Palooza Presents "The 99 Films of 2011"

[Palooza]

99 Films of 2011

35. Barney's Version
Paul Giamiatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Scott Speedman, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lafevre

Director -
Richard J. Lewis
Writer(s) -
Michael Konyves
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 80%
Metacritic Score - 67/100
Viewed - HQ torrent
Paul Giamatti is one of the most under-appreciated actors of all-time. The man constantly carries fantastic movies without any real recognition. Barney's Version is no different. The movie is a bit sloppy, but it is supposed to mimic real life, so it works. You never really know where the story is going to go, so beyond Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman's performances, there is certainly something to keep you engaged. Giamiatti's Barney is an extremely flawed individual who does the best he can to make things work, but timing has never been his strong suit. Not many people would be able to create a sympathetic character out of the source material, but Giamiatti plays Barney with perfection. Dustin Hoffman portrays his ex-cop, outspoken father with such ease that you wonder where Hoffman has been all these years. To me, as the story progressed and Barney settled down with Minnie Driver's character, it was easy to root for Barney's actions in their relationship. Not only because of the sympathy he had generated throughout the film but because of how much of a terrible and annoying person Minnie Driver was. Everything Barney put her through was well deserved and although his pursuits of someone else seemed delusional, you are rooting for him. I haven't even mentioned the dysfunctional relationship between Barney and his best friend, Boogie, played by Scott Speedman. The two go through an unbelievable amount of terrible things together, including the one part of the movie that will make or break your feelings toward Barney. Even through the life-reflective messy directing, Barney's Version is a great portrayal of what everyone is missing in Paul Giamatti in addition to powerful, albiet overpacked story.
Spoiler Alert - Life sucks.
Grade - B

[Palooza]

99 Films of 2011

34. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton, Brian Cox, David Oyelowo, Taylor Labine

Director -
Rupert Wyatt
Writer(s) -
Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 83%
Metacritic Score - 68/100
Viewed - HQ torrent
I didn't believe anyone when they told me this movie was good. I love the original Planet of the Apes and just thought the idea of this movie was beyond unnecessary. Thanks to some more impressively strange work by Andy Serkis, this movie exceeded my expectations. James Franco is pretty much in robot mode, mailing this performance in, but it works. It's not Franco's show. The supporting characters work well enough to make up for his bland performance, too. Brian Cox plays the two-faced "villain" with ease, oozing evil with every lie he says. Tom Felton is pretty awesome and plays the character you love to hate perfectly, you are just patiently waiting for him to get what he deserves. Caeser, the ape that Serkis plays, is the star of the show and keeps you entertained. You feel for him and you want him to be free and happy and also stick it to the assholes who wronged him, but you know that will lead to the decline of civilization. Speaking of which, since you know what happens, it's really awesome to see how everything wound up how it did instead of it being stale and boring, the inclusion of Caesar was a brilliant idea and I commend whoever's decision it was to do it like this.
Spoiler Alert - It's the beginning of the end.
Grade - B

[Warner2BruceTD]

Brian Cox is a very underrated movie villain actor guy.

[Palooza]

99 Films of 2011

33. Midnight in Paris
Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Corey Stoll, Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill, Michael Sheen

Director -
Woody Allen
Writer(s) -
Woody Allen
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 93%
Metacritic Score - 81/100
Viewed - Redbox
I'm not a Woody Allen fan by any means. As a filmmaker and a writer, I respect everything he's created over his long career. As an actor, I cannot stand him. Seeing as how Woody Allen finally decided to substitute himself for Owen Wilson and the concept and story seemed absolutely brilliant, I was interested in watching this. The story and writing does not disappoint and Owen Wilson is perfect as the Allen stand-in. The movie is absolutely beautiful and even I fell in love with Paris, along with Wilson's Gil. Woody Allen is usually good for at least one movie a year and every five years or so, one of these movies shine. Midnight in Paris is Allen's latest that can fit into the "good" category that most of his latest efforts haven't been able to. The most important aspect of this movie is the fun that each of the characters seem to be having through the actors genuinely seeming to enjoy the roles they are in. Of the famous characters brought to life in this genius film, the most notable are Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali, Corey Stoll shining as Ernest Hemingway and Tom Hiddleston (aka Loki) as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although every one of these characters seem to be caricatures of themselves, it works. The concept is pretty ridiculous in its own right, so meeting the extremes of each of these characters fits in perfectly with the world Allen has created. Marion Cotillard's accent gives me an erection every time she opens her mouth.
Spoiler Alert - n/a
Grade - B

[Houston]

Cool to see Woody Allen make a movie about some of the people he's been making references to for decades. Also, speaking of one movie a year, the next one he has coming up looks like a complete disaster. Sucks, I was getting my hopes up for it since MIP was so good.

[Palooza]

Cool to see Woody Allen make a movie about some of the people he's been making references to for decades. Also, speaking of one movie a year, the next one he has coming up looks like a complete disaster. Sucks, I was getting my hopes up for it since MIP was so good.

You gotta wait until 2016ish for a good Woody Allen movie.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Brian Cox is a very underrated movie villain actor guy.

Hes good overall.
Even in a cheesy action comedy like Red hes great.

[Palooza]

99 Films of 2011

32. Melancholia
Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard, John Hurt, Charlotta Rampling, Stellan Skarsgard, Jesper Christensen, Brady Corbet

Director -
Lars von Trier
Writer(s) -
Lars von Trier
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 77%
Metacritic Score - 80/100
Viewed - HQ torrent
I imagine in some time this movie will be played in a "Psychology of Film" class. If I had to write an essay on this film, it would certainly revolve around the two sisters and their representation of "melancholy" and how this idea of melancholy is used throughout the film, most obviously with the planet traveling toward Earth, "Melancholia". Either that or I'd write it on the themes of accepting mortality. This is a typical artsy, weird, mind bending film from Lars von Trier, who does his best to both bore and engage the audience simultaneously. The first half of the movie focuses on what is supposed to be the happiest day of Justine's life (Kirsten Dunst), but she is terribly depressed and has been, from what we learn. After a set of questionable acts on her wedding day, we jump forward to the real plot of the movie where Justine is recovering from a breakdown post-marriage at her sister Claire and her husband's mansion (Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland). This is where he paranoia and acceptance of morality kick in. Each of the four characters (including their child) face the impending end of the world in their own way, some more cowardly than others. Even though Kirsten Dunst and I were born in the same town, I don't like her at all. I don't find her attractive and she's always annoying. Here, though, there's a reason she won Best Actress at Cannes. She pulls off the many layers of depression with ease, even if some of the scenes are unsettling and frustrating. von Trier's portrait on the human psyche toward the end of the world is not only a beautiful examination, it is also visually stunning, with many random cuts of nature and life being showcased for the audience. The movie is weird and strange and bizarre and any other synonym you can come up with. The camera shots and cuts can get annoying at times and the first half of the movie may be frustrating to some, but it all pays off in the end. It is a very good companion piece to The Tree of Life, which you will see later on in the list.
Grade - B

[Palooza]

Hes good overall.
Even in a cheesy action comedy like Red hes great.

He's even the best part of the Johnny Knoxville vehicle "The Ringer"

I also love his monologue at the end of 25th Hour

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

99 Films of 2011

50. Limitless
Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth

Director -
Neil Burger
Writer(s) -
Leslie Dixon
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 69%
Metacritic Score - 59/100
Viewed - HQ torrent
Another movie I watched with some of the lowest expectations. I was not ready to take Bradley Cooper seriously as a leading man, but he knocks this out of the park. This movie is about adderall on crack, which are two of my favorite drugs so I didn't get caught up in the fact that he's pretty much a fraud. It's a pure popcorn flick that you can just shut your brain off for 2 hours and enjoy yourself. Over thinking or taking this movie too seriously will result in a bad experience. I thought it was going to suck and it wound up entertaining the shit out of me.
Spoiler Alert - People don't really get what they deserve.
Grade - C

Ironic that you need to shut your brain off about a movie that turns on parts of your brain.

Movie was ok. I think all of the OK came from the daydreaming about the pill. Thats all I cared about. I never wanted a movie object so bad since I first saw a light saber.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Crazy Stupid Love
Planet of the Apes.

I liked both. For whatever reason CSL was completely forgettable for me. I was halfway through your synopsis when I realized OOOOOH wait I did see this.
On the flip side Planet of the Apes stood with me for days after seeing it.

GAY ALERT...In CSL I think the only memorable thing was how sleek he looked in that brown suit.

[Palooza]

99 Films of 2011

31. Source Code
Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Bakula

Director -
Duncan Jones
Writer(s) -
Ben Ripley
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 91%
Metacritic Score - 74/100
Viewed - In theaters
After I watched Moon, Duncan Jones' first movie, I was so impressed that I looked up whatever I could on Jones and his upcoming projects. I did not find much on what I was looking for, so I kept up with him. What I did find was some of the strangest trivia ever - Duncan Jones is Zowie Bowie, one of David Bowie's kids. I was even more impressed with the film he put together (Moon) after learning this news, even though the movie would be nowhere near as perfect without Sam Rockwell. This past March, Jones released his follow up - Source Code, a science fiction time travel military conspiracy action film. The result is one of the most original and coolest movies of the year. In the hour and a half or so of this film, there are only two settings - "Home base" where Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright's characters are sending Jake Gyllenhaal's Colter Stevens back in time into someone else's body on the train that was the victim of a terrorist attack to find answers, which is the second setting of the film. Duncan Jones does an absolutely marvelous job making the same 8 minutes seem fresh and new as Stevens repeats these events over and over, trying his best to find out what happened to both himself and on the train, all the while sparking a romance with a passenger (Michelle Monaghan). As Stevens gets deeper, he becomes more involved with each element at hand, becoming more and more determined to save the girl, his country and find out what brought him to this point in his life. Gyllenhaal has much more to do in this movie than Rockwell in Moon, but he does a wonderful job keeping the audience involved with his determination and confusion.
Grade - B

[Buzzman]

It's a shame people seem to already have forgotten about Source Code.

[Palooza]

99 Films of 2011

30. Carnage
Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster

Director -
Roman Polanski
Writer(s) -
Yasmina Reza
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 72%
Metacritic Score - 61/100
Viewed - HQ torrent
It's pretty obvious that this movie was based on a play - the strict setting and dialogue heavy script are just two examples of how you can tell. Thankfully the movie was put in the hands of Roman Polanski, a brilliant director (among other, less appealing things) and he allows the actors to use this brilliant material as their playground. The story is simple, two sets of parents meet to discuss the necessary action that should be taken after their sons get into a fight. Every single one of the actors shines in their own right, even Jodie Foster who I hate. Her character, along with the rest, made it so easy to hate, but the acting is so fucking good that you don't mind. I'll admit, I wasn't immediately sold, but once Kate Winslet threw up all over the living room of Reilly and Foster, I was in. Christoph Waltz' reaction is absolutely priceless and he does a awesome job at being a 'my job to support my family is more important than my family' douchebag. John C. Reilly is equally impressive, as always, as a grown up loser. "Grown up" that seems to be the most important element of the film - these "grown ups" are far from that, exuding some of the most childish behavior between each other. At the end of it all, you realize the children dealt with their problem honorably, unlike the parents, who are fake to one another at first, but once they all come out of their shells, it's obvious what their sons have become are because of them and they have no one but themselves to blame.
Grade - B

[Houston]

Thought the end joke/laughter part of Source Code was brilliant. In the minority, but I liked the movie alot more than Inception which people seem to compare it to.