2012 Preview!

With the Academy Awards in the rear view, lets look at what to expect from here on out in 2012. 

March:

2nd-Project X: Being compared to Superbad, trailers leave something to be desired, but why not take the suddenly popular shaky cam strategy to comedy?

9th-John Carter: Based off the popular book John Carter of Mars. Looks promising, lets hope the graphics are better in the actual film though.

16th-21 Jump Street: Remake of the Johnny Depp TV series stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. A great preview has me very excited for this. 

23rd-The Hunger Games: Fans of the book series are very excited for this, and it appears to be a likely box office juggernaut.

30th-Wrath of the Titans: Sam Worthington says he was terrible in the first one and is going to do better this time, the hair cut is not convincing me of that. The entire cast returns. 

30th- Mirror, Mirror: The first of the Snow White films of 2012, aimed at children, and looks terrible. 

April

4th- Titanic 3D: One of the greatest films of all time, now in 3D.

6th- American Reunion: The 4th theatrically released Pie film, focuses on the 10 year reunion, and the entire cast from the first film returns. 

13th-Cabin in the Woods: Long delayed Joss Whedon film. First preview showed this will not be your typical Cabin based horror film. 

13th- The Three Stooges: Movie based off the classic program, looks absolutely terrible. One of the most unfunny trailers for a comedy film I have ever seen. 

27th- The Raven: John Cusack stars as Edgar Allen Poe, helping to hunt a serial killer who is basing his victims on Poe's work. Looks very similar to From Hell, and that is a compliment. 

May

4th- The Avengers: Start the summer with a bang. Marvel only has this film this year, but its the big one. 

11th- Dark Shadows: Johnny Depp stars in this take on the television show about a supernatural family. Tim Burton is directing. 

11th- The Dictator: The next from Sasha Baren Cohen, hopefully more like Borat than Bruno. 

18th- Battleship: From Peter Berg comes this alien invasion movie based off the board game. Whether or not you will like this depends on if you think Rihanna will be believable as a naval officer. Really that's all it comes down to. I will not be liking this movie. 

25th- Men in Black 3: Preview looks depressing. Will Smith as J has to go back in time to save a young K from being killed. This looks like one of those series that should have just been a single film. 

June

1st- Snow White and the Huntsmen: Looks like the Gladiator version of Snow White, and looks much better than Mirror, Mirror. 

8th- Prometheus: The prequel to Alien that's not really a prequel, just another story in the same universe. Watch out for this movie being an Oscar sleeper (assuming the Oscar voters can remember that movies do come out before November).

15th- Rock of Ages: Based off the popular play, involving lots of great music, and a rock solid cast. 

15th- Jack the Giant Killer: Another fairy tale based film with a more adult feel. Bryan Singer brings the story of Jack to the big screen. 

22nd-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The first of two completely different Lincoln films, this one focuses on the 16th president's vampire killing spree. 

22nd-Brave: Yay! Pixar's back after a year off! (Cars 2 is not a real movie in my eyes).

29th- Gi Joe Retaliation: A sequel that seems to be trying to distance itself from its terrible predecessor. Channing Tatum returns, but they traded Marlon Wayans and Dennis Quaid for Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis. 

29th- Magic Mike: Also Channing Tatum, but also Matt Bomer and Matthew McConaughey, who play strippers.

July

3rd- The Amazing Spider Man: The director of the great (500) Days of Summer takes on the Spiderman Reboot. I hate the idea of rebooting a series already, but the newest trailer is warming me to the idea. 

20th- The Dark Knight Rises: The big one, an Oscar contender, and a contender to break Avatar's box office record, but lets just hope it overcomes the super hero trilogy curse. 

27th- Neighborhood Watch: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill in a movie about suburbanites keeping their neighborhood safe.

August

3rd- Total Recall: Another remake, this one stars Colin Farrel instead of Swarzenegger, and supposedly will stay closer to the source material.

17th- The Expendables 2: All the main guys are back, but with bigger roles for Willis and Swarzenegger, and the addition of Van Damme and Chuck Norris.

24th- Premium Rush: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bike messenger running from a corrupt cop (Michael Shannon). Looks promising.

31st- 7500: True Blood's Ryan Kwanten headlines this airplane ghost story.

31st- The Wettest County: Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Shia LeBeouf, and Guy Pearce in a prohibition era gangster movie, sold. And the Academy might be too. 

September

14th- Resident Evil 5: The next in the RE series, at this point you know what your getting. 

14th-Argo: Ah, the Oscar season starts here. Ben Affleck's 3rd film as a director, focuses on the Iranian hostage crisis. 

21st-Dredd: A remake of Judge Dredd starring Karl Urban, and supposedly stays closer to the source material. 

21st- Cogan's Trade: Brad Pitt plays a professional enforcer investigating a heist that went down during a high stakes poker game. Another Oscar contender. 

28th- Looper: The next from Rian Johnson (Brick), stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt. Story is a high concept piece of work about a killer (Bruce Willis) who disposes of his victims in the past. Until he notices one of his victims, is his past self. 

28th- Savages: From Oliver Stone, the story of two men (A very busy Taylor Klitsch, as well as Aaron Johnson) who go up against a Mexican drug Lord (Benicio Del Toro) to get their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) back. Oscar contender. 

October

TBA- Cloud Atlas: The next from Andy and Lana Wachowski, not much is known, but it stars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. Oscar contender.

5th- Taken 2: Liam Neeson returns in the sequel to the hit Taken. Not much is known about the plot, but I am sure Neeson will look serious and kill people. 

12th- Gangster Squad: Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, and Sean Penn in a Gangster movie. Definite Oscar contender.

19th-Paranormal Activity 4: No idea if they will connect it to the original trilogy, or start a new family. 

26th- Halloween 3D: The next Halloween film. 

26th- Alex Cross: Tyler Perry takes over the detective from Morgan Freeman who played him in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.

26th- Of Men and Mavericks- A Gerard Butler surfing movie. Might be an Oscar contender, but I'll wait for a trailer before deciding that for sure. 

November

2nd-Red Dawn: Long delayed remake of the Charlie Sheen/Patrick Swayze cult classic.

9th- Skyfall: The next Bond, but this one is directed by Sam Raimi and costars Javier Bardem.

16th-Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2: The final Twilight film, who lives and who doesn't?

19th- The Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence star in this David O'Russell film about a man (Cooper) who is released from a mental institution. Oscar contender.

21st- Rise of the Guardians: A Christmas themed cartoon about a demon fighting Santa. Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, and Alec Baldwin lend their voices.

December

TBA- Lincoln: Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln biopic starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th presdent. Co-stars Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tommy Lee-Jones. Oscar contender. 

7th- Les Miserables: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Anne Hathaway in Tom Hooper's take on the classic musical. Oscar contender. 

12th- World War Z: Brad Pitt and Matthew Fox in another zombie film. But this film appears to be more of a drama, and might be a zombie movie that gets Oscar consideration. 

14th- The Hobbit Part 1: Peter Jackson returns to tell the full tale of Bilbo Baggins. 

19th- Untitled Bin Laden Project: Katherine Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) directs the tale of how Bin Laden was killed. 

21st- Hunter Killer: Submarine thriller starring Gerard Butler and Sam Worthington.

21st- Life of PI: Ang Lee's film about a boy lost at see with only some captive zoo animals to keep him company. 

21st- This is 40: Spin off of Knocked Up, focusing on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters as they reach 40. 

25th- The Great Gatsby: Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire take on the classic. Leo may be fighting himself for the Best Actor...against...

25th- Django Unchained: Leo plays the villain to Jamie Foxx's freed slave and Christoph Waltz's bounty hunter in this Quentin Tarantion action film. 

This could be a great enough year to make up for how bad 2011 was. Several great Oscar contenders, and some high profile films should wash the Midnight in Paris stench off of us once and for all. Taylor Klitsch and Jennifer Lawrence seemed poised to be A list after this year, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt may finally be looked at as the elite actor he is. Did I miss any movies your excited for? Let me know in the comments. 

The top ten I am most excited for in 2012 is:

10. The Avengers

9. Cogan's Trade

8. World War Z

7. The Gangster Squad

6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

5. Prometheus

4. Skyfall

3. The Hobbit Part 1

2. Django Unchained

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Check back later this week, when I will do my (very) early Oscar predictions for 2012. 

-Maximus

Movie Review- The Double

Where the hell did this movie come from? No theatrical release, but seemingly at the forefront of many rental place's new release marketing? Some big stars (Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen), a smart plot, twists and turns, this is the kind of movie that I do not understand how it gets left out when films like Your Highness somehow get released in theaters. Now that I have raised expectations past a reasonable point, let me just say that The Double is not amazing, just very solid. Richard Gere continues to be the actor that time forgot despite not really losing any of his marketability, and he turns in a solid performance here. The Double is about a young agent (Topher Grace) who is the expert on a presumed dead Russian assassin. However when that assassin surfaces again, he must team up with the man who hunted him (Gere) to bring him down. If you have seen the previews, the film makes no secret of its big twist about a third of the way through, but if you felt like that was the only twist it had coming, you are wrong. Worth seeing when you get a chance, I give The Double 7 Ninja stars out of 10.

The Double is directed by Michael Brandt and stars Topher Grace, Richard Gere, Martin Sheen, Odette Annable, and Stephen Moyer.

-Maximus

Oscar Recap!

Sometimes (most times) I don't understand the Oscars. Because surely if its insanely obvious to me that one film has better special effects or sound effects than another, the voting bodies must see that too right? So I ask you this, why would Hugo win the Visual Effects and Sound Editing awards following a single train crash...? Films like Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Harry Potter clearly had wall to wall better special effects than Hugo, and films like Transformers had the metal sounds of transformers transforming, and building collapsing, and vehicles exploding, and gun fire....and Hugo still had...a train crash. I feel better after getting that off my chest, now on to the recap.

Best Picture: The Artist. Not a shocker in any way, shape, or form. There was no drama in this category.
Best Director: Michael Hazanavicious, The Artist. Also not a surprise here. Anyone could see this win coming a mile away.
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist. A bit of a surprise for me as I thought Clooney had enough early momentum to get the win despite Dujardin's late surge. This was his weakest acceptance speech so far, not as witty or clever as his Globes or SAG speeches.
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady. Another minor surprise. Viola Davis was the favorite, but Streep was hot on her heels. Streep was engaging and funny as has come to be expected from her.
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners. Zero surprise.
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help. Zero surprise.
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris. The favorite, even though its a terrible screenplay.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, The Descendants. Would be the only Descendants win on the evening, but was a solid and deserved win.
Best Visual Effects: Hugo. Should have been any of the other 4 movies in the category. I incorrectly thought Rise of the Planet of the Apes would win. I was wrong.
Best Cinematography: Hugo. I incorrectly picked The Tree of Life. Tree of Life had swept every single pre Oscars cinematographers award, but the Academy again blindly loved the overrated Hugo.
Best Editing: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Incorrectly picked The Artist. Happy to see the GwtDT win here though as it was my pick for "Should Win".
Best Sound Editing: Hugo. I picked Transformers, and this was another award that should have gone to any other nominee.
Best Sound Mixing: Hugo. This one Hugo deserved.
Best Makeup: The Iron Lady. Should have gone to Harry Potter. Harry Potter had equal aging effects, plus they made goblins, wizards, witches, giants, trolls, and monsters.
Best Animated Feature Film: Rango. The right pick.
Best Art Direction: Hugo. Another one of the few that Hugo actually deserved.
Best Costume Design: The Artist. Not nearly as fantastic as fellow nominees Anonymous and Jane Eyre, and even Hugo seemed to have better costumes.
Best Original Score: The Artist. A film that was all score, so well deserved.
Best Song: Man or Muppet, The Muppets. 50/50 shot, and I picked correctly.
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation. The clear favorite due to the screenplay nomination.
Best Documentary: Undefeated. I thought the Hollywood baby Paradise Lost 3 would win, but the underdog sports film took it home.
Best Documentary Short: Saving Face. I incorrectly chose The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.
Best Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. When in doubt, bet on Pixar.
Best Live Action Short: The Shore. Correctly chose this one based off the presence of Ciaran Hinds.

So I was correct on 14 out of 24 categories. Not as strong a showing as usual, but it was a strange year with no great films. Hugo's dominance in the technical categories was really unexpected and ridiculous. Lets hope we have a better Oscar year next year with The Hobbit, Django Unchained, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Great Gatsby.

-Maximus

Movie Ninjas Oscar Preview!

This is the second annual massive Oscar Preview! Where we break down every category and tell you what should win, what will win, what could win, and what could be a dark horse. Remember while I do some research, many of these are just my opinion, if you lose your Oscar pool based off my predictions....well feel free to berate me in the comments. Lets get to it!

Best Original Screenplay
Should Win: Margin Call
Will Win: Midnight in Paris
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse: A Separation
-One of the only categories where The Artist is not the favorite, but unfortunately, people seem to think Midnight in Paris was not completely terrible. My favorite was the witty, terrific screenplay for Margin Call.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Should Win: Moneyball
Will Win: The Descendants
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: Moneyball
-Moneyball was this years Social Network, but doesn't quite have the support. Hugo is the favorite right now as it credits a single writer, which the Academy traditionally loves, but I think this one will go to The Descendants.

Best Visual Effects
Should Win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Will Win: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Could Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Dark Horse: Transformers Dark of the Moon
-HP 7.2 should be a best picture nominee, and I think it may sneak in here as some members may see it as a consolation prize, but with the MoCap of RotPotA being all the rage, I see it deservedly winning.

Sound Mixing
Should Win: Hugo
Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: War Horse
Dark Horse: Moneyball
-Sound Mixing is the mixing of dialogue, background effects, and primary sound effects. That is why this is Hugo's to lose.

Sound Editing
Should Win: Transformers Dark of the Moon
Will Win: Transformers Dark of the Moon
Could Win: War Horse
Dark Horse: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-The actual sound category, the Transformers franchise has used sound very well. War Horse may still get credit for the three and a half minutes of actual war in the film.

Short Film Live Action
Will Win: The Shore
Could Win: Raju
Dark Horse: Time Freak
-I tend to assume the Academy will go dark material here (Raju), but last year gave it to the funny, touching God of Love, Time Freak could be this years light, funny winner. I however go with The Shore as it starred real actors, not sure that gives it a huge edge, but I think the Academy will like it.

Short Film Animated
Will Win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Could Win: La Luna
Dark Horse: A Morning Stroll
-Flying Books is Pixar, so I pick that, although the more technically impressive were La Luna and Wild Life, but the most French was Dimanche/Sunday. A Morning Stroll though is simple and engaging.

Music (Original Song)
Should Win: The Muppets
Will Win: The Muppets
Could Win: Rio
Dark Horse: They just forget the category exists this year.
-Only two nominees this year. The Muppets were more notable.

Music (Original Score)
Should Win: The Artist
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: War Horse
-Two John Williams scores in lesser movies will likely cancel each other out. No Hans Zimmer this year. Incumbent Trent Reznor was ignored for the terrific GwtDT score. So I'll say the film that was all score, The Artist, takes it home.

Makeup
Should Win: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Will Win: HP 7.2
Could Win: The Iron Lady
Dark Horse: Albert Nobbs
-A very close race, could go either way. But I'll say this goes to sci fi as it traditionally does. Albert Nobbs is the Dark Horse by default as its only a 3 nominee category, it will be one of the other two films.

Foreign Language Film
Should Win: A Separation
Will Win: A Separation
Could Win: In Darkness
Dark Horse: Bullhead
-A Separation got the screenplay nod, which makes it the favorite. But this train of thought has led me astray in other years. Out of 11 Foreign Language nominees nominated for a screenplay award, only 5 have actually won the Foreign Language film award. In Darkness received wide praise in the States.

Film Editing
Should Win: The Artist
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: Moneyball
-Technical category and Hugo is the technical darling of this years awards based off the number of nominations. But Editing many times goes to the eventual Best Picture winner. Moneyball had great editing between baseball/dialogue, but is a long shot.

Documentary Short
Should Win: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Will Win: The Barber of Birningham
Could Win: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Dark Horse: Saving Face
-Material usually wins out here, so civil rights movement vs devastating natural disaster vs woman whose husband threw acid on her face vs soldier who questions his motives in Iraq?

Documentary Feature
Should Win: Undefeated
Will Win: Paradise Lost 3
Could Win: Undefeated
Dark Horse: Pina
-Undefeated and Pina were the only ones with a theatrical release, so that helps them. But Paradise Lost 3 helped clear 3 men who has been in prison for a long time....and Johnny Depp supports it.

Costume Design:
Should Win: Jane Eyre
Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse(s): Anonymous
-Wide open as you can tell. Anonymous was the early favorite but didn't even get nominated by the Designers guild. W.E. won the guild award over Hugo, The Artist, and Jane Eyre... But I think Hugo picks up another win. However don't sleep on Jane Eyre, because the CD award sometimes goes in an unsuspecting way, and Jane Eyre should win this award.

Art Direction
Should Win: Hugo
Will Win: Hugo
Could Win: The Artist
Dark Horse: War Horse
-The Paris train station should win this one. The Artist still may pull it out in blind sweep fashion, but I say Hugo.

Directing
Should Win: The Artist
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: The Tree of Life
-Should easily be The Artist's award. But directors love The Tree of Life. But once again, the smart money is on The Artist.

Cinematography
Should Win: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Will Win: The Tree of Life
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse(s): The Artist
-Once again you always have to watch out for the "big" films of the year to blindly sweep award they don't deserve, but The Tree of Life has swept every award in this category since the beginning, so likely it will win here.

Animated Feature Film
Should Win: Rango
Will Win: Rango
Could Win: Chico & Rita
Dark Horse: A Cat in Paris
-With Tintin getting shut out here, the award goes to Rango. The only chance it doesn't is if the Academy tries to impress people and awards the adult animated films A Cat in Paris or Chico & Rita.

Actress Supporting
Should Win: Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Will Win: Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Could Win: No
Dark Horse: No
-This is Spencer's to win. It would be a huge upset if anyone else won.

Actor Supporting
Should Win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Will Win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Could Win: No
Dark Horse: Max Von Sydow (ELIC)....barely
-Not much of a race either, would be a huge upset as well.

Actress Lead
Should Win: Viola Davis (The Help)
Will Win: Viola Davis (The Help)
Could Win: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Dark Horse: No, either Streep or Davis.
-Neck and neck, to say Streep is the dark horse is underrating her chances. This could go either way, I say it goes Davis'.

Actor Lead
Should Win: George Clooney (The Descendants)
Will Win: George Clooney (The Descendants)
Could Win: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Dark Horse: Demian Bichir has a lot of industry support, but this is Clooney or Dujardin's.
-Again, neck and neck. Could honestly go either way. Dujardin is the favorite right now, but I say Clooney takes it.

Best Picture
Should Win: Harry Potter....wait.. The Help
Will Win: The Artist
Could Win: Hugo
Dark Horse: If there is one, Hugo
-Not much drama here. Its The Artist vs the field. And The Artist is the prohibitive favorite.

So what do we have? A lot of boring categories. 4 of the 6 biggest of the year (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress) are all locks. Hopefully Actor and Actress are enough to keep us interested...well that and Billy Crystal. As a final count, I have The Artist with 4 awards, Hugo with 3, and The Help with 2.

Check back again right before showtime as there may be some corrections made in the short categories.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Films of the Year

This is the last of six posts listing my top films, performances, and directing jobs of the year. In this post, we tackle the most important subject, the top films of the year.

10. Drive: Well directed, unique, and superbly acted. An action movie with very little action, a drama with very little dialogue, yet utterly engrossing from beginning to end.
9. Super 8: No other movie brought back childhood memories like Super 8, the joy of movies, and the joy of childhood, told against the backdrop of an alien invasion.
8. Beginners: What could of been a morbid or ridiculous movie about an elderly man coming out of the closet, then being diagnosed with cancer, turns into a quirky and unique film. One of the best screenplays of the year, and some great headlining performances.
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Made the Swedish version look like the B movie it was. Great performances, and director David Fincher embraced the dark instead of hiding from it.
6. Moneyball: A boring subject brought to great life by director Bennett Miller and stars Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. Miller ignored the obvious sports cliche's and made the sports films that behind the scenes sports enthusiasts wanted to see.
5. Margin Call: A tense, wall street thriller with great performances from Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, and Simon Baker. This generation's Wall Street, and the best money film since it.
4. The Descendants: The perfect example of a dramedy, a film that has great drama and funny comedy without the two stepping on each other's toes. Great performances from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley.
3. The Artist: A silent film that uses the silence to its aid, not as a gimmick. Great silent performances and the perfect actors cast in their roles. The best directed film of the year and one that came out of nowhere to really make an impact.
2. The Help: Five great performances, tough subject mater, and the right touch of levity make the film one of the powerhouses of the year. The films few ridiculous moments don't get in the way of a touching, poignant, and memorable film.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: A great film for more than just being the series capper, the actors hit their stride, and the material gave them the best chance to make a film that is absolutely a masterpiece. The film is a visual marvel, but is so much deeper than just that, and is the most re-watchable movie of the year.


So there it is, Maximus' top ten lists of the year. Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Director

This is the fifth in a series of six posts on what I felt were the best acting and directing performances, as well as films of 2011.

10. Tate Taylor-The Help: Directing actors is still directing, while The Help is not quite a directorial marvel, the way Taylor brought the huge cast together and still made semblance of it earns him a spot on this list.
9. Rupert Wyatt-Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Generally its hard to still have an element of surprise in prequels, but Wyatt made it happen in RotPofA. In addition, Wyatt masterfully mixed the motion capture with live action to make a visual masterpiece.
8. Bennett Miller-Moneyball: Same type of credit I have David Fincher last year, how do you make a boring subject into an entertaining movie? Like Fincher though, Miller nailed it. Miller earns a special place on this list for me as well for not trying to make the A's look like they actually won something that year, he acknowledged the fact they still only made it to the first round of the playoffs.
7. Alexander Payne-The Descendants: Great blend of drama and comedy, Payne never compromised the tragedy of the film for laughs, and never compromised the laughs to make it overly morbid.
6. JJ Abrams-Super 8: A monster movie that used the monster to set up a terrific story of young children and their bonds. You could tell it was a labor of love for Abrams and in a sense was a monster movie that was semi autobiographical.
5. JC Chandor-Margin Call: A film with no clear lead, a ton of great actors in small performances, and a story about the start of the market crash told over a 24 hour period? No problem for Chandor. He balances everything fantastically and the tension in the movie makes it seem more like a shoot out then a fire-sale.
4. Nicholas Winding Refn-Drive: Jumped up my list at the last minute, but from a directing standpoint, the film was a marvel. Refn used many amazing shots to tell his story, and as I stated in my review of the film, is one of the best shot films since Road to Perdition.
3. David Fincher-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Right from the first ten minutes of the film you can tell how amazing Fincher is at his job, and it continues for the next two hours.
2. David Yates-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Yates had a steady hand and was chosen to direct the last few films, they could not have made a better choice. Deathly Hallows as a whole was a great film, and what was left for Part 2 was exciting, and extremely well put together.
1. Michael Hazanavious-The Artist: The Artist is a silent film, that uses the silence as a main story point. Hazanavious took what could simply be a gimmick, and made a terrific film that was extremely well directed. Hazanavious' direction made even the biggest skeptics (me) into believers in The Artist.

-Maximus

Maximus' Top Ten of 2011-Best Actor

This is the 4th in a 6 part series detailing what my favorite performances, films, and directing jobs were in 2011.

10. Michael Fassbender-Xmen First Class: The perfect Magneto, he was smooth and charming yet full of anger, and you could always see it bubbling beneath the surface.
9. Ryan Gosling-Drive: A quiet performance, Gosling had to basically act as the lead in a two hour movie saying less than 40 words.
8. Thomas Horn-Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: While the character was annoying and very unlikable, you can't dispute the job that Horn did acting as a child with some very serious mental issues.
7. Ewan McGregor-Beginners: Hasn't been talked about much due to Plummer's great supporting performance, but was very good as the lead. McGregor was both the star and the narrator, and it was an interesting film to narrate, to say the least.
6. Tom Hardy-Warrior: Didn't have as many words to say as his co-lead Joel Edgerton, but had to have the scenes with Nolte as his recovering alcoholic father, and had to show his disdain for him in every look.
5. Leonardo DiCaprio-J. Edgar: The film didn't do him any favors with some poor makeup, but from youth to senior citizenship, DiCaprio was great as the man with a million secrets.
4. Daniel Craig-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Somewhat overshadowed by Mara's terrific performance, but was very good in his own right. The charming, brooding Blomvquist is not an easy part to play.
3. Brad Pitt-Moneyball: Moneyball in its own right was a bio of Billy Beane, and Pitt had to play it like that, but instead of a straight imitation, he made his own character, and showed his fear and vulnerability in every decision he made.
2. Jean Dujardin-The Artist: Never thought I would champion the cause of an actor in a completely silent film, but the way Dujardin used the silence and his facial expressions to show an incredibly funny, moving performance puts him at the number 2 spot.
1. George Clooney- The Descendants: Alexander Payne's films are interesting mix of funny and serious, and the Descendants was just that. Clooney had to be self aware, sad, grieving, strong, and funny, and he did it all.

Next will be Best Director.

-Maximus