Since I mentioned in my recent review the idea of "Best of 2011" I thought that I would suggest a list of what I thought were the best and worst movies we saw in 2011. Both lists are fairly short. I'm sure there are many more that could be on this list...but I can only share about the ones that we saw.
Here's a list of the best in my order (best first):
J Edgar
We Bought a Zoo
The Help
The King's Speech
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Courageous
Dolphin Tale
X-Men 4
And the worst that we saw in my order (worst first)
Puss in Boots
Cars 2
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Muppets (2011)
Everything is "retro" nowadays...even the Muppets. Not much has been seen of them for a dozen years so this is definitely a "reboot." We actually own a couple of the videos, including our favorite, Muppets in Space.
This new movie was a welcome movie and funny at times and always "watchable." The premise within a premise is that Kermit and the new Muppet (Walter) with Walter's "brother" Gary (Jason Segel) and his girl friend Mary (Amy Adams) must raise $10 million dollars to save the Muppets theater/museum and prevent Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) from demolishing the theater to dig for oil. I like subtle humor in movies like this and that was the reason I hated the Puss in Boots movie because one had to dig pretty deep to find any humor there. In the Muppets there is underlying humor such as Gary and Walter's unique relationship and the fact that Gary is such a dolt with Mary. Even the "evil" people in this movie (even the Moopets) are funny and redeemable. The movie doesn't take itself very seriously and offers some innovative and silly updates on what the Muppets have been doing the last dozen years. Even the theater trailers six months ago poked fun at the premise of this movie.
Of course, the theater is saved and the Muppets will thrive and even Gary and Mary will become an item. But it doesn't really matter. It's just a nice "escape" movie.
I fear, however, that the movie didn't do as well as expected and I'm sorry that it took a month for me to write the movie blog. When I saw the announcement of the release date for the video in a few months I thought I better quickly offer my thoughts.
Hey...see it at the theater...or, if you have to, wait for the video. Either way, I don't think you will be disappointed and Disney should make some money on this one. I wasn't disappointed.
The Muppets is a 2011 American musical comedy film, the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years,[6] as well as the first Disney-produced Muppets film since 1996's Muppet Treasure Island. In the film, Walter (performed by Peter Linz), the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a businessman who plans to demolish the Muppet Theater to drill for oil. The film is directed by James Bobin, written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller, produced by Martin Baker, David Furnish, Segel, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, and John Scotti, and features Bret McKenzie as the music supervisor.
This new movie was a welcome movie and funny at times and always "watchable." The premise within a premise is that Kermit and the new Muppet (Walter) with Walter's "brother" Gary (Jason Segel) and his girl friend Mary (Amy Adams) must raise $10 million dollars to save the Muppets theater/museum and prevent Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) from demolishing the theater to dig for oil. I like subtle humor in movies like this and that was the reason I hated the Puss in Boots movie because one had to dig pretty deep to find any humor there. In the Muppets there is underlying humor such as Gary and Walter's unique relationship and the fact that Gary is such a dolt with Mary. Even the "evil" people in this movie (even the Moopets) are funny and redeemable. The movie doesn't take itself very seriously and offers some innovative and silly updates on what the Muppets have been doing the last dozen years. Even the theater trailers six months ago poked fun at the premise of this movie.
Of course, the theater is saved and the Muppets will thrive and even Gary and Mary will become an item. But it doesn't really matter. It's just a nice "escape" movie.
I fear, however, that the movie didn't do as well as expected and I'm sorry that it took a month for me to write the movie blog. When I saw the announcement of the release date for the video in a few months I thought I better quickly offer my thoughts.
Hey...see it at the theater...or, if you have to, wait for the video. Either way, I don't think you will be disappointed and Disney should make some money on this one. I wasn't disappointed.
The Muppets is a 2011 American musical comedy film, the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years,[6] as well as the first Disney-produced Muppets film since 1996's Muppet Treasure Island. In the film, Walter (performed by Peter Linz), the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a businessman who plans to demolish the Muppet Theater to drill for oil. The film is directed by James Bobin, written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller, produced by Martin Baker, David Furnish, Segel, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, and John Scotti, and features Bret McKenzie as the music supervisor.
We Bought a Zoo
I probably tend to be more positive about movies than some reviewers are. After all, two of the movies I liked in 2011 were on the "Ten Worst Movies" list on Yahoo. earlier this week. BUT..."We Bought a Zoo" is one of the best movies we've seen in a long time. (Now I sound like former Vicar Brad..."It was the best...")
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this movie. I thought it would be funny. It was not particularly funny but it was sweet and positive. I thought that there would be cheap slapstick humor such as was in "Zookeeper" (on Yahoo's worst movie list in 2011) but there was no such thing. Oh, there was the escape of the dangerous bear but the subsequent encounter and recapture was pretty well done.
OK. OK. Get to the movie. The premise of the movie, based on a true story and what I would call a dramody (comedy/drama), is that widower Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) needs to start over after his wife's recent death and his son's expulsion from school and so buys a dilapidated zoo and its animals and staff and takes on the challenge of reopening it for the public. Benjamin struggles with his relationship with his 14 year old son, Dylan (Colin Ford), and Dylan's seemingly dark attitude about life as expressed in his art work. His daughter, 7 year old Rosie, is happy with the zoo and the animals and sometimes is like the "Mommy" to her grieving father who wants to get away from the sad reminders in the city of his deceased wife. He spends all he has to prepare the zoo and finds himself near bankruptcy but then is blessed with a surprise nest egg that his wife has hidden away to help him. His brother, Duncan, (Thomas Haden Church) tries to dissuade Benjamin from using the rest of his money to throw at a dream. Benjamin's innovations with the zoo are apparently in real life, a new wave of zoo engineering, but the movie doesn't focus on that.
Some might suggest that the movie and how it unfolds is predictable but there are some deep emotions in the movie. The depiction of Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) is wonderful. Her smile lights up the screen and lights up their lives. Benjamin is torn in his love for his son. They are alike and that's the problem. Benjamin loves him and loves and misses his wife dearly. The movie gives us time to appreciate his mood and moodiness and his joy and sadness about his lost love. Though Kelly Foster (played by Scarlett Johannson) is his new love life, their guarded relationship is handled tastefully and carefully. Benjamin challenges his son to consider "20 seconds of insane courage" in telling his new girl friend what he thinks of her. Later Benjamin explains to his children that this was how he met their mother, Katherine (played by Stephanie Szostak)
It's difficult to explain why this movie was special. You have to see it to understand. If you get past the premise and the zoo and even the animals and some of the regular characters, you quickly see that this is not a movie about zoos. It is a movie about love for spouse, children, parents, co-workers, and love for life and work. It is on my top ten list of best movies on 2011.
I'm not sure what I was expecting from this movie. I thought it would be funny. It was not particularly funny but it was sweet and positive. I thought that there would be cheap slapstick humor such as was in "Zookeeper" (on Yahoo's worst movie list in 2011) but there was no such thing. Oh, there was the escape of the dangerous bear but the subsequent encounter and recapture was pretty well done.
OK. OK. Get to the movie. The premise of the movie, based on a true story and what I would call a dramody (comedy/drama), is that widower Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) needs to start over after his wife's recent death and his son's expulsion from school and so buys a dilapidated zoo and its animals and staff and takes on the challenge of reopening it for the public. Benjamin struggles with his relationship with his 14 year old son, Dylan (Colin Ford), and Dylan's seemingly dark attitude about life as expressed in his art work. His daughter, 7 year old Rosie, is happy with the zoo and the animals and sometimes is like the "Mommy" to her grieving father who wants to get away from the sad reminders in the city of his deceased wife. He spends all he has to prepare the zoo and finds himself near bankruptcy but then is blessed with a surprise nest egg that his wife has hidden away to help him. His brother, Duncan, (Thomas Haden Church) tries to dissuade Benjamin from using the rest of his money to throw at a dream. Benjamin's innovations with the zoo are apparently in real life, a new wave of zoo engineering, but the movie doesn't focus on that.
Some might suggest that the movie and how it unfolds is predictable but there are some deep emotions in the movie. The depiction of Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) is wonderful. Her smile lights up the screen and lights up their lives. Benjamin is torn in his love for his son. They are alike and that's the problem. Benjamin loves him and loves and misses his wife dearly. The movie gives us time to appreciate his mood and moodiness and his joy and sadness about his lost love. Though Kelly Foster (played by Scarlett Johannson) is his new love life, their guarded relationship is handled tastefully and carefully. Benjamin challenges his son to consider "20 seconds of insane courage" in telling his new girl friend what he thinks of her. Later Benjamin explains to his children that this was how he met their mother, Katherine (played by Stephanie Szostak)
It's difficult to explain why this movie was special. You have to see it to understand. If you get past the premise and the zoo and even the animals and some of the regular characters, you quickly see that this is not a movie about zoos. It is a movie about love for spouse, children, parents, co-workers, and love for life and work. It is on my top ten list of best movies on 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)