2011 - The Highlights (EHeroFlareNeos)

With 2012 upon us, it's time to look forward to what we can enjoy in the new year. However, this is also the perfect time to look back at what releases made 2011 so great, as well as others that didn't quite hold up. Below is my list of the top movies, games and disappointments of the year (in no particular order), along with links to the reviews of each title on this blog for further reading.

Top Movies of 2011

Captain America: The First Avenger
Among Marvel Studio's run of contributions to comic book movies, Captain America is easily one of the best. With a great cast and a greater emphasis on the title hero's original time period, this film provides a great balance of action, comedy, and drama to stand as one which all Superhero movies should aspire to be. If other studios took notes from this, then the comic book movie would definitely blossom into a much more widespread and competent genre than it is now.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
If you're like me and have read the Harry Potter series of books since you were a child, then you were no doubt looking forward to seeing this movie for years. As an adaptation and continuation, it sticks very closely to the book and yet manages to make the final fight against the powerful Voldemort even more of a spectacle worthy of cinema. It served as a fitting conclusion to the franchise, save for perhaps the epilogue, and I'm very happy to be able to say my final goodbye to the boy who lived.


Kung Fu Panda 2
As one of the few movies from Dreamworks Animation that feels worthy of being called a movie, Kung Fu Panda 2 shows just what the studio is capable of creating without stuffing a film with dated pop cultural references. In addition it stands as a great modern martial arts flick, with plenty of over the top action and lore to keep the action fan in you satisfied, combined with a great blend of humor and character development to leave you wanting more.


The Artist
As a black & white silent film, The Artist sticks out among every other movie released in the past few decades. When viewing it as a movie in general, it is a masterpiece of cinema that lets the audience learn not only what life was like for stars during the transition from silent films to talkies in the earlier days of Hollywood, but also that sometimes a movie doesn't need to be filled to the brim with special effects and sound to be enjoyable. It is one of the few films I have ever cried at as much as I did during one especially emotional scene and also one of the few that gave me time to actually care about what happened to the characters onscreen. I would encourage anyone interested in this era of film making to watch this masterful throwback to a time where less was more.

Top Video Games of 2011

Batman: Arkham City
For a studio with only two other games under their belt, it is very clear how passionate Rocksteady is about Batman. With an absolutely powerful script penned by Paul Dini, fantastic performances by Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, improved combat, and plenty of incentive to explore the titular city, Batman: Arkham City is a game that literally no one with a gaming system should pass up. For me personally, it stands as a great contender for the best video game I have ever played, though it is safe to say I feel that way regarding Superhero games in general.


Dead Space 2
While Dead Space 2 may reside in a genre I would normally avoid, it managed to build up the right atmosphere and tension to get me sucked into the action onscreen. Having to retrain yourself to shoot the limbs instead of the head also brings out the player's more tactical side in a great effort to stay alive in space. If more games like this and Bulletstorm existed to help introduce more variety in this fashion, then there would probably be more worthy single player campaigns out there for the FPS genre today.

Portal 2
While the original Portal was a very short game, it also provided plenty of entertainment to make repeat trips into Aperture Science enjoyable every single time. For the sequel, Valve Software managed not only to retain what made the first one fun, they made the overall experience even better. From expert integration of Cross-console Co-op to wildly fun new game mechanics, there is hardly anything this game gets wrong.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
As action games continue to set the bar in video games, the Uncharted franchise will continue to vault over it. Drake's Deception not only defines what is possible to display on PS3, but also sets a new limit on how many setpiece moments you can put in a game without taking away from an outstanding plot and characters. While at least one mechanic hiccups despite improvements to combat, there is a lot to like about Uncharted 3 for PS3 owners, even if the series is just starting to feel a little formulaic at its core.

Top Disappointments of 2011

Cars 2
Right off the heels of Toy Story 3, Cars 2 is a perfect example of what happens when you make a sequel with the sole purpose of selling more merchandise. This movie is not only a drastic drop in quality from most of Pixar's earlier works, it takes a swan dive through every spy movie cliche imaginable and heads straight toward the number in the title. Hopefully their next project, Brave, will restore faith in Pixar enough to help audiences pretend this one never existed.

Green Lantern
While I hadn't been looking forward to this film as much as I did the ones coming out from Marvel Studios, I at least wanted to see if Warner Bros. could help satiate my interest in Superhero movies in between releases. Unfortunately, the overemphasis on loud visuals and constant exposition seemed to really make this the blackest night for its genre in 2011.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations
I wanted to like Assassin's Creed: Revelations after my buildup of playing every other game, really I did. But when you take the increased emphasis on Multiplayer, abysmally incorporated Den Defense, and zero incentive to take advantage of bomb crafting into account, it creates a game that, while more enjoyable than Brotherhood, almost looks like a mess when you look at the big picture. With 2012 comes a new protagonist to the Assassin's Creed franchise, and hopefully one whose story isn't nearly forgotten in the pursuit of attracting the multiplayer crowd.

Kung Fu Panda 2 - A Sequel With Kick

After the success and popularity of Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks announced a sequel. For a time, it was called Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom, but only for the sake of rhyme. After they dropped that portion of the title, I was curious to see the sequel based on the ads and the fact that I enjoyed the original. After finally seeing the movie, I think Dreamworks has managed to continue keeping this franchise entertaining and keeping the feel of a true martial arts movie.

At the beginning, we learn about our new antagonist, an albino peacock named Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). After the invention of fireworks, he seeks to harness its power to fuel his own ambitions to rule over China. However, he is banished from Gongmen City after committing mass genocide to avert a soothsayer's prophecy that one day, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. Outraged, he vows to one day return and reign supreme. We then see Po (Jack Black), who is now living as the Dragon Warrior and working with the Furious Five to maintain safety within the Valley of Peace. While talking with Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), he is interrupted by news of a raid by wolves who seek refined metal. During the ensuing battle, he loses focus and has a memory of his childhood. When the wolves run off, Po learns of Lord Shen and his new weapon, one with the potential to threaten the existence of kung fu. Po and the Furious Five take off for Gongmen City to defeat Lord Shen, while Po tries to seek inner peace and confront the dark mysteries of his past.

The story was executed pretty well, with a good set of voice actors who really sell their roles nicely. It should be noted that out of the Furious Five, Tigress (Angelina Jolie) is more prominent, but it is justified in that she relates most to Po's situation regarding his attempt to figure out exactly who he is. Jack Black still does a good Po, and it helps when during the movie's sad moments he can get that emotion out of his character. I was actually surprised by the fact that Jean-Claude Van Damme voiced Master Croc, but he still did a good job, even if his character didn't have a big speaking part. I also found Lord Shen to be an interesting villain, if more visually because he's a bit more stereotypical than Tai Lung was in the previous installment. While the stereotype does come from a simple act of revenge, it was still fascinating to find out how far he was willing to go in order to make it reality.

Unlike other animated movies, there isn't really that much of a universal color palette. Instead, there is a blend of warm and cool colors that actually make the setting more realistic to the viewer. Different art styles are also used, such as one where everything is made of Chinese paper, but built like a puppet. Similarly, there are times, during Po's memories, where a traditionally animated art style is used to go seamlessly between the past and the present.

The CGI in the movie was absolutely perfect, looking even better than before. It was clear that a painstaking amount of detail was put into the environments, including the weather dynamics on the characters and surroundings. The unique cannon balls in this movie, a combination of a cannon ball and a firework, also display effects in motion, which just looked cool. What really sells the effects however, is the 3D used for the movie. Unlike a lot of other movies where 3D is invoked by throwing objects at the screen to varying degrees, it was used here to create a sense of depth. This was the better route to take, as the movie felt more immersive with this type of 3D and I wish more movies would use it.

As this is a martial arts movie, it was fun to see how creative some of the moves were, such as the different tag team maneuvers used by Po and the Furious Five to take down an entire army of wolves. It was also great to watch them get over the top, such as the effect of gaining inner peace as demonstrated by Shifu and later, Po. Hans Zimmer's score goes well with the onscreen action, although you may be paying more attention to the visuals than the music at that point.

Kung Fu Panda 2 was definitely more ambitious than the first, with upgraded effects and a bigger scale plot, complete with well-handled character development on Po's part and no shortage of humor when infused with the drama. I'm not sure exactly how I would compare it to the first, but I would say that it's at least just as good, if not maybe a little better. Those who saw Kung Fu Panda will enjoy this, as well as those who are curious about a Dreamworks animated film like this. As a final note, the ending is big, if maybe a little confusing, but it also sets up a possible Kung Fu Panda 3, which I would love to see from this studio in the future.