Time for a film

The Top 50 is finally here! Without further ado here’s the first installment, with my 50th to 41st favourite movies of 2011.
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#50 – Real Steel

Real Steel is a feel good movie that I enjoyed due to it’s relatively simple plot and acting by Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly. There’s some cool action scenes and the robots themselves look pretty good and realistic. While it had some flaws it just sneaks into 50th spot and with a 7.3 score on IMDB it had a pretty good reception. One for all ages but definitely one the kids will like.
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 #49 – We Need to Talk About Kevin

An extremely dark movie that won’t please everyone, this movie left me with chills as it finished. Tilda Swinton is amazing as the mother of a teenage boy who seems to have a problem with her, which no-one else can see, including her husband (John C Reilly). While the performances of Swinton and Reilly are both great, it’s also the son, pictured at 3 different ages above, which is played really well by all 3 actors. If you are looking for a feel good film, this is the opposite, and it is very dark indeed but I found it build to a thrilleresque type finale.
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#48 – Young Adult

Charlize Theron plays a fiction writer for a book series targeted at Young Adults. She basically plays an extremely immature woman in her mid 30′s who’s lifestyle is more akin to a teenager. This movie made me laugh at times more then any other movie of 2011, so for that alone it makes the top 50. However, the laughs are not continuous and I didn’t love this movie, the humour will not appeal to everyone.
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#47 – Friends With Benefits

Ahhh Mila Kunis….. This movie should be in the top 10 based on her alone. Friends with Benefits does not start out as your typical Romance/Comedy but it soon turns into one, but without the cringes. I enjoyed the chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake, and there is a great cast for this movie including opening scenes with Andy Samberg and Emma Stone. While I originally dismissed this as a boring RomCom, I’m glad I ended up watching it as it’s definitely worthy of a Top 50 spot.
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#46 – The Adventures of Tin Tin

While snubbed for a Best Animation nomination at the Oscars, Tin Tin is the highest animated film on my list in what was a relatively poor year for animation. It is very realistic and while I thought the story line seemed a bit predictable, there were some good moments in it. I can’t really remember if the 3D was worthwhile, so it probably wasn’t, but the film did it’s job in entertaining me enough for the 1 hour 47 minute runtime. Fans of the series would probably appreciate it even more.
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#45 – The Muppets

I had never watched The Muppets before (although I vaguely remember a few of them from Sesame Street) so I wasn’t too sure if I would enjoy the highly acclaimed movie. I think it would have been much better if I had watched them as a kid, but I still thought it was really well done. This had an amazing foray of actors and actresses with nearly every speaking role being someone from somewhere. I spent half the movie identifying them and the cast included Jason Segal, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Sarah Silverman, Whoopi Goldberg, Emily Blunt, Neil Patrick Harris…. I could go on all day. While I still enjoyed it, I wouldn’t reccomend it for young males 18-30 but it seems it would appeal to every other demographic.
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#44 – Red Dog

The only Australian movie in my Top 50, Red Dog was a moving movie based on a true story set in Western Australia, 1976. Josh Lucas and Rachael Taylor feature in what was a great show of the Australian way. The only problem I had with this movie was that it felt like it was telling a story too much, rather then focusing on the present but it was still one I’d reccomend, especially for those fond of animals.
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#43 – Beginners 

 Out of all the movies I’ve watched this year, if I wanted to take something out of one and relate it to life then this would be the one. It just oozes real life and really makes you think about what’s important, ie family. Ewan Mcgregor, Christopher Plummers and a lovely looking Melanie Laurent feature in a movie that follows Oliver Fields (Mcgregor) and his dealings of learning that his elderly father has cancer and also a young male lover. 
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#42 – The Tree of Life

I honestly don’t know where to begin in explaining this movie. The first of the Oscar Nominated movies to feature in my Top 50, The Tree of Life is one of the most unique films you will ever see in my opinion, it almost certainly is mine. The story is centered around a family with three boys in the 1950′s but that does not explain the movie in any way. Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain feature in a film that while very visually appealing was simply too deep for mine. Without giving too much away, early on in the film a 15 minute scene appears of simply visual scenes. Volcanos exploding, Waterfalls, Dinosaurs making decisions (Yes, you read correctly). I strongly reccomend you watch it, simply because some people absolutely love this movie and you may be one of them. Personally I felt my body was in a state of amazing calmness and serenity, so if that was the movie’s aim then I guess it worked on me. However I simply could not put this movie any higher then #42.
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#41 – Thor

Wrapping up the first section of the Top 50 was a movie that was hard to not like in Thor. The god of thunder, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth (Known to many Australians from Home and Away) and he does it well. While this movie is action packed, and Thor and his fellow warriors from Asgard do seem a little overpowered, the movie is entertaining and also has some funny moments once Thor arrives on Earth and has to mingle with us humans (including Natalie Portman) 

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So there we have my first 10 movies in the Top 50 of 2011! Stay tuned tomorrow for the next 10. As always, would love to hear your opinions on which you loved/hated or now want to see.

The Others <<< #50-41 >>> #40-31