So, I've seen quite a lot this year, but as always not nearly as much as I'd of liked, but that's a pitfall many of us fall into. But anyway, here is my review of the year. I've tried to keep the reviews to one line and there'll be links to any movie I've reviewed earlier in the year. Enjoy!
NOTE: Some of these films are not 2011 films, but films I have watched for the first time in 2011. Before y'all start bitching. And it's not a complete list either, there's still time for some 2011 viewing.
The ones in bold are cinema viewings.
The Green Hornet – Better than expected, with a few nice visual flourishes.
Paul – Not bad; funny but not as much as you’d hope.
Sucker Punch – Absolute failure on all levels, aside from eye candy.
Source Code - Fantastic, zippy, timey wimey, sci-fi caper.
Your Highness – Sweary, stoner comedy that runs its one joke into the ground.
Fast Five – Most fun I’ve had in the cinema all year.
Thor – Fun light origin that suffers by being an Avengers set up.
Scream 4 – Ends up doing all the things the original made fun of.
Bridesmaids – hilarious film, with great performances all round.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – dull fourquel with no excitement or adventure.
Kung Fu Panda 2 – Stunning fight choreography and genuinely affecting story, an improvement on the original in every way.
X-Men First Class – Pace-y, fun origin story with some fantastic action.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Big dumb fun, but awful at the same time.
Captain America – see above, re: Thor
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Excellent reboot with the most sympathetic lead character this year.
The Inbetweeners Movie – Extended episode of the TV series but still reasonably funny.
Contagion – Excellent mood piece with fine performances, and a terrifying plot.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II - fine end to an entertaining franchise.
The Tournament – Ludicrous actioner, but a lot of fun.
Faster – kind of dull, but a nice departure from kiddie movies for The Rock.
Never Let Me Go – fantastic understated British sci-fi film, with a standout lead performance.
Easy A – tries so hard to be uber-hip, but the story never engages.
Megamind – fun first half, loses steam in the second.
Tangled – hugely enjoyable Disney animation, with some truly memorable characters.
In Time – Nice idea, flawed execution but with a solid turn from Timberlake.
Due Date – Coasts on the rep of Galifinakis, but the laughs aren’t there.
Machete – Somehow makes action scenes really dull.
Morning Glory – frothy, predictable, forgettable.
Tron Legacy – Looks and sounds amazing, that’s about it.
Monsters – Not at all what I expected, but a great movie nonetheless.
Let Me In – virtually identical to its Swedish counterpart, but something gets lost in the translation.
Resident Evil: Afterlife – Not as bad as you might think, but still pretty bad.
Buried – Great central performance, but predictable ending.
How to Train Your Dragon – visually sublime, sweet coming of age story. With dragons.
The Social Network – Gripping account of a potentially boring subject.
Batman and Robin - awful, on every level imaginable.
The Expendables – DTV actioner somehow gets A list stars but has Z list thrills.
Black Dynamite – Hilarious highly quotable pastiche of 70’s blaxploitation flicks.
The Other Guys – remarkably laugh free mess.
Date Night – decent enough slightly OTT comedy with likeable leads.
[REC]2 – Just as good sequel to the terrifying original.
Attack the Block - Unremarkable Brit flick, means well but never quite kicks into gear.
Bronson – Blackly comic biopic with an amazing lead performance.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – a little too kooky for my liking, but fun while it lasts.
127 Hours – oddly uplifting survival tale with a tour-de-force lead turn.
The Thing – pointless but enjoyable enough remake, with some good monster effects.
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol – fun actioner with some of the best stunts you’ll see all year.
Games
Marvel Vs Capcom 3 – ADD beat ‘em up, but if you don’t know the combos you’re screwed.
Bulletstorm – Totally mental shooter and a hell of a lot of fun.
Assassins Creed: Brotherhood – yet another AC game but with great new additions (the Assassins Guild) and an ace multiplayer component.
Portal 2 – easily my game of the year.
LA Noire – only just bought this but so far, a dozen or so cases in, it’s brilliant.
LIMBO – haunting puzzle game that sticks in the memory long after the credits roll.
Gears of War 3 – more of the same, but that same is awesome.
Batman: Arkham City – improves on the original in every way, except for the plot.
Battlefield 3 – dull campaign, never got to play the multiplayer (stupid EA online pass)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – nothing new, but for top notch gaming thrills, you can’t beat it.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – again, only just got it, but it looks ace so far.
Dead Island - creepy open world co-op zombie bashing, so far so good.
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