Films of 2011

So here's my best and worst films of 2011. Bearing in mind, I'm no professional so I have to source these movies myself and can't go see everything in the cinema for free which is why I've only seen about 40-odd and at least 10-15 came from cramming in December.
It was my first year really, but this year I have more time and can do it... properly?

Anyway, without further ado, let's get the worst out of the way with.

10. Melancholia



9. Cowboys and Aliens



8. Insidious



7. Apollo 18



6. The Tree of Life



5. The Hangover Part 2



4. Horrid Henry: The Movie



3. New Year's Eve



2. The Inbetweeners Movie



1. Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon



So there's the worst. The surprises in there might probably be Melancholia, The Tree of Life and The Inbetweeners Movie since they were quite widely liked, and quite popular.
With Melancholia and The Tree of Life, I recognise they are well made, I just didn't enjoy them. The Inbetweeners Movie, however, is just vulgar and Transformers as the worst film of the year speaks for itself.

Now onto the much more enjoyable top 10.

10. Attack the Block



9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2



8. Tyrannosaur



7. Hugo



6. Rise of the Planet of the Apes



5. Tomboy



4. We Need to Talk About Kevin



3. Les Géants



2. Weekend



1. Trust




Now that list probably has a few films that weren't widely recognised: Tyrannosaur, Tomboy, Les Géants for the most part but they don't have to be big to be great.
Hey, even my no.1 Trust, wasn't a MASSIVE film. And don't get the wrong idea that my favourite is about the online grooming of girl. It was just such a devastating film. I wouldn't imagine the re-watch value is great but the film hits you hard and it certainly left an imprint in my mind.
Weekend comes in at no.2 for more personal reasons since it's a very, very good LGBT interest film and because it's the first 18 I ever went to see in the cinema :P

This is the first time I've ever done a top/bottom 10 of anything and it was rather tricky. There are a few films that didn't quite make it into the top 10 that I would have liked to include. Super 8, TrollHunter, Neds, 50/50, Bridesmaids could have each fit comfortably in there but just didn't quite make the cut.
But my list is as it stands.

As for 2012. I imagine it could be a little better. Prometheus is what I'm most looking forward to although there's also The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit and all these unexpected little gems that always come out of nowhere. It ought to be an interesting year for films indeed!


Rowan <3


P.S Album of 2011 is either Adele's "21" or Elbow's "Build a Rocket Boys"

Wasn't a big year for music. At least it wasn't me but I do love those albums.

At the Movies

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. I don't have an excuse of any kind so all I can do is say sorry.

Anyhow, since my last post the film group I go to filmed an advert for our upcoming youth film festival. It was great fun.

Despite getting up at 5am on a Sunday morning to go into town I enjoyed it immensely. Although it turns out I wasn't actually required until about half ten. Yet, when i was required, i was really required.

I played two characters in the ad - Harry Potter and Charlie Chaplin. I'd say I didn't look particularly convincing as either but everyone else disagreed. But yeh, my scenes were filmed back to back and we were limited with our filming time so i had to change quick style from Potter to Chaplin but it all added to the rush and excitement of things.

We were also able to hire a professional camera and lighting team thanks to our group leader and it worked well, i'd say. It really had a proper "on set" feel, the first time i've been in that situation really.

I wouldn't say filming a music video in Media was on par with this. Everyone was up for it this time, really dedicated and serious but not without wanting to have fun at the same time so there was just a great atmosphere all round.

I'm not going to delude myself by thinking that being on set is always like that but it really encouraged me to go further, you know. Having sort of worked on set last year, I just wanted to keep doing it and filming this only furthered that desire.

The ad has been edited into a rough cut by the camera team and hopefully we get to see it this Thursday before doing a spot of editing ourselves. Wouldn't mind a little bit of that!

While we're on the subject of films, I'm not far off applying for my university courses. I've decided where i'd like to go - which isn't far from home - I've handed in my personal statement, i just need to wait on my guidance teacher to write a reference and then i can apply for my courses. Perhaps by this weekend...

There are only a handful of university courses that i'd like to go to that are nearby so i'm hoping like hell i get into them. There are 3 main ones i'd be happy to get a place on but i have two backup courses in case i don't.

I'm quietly confident since i did, of course, get 5 A's last year at first sitting (which is not bad i have to say) and I do have a fair amount of background experience within media but, as they say, don't take anything for granted.

I'll keep you on the DL but, for now, thanks for reading this little piece of something or whatever.


Rowan <3