We’re half way through the year and releases are few and far between in Australian cinemas. It’s left me with very little to talk about.
I therefore thought it an opportune time to go through my mid-year report card (as I have done in past years).
I went through this list with Kelly Higgins-Devine on 612ABC Brisbane radio and you can download a 9 minute podcast by clicking here.
I’ve seen 100 films so far in 2011 but none of them are worthy of my top rating – an A+. Hopefully a few films will come along to change that over the coming months.
Total Films Released: 100 (slightly above last year’s 96 but down from the peak of 117 in 2008)
Total Films Seen Worthy Of An A+: 0
Total Films Seen Worthy Of An A: 4
Best Films: 127 Hours, Another Year, Inside Job (all 3 now on video) and Super 8 (now in cinemas).
Best Performances: James Franco (127 Hours), Leslie Manville (Another Year), Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Rachel McAdams (Morning Glory), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit).
Worst Films: A Heartbeat Away, Soul Surfer, Yogi Bear, How Do You Know, Big Mommas, Hoodwinked Too and World Invasion: Battle LA.
Proof That Australians Will Support Local Cinema If You Have An Interesting Story: Mrs Carey’s Concert still pulling in crowds after 10 weeks with $970k, Snowtown doing the same after 7 weeks with $985k, and Oranges & Sunshine leading the pack with $2.75m after just 4 weeks.
A Weak Year For Animation If You Ask Me: Yogi Bear, Cars 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, Rango, Gnomeo & Juliet and Hop.
Best Of The Animated Bunch: Rio and Tangled.
You Can’t Beat A Good Documentary: Inside Job, Catfish, Waiting For Superman, Mrs Carey’s Concert.
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying: The Hangover 2 has grossed $31.5m in Australia – a bigger total than any of this year’s other releases despite being a carbon copy of the original.
Biggest Box-Office Opening: Transformers 3 (with $12.3m) despite many negative reviews from the public and critics. I dare say this will be passed by Harry Potter in a week’s time.
Was A December 2010 Release But Worth Mentioning: The King’s Speech spent 17 weeks in the top 20 and made $31m. Not bad for a film about a guy with a stutter seeing a speech therapist!
Films I Surprisingly Liked: Never Say Never, No Strings Attached, Bridesmaids, The Lincoln Lawyer, Water For Elephants.
Films I Surprisingly Disliked: The Tree Of Life, Sleeping Beauty, Scream 4, Conviction, Rango, Thor.
Proof That Foreign Language Films Can Be Successful At The Box-Office: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest reeled in $2.3m and spent 6 weeks inside the top 20.
Films Looking Forward To In The Months Ahead: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, War Horse, Senna, The Inbetweeners.
Films Not Looking Forward To In The Months Ahead: Green Lantern, The Smurfs, Final Destination 5.
Why I’m Excited: I’m off to the Toronto Film Festival in September!