Joel over at Deny Everything made a list of his top ten of the summer of 2011 and this inspired me to make one of my own.
Candidates for the list were movies that I watched during the period June 1 to August 31 in a cinema. This means that for instance Dogtooth and Source Code qualify for the list because they had their release in Sweden this summer, even if they’ve been launched previously in other parts of the world.
1. Dogtooth
Creepy and fascinating about a family living in complete isolation from the world. The film opens for different interpretations. Some say it’s about the politics of Greece. I watched it more from a personal, psychological level. If the parents put up arbitrary, artifical limits, don’t we do the same to ourselves? We believe whatever false idea of fear and defeat that comes into our minds rather than challenging them. Our barriers are just as imaginary as the walls surrounding the garden in Dogtooth. But again: I suppose you could also watch it just like a sort of horror movie. In any case, it resembled to nothing I’ve seen before.
2. Incendies
A tragedy that grabbed me all way through.
3. Melancholia
Lars von Trier is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was quite shaken up after watching this movie. Kirsten Dunst was wonderful as the depressed Justine and some of the images of Earth on a collision course with the planet Melancholia were breathtaking. I loved the low-tech approach. You don’t need a chaotic NASA control room to create the tension. All it takes is a small piece of steel wire. It was unfortunate about von Trier’s odd behaviour at Cannes and the overreactions to it, which stole the attention from the movie as such.
4. Beginners
I cried.
5. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows 2
A worthy end to the series, which brought back some personal memories.
6. Submarine
It made me laugh, which is a tricky thing to do since I’m grumpy and picky when it comes to comedy.
7. The Tree of Life
While parts of it were a bit over my head and I encountered some difficulties to stay awake, the cosmic scenes and the score mesmerized me.
8. Hanna
Highly paced, thoroughly enjoyable as long as you didn’t make the mistake to start thinking about it.
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Motion capture > ape costumes. And we all need to learn how to deliver a proper “no”. I enjoyed it a lot.
10. Source Code
I love time-travel themed movies. This wasn’t the best one ever, but deserves a spot on my ten-top list for the summer.
Additional notes
Two movies ended up just outside of the list: Super 8 and Bridesmaids. They’re not unforgettable, but still good views.
Midnight in Paris is not on the list, since it isn’t launched in Sweden until September 2. Otherwise I suspect it would have had a good chance to get a spot, considering my general love for Allen’s movies.
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