Top 10

So here is the [tentative] list of my favorite films of 2011.

1. Warrior
2. The Artist
3. The Music Never Stopped
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Hugo
6. The Help
7. Margin Call
8. Bridesmaids
9. 50/50
10. Last Night

NOTE:
Still have not seen the following that are on my list:

• Melancholia
• The Descendents
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• A Dangerous Method

Take that into account when reading the following list as well.

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The normal superlatives:

Favorite Director:  
Gavin O’Connor, Warrior

Favorite Lead Performance by an Actor:  
Michael Fassbender, Shame

Favorite Lead Performance by an Actress:   
Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Favorite Supporting Performance by an Actor:  
Nick Nolte, Warrior

Favorite Supporting Performance by an Actress:  
Berenice Bejo, The Artist

Favorite Original Screenplay:  
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 

Favorite Adapted Screenplay:  
Steve Kloves, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling 

Favorite Musical Score:  
The Chemical Brothers, Hanna 

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The fun superlatives:

 
Overrated:  
Moneyball

Underrated:  
Warrior (obviously)

Favorite Ensemble Cast:  
Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Simon Baker, Penn Badgley - Margin Call

Favorite Male Ensemble Casting:
Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, and Nick Nolte - Warrior

Favorite Female Ensemble Casting:
Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ellie Kemper - Bridesmaids 

Favorite Performance by a Minor:  
Asa Butterfield, Hugo 

Favorite New (to me) Actor/Actress:   
Michael Fassbender - X-Men:  First Class, Shame, Jane Eyre 
(hope to see A Dangerous Method soon)

Favorite Action Movie:   
Source Code 

Favorite Male/Female Chemistry:
Keira Knightly and Guillaume Canet, Last Night 

Favorite Performance In A Movie I Didn't Really Like:
Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Pleasantly Surprised:
The Lincoln Lawyer (though all the good reviews alerted me a bit)

Unpleasantly Surprised: 
J. Edgar (though all the bad reviews alerted me a bit) 

Wish I Could Have Changed Half Of The Movie:
Tie between The Debt and Last Night


Film I Am Most Looking Forward to in 2012
Anna Karenena by Joe Wright
or
The Hobbit by Peter Jackson
or
The Hunger Games by Gary Ross

Mission: Impossible IV - Ghost Protocol

Summary:  Ethan Hunt, played in all four Mission:  Impossible movies by Tom Cruise, is in prison.  Two other agents break him out because their last mission went awry and they need help.  Their mission as a trio also goes horribly wrong, to the extent that it is believed they are the cause of a terrorist attack.  Their organization disbands and they are forced to rectify the situation on their own, knowing that if they fail, they will be condemned as terrorists themselves.

So the mission is to stop a man from detonating nuclear weapons and starting a nuclear war.  They have limited equipment, which keeps malfunctioning, and, of course, limited time before the world is destroyed.

OaTs:  The main reason I wanted to see this film was because it was directed by Brad Bird, of Pixar fame.  His previous credits include The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar, as well as the animated film The Iron Giant.  All three are highly acclaimed animated films and this is his first live action film.  He did a fantastic job.  The action was thrilling and heart-pounding.  Even if the plot and villain were a little weak.

The plot was a little hard to follow.  I got the gist, but I would have rather had a more straight forward plot.  There seemed to be so many things going on at once.  I guess that's how action movies are, though.  The villain wasn't my favorite villain, to be honest.  I absolutely hate when I'm supposed to hate a bad guy because I'm told to.  I need a reason.  I know he wanted to detonate nuclear weapons, but his motives weren't made clear.  I need to believe he's a nasty character, otherwise, I won't root against him.  I just root FOR the heroes.

Tom Cruise, no matter your opinions of him as a person, is a movie star.  He's perfect as Ethan Hunt and I really enjoyed his performance.  You get snippets of his personal life, away from his missions, and it makes him a really sympathetic character.  And with such a lack-luster villain, you need a great hero if you want any chance of a good story.  I need to really hate someone or really like someone in order to have any interest.  Since I didn't hate the bad guy, I'm really glad I liked the good guy.

Jeremy Renner as Brandt was a great addition to the team.  You find out about a connection he has to Ethan's past.  I found him easy to root for as well.  Very conflicted man, which is always a good thing for a story.  Paula Patton played the token female of the film, Jane.  Her love interest was killed in the mission that lead her and her teammate break Ethan out of prison.  I liked that Jane wasn't involved in a love story with Ethan.  I mean, I love romance, but it's refreshing for things not to be so predictable.

Simon Pegg was the last member of the team, and he provided excellent comedic relief from the intense story.  After Ethan, Jane, and Brandt performed a death-defying trick and all almost died, Pegg's character, Benji, comes into the room after setting the scene for their mission before the bad guys showed up.  He comments on how difficult his part of the plan was, and the three of them stare at Benji, who has no idea of what they just went through.  He had a lot of great one liners throughout the film, which I really appreciate.  I like to laugh.

All in all, the cast of heroes made the film.  The lack of villain really hurt the story, in my eyes.  The action was great, though some of the dialogue was plain.  A great movie theater experience, though probably not a repeat viewing for me. 

Score:  7/10