Totally Top 10

In July, we posted a list about some highly anticipated action films for 2011.  Sadly, some of them (ahem, Green Lantern) didn’t live up to our expectations.  Since movie lists of late have been getting a lot (and I mean a LOT) of criticism, we present the top 10 best action movies of 2011 so far, in order of lowest ranking on RottenTomatoes.com to highest ranking.  Just so you know there is some sort of order in involved.  So, working back from the lowest ranking to the best, here are the top 10 action movies. Movies that were deemed more fantasy (Harry Potter) and more thriller than action movie were not included.

10. Sucker Punch

This may not have been the best action movie of 2011 (hence the #10 spot) because of the weak writing, poor character development, and slightly exploitative nature, but you have to admit one thing - it was truly stunning visually.  And, despite the criticism, it’s hot chicks kicking ass with amazing computer-generated special effects.   Since when does an action movie have to be Oscar-worthy to be fun to watch? The fantasy sequences should be sold separately on a 20-minute DVD and that would make me happy.  Sexy women fighting, zombies, Nazis, dragons, giants, robots and monsters should be enough for any action film connoisseur. One of the great action scenes from a not-so-great action movie.

9. The Mechanic

Jason Statham has done MANY action movies.  In this one (a remake, right?) he is his usual, awesome self.  Fans of Statham will like it.  Movie critics, maybe not so much, but the stunts are great and the flaws are easy to ignore with action, and the performances of Statham and Ben Foster.

8. Hanna

The best thing about this movie is the actor who plays the title character - a young ingenue by the name of Saorise Roman.  The film is a treat visually, and even though the direction has been criticized, action fans and film fans will not be disappointed.

7. Bellflower

A small budget can go a long way.  The debut full length feature from Evan Glodell bursts with creativity and the passion of a  barely-controlled madman.  It’s violent, sure, and pretty out there.  But do we dare call it art?

6. Captain America: The First Avenger

There were a lot of expectations surrounding this movie.  The refreshing thing is that it doesn’t seem to try to hard to be something its not - which is more than we can say for some of the other superhero action movies out there.  Plus, Hugo Weaving.  Whoa.

5. Warrior

The cinematography was course, but the performances are stunning and despite the action and violence, the story is well-crafted and satisfying.  Nick Nolte does a superb job, and Tom Hardy gives a surprisingly deep performance.

4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

How do we feel about James Franco?  Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.  When one considers the expectations surrounding this movie (read:  none), it was not bad at all.  The reviews were mixed, and one reviewer even called the movie “a creature feature of disappointingly stupidity.”  Despite the plot holes, Rupert Wyatt directed this film well, and altogether, it was very, very watchable.

3. X-Men: First Class

How many X-Men movies have there been so far?  The first two were quite, quite good, but since then I haven’t even bothered.  This is a fanboy’s dream - and they picked good actors in James McAvoy and and Michael Fassbender as the young Professor X and Magneto, respectively.

2. Drive

As long as you don’t mind violence, and a lot of it, this movie is a quite a “ride.”  If you want intricate emotion and a detailed plot, this isn’t the movie for you, but if you don’t mind the visual mind trip and the 80’s soundtrack and you want pure, raw film making, check it out.  If you’re faithful to the 1978 film The Driver, you might hate this.  If you’ve never seen that movie, go ahead.

1. 13 Assassins

Why would I put a samurai movie at number one?  Especially when I know just how critical you guys can be?  Because this film, truly, is the best action film of 2011.  It’s a remake of a 1963 film, but it stands on its own as both the revival of a long-neglected genre and as a film with epic battles, a wildly evil villain, and a great storyline. Do your worst.  We haven’t mentioned Mission Impossible:  Ghost Protocol but the jury is out as to whether or not it would make it on a list of the top 10 best action movies of 2011, anyway.

If you haven’t noticed, movies sometimes defy classification.  Were there 10 fabulous horror movies in 2011?  Sort of.  While some might be action/horror or thriller/horror, or, in one case, comedy/horror, each of these movies had some of the basic elements of a horror movie, and therefore make the list.

10. Red State

Red State, Kevin Smith’s first horror movie (unless you could Clerks 2 as a horror movie), didn’t get the best reviews. Some called it forgettable, even, but I will tell you that Michael Parks seriously rocks in the film as the patriarchal religious leader Abin Cooper.  Between Park’s performance, the intense chase scenes around the Five Points Church, and the convincing yet subtle performance of John Goodman (who was a perfect choice for the role of Agent Joseph Keenan, it was a pretty solid film.  Some might argue that the plot falls a little flat, with important plot points being revealed in a conversation at the end, but those would do well to remember that the film had an overall small budget, and a special effects budget of only $5000.  My only complaint?  Just once, sometime, will someone cast Stephen Root as a total badass Lothario?  He’s a beast, and he plays a lot of sniveling jerks.

9. Paranormal Activity 3

After my misstep including The Hangover Part 2 on the 2011 comedy list, I was reluctant to put a sequel, prequel, or any other type of continuation on this list, but you know how it goes.  I could have easily substituted Grave Encounters - if I was just looking to fill certain slots on the list.  The thing is, Grave Encounters wasn’t as good as Paranormal Activity 3.  As “found footage” goes, this movie is every bit as good as the first one, and superior to the documentary-style Grave Encounters, which takes place in an abandoned mental asylum.  PA3 is a prequel that offers fear, dread, and thrills with a tad more character development than the first two movies.

8. Insidious

Saw director James Wan + Paranormal Activity writer Oren Peli = a scary movie.  While not as scary as I was hoping it would be, the first part of the movie moves along rather quickly, and haunted houses and possessed children are almost always a win.  Plenty of tension and drama, the film is satisfying for what it is.  Personally, I find it a little difficult to trust Patrick Wilson again after Hard Candy, but Rose Byrne and her ability to look SUPER concerned and angelically martyrific make up for my little quirk.

7. Black Death

I was surprised at the amount of gore in Black Death, which is one reason I deem it a horror movie instead of an action movie or drama.  That, and all the pagan rituals and Christian paranoia.  Sean Bean’s involvement with the popular series Game of Thrones might give this film some success in the rental/DVD sales.  Check this movie out if you want a necromancing, medieval, bloody, violent good time.

6. Fright Night

For those purists who would say that the remake of Fright Night is inferior to the original, I have two words to say to you.  Chris Sarandon.  Just kidding.  Sarandon was probably the best thing about the original, which was totally on point in 1985 and sort of ahead of its time.  This was a perfect time to remake the movie, because you can’t really compare them.  They’re from two completely different eras.  The script is  a lot more robust, probably because of Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons 1-7, etc.), and the cast has some heavy hitters.  Not Colin Farrell, who actually took the role of Jerry because he needed work, though he did a decent job as Jerry, but Anton Yelchin, Toni Collette, and David Tennant have some clout.  All in all, it’s fun.  Try it.

5. Stake Land

The concept is post Vampire Apocalypse, which is a refreshing change from all the zombies, right?  Nick Damici shines as the “Tallahassee” type character, though his character, and the movie in general is not tongue-in-cheek like Zombieland was.  Stake Land (despite the really dumb name) is darker, more serious, and better crafted than the zombie movie of similar pattern, though not as much fun.  It’s not supposed to be fun.  Called “The Road with vampires” by many critics, it has that urgent, desperate feel to it, but ultimately it’s Damici’s performance that stands out the most, rather than writer and director Jim Mickle’s commentary on the middle class.

4. The Woman

If you’re not familiar with writer/director Lucky McKee’s previous work, which includes the deeply disturbing 2002 film, May, this movie may come as a shock to you.  It’s brutally raw and violent.  But then, so was May.  Faithful to people he’s worked with previously, McKee brings back Angela Bettis as the wife of the man who finds a, well, feral woman in the woods and brings her home to “civilize” her.  Pollyanna McIntosh gives a stellar performance as “the woman,” and the film is shocking, yes, but beautiful in its own way.

3. I Saw the Devil

Technically, this is a 2010 movie, because it was released in South Korea in August of 2010.  It showed in some theaters in March of 2011, so for the U.S., it’s, by all rights and purposes, a 2011 horror film.  It is full of action, and could be considered a mystery or suspense film, but the story features a psychotic killer who is the embodiment of pure evil, so in my book, that’s a horror movie.  Choi Min-sik is truly terrifying as Kyung-chui, the unrepentant and evil killer, and although the film is unrelentingly bloody and violent, it still retains that human element that makes for an engaging film.

2.Wake Wood

The longtime horror house, hit-and-miss, Hammer Film Productions is back after its lackluster remake of Let The Right One In, Let Me In, released in 2010.  Wake Wood is surprisingly good, playing off our biggest fears of death and dying.  A married couple loses their daughter after a dog attack, and they participate in a pagan ritual to bring the girl back to spend three more days with her.  In return for this, they are “bound” to Wakewood, the place where the ceremony took place, and when they don’t want to return their daughter, all hell breaks loose.  If one does not expect too much, one will be pleasantly surprised to find that the movie is scary and made very well.

1. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

OK.  You’re going to say that this is a comedy, and should not be on this list, especially not in the number one spot.  If you’re the kind of person who wouldn’t list Shaun of the Dead as a horror movie, that is.  If you realize that horror and comedy (hello, Army of Darkness) can go together like peas and carrots, you’ll agree that this is the most fun horror movie to come out in 2011.  A crazy whirlwind where the bad guys aren’t really bad guys at all, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is wholly satisfying and full of gore, for good measure.  Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine are wonderful, and the movie is fun from start to finish.

Honorable Mentions:

Seconds Apart

Telepathic, homicidal, deeply creepy twins.  Enough said.

TrollHunter

Is it a fantasy flick?  A mockumentary?  Whatever it is, it’s good.  But seeing as it’s PG-13 and falls more into the fantasy category, we put it as an honorable mention.  There is supposed to be an American remake sometime in 2014, and I’m sure it will be straight horror then.

A while back we did a list on the top 10 best nose jobs.  We showed you some durn pretty noses on some of the most famous, and most beautiful people in the celebrity world.  Money, sadly, doesn’t always mean that plastic surgery is going to go as planned.  Some plastic surgeons will mess up a nose even though they are paid exorbitant amounts of money.   And some celebrities are too silly to realize that the nose they were born with was better than one they could pay for.  Here are the top 10 worst celebrity nose jobs.

10. Jennifer Gray

This could technically be considered the number one worst celebrity nose job, not because the resulting nose was so bad, but because the loss of Jennifer’s distinctive nose pretty much ruined her career.  However, it’s not a bad nose, the new one, so it sits at number 10, because some of the following noses are real doozies.

9. Linda Evans

Remember her?  Krystle Carrington from Dynasty?  Her bad nose is just one factor of an entire mess of bad plastic surgery decisions.  Sure, she has idiopathic edema, which causes swelling ,but I’m sure the unecessary plastic surgery hasn’t done that condition, or her career, any favors.

8. Priscilla Presley

The girl who first met Elvis when she was 14 years old, went on to marry him (and he cheated on by him) and would later have her own fragrance and appear on Dancing With The Stars had her youthful, natural nose replaced with a very course, straight nose.  Her later nose appears to have had a bump inserted, perhaps in an attempt to recapture the original.  Or should we say, failed attempt.

7. Lisa Rinna

Lisa Rinna of Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place is no stranger to plastic surgery.  She’s had eye lifts, tummy tucks, and work to have her poochy pout stay poochy.  Her nose job isn’t so bad, but her original nose was much better.  What was the point, Lisa?

6. Janice Dickenson

What is about former models?  Right - they’ve made their fortune on their looks and they want them maintained.  Unfortunately, for the once-beautiful Janice Dickenson, the knife has been her worst enemy.  Better she had aged gracefully than to make her natural nose more bulbous, make her eyes more hooded, and make her once-perfect mouth pulled and stretched like taffy.  Shame.

5. Joan Rivers

The queen of gossip, maven of the red carpet, and former stand-up comedian has had plenty of plastic surgery, and isn’t afraid to admit it.  But the nose she chose (yes, it rhymed) is so different from her real nose that she had to alter her whole face to make it work.  Actually, I don’t know if that’s true, but her nose (and her eyes, and her jaw) sure turned out weird.

4. Lil Kim

Lil Kim’s natural nose fit her face and looked good.  The middle picture shows the result of her first nose job, which was weird and awful.  The third picture shows a nose that has been straightened out a little.  She’s obviously had some cheek implants too.  If that first picture is her she looks way, way different.

3. Donatella Versace

Versace’s nose was stately and very handsome to start with, and her altered nose shows that her surgeon really was at a loss - that actually looks like scar tissue on the bridge of her nose, indicating that the doctor removed bits he or she shouldn’t have.  Donatella should have left well enough alone.

2. Carrot Top

Maybe having a nose that looks like it was shaped out of silly putty is good for a comedian.  I wonder what happens when he presses it to newsprint.

1. La Toya Jackson

The Jacksons all had it rough.  La Toya’s brother Michael Jackson certainly had one of the worst nose jobs ever, but I didn’t put him on this list because I don’t like to make fun of him.  You can find plenty of other places on the internet that do.  La Toya took a perfectly lovely nose and face and turned it into something almost cartoonish.  In more cheerful news, there is a milkshake named after her at Millions of Milkshakes (located in West Hollywood).  It has raspberries, strawberries, caramel, and has a Cadbury flake in the whipped cream.  Delicious!

Everybody loves a good holiday film.  At least, everyone loves a a great holiday film.  Here is Adam Z’s list of the top 10 holiday films, and it quite an eclectic mix.  It includes comedies, classics, shorts, and more.  Check it out:

10. Bad Santa

Never has bad been so, so good! Raunchy and crude are not usually terms used to describe Christmas movies, and this one is not for the kiddies. Nonetheless, Billy Bob Thornton  is brilliant in the role of a thieving department store Santa who starts the film as a self-hating loser, but in the end regains his soul when he befriends a poor, outcast boy who despite all indications to the contrary, believes in the goodness of old St. Nick.  Too bad there isn’t a scene we could show you that didn’t have foul language in it - so here is the trailer.

9. Planes Trains and Automobiles

This epic road trip movie staring Steve Martin and the late, great, John Candy is as heart- tugging as it is gut-busting funny. Martin is trying to get home for the holidays and circumstances beyond his control force him to hitch his wagon to shower ring salesman Candy’s wagon. The ride is laugh-out-loud funny, until it takes an unforeseen twist that makes this comedy a holiday-season classic.

8. Days Like This – Loneliness

I love animated shorts. This recently released Irish-made short, set in the holiday season, is so simple and poignant that it had to make the list. The animation style is haunting and the story captures the melancholy that is often the dark underbelly of the ho-ho-ho season.

7. A Very Buzzy Christmas

One of my all-time favorite holiday stories is Dickens’ Christmas Carol. There have been all sorts of renditions of this classic tale. My favorite live-action version features George C. Scott. This new, animated short, made my short list, because, it is well done, captures the flavor of the times we live in and the back story of the couple that made it, makes the story even more heart-warming. I came across their story in my local newspaper. The husband was laid off and instead of wringing his hands he and his wife decided to follow their dream of making good and meaningful animation for kids.

6. The Family Man

When I first saw this movie I had no expectations of anything great. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni are great in this sometimes funny, sometimes sappy tale. With the help of some holiday magic, workaholic Cage gets a chance to see what life would be like if he had married his long-lost college sweetheart. He gets to find out which path is more fulfilling- financial success or emotional connection.

5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

This third offering in the Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) saga, is, for my money, the best in the series. Every-man Griswold just wants to give his family the best holiday ever, but his cheap boss, his crazy relatives and a mad squirrel threaten to destroy his dreams. This slapstick romp has a heart of gold that makes it one of my favorites.

4. Die Hard

Sometime laughs and tears just won’t cut it during the holidays. Sometime you are just in the mood for action. This franchise-starter from 1988, introduces the world to New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he comes to LA and fights a band of terrorists led by Alan Rickman. The action takes place on Christmas Eve and McClain is tasked with saving the day from that evil “Grinch” Rickman.

3. Elf

I can not imagine a top ten movie list without one of my favorite actors, Will Ferrell being represented. This 2003 offering is a sweet sugar plum of a movie about a boy raised by Santa who goes in search of his real family. This is a funny, heartwarming tale for the whole family

2. Groundhog Day

I will cut to the chase. This movie is comedy gold, wrapped up neatly in a wonderful holiday package.  Bill Murray is an insensitive weatherman who gets stuck in a time warp until he learns what life and love are all about.  This movie is funny, funny, but also deep… so watch out that first step, it’s a doozy!

1. It’s A Wonderful Life

As good as the other movies are on this list, the number one spot for me, was never in doubt. This black and white, uber-classic, is a Frank Capra masterpiece. I have seen it at least 10 times and I swear each time I see something new in it. Jimmy Stewart is perfection as a small town banker George Bailey, who through no fault of his own, finds himself on brink of financial ruin. Distraught over having let his dreams get away and letting his family down, he considers ending it all. That is until his guardian angel shows him how the world would have been a very different place without him. List by Adam Z.

justinrampage:

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World joins the epic old school / current movie poster redesign collection by Mark Welser. You can purchase any of these 11”x17” posters for only $20 at his Etsy store.

If a print is not available, drop him a request on Etsy.

11 x 17 Movie Prints by Mark Welser (Etsy)

Great posters

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justinrampage:

Coming Novermber 30th, the super lucky folks in Australia will be able to sport these awesome custom DC Comic License Plates by Vic Roads Custom Plates. The collection will be available as an upgrade to each existing 3x3 general issue plate and available from $195 (Slimline is an additional $30).

DC Comics License Plates (Australia) by Vic Roads Custom Plates

Via: The Mary Sue | Forever Geek

johnapplez:

Vegetarian meatless jerky, bbq & chili. Sounds interesting.

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V-jerky sounds pornoriffic!

• Question: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT? - tumblrbot
• Answer:

  My Brain.

stephenflevy:

Props to #Ogilvy for this awesome #advertising campaign that promotes a timeless American institution. 

This makes me want to listen to the Avett Brothers right now.

Some healthy beards there.

Hungover owls.

The Owl may be nature’s wisest animal but being labeled as such, with every little creature of the animal kingdom looking to the tree lines for answers, is sometimes more than some can bare. Here are ten owls who seemingly have taken to the bottle in efforts to temper their all-knowing minds.

Read more: http://totallytop10.com/current-affairs/odd-news/top-10-hungover-owls

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