Favorite films of 2011

Another year has passed, so let's review. My favorite three:

1) Moneyball: Growing up, I loved baseball and I was a huge A's fan. Ricky Henderson, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire were my heros. I collected and traded albums full of baseball cards; Topps came with stale and delicious chewing gum, while Upper Deck were high-end, glossy and valuable. The 1989 World Series A's vs Giants was so epic that the ground shook with a 6.9 earthquake. Of course the mighty A's swept the series. Then, in 1994, players went on strike, and all that love and enthusiasm died. I stopped collecting cards, stopped watching games, stopped rooting for the A's, or any team. In my mind, if the players cared more about money than playing ball, why should I care to watch them play at all?

So perhaps it is because of this background that I loved the film Moneyball so much. The movie, based on Michael Lewis' book of the same title, tells the true story of the 2002 Oakland A's and the supposed re-invention of baseball. Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, is general manager of the team, whose glory days from '89 have long since faded, and with them its coffers. Beane, with the help of nerdy assistant Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, must seek talent for cheap in order to create a winning team. But instead of using traditional tactics based on appearances, they use scientific metrics to identify undervalued yet skilled ball players. In medicine, we call this "evidence based practice" as opposed to "anecdotal bullshit." Moneyball essentially turns the role of money in baseball on its head, and for me, reawakened a love for the game. All this, in addition to a pitch-perfect script by Aaron Sorkin (who I think may be a genius writer) and awesome performances by Pitt and Hill, made this my favorite movie of 2011.

2) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: This spy film, based on the book by John le Carre, is a fictional story of a mole hunt at the highest levels of British intelligence during the Cold War. Now there is another spy movie in theatres, the 4th Mission: Impossible movie, which I haven't seen. According to the billboards, Tom Cruise climbs the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for some reason, and I'm sure it's all very enthralling. TTSS actually takes place in reality, so no, Gary Oldman doesn't climb Big Ben, though that would be pretty funny. Nevertheless, TTSS is incredibly suspenseful, a real palm-sweater. The movie captures the paranoia of the Cold War, a time when no one could be trusted and the threat of nuclear war with the Soviets loomed large. The movie features a brilliant British cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Ciaran Hinds (probably underused in this movie) and Benedict Cumberbatch, heretofore unknown to me but with a performance like this one and a name like that will surely go places. And keep an eye out at awards season for best costume, the suits in this movie are sharp.

3) Drive: See my previous review. This movie kicked a lot of ass.

In case this list seems excessively masculine, let it be known that probably #4 and #5 would be Jane Eyre and Bridesmaids, respectively. I just don't have the time right now to write about how great they are. :)

Finally, the fail of 2011.

1) Tree of Life: This movie was beautifully unwatchable, extremely disappointing. The premise of the film (I think there is one) is that the intimate drama of a white American nuclear family in the 50's in Texas is every bit as powerful and meaningful and sacred as the creation of the universe and the evolution of life on Earth. Which may be true, I don't really know, but if it is then that's either incredibly profound or depressing. But, ugh, this movie, despite its breathtaking imagery/nature porn and graceful score, is made painful to sit through by its total absence of any narrative. It plays like a twisted music video mashup of a National Geographic documentary, the 50's sitcom Father Knows Best and one of my wife's Anthropologie catalogues set to a Bach symphony. If you're curious enough to see this movie, maybe try some mota beforehand.

2) Battle: Los Angeles: This movie looked like an exciting sci-fi romp through my new home town, with scenes of aliens storming Santa Monica beach where I go running on weekends. Which is all fun for a little while, but then actually gets boring. It turns out the movie I think is propaganda for recruitment to the Marines, as there is a ridiculous amount of attention to military detail, such as the names of weapons and tools used and war strategy etc.

Thanks for reading. Here's hoping 2012 is a good year at the movies. Can't wait for The Dark Knight Rises!