December in Movies

Whoa. It's the end of 2011. I don't know how, but it is. Anyway, I'm posting my monthly review a day early because I have a special end-of-year post for tomorrow, New Year's Eve. At 11.59pm tomorrow night I'll be sitting there wondering where the hell this year went. This year has gone faaaaaaaaast.

Movies I'd never seen until the month of December...

Hunger - Kinda bummed that I didn't get this for Christmas. Still, I shall buy this movie on Criterion blu-ray sometime this year. Because it is that good.
Jonah Hex - That's the last time I'm watching a movie just because it has one of my favourite actors in it. I love you, Michael Fassbender, but this wasn't so good.
Green Lantern - Watching this on what was perhaps our first real summer's day (it was hooooot) was probably not the best idea...I got so agitated. It's been a pretty crap year for Ryan Reynolds though, hasn't it? After his tremendous work in Buried I thought he deserved more.
Oranges and Sunshine - One of those movies that everyone at work seemed to love. I thought it was pretty okay. Emily Watson is the best.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale - Perhaps not the best movie to get into the Christmas spirit with, but it was nice enough.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Golly, I loved this movie. If only Andy Serkis could get that Oscar nomination.
Senna - I bought this movie on Boxing Day, 25% off. It was literally the only thing I wanted for Christmas, but as luck would have it, I didn't get it. Oh well, I never get DVDs, anyway. My other presents were cool enough.
The Great Dictator - I admit, I felt a little uncomfortable seeing Charlie Chaplin make fun of Hitler and what was happening to the Jews (but as Chaplin said, if he had been aware of what Hitler was really doing, he wouldn't have made the film). Otherwise, it was quite funny, but not as good as City Lights or Modern Times.
Before Sunrise - So lovely. I wish I could go to a foreign land and have a romance like that.
Before Sunset - Even better than the first. Oh, it was just so beautiful!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - I can't believe that the series started with a kids film.
Priest - Better than I expected, but then again, my expectations were really low (I am turning into such a snob). Paul Bettany should stop making films like this, though. He is so much better than this.
Something Borrowed - Good lord. If anyone tried to make me watch this again, I would personally rip my eyes out.
The Orator - NZ's first submission into the foreign film category at the Oscars, and Samoa's first feature film. Unfortunately, I don't think it'll make it big since it is so slow, but it has some beautiful cinematography.
Cowboys & Aliens - It's fair to say that I don't remember any of this movie now. Such a shame, because it should have been so much better than it was.
Henry's Crime - Vera Farmiga was amazing, as usual, but this was kinda dull. As you could expect from your average Keanu Reeves movie.
Incendies - After those three films, I was hoping for a lot from Incendies. To be honest, it is the only one that I vividly remember. And I think I'll remember it for the rest of my life, even if I never see it again.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Worst of the series.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Why is this one everyone's favourite? It was good, but as a stand-alone film, it wasn't that great.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Second worst of the series. Way too fun when it should have been serious.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I really liked this one. Anything could be better than Goblet of Fire.
Submarine - I'd love to make a film like this one. I'm just not quirky enough, though.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - It's funny how your views on the events of one film change when you find out the real story.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - This one was every bit as good as part 2, in my opinion.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - I need a pet that I can call Severus Snape. Or just something that I can name Severus Snape.
Horrible Bosses - I thought that this was freaking hilarious. Best comedy of the year, in my opinion.
Chatroom - Interesting premise and nicely styled, but it just didn't really go anywhere. It was cool seeing Hannah Murray, a.k.a Cassie from Gen 1 of Skins again, though. She was awesome.
Cinema Paradiso - Was on the Maori Channel (they show some seriously good foreign films) on Christmas Eve. Eh, it was a nice enough movie, but I was left kinda wanting. The end was wonderful, though.
The Guard - I like my Irish comedies. They are funny.
Casino Jack - This movie just never seemed to end. Such a shame, because it had a lot of potential.
Barney's Version - A wonderful, underrated romance/drama. Paul Giamatti was so deserving of his Golden Globe. Rosamund Pike was brilliant, too. I wish she'd get noticed more.
Hobo with a Shotgun - An interesting movie to have follow Barney's Version. I loved it, though!

Movies I've seen before but felt like watching again because I'm cool like that...

It's a Wonderful Life - To try and get myself into the Christmas spirit. Didn't work a hell of a lot though...I still don't think that we had Christmas this year. What is up with this year?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Watched it again with my friends. Was way better the second time. Caesar is my main ape.
Bridesmaids - Again, watched it with my friends. We were overtired so we laughed at basically everything, but I still think it is so overrated.
Love Actually - This did a bit to get me into the Christmas spirit. But I still feel more caught up on last year's Christmas rather than this year's one.
Meet Me in St. Louis - My Christmas movie. Sat down with my umpteenth bowl of trifle and sung all of my favourite songs (The Trolley Song seriously is the best). I absolutely adore this movie.
Hanna - Dad made me write a staff pick on this movie since he had to get extra copies of it. I lied...I gave it 7/10 on the pick instead of my real rating, 6/10. But what I said on the pick was true, I said it was "stylish", Saoirse Ronan was "amazing" and the "music makes it 100x better than it should be". If you're from Dannevirke, still trust my staff picks on Incendies and Senna. They're legit.
Easy A - Was going to watch the Israeli version of The Debt (the original version, was in the preview drawer), but the disc decided not to work in my laptop. So I looked through my collection for something under 90 minutes, and this was one of the only ones I could come up with. New Years resolution: buy shorter movies.
In Bruges - Decided I was in the mood for Irish comedy last night. Ralph Fiennes is effing hilarious in this. In fact, the entire movie is.

So, how about you? Have you seen anything good this month?