still hoping for that mp3 download option!

at any rate, love the wringer. faithful watcher... id just love to listen at work. haha

Can't say I've seen too many 2011 films yet. I generally wait for reviews to hack them apart to decide what is worth watching and what isn't. But from what I did see, it seemed a fairly timid year in terms of brilliant films compared to previous years.

For my favourite, I'd probably go with Drive. Amazing cinematography and acting across the board. It played a lot on emotion and brilliant camera work to further the story rather then an intricate, dialogue heavy plot.

Why this was my favourite I find hard to describe. It was very immersive, but not in the traditional sense. Maybe someone will comment my thoughts for me as I'm having a hard time to draw this picture - maybe that's why I liked it so much...

EDIT: Just watched X-Men: First Class and Warrior today.

X-Men - Greatly establishes characters and evicts some emotion for them this time around (in comparison the the other X-Men titles). It did leave me scratching my head with some discontinuities (or unanswered questions) connecting to the other films, but I like to think of it is a standalone.

Warrior - Could possibly be a contender for my number one of 2011. It delivered a fantastic story with believable characters portrayed with stellar acting. As for the fighting sequences; the seemed very realistic without going 'over the top' as many fighting/sports movies do for theatrical purposes.
Yes, it did seem cliche at times - but cliche isn't always bad! Afterall, everything in sports movies has alreayd been done. Hell, I'm still in the moment of this film (watched before editing), it's my new number one!

This is a very easy answer for me. Moneyball.

I'm a big fan of one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have struggled for about 20 years now partly due to the lack of funds, and the model that Billy Beane and the Oakland A's tried was the ultimate "screw you" to the Yankee$. I read the book when it came out in 2003, and loved it. Not just as a baseball book, but as a book about outsmarting the competition. Anyone who is interested in business practices should read the book and try to apply various points and methods to their business practices.

When I first found out a movie was announced, I thought it was a terrible idea and wouldn't translate at all to the silver screen. Then I found out highly respected writer Aaron Sorkin was taking part of it, and become significantly more interested in the movie. Right before the movie came out, I noticed it got amazing reviews, and decided "what the hell". None of my friends or family really enjoy baseball (many of my friends don't enjoy sports at all), but I dragged a couple to the movie, and every one of them said they enjoyed it a lot. Some parts were over dramatized, but overall it did seem pretty accurate to what the general public saw in the 2002 Oakland A's.

As a person going for their master's in statistics right now, the new wave statistical evaluation and technology used to do so (contradicting what baseball managers had been doing for decades) was another entertaining part. So ya check it out if you haven't!

For me, my favorite movie of last year was Horrible Bosses.

As a big fan of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I always though that Charlie Day's character on the show made that show great, and when I watched the commercial for the movie, I noticed he starred in it. My first reaction was mixed: it doesn't look too good, but it's got Charlie Day in it. I went to see it anyway.

I actually found the film to be pretty funny and entertaining, despite having a bit of a lackluster plot where 3 workers hate their bosses and try to get rid of them. Nothing extravagant like a fantasy epic, but it was kind of ok. When I go and watch a comedy film, I go for the laughs more than I would go for the story.

All in all, Horrible Bosses was probably the best comedy film I've seen this year. I'm much more of a comedy watcher than I am say a dramatic film like J. Edgar (which I found to be good as well).

Oh well hmm.. my favorite movie of 2011?

Kind of a tough call. Most of them are comic based - I liked X-Men: First Class, Thor and Captain America.

I reallty think that Captain America is my absolute favorite super hero origin at the moment. And it really was a great film to me. I like all three movies I mentioned for different reasons, but I think Cap' comes out on top because of how it was handled. Thor was sharing time with setup for the Justice League, while Captain America got to be himself through the whole thing.

Captain America nominated for best Origin story adapted to film ;)

X-Men First Class - Nominated for best character establishment.

Thor - Nominated because I like Norse mythology.

And the winner is...?

Captain America.

Honorable mention goes out to the Three Musketeers. Why? Because no other movie last year made me laugh my ass off so hard. I'll be very clear: I did not watch the movie expecting dignity. It was Assassin's Creed meets Three Musketeers meets Final Fantasy (what with the airships and all). It was so over the top, how could you possibly try to take it seriously? It also had a very good sword fight at the end despite the overuse of CG in some cases and the Musketeers were easily identifiable.

It's a tough call, but I think my favourite movie from last year was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. It is kind of a tricky one because it's like the 8th movie and whatever, but damn was it good. Well acted, well directed, just awesome all around. It was the perfect way to end the series because it made you want to go back and watch the whole thing again. At the very least, Ralph Fiennes should be nominated for best actor as Voldemort. It sounds dumb when I type it like that, but if you've seen the movie you know how good he was.

Honourable Mention: Super 8, Rango, Limitless, Source Code, Everything Must Go, Muppets.

Also, a few that I haven't seen yet, but could crack my list: The Artist, The Rum Diary, Drive, Hugo Cabret, My Week With Marylin, Tintin.

Yea, I realize I just listed like six hundred movies. Whatcha gonna do?

I had a hard time getting in the spirit of the oscar season while listening to a guy who still hasn't thrown out his christmas-tree

It may not have been technically the best movie of the year, but my favorite was surely "The Muppets". I've seen it 15 times now and everytime I do I sing, I laugh, I cry... It just gives me this warm fuzzy feeling inside. "Life's a happy song when there's someone by your side to sing along."

There were a lot of movies I liked in 2011. Living in Ireland means we get staggered release dates for pretty much anything that comes out of hollywood so most of my most anticipated movies (The Descendents, Corialanus, War Horse, Haywire) are pretty much all out in the next 2 weeks heh heh.

As for what i've seen already though there is only one movie that really stood out for me in 2011 and that was "the Tree of Life". I am a huge fan of Terrence Mallick and I was looking forward to this movie for years since it was announced and when I saw the trailer I was bursting at the seams to see it, so much so that I was SURE it was going to be a huge let down and my expectations were going to be urinated on. Thankfully that didnt happen and it was still one of the most emotionally engaging, beautiful masterpieces I have ever seen. Its a movie that polarizes the movie world pretty much right down the middle and its a love it or hate it thing. I loved it! So to that end its my favorite of 2011.

As for who I think is going to win Best Picture, i reckon it could well be the Descendents although I have all my appendages crossed for Shame to win something or other seeing as it stars Michael Fassbender who grew up down the road from me and whos parents restaurant I often eat in.

Although I wasn't as big a cinemaphile this year as I have been known to be I have to admit it was due to a very lackluster year for cinema. There really wasn't anything Fight Club worthy, or Shawshank Redeption calibur to be realeased. I tend to be turned on by movies with a strong message or at the very least something thought provoking and moving. I really didn't see much offered in the way of that this past year...just the same garbage being re-packaged and sold all over again. That isn't to say that they don't exist, simply that I wasn't exposed to anything of that nature.

I'd would have to admit though that I was at the very least entertained by some of the releases this past year and sometimes, well most of the time, that can be good enough. As a matter of fact I would say that my most enjoyed film of 2011 was The Hangover II. This was simply more of the same of what you got in The Hangover but it was done well and didn't feel like it had overstayed it's welcome just yet. Though another sequel might just do the trick to make it feel overdone and cranked out for cash.

Regardless it was an enjoyable, funny, guy flick. And that's good enough for me when it comes to comedy, I just love movies about guys hanging out with their buddies doing what we do best...being guys! Makes me feel like I'm watching a movie about me and my buddies as we rip on each other, talk about disgusting shit, and all around just pass the time with one another. Now obviously I've never been on this calibur of a zany adventure before but all in all the characters interactions with one another is just enjoyable and fun to watch.

Like I said, no masterpiece of cinema but a solid and enjoyable film all the same.

I had to do a bit of thinking, because I wasn't immediately sure since 2011 had a lot of movies I enjoyed but not a lot of movies I instantly latched to as favorites of all time. Still, X-Men First Class stands as something special since it somehow made me care about the Also-Rans of the X-Men universe while doing great justice to the established favorites. I went in with almost no expectations and came out extremely pleased with the results. So yeah, loved that movie. X-Men all the way!

I didn't see many films in 2011, but the ones I did see I really enjoyed. But my favorite by far was definitely "Captain America: The First Avenger". Everything in this movie was just perfect to me. From the cast and visuals to Alan Silvestri's adventurous musical score, everything was just totally brilliant. I also have to give mad props to Marvel for picking Joe Johnston as director because he directed the criminally underrated movie "The Rocketeer", which is one of my favorites. In fact, this film felt very much like a spiritual successor to it.

I also love that they protrayed the goodness of Cap's character sincerely and without a single trace of irony. In the hands of a lesser director, I don't know if that kind of tone would've worked as well. I also was greatly impressed by the visual effects they used to scale down Chris Evans' body to make him look wicked skinny. I was totally floored by that, being someone who's pretty skinny in their own right.

I could continue raving on about how awesome this movie was, but I think I'll provide a link to an entry on my blog about it. They're basically my thoughts about it when I got home from the theater. I admit that it might read a bit like some rambling, stream-of-conciousness kinda thing, but that's usually how things are for me. Anyway you can find the entry here. Thanks for a great question, Commodore. :)

I haven't watched many movies that are from last year (since most of the movies I find more entertaining were made before the year 2000) and the ones I did watched were with the people I was with choices, and they were not memorable in a good way. I do want to check out The Muppets and Hugo still and the thing with Hugo is I was willing to go to the theater to watch it but for the month it was here it was only in 3D.

Commodore, I can tell you right now why there's never going to be a TV as an interface only-- how proprietary companies are.

You want your 360 in a centralized location? Microsoft doesn't. Sadly, with the way the laws are structured, their opinion matters more than yours. They want you to buy a 360 for every TV in the house.

Apple is already going too far, in my opinion, by only allowing certain approved devices the ability to watch movies, or only x-number of devices than will show it. If I buy a movie, I want to watch it when and where I want without anyone saying anything about it. I've spent my hard earned cash on it. Do not regulate what I can and cannot do with it.

That is why you'll never get your wish. I think it's a fantastic idea, but won't happen.

As for this week's Wringer, I'm going to have to go with The Descendants. I'm the odd duck on this site. I don't have the same taste in movies at many people here do. I'm not into action or comedies (unless they're dark).

This movie was just so fulfulling to watch. The story was enthralling and the acting was great. I'm so tempted to spoil it, but I'm not, because it's just that worth it.

Hi! First time poster and new member.

In response to your question about the best films of 2011, I have seen the following that would be in the mix for my favourite film of 2011:

Moneyball, Midnight In Paris, Harry Potter 8, Brides Maids.

I also saw: Hangover II, The Change Up, Friends with Benefits, Tower Heist, Source Code, The Descendants, We Bought A Zoo. 

I will admit that I may have missed a few important films from the year like Hugo (which I am still planning to see) and perhaps War Horse (Maybe) and the Iron Lady (Not on my life).

Gun to my head I would say my movie of the Year was Moneyball, mainly because it was brilliantly paced, and managed to give a sport which I have little interest in such an interesting spin. Also I loved the Social Network (Best of '10 for mine) and the similarities in the pacing, dialogue and shooting style is unmissable.   

But I also loved Brides Maids which was definitely the best comedy I would have thought but will not be in the acadamies calculations and it seems HP may not either which is a shame because it was a fantastic final movie.

As for the descendants which will most likely win the oscar, I was very mixed towards it. I felt like it started up very well, but then failed to establish any characters well, missed out on interesting plot points and had morally gray plot twists coming up seeming out of nowhere. I would call it a reasonable film, but good or even great is a massive stretch in my opinion. 

Yeah, I guess I can't say much. I've seen maybe 5 or 6 movies, but the only ones I remember (Because I watched them both in December) were the new Sherlock Holmes and War Horse. They're both great. I liked Sherlock Holmes more, it was more exciting, but both were great movies. Not much I can say.

*HUGS!*

*HUGS!*

*HUGS!*

HUGS FOR ALL! MAKE UP FOR LOST TIMES! MAY HUGS FILL YOUR SOUL AND YOU LIFE, NEVER FORGET! NEVER FORGET! HEE HEE HEE!

LOL Ninto very nice ^.^

Like many of you seem to have said, I'm in the same boat, not having seen nearly as meany movies as I would have liked this year.

At the end of each year I go over to http://www.movieweb.com/ and make a list of the movies I wanted to see and missed. Kind of a 'Rent me' list.

This years 'Rent me' list is an appaling 34 films long, with the list of the films released in 2011 I've seen coming in at a paltry 5 (6 if I cheat)

Of those 6, hands down I have to go with my cheating option: Rubber. This is the cheat because technically it DID get a 2010 release overseas, and at the artsy film festivals (Canada - Fantasia International Film Festival in July, and US - Fantastic Fest in Sept) However it didn't get a 'wide spread' release until 2011. 

But if I can't cheat then, bleh... I saw too few films to really make a good call.

How about Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid. Because I like the cheesy movies that The Asylum makes. Also how can a movie that stars both Tiffany AND Debbie Gibson be bad?

My favourite movie of 2011 is "Midnight in Paris", simply because it surprised me in such a pleasant way.

It already starts with the trailer. Is there anyone else out there who also thinks that trailers nowadays tell you already half of the movie's plot? I hate that! When I saw the "Midnight in Paris" trailer, I simply thought that its going to be a (good) romantic comedy. I liked the theme of a guy falling in love with Paris so I went to watch it - and I had SUCH A GOOD TIME! The movie was constantly surprising me in ways I would have never suspected! Im so tempted to spoil what's the movie's twist, but I will hold back..

I also want to add that this is a great comedy. Woody Allen is famous for his comedies, but somehow I never really liked his previous ones that much - but this one just hits the nail on the head!

So to sum up: Clever comedy with a charming atmosphere and a plot that will most definitely surprise you. My favourite movie of 2o11 :)

For this there are such good movies but i'll have to pick one live action and one animated. For the live action it would have to be....

X Men: First Class. There has been so many good superhero movies going on in 2011, and I loved them all (green lantern *cough*cough) but x men was the best. They stayed true to the comics, the action was great, story was good, and the Wolverine cameo was hilarious. Definately my top movie of 2011 at least.

Now for my top animated movie....

Rango. As much as i'm tired of animated movies, and wished they'd do more stop motion, this was overall a great movie. It was funny, the characters were memorable (mostly) and Johny Depp is boss. The people who didn't see this really missed out IMO. Also liked the shout-out to fear and loathing in las vegas.

Didn't watch many movies, this year, as part of a continuing trend.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_in_film

Exemplified by there being 28 sequels. Holy crap! 28?
And I don't think that even counts remakes, like The Thing, or The Three Musketeers.

And it's just gonna get worse.

I did see Thor, Captain America, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; the latter of which was my favorite of 2011, purely from my love for both the book by John LeCarre, and Gary Oldman as an actor.

Also, ever since the James Bond series stopped being goofy, and tried to be the Jason Bourne franschise, I haven't cared as much about it. So it was good to have a stylish, intelligent spy movie, with gadgets, as well as realism.

Not an easy movie to care for without having read the book, and not the best of adaptions for people who like the book, but far better than most of the crap they threw at the silver screen in 2011.

But mark my words. 28 sequels, many remakes, and it's only gonna get worse.