The Quileute and the Volturi close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, The @ Amazon

The semi-autobiographical story centers on the complexities of love and commitment in a family torn apart when faced by an unexpected tragedy.
Fireflies in the Garden @ Amazon

Six years have elapsed since Guantanemo Bay, leaving Harold and Kumar estranged from one another with very different families, friends and lives. But when Kumar arrives on Harold’s doorstep during the holiday season with a mysterious package in hand, he inadvertently burns down Harold’s father-in-law’s beloved Christmas tree. To fix the problem, Harold and Kumar embark on a mission through New York City to find the perfect Christmas tree, once again stumbling into trouble at every single turn.
Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, A @ Amazon

A political thriller about who actually wrote the plays of William Shakespeare– Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford– set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her. (imdb)
Anonymous @ Amazon

The story of Nim, the chimpanzee, following his extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way. In the 1970s, Nim became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child.
Project Nim @ Amazon

Criticker Pick!

Drive – Average Tier 7.89

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.
Drive @ Amazon

In the future people stop aging at 25 and must work to buy themselves more time, but when a young man finds himself with more time than he can imagine he must run from the corrupt police force to save his life.
In Time @ Amazon

At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.
The Thing @ Amazon

Successful publisher Will Atenton (Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children.
Dream House @ Amazon

A retired CIA operative is paired with a young FBI agent to unravel the mystery of a senator’s murder, with all signs pointing to a Soviet assassin.
The Double @ Amazon

Criticker Pick!

50/50 – Average Tier 7.50

Adam, a 27 year old man who is otherwise in excellent health, is suddenly diagnosed with cancer. He breaks the news to his girlfriend, his best friend and his mother, who is also dealing with her husband who has Alzheimer’s disease. In the middle of it all, Adam also seeks therapy from a young and inexperienced therapist,assigned to him by the hospital, and befriends several older, wisecracking chemotherapy patients.
50/50 @ Amazon

Set in the near future, where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling promoter feels he’s found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father.
Real Steel @ Amazon

In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.
Paranormal Activity 3 @ Amazon

A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.
The Whistleblower @ Amazon

A chronicle of the events that led to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Beginning of the Great Revival @ Amazon

An idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. Based on the play by Beau Willimon.
The Ides of March @ Amazon

When teenager Nathan comes across his own childhood picture while scrolling through a missing persons website, he begins to question everything he ever took for granted — including the people he always assumed were his parents.
Abduction @ Amazon

Criticker Pick!

Mysteries of Lisbon – Average Tier 7.72

Follows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman, and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals.
Mysteries of Lisbon @ Amazon

A kid from the Midwest moves out to Hollywood in order to follow in his parents footsteps — and become a porn star.
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star @ Amazon

When a tragedy strikes close to home, four police officers struggle with their faith and their roles as husbands and fathers; together they make a decision that will change all of their lives.
Courageous @ Amazon

We’ve also incorporated poster-sized images into the top recommendation, and cleaned up the style of the PSIs for the recommended films.

Criticker Pick!

Moneyball – Average Tier 7.09

An all-star cast brings to life the true story of Billy Beane, a former jock turned general manager who uses unconventional methods to bring the best players to the Oakland A’s, a major league baseball team struggling against financial hardship.
Moneyball @ Amazon

When his mentor is taken captive, a retired member of Britain’s Elite Special Air Service is forced into action. His mission: kill three assassins dispatched by their cunning leader.
Killer Elite @ Amazon

Anna Faris stars in this rollicking comedy as Ally Darling, a sexually adventurous twentysomething who begins to suspect that her one true soul mate may be among the many lovers she has left in the dust, including Colin (Chris Evans). Turning to her licentious neighbor for help, Ally begins a quest to locate her old boyfriends to see which one might be Mr. Right. Mark Mylod directs this rom-com based on Karyn Bosnak’s book, 20 Times a Lady.
What’s Your Number? @ Amazon

Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint’s life.
There Be Dragons @ Amazon

A historical drama based on the founding of the Republic of China when nationalist forces led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty.
1911 @ Amazon

10. Apollo 18 – 2.75 Average Tier

“Totally Boring. You’re just sittin’ there, waitin for some suspense or shocking moments, but nothing comes around. And then, behind all those boring scenes, they are full of fails. Can someone tell how did they get the footage to earth, when they never went back to the moon?” – Fincky

9. Dream House – 2.67 Average Tier

“An absolute atrocity of M. Night Shyamalan-esque plot devices and empty, meaningless narrative methods. The stacked cast of Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz are completely wasted and led to give one-sided, static emotional performances reminiscent of what you might see in a cheesy, soap-opera mystery. The movie twists and twists until all of its potential complexities and themes are unwoven into a showing of simple, antiquated, and predictable suspense-less fluff.” – HiResDes

8. Something Borrowed – 2.62 Average Tier

“Holy shit, please kill me now. Not only are almost all the characters unlikable, but they are just terrible people. Even the one likable character who I will call Jim Halpert because that is the role he plays in everything (type cast much) was a terrible person. On second thought, don’t kill me, I’m already on it.” – CMonster

7. Zookeeper – 2.54 Average Tier

“Two hot women falling for a fat guy just because he is nice. That’s more unbelievable then animals talking.” – dst7175

6. Beastly – 2.53 Average Tier

“Ugh, this movie is so painfully shitty that you’d have spent your time better if you scraped the muscles off your legs. And why is it that every time I see Alex Pettyfer in a movie my dislike for him grows just a little more?” – Baby Fish

5. Conan the Barbarian – 2.51 Average Tier

“at some point, enough people with more than enough money thought THIS was a good idea. and that bothers me about this world…” – guy piranha

4. Red Riding Hood – 2.4 Average Tier

“A Gothic fairytale created by a team of middle managers, this is nothing more that a checklist of features needed to sell tickets to the Twilight demographic. A nameless medieval European village full of beautiful all-American teens with flawless makeup (including the boys), the worst dance party since The Matrix Reloaded, buckets of teen angst, terrible acting, woeful CGI and an ending so bad it makes the previous 80 minutes of mediocrity seem like high art. Utterly soulless.” – misterlizard

3. Season of the Witch – 2.36 Average Tier

“So… how many movies does Nicholas Cage have to make before the IRS leaves him alone and he can finally go back to making decent movies instead of this crap…” – DaeSanye

2. The Roommate – 2.21 Average Tier

“Another film for philistines, The Roommate is an asinine rendition of Single White Female-level cliches of psycho friend “horror” whose banality and dopiness constitutes an assault on film culture that’s formed out of filmmakers like Christian E. Christiansen pandering to the lowest common denominator. Cinematic portrayals of psychopathy have rarely been so inane but never has stupidity and superficiality been so broadly held up as virtuous — not even by Cameron Crowe!” – tomelce

1. Abduction – 1.95 Average Tier

“‘I walk around like everybody else but inside I just feel like I’m a stranger in my own life.’ Man, am I glad this dialog was improvised and no-one actually wrote this script. Am I right guys? … Guys?” – calharding

]]> http://www.criticker.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/05/2011s-ten-worst-movies/feed/ 10 http://www.criticker.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/04/view-filmmakers-by-country/ http://www.criticker.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/04/view-filmmakers-by-country/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:14:13 +0000 mpowell http://www.criticker.com/blog/?p=4702 We’ve released new functionality that allows you to filter the list of filmmakers by their country.

Of course, this filtering is only as good as the data. We’ve filled out the data for thousands of actors, directors and screenwriters, but there are many more that need the information. To further that end, as part of this update, we’ve also loosened the restrictions for updating biography information.

Used to be, you had to fill out (a) Nationality, (b) Date of Birth, and (c) Biography, before Criticker would accept the change. Now, you can fill out one, two or all three of the values. So if you know where Lou Diamond Phillips is from, but not when he was born, you can still contribute.

Hope you enjoy the new feature!

An action-thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.
Contagion @ Amazon

An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is teamed up with an uptight FBI agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.
The Guard @ Amazon

A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark @ Amazon

Terror makes a splash in this literally titled big-screen creature feature when a group of unsuspecting friends unpack for a weekend at the lake, only to discover that they’re not the only ones lurking in the water.
Shark Night 3D @ Amazon

A comedy centered on the life of Kate Reddy, a finance executive who is the breadwinner for her husband and two kids.
I Don’t Know How She Does It @ Amazon

Our criteria in compiling the list was that the film has to be on the list of Oscar-eligible films for 2011, and also have received at least 50 rankings at Criticker.

Check out the first part of our list!

10. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – 7.38 Average Tier

“In an era when so-called “British comedy(?)” and CGI schlockfests are popular, it is remarkably refreshing to see such an intelligent espionage film do so well. The phenomenal performances (Oldman turns in what could possibly be his best straight acting role to date) and the gripping, suspenseful story are undoubtedly the films strong points, as well as how beautiful it looks, but there is quite a lot to take in at a fast rate and it can be difficult to keep up at times. One of this years best.” – RapeyVessey

9. 50/50 – 7.49 Average Tier

“I was legitimately surprised at how good this was. It wasn’t a black comedy or a dramedy, but something that felt altogether different. Like a comedy and a drama woven together but the strands don’t really touch, leaving the other to do its thing, which each does really well. I can’t picture a cancer movie being able to do it better. JGL is great. Kendrick was pretty good. The real surprise was Seth Rogen. To be honest, if I have cancer, I want Rogen’s character to be my friend.” – CMonster

8. Shame – 7.5 Average Tier

“A strong and assured work. It’s tempting to call it an instant classic, Fassbender’s character likely to etch itself into your memory for a long time.” – KasperL

7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 7.59 Average Tier

“Fincher hasn’t made something this unsettling since Seven. It’s awesome. Also, say what you will about the rest of the movie, but that opening credits sequence is a fucking trip.” – nateb

6. Hugo – 7.65 Average Tier

“It may be a detour for Scorsese, but it’s also, surprisingly, the most autobiographical film he’s ever made, and one of his most heartfelt as a result. Its moderate flaws (primarily structural) are easy to forgive because it’s never less than charming or entertaining, and for any film geek out there, very touching as well. And the film’s evocation of 1930s Paris is absolutely fantastic.” – Criminal5

5. The Artist – 8.01 Average Tier

“Forget the fact that this is a silent film done in black and white. As risky as that is, balancing the tone of a film that’s a throwback to the 1920′s era of silent film while still feeling fresh and modern is what’s really impressive. As most modern film and television, ‘The Artist’ is self-aware, but it never crosses into a cliche or pretentious territory. It always feels natural within the story. Watching it with a crowd is a must to complete the feeling of a by-gone era. Extremely well done.” – canadianor

4. Drive – 8.02 Average Tier

“Akin to Soderberg’s The Limey, Drive is more of a visceral reflection, than the heist-movie the trailer and plot suggest, but that said, it offers both suspenseful chases and some of the most graphic violence this side of Irréversible. All-in-all: a pulp-story, that with few modifications could have been a random Jason Statham actioner, is given a gritty art-house overhaul by the constantly evolving talent of Nicolas Winding Refn and the brilliant cast.” – FrederikA

3. Take Shelter – 8.12 Average Tier

“Great and engaging from start to finish. It left me thinking about the film for a few days after as it has a particular mood and atmosphere that’s not quite horror, but disturbing never the less.” – MrGreedy

2. Senna – 8.31 Average Tier

“It really is astounding how like a film Senna’s life was – so of course, this is a gripping documentary. However, it’s also incredibly moving – I cried at the ending – and brilliantly edited.” – MinuteMaker

1. A Separation – 8.82 Average Tier

“One might teeter on the feeling that there’s just too much going on in Farhadi’s coming-of-age/class warfare/kitchen sink drama, but the director handles it all so deftly and with such respect for his characters that the film ends up enriched by its various dramas instead of bogged down in them.” – graveyardtan