The second half of 2011 is underway, so it’s time to look back at the high highs and the really low lows that Hollywood put on the big screen over the past six months:
F: Superhero movies/Comic Book adaptations:
“Green Lantern”, “The Green Hornet”, “Thor” – all messes; “X-Men: First Class” not that much better. And they all lacked the topic of the next category – telling, pretty much, the same story every time…
D: Originality:
The one movie that showed absolutely none is “Super 8” – it’s simply “E.T.” all over again, with some other S. Spielberg touches thrown in. For years now studios have been unable to come up with original ideas, which is why they keep making these…
C: Disappointing Live-Action sequels:
Even though “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is better than its predecessor, the film still doesn’t live up to the original; the same goes for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, which clearly isn’t as fun or entertaining as the first three. It’s the complete opposite of the next films in the next category…
C+: Exciting Action films:
“Unknown”, “Battle: Los Angeles”, and even parts of “The Adjustment Bureau” kept you on the edge of your seat guessing to the end about what was going to happen.
B-: Live Action Family films: “Prom”, “Soul Surfer”, “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”, (and for its target audience – “Judy Moody”) are well-written and the whole family can enjoy them. “Hop” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2” were disappointments, but overall this is a pretty good group. The same goes for…
B: Documentaries: “African Cats”, “Born to Be Wild 3D”, “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop”, and “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” were all very interesting. And although they weren’t big money-makers (aside from “Bieber”), these docs are some of the year’s better films. The same case for…
B+: Independent movies: “Midnight in Paris” is delightful, and Will Ferrell proves once again that he can play a more serious role in “Everything Must Go”. But once again, the year’s best so far are…
A-: Animated movies: With the exception of “Rio”, this has been a great year in animation. “Gnomeo & Juliet” and “Cars 2” are the real highlights, but “Kung Fu Panda 2”, and “Rango” are well above average. Even “Hoodwinked Too!” was worth the wait. There are a few more potentially successful animated offerring coming in the second half, but one or two will have to be very special for 2011 to pass 2010 and take-over the title of best year in animated movies of all-time.