2011 Films, Graded

109 Films.
Last updated 05/31/12 | Links go to related writings when applicable.
Ordered Alphabetically by Grade | # = Multiple Viewings |  * = not yet released in theaters

12 extras were screened but not released (in preference order) The Last Summer of La Boyita, SuperClásico, Copacabana, Dog Sweat, Aardvark, Stranger Things, Take Me Home, Domaine, Pig, Summer of Goliath, Whirligig, and The Wolf Knife

Do Not Miss Them

Cream of Crop

A
The Artist d. Michel Hazanavicius [REVIEW, top ten list] 2
A Separation d. Asghar Farhadi [REVIEW, top ten list] 2

A/A-  
Beginners  d. Mike Mills [REVIEW, top ten list] 2
Drive d. Nicolas Winding Refn [REVIEW,  top ten list] 3
Martha Marcy May Marlene d. Sean Durkin [REVIEW, top ten list] 2 
Poetry d. Lee Chang-dong [REVIEW,  top ten list]
Weekend d. Andrew Haigh [brief thoughts, INTERVIEW, top ten list] 2

A-/B+
Bridesmaids d. Paul Feig  [top ten list] 3
Certified Copy d. Abbas Kiarostami [7 word review, top ten list] 2 
Melancholia d. Lars von Trier 2 [ top ten list] 2
Moneyball d. Bennett Miller [REVIEW, top ten list] 2
Shame d. Steve McQueen [10 word review, a private party, honorable mentions] 2
Young Adult d. Jason Reitman  [honorable mentions] 2

Recommended with Enthusiasm

B+
The Future d. Miranda July
Heartbeats d. Xavier Dolan [REVIEW] 2
The Housemaid d. [10 word review,  honorable mentions] 2
Jane Eyre d. Cary Fukunaga [PODCAST] 2
Margaret d. Kenneth Lonergan
Midnight in Paris d. Woody Allen [PODCAST, honorable mentions] 2
Pariah d. Dee Rees [honorable mentions]
The Tree of Life d. Terrence Malick [thoughts , honorable mentions]
Tuesday After Christmas d. Radu Muntean [7 word review] 

B+/B
The Arbor d. Clio Barnard 2
Potiche d. François Ozon [10 word review] 
Project NIM d. James Marsh [capsule] 2
Rango d. Gore Verbinski [10 word review] 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes d. Rupert Wyatt [10 word review]
The Skin I Live In d. Pedro Almodovar [Ode to Art Direction] 2
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives d. Apichatopong "Joe" Weerathesakul [REVIEW]

B
Attack the Block d. Joe Cornish
Captain America: The First Avenger d. Joe Johnston [REVIEW]
Crazy Stupid Love d. Ficarra and Requa [thoughts]
The Help d. Tate Taylor [REVIEW] 3
Higher Ground d. Vera Farmiga [Interview]
Pina d. Wim Wenders [10 word review]
Rampart d. Oren Moverman [REVIEW, Interview] 2

Recommended with Reservations

B/B-
50/50 d. [REVIEW]
Arthur Christmas d. Sarah Smith
Carnage d. Roman Polanski  [REVIEW]
Coriolanus d. Ralph Fiennes 
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close d. Stephen Daldry
The First Beautiful Thing [La Prima Cosa Bella] d. Paolo Virzi [brief thoughts]
Fright Night d. Craig Gillespie [REVIEW]
Hugo d. Martin Scorsese [brief note, the filmmakers] 3
The Ides of March d. George Clooney [10 word review]
Kinyarwanda d. Alrick Brown
Like Crazy d. Drake Doremus
Making the Boys d. Crayton Robery [brief thoughts]
Meek's Cutoff d. Kelly Reichard [7 word review,  PODCAST]
Of Gods and Men d. Xavier Beauvois [7 word review]
One Lucky Elephant d. Lisa Leeman [capsule]  
The Robber d. Benjamin Heisenberg [brief thoughts]
Submarine d. Richard Ayoade 
Take Shelter d. Jeff Nichols
Troll Hunter d. André Øvredal
Tyrannosaur d. Paddy Considine 
Warrior d. Gavin O'Connor [REVIEW]
Water for Elephants d. Francis Lawrence [REVIEW]
Win Win d. Thomas McCarthy

Toss up. Surely some of you will like these more and less than I did.

B-/C+
Anonymous d. Roland Emmerich
The Adventures of Tintin d. Steven Spielberg 
Beautiful Boy d. Shawn Ku
A Better Life d. Chris Weitz
A Dangerous Method d. David Cronenberg [thoughts] 
The Eagle d. Kevin McDonald [REVIEW]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo d. David Fincher   
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie d. Kevin Tancharoen [REVIEW]
Hanna d. Joe Wright
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 d. David Yates [REVIEW]
Love Crime d. Alain Corneau
The Muppets d. James Bobin
My Week With Marilyn d. Simon Curtis [REVIEW]
No Strings Attached d. Ivan Reitman
Our Idiot Brother d. [REVIEW]
Sons of Tennessee Williams d. Tim Wolff [capsule] 
Source Code d. Duncan Jones [10 word review] 
Super 8 d. JJ Abrams [Thoughts]
Thor d. Kenneth Branagh [REVIEW]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy d. Tomas Alfredson
Transformers Dark of the Moon d. Michael Bay [10 word review]
We Are What We Are d. Jorge Michel Grau [7 word review]
X-Men: First Class d. Matthew Vaughn [REVIEW]

Not recommended

C+/C
Albert Nobbs d. Rodrigo García
Arthur d. Jason Winer [review]
Contagion d. Steven Soderbergh
Curling d. Denis Côté 
The Descendants d. Alexander Payne 
Happy Happy d. Anne Sewitsky
Happythankyoumoreplease d. Josh Radnor [capsule]
War Horse d. Steven Spielberg 
We Need to Talk About Kevin d. Lynne Ramsay 

C/C-
The Adjustment Bureau d. George Nolfi
Meet Monica Velour d. Keith Bearden [10 word review]
W.E. d. Madonna

C-/D+
The Immortals d. Tarsem
The Iron Lady d. Phyllida Lloyd 
Kaboom d. Gregg Araki [thoughts]
Nénette d. Nicolas Philibert [capsule]
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides d. Rob Marshall [REVIEW]
Vidal Sassoon the Movie d. Craig Teper

Make it stop

D+/D
Green Lantern d. Martin Campbell [REVIEW]
J Edgar d. Clint Eastwood [REVIEW]
The Other Woman d. Don Roos [review w/ comic strip!]
Septien d. Michael Tully  [10 word review]

D/D-
Abduction d. John Singleton [Thoughts, Worst of Year]
Beastly d. Daniel Barnz [Worst of Year]
Cars 2 d. John Lasseter & Brad Lewis [10 word review, Worst of Year]
I Am Number Four d. D.J. Caruso [capsule]
The Last Ride d. Harry Thomason 

F

2010 Films, Graded

130 Films. (Last updated 03/20/2011)
Ordered Alphabetically by Grade. (# Multiple Viewings)
Links go to related writings when applicable.
Top Ten List coming this week.

Don't miss them! 

A/A-

I Am Love d. Luca Guadagnino [articles] 2
The Kids Are All Right d. Lisa Cholodenko [review, "best in show", interview, articles] 3
Last Train Home d. Lixin Fan [review]
Prodigal Sons d. Kimberly Reid [reviews]
The Social Network d. David Fincher [review, "best in show", articles] 4

A-/B+

Animal Kingdom d. David Michôd ["best in show", interview, articles] 2
Another Year d. Mike Leigh [articles, honorable mention] 2
Applause d. Martin Zandvliet [review, honorable mention] 2
Black Swan d. Darren Aronofsky [7 word review, articles] 2
Blue Valentine d. Derek Cianfrance [capsule review, articles]
The Fighter d. David O. Russell [articles] 2
Fish Tank d. Andrea Arnold [top ten]
The Ghost Writer d. Roman Polanski ["best in show", articles, top ten]
How To Train Your Dragon d. [personal anecdote, top ten list] 2
The Illusionist d. Sylvain Chomet [honorable mention]
Kawasaki's Rose d. Jan Hrebek [honorable mention]
Mother d. Bong Joon-ho [honorable mention]
A Prophet d. Jacques Audiard [runner up]
Rabbit Hole d. John Cameron Mitchell [7 word review, articles, runner up] 2
Toy Story 3 d. Lee Unkrich [review, articles, runner up] 2
Winter's Bone d. Debra Granik [articles, honorable mention]2

Recommended with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

B+/B

127 Hours d. Danny Boyle [articles]
Boy d. Taiki Cohen [capsule]
Cairo Time d. Ruba Nadda [7 word review, interview]
Catfish d. Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman [capsule]
Cleanflix d. Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi [capsule]
Cyrus d. Duplass Bros [capsule] 2
Exit Through the Gift Shop d. Banksy [best of year honorable mention]
Greenberg d. Noah Baumbach [articles]
Hipsters d. Valeriy Todorovskiy [capsule]
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work d. [7 word review, honorable mention] 2
Made in Dagenham d. Nigel Cole [7 word review]
One Too Many Mornings d. Michael Mohan [capsule]
Please Give d. Nicole Holofcener [capsule, honorable mention] 2
Restrepo d.
The Runaways d. Flora Sigismondi [capsule]
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World d. Edgar Wright [review, "best in show", articles, honorable mention]
Somewhere d. Sofia Coppola []
Soul Kitchen d. Fatih Akin []
The Square d. Nash Edgerton []
Tangled d. Nathan Greno & Byron Howard [articles, best in show, honorable mention] 3
Tiny Furniture d. []
Undertow d. Javier Fuentes-León [review, interview]
Waking Sleeping Beauty d. Don Hahn [review]
White Material d. Claire Denis []

Recommended with reservations.

B/B-

Buried d. Rodrigo Cortés [capsule]
Burlesque d. Steve Antin [review, articles]
Despicable Me d. [7 word review]
Easy A d. Will Gluck [review, "best in show", articles]
Inception d. Chris Nolan [review, "best in show", articles]
Inside Job d. [7 word review]
The King's Speech d. Tom Hooper [7 word review, articles]
Lebanon d. Samuel Maoz [review]
The Lottery d. Madeleine Sackler []
I Love You Phillip Morris d. [review, articles]
Mamma Gógó d. Fridrik Thór Fridriksson []
Micmacs d. Jean Pierre-Jeunet [7 word review]
The Misfortunates d. Felix Van Groenigen []
Secure Space d. Oren Gvili []
Salt d. Phillip Noyce [7 word review]
Terribly Happy d. Henrik Ruben Genz []
The Town d. Ben Affleck [articles]
The Trotsky d. Jacob Tierney []
True Grit d. Joel & Ethan Coen [review] 2
The Way Back d. Peter Weir [7 word review, articles]

Toss up.

B -/C+

Babies d. Thomas Balmes [personal anecdote]
Bran Nue Dae d. Rachel Perkins [capsule]
City of Borders d. Yun Suh []
Conviction d. Tony Goldwyn ["best in show", interview, articles]
Eat Pray Love d. Ryan Murphy [review, "best in show", articles]
The Eclipse d. Conor McPherson []
The Infidel d. Josh Appignanesi []
Iron Man 2 d. Jon Favreau [review, articles]
Knight & Day d. James Mangold [review ]
Let Me In d. Matt Reeves []
My Joy d. Sergie Loznitsa [7 word review]
La Mission d. Peter Bratt [review]
Let Me In d. Matt Reeves []
Northless d. Rigoberto Pérezcano []
Nowhere Boy d. Sam Taylor Wood [capsule]
Open d. Jake Yuzna []
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll d. Mat Whitecross []
Timer  d. Jac Schaeffer [capsule]
Vegetarian d. Lim Seong-Woong [capsule]
Zonad d. John & Keiran Carney []

C+/C

Bomber d. Paul Cotter []
Date Night d. Shawn Levy [capsule]
David's Birthday d. Marco Filiberti [review]
Herpes Boy d. Nathaniel Atcheson []
Holy Rollers d. Kevin Asch [capsule]
It's Kind of a Funny Story d. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck [articles]
Kick-Ass d. Matthew Vaughn [review, articles]
Kites d. Anurang Basu [review, articles]
Leaving d. Catherine Corsini [7 word review]
Mother and Child d. Rodrigo Garcia [capsule]
Never Let Me Go d. Mark Romanek [review, "best in show", articles]
Shutter Island d. Martin Scorsese [capsule, articles]
Splice d. Vincenzo Natali [capsule]

Not recommended.

C/C-

All Good Things d. [interview]
Fighting Fish d. Annette Apitz []
Get Low d. Aaron Schneider [capsule, articles]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo d. []
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 d. David Yates [articles, frustration]
Hereafter d. Clint Eastwood [review, articles]
For Colored Girls d. Tyler Perry []
New Low d. Adam Bowers []
No Woman No Cry d. Christy Turlington Burns []
Oki's Movie d. Hong Sang-soo [7 word review]
Red d. []
Secretariat d. John Lee Hancock [minor thoughts]
Sex & the City 2 d. Michael Patrick King [review]
Snow and Ashes d. Charles Olivier-Michaud []
Today's Special d. David Kaplan []
Violet Tendencies d. Casper Andreas []

C-/D+

After.Life d. Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo [anecdote]
The Burial d. Danielle Boucher & David William Mills []
Love and Other Drugs d. Edward Zwick []
Love Ranch d. Taylor Hackford [worst of year]
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time d. Mike Newell [articles]
Waiting for Superman d. Davis Guggenheim [capsule]

D+/D

The Wolf Man d. Joe Johnston [review, articles, worst of year]
Repo Men d. Miguel Sapochnik [worst of year]
The Romantics d. Galt Niederhoffer [capsule, worst of year ]
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger d. Woody Allen [7 word review, articles, worst of year]

Make it stop!

D-/F

Alice in Wonderland d. Tim Burton [review, articles, worst of year ]
The Chameleon d. Jean-Paul Salomé []
Elvis & Madona d. Marcello Laffitte []
Stone d. John Curran [7 word review, worst of year]
The Tempest d. Julie Taymor [7 word review, worst of year]