Black Death (2011)

The bubonic plague is claiming victims across England, but there are rumors of a remote town that been unaffected with further tales of their dead being brought back to life. After a group of soldiers fails to return from an investigative journey to the town, a second one is assigned the task and they recruit a young monk with motives of his own to accompany them as a guide.

It's an effective mystery with great atmosphere, but I feel like I've seen this type of thing done before. Add in the fact that it looks somehow cheap (perhaps it's the lighting?) and it tops out as "OK" or "serviceable."

C+

The Change-Up (2011)

Two guys in their 30s who have been friends since childhood have taken completely different paths in life. Dave's a successful lawyer with three kids and a lovely wife while Mitch is a struggling actor living in a shitty apartment that sees a parade of sexual partners. At the end of a guys' night out, they're declaring how jealous they are of each others' lives and wham -- a "Freaky Friday" situation happens.

I'm not sure if this would've been funnier pre-Me Too, but it's low-key gross now. The funniest (though also terrifying) bits were the segments with Mitch-in-Dave attempting to wrangle his infant twins. All the parts where the guys are contemplating sex with partners they shouldn't are just nose-wrinkling. In all, the writing just felt like it was either stealing from other movies (searching for the fountain was the same plot as searching for Zoltar in Big) or taking the laziest path possible.

D+

Trollhunter (2011)

A trio of college students decide to film a report on a spate of bear attacks in the area. Instead they fall in with a guy who hunts the real problems: trolls. Though the students start off doubtful, it isn't long before they're believers.

It's just another lazy "found footage" movie with very little plot. And the CGI is pretty dang bad.

D+

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

This should be the main exhibit in the "Style Over Substance" museum. Slow-mo explosions and slow-mo bullets tearing through bodies and slow-mo GoPro running shots. It's just exhausting. Yes, it's clever and quippy too, but mostly just tiresome.

C

Julia's Eyes (2011)

Julia, who is losing her sight, finds out that her sister Sara, already blind, has hanged herself. While digging into what happened, Julia discovers that there was a man in her sister's life, but most people couldn't quite remember him.

I wanted to be pulled in by this movie. It was spooky and reminded me a bit of "Wait Until Dark." But the plot device of a man who is never noticed, except by the blind, was just too ridiculous.

C 

Tower Heist (2011)

Staff at a high-rise full of pricey condos have their pensions stolen by a tenant trusted to invest it. The building manager, a few of the staff, and a petty thief form a crew to rob him and get back what's theirs.

It's watchable, but it never really goes far enough to be truly memorable. There should've been a lot more laughs.

C+

Contagion (2011)

I know I'm not the only one who thought "middle of a global pandemic is the perfect time to watch a movie about a global pandemic." And, wow. It's amazing just how prescient this film is. Social distancing protocols, stay at home orders, living room proms, and assholes who refuse to follow the rules -- even the simple act of covering their mouths when coughing.

The production has no problem killing off actors who'd usually be miraculously spared, yet that seemed to be more about honesty than a scare tactic. I'm just very impressed with its restraint and its ability to see a decade into the future.

B+

Toast (2011)

Nigel has a distant father and a kind mother who can't cook. He yearns for something tastier to hit the table. He does, sadly, get his wish when his mother dies and his father takes up with rough woman who can set a helluva table. Problem is, he hates everything else about her and she doesn't much care for him.

This is based on the memoir of Nigel Slater, a celebrated London food writer. And, frankly, I didn't buy it. The whole thing came off as "poor little me" when there seemed to be very little that was truly bad in his life. Furthermore, I seriously doubted the pettiness of his stepmother. It seemed unnecessary and counterproductive to her goals.

C-

Another Earth (2011)

Rhoda is a brilliant high school student on her way to MIT. While driving home after a night of celebrating with her friends, she is distracted by the news of a planet very similar to Earth now visible in the night sky and plows into a family. This tragedy, of course, changes both her life and that of the family's sole survivor.

Brit Marling is sheer talent. Though she's a fine actress, she is a truly gifted creator. Her ideas transport and force one to consider the unknown. This film casts a spell and I know I'll be thinking about it for years.

A-

Insidious (2011)

Family moves into a new house and, almost immediately, their son goes into a comatose state and poltergeisty things start happening. They move, but son's still in a comatose state and things are still going bump in the night. And day.

This is just a jump scare-heavy, cheap-looking nothing. The only redeemable bit is Lin Shaye as a kind of ghost-hunters supernatural guide.

D+

The Whistleblower (2011)

A cop takes a peace-keeping gig in post-war Bosnia to make a chunk of cash quick. She soon discovers that a lot of the ills the Americans are supposedly working to right are being exacerbated by -- and sometimes directly because of -- their presence in the country. It's a devastating tale of sex trafficking and the dangers of speaking up.

This story deserves to be told... but better than this. There's no reason it needed to be so tedious and confusing. I also can't see any reason that so many British actors were called on to portray Americans.

D+

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Predictable but still effective genesis story for those smart apes we met way back when. The special effects sometimes got in the way (that way-too-smooth/bendy doll movement is distracting for me), but in all it works. Looking forward to seeing the following films.

B

The Debt (2011)

In 1965, three Mossad agents were tasked with finding, capturing, and delivering for trial a Nazi doctor accused of war crimes against the Jewish people during the war. Though the mission didn't play out as planned, the three have been hailed as heroes at home for more than 30 years. In 1997, a book detailing their story is being published.

The flashback portion of the story is an exciting one. It's when we come to the present that things slow down considerably. All in all, it's successful with a side of frustration.

B

Wild Bill (2011)

Mid-level slinger gets out of prison after an 8-year stint and finds that the mother of his 15 and 12-year old kids took off several months back, leaving them to fend for themselves. Though he neither wanted nor expected it, he’s thrust into a caregiver role and finds out that he’s not too bad at it.

I was surprised to find myself so moved by this film.

B

King of Devil's Island (2011)

A juvenile detention facility on a small Norwegian island hold boys aged 11-18 or so. When a new inmate arrives whose sole passion is escape, the dynamic between the inmates and the staff shifts. It’s as if the boys wake up and decide that they, too, can hope again.

Very powerful -- even more so with the knowledge that it's based on true events. Reminded me a lot of The Magdalene Sisters.

B+

Pariah (2011)

Lee knows she’s a lesbian and is trying to explore what that means while keeping her strict family in the dark.

This is an understated film. There are no big epiphanies. Although everyone knows (or at least strongly suspects) the truth, the bravery to be open and force the rejection or acceptance is terrifying. I appreciated that it wasn’t tidy.

B+

Weekend (2011)

Two British men hook-up one night and then spend the next two days getting to know each other and falling in love. But there’s no future for them as one’s leaving for America in just a couple of days. It’s low-key but with lots of information for those (like me) who really don’t know much about gay culture and what it’s like to live in a mostly-straight world.

B

The Way (2011)

Comfortable widower receives a call that his nothing-in-common son was killed during a storm in the French Pyrenees. Once in France to claim the body, he learns that his son was just a day into walking “The Camino” -- a 500-mile pilgrimage across Spain. The widower decides to walk it, scattering his son’s remains along the way.

This feels like a standard “sad curmudgeon softens despite himself” movie (see: Up), but I enjoyed it pretty well. I'd never heard of this particular pilgrimage and it seems like something I could actually do -- Gary seems game to give it a go as well!

B

The Trip (2011)

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are doing a weeklong tour of several restaurants, their reviews of which will be published. It’s not a documentary, but they are playing themselves -- though I dearly hope that these are caricatures of themselves.

Brydon’s constant impressions got on my nerves every bit as much as they got on Coogan’s & Coogan’s perma-dourness was as trying for me as it was for Brydon. It got to feeling as though I was seeing the same scenes over and over (I know for a certainty that I heard the same impressions over and over), but every so often their was a charming bit of conversation that would pull me back in.

I’m not sure if I’m up for taking the Trip to Italy with them.  Perhaps I simply need a month or so to miss them a bit before hitting the road with them again.

C

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Scrawny but scrappy guy really wants to be a soldier but can't pass the physical. Science to the rescue!

The pre-manly physique portion is charming. Unfortunately, once he’s buff, the story turned into lots of rock ‘em sock ‘em episodes that kind of blurred together.

B-