Club 50 Wrap Up: 2011

Years Completed:
1989 | 2003 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013

I'm gaining speed on this Club 50 thing. Already got another year checked off. Not surprisingly, it's another recent one: 2011, the year that I started seeing movies in theaters at an aggressive pace.
2011 was one of the most ridiculous years for franchises ever. The top 9 movies were all sequels. The next three after that have had sequels since (and were psuedo-sequels to begin with). A total of 13 movies from the top 50 were sequels (not counting Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, or The Lion King re-release) with 17 movies that have since had sequels made or have sequels on the way. Even still, several more movies (Cowboys & Aliens, Green Lantern, Green Hornet) were made with intentions of jump starting franchises.

Despite that, it was a very good year for comedies. While plenty of "dude comedies" (The Hangover Part II, Horrible Bosses) did well, the real story was the female driven vehicles. Bridesmaids was a surprise hit. Cameron Diaz powered Bad Teacher to over $100 million. The Help was as much a comedy as it was a drama. While not led by females, Crazy, Stupid Love did prove that there's always room in the market for a good RomCom. 2011 had a big effect of box office trends since then. I mean, Melissa McCarthy is an A-lister now thanks to that year.

With so many franchises and comedies out there, the Oscar hopefuls were mostly edged out. Only 5 (The Help, The Descendants, War Horse, Moneyball, Hugo) of the 9 nominees for best picture were in the top 50, with the winner among those that didn't make the cut. Of those 5, only The Help was in the top 35  for the year.

2011 overall was one of my favorite recent years in movies, but a good amount of that happened outside the top 50. Even still, those 50 are a net plus, despite including two Adam Sandler movies and a Justin Bieber concert movie.

To wind down each year as I complete them, I'm going to hand out a few superlatives or anecdotal awards to highlight some of the highs and lows of the year's top 50 box office earners.

First Seen: Bridesmaids

It's hard to believe this is the first of these movies I saw. That was all the way in May. Soon after, I began seeing movies weekly almost without fail. This is the ideal movie to start on though, you know, since it's great.

Last Seen: Zookeeper

Say what you will, but Kevin James' movies are very easy to watch. They're also very easy to forget. Hence, last.

Happiest Surprise: Hugo

I had no expectations for this going in. I was mostly irritated to be paying for a 3D showing. What I got was perhaps my favorite Martin Scorsese movie. Yeah. I said it: favorite.

Biggest Disappointment: Cars 2

To put this in context. This was the moment when Pixar was most untouchable. They had a four year run of Rataouille, Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 which is as good as any studio has had, ever, full stop, no exceptions. To come out with such a lazy movie was such a let down.

Looked Better Then: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

I'll stand by the fact that this was a well made concert movie. It tells the Bieber origin story in an interesting way for someone like me, who didn't know it already. What hurts this is that since 2011, Justin Bieber has become more and more of a train wreck.

Looks Better Now: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I'll be in a minority here if I must. On Stranger Tides is no Curse of the Black Pearl. But, it sets up a new status quo. It's a pure adventure movie and rotates Jack Sparrow to sole lead of the movie. It really is better than it was received initially. That said, ask me what looks better now from these 50 in ten years and I'm certain I'll have a different answer.

Favorite: Bridesmaids

This is one of my all-time favorite comedies. It proved that Kristen Wiig was a talent beyond SNL, that she could carry a movie, and that she was a hell of a writer. Melissa McCarthy finally got the comedic star turn that had eluded her up to that point. Maya Ruldolph, Ellie Kemper, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rose Byrne, Chiris O'Dowd, John Hamm. This cast is ridiculously good. And who's that unknown Aussie roommate? Oh, it's Rebel Wilson in her first major role stateside. Such a good movie.

2nd Favorite: Hugo

A beautiful movie in both spirit and execution. It has some of the best 3D I've seen in a movie. Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz are both wonderful, as is Ben Kingley as the forgotten grandfather of cinema, Georges Melies. This serves as a great reminder of how versatile a director Martin Scorsese is when he cares to be.

3rd Favorite: Crazy, Stupid, Love.

There are a lot of movies vying for this third spot. What sets this over the edge is that is has one of my favorite scenes in any comedy: Toward the end, when Steve Carrell's character builds the mini golf course for his wife and everything in the movie comes together hilariously. It's absolute gold.

Honorable Mention:

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Brad Bird's live-action directorial debut blew me away. This features some of the best action sequences you're going to find anywhere.

Paranormal Activity 3

Easily the second best movie in a franchise that I continue to love despite getting very worn out by the sixth installment.

X-Men: First Class

After X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this franchise needed a reboot like this. They couldn't've cast it any better than they did.

The Muppets

Jason Segel's love of the franchise shines through this in every way.

War Horse

This is vintage Speilberg at his best. I weeped like a baby at least once while watching it.

Least Favorite: The Hangover Part II

Lazy sequels don't get any more textbook than this. It took the exact plot from the first movie and tried to make everything bigger. This actually made all the characters less likable and was significantly less funny.