also: Best of 00s
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
2303
7.8
7.9
Brazil (1985)
February pick
See also: Hopes, wishes, dreams... by AgentLexi
and
Classic Terry Gilliam Filmmaking by PvtCaboose91
See also: Hopes, wishes, dreams... by AgentLexi
and
Classic Terry Gilliam Filmmaking by PvtCaboose91
the giraffe's rating:
261
7.9
7.9
April pick
A Fritz Lang masterpiece that deserves more recognition. The performances here are excellent, the story is compelling, and there are some impressive moments of comic relief sprinkled throughout.
See also: Listal 16 Day Movie Meme - jaytoast since he's the one who encouraged me to watch this movie
A Fritz Lang masterpiece that deserves more recognition. The performances here are excellent, the story is compelling, and there are some impressive moments of comic relief sprinkled throughout.
See also: Listal 16 Day Movie Meme - jaytoast since he's the one who encouraged me to watch this movie
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
1808
6.4
6.7
Death Becomes Her (1992)
May pick
The performances are top-notch (I especially enjoyed seeing Bruce Willis play against his usual type), the effects/make-up are great, and there were some added touches along the way that I really dug. Good stuff all around.
See also: Best movies of 1992
The performances are top-notch (I especially enjoyed seeing Bruce Willis play against his usual type), the effects/make-up are great, and there were some added touches along the way that I really dug. Good stuff all around.
See also: Best movies of 1992
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
1848
7.9
8.1
June pick
Easily the best romantic film I saw all year. I got lost in the conversations, caught up in the emotions, & the ending was pure perfection.
See also: Few things the giraffe loves about cinema
Easily the best romantic film I saw all year. I got lost in the conversations, caught up in the emotions, & the ending was pure perfection.
See also: Few things the giraffe loves about cinema
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
411
7.6
7.7
August pick
From my 2011 pt. 2 list: Of all people, my mom originally recommended this one to me...she rarely watches movies anymore due to her dislike for graphic content and general disinterest in the movies she sees advertised. Anyway, for several years now she's occasionally reminded me that I needed to watch Wait Until Dark, and I've kept forgetting about it. I am an idiot for doing so.
Admittedly the situations are a bit unbelievable, but the dialogue and characters ring true enough throughout and the suspense is so well-done that it's easily forgiven. Alan Arkin's Mr. Roat is now among my all-time favorite villains, and Wait Until Dark has earned a place among my all-time favorite films.
Listen to your mother. ;)
See also: Swingin' films of the '60s
From my 2011 pt. 2 list: Of all people, my mom originally recommended this one to me...she rarely watches movies anymore due to her dislike for graphic content and general disinterest in the movies she sees advertised. Anyway, for several years now she's occasionally reminded me that I needed to watch Wait Until Dark, and I've kept forgetting about it. I am an idiot for doing so.
Admittedly the situations are a bit unbelievable, but the dialogue and characters ring true enough throughout and the suspense is so well-done that it's easily forgiven. Alan Arkin's Mr. Roat is now among my all-time favorite villains, and Wait Until Dark has earned a place among my all-time favorite films.
Listen to your mother. ;)
See also: Swingin' films of the '60s
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
1542
8.2
8.5
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
September pick
Watched after it was recommended to me by AFIoscar. A beautiful love letter to cinema and a wonderful story about love & friendship & growing up. Beyond that it's hard to put my feelings about this film into words, so I'll simply say that you should go watch it.
See also: Best movies of 1988
Watched after it was recommended to me by AFIoscar. A beautiful love letter to cinema and a wonderful story about love & friendship & growing up. Beyond that it's hard to put my feelings about this film into words, so I'll simply say that you should go watch it.
See also: Best movies of 1988
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
686
7.7
7.6
October pick
Easily the best film watched during my October 2011 Horrorfest. Thanks goes out to the Listal community in general for bringing the film to my attention, as well as to all the Listal members that created Horror-focused lists in October all of which helped elevate my sense of community here (links provided to each list from my own).
Easily the best film watched during my October 2011 Horrorfest. Thanks goes out to the Listal community in general for bringing the film to my attention, as well as to all the Listal members that created Horror-focused lists in October all of which helped elevate my sense of community here (links provided to each list from my own).
Runners up:
the giraffe's rating:
1925
8.6
8.5
November pick
The story unfolds in a way that's nigh impossible to predict where it's going, every character seems to get an epic introductory scene, the music is phenomenal, the performances are great...yeah, I can't really think of any negatives here. The only reason I've given it a 9 instead of a 10 is because I read up on the film after the fact & found out it references a slew of other westerns. Since I've seen exactly none of the films it references, I'd like to watch some (if not all) of said films before I watch this one again just so I'll have a greater appreciation for what Leone has done here.
See also: West side story. by AgentLexi
The story unfolds in a way that's nigh impossible to predict where it's going, every character seems to get an epic introductory scene, the music is phenomenal, the performances are great...yeah, I can't really think of any negatives here. The only reason I've given it a 9 instead of a 10 is because I read up on the film after the fact & found out it references a slew of other westerns. Since I've seen exactly none of the films it references, I'd like to watch some (if not all) of said films before I watch this one again just so I'll have a greater appreciation for what Leone has done here.
See also: West side story. by AgentLexi
Best non-movie:
the giraffe's rating:
487
7.7
7.9
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
December pick
The fact that I'm generally not a fan of Christmas movies should say something about my choosing this film as my favorite for December. Of course it was also the only film I watched all month that earned a 10/10 from me.
See also: Pre-1950s favorite films
The fact that I'm generally not a fan of Christmas movies should say something about my choosing this film as my favorite for December. Of course it was also the only film I watched all month that earned a 10/10 from me.
See also: Pre-1950s favorite films
the giraffe's rating:
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Hidden gems
Movies I highly enjoyed that few people are likely to have seen (all of these currently have less than 200 people on Listal that have seen them).
Films listed elsewhere that otherwise would have appeared here: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Maniac, Anguish, Wait Until Dark, & everything listed in my "Top Docs" section below.
Films listed elsewhere that otherwise would have appeared here: The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Maniac, Anguish, Wait Until Dark, & everything listed in my "Top Docs" section below.
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Repertory films caught on the big screen
While I didn't make it out to the theatre for many new films in 2011, I did manage to make it out a few times to catch movies I hadn't seen before from previous years (or else hadn't seen on a big screen before) at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse.
Listed in chronological order of when I saw them.
Listed in chronological order of when I saw them.
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Top Docs
I saw a fair share of documentaries in 2011. Here's the best of the bunch.
12
7.4
7.7
the giraffe's rating:
110
7.3
7.8
the giraffe's rating:
311
7.6
8
the giraffe's rating:
36
7.4
6.6
the giraffe's rating:
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Worst watched in 2011
All of these I either abandoned without finishing or suffered throughout my viewing experience. None of these films are worth mentioning, aside from to direct your attention away from them. Think of this as my community service. Avoid avoid avoid.
Load more items (4 more in this list)
I didn't make it out to the theatre for new movies as often as I wanted to in 2011, mostly due to having an infant at home & no nearby relatives to help babysit. So as 2011 drew to a close I saw no point in making a Best movies of 2011 list as it would be incomplete. Instead, here's my focus on the highlights (and lowlights) of the year from what I did see, without limiting it to 2011 releases.
Related lists:
Watched in 2011 (pt. 1)
Watched in 2011 pt. 2
October 2011 Horrorfest
DVDecember 2011
All of the above contain the full range of movies I watched in 2011, with accompanying notes.
2011 stats:
Number of films watched by decade...
1920s – 2
1930s – 3
1940s – 6
1950s – 10
1960s – 22
1970s – 24
1980s – 45
1990s – 37
2000s – 67
2010s – 40 (8 of which were 2011 releases)
(numbers do not include multiple views of the same film)
Breakdown of film ratings...
10/10 - 26
9/10 - 73
8/10 - 72
7/10 - 42
6/10 - 13
5/10 - 8
4/10 - 10
3/10 - 0
2/10 - 6
1/10 - 6
Most films watched in a single month: 53 (Jan)
Least films watched in a single month: 10 (Nov)
Total films watched: 256
Added to
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the giraffe's movie lists guide
(195 lists)list by the giraffe
Published 12 years, 9 months ago 
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2 comments
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the giraffe's lists for 2011
(10 lists)list by the giraffe
Published 12 years ago
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