Films: Why This Year Will Be One of The Best Years and Why 2011 Was Forgettable.

Yes, I'm glad 2011 is over. Not  because I could put Charlie Sheen's rants behind me, not because there was no iPhone 5 and not because the Yankees didn't win a World Series. I’m glad it’s over because 2012 will be better than 2011, for films at least.

This year is already shaping up to be one of the biggest years for films in quite a while. Here’s why.

Just like any other year there will be prequels such as the much-anticipated prequel to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit which Peter Jackson will helm again. Martin Freeman (The Office UK) will play the role of Bilbo Baggins and by reading the comments online about his casting, it looks like fanboys can put their bow n' arrows down.

Just like prequels, there will be sequels, such as Expendables 2  which will unite Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme on one screen. With this much testosterone, action, shooting, explosions, I could only expect viewers to be dead on arrival.

It was totally worth it...

It wouldn't be Hollywood if there weren't any biopics. Lincoln has Daniel-Day Lewis playing the 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln in a film directed by Steve Spielberg. Liam Neeson was attached to play Lincoln for years now, but dropped out before production started. Sure I was bummed out, but when they said Daniel-Day frickin' Lewis was playing Lincoln; I put on my Nostradamus hat and said, "Daniel-Day Lewis will win his third Oscar next year."

Now that it's become a trend to re-release classic films in 3D (Hollywood considers 10 year old films classics), this year we will see Finding Nemo in 3D and Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3D. Just when you thought crazy Jim Cameron couldn't squeeze out another penny from the 3D craze he has infused in films since Avatar, he will be releasing Titanic in 3D. That's right, TITANIC IN 3D. We can now see Kate Winslet's breast in 3D and not to mention Billy Zane's toupee in 3D! Now, if we can only see Bill Paxton's two-dimensional performance in 3D....

Maybe if I put my hand under my chin, I'll look more interesting...

How about the summertime, isn't that when we usually see all the superhero flicks? Yes, and this year is going to be bigger than ever. To start out this pomp, there will be The Avengers, which puts together Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson in tight leather gear. What else could you ask for?

Then there's The Amazing Spider Man, which is a reboot of the Spider Man franchise with Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Emma Stone playing Gwen Stacey, the love interest.

The Avengers and Spider Man, so what, you may say, but I'll see your Iron Mans and Spider Mans and raise you a Batman! That's right, none of these superhero movies will quite live up to the hype behind The Dark Knight Rises and we'll see if the Academy grows a pair and nominates a superhero film for best picture.

Why do I have a feeling that I'll cry at the end?

Still not getting the picture of how kickass 2012 will be for movies? Then check out this list of films being released this year.

With that being said let’s take a look back at the forgettable year 2011 was for films. First, let me start out with the highlights:

There was the anticipated final installment of the Harry Potter series that received the best reviews in the franchise and yet no nomination for Alan frickin' Rickman as Professor Snape. 

There were a few films that I expected absolutely nothing from but walked out very pleased, like Warrior, X-Men: First Class and The Rise of the Planet of the Apes and yet no nomination for Andy frickin' Serkis!

"You have robbed me twice, Academy. Twice!"

Kudos to Bridesmaids, the first film that I can think of in where women show that they can carry a film and be just as funny as men. But as funny as Melissa McCarthy was, did she really deserve a Best Supporting Actress nomination? I don't think so.

The most anticipated film in 2011 for me was The Tree of Life. After hearing about it since 2007, I waited and waited patiently for Terrance Malick's film, even after hearing early reports that Dinosaurs were in it and that audiences at the Cannes film Festival walked out calling it a clusterfuck of nonsense, even then, I still wanted to see it. The end result?  The boldest and most imaginative film I have seen since 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

But the film that dropped kicked most of these movies came from a little place called Iran. That's right, A Separation was my favorite film of 2011. It shows a modern day Iran where cars drive through paved streets and where woman are starting to be seen as equals. No other film moved me quite like this one and the effects are still present.

Now, for the bad stuff:

For starters, my biggest disappointment in 2011 was Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. Just about every critic said that this was Allen's best film in twenty years and I ate that mantra up like a slice of cheesecake. Then I watched the film and I'm still wondering what the big deal was. Sure the Allenesque qualities were there, along with those surreal, magical moments that I come to expect from him, but seriously, this isn't his best film in twenty years. Say what you will, but I've been a huge Woody Allen film since I was sixteen and I have watched, I'd say, 95% of his films, so I think my insights in Mr. Allen's films have a great deal of validity.

**Woody Allen pops out from behind a sign**  "I heard what you were saying. You know nothing of my work. You mean that my whole fallacy is wrong. How you ever got the nerve to pontificate like this on a blog, is beyond me." 

How about the Superhero flicks in 2011? First, both Marvel and DC comics decided to release movies based on superheroes no one really cares about, or I don't at least. I never cared for Thor or Captain America (it's all about Batman!) growing up, but I thought of how Marvel took their B-list superhero Iron Man and made him into a bona fide superhero, then I thought they had it in them to deliver the good on both Thor and Captain America. While critics gave both films decent reviews, I personally thought they were just as uninteresting as I remember them being when I was a kid.

And don't get me started with The Green Lantern....

Then came sequels that were just as bad as their predecessors, sequels I don't even have to watch to know that they will lower my IQ level and probably require me do undergo cataract surgery. Turds like Transformers 3: Dark of The Moon, Twilight: Breaking Dawn and Hangover II, that will keep on seeing more sequels as long as tasteless urchins go and see this crap.

The fall season came along and this is that time of year where all the Oscar-bait films are released, especially biopics, which are a vehicle for actors to win an Oscar. Seriously, look at the past winners in the past ten years and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's the easiest way an actor can get at least a nomination and most likely a win. No other biopic in 2011 yelled out Oscar desperation quite like J. Edgar, especially from Leo DiCaprio. Everyone thought Leo would be a shoe-in for Best Actor, but then the film was released and whatever hope there was for that Oscar, vanished. I expected more from Clint Eastwood, but then again he hasn't had a solid film since Letters from Iwo Jima.

Hugo was high on my list, not only because it is a tribute to cinema in general, but because the master himself, Martin Scorsese, was directing it. Then I saw the film and I waited for something to happen, but it wasn’t until the last half-hour of the film that something started happening.

The last time Alexander Payne was behind the camera -- and not co-writing shit like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry -- was when he released Sideways back in 2004, which was one of the best films of the past decade. Therefore, I was psyched when I heard about how The Descendants was Payne's best film to date and how Clooney gives the finest performance of his career. Most of it is true (there's no topping Sideways, I'm sorry), but for some reason it didn’t leave that impression his others films left on me.

The film everyone talked about in 2011 and one of the best-reviewed films was The Artist. This was another film that I was excited to see because I'm a big fan of silent films. I don't want to spoil anything but the ending destroyed whatever magic The Artist had going for it and it nearly destroyed the entire film. If it wasn't for that charming Jean DuJardin bastard, then it might have.