Many movies were made in 2011, as the medium continued to evolve as an art form and as a form of popular entertainment. As in every year, there were good movies and there were bad movies. From major studio releases to small independent films. As 2011 ends, I like to look back and see the important events, general trends, the best and worst films and other miscellaneous things that show us where film is heading in the future.
By most measures, 2011 was not a very good year at the movies. It seems more movies were panned by the critics than usual and there were no real transcendent achievements. Not only that but the dismal quality of the films is reflected in the box office numbers worldwide this year. Ticket sales fell half a billion dollars from last year and actual attendance shrank by about 5%. 28 films broke the 200 million mark. That number is down from 36 the year before.
This has forced the major studio's hands and many of them are now pushing all projects to be filmed and released in 3d to make up for the loss in revenue that they are experiencing. Unfortunately, I don't think this is a good idea because the technology is just not good enough to support a 3d market. They are trying to resuscitate a dying technology. My hopes are that innovative directors step up to find ways to make this technology work such as what happened during the invention of sound in cinema.
However, many box office records were also broken this year. For the first time, 3 films made more than 1 Billion USD worldwide. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger tides, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. II and Transformers: Dark of the moon became the 8th, 9th, and 10th movies ever to break the 1 billion dollar box office number. They were also the 8th, 3rd, and 4th highest grossing films ever made, respectively. The Harry Potter movie made the highest single day gross ever and broke the record for the highest grossing opening weekend ever, worldwide and domestic.
The most pirated film of 2011 was Fast Five. Followed by the Hangover Pt. II.
2011 also saw the loss of two great directors and visionaries of Cinema. Both Sidney Lumet (12 Angry men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network) and Raoul Ruiz ( Mysteries of Lisbon, 3 lives and only one death) both passed away, the latter leaving many promising projects unfinished.
In Hollywood, several major trends continued. Hollywood continued it's fascination with sequels, prequels, and otherwise related movies. 29 Major sequels were released this year, breaking the last record of 24 in 2003. They also continued to reboot series at a high rate and show a general lack of creativity. Furthermore, Hollywood continued it's superhero kick releasing a large amount of superhero films after seeing success with The Dark Knight.
On the flip side, International festivals yielded a good number of good films, as they continued to showcase the best of the world. The Tree of Life won the Palm D'or at Cannes. That film marked the return of Terrence Malick to the helm as he directed his 5th movie in 40 years. He continues to finance his own film projects. The movie divided critics and audiences as it became a true Love/Hate film. It forced some theaters to put up signs claiming no refunds after many people demanded their money back after seeing the movie.
Like Crazy won the grand jury dramatic prize at Sundance this year. The movie has found generally favorable responses but nothing claiming it as a masterpiece as it found it's way to a limited release.
Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin swept up the Golden Bear at Berlin this year. This movie has been called a masterpiece by many and met universal acclaim from audiences and critics. It has been called a very important Iranian film, as it pertains indirectly to the state of life and the struggle of it's citizens. It is the front runner for the best foreign language film at the Oscars.
Faust by Sokurov won the Golden Lion at Venice this year. Despite critical acclaim as a masterpiece, Faust has found itself with out a distributor in most of the world and is having trouble in Russia as well.
The Director of art for the Venice film festival was surprisingly replaced at the end of the year as the festival has blossomed under his direction.
Lars Von Trier caused controversy with his pro hitler comments at Cannes and was kicked out of the festival, although his film was still considered in competition.
The Blockbuster "The Help" was panned for it's portrayal of African Americans as helpless during the Jim crow era in the south and has draw fire from many different organizations, despite critical acclaim as a film.
The Woman, dir. Lucky McKee, caused outrage at the midnight screening during the Sundance film Festival. It has been called misogynist and degrading to both men and women. However, in consideration of the subtext of the film, many are inclined to agree that it is actually pro-feminist in it's meaning. It caused many people to get up and leave. However, It was one of the truly outstanding horror films of 2011.
Hugo won Best film from the National Board of Review and The Artist has gained critical acclaim and inclusion by many critics as the best of the year. Ambitious as it is as a silent film in a sound era, many critics are praising it's ingenuity.
My top 10 best films of the year:
1)Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin
2)The Tree of Life
3)Drive
4) Poetry
5)Midnight in Paris
6)Melancholia
7)Take shelter
8)The Ides of March
9)The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
10) Moneyball
My 10 worst films of the year:
1) Season of the witch
2) Transformers: Dark of the Moon
3) Priest
4) Green Lantern
5) Jack and Jill
6) New Year's Eve
7) Atlas Shrugged
8) The Hangover Pt. II
9) Battle: Los Angeles
10) Abduction
Ryan Gosling in Drive, Randy Shannon in Take Shelter, Meryl Streep in Iron Lady, Brad pitt in Tree of life/moneyball and Rooney Mara in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo all deserve accolades for their performances.
Now For a look at some of the most anticipated films of 2012:
Prometheus - Ridley Scott returns to the Alien Universe to direct his first since Alien
The Dark Knight Rises - The final installment of Nolan's series of Batman films
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Jackson returns to middle earth for another adaptation.
The Avengers - The Superhero movies of the summers past come together.
The Amazing Spiderman - Spiderman gets a quick reboot here.
The Hunger Games - It finally gets its adaptation
Django Unchained - Tarantino returns behind the camera for the first time in a bit.
Lincoln - Spielberg and Daniel Day Lewis Take on a biopic of Abraham Lincoln
The Great Gatsby - Baz Luhrman tries his hand at adapting this classic.
Today's Toppers
2011 in Film
