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February 1, 2012 [comment on this write-up]

So here we go at (long, long) last! The top ten good movies, top five good-bad movies, and top ten books I encountered in 2011. Cue bells, whistles, drum roll, vuvuzelas, whatever strikes your fancy!

These lists are never easy to make, but I had a greater challenge this year than ever before when it came to the books section -- after going through every book review I wrote in 2011, I realized I didn't really read ten incredibly amazing books this year. I read about 4 incredibly amazing books, and six books that were entertaining or interesting. What's the deal, authors? You need to go work harder, so I can play better. (Because, surely, this is all your fault. . .) (Ahem, or, you know, totally mine for not picking up the right things in the first place.)

Now, read on, and then head over to the blog to comment on which of YOUR favorites I missed! Happy New Year to you all, and I look forward to our conversations and debates on the blog in 2012!

1. The Off Hours (2011)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Amy Seimetz, Ross Partridge, Tony Doupe, Scoot McNairy, Gergana Mellin, Lynn Shelton, Bret Roberts, Madeline Elizabeth
[Prequeue at Netflix | Buy it on DVD | View trailer]

Francine is a young woman living in a rural Washington town whose life pretty much revolves around her dead-end, night-shift job at a local truck stop cafe and a string of meaningless one-night stands with pretty much anyone who shows an interest. When she meets a new trucker, Oliver (ex-Boyfriend Ross Partridge), who has just radically overhauled his own life, Francine finally gets the kick in the butt she needed to shake free of her stagnant life. This haunting, beautifully-filmed indie flick has stayed with me since I first saw it last May -- a sure sign of greatness. DO NOT MISS! [read full review]

2. And Everything is Going Fine (2010)
Genre: Documentary
Cast: Spalding Gray and friends/family
[Stream at Netflix, not available on DVD in the US yet]

This film, directed by Gray's long-time friend Steven Soderburgh, is a compilation of clips from various monologues and talk shows, organized to tell, chronologically, the complete story of Spalding Gray's life. Knowing what we know about how that life ended (in suicide), it's an incredibly difficult movie to watch, even when it's also laugh-out-loud funny (which is often, of course). The final line of this film is one I'll never forget -- it comes when Gray, sitting outside talking while a dog in the distance starts to howl, listens, pauses, chuckles, and then says, with a sad smile, "It is a lamentation." It sure is. If you're a fan of Gray's, or if you don't know if you are, this is a film to seek out pronto. [read full review]

3. Everything Will Be Fine (2010)
Genre: Drama, Foreign
Cast: Jens Albinus, Igor Radosavljevic, Marijana Jankovic, Thomas Høite Meersohn, Paprika Steen
[View trailer ]

This gripping Danish film starts out as a political thriller involving the Iraq War and a government cover-up, and ends up as a heartbreaking love story. How it gets from the one to the other is an astonishing journey packed with anxiety and paranoia, and the final scene left me, along with more than half the audience, weeping and frozen in my seat. Gorgeously crafted with a plot just confusing enough to keep you thinking, this is a good film for a grown-up kind of evening. Effective, intelligent, and moving as hell. [read full review]

4. Meek's Cutoff (2011)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Zoe Kazan
[Netflix it/Watch Now | Buy it from Amazon]

Set in 1845, this film is about three young couples who have hired a guide named Stephen Meek (ex-Boyfriend Bruce Greenwood) to lead them over the Cascades into Oregon. Less an action-packed "settlers vs. Indians" kind of thing, this quiet movie instead aims to transport us, with unflinching realism, into the world of wagon trains in the Old West. Hot, hard, dangerous, and terrifying, it will give you a new/renewed sense of awe for the guts those old timers truly had. It's also breathtakingly gorgeous, and Michelle Williams -- man. She is amazing here. As usual. [read full review]

5. Tabloid (2011)
Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Errol Morris
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

This documentary is about a beauty queen, a pudgy Mormon, a kidnapping-slash-sex-scandal, and. . . dog cloning. Yep, it's an Errol Morris film, all right! Morris's signature kookiness is on fine display here, but so too are his extremely savvy skills as a filmmaker. This is an addictively engaging and incredibly creative film, with a stunning story to boot. I enjoyed the hell out of it, and I bet you will too. [read full review]

6. Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times (2011)
Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Andrew Rossi
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

This documentary about the New York Times has some flaws -- it's very disjointed and unfocused, for one thing. But what it lacked in organization, it more than made up for in David Carr. The film focuses on the media department at the paper, and Carr quickly emerges as the star, not just because he's hilarious, but also because he's really damn smart. Want to know why we still need newspapers? Here's where to find out. And you'll have fun doing it, too. Win-win! [read full review]

7. Jucy (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Francesca Gasteen, Cindy Nelson, Andrew Ryan, Ryan Johnson, Charlotte Gregg
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

Australians Lucy and Jackie (code name "Jucy") have been BFFs for years. Both in their early 20s, they work at a local video store together, act in a theater group together, and pretty much share every waking moment with each other. Their friendship is tested, though, when one of them gets a role in a play the other desperately wanted -- and a boyfriend, to boot. What happens next is a sometimes-wild, sometimes-painful ride, featuring the perfect balance of comedy and emotion. Definitely keep an eye out for this one, and I can't wait to see it again soon myself. [read full review]

8. Insidious (2011)
Genre: Horror
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Barbara Hershey
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

Okay, granted, this movie is awfully silly. But the thing is, it actually scared me. And, even better, parts of it caught me by surprise. Hot damn, I love it when that happens! One part Poltergeist, one part The Exorcist, one part The Entity (well, the Barbara Hershey part, anyway), one part The Lone Gunmen, and three parts "I'm leaving the lights on tonight," I think this movie will be a blast for any fan of solid horror. [read full review]

9. Rango (2011)
Genre: Animation, Kids
Cast: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Timothy Olyphant
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

Having now seen Rango three times, I confess I am STILL boggled by the negative critical reception this clever, fascinatingly-drawn animated film got. It's a Western about a pet chameleon who gets thrown from a car and ends up in a little town in the desert called Dirt. There, he pretends to be a killer cowboy, and quickly finds himself caught up in ye olde wonderfully stereotypical Western saga about a small town battling a dastardly bad guy. The creatures are charmingly ugly, and the writing is smart and satirical. No fan of Westerns should miss this flick, and fans of animation should check it out for the art alone. Also, LOTS of ex-Boyfriends of the Week here, including Timothy Olyphant doing an absolutely masterful impersonation of The Man With No Name. [read full review]

10. Super 8 (2011)
Genre: Action, Drama
Cast: Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Jessica Tuck
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

It is my feeling that this film is best described using math. And the mathematical expression best used in describing it would be this: ((The Goonies² + Cloverfield) x Predator)) / E.T. = ABSOLUTE BLAST. Sure, it's ridiculously Steven Spielberg-y at times, and even more ridiculously J.J. Abrams-y at times. But that shouldn't come as a surprise. What works works great, and the zombie movie in the closing credits was icing on this delicious, delicious cake for me. Loved it, love it, will love it always. [read full review]

GOOD-BAD MOVIES Seen in 2011

1. The Thing (2011)
Genre: Horror
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Joel Edgerton
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

As a huge fan of the Kurt Russell version of this movie, I was pretty wary of this "prequel." And, as predicted, it has all the problems I was expected: too many special effects, not enough character development. That said, it was surprisingly fun too. AND, it's chock full of handsome, hairy Norwegians. What's not to love about that? [read full review]

2. Shark Night (2011)
Genre: Horror, Sharks!
Cast: Donal Logue, Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Alyssa Diaz, Joshua Leonard
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

I saw this creature feature in the theater, though not in 3D, and, luckily, had the whole place to myself. I say "luckily," because though it's a horror movie, I laughed harder and louder at this unintentionally hilarious flick than I laughed at any of the comedies I saw this year. It's utterly packed with cliches (when the one black character became the shark's first victim, completely without irony, I fell in love with this flick and never fell out again) and the premise makes no sense. On the plus side, though, there's almost no kissing whatsoever. I've got nothing against kissing, mind you, but I don't go to these kinds of movies to watch people make out -- I go to see them get eaten by sharks. And, gloriously, many of them do here. For sheer good-bad awesomeness, you need go no further. [read full review]

3. The Ward (2011)
Genre: Horror
Cast: Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer, Lyndsy Fonseca, Jared Harris
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

I hadn't heard a thing about this movie, John Carpenter's first in over a decade, until I stumbled across it in the guide for last year's Seattle International Film Festival. So, I was naturally quite wary, a feeling only deepened by the plot's description -- a ghost story set in a psychiatric hospital is hardly an original concept. Surprise, surprise, though, this movie isn't half bad! That is, it's almost exactly half-bad. But the half-good makes it well worth a rental. [read full review]

4. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Genre: Horror
Cast: Katie Featherston, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Sprague Grayden, Lauren Bittner
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

I loved the original Paranormal Activity, and was surprised when I really enjoyed the sequel too. But no way, I figured, could they pull it off a third time. For the most part, that ends up being the case, but this installment, which tells the story of haunted sisters Katie and Kristi when they were little girls first encountering the entity that tormented them in PAs 1 and 2, ended up being an overall success for me. Then again, I'm a total sucker when it comes to ghost stories -- love 'em. Worth a rental if you've seen the first two, but here's hoping the creators know when to quit (hint: now is a good time). Ain't no way a 4 isn't gonna suck. [read full review]

5. Virus X (2010)
Genre: Science Fiction, Virus
Cast: Jai Day, Domiziano Arcangeli, Joe Zaso, Dylan Vox, Sybil Danning, Sasha Formoso
[Netflix it | Buy it from Amazon]

Every now and then, my mom and I take a gamble on a movie that looks absolutely terrible from the box, but has a concept that intrigues us anyway. This one had a box that made it look like a horror flick, but a description that made it sound like sci-fi -- a killer strain of H1N1 gets loose in a lab and threatens to take out all the people who created it. Sometimes these rental risks turn out to be seriously awful. Other times, like this one, they end up being a total blast. Your mileage will seriously vary, depending on your tolerance for absolute crap, but we had a great time watching this one, and not just because it was packed with laughably ridiculous dialogue (though, of course, that too). Do with this information what you will, just don't blame me when it turns out that one dude is a robot. I didn't write the damn thing, I'm just recommending it![read full review]

GOOD BOOKS Read in 2011

1. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes (2010)
[Buy it from Amazon]

The nuances of this powerful novel are impossible to describe in the brief space I've got here. In a nutshell, it's about a platoon of Marines in the Vietnam War, the protagonist a kid leading a bunch of other kids into battle. But it's just so much bigger than that. Don't make me nutshell this one. Go read my full review. And then get a copy of this and read it. It's important. Do it. This book had a tremendous impact on me this year -- if that's not enough to convince you to give it a shot, you might as well quit reading now. Jerks. [read full review]

2. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (2010)
[Buy it from Amazon]

This witty, engaging novel is a collection of vignettes about a group of journalists living in Rome and working for an English-language newspaper. From the copy desk staff to the reporters, editors, and even an avid reader, the novel takes us deep down into the complex world of newspapers. But the true meat of this book isn't the world of news, it's the people themselves. Each story is a snapshot of a life, deeply personal and revealing. Sharply written and both hilarious and sad (sometimes simultaneously), these beguiling stories will stick with you for a long time. [read full review]

3. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (2009)
[Buy it from Amazon]

This is the quiet, simple tale of a housekeeper (never named) who is hired to cook and clean for an older gentleman, the Professor, who sustained brain damage in a car accident years prior and now has a short-term memory that only lasts 80 minutes. Every day when the housekeeper and her young son Root come to work, they are strangers again and must reintroduce themselves to him. Yet despite each day's newness, the three begin to form a bond that changes all their lives for good. Though his memory vanishes every hour and a half, Root and the housekeeper keep the Professor from vanishing with it, and through their love for him, themselves too. Short and affectionate, I can't recommend this simple, elegant novel highly enough. [read full review]

4. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)
[Buy it from Amazon]

High school senior Henry Scrimshander is an ace shortstop with an almost spiritual approach to fielding. All he wants in life is to get the chance to play ball. It looks like his dream has come true when a player from Westish College, Mike Schwartz, sees him in a game and is so impressed he pulls strings to get him a full-ride to the school. But as Henry begins to build relationships with Mike, his roommate Owen, the school's president, and the president's daughter, this group of five transform this baseball novel into a story loaded with emotion and complexity. It's not flawless, and it kind of sputters out at the end, but fans of baseball or good drama will find much to embrace here. Not a home run, but a solid triple for sure. [read full review]

5. Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer (2009)
[Buy it from Amazon]

For those who don't know, or don't remember, Pat Tillman was an NFL player who gave up a multi-million dollar contract after 9/11 to enlist in the Army and fight the Taliban. A year or so later, he was killed by friendly fire in a skirmish. This well-written non-fiction book tells the story of that incident, the story of the Bush administration's massive and massively unethical cover-up, and, perhaps most fascinatingly, the story of Pat Tillman himself, a man I confess I mostly thought of as a dumb jock until I read this book, and now respect immensely. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Bush wars, war-time politics, or heroes. [read full review]

6. Black Hills by Dan Simmons (2010)
[Buy it from Amazon]

This novel is overly long and, quite frankly, an absolute mess. But once I picked it up, I could not put it down. It's the story of a Sioux Indian, Paha Sapa, who, as a boy, touched Gen. Custer just as he was dying and was immediately possessed by his spirit. As he grew up, constantly having to listen to Custer prattle on in his head about all manner of nonsense (as well as some truly pervy sex stuff), he begins to believe he is fated to perform a massive task that will restore honor to his tribe. That task? To build and then destroy Mt. Rushmore. There's just enough real history in this novel to make it fascinating (the section on building the Brooklyn Bridge was particularly intriguing for me), and though the plot itself goes every which way, the characters are good and the story was definitely entertaining. It's not often I can forgive a novel so badly in need of an editor, but this one makes the list for sheer entertainment alone. [read full review]

7. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (1949)
[Buy it from Amazon]

Ish Williams is out camping in the woods when he gets bitten by a rattlesnake and nearly dies. When he returns to civilization, he discovers that while he was bed-ridden in his cabin, the entire world has been wiped out by some kind of plague. Traveling around for a while to look for survivors, Ish finally settles down with a group of people who begin to form a new community. The problems they encounter in this brave new world with no laws and no rules and a whole different lifestyle are numerous and complex, featuring everything from figuring out how to create running water, to what to do with a man who comes into the community infected with a STD that could kill them all. What I liked about this novel is that it's not your usual post-apocalyptic doomsday story -- instead, it focuses more on the practical elements of starting over. Use it to wash the ashes out of your mouth after reading The Road, is my advice. [read full review]

8. Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (2009)
[Buy it from Amazon]

Peter Brown is a brilliant ER doc with a sharp tongue and a big secret. You see, before he was a physician, he was a hit man for the mafia family of his best childhood pal, Skinflick Locano. That all changed, though, when the family turned on him and Peter was forced to testify against them and enter Witness Protection to stay alive. Now, though, Skinflick's managed to track him down, and the schnizznit is about to hit the schizzfan. Well-written and damn funny, this is a great choice for a quick vacation novel! [read full review]

9. The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin (2008)
[Buy it from Amazon]

This is the second in Franklin's series set in the Middle Ages and featuring Sicilian "death expert" (old timey for medical examiner) Adelia Aguillar. I loved the first one and this one was just as fun. The history and science (early forensics -- so cool!) are fascinating and, so far, the plots have been engrossing and the characters a true pleasure to get to know. Great choice for fans of historical mysteries! [read full review]

10. Charity Girl by Michael Lowenthal (2007)
[Buy it from Amazon]

Though this novel isn't terribly well-written, the subject was so fascinating (not to mention horrifying) I still think you should read it. During WWI, the US Government arrested over 20,000 women suspected of spreading STDs to American soldiers. Of those arrested, 13,000 tested positive and were held against their will for months at a time, not allowed to contact lawyers or families, and subjected to brutal and intentionally humiliating treatments. The novel is about a 17 year old girl, Frieda, who gets thrown into the system after she is seduced by one soldier and sexually assaulted by another. This is a shocking tale, made all the more terrible by the fact this actually happened. It's not a great book, but I think it's a necessary one. [read full review]

So, there you have it! I hope you'll give some of the films and books in this list a shot, and that you'll let me know what you think if you do. And again, I'd love to hear what some of your favorites from the last year were -- head over to the blog and start typin'!

All web content written by Meg Wood, sooooper genius.
Site design by Elizabeth Morrow and Meg Wood, co-hepcats-in-chief.
E-mail -- - meg@megwood.com
Web -- - http://www.megwood.com

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

SENCELESS PIE (book, TV, film reviews)

Comment on the BEST OF 2011 LISTS!

MOVIE: Moneyball (2011)
Any fan of baseball will find plenty to like about this film, which is based on a non-fiction book of the same title by Michael Lewis. . .

MOVIE: Donner Pass (2012)
This little horror flick doesn’t offer up much in the way of logic when it comes to its interpretation of what really happened to the Donner Party, but. . .

MOVIE: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
I have one question for Guillermo del Toro (who co-wrote and produced this stinker) and that question is. . .

MOVIE: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)
My first thought as the opening credits to this spy thriller began was, "Wow, what a cast!" Gary Oldman, Benedict "Sherlock". . .

MOVIE: The Artist (2011)
Have you ever seen a movie so absolutely wonderful from start to finish. . .

BOOK: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)
To fans of baseball, this book will be an utterly delightful novel of the game, with the added bonus of a well-written and engaging character drama on the side. . .

BOOK: The White Devil by Justin Evans (2011)
I'm way behind on book and movie reviews again -- I left for a week's vacation. . .

BOOK: Charity Girl by Michael Lowenthal (2007)
Here's something from United States history I had never heard before. . .

MOVIE: Shame (2011)
Stunning. Flawed. And that’s about all I can really say about this film. . .

MOVIE: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
I’d never seen a whole Harold and Kumar movie until this one, but had seen enough pieces here and there to suspect. . .

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