This Year's Talked About Films - Write a Review
Thu 8 Dec 2011 / Film Chat
From scouring the press and review sites, there seems to have been a lot of chat and buzz about these films We want to know what you think, what you really think of the films you have been to see this year Has one film stuck in your mind for one reason or another, for good or bad that you’d like to tell us about? Write a review and tell us what you really feel…let loose You don’t have to limit yourself to this list, what’s important is the strength of feeling you had towards the film you are writing about!
- Tyrannosaur – Director: Paddy Considine
- We Need To Talk About Kevin – Director: Lynne Ramsay
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – Director: David Yates
- Bridesmaids – Director: Paul Feig
- Hugo – Director: Martin Scorsese
- Moneyball – Director: Bennett Miller
- Source Code – Director: Duncan Jones
- The Descendants – Director: Alexander Payne
- The Ides of March – Director: George Clooney
- The Tree of Life – Director: Terence Malick
- Super 8 – Director: JJ Abrams
- My Week With Marilyn – Director: Simon Curtis
- Wuthering Heights – Director: Andrea Arnold
- Pina – Director: Wim Wenders
- The Skin I Live In – Director: Pedro Almodovar
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Director: Tomas Alfredson
- Margaret – Director: Kenneth Lonergan
- The Artist – Director: Michel Hazanavicius
- Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn – Director: Steven Spielberg
- Thor – Director: Kenneth Branagh
Your reviews
A massive thank you from ScreenHI for your reviews of your favourite films from 2011 Honest opinion helps film lovers cut the crap and just watch the movies that are worth it and appealing to their tastes Keep 'em coming, we will continue to upload your reviews if you keep sending them in You can write more than one if you want.
Pina - Director: Wim Wenders
Reviewer: David Newman
I recently saw ‘Pina’ at Eden Court cinema in Inverness. The film is a celebration of one of the most brilliant and yet controversial contemporary dancer and dance choreographers ever. However, her contribution to this art form is undeniable. German film maker Wim Wenders became mesmerised by Pina when he first saw her company in the mid eighties, and from that time onwards he had always wanted to film her, her work and her incredible group of dancers. However, he never felt he could do justice to them or the dance pieces. Eventually, Wenders began looking at 3D technology as a possible way forward but it really wasn’t ready when he first looked at it. By the time Pina died in 2009, the technology had moved on and Wenders had already begun filming, although, he seriously considered cancelling the project. Well, thank goodness he didn’t, because Pina is a glorious celebration of the life of an exceptional person, and it’s also celebration of life itself told and reflected through dance itself. There are pieces in this film that will leave you breathless, amazed, sad, happy and wondrous I’ve yet to see another 3D film that justifies the new medium as well as this film. Far better than all the awful CGI based 3D movies that seem to get churned out by the studios on a regular basis. Go experience Pina!
Drive – Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Reviewer: Adam Cook
It's not always easy to tell at what point you fall in love with a film, normally it just creeps up on you but on rare occasions you can pinpoint it exactly. Watching Drive that point came with the introduction of the first musical note, a mere minute into the movie. I can't explain why, it wasn't even particularly memorable looking back at it, but it was the point that I knew I was going to be happy wherever director Nicolas Winding Refn wanted to take me. Drive is very much a movies movie, a film drenched in filmic references of the past yet still feeling utterly fresh and contemporary. The comparisons with '80s era Michael Mann are inescapable (particularly Thief) in its deliberate and pitch-perfect pacing, minimal dialogue and air of undeniable cool. Yet at its heart it is perhaps closest to the George Stevens' classic Western, Shane, thankfully without the irritating child in tow. But for all the elements it cribs from other films it still stands on its own. It shares the style of Mann but is no mere imitator, the story may be markedly similar to Shane but there is an original twist to the classic tale.
Drive is a rather deceptive film. Your immediate response is to the surface details; the beautiful cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel or the perfectly judged score and soundtrack choices. These distractions and the simple narrative can divert you away from how expertly the editing is used to reflect the mental state of the Driver (notice how even when driving fast the car always appears to be coasting until a job goes wrong and he is taken out of his comfort zone. It is only then that the true speed is shown on screen) or how much is said with so few words. These are not deep characters, to the point where Driver's development is expressed most clearly through a garment of clothes as he transforms from the frog to scorpion, but they are performed so beautifully it doesn't matter. The romantic relationship between Driver and Irene (another great Mulligan performance) bristles with both tension and passion, she presents more danger than any robbery or film stunt yet also provides the safety and hope that Driver has removed from his life. These aren't new story ideas but few films have delivered them with such style and efficiency before. The punctuation of bloody violence is shocking but never gratuitous, which is surprising considering just how graphic it is in places. Instead it fits both the world of the film and the character of Driver as words were never going to solve his problems.
Like all the best things in life, Drive will not be loved by all. It is a film that will win you over early or not at all (I should know, the other people I saw it with hated it) but if it does grab hold you'll be hard pressed to find a better film this year.
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