Wednesday, January 4, 2012

My Favourite Films Of 2011

I knew he couldnt programme the GPS
I don't get to the movies as often as I'd like for two reasons: it costs 17 dollars a ticket in Melbourne (and yes the USD and Australian dollars are at parity) and secondly because most films are terrible. But I do love going to the pictures and here's a little list of some of my favourites of the year. 
10 Bridesmaids: two very funny scenes and a lot of filler which is more than most films which are all filler. 
9 Archipelago: Joanna Hogg's film about a family holiday to the Isles of Scilly. No one saw this which is a shame because it's a kind of To The Lighthouse for our times.   
8 Moneyball: The true story of how Brad Pitt and a bunch of geeks turned the Oakland A's into that mighty baseball franchise it is today...oh wait, uh...
7 Cold Weather: No one saw this either. A murder mystery/family drama set in a very rainy Portland. 
6 Drive: Everyone saw this. Hollywood stunt man by day gettaway driver by night. It sounds crap but it isn't. 
5 Killing Bono: I haven't seen this one, but I was sold on it just by the title alone. 
4 We Need To Talk About Kevin: Lionel Shriver's excellent book turned into a great movie. 
3 Into The Abyss: A Werner Herzog documentary about death row not quite up there with his classics such as Grizzly Man and Encounters At The End Of The World, but still very compelling.  
2 Meek's Cutoff: Kelly Reichardt's feminist, minimalist Western about a bunch of settlers getting lost on the Oregon trail. The lovely Michelle Williams stars.
1 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: OK so I haven't actually seen this one either, but I loved the book and the BBC series and the director is the guy who made Let The Right One In which is one of my all time favourites. I know its a risk putting a film I haven't seen at number 1 but hey thats the kind of guy I am.