Great Film Experiences from 2011
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
This year I’ve been using the Quickflix.com.au DVD service where they send me discs by slow mail on a subscription. It’s why I’ve had a lot of (MBA) opinions about how their service could be improved, honed and administered in the light of the growing competition in the global movie streaming market. But that’s another post entirely… here are some of the movies I found worth watching during 2011.
I’ve culled this list down to the best thirteen films:
Red Dog
The filming of Red Dog in North-Western Australia was kind of incredible in itself. There is a monument erected by the people up that way of a famous red dog that befriended the miners. It’s a film that will make you laugh and cry… very Australian… very much an experience that will be popular around the world because the story told is about common humour, love and humanity. A great family film.
Griff the Invisible
To be honest, when I ordered Griff the Invisible it was a bit of a punt… but it was another really strong Australian movie. This is a light hearted story about a suburban superhero as much as it becomes a movie about states of mind and the question of shared versus individual realities. If you haven’t seen or heard of Griff the Invisible… another great family film.
Hanna
Kate Blanchett and Eric Bana are a formidable duo in Hanna. This is a non-stop action flick with great acting and an equally impressive script. At the end you sit in your chair and just think WOW, if only I could forget it all and watch it again. This is a classic story about the government breeding a super-killer and then losing it. Beware psychopaths in government… right?
Brighton Rock
Anything with Helen Mirren gets a special star for class but Brighton Rock may well have been the best film I watched for the last few years. If you like 1960s British gangster films with fantastic acting, a bit of the old brutality and some impressive script writing.


