2011 Movie Roundup: 22-42

I continue to describe every movie I saw in 2011 that was new to me. See also: 1-21.

22. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)-- This film is unstatisfying in the most perfect way. Schoolgirls in 1900 Australia go missing after a picnic at Hanging Rock. Peter Weir continues to impress.

23. Rory O'Shea Was Here (2004)-- Feel good movie about claiming independence and proof that James McAvoy can charm even strapped into a wheelchair. This film is also proof that Romola Garai is pretty great in modern films and not just corset dramas.

24. Mystery Team (2009)-- Kind of funny, but overstayed its welcome. (Sorry, Donald Glover.)

25. Practical Magic (1998)-- Yes, it's kind of awful, but it stars so many lovely ladies: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, STOCKARD CHANNING, Dianne Wiest. Perfect for doing chores to.

26. Children of a Lesser God (1986)-- I'm still pissed they cut off Marlee Matlin's signing hands for the sake of a close up. Overall, this movie is a little unsettling, although it has a decent message, kind of.

27. Yentl (1983)-- A cross-dressing movie that definitely starts to get weird (mostly for the unsuspecting bride Barbra Streisand's character takes on). But my biggest beef with this movie is how do you make a musical that co-stars Mandy Patinkin and not have him sing?

28. Fish Tank (2009)-- Lower class teen and mom's new boyfriend. Talk about another relationship that gets weird. Young Katie Jarvis does well in this film as does Michael Fassbender.

29. The Fly (1986)-- Jeff Goldblum starts to turn into a fly. Things get SUPER weird. Great gross-out moments.

30. Starship Troopers (1997)-- There are a lot of angular jawlines.

31. The Pick-up Artist (1987)-- This movie was background, so I really don't know what was happening. I'm pretty sure it was mediocre-bad and involved the mafia. Robert Downey, Jr. and Molly Ringwald make an odd pairing.

32. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)-- Not bad. Nicholas Cage makes some decent family-friendly adventures.

33. The Graduate (1967)-- More weirdness, this time in the form of a mother, daughter, and dude love triangle. I will say it accurately captures post-collegiate ennui.

34. Jackie Brown (1997)-- This may be my favorite Tarantino. It's more straightforward and has the least distracting sideplots out of all his films except Inglourious Basterds. Plus, it introduced me to Pam Grier.

35. Skyline (2010)-- Not nearly bad enough to be funny. It's just bad.

36. The Fall (2006)-- Beautiful images and sweet story.

37. XX/XY (2002)-- I need to stop pretending like Mark Ruffalo's movies are going to be fun to watch in any way.

38. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)-- Cool fight sequences.

39. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)--Not nearly as much fun as Vol. 1.

40. The Thin Red Line (1998)-- Terrance Malick just works for me. It's definitely a slow film with montages and voiceovers that work on a visceral level. Beautiful.

41. A Clockwork Orange (1971)-- I also need to stop pretending that I'm going to be blown away by a Stanley Kubrick film. This has some iconic moments and images, but the film doesn't seem to express everything it wants to express.

42. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011)-- Clever meta-documentary about the role advertisement and product placement have in the media. Also, I loved how much Morgan Spurlock loved Mane 'n Tail shampoo.


  1. Mystery Team was so terrible! We turned it off after half an hour. How did you manage to watch the whole thing?