MY UNOFFICIAL LIST OF BEST FILMS OF 2011 / The 2nd Anonymous Theatre 3000 Awards (Part IV)

Now we get to the point. The question that everyone (well, not everyone) would be asking. What are your favourite movies of the year? It's a good question and given how I'm never really up to date with so many critically acclaimed films due to many movies with its limited and delayed release, but at least caught up with a few to make a list. But note. This list is unofficial. It's probably so because I've haven't seen so many films (and I've lost count). Note: Melancholia, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Skin I Live In, A Seperation, Shame, 50/50, Take Shelter, Young Adult, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Guard and Warrior are the following great films I've haven't seen yet. However movies critically acclaimed such as The Help, The Tree of Life, Albert Nobbs, War Horse, Bridesmaids and Beginners are movies I'm really less interested in seeing.

Here's what I'm going to do. I am going to do at least six slots. The last being what almost made my top five which is of course this category is going to have. At least five will make it although this is my unofficial list. And it doesn't mean these are my favourite movies. More like movies that I think more about throughout the year. You know what I'm saying. But first let's go to the honourable mentions, movies I've seen but never felt like Best film material:

HM: Paul, Never Let Me Go (though it was released in 2010), Thor, X-Men: First Class, The Ides of March, Moneyball, Captain America: The First Avenger, Super 8, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

A- (8.5)


I've been both a Harry Potter fanatic and at the same time a cynic of the franchise. I've read the books when I was 12 and could never stop loving it. To any cynic who wants to know what's the appeal of it all, it's Harry Potter himself we're fascinated as he evolve from being a boy losing his parents from an evil wizard Voldemort to a young person getting back prepared than ever. But then there's the cynical side of me when it comes to the franchise. I felt that bringing David Yates into the helm isn't worth the piece of the pie. I felt disappointed with the last two films. Half-Blood Prince was disappointing because the plot is distracted to a romantically corny subplot while the first part of the Deathly Hallows was also corny and it felt confusing at points, despite having had read the novels.


This is the real deal from Yates as it is truly a real film about Harry Potter's ordeal (no pun intended). A decade ago we see HP's first two adventures with the ballsy Ron and clever Hermione that are both charming and fun where it secretly builds up pessimism to Potter. Up to now, The Prisoner of Azkaban shows the trio's true development as young adults as the tone of each film slowly reveals its change. Now Deathly Hallows (Pt.2) had matched everything fans of all types have been waiting for to impossibly high levels.


In Pt.2, we start off what was halfway of the Deathly Hallows where Voldemort holds the Elder Wand that doesn't belong to Dumbledore in where he finds it, but to Snape. This makes him more powerful; while Harry, Ron and Hermione must find the remaining Horcruxes, Voldemort's possessions and once they destroy the Horcruxes, he becomes weaker giving Harry a probable chance of defeating him. Also involved in the battle is Professor Snape who became headmaster of Hogwarts keeping it highly secured with Dementors and Deatheaters.


This is an epitome of a Harry Potter film. Every point crucial in the books are taken and is perfectly nailed to the wood. From Harry knowing how to destroy the Horcruxes once and for all to scenes where Harry realize the sacrifices he'd and should make to defeat Voldemort to many of the complex storylines that will take some time to decipher. In fact it has many storylines so multi-layered that you either have to watch the movies (especially Part I) and read the novels again to pull yourself into the magic. 


What I like about this adaptation is that it's more than the average adaptation of Potter. This has so much heart, it goes where no Potter film had ever gone before. In every sequence of action, you feel like watching a war movie. The final battle. In every character you'll know their story and their involvement with Harry's life especially Alan Rickman who in one flashback had me crying when we're revealed the true person his character Snape really is. We get Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall as a badass leading an army of Hogwarts students. And we get Neville Longbottom also a badass breaking out from his role as the shy, and completely awkward secondary character.


It's Alan Rickman who brings out soul to Professor Snape, a character more fascinating than Potter. As we see through flashbacks, he's the real hero of the series so far when outside he's a superior villain with so much fear. If more than anything Rickman should get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Many of the performances are solid from a cast of veteran British actors such as Julie Walters and Ralph Fiennes, but the heart of it all Harry Potter played by Daniel Radcliffe is flawless and has its best moments. Although I wasn't impressed by Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy given that his character is so wimpy for the entire film


Director Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves had brought back my trust for ending the Potter franchise in the most epic style. Not one moment was a tease. I loved the visual flair placed by Yates and I thought the cinematography was gorgeous. Yates and Kloves justified how this movie is split into two parts by sticking into the complex plot and bringing the emotional drama that never hits the sentimental bottom.


Belonging into this generation that experienced 9/11 and spending the majority of our daily routine on the internet, the Harry Potter franchise is something I and everyone in this generation cherish and value. The Deathly Hallows ended an epic conflict between good and evil in spectacular form like Lord Of The Rings. The franchise had become the modern Star Wars of our time. Overall this movie is not just the masterpiece of the series and the best summer movie in terms of being a blockbuster, but also the best movie I've seen so far this year.