2011 Capsule Reviews

Warrior
rating: *****
review: Perhaps the most recent example of old school Hollywood, Tom Hardy's Marlon Brando moment (following in the footsteps of Leo DiCaprio in The Departed), and finally introducing Joel Edgerton to the big time.  So no, it's not really an MMA movie.  It's great drama, period.

The Adjustment Bureau
rating: *****
review: Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in the romance edition of The Matrix, arguably the best film adapted from a Philip K. Dick story.

Source Code
rating: *****
review: This was a really great year for high concept science fiction.  Jake Gyllenhaal in his best movie, a time-repeats-itself drama that builds on the Avatar conceit of a crippled man given a second chance, and seizing it.  The result ends up becoming a parable for rejecting the conclusions others take for granted, and finding the path to happiness.

Midnight in Paris
rating: *****
review: My personal favorite Woody Allen film, with Corey Stoll stealing it as Ernest Hemingway, with Owen Wilson at last finding a mature role, in which he discovers everyone's golden age is just another illusion.

The Tree of Life
rating: *****
review: Terrence Malick's most visionary, expansive vision, a truly ethereal experience anchored by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in one of her first standout roles as parents just trying to keep it together.

Winnie the Pooh
rating: *****
review: A perfect version of the children's classic.

London Boulevard
rating: ****
review: Most gangster flicks seem to misunderstand glamourizing their subject matter with telling a compelling story.  Colin Farrell plays one who desperately wants out because he realizes he's too good at it.  But fate plays cruel tricks on all of us.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
rating: ****
review: The final act in the saga has everything except that elusive spark that typifies the best entries in the series, including the later Fantastic Beasts.

Green Lantern
rating: ****
review: For most observers this is a notorious failure, but I think it brilliantly captures everything that's magical, and even transcendent, about its source material, with yet another standout spotlight for Ryan Reynolds, an actor with the rare gift to sell emotion and comedy equally well.

Fright Night
rating: ****
review: The late Anton Yelchin leads a strong cast that also includes Colin Farrell and David Tennant in a rare remake that merely enjoys the potential of the source material.

Immortals
rating: ****
review: Mostly dismissed as a 300 knockoff, this is another excellent example of Tarsem's visionary storytelling, allowing a pre-Superman Henry Cavill to play low-key while Mickey Rourke gets to play the Russell Crowe/Gerard Butler menace that was his template to its obvious conclusions, this time as the villain.

The Way Back
rating: ****
review: A terrific ensemble led by Jim Sturges when he was still considered lead actor material, with Ed Harris and Colin Farrell (pulling off a wicked Russian accent) in a story of endurance and redemption.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
rating: ****
review: Christopher Plummer and Daniel Craig add considerable credibility to this Hollywood version of the literary smash hit, but Rooney Mara grabs the spotlight as Lisbeth Salander, in a performance that critics, audiences, and Mara herself have yet to fully appreciate.

Bridesmaids
rating: ****
review: An ensemble comedy classic headlined by Kristen Wiig but stolen by Melissa McCarthy's breakout performance.

Moneyball
rating: ****
review: I waited years to catch up with this one, fearing that it would be tedious, even though I was familiar, and interested, in the source material.  But as it turns out, it really is a compelling spotlight for Brad Pitt, and a fine baseball movie, too.

Water for Elephants
rating: ****
review: Robert Pattinson in his one bid for standard Hollywood glory to date, and he nails it.

Larry Crowne
rating: ****
review: An underrated Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts pairing stolen by the criminally underrate Mbatha-Raw.

The Muppets
rating: ****
review: Jason Segal got a chance to make this thanks to the arguably superior Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the sequel's better, and funnier.

Cowboys & Aliens
rating: ****
review: Despite being billed as James Bond Meets Indiana Jones, this is really another standout Daniel Craig vehicle with Harrison Ford putting in an excellent supporting turn.

Super 8
rating: ****
review: Yeah, yeah, J.J. Abrams doing his version of Spielberg.  But it's really the welcome featured performance of Kyle Chandler that interests me.  Guy gets too little recognition.

Horrible Bosses
rating: ****
review: Basically a version of The Hangover without, y'know, a hangover, just dimwit friends trying desperately to get out of trouble.  The real highlight is the trio of big stars in supporting roles (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Aniston) playing the eponymous bosses, and clearly enjoying the opportunity.

Sucker Punch
rating: ****
review: Zack Snyder's big for an original vision typically made male viewers uncomfortable with a female cast. 

Hanna
rating: ****
review: Saoirse Ronan convincingly takes top billing over Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana in this Joe Wright drama.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
rating: ****
review: The fourth in the series effectively is the tonal reboot equivalent of the fourth Fast & Furious, the one that set the standard for what followed, and all it took was Tom Cruise joining the brief bandwagon of Jeremy Renner threatening to take everything over.

X-Men: First Class
rating: ****
review: Though overwrought in its Nazi details, this quasi-reboot nails it in finally centering the drama around Magneto and Professor X, brilliantly recast with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, respectively.

Fast Five
rating: ****
review: The year the MCU Avengers cycle ramped up production to meet its first
shared universe" destination later, the Fast & Furious films got there first, integrating all previous films and fatefully adding someone new: Dwayne Johnson. 

The Descendants
rating: ****
review: George Clooney sought so desperately for a mature spotlight, but ironically all it really took was being willing to look vulnerable.  And thus a perfect mature spotlight.

Machine Gun Preacher
rating: ****
review: Apparently the technical veracity of the real story behind the film is, ah, somewhat up for question, but this is as perfect a dramatic spotlight as Gerard Butler is ever going to find.

HappyThankYouMorePlease
rating: ***
review: Josh Radnor's initial attempt to replicate Zach Braff's movie success is a minor victory.

The Conspirator
rating: ***
review: The trial of the surviving Lincoln assassin conspirators centers around whether or not it was okay to condemn a woman (Robin Wright).  I'm not sure it really succeeds, but it at least expands the traditional narrative of the events.

Hugo
rating: ***
review: Scorsese sort of reaches for Harry Potter, but betrays his greater interest in old Hollywood.

The Artist
rating: ***
review: An Oscar winner that leans heavily into the obvious.  If this had been old Hollywood, the stars would've been more charismatic.

Mr. Popper's Penguins
rating: ***
review: Jim Carrey's last leading role (to that point) leans heavily on those adorable penguins, inexplicably leaving him little to do but play in support.

The Debt
rating: ***
review: I'm not part of the cult of Helen Mirren.  I have enjoyed Mirren performances, but mostly I think too many filmmakers have mistakenly assumed her appeal is broad.  I think her presence in the final act of this one spoils a terrific Sam Worthington/Jessica Chastain spotlight.

The Hangover Part II
rating: ***
review: The gang is back together!  And it's good harmless fun letting them repeat themselves.

Captain America: The First Avenger
rating: ***
review: Chris Evans can do everything but make Cap compelling in a movie that basically just wants him to end up in ice after everything he goes through just to get in the fight.

Unknown
rating: ***
review: The Liam Neeson action vehicle was just getting underway when he starred in this amnesia flick.

Thor
rating: ***
review: The best thing about it is Tom Hiddleston's supporting role as Loki, which turned out to be exactly what later films needed.

Courageous
rating: ***
review: An urgent Christian drama with a breakout moment featuring a Hispanic dude pret3ending to be a gangster. 

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
rating: ***
review: I have yet to see the previous entries, but it just seems, in this one, that Robert Rodriquez gets lost in the action. 

Puss in Boots
rating: ***
review: This Shrek spinoff is best appreciated as the never-gonna-happen-otherwise third Zorro flick starring Antonio Banderas.

The Green Hornet
rating: ***
review: I bet the studio is kicking itself for letting Seth Rogen star in this, when it could've easily, given the later MCU examples, cast a more traditional superhero actor, with the same comedic outlook, and gotten years of sequels out of it.

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
rating: ***
review: Here's another tiny minority in which I'm a part: I loved the first one.  This one is comparatively too streamlined, leaning away, inexplicably, from the absurdist humor that defined the first one.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
rating: **
review: This is the only way I could possibly not feel bad for the guy who infamously won and lost the Tonight Show, by making it sort of clear that either he became an attention whore because of it, or maybe was all along.  I can't believe the makers of this documentary didn't realize how unsympathetic they made this portrait, at the height of public sympathy for the guy.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
rating: **
review: I thought this was all but a complete disaster.  I have never seen the sequels.

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1
rating: *
review: Whoever financed this made no effort at all to make it compelling.  Wow.  Good job!