My Week With Marilyn (2011)

Why I Liked... My Week With Marilyn (2011)

(Dir. Simon Curtis Starring: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne)

They kept the narration to an absolute minimum.

Yes, the film is based on Colin’s (Redmayne) diaries of his time actually spent with Marilyn (though I remain in doubt), but they kept his narration of his time with her at an absolute minimum. Thank god for small favours. Because he was a fairly...generic and repulsive character to me.

The Artist (2011)

Why I Liked... The Artist (2011)

(Dir. Michel Hazanavicius Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejio, Uggie)

If my childhood were in black and white and silent-this film would best depict it.

Without the being a Hollywood star, the dog, or falling into a depressive state, however. (I like to count the times I took over the family camera and commanded my father to ‘SMILE!’ as movie making.)

How does one describe The Artist? I hear it’s insured for over a thousand dollars and does car commercials in Japan. Awesome.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

Why I Liked... Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

(Dir. Stephen Daldry Starring: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow)

I enjoyed meeting the people Oskar (Horn) met on his travels throughout the various New York City boroughs.

Oh, oh, oh! One more-I also enjoyed watching how one can exploit an event such as when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers back in September 2001. That was enlightening.

Hugo (2011)

Why I Liked... Hugo (2011)

(Dir. Martin Scorsese Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Mortez, Ben Kingsley, Sascha Baron Cohen)

Watching A Trip To The Moon again on the big screen was spectacular. Being able to see, in colour and in movement, the glass studio of Georges Melies (Kingsley) was such a treat, it reminded me of why I started to love film in the first place.

Sadly, the film was also in 3D (which we all know I hate), and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t being projected properly because I had the most unrelenting headache after the fact. Ouch.

The Descendants (2011)

Why I Liked... The Descendants (2011)

(Dir. Alexander Payne Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause)

Hawaii, no matter how you try to frame it, is a beautiful place.

I also really liked George Clooney in this. And yes, apparently he ‘put on weight’ for the role and all that jazz, but I didn’t see any of that.

The Help (2011)

(Dir. Tate Taylor Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer)

The cast had a spectacular wardrobe.

And really? Yay, a film about racism! In the South. This could get super duper political, but I’ll try my best not to, I swear. Brownie’s promise.

Why I Liked... War Horse (2011)

(Dir. Steven Spielberg Starring: Horse from Seabiscuit)

I love horses and horse films.

Except...well. In Black Beauty the horse was the narrator (with an incredibly impressive vocabulary for a horse). National Velvet had a young Elizabeth Taylor in a stunning role. When I saw The Horse Whisperer, it was roughly around the same time when I had my first fall off a horse. And Hidalgo had Viggo Mortensen in it.

‘Nuff said.

Why I Liked... Special TIFF '11 Edition

There’s no such thing as too early when it comes to lining up for tickets.

There’s no such thing as not having a credit card be an excuse when it comes to lining up for tickets.

There’s no such thing as shoddy reception on your phone when it comes to lining up for tickets.

There’s no such thing as too many snacks when it comes to lining up for tickets.

You all getting this? I’m passing on VALUABLE INFORMATION here. Take it, use it, abuse it, fuse it...? I don’t know, I’m running on no sleep right now (I’m writing this before I take my nap), but it seemed like a good rhyme at the time.

Why I Liked... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)

(Dir. David Yates Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson)

HARREH POTTAAAHHH!!

Oh, my childhood. My beautiful, bookish childhood that turned quickly into a nerdy, outcast-ish adolescence. It has come to a cinematic end. And what an ending that was.

Why I Liked... Friends With Benefits (2011)

(Dir. Will Gluck Starring: Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake)

Legit, it followed the generic romcom tricks and made them funny.

Too easy is it for characters to go ‘oh boo hoo, romantic comedies suck, stupid songs play and everything’s way too perfect’ and then the rest of the film continues on in that vein anyway. But! Because they gave us that line, it makes us think they were clever and actually abandoned that generic formula, but guess what, Hollywood? Not so clever. We can see past your trickery! We’re not idiots! (sometimes)

Why I Liked... Bad Teacher (2011)

(Dir. Jake Kasdan Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake)

Jason Segel remains flawless.

And that’s saying something, considering he was barely a supporting character in this film. Like, that’s how much the rest of the film entertained. Or rather in this case, didn’t.

Why I Liked... Hot Coffee (2011)

(Dir. Susan Saladoff)

So my faith in Americans not being money-hungry opportunists has been restored.

Remember that law suit against McDonald’s way back when? How that woman sued the company after she had hot coffee (title!) spilled all over her lap while in the car? Ok, so tell me-what details do you remember from the articles written about it? Well, you’ve most likely been incredibly misinformed. Maybe not deliberately, but it’s happened.

Why I Liked... Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)

(Dir. Rodman Flender Starring: Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter)

CoCo! CoCo! CoCo!

Conan O’Brien remains hilarious. Even more so when he doesn’t have to censor himself for television.

Why I Liked... Monte Carlo (2011)

(Dir. Thomas Bezucha Starring: Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, Katie Cassidy)

It was Canada Day, and all is forgiven.

Yes, even Canada Day can make me forgive little Selena (what can I say-hello, Baby Face...) for this giant mishap of a film. Allow me to elaborate....

Why I Liked... Cars 2 (2011)

(Dir. John Lasseter, Brad Lewis Starring: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Cain, Eddie Izzard, Emily Mortimer)

Pixar remains awesome at animation.

Ok, so here’s an unpopular opinion of mine-I really, really enjoyed Cars. More so than The Incredibles, which most people boldly declare is one of Pixar’s best. Frankly, I just wasn’t a fan. Of The Incredibles, I mean. Cars, on the other hand, was charming, genre-following, well drawn, and well-executed.

Why I Liked... Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

(Dir. Jennifer Yuh Starring: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Dustin Hoffman)

Can I just? I. Oh god, if I could count the ways this film made me feel all sorts of fuzzy and warm inside...eek!

So despite my anti-orientalism stance, I super enjoyed the original Kung Fu Panda. I was really surprised because, well, hello, Disney’s Mulan, and with a majority American cast, and with Dustin Hoffman putting on an accent, I was a skeptic. But the original proved me wrong, and thus, part two has as well.

Why I Liked... Super 8 (2011)

(Dir. J.J. Abrams Starring: Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning)

I’m watching either: the life J.J. Abrams dreamt about, or I’m watching his autobiography. Either way, I like it.

Oh, and the signature lens flares were nice to look at, too.

Why I Liked... Rango (2011)

(Dir. Gore Verbinski Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Abigail Breslin)

Animation made for the 2D screen and nothing else? Fantastic! Plus a fabulous script and great voice acting and superb detailing that makes you go ‘wait-that’s a fake feather, yes, ok, animated, computer, got it.’

This is...one of my favourite animations of the year. Yeah, now that I think about it, yes. It is.

Why I Liked... X-Men: First Class (2011)

(Dir. Matthew Vaughn Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender)

It’s guy love, love between two guys!

Pure comic book fun-it’s amazing how setting a story such as this back in the sixties makes it...so much more believable? I think that’s the word I’m going for. Because I mean well, in the comics and cartoons, we see these characters in yellow spandex and as we’ve seen from previous, more modern incarnations, they like to wear black leather instead. Which just goes to show-those sixties really were swinging...

Why I Liked... Bridesmaids (2011)

(Dir. Paul Fieg Starring: Kirsten Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy)

Um, how about how funny and real this was? Yeah. That’s a positive for you, Judd freakin’ Apatow. Boom.

Just as a preface-please note that I have ovaries and boobs. This review? Is coming from a woman.