[2011 round-up] REVIEW OF THE YEAR!
I had to re-post this because of a format fuck-up when I tried to edit it.
REVIEW OF 2011!
TOP 20 FILMS OF 2011
I have a few rules with my list of top 20 films of 2011. Firstly, I will be going by UK release dates only. This means any films released elsewhere in 2010, but in the UK in 2011 (eg. True Grit) will be included, as will films released in the UK in 2011 but not elsewhere (eg. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). Any films released elsewhere this year, but haven’t been released in the UK will not be included.
My other rule is not to include made-for-TV films. I’ll make a separate little list for those.
1. TRUE GRIT
It shouldn’t come as any surprise to you that this would be my number one. Even if we ignore my blatant Jeff Bridges fangirling, we still have my admiration for the Coen brothers, a very good performance by Matt Damon, an outstanding debut from Hailee Stenfield, beautiful cinematography, a script that mined the novel for every ounce of possible wit, and ultimately a film that more than stood up to the John Wayne original. The only let down for me was Josh Brolin as Chaney, but that can be disregarded when there’s so much Epic Bridges on display. I’ll be honest, The Dude aside, I think this is Bridges’ best role. He should have swapped Oscar winning years with Colin Firth. (I believe Firth was better in A Single Man than in The King’s Speech. I may be in the minority.)
2. ATTACK THE BLOCK
After the amount of praise it was given, I’m surprised Attack the Block didn’t make it into Empire’s Top 20 list. Foolish Empire. I really want to use some South London slang now, but I will end up sounding as out of touch as Luke Treadaway’s Brewis does in the film. Joe Cornish’s debut is born of a love of cinema and it shows. The visuals are impressive, the aliens terrifying. The dialogue is authentic and filled with humour between genuine scares, and John Boyega is an incredible stoic lead. Believe, bruv! (I had to.)
3. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
I was debating between this and Attack the Block for second place, and I had to choose the latter, purely because I’ve seen it more than once. But Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was one of those rare films where I was singing its praises to anyone who would listen (and some who wouldn’t) the minute I left the cinema. The obvious thing to praise would be the stellar cast (inclusive of Estrogen Brigade Bait Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and King Colin Firth himself) but it’s Tomas Alfredson’s directing that garners a lot of my praise. It’s superbly tense: a grown-up spy film and the anti-thesis of Bond. Also, there’s a lot of homoeroticism for you slashers.
4. DRIVE
Oh shit this film. Ryan Gosling you are amazing. As are you, Carey Mulligan. And the music, and the direction, and the script, and how engaged you are with a character as distant as the Driver. Just…GAH.
5. RANGO
I really didn’t expect to place this so high at first. But not only is it the smartest, funniest animation I’ve seen in ages, it’s also the perfect Western. And I think I finally get the Johnny Depp thing. Previously I merely liked him, but his voice performance here is outstanding. Plus, MEXICAN OWLS.
6. TROLLHUNTER
Norway, you crazy bitches. I’m sure I would have enjoyed this even more if I was a lot more knowledgeable on Norwegian folklore, but even without that I liked it just fine. The leads were awesome (especially the titular hunter), as was the design of the trolls themselves. And they got the Norwegian prime minister to appear! It doesn’t get much more badass than that.
7. SUBMARINE
As much as I love Richard Ayoade as a comedy performer, he’s a much better director than he is actor. This film is as funny as it is endearing, with decent child performers (it’s Maria from the Sarah Jane Adventures!) and dear God, Paddy Considine’s mullet.
8. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did, and that’s pretty much the reason it’s in the list. There’s also James Franco and Freida Pinto giving good performances, Andy Serkis being the king of motion capture, Draco Malfoy getting to say “the line”, and most of all JOHN LITHGOW! I love John Lithgow.
9. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
This is probably my favourite Marvel Universe film since the first Iron Man. Which isn’t hard considering I haven’t seen Iron Man 2 or Thor, but still. I much prefer Chris Evans as Steve Rogers to Johnny Storm (even if my favourite role of his is still Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim), and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes OWNS MY HEART. I loved the WWII setting, especially given the Nazis barely featured. Hayley Atwell was lovely and awesome at all times, and was I lulzing at Dominic Cooper as Daddy Stark!
10. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
James McAvoy + Michael Fassbender + Best Cameo Ever + Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman + Take That = a very happy Hayley. I had some issues, but more than anything I was just happy to thoroughly enjoy an X-Men film again. X-Men 2 was such a long time ago.
11. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART TWO
I’m not gonna lie, I had some major issues with this film. (My biggest: completely omitting Dumbledore’s backstory, hardly any attention paid to Fred’s death.) But there were still things I adored, such as lulzy Voldemort, Neville being badass and everything Alan Rickman did. It was a decent enough ending to an important film franchise that I grew up with, and almost all the cast brought their A-game. Still not a patch on Prisoner of Azkaban, though.
12. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Like Tyrannosaur below, this is a wonderful film but not one you can really say you enjoy. It's convinced me to finally read the book, and Tilda Swinton was brilliant as ever.
13. THE KING’S SPEECH
I think I’m in the minority with The King’s Speech. It was a great film, and King Firth and Geoffrey Rush were both awesome, but as with Black Swan below, it didn’t entirely resonate with me. Maybe it’s because I’m still bitter Firth didn’t receive as much praise for A Single Man (which I'm not saying is a better film, necessarily, but I thought Firth was better in it.) I don’t know, but I wish I liked it more than I do.
14. WINNIE THE POOH
I don’t even feel the need to explain. Pooh Bear is always justified. Plus, Craig Ferguson as the voice of Owl? Brilliant.
15. SUPER 8
I saw this on my birthday, when I was a bit tipsy, so I think I need a re-watch to absorb things. But even tipsy me recognises an AMAZING train crash scene (I would have been happy with Reid Oliver’s death in ATWT if his crash was that awesome) and the kids’ film over the credits was genuinely hilarious.
16. THE TREE OF LIFE
On evaluation, this may move lower down the list, but at the moment I’m placing it here because I’ve JUST recently seen it and I mostly liked it.
17. BLACK SWAN
I didn’t really love this as much as I expected to. I thought Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel were all great, and it was as over the top as a film about ballet dancers and mental breakdowns should be, but it just didn’t resonate much with me.
18. TYRANNOSAUR
Technically a brilliant film, and Olivia Colman’s performance was outstanding, but it’s an uncomfortable watch.
19. TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
Because it has former Neighbours and Home and Away cast members as guerrilla fighters against an invading force in Australia! Immediately awesome. It’s also a pretty decent adaptation of the book, but somehow makes Ensemble Darkhorse Robin even more badass and amazing.
20. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN
I found this kind of a let-down, but most of the other films I’ve watched so far this year have been even more so. And it was still kind-of good. It may have something to do with seeing it in a cinema packed with absolute brats throwing popcorn all over the seats and yelling.
I’M PLACING THE FOLLOWING TWO OUTSIDE OF THE LIST PURELY ON ACCOUNT OF THEM FEATURING IN MY 2010 LIST, BEFORE I HAD THE “UK RELEASE DATES” RULE. THEY ARE BOTH STILL BRILLIANT.
NEVER LET ME GO
I don’t want to be repeating myself with why I love this, even though my old journal is deleted, so I will say this: Carey Mulligan is brilliant. Andrew Garfield is the most adorable thing on the planet. I’m not generally a big fan of Keira Knightley, but I really liked her in this. Also: read the book. It’s awesome.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
I came for Joel Edgerton and Guy Pearce, and I stayed for Jacki Weaver. Christ, she was menacing. And utterly brilliant.
FILMS FROM 2011 I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING IN 2012/THE LAST FEW DAYS OF 2011
(This may also include films that won’t be released in the UK until 2012)
The Artist, Shame, Kill List, Weekend, Blue Valentine, Beginners, A Separation, Source Code, War Horse, Hugo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Thor, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
MADE-FOR-TV FILMS of 2011 TOP 5
1. CHRISTOPHER AND HIS KIND
Matt Smith, do me like your pretty German boys. Also, I fangirl Christopher Isherwood like you wouldn’t believe.
2. ERIC AND ERNIE
I’m not sure if this was late 2010 or early 2011 but I saw it in 2011 so fuck it, I’m having it. Anything about Morcambe and Wise, I’m bound to love. Luckily, this was also really good!
3. APPROPRIATE ADULT
Somehow, Dominic West made Fred West even more creepy to me. And given I’ve read many of my dad’s true crime books on Fred and Rose West, that’s a difficult thing to do.
4. HOLY FLYING CIRCUS
Not the most perfect film, but it perfectly encapsulated the spirit of Monty Python and Darren Boyd’s John Cleese was almost as brilliant as Actual John Cleese.
5. THE BORROWERS
This is here purely for Stephen Fry and Christopher Eccleston. Even though I haven’t finished watching it yet. And I couldn’t think of another.
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011
2011 has not been a great year for me and music. It’s only been in December that I’ve actually listened to enough albums to generate a top 10, and that’s in part down to HMV playlists.
1. STILL GOT LEGS, CHAMELEON CIRCUIT
Well, that tells you all you need to know. My favourite album of the year is by a band made up of youtubers who sing songs about Doctor Who. But it is a genuinely good album (much better than their debut, even though I enjoy that too), with only one song I don’t like as much as the others. And it’s just as epic as Murray Gold’s music for the actual show.
STANDOUT TRACKS: The Sound of Drums, Everything is Ending, Mr Pond, The Doctor is Dying…AND ALL OF THE OTHERS.
2. JEFF BRIDGES, JEFF BRIDGES
I am not the greatest country music fan, and basically anything that isn’t Johnny Cash is out of my comfort zone. But I love Jeff Bridges, and the country songs he did for Crazy Heart were excellent. This album promises more of the same, with most of the tracks being a little slow and sombre. But not all of them, and The Dude sounds amazing.
STANDOUT TRACKS: What A Little Love Can Do, Tumbling Vine.
3. AN APPOINTMENT WITH MR YEATS, THE WATERBOYS
This album consists of WB Yeats poems being set to music by Mike Scott and co. If that doesn’t sound awesome to you, we can no longer be friends.
STANDOUT TRACKS: September 1913, Before The World Was Made.
4. PROGRESSED, TAKE THAT
This is lower down because it is essentially a re-release of last year’s Progress (my favourite album of 2010) with some extra tracks. But one of those tracks is Love Love, and you all loved X-Men: First Class, didn’t you?
STANDOUT TRACKS: Love Love, When We Were Young, Aliens, and most of the Progress tracks.
5. STRINGS AND STRIPES, THE BASEBALLS
I fucking love these guys. I especially love how many raps they decided to cover on this album.
STANDOUT TRACKS: Candy Shop, Miami, Paparazzi, Tik Tok, California Gurls, When Love Takes Over.
6. HIGH FLYING BIRDS, NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS
The odd song aside, I haven’t truly enjoyed an Oasis album since (What’s the Story) Morning Glory. As a result, I think the break-up of Oasis is the best thing that could have happened for Noel Gallagher. This album is pure class.
STANDOUT TRACKS: AKA What a Life!, If I Had A Gun.
7. CAMP, CHILDISH GAMBINO
For those unaware, Childish Gambino is the rap alias of Community’s Donald Glover. I’ll be honest, his raps are one of my least favourite parts of the album. Some are incredible, some are a little lacklustre. But what I do love about this album is the production, from the music to the backing vocals to the tracklisting. It all fits together brilliantly. And this album features my favourite lyric of the year: “You can fuckin’ kiss my ass, Human Centipede!”
STANDOUT TRACKS: Outside, Bonfire.
8. SECRET CODES AND BATTLESHIPS, DARREN HAYES
Darren Hayes, let me love you. That is all I need say. (This album would probably be higher, except I’ve only listened to it once so far.)
STANDOUT TRACKS: Taken By The Sea, Nearly Love, Black Out the Sun, Bloodstained Heart.
9. 21, ADELE
Scraping the barrel a bit here, since I’m not a big Adele fan, but I do respect her voice and her lyrics, and feel she has earned her popularity. Plus, there are some absolute belters on here.
STANDOUT TRACKS: Rolling in the Deep.
10. ECHOES, WILL YOUNG
I love Will Young, but as with Darren Hayes, this is low because I haven’t had much opportunity to listen to it.
STANDOUT TRACKS: Jealousy.
HONOURABLE MENTION: Cinderella’s Eyes, Nicola Roberts. I wrote the majority of this list before Christmas Day, and I got this album as a Christmas present.
TOP 10 TELEVISION SHOWS OF 2011
1. BEING HUMAN
While I always expect Being Human to feature in my top 10, I never thought it would reach number #1 on my list. It has always been good, but this year exceeded all my expectations. There were many reasons I loved it: (Annie, George, Nina, Lia, the scripts, the story arc, Robson Green and Michael Socha, and most of all Mitchell and HERRICK.) How sad that my two favourite elements are now gone from the show. I was still excited for where it would go next, but given Russell Tovey will also be leaving next year, this number 1 spot feels a little bittersweet. Nevertheless, I have faith in Toby Whithouse.
STANDOUT EPISODE: The Longest Day (I’m only picking one because they were all of high quality, but this was the best of them all.)
2. DOCTOR WHO
So many complaints from people about Doctor Who this year! I understand some of them, but I still thought it was a brilliant year. Some lacklustre episodes, but they were hardly SLITHEEN bad, were they? Plus, the great episodes were fantastic, we got some excellent character development for Amy and particularly Rory in episodes like The Girl Who Waited, a Neil Gaiman episode, and excellent supporting characters like Canton Everett Delawere III and Rita (RIP). And Matt Smith is still precious. I think I’m endeared to him so much because of how much he reminds me of Patrick Troughton, my favourite Classic Who Doctor.
STANDOUT EPISODES: The Impossible Astronaut, The Doctor’s Wife, The Girl Who Waited.
3. HORRIBLE HISTORIES
For the second year in a row, silly yet educational children’s show Horrible Histories has beaten out adult-oriented rivals to win Best Sketch Show at the British Comedy Awards. Because it is WONDERFUL.
STANDOUT MOMENTS: Dick Turpin, Kings and Queens Song, William Wallace, SHOUTY MAN!
4. COMMUNITY
Because of the way US TV works, this counts the second half of season 2 and season 3 so far. It is still the cleverest sitcom on television and I hope to God we get more, because that last episode was perfect. And I need more Troy and Abed in my life.
STANDOUT EPISODES FROM S2 (post-Christmas): Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking, Critical Film Studies, Paradigms of Human Memory, A Fistful of Paintballs, For A Few Paintballs More.
STANDOUT EPISODES FROM S3: Remedial Chaos Theory, Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism, Regional Christmas Music.
5. MERLIN
Merlin has got DARK this year, while also being sillier (eg. whenever Dragoon appears, random pantsless Arthur) and I LOVE IT. It has Merlin and Arthur being proper friends and Gaius being wonderful and KNIGHTS and less reliance on bad CGI and three major deaths in the first three episodes which was a bit of a whammy. My only big complaints are that I miss King Giles and Agravaine was a massive dick with no real justification like Morgana and King Giles had. Well, there was his being Ygraine’s brother but that had barely any attention paid to it.
STANDOUT EPISODES: The Darkest Hour, The Wicked Day, A Servant of Two Masters, Lancelot du Lac, The Sword in the Stone.
6. BLACK MIRROR
This was all so bleak but so amazing. I can never look at pigs, reality TV or Facebook the same again.
STANDOUT MOMENT: Everything
7. THE APPRENTICE
TOOOOOOOOOOOOM. This is the first time ever that the contestant I’ve supported right through the show has won. Tom was so adorable. He was always on the losing team, and yet he WON. Plus, Nick Hewer is my sour faced little prince.
STANDOUT MOMENTS: Jedi Jim, Tom being adorable.
8. STRICTLY COME DANCING
This was the best year for Strictly contestants ever. All three finalists (Jason, Chelsee, Harry) fully deserved the title, and Russell Grant was just so wonderfully optimistic about everything that he inspires me. But also, BRUNO TONIOLI. He is fabulous. I want him to be my friend, and for every reality show judge to be him.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS: Jason Donovan, Chelsee Healey, Harry Judd, Russell Grant
9. 8 OUT OF 10 CATS
I never used to be into this, but when Jon Richardson joined it became amazing. I’m not saying that’s entirely down to Jon, because I think Sean Lock’s hilarious, but I think Jon, Sean and Jimmy Carr all work really well together. There’ve been some unfortunate guests though.
STANDOUT MOMENT: Just Jon Richardson.
10. DREW CAREY'S IMPROV-A-GANZA
WHY DID YOU GET CANCELLED? WHY?! The return of the Whose Line cast in a more adult show with Chip and Jeff as regulars? A woman (Heather Anne Campbell) who could more than hold her own against them? COLIN MOCHRIE? It was almost perfect! (Could have used less Kathy and Sean.)
STANDOUT MOMENTS: Amantha and Teven, Sex-Butt, Flap My Jack...AND MANY OTHERS.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Good News Week/Good News World, which was #10 until I realised I'd forgotten Improv-A-Ganza.
Torchwood: Miracle Day, for I haven’t seen all of it yet.
Neighbours, because it’s Neighbours.
Misfits, for the same reasons as Torchwood.
Downton Abbey, for the same reasons as Torchwood.
Would I Lie To You?, because it was just as good as always, but not different in any significant way to warrant adding to the list.
Pointless, because it's the most awesome quiz show there is.
The Choir, because GARETH MALONE.
Wonders of the Universe, because PROF BRIAN COX.
Frozen Planet, because CRIMINAL PENGUINS.
FOLKS I'VE MET IN 2011
Neil Buchanan
Jason Orange and Howard Donald of Take That (I'm counting a handshake at the tour as meeting.)
JON RICHARDSON!
Norman Lovett from Red Dwarf
The Axis of Awesome
Various other comedians in Edinburgh when interacting during shows
Alex Day, of youtube and (now) UK chart fame
themetunes, jemzamia, and re-met tabimendou and jesse_kips
BOOKS CAN BE FOUND IN A SEPARATE POST, UNDER THE 2011 ROUND-UP TAG.
REVIEW OF 2011!
TOP 20 FILMS OF 2011
I have a few rules with my list of top 20 films of 2011. Firstly, I will be going by UK release dates only. This means any films released elsewhere in 2010, but in the UK in 2011 (eg. True Grit) will be included, as will films released in the UK in 2011 but not elsewhere (eg. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). Any films released elsewhere this year, but haven’t been released in the UK will not be included.
My other rule is not to include made-for-TV films. I’ll make a separate little list for those.
1. TRUE GRIT
It shouldn’t come as any surprise to you that this would be my number one. Even if we ignore my blatant Jeff Bridges fangirling, we still have my admiration for the Coen brothers, a very good performance by Matt Damon, an outstanding debut from Hailee Stenfield, beautiful cinematography, a script that mined the novel for every ounce of possible wit, and ultimately a film that more than stood up to the John Wayne original. The only let down for me was Josh Brolin as Chaney, but that can be disregarded when there’s so much Epic Bridges on display. I’ll be honest, The Dude aside, I think this is Bridges’ best role. He should have swapped Oscar winning years with Colin Firth. (I believe Firth was better in A Single Man than in The King’s Speech. I may be in the minority.)
2. ATTACK THE BLOCK
After the amount of praise it was given, I’m surprised Attack the Block didn’t make it into Empire’s Top 20 list. Foolish Empire. I really want to use some South London slang now, but I will end up sounding as out of touch as Luke Treadaway’s Brewis does in the film. Joe Cornish’s debut is born of a love of cinema and it shows. The visuals are impressive, the aliens terrifying. The dialogue is authentic and filled with humour between genuine scares, and John Boyega is an incredible stoic lead. Believe, bruv! (I had to.)
3. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
I was debating between this and Attack the Block for second place, and I had to choose the latter, purely because I’ve seen it more than once. But Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was one of those rare films where I was singing its praises to anyone who would listen (and some who wouldn’t) the minute I left the cinema. The obvious thing to praise would be the stellar cast (inclusive of Estrogen Brigade Bait Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and King Colin Firth himself) but it’s Tomas Alfredson’s directing that garners a lot of my praise. It’s superbly tense: a grown-up spy film and the anti-thesis of Bond. Also, there’s a lot of homoeroticism for you slashers.
4. DRIVE
Oh shit this film. Ryan Gosling you are amazing. As are you, Carey Mulligan. And the music, and the direction, and the script, and how engaged you are with a character as distant as the Driver. Just…GAH.
5. RANGO
I really didn’t expect to place this so high at first. But not only is it the smartest, funniest animation I’ve seen in ages, it’s also the perfect Western. And I think I finally get the Johnny Depp thing. Previously I merely liked him, but his voice performance here is outstanding. Plus, MEXICAN OWLS.
6. TROLLHUNTER
Norway, you crazy bitches. I’m sure I would have enjoyed this even more if I was a lot more knowledgeable on Norwegian folklore, but even without that I liked it just fine. The leads were awesome (especially the titular hunter), as was the design of the trolls themselves. And they got the Norwegian prime minister to appear! It doesn’t get much more badass than that.
7. SUBMARINE
As much as I love Richard Ayoade as a comedy performer, he’s a much better director than he is actor. This film is as funny as it is endearing, with decent child performers (it’s Maria from the Sarah Jane Adventures!) and dear God, Paddy Considine’s mullet.
8. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did, and that’s pretty much the reason it’s in the list. There’s also James Franco and Freida Pinto giving good performances, Andy Serkis being the king of motion capture, Draco Malfoy getting to say “the line”, and most of all JOHN LITHGOW! I love John Lithgow.
9. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
This is probably my favourite Marvel Universe film since the first Iron Man. Which isn’t hard considering I haven’t seen Iron Man 2 or Thor, but still. I much prefer Chris Evans as Steve Rogers to Johnny Storm (even if my favourite role of his is still Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim), and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes OWNS MY HEART. I loved the WWII setting, especially given the Nazis barely featured. Hayley Atwell was lovely and awesome at all times, and was I lulzing at Dominic Cooper as Daddy Stark!
10. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
James McAvoy + Michael Fassbender + Best Cameo Ever + Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman + Take That = a very happy Hayley. I had some issues, but more than anything I was just happy to thoroughly enjoy an X-Men film again. X-Men 2 was such a long time ago.
11. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART TWO
I’m not gonna lie, I had some major issues with this film. (My biggest: completely omitting Dumbledore’s backstory, hardly any attention paid to Fred’s death.) But there were still things I adored, such as lulzy Voldemort, Neville being badass and everything Alan Rickman did. It was a decent enough ending to an important film franchise that I grew up with, and almost all the cast brought their A-game. Still not a patch on Prisoner of Azkaban, though.
12. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Like Tyrannosaur below, this is a wonderful film but not one you can really say you enjoy. It's convinced me to finally read the book, and Tilda Swinton was brilliant as ever.
13. THE KING’S SPEECH
I think I’m in the minority with The King’s Speech. It was a great film, and King Firth and Geoffrey Rush were both awesome, but as with Black Swan below, it didn’t entirely resonate with me. Maybe it’s because I’m still bitter Firth didn’t receive as much praise for A Single Man (which I'm not saying is a better film, necessarily, but I thought Firth was better in it.) I don’t know, but I wish I liked it more than I do.
14. WINNIE THE POOH
I don’t even feel the need to explain. Pooh Bear is always justified. Plus, Craig Ferguson as the voice of Owl? Brilliant.
15. SUPER 8
I saw this on my birthday, when I was a bit tipsy, so I think I need a re-watch to absorb things. But even tipsy me recognises an AMAZING train crash scene (I would have been happy with Reid Oliver’s death in ATWT if his crash was that awesome) and the kids’ film over the credits was genuinely hilarious.
16. THE TREE OF LIFE
On evaluation, this may move lower down the list, but at the moment I’m placing it here because I’ve JUST recently seen it and I mostly liked it.
17. BLACK SWAN
I didn’t really love this as much as I expected to. I thought Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel were all great, and it was as over the top as a film about ballet dancers and mental breakdowns should be, but it just didn’t resonate much with me.
18. TYRANNOSAUR
Technically a brilliant film, and Olivia Colman’s performance was outstanding, but it’s an uncomfortable watch.
19. TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
Because it has former Neighbours and Home and Away cast members as guerrilla fighters against an invading force in Australia! Immediately awesome. It’s also a pretty decent adaptation of the book, but somehow makes Ensemble Darkhorse Robin even more badass and amazing.
20. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN
I found this kind of a let-down, but most of the other films I’ve watched so far this year have been even more so. And it was still kind-of good. It may have something to do with seeing it in a cinema packed with absolute brats throwing popcorn all over the seats and yelling.
I’M PLACING THE FOLLOWING TWO OUTSIDE OF THE LIST PURELY ON ACCOUNT OF THEM FEATURING IN MY 2010 LIST, BEFORE I HAD THE “UK RELEASE DATES” RULE. THEY ARE BOTH STILL BRILLIANT.
NEVER LET ME GO
I don’t want to be repeating myself with why I love this, even though my old journal is deleted, so I will say this: Carey Mulligan is brilliant. Andrew Garfield is the most adorable thing on the planet. I’m not generally a big fan of Keira Knightley, but I really liked her in this. Also: read the book. It’s awesome.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
I came for Joel Edgerton and Guy Pearce, and I stayed for Jacki Weaver. Christ, she was menacing. And utterly brilliant.
FILMS FROM 2011 I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING IN 2012/THE LAST FEW DAYS OF 2011
(This may also include films that won’t be released in the UK until 2012)
The Artist, Shame, Kill List, Weekend, Blue Valentine, Beginners, A Separation, Source Code, War Horse, Hugo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Thor, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
MADE-FOR-TV FILMS of 2011 TOP 5
1. CHRISTOPHER AND HIS KIND
Matt Smith, do me like your pretty German boys. Also, I fangirl Christopher Isherwood like you wouldn’t believe.
2. ERIC AND ERNIE
I’m not sure if this was late 2010 or early 2011 but I saw it in 2011 so fuck it, I’m having it. Anything about Morcambe and Wise, I’m bound to love. Luckily, this was also really good!
3. APPROPRIATE ADULT
Somehow, Dominic West made Fred West even more creepy to me. And given I’ve read many of my dad’s true crime books on Fred and Rose West, that’s a difficult thing to do.
4. HOLY FLYING CIRCUS
Not the most perfect film, but it perfectly encapsulated the spirit of Monty Python and Darren Boyd’s John Cleese was almost as brilliant as Actual John Cleese.
5. THE BORROWERS
This is here purely for Stephen Fry and Christopher Eccleston. Even though I haven’t finished watching it yet. And I couldn’t think of another.
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011
2011 has not been a great year for me and music. It’s only been in December that I’ve actually listened to enough albums to generate a top 10, and that’s in part down to HMV playlists.
1. STILL GOT LEGS, CHAMELEON CIRCUIT
Well, that tells you all you need to know. My favourite album of the year is by a band made up of youtubers who sing songs about Doctor Who. But it is a genuinely good album (much better than their debut, even though I enjoy that too), with only one song I don’t like as much as the others. And it’s just as epic as Murray Gold’s music for the actual show.
STANDOUT TRACKS: The Sound of Drums, Everything is Ending, Mr Pond, The Doctor is Dying…AND ALL OF THE OTHERS.
2. JEFF BRIDGES, JEFF BRIDGES
I am not the greatest country music fan, and basically anything that isn’t Johnny Cash is out of my comfort zone. But I love Jeff Bridges, and the country songs he did for Crazy Heart were excellent. This album promises more of the same, with most of the tracks being a little slow and sombre. But not all of them, and The Dude sounds amazing.
STANDOUT TRACKS: What A Little Love Can Do, Tumbling Vine.
3. AN APPOINTMENT WITH MR YEATS, THE WATERBOYS
This album consists of WB Yeats poems being set to music by Mike Scott and co. If that doesn’t sound awesome to you, we can no longer be friends.
STANDOUT TRACKS: September 1913, Before The World Was Made.
4. PROGRESSED, TAKE THAT
This is lower down because it is essentially a re-release of last year’s Progress (my favourite album of 2010) with some extra tracks. But one of those tracks is Love Love, and you all loved X-Men: First Class, didn’t you?
STANDOUT TRACKS: Love Love, When We Were Young, Aliens, and most of the Progress tracks.
5. STRINGS AND STRIPES, THE BASEBALLS
I fucking love these guys. I especially love how many raps they decided to cover on this album.
STANDOUT TRACKS: Candy Shop, Miami, Paparazzi, Tik Tok, California Gurls, When Love Takes Over.
6. HIGH FLYING BIRDS, NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS
The odd song aside, I haven’t truly enjoyed an Oasis album since (What’s the Story) Morning Glory. As a result, I think the break-up of Oasis is the best thing that could have happened for Noel Gallagher. This album is pure class.
STANDOUT TRACKS: AKA What a Life!, If I Had A Gun.
7. CAMP, CHILDISH GAMBINO
For those unaware, Childish Gambino is the rap alias of Community’s Donald Glover. I’ll be honest, his raps are one of my least favourite parts of the album. Some are incredible, some are a little lacklustre. But what I do love about this album is the production, from the music to the backing vocals to the tracklisting. It all fits together brilliantly. And this album features my favourite lyric of the year: “You can fuckin’ kiss my ass, Human Centipede!”
STANDOUT TRACKS: Outside, Bonfire.
8. SECRET CODES AND BATTLESHIPS, DARREN HAYES
Darren Hayes, let me love you. That is all I need say. (This album would probably be higher, except I’ve only listened to it once so far.)
STANDOUT TRACKS: Taken By The Sea, Nearly Love, Black Out the Sun, Bloodstained Heart.
9. 21, ADELE
Scraping the barrel a bit here, since I’m not a big Adele fan, but I do respect her voice and her lyrics, and feel she has earned her popularity. Plus, there are some absolute belters on here.
STANDOUT TRACKS: Rolling in the Deep.
10. ECHOES, WILL YOUNG
I love Will Young, but as with Darren Hayes, this is low because I haven’t had much opportunity to listen to it.
STANDOUT TRACKS: Jealousy.
HONOURABLE MENTION: Cinderella’s Eyes, Nicola Roberts. I wrote the majority of this list before Christmas Day, and I got this album as a Christmas present.
TOP 10 TELEVISION SHOWS OF 2011
1. BEING HUMAN
While I always expect Being Human to feature in my top 10, I never thought it would reach number #1 on my list. It has always been good, but this year exceeded all my expectations. There were many reasons I loved it: (Annie, George, Nina, Lia, the scripts, the story arc, Robson Green and Michael Socha, and most of all Mitchell and HERRICK.) How sad that my two favourite elements are now gone from the show. I was still excited for where it would go next, but given Russell Tovey will also be leaving next year, this number 1 spot feels a little bittersweet. Nevertheless, I have faith in Toby Whithouse.
STANDOUT EPISODE: The Longest Day (I’m only picking one because they were all of high quality, but this was the best of them all.)
2. DOCTOR WHO
So many complaints from people about Doctor Who this year! I understand some of them, but I still thought it was a brilliant year. Some lacklustre episodes, but they were hardly SLITHEEN bad, were they? Plus, the great episodes were fantastic, we got some excellent character development for Amy and particularly Rory in episodes like The Girl Who Waited, a Neil Gaiman episode, and excellent supporting characters like Canton Everett Delawere III and Rita (RIP). And Matt Smith is still precious. I think I’m endeared to him so much because of how much he reminds me of Patrick Troughton, my favourite Classic Who Doctor.
STANDOUT EPISODES: The Impossible Astronaut, The Doctor’s Wife, The Girl Who Waited.
3. HORRIBLE HISTORIES
For the second year in a row, silly yet educational children’s show Horrible Histories has beaten out adult-oriented rivals to win Best Sketch Show at the British Comedy Awards. Because it is WONDERFUL.
STANDOUT MOMENTS: Dick Turpin, Kings and Queens Song, William Wallace, SHOUTY MAN!
4. COMMUNITY
Because of the way US TV works, this counts the second half of season 2 and season 3 so far. It is still the cleverest sitcom on television and I hope to God we get more, because that last episode was perfect. And I need more Troy and Abed in my life.
STANDOUT EPISODES FROM S2 (post-Christmas): Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking, Critical Film Studies, Paradigms of Human Memory, A Fistful of Paintballs, For A Few Paintballs More.
STANDOUT EPISODES FROM S3: Remedial Chaos Theory, Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism, Regional Christmas Music.
5. MERLIN
Merlin has got DARK this year, while also being sillier (eg. whenever Dragoon appears, random pantsless Arthur) and I LOVE IT. It has Merlin and Arthur being proper friends and Gaius being wonderful and KNIGHTS and less reliance on bad CGI and three major deaths in the first three episodes which was a bit of a whammy. My only big complaints are that I miss King Giles and Agravaine was a massive dick with no real justification like Morgana and King Giles had. Well, there was his being Ygraine’s brother but that had barely any attention paid to it.
STANDOUT EPISODES: The Darkest Hour, The Wicked Day, A Servant of Two Masters, Lancelot du Lac, The Sword in the Stone.
6. BLACK MIRROR
This was all so bleak but so amazing. I can never look at pigs, reality TV or Facebook the same again.
STANDOUT MOMENT: Everything
7. THE APPRENTICE
TOOOOOOOOOOOOM. This is the first time ever that the contestant I’ve supported right through the show has won. Tom was so adorable. He was always on the losing team, and yet he WON. Plus, Nick Hewer is my sour faced little prince.
STANDOUT MOMENTS: Jedi Jim, Tom being adorable.
8. STRICTLY COME DANCING
This was the best year for Strictly contestants ever. All three finalists (Jason, Chelsee, Harry) fully deserved the title, and Russell Grant was just so wonderfully optimistic about everything that he inspires me. But also, BRUNO TONIOLI. He is fabulous. I want him to be my friend, and for every reality show judge to be him.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS: Jason Donovan, Chelsee Healey, Harry Judd, Russell Grant
9. 8 OUT OF 10 CATS
I never used to be into this, but when Jon Richardson joined it became amazing. I’m not saying that’s entirely down to Jon, because I think Sean Lock’s hilarious, but I think Jon, Sean and Jimmy Carr all work really well together. There’ve been some unfortunate guests though.
STANDOUT MOMENT: Just Jon Richardson.
10. DREW CAREY'S IMPROV-A-GANZA
WHY DID YOU GET CANCELLED? WHY?! The return of the Whose Line cast in a more adult show with Chip and Jeff as regulars? A woman (Heather Anne Campbell) who could more than hold her own against them? COLIN MOCHRIE? It was almost perfect! (Could have used less Kathy and Sean.)
STANDOUT MOMENTS: Amantha and Teven, Sex-Butt, Flap My Jack...AND MANY OTHERS.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Good News Week/Good News World, which was #10 until I realised I'd forgotten Improv-A-Ganza.
Torchwood: Miracle Day, for I haven’t seen all of it yet.
Neighbours, because it’s Neighbours.
Misfits, for the same reasons as Torchwood.
Downton Abbey, for the same reasons as Torchwood.
Would I Lie To You?, because it was just as good as always, but not different in any significant way to warrant adding to the list.
Pointless, because it's the most awesome quiz show there is.
The Choir, because GARETH MALONE.
Wonders of the Universe, because PROF BRIAN COX.
Frozen Planet, because CRIMINAL PENGUINS.
FOLKS I'VE MET IN 2011
Neil Buchanan
Jason Orange and Howard Donald of Take That (I'm counting a handshake at the tour as meeting.)
JON RICHARDSON!
Norman Lovett from Red Dwarf
The Axis of Awesome
Various other comedians in Edinburgh when interacting during shows
Alex Day, of youtube and (now) UK chart fame
themetunes, jemzamia, and re-met tabimendou and jesse_kips
BOOKS CAN BE FOUND IN A SEPARATE POST, UNDER THE 2011 ROUND-UP TAG.