Here, at long last, are the best and worst of all 532 films I saw in 2011. I wanted a lot of diversity among the winners so there are no repeat films among the categories. In cases of a movie being frontrunner in two categories I had to judge which award a particular film deserved more then gave the other category to the runner up. But be assured that all of these films got what they deserve and deserve what they got.
Did I make any horrible mistakes? Am I right on? Let me know in the comments.
Best in Decade
- Best 20's Film: Metropolis
- Best 30's Film: The Bride of Frankenstein
- Best 40's Film: The Thief of Baghdad
- Best 50's Film: Seven Samurai
- Best 60's Film: High and Low
- Best 70's Film: The Friends of Eddie Coyle
- Best 80's Film: Fright Night
- Best 90's Film: The Thin Red Line
- Best 00's Film: Traffic
- Best 10's Film: Drive
Best in Genre
- Best Action Film: The Sword of Doom
- Best Animated Film: My Neighbor Totoro
- Best Comedy Film: Unfaithfully Yours
- Best Documentary: Waking Sleeping Beauty
- Best Drama Film: Road to Perdition
- Best Horror Film: The Others
- Best Musical Film: Little Shop of Horrors
- Best Noir Film: Naked City
- Best Romance Film: Amelie
- Best Sci-Fi Film: Blade Runner
- Best Thriller Film: I Saw the Devil
- Best Western Film: Rango
Best in Country
- Best Australian Film: Animal Kingdom
- Best Canadian Film: My Winnipeg
- Best Danish Film: The Five Obstructions
- Best French Film: The Passion of Joan of Arc
- Best German Film: Downfall
- Best Hong Kong Film: Rumble in the Bronx
- Best Italian Film: Gomorrah
- Best Japanese Film: 13 Assassins
- Best Korean Film: Lady Vengeance
- Best Mexican Film: El Topo
- Best Spanish Film: Death of a Cyclist
- Best Swedish Film: Wild Strawberries
- Best Thai Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
- Best UK Film: In the Loop
- Best US Film: Paths of Glory
Other Categories
- Best Sequel: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Worst Sequel: Hellraiser: Bloodline
- Best Remake: The Departed
- Worst Remake: Death at a Funeral
- Best Soundtrack: Pirate Radio
- Worst Soundtrack: Nudist Colony of the Dead
- Favorite Newly Discovered Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
- Most Surprisingly Good: I Bury the Living
- Most Surprisingly Disappointing: Hobo with a Shotgun
- Jaw Dropping Moment of Awesome: Enter the Void (Opening Credits)
- Coolest Long Take: Kidnapped
- Best Film Title: Army of Shadows
- Worst Film Title: Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood
- Awesomest Creature/Monster: Trollhunter
- Crappiest Creature/Monster: Terror Toons
- Why Does Nobody Else Like This Movie?: Intolerable Cruelty
- Why Does Everybody Else Like This Movie?: Run Lola Run
- Best Bad Movie: Pieces
- Goriest Film: Inside
- Most Annoying Character: The Entire Cast - Not Another Not Another Movie
- Most Eye-Gouging Worthy Nudity: Tommy Wiseau - The Room
- Worst Video Game Movie: Doom
- Most Baffling Plot: Inland Empire
- Most Forgettable: War of the Robots
- I'd Recommend This Film if it Didn't Make Me Look Disturbed: Irreversible
- Best Pair of Movies with the Same Name: Shame & Shame (Bergman & McQueen)
- Worst Acting: John Travolta - Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000
Best and Worst Overall
- Worst Film: After Last Season
- Best Film: The 400 Blows
Saturday, January 7, 2012
365 Days - 532 Movies
At the beginning of last year I was without a job, without a car, without a girlfriend, and practically without money (and, uh, still am on all counts). I needed something to do. A goal to work for. A quest. Seeing as my life couldn't be much more pathetic sounding, I decided that the best thing to do would be something that would require almost no effort whatsoever: watch 500 movies in one year. That is, 500 movies I haven't seen so repeated viewings could not count toward that number. In the end, I overshot that number by a few but who's counting?
Oh yeah. I am.
So let's begin with a few statistics for younerds people who like that kind of thing...
Total # of films: 532
Total watch time: ~875 hours or 36 days
Most films watched in one day: 6
Most films watched in one month: 80
Shortest film: Easy Street - 20min.
Longest film: Hamlet - 4hrs 2min
Most watched decade: 2000s - 129
Most watched country: US - 289
Most watched director: Alfred Hitchcock - 14
Now why in the hell would anyone in their right mind (assuming I am in my right mind) spend over a month in front of a screen watching movies?
Firstly, I got to catch up on movies that I had long been neglecting. Movies that you know you ought to watch but always think "Oh, I'll see that one later. It's been around long enough, it'll still be there when I get around to it." Movies that are either too long for casual viewing or just because I've never made enough effort. Movies like Spartacus, Road to Perdition, Fanny & Alexander, The Great Escape, and Blade Runner.
Secondly, in order to rack up numbers, I had to dive into the obscure and the foreign. I watched films that I probably would never have given a second thought to like The Headless Woman, Kilometre 31, The Sword of Doom, and The Magic Flute. I definitely watched more foreign films this year than any other and from all over the place. Germany, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, Australia, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, Thailand, Sweden, Denmark, and even Canada. It's like world travel if you hate the actual travel part. Kind of.
Thirdly, because why the hell not? I love the art of film so any excuse to see more movies is a good one. It's just what I do. I can't and don't want to imagine a world where I'm not watching movies anymore. I'll be doing it 'til the day I die. Chances are good that I actually will die while watching a movie. That would be a bummer actually. It would mean that I never got to finish it. Um... Anyway, let's move on.
So what did I learn from all this?
Never to do it again. Yes, I love film but there's probably a more effective way of spending my time. As soon as I figure out what it is, I'll let you know. For now, I continue to engage in my favorite pastime.
If only there was a way to watch movies off into the sunset...
Oh yeah. I am.
So let's begin with a few statistics for you
Total # of films: 532
Total watch time: ~875 hours or 36 days
Most films watched in one day: 6
Most films watched in one month: 80
Shortest film: Easy Street - 20min.
Longest film: Hamlet - 4hrs 2min
Most watched decade: 2000s - 129
Most watched country: US - 289
Most watched director: Alfred Hitchcock - 14
Now why in the hell would anyone in their right mind (assuming I am in my right mind) spend over a month in front of a screen watching movies?
Firstly, I got to catch up on movies that I had long been neglecting. Movies that you know you ought to watch but always think "Oh, I'll see that one later. It's been around long enough, it'll still be there when I get around to it." Movies that are either too long for casual viewing or just because I've never made enough effort. Movies like Spartacus, Road to Perdition, Fanny & Alexander, The Great Escape, and Blade Runner.
Secondly, in order to rack up numbers, I had to dive into the obscure and the foreign. I watched films that I probably would never have given a second thought to like The Headless Woman, Kilometre 31, The Sword of Doom, and The Magic Flute. I definitely watched more foreign films this year than any other and from all over the place. Germany, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, Australia, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, Thailand, Sweden, Denmark, and even Canada. It's like world travel if you hate the actual travel part. Kind of.
Thirdly, because why the hell not? I love the art of film so any excuse to see more movies is a good one. It's just what I do. I can't and don't want to imagine a world where I'm not watching movies anymore. I'll be doing it 'til the day I die. Chances are good that I actually will die while watching a movie. That would be a bummer actually. It would mean that I never got to finish it. Um... Anyway, let's move on.
So what did I learn from all this?
Never to do it again. Yes, I love film but there's probably a more effective way of spending my time. As soon as I figure out what it is, I'll let you know. For now, I continue to engage in my favorite pastime.
If only there was a way to watch movies off into the sunset...
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Why I'll Watch Any Movie at Least Once
Among my friends, I'm known as the guy who will watch any movie, no matter how long, weird, or shitty. I've never turned down a film if I haven't seen it and I've made it a personal goal of mine to never do so. Yes, that does mean if you invite to watch Jack and Jill with you, I'll do it. I'll probably hate you for it, but I'll see it.
Why? Why would I subject myself to the tortuously bad? Why do I actively seek out the obscure? Why will I sit though a four-hour epic? Well, there's a number of reasons for it.
The Hidden Surprises
There are so many films that I've seen, having heard nothing about it or only heard mediocre things, that I ended up completely loving. When I had Netflix Instant Watch, I'd throw anything onto my queue if it looked or sounded interesting. If the cover catches my eye, I'll watch it without bothering to read a description. Sure, you have to wade through plenty of crap but those moments where you discover that hidden gem are more than worth it. I live for those moments.
What To Do and What Not To Do
As a filmmaker, I think it's good to know both what you should do and what you shouldn't do. What works and what doesn't work. If you only watch movies that are widely regarded as good, you generally only get the former. When you watch a bad movie, you can see exactly why the good movies work as well as they do. It's also interesting to see just how good intentions can go horribly wrong.
Film Knowledge
You can't claim to be a film buff if you only watch AFI's top 100 or the Academy Award nominees. No. You can't do it. I'm sorry but you've got to dig. You have to do work. Get into those art house theaters. Those back shelves in the video store (they still exist right?). This may sound like snobbery but you can't call yourself a bookworm if you only read Oprah's Book of the Month, can you?
Comedy
Come on. There are bad movies out there that are absolutely hilarious.
Basically what it all comes down to is that I love cinema. All kinds of cinema. That's why I'll watch any movie at least once.
Why? Why would I subject myself to the tortuously bad? Why do I actively seek out the obscure? Why will I sit though a four-hour epic? Well, there's a number of reasons for it.
The Hidden Surprises
There are so many films that I've seen, having heard nothing about it or only heard mediocre things, that I ended up completely loving. When I had Netflix Instant Watch, I'd throw anything onto my queue if it looked or sounded interesting. If the cover catches my eye, I'll watch it without bothering to read a description. Sure, you have to wade through plenty of crap but those moments where you discover that hidden gem are more than worth it. I live for those moments.
What To Do and What Not To Do
As a filmmaker, I think it's good to know both what you should do and what you shouldn't do. What works and what doesn't work. If you only watch movies that are widely regarded as good, you generally only get the former. When you watch a bad movie, you can see exactly why the good movies work as well as they do. It's also interesting to see just how good intentions can go horribly wrong.
Film Knowledge
You can't claim to be a film buff if you only watch AFI's top 100 or the Academy Award nominees. No. You can't do it. I'm sorry but you've got to dig. You have to do work. Get into those art house theaters. Those back shelves in the video store (they still exist right?). This may sound like snobbery but you can't call yourself a bookworm if you only read Oprah's Book of the Month, can you?
Comedy
Come on. There are bad movies out there that are absolutely hilarious.
Basically what it all comes down to is that I love cinema. All kinds of cinema. That's why I'll watch any movie at least once.
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