The Top 5 Movies I'm Looking Forward To In 2011

I didn't get to watching a classic ep of Nip/Tuck for you guys this week like I had planned, so here's a haphazardly put together list of the top five movies that I'm looking forward to in 2011, a surely transformative year that will also see the premiere of Blogulator Radio and the return of our annual list-o-mania tradition, both of which you will hopefully see in January. Really, I'm already sick of making year-end lists after guest-contributing to our buddies Reviler here and here, and also recently submitting lists to another site I write for, Audiosuede, so I'm trying to think forward here, and come back to worrying about 2010 at a later date. So who's excited with me for the following...?

1. The Tree of Life wr./dir. Terrence Malick

It's finally happening! No, like for real! Finally following up 2005's The New World, the most epic and pretentious filmmaker of all time returns with an even less concrete narrative, this time centering simply on "multiple generations" and "a loss of innocence", meaning it will be beautiful, devastating, and just a wee bit sleepy. Oh man I am just imagining how serene it will feel to be sitting in that movie theater as the cinematography pastels and hazy voice-overs wash over me. Precisely what the doctor ordered! Can't wait! I'm using exclamation points even though Sean Penn will be involved!

2. Your Highness wr. Danny McBride & Ben Best, dir. David Gordon Green

I know it's ridiculous and probably doesn't count as a "film" to most, especially those that watch it simply for obvious reasons, but I really think Pineapple Express is one of the finest friendship movies of the 2000s. It has the Apatow signature without any of his sentimental and/or masturbatory trappings, plus my newest favorite director, David Gordon Green's panache for sweeping yet lean camerawork and setpiece arrangements. So while I am weary of the idea of setting another touching stoner comedy in medieval times, it doesn't mean I won't wait with bated breath to see what they do with the strange combination.

3. Moneyball wr. Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillan, dir. Bennett Miller

As Qualler mentioned yesterday, this movie is going to rock. Unlike the two above, which I'm arguably more excited about because I've been invested in Malick and Gordon Green longer but do not have the undeniable dialogue prowess of Sorkin, this one is sure not to disappoint. Still a relative newbie to the Sorkin fanbase, I've seen The Social Network twice now and have decided it will take a miracle for it not to be the best film of 2010, and I've voraciously watched the first three seasons of The West Wing and am still craving more (though I've heard Sorkin leaves and/or mentally checks out after S4 sadly), it won't even matter that this is a movie about baseball. It will matter that it's Sorkin droppin' knowledge.

4. The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made wr. Jason Segel, dir. James Bobin

Speaking of both the good parts of the Apatow crowd and TV people rejuvenating the big screen, would you believe it if I told you the rebirth of the Muppet movie is going to do both? Well probably, if you follow the blawgs. But regardless, Segel is possibly the most talented of the Apatow bunch, in terms of pure narrative joy. He's a pouty manchild like them all, but what Forgetting Sarah Marshall had that no other Apatow flick have ever had is effervescence and a carefree attitude, so I think he'll be a natural with the Muppets while still giving them the wink-wink edge needed to recapture the sarcastic older kids-in-adults'-bodies. And Bobin, director of many Flight of the Conchords eps, is equally adept at creating a world both wryly realistic and goofily fantastical, so it could be a perfect match!

5. Scream 4 wr. Kevin Williamson, dir. Wes Craven

You can't stop me from wanting it to be awesome! First, hear me out. I have it on good authority from a Blogulator reader and fellow Kevin Williamson apologist that The Vampire Diaries is actually a good trashy soap and is getting better as Williamson lets the characters get more and more ridiculous. If this is indeed true, I have nothing but faith that his return to movies (and not just any movie - the franchise that made him in the first place) will provide the perfect venue for his authentically meta and riotously entertaining voice. And if Craven just works the scares right, then the rest should be cake. After all, we should all remember that Williamson had nothing to do with Scream 3, so give this a chance if you haven't already planned on it!

This entry was posted by chris, on Tuesday, December 07, 2010. You can leave your response.