X-Men: First Class

The first X-Men will always have a special place in film history. It was the first comic book adaptation to show audiences – and studios – that films depicting spandex wearing heroes could be quite a spectacle to behold. Thus began the “Marvel/DC Effect” with every possible comic being put forward as a potential film franchise. What is refreshing about X-Men: First Class is that it really appears to be going back to the beginning of the X-men story; looking into the origins of the quintessential battle between good and evil.

Super 8

Set in 1979, this is a homage to Spielberg’s ’70s and ’80s science fiction films, written and directed by J.J.Abrams. It tells the story of a group of small-town children who are filming a home movie on their super 8 camera when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their neighbourhood. E.T., Close Encounters, Goonies, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park all have story threads or shots lifted from them, and while some might think it overdoes the tribute this is ultimately nostalgic for a style of filmmaking that is sorely missed.

Rango

Rango is a pet chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless Wild West outpost in desperate need of a new sheriff. The movie is ILM’s first animated feature and they’ve brought a truly unique look to the animation. Rango is smart, savvy and steeped in enough western genre nods to appeal to movie buffs of all ages.

Thor

Definitely one of the most anticipated comic book films of 2011. Thor (with the titular hero being played by Star Trek’s Chris Hemworth) will follow the rise of the legendary warrior/demigod of Norse mythology. Sneakily referred to at the end of Iron Man 2, past the credits that is, Thor will form part of Joss Whedon‘s super-tastic-hero entourage of The Avengers for 2012 and promises to be one of the biggest releases yet. Oh and Natalie Portman is in it as well. As if a blond giant wielding a massive hammer to smash enemies wasn’t enough.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Falling well short of subtlety, Captain America: The First Avenger, is nonetheless is probably the biggest comic book adaptation to look out for in 2011. While there are an abundance of comic book adaptations due in 2011, just have another look at this list, Captain America: The First Avenger seems to be trying to set itself apart as far as story and characters are concerned – and it’s the reason it actually looks pretty darn good. That and the fact that for the next two years Joss Whedon will have a definite influence in whatever has an Avenger’s tag.

Fast Five

I realize Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have had their ups and downs when it comes to the success of the Fast and the Furious series. The movies aren’t for everyone, showcasing lots of terrible acting, but the series has always had a special place in my heart – not Tokyo Drift though, that deserves a special place in Hell. Car wheelies, NO2 and Jordana Brewster? Fast Five can’t be that bad.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their hunt for Horcuxes at Bellatrix’s vault at Gringotts before heading back to Hogwarts, where Snape is now the Headmaster. When Voldemort realises their plan, he too shows up and the stage is set for an epic battle that will leave the school in ruins. In fact their fight sequence expands on what’s witnessed in the book, as some considered that to be a bit too brief. Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a thrilling and genuinely emotional finish to one of the best film series of all time. It deserves its recognition.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

A disgraced journalist investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch’s niece 40 years earlier, with the help of a punky computer hacker carrying serious man issues. Sticking closer to the book and with an on-fire David Fincher at the helm, this is an improvement on the Swedish movie, which was pretty good to begin with. Rooney Mara fully commits to the now iconic role, finding the right balance of agressive edge and vulnerability.

Midnight in Paris

A fabulous daydream for American lit majors, Woody Allen’s charming comedy opens with a couple on vacation in Paris. Gil and Inez are officially in love, but what Gil really loves is Paris in the springtime. He’s a hack screenwriter from Hollywood who still harbours the dream of someday writing a good novel and joining the pantheon of American writers whose ghosts seem to linger in the very air he breathes: Fitzgerald, Hemingway and the other legends of Paris in the 1920s. By (wisely) unexplained means, each midnight he finds himself magically transported back in time to the legendary salon presided over by Gertrude Stein.

Hugo

In the guise of a delightful 3D family film, Martin Scorsese makes a love letter to the cinema. His hero Hugo had an uncle who was in charge of the clocks at a Parisian train station. His father’s dream was to complete an automated man he found in a museum. He died with it left unperfected. Rather than be treated as an orphan, the boy hides himself in the maze of ladders, catwalks, passages and gears of the clockworks themselves, feeding himself with croissants snatched from station shops, and begins to sneak off to the movies.

His life in the station is complicated by a toy shop owner named Georges Méliès. Yes, this grumpy old man, played by Ben Kingsley, is none other than the immortal French film pioneer, who was also the original inventor of the automaton.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The best use of digital in a big commercial movie this year. The apes, injected with DNA intended to prevent Alzheimer’s, become super intelligent, and develop humanish traits like empathy. But then their inner apeness comes out, and they climb and jump all over San Francisco. Enormous fun.

Drive

Action-drama about a Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. When a criminal job goes horribly wrong, his world begins to unravel. It’s the most visually stylish up and coming director working with one of Hollywood’s most interesting stars. This is a product that harks back to the best movies of old, drawing obvious comparisons to the likes of Bullitt and Day Of The Locust. Drive won the Best Director Award at this year’s Cannes but it’s a movie that pleases the awards crowd, the arthouse crowd and the mainstream crowd.

The tree of life

Heavily anticipated for a number of years, “The Tree of Life” is director Terrence Malick’s epic endeavor. Paradoxically, it is also his most intimate. It is a film, which love it or hate it, makes its way inside you and, if you allow as much, forces you to consider it. It asserts that, despite the intense drama of everyday circumstance, that plight is but a spec in the perspective of the greater cosmos around us. That theme mingles with a Malick standby: man’s capacity for violence and impulse as well as love and compassion. They are themes Malick has flirted with throughout his career, but here he aims to reconcile them with the great unknown.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Guy Ritchie is usually known for his more low-key British gangster films like Snatch or Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, which is why when it came to him directing Sherlock Holmes there were a lot of people, myself included, who were surprised he took the job. Fortunately he did and he added his own explosion-loving touch to the film. Robert Downey Jr. stole the show as per usual and even Jude Law was bearable. The second instalment, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, unites the pair yet again in what is likely to be one of the better action/comedies of the year.

See anything you like? As a movie lover, I think these movies are worth seeing. Do you still not see the film? Ok, I can tell you how to put movies on itunes. Enjoying the movies with your ipod or ipad anytime. And more look forward to movies in 2012.