Coming Soon: The Movie Year 2011

I just watched "Beginners" again at home, on DVD.  It is a wonderful little film.  My review, written this past June, did not do it complete justice.  Christopher Plummer was even more impressive this time; and the treatment of a son's attempt to comfort a dying father held a special resonance and relevance to me.

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Tomorrow I will post a review of "The Artist".  Along with "Beginners", both films charmed me with their canine supporting players, both of them Jack Russell Terriers with the sweetest faces. 
"The Artist" was one of my most highly anticipated films of the year.  I am anxious to share my thoughts about this movie.

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In addition to "Beginners", the holiday added a slew of great new films to my personal collection (some of which will be re-viewed on these "pages") including "The Deer Hunter", "Gods and Monsters", "Never Let Me Go", "Inside Job", "Midnight in Paris", "The King's Speech", "Black Swan", "The Exorcist", and "The Thin Red Line". 

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When time permits, I'll be checking out "My Week With Marilyn", "War Horse", and "Shame".  I am not yet convinced that I will derive much from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".  "The Iron Lady" and "Albert Nobbs" have yet to be released in Chicago. 

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2011 was a memorable, heartbreaking and infuriating year.  Great travel, memorable music, an end-of-year movie bonanza, and wonderful Chicago weekends alternated with heartbreaking world news, infuriating politics, and a series of family traumas that have left me numb.  I cherish my closest friends, my readers, my animals, and Mark for helping me keep my feet on the ground as it continued to shift under me.

Looking ahead, Oscars 2011 should provide a well-needed escape, as well as an exciting showcase of some truly great movies (I hope).  I will weigh in at regular intervals.  I'll also take my annual look back to Oscars 40 years ago, when in 1971 the big names were Friedkin and Hackman and Fonda, when New York was the backdrop to the year's most honored films, and when the Russian Revolution played side-by-side with futuristic British  gang wars at local cinemas.