Films Seen 2011
A list of films I've seen in 2011 in the order I liked them. I've excluded documentaries but TV movies, shorts and animations are all included.
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- DirectorJoko AnwarStarsFachry AlbarMarsha TimothyArio BayuThe life of a successful sculptor is turned upside down when he begins receiving mysterious messages from someone who asks for his help.A strange horror thriller where everything is not what it seems, one of the best films I've seen this year.
- DirectorKeiichi HaraStarsKumiko AsôChris AyresGreg AyresA sinful spirit is granted the opportunity to prove worthy for rebirth, inhabiting the body of a student who killed himself.An excellent anime film based on a novel; there's a live action film version as well. This one has great animation combining photographs within it and complex themes.
- DirectorBrillante MendozaStarsCoco MartinMaria Isabel LopezJulio DiazA young man tries to make some money so he can marry his girlfriend. He takes a job for $2,000 and then realizes that this job involves killing a woman.A dark and grim "horror" thriller - Mendoza once again shows his talent. This film seems to divide people but for someone looking for pure horror or the grimness of humanity, then this is for you. People looking for tacky monsters or masked killers spouting banal film references should look elsewhere.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.A dreamlike and poetic alternate reality Sci-Fi film. No silly special FX or cgi; just existential musings and lovely visuals. Rightfully regarded as a masterpiece.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungSiu Chung MokHoi MangLo Tung and his friend Malted Candy, pedicab drivers working the streets of Macao, have both fallen in love. The problem is that both their objects of affection--one a baker, the other a prostitute--are working under cruel and lecherous bosses. Somehow, the pair must find a way to win the ladies' hearts and free them from their unpleasant jobs.Pedicab Driver - arguably Sammo Hung's best film.
- DirectorLawrence Gordon ClarkStarsPeter VaughanClive SwiftJulian HeringtonAn archaeologist goes treasure hunting along the English coast in search of a lost, fabled crown that supposedly helps protect Great Britain against invasion, but uncovers something much more sinister.Ghost story made for the BBC. Clive Dunn puts in an amazing performance. Genuinely spooky and haunting. Great stuff.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJerry LewisDiahnne AbbottA passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.Scorcese does a black comedy and does it brilliantly. It's dated slightly but the variety of Scorcese's films are a testament to his talent.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsAsa ButterfieldDavid ThewlisRupert FriendThrough the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.A great film I'm sure a lot of people will only watch it once.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsCate BlanchettMatt DamonLiam NeesonA five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.Another quality film from Studio Ghibli. One of their best from the noughties. The quality of animation and non-patronising nature will appeal to adults while being colourful and fun enough for kids.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsSeema BiswasNirmal PandeyRajesh VivekThe story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994.A classic of contemporary Indian cinema. This isn't a Bollywood film with loads of song and dance numbers, it's powerful filmmaking.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsLee EolKwak Ji-minHan Yeo-reumJae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those man she suppresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous.A dark and complex drama from a great director.
- DirectorPhilippe ClaudelStarsKristin Scott ThomasElsa ZylbersteinSerge HazanaviciusA woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.An emotionally intense drama, good acting all round and a film which doesn't oversimplify complex themes.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsAlan BatesBernard LeeHayley MillsWhen an injured wife murderer takes refuge on a remote Lancashire farm, the owner's three children mistakenly believe him to be the Second Coming of Christ.British drama about a murderer who hides in a barn only to get mistaken for Jesus by a group of schoolchildren. Quite charming in places, tense and gripping in others.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiYukihiro SawadaStarsShigeru YamamotoAtsuko AsanoMiyoko AkazaA high school student rallies his classmates into rebelling violently when the administration refuses to take responsibility for the suicide of one of the students.Panic in High School - an intense Japanese thriller with great direction.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBette DavisJoan CrawfordVictor BuonoA former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.A camp classic. Many years ahead of its time and massively influential since.
- DirectorStuart OrmeStarsMartin ClunesVictoria HamiltonConleth HillIn the later years of the nineteenth century Latin master Mr. Chipping is the mainstay of Brookfields boys boarding school, a good teacher and a kindly person but he is considered to be married to the job so that it is a surprise when, on a walking holiday, he meets and marries the vivacious Kathie, who becomes his helpmate at the school but sadly pre-deceases him. Just before World War One insensitive new headmaster Ralston tries to edge Chipping out but the boys rally and Sir John Rivers, an old pupil of Chipping's and now head of the board of governors, invites him to stay and, when the war breaks out and Ralston joins up, Chipping becomes the new head. He is saddened by the waste of young lives in the pointless war and also by the death of his old friend and former German teacher Max, who had returned to his homeland to fight for Germany and he reminds the assembled boys that an individual's goodness is more important than their nationality. It is a sad day for all concerned when Chipping himself passes away.Great version of the much adapted story with a brilliant performance from Clunes.
- DirectorBrillante MendozaStarsAnita LindaRustica CarpioTanya GomezTwo elderly women bear the consequences of a crime involving their respective grandsons. One is the victim, the other is the suspect. Both weak and poor, they laboriously solicit money in the midst of a storm, one for the victim's burial, the other for the suspect's bail bond.Another top film from Brillante Mendoza - Successfully blends everyday life with a crime and courtroom element.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsAnjelica HustonJohn CusackAnnette BeningA small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.John Cussack on top form in this neo-noir type film.
- DirectorJonathan MillerStarsMichael HordernAmbrose CoghillGeorge WoodbridgeClassic BBC adaptation of an equally classic ghost story about a skeptical professor on vacation in Norfolk who finds a cursed whistle. Unlike most other episodes of this documentary series about music, this one is live action folk horror.Another BBC ghost story - this one is also spooky considering its age. I preferred 'A Warning to the Curious'; some prefer this out of the two.
- DirectorVera ChytilováStarsBolek PolívkaMiroslav DonutilAnna PantuckovaA hillbilly inherits millions and goes to the city, leaving his village to live a rich man's life in post-communist Czechia.A genuinely funny comedy from the Czech Republic.
- DirectorPeter FilardiStarsVincent KartheiserChad ChristSabine SinghBased on the true story of drugs, satanism, and murder in the upper class town of Northport, Long Island in 1984.There's been many adaptations of the 'Ricky' story. This is probably the best interpretation.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMargot KidderJennifer SaltCharles DurningA small-time reporter tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment across from hers.A tense thriller in the Hitchcock tradition (mainly Rear Window) but it does it better than most imitators.
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsIsaach De BankoléAlex DescasSolveig DommartinDah and Jocelyn come from Benin, Africa, to coach their rooster, "S'en fout la mort", for an illicit cock-fight in the basement of a restaurant.No Fear, No Die - French drama about cockfighting trainers trying to make it big. Arguably a masterpiece.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsTony CurtisHenry FondaGeorge KennedyA series of brutal murders in Boston sparks a seemingly endless and increasingly complex manhunt.A cold and clinical serial killer study with a convincing performance from Tony Curtis.
- DirectorDanny LeeHerman YauStarsAnthony Chau-Sang WongDanny LeeEmily KwanMacau cops begin to suspect a man running a pork buns restaurant of murder, after tracing the origin of a case full of chopped up human remains that washed ashore, which leads them to him.Bunman the untold story - A cult classic. Brutal and unrelenting let down sligtly by some goofy knockabout comedy. A great performance from Anthony Wong.