FHM Year Ender 2011: Movie Madness

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The Harry Potter series has finally wielded its last wand this year. The cult favorite is just one of the many blockbusters to rake in insane amounts of money this year. There was Thor, yawnfest Tranformers 3: Dark of the Moon; there was Super 8, who can forget that. Fast 5 was also surprisingly amazing. The pretentious say popcorn movies lack substance, but when form and content work like glue, you’ll find yourself eating that butter-sweetened popcorn to complement that sweet blockbuster of a movie. Now go see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Quick. 

Babae sa Septic Tank. Local indie films have started to take center stage. The films that were on a very low budget, were the ones that delivered a kind of cinema Filipinos should and did see. Babae sa Septic Tank took over last year’s Cinemalaya film festival, earning Eugene Domingo a best actress award and scoring it a commercial release, as well as a representation entry for Oscar Best Foreign Film. And to say some more: Quark Henares’ Rakenrol showed this year as well, Jerrold Tarog’s Senior Year, and Jade Castro’s Remington at ang Zombadings.

Drive. 2011 might as well be The Year of the Gosling. Ryan Gosling starred in three movies that garnered both critical and commercial acclaim. Always the consummate thespian, he steered us into a road of crooked criminal drama with Drive. To mix things up, he charmed the panties off of femmes the world over in rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love. Capping 2011 off, he lends his talents to actor/director George Clooney’s The Ides of March, which recently earned him a Golden Globe nod for Best Actor. We can all learn a thing or two about versatility from his swagger. We smell an Oscar in the near future. 

The Adventures of Tintin. When 3D technology first made itself known, the industry had yet to perfect it. Watching 3D only seemed right if you were watching an animated movie. But 2011 saw the superb use of this growing technology. The Adventures of Tintin epitomizes the right way of using 3D technology to enhance the story-telling experience. Directed by Steven Spielberg, and produced by Peter Jackson, the technology was used wisely and not just for raping the audience’s eyes. We saw Po kickass Kung-Fu Panda style, we witnessed as Captain America saved us from the Nazis, Cars 2 was a smash with kids and kids at heart. And guess what… they were all in 3D! 

No Other Woman. We don't know what hit us, if it was the witty lines, a pretty good story, the goodlooking cast, or the awesome display of their acting. But No Other Woman really did the local mainstream industry in. Here is a movie that shows there is a future in cinema. Film's not dead. No Other Woman didn't try to be squeaky clean, it spoke of the changing times, which is it say, it was very honest. But it was also very aspirational; you, too, young lad, can have Anne Curtis as your lady friend and Cristine Reyes as your wife. The stars showed they're not just eye candies and wow, wit was dripping off their lines.