The Blank Blog

Well, it's come down to this: the top ten movies of 2011! Let's see what they are...

Honorable Mention: The Lion King in 3D

It's an honorable mention instead being actually ranked simply because it's a rerelease, but The Lion King deserves mention for its fantastic conversion. It felt like I was actually in Africa, as cheesy as that sounds. It was a great experience seeing The Lion King in theaters, and it deserves mention.

10. Source Code

A great sci-fi thriller, Source Code would be best described as Inception meets Groundhog Day. Jake Gyllenhaal puts in one of his best performances as the main character, and he makes all the plot twists believable, along with the smart script. I'm certain that in future years, this will go down as a sci-fi classic.

9. Winnie the Pooh

The only traditionally animated movie of the year was a very entertaining, witty, film. Winnie the Pooh was a lot better than the last traditionally animated Disney film, The Princess and the Frog. Pooh has only two flaws; the songs, the majority of which are forgettable, and the length, clocking into barely an hour, making it feel like more of an appetizer for another movie. The movie is perceded by a short, however, and it's a fun short. Winnie the Pooh itself though remains a fun movie, well worth seeing.

8. Moneyball

This was actually the first live-action movie I've seen with both Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, and there were great performances by both of them. Particularly, I have no idea why Jonah Hill isn't being considered for any awards in his role, where he plays against type as a smart analyst, and it pays enormously well. The script works wonders on this movie, with Aaron Sorkin writing well as always. The movie overall is fantastic, entertaining whether or not you're a fan of baseball.

7. War Horse

Although I have yet to see the other Spielberg film of the year, this one was amazing because it made me interested in a horse movie. I detest horse movies, all of them being incredibly formulaic and designed to pull heartstrings. Well, honestly, War Horse is incredibly formulaic and designed to pull heartstrings (although it didn't pull mine,) but it has an incredible score, great acting all around, amazing cinematography, and some fantastic war scenes. All of this added to the story, which actually follows the horse, not the rider as horse movies usually do. All in all, a great film worthy of the Spielberg name.

6. Super 8

This movie was actually in fourth place until I realized, unlike the following two films, I can't remember much from this. Being forgettable is one of a movie's biggest flaws, so that's why it's only at sixth. This film calls back to the 80's with a tone like Spielberg from that era, and it ultimately works. The story of a boy dealing with the death of his mother while dealing with his difficult father has been told many times, but it still feels fresh here. The humor in this movie is top-notch as well, the highlight, besides my number one quote of the year, being the end credit sequence of a stylistically sucky zombie home movie. Overall, a very good movie, but forgettable.

5. Kung Fu Panda 2

The rare sequel that completely eclipses the original in quality, Kung Fu Panda 2 is so good, I honestly count as the "Pixar-quality" animated movie of the year, after Cars 2 was a disappointment. Jam-packed with the most action I've seen in an animated movie, with the possible exception of the Incredibles, this movie also had an emotional heart to it, making it on par with How to Train Your Dragon... until one thing showed up to make it better than that film: traditional animation. Gorgeous traditional animation makes up Po's flashbacks, a fantastic aesthestic idea. Add in Gary Oldman giving the year's most memorable vocal perfomance, and you've got DreamWorks' best film to date. However, this will be the second year in a row where the best DreamWorks film willl still not be the best animated movie of the year. That honor goes to...

4. Rango

Yes, Rango is the best animated film of the year. Delightfully quirky, Rango ends up being both a great parody of Westerns, and a really good bonafide Western. One of the funniest movies of the year, Rango is simply bizarre in a funny way, and yet, still manages to get some deep messages in the film. Johnny Depp gives one of his best performances, vocal or live-action, as Rango, and this fantastic film is worth watching time and time again.

3. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Simply put, Ghotocol (as I've come to call it) is the best action movie in years. There's not a single minute of this movie that's boring, and most of that is due to the fantastic direction of Brad Bird, who I hope either goes back to work in animation immediately, or starts to work on another live-action movie immediately; he's great at both. The entire Dubai segment had me on the edge of my seat, and there's a lot of humor that's welcome in the movie. One of the best action movies in the last decade, Ghotocol has to be seen (in IMAX, perferably) to be believed.

2. Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America was the Indiana Jones 4 we should've got. More than that, it's also one of the best superhero movies ever made, comfortably sitting up with The Incredibles and The Dark Knight. Full of pulpy action and great characters, Captain America is a fantastic period piece that's extremely memorable. It's also the first midnight show I went to, and the first movie since Finding Nemo I've seen three times in theaters. Just a really good superhero movie. Hopefully, the Avengers can touch its quality.

1. The Muppets

This is how you revive a franchise! The Muppets is a great musical, a great comedy, and a fantastic movie. All the songs are incredibly catchy, hilarious, or both. The Muppets is also the funniest movie of the year, and I can't even think of a joke that falls flat. The movie also delivers an important message for today's society about how happiness should be able to overpower cynicism. Even without the message, The Muppets would be the best movie of the year, one that everybody should see at some point, and the best franchise revival ever.

For anyone who cares, here is my overall list of movies I saw this year, from best to worst.

1. The Muppets
2. Captain America: The First Avenger
3. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
4. Rango
5. Kung Fu Panda 2
6. Super 8
7. War Horse
8. Moneyball
9. Winnie the Pooh
10. Source Code
11. Thor
12. Puss in Boots
13. Real Steel
14. Cars 2
15. The Green Hornet
16. Contagion
17. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
18. Courageous
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
20. Green Lantern

Thanks for reading!