My 2011 Best (And Worst) Pictures

I'm not watching the Oscars live. I'm recording it and plan to zoom through it, skipping over a lot of the stuff that I know won't hold my interest. If it weren't for Billy Crystal being the host I probably wouldn't watch at all. I only saw one of the Best Picture nominees, "Moneyball," and there are like 27 movies I saw that were better. At this link you'll find all the grades for the films I saw in 2011. I saw a lot fewer movies last year -- just 54 in all. A big reason for this is my schedule, with going back to work in mid-October cutting back on my free time. That, and a natural tendency for procrastination, is why this particular post is being done at the end of February.

If I should happen to see any more 2011 movies that are still in theaters, I'll update the list as needed. Until then, here are my rankings for my own personal 10 best and 5 worst movies. (Remember, if I didn't actually see it I can't include it no matter how good or bad it might be.)

My Top 10

Quick Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

I'm behind in writing my movie reviews again -- two movies I saw over two weeks ago and two more I saw this week -- so I'm going to try and do four short posts over the next day or so, starting with the animated "Kung Fu Panda 2." For some reason the box office figures for the first weekend weren't as high as those for the first KFP (even factoring in money from 3D showings), and I really don't know why because the sequel is right up there, quality-wise. Our hero, Po (voice of Jack Black), the Dragon Warrior, and the Furious Five are tasked with stopping the evil Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), who has developed a powerful weapon that seemingly can't be stopped even by the most skilled kung fu practitioners. But Po is troubled by flashbacks of his mother, and needs to achieve inner peace before the fight is hopelessly lost. Lovely animation and, rare for a sequel, real character development. My grade: A-minus.