1. Most of the best movies are released – I wish they would spread the “good” films more throughout the year, but now I sure look forward to the holidays.  Ah, the holidays: eating food, seeing my family, and convincing my family to go to the movies.

2. Everyone is talking about movies – And I love talking about movies.  Okay, so not everyone is bringing it up, but this time of year I seem to get into a lot more conversations about movies with people I don’t usually have conversations with about movies…if you know what I mean.

3. Awards and Oscar Nominated Scripts are Available for Free Download – Some of the best scripts go online, and you can download them in PDF form for free.  Ashley Meyers of SellingYourScreenplay.com pointed me to nice page on the CBS site, which has a link to the pdfs. Here it is:

CBS Site with Free Downloads of Award Nominated Scripts

As screenwriters, we can improve our skills in a few different ways.  The first way, of course, is writing, writing, and rewriting.  The next is watching movies.  Finally, getting our hands on as many screenplays as we can helps us keep up with the best scripts and changing styles in the craft.

In other words, awards season helps season helps us do two of those three things.  Now all that’s left is the writing. 

Onward!

-Eric

To make it on the list, a film had to be released in the U.S. in 2011, either in theaters or on DVD.  (Festivals don’t count.)  Thus, a few of the below films may not necessarily match their IMDB release date.

This all began with TV Script Doctor Joey.  She’s been making movie lists for years.  In 2010, I compiled a Best of 2010 List at the end of the year, but 2011 was the first year I kept track as I watched, and one reason why this list is more extensive and includes comments on each film.

I really enjoyed this.  It’s just plain more fun watching a film and then thinking about where it ranks.  Plus, friends would ask, “Where’s that on the list?” after we’d watch a movie, and I’d be instantly be able to recommend better films.  Along those same lines, when acquaintances or relatives would ask smartly, “What’s the best movie of the year?” you instantly have an answer (DRIVE) because you have your list.

Want to join the fun in 2012?  Take the Great Movie Challenge of 2012 and keep up as we try to see as many movies released in 2012 as we can. (Did you see HAYWIRE or THE GREY?  You’re already ahead!)

Alright, let’s get to the list:

THE BEST (AND WORST) MOVIES OF 2011

DON’T MISS

1.    DRIVE –If you can stand a bit of ultra violence, you’re in for a wild ride.
2.    THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – James Bond teams up with the most badass chick of all time.
3.    50/50 – I laughed, I cried, sometimes at the same time.
4.    SOURCE CODE – Sci-fi, the way it’s meant to be.
5.    BEGINNERS – Surprisingly strong indie that’s less about death and more about life.  (And not as cheesy as this description.)
6.    THE DESCENDANTS – Sad, meaningful, and so well written.
7.    BRIDESMAIDS – NOT the best comedy of all time (see Bridesmaids Overrated) but still very funny and surprisingly touching.
8.    SUPER 8 – Channels those great Spielberg flicks from the 80s.
9.    MONEYBALL – Brad Pitt, Sabermetrix, and Jonah Hill turn out to be a killer combination.  Who could have predicted that? (Answer: Brad Pitt)
10.    MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL – Long title, awesome action film.
11.    SUBMARINE – Wes Anderson scores again with this British coming-of-age indie…Wha?  Not Wes Anderson?  Still quality.
12.    THE ARTIST – Innovative semi-silent film, however, as Matt and I discussed on Scriptcast 32, a slow second act drags it down.

COULD BE WORSE

13.    THOR – As good as it gets for a movie about a guy with a magic hammer.
14.    HUGO – A spectacular, sentimental film with far too little story.
15.    CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE – A tad contrived, but the Gos rules.
16.    X-MEN: FIRST CLASS – First class, indeed. Best X-MEN since X2.
17.    MIDNIGHT IN PARIS  – A whimsical, intellectual, and humorous stroll through Paris.  Good to see Woody Allen (metaphorically) kicking ass again.
18.    RED STATE – Kevin Smith strikes with a surprisingly intense and intelligent horror/action/comedy (but mostly action) fusion film.
19.    BUCK – Moving documentary about man who shows us we’re not that different from horses.  Seriously.
20.    A BETTER LIFE – A bit melodramatic, yet Demian Bichir makes us feel.
21.    CAPTAIN AMERICA – High-ranking entertainment, until the ending.
22.    WIN-WIN – Small, solid film with touching humor and intimate moments.
23.    SENNA – Formula One racing never felt so alive.
24.    TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL – High-concept, low-budget, and a whole lot of fun.
25.    MARGIN CALL – So that’s what happened in 2008…
26.    THE IDES OF MARCH – A smart – but surprisingly light – political drama.
27.    LIFE IN A DAY – Feels a little like BABIES 2: ADULTS. Fascinating doc shot by real people across the globe.
28.    PAUL – Plot and characters need work, but constant jokes keep the laughter flowing through the end.
29.    HIGHER GROUND – Interesting indie exploring religion, women, sex, marriage, life…and somewhere there’s a story, I know it.
30.    THE HELP – A great cast nearly saves this overly feel-goody film.
31.    THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – Learned three things: 1. Heaven is a library. 2. Emily Blunt is in great shape 3. Fedoras give you power.
32.    PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES – Raises important questions while lacking the depth of the paper it covers.
33.    BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK – Beautiful pictures with only a taste of the man who takes them.
34.    FAST FIVE – Sexy and silly.  Poking holes in this plot is like punching a kitten in the face: easy to do but ruins the cuteness.
35.    THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE, 1967-1975 –Intense footage stylistically cobbled together in a movie.  Sort of.
36.    THE TRIP – An enjoyable, wandering excursion.
37.    RANGO – Cool, except the story felt less like a CHINATOWN homage and more like the recycling of its water…plot.
38.    CEDAR RAPIDS – A bit odd, but still a light, fun, indie comedy.
39.    EXPORTING RAYMOND – Nifty cultural observations; doesn’t get too deep.
40.    HALL PASS – Not sure if the premise works, yet the laughs keep coming.
41.    CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP – Insights into Conan are hard to come by in this light, amusing documentary.
42.    JANE EYRE– Picturesque retelling that omits too many of the intricate verbal exchanges that made the book a classic.
43.    FORKS OVER KNIVES – Educational documentary on the perils of eating meat and dairy.  Suffers from editing and sound quirks – FOOD, INC. it ain’t.
44.    BATTLE: LOS ANGELES – Aliens blow up West LA.  What’s not to like?*
45.    THE LINCOLN LAWYER – Some slick McConaughey moves.  Still waiting for the final twist.   Really?  That’s it?  Really?
46.    POTICHE – Cute and disorganized.  Just like France.  (Kidding.)

WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK

47.    YOUNG ADULT – Charlize Theron behaving poorly.  Hear the review – and debate – on Scriptcast 32.
48.    THE HANGOVER PART II – Some laughs, but too many “balls,” and not enough “to-the-wall.”
49.    BAD TEACHER – Pretty “bad.”  (Heh.)
50.    JUMPING THE BROOM – The sappiness sucks the enjoyment out of this otherwise entertaining film.
51.    LIMITLESS – Interesting idea that fails to capitalize on its potential
52.    THE GREEN HORNET – An unsympathetic hero without a goal makes this humorous and stylized film tough to like.
53.    HANNAH – Wished the story was half as developed as the action sequences.
54.    HORRIBLE BOSSES – So many bosses, so few jokes.
55.    ARTHUR – Tries to do too much; ends up not doing much at all.
56.    SUPER – Weird, dark, and humorless.
57.    NO STRINGS ATTACHED – “Hot actors naked.”  Didn’t expect much; expectations delivered.
58.    GNOMEO AND JULIET  – Strange mix of gardening/Shakespeare/kids-movie.  Gnomes were cute, though.
59.    FROM PRADA TO NADA – Lacks sense or sensibility.

You may have noticed that a decent number of documentaries on there.  That’s thanks to Netflix Instant, which fed my craving year-round.

Sure, not everything is on this list.  I still need to see WARRIOR, MELANCHOLIA, CONTAGION, and A SEPARATION.  But I feel like it was a solid effort, catching most of the bigger films (except for HARRY POTTER 8 and TWILIGHT 4) and a lot of smaller ones.

And even if I didn’t see everything in 2011, there’s always the Great Movie Challenge of 2012.

I feel like I’m already behind.  Actually, I am.

See you at the movies.

-Eric

—

* A joke.  If West Los Angeles were destroyed by aliens, I would miss Father’s Office, A Video Store Named Desire, and at least two other establishments whose names have slipped my mind.

Sorting through the entries is taking longer than expected.

Why is it taking so long?  It turns out, there are just too many good ones.

I am not kidding.  I imagined it was going to be much easier to pick the winners, that solid ideas would outshine the rest like diamonds in a field of coal.

As it is, for this $3 contest, most of you sent it gems.

Nice work.  I mean it.

In the next week or two, I’ll sort through the rubies to find the brightest nuggets (not sure how long I can keep this metaphor up) and declare the winners.

That also means that if you don’t win, it doesn’t mean your entry wasn’t high quality, it just means competition was fierce.

If you have any questions about the contest, please shoot me an email.  I’m eric at scriptdoctoreric dot com.

Again, well done, sorry for the delay, and…

Onward!

-Eric

As I stated a few weeks ago, 2012 is going to be a great year for movies.  So, why not get out and see as many films as you can?

Need more motivation?  Join me, TV Script Doctor Joey, Scriptcast Matt, actor Lawrence Long, and others in a fun and free challenge!

The Great Movie Challenge of 2012

1. From now through January 31st, 2013, watch as many movies released in 2012 as you can fit into your schedule.*

2. Keep a running list.  Rank the movies as soon as you see them, with a few brief thoughts on each film (240 characters max).  A Word doc on the desktop should do the trick.  For an example check out my list from last year: The Best Movies of 2011

3. Send me your list by January 31st, 2013 at 11:59pm.

I’ll post the lists on the site, or, if I receive too many, create a master list, quoting from each submission.

PRIZES!!

There will be prizes for:

1. The most movies seen
2. The list that most closely matches the average rankings of all the lists.
3. The list that most closely matches mine.

What will these prizes be?  Good question!  The contest won’t end for over a year from now so…stay tuned!

See you at the theater.

And…

Onward!

-Eric

—

*It’s difficult to see all the “awards” movies in December, thus, an extra month is allowed.

Waking up on Oscar Nominations Day (OND)* is like waking up on a Hollywood-created Christmas: A few pleasant surprises, a ton of predictable results, and some big dissappointments.

For this year’s OND** the most pleasant surprise is Demián Bichir, whose subtle performance in A BETTER LIFE blew me away, and changed my perception of day laborers.  Check it out.  Seriously.

On a less serious note, here are 2012′s biggest Oscar snubs:

1.  THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Where’s the Best Picture and Director nods for the best grown-up movie of the year?  Sure, Rooney Mara was nominated, and the film was nominated for Best Cinematography, but all of its co-nominees either got a Best Picture or Best Director nom.  Or both.

2. 50/50 – An emotional, humorous film.  Guess it was too humorous, but am still surprised MARGIN CALL got the nom.  Not a bad film, but it’s no 50/50.

3. SOURCE CODE – Am I the only one that loved this early 2011 sci-fi flick?  Sometimes it feels that way.

4. BEGINNERS – Sure, Christopher Plummer snagged a nomination, but the film is surprisingly good, and certainly one of the best written (MARGIN CALL?  Seriously?), if not the plain Best Pictures of the year.  (THE HELP?  Seriously?)

5. DRIVE – The coolest movie of the year gets a Sound Editing nom.  Woo woo.  :-/

Much more to say about this, but I’m saving it for an upcoming Scriptcast (A Screenwriting Podcast) episode.

Stay tuned…

-Eric

—

*Not a recognized federal holiday as of the time of writing.

**Still not a holiday.  But check out the noms on the LA Times 2012 Oscar List

Why start the resolutions in February?  For one, it makes them more like 11-month resolutions, which seem far more doable, even though the commitment has only been reduced by a month.

For another, I’m always late with my resolutions.  (“Make  resolutions on time” will go that on next year’s list.)

So if you haven’t made your resolutions for the new year – or already fallen off the wagon – perhaps one of these will catch your attention and you can join me in February.

Script Doctor Eric’s 2012 Screenwriting Resolutions

1. Write for at least 30 minutes every day  – Set a timer, put on headphones, make it happen.

2. Exercise – Not very original, but it really keeps the body (and mind, which is in the body, it seems) healthy and active. I’ll start with 20-30 minutes every-other day.  I prefer jogging, swimming, punching a bag, and yoga-ing.*  Not at the same time.

3. Read more poetry – Can help in writing dialogue.  Seriously.

4. Read more good screenplays – One a week, to start.

5. Watch more movies – In 2010, I saw over 40 movies released that year.  In 2011, the number was past 50 (list is forthcoming).  This year I’m shooting for sixty.

6. Read novels – Apparently you can learn from great prose.

7. Eat more vegetables – This should probably be higher on the list.

Do those make sense?

I also want to finish my large project, write two more screenplays, grow Scriptcast, and get back into script consulting here on ScriptDoctorEric.com.

And more.   Stay tuned.

-Eric

—
* Yes, yoga, what did you expect?  It’s LA.

It’s time to record some new episodes of Scriptcast!

NEW TIME!

Catch the raw, unedited, unscripted conversation that is our live shows, by going to UCLAradio.com on Wednesdays, 10am-noon (Pacific).  The first one is tomorrow.

If you miss the live recording, the edited episode will be posted on iTunes within a few days of broadcast.

Have you subscribed to Scriptcast on iTunes yet?  It’s free.  Do it.

Also, we’re always open to questions or ideas for the podcast.  So if you have one – or more – let me know!

Email: eric@scriptdoctoreric.com
Tweet: @scriptdreric

Happy Post-Holidays, and…

Onward!

-Eric

Could this be a reaction to 2011′s very mediocre crop of films?**  Perhaps.  Or maybe, just maybe, I’m right.

Here’s a quick list of ten movies I can’t wait to see in 2012. (In order of “can’t wait to see”…ness.)

1. The Dark Knight Rises – The follow-up to one of the best comic book (and non-comic book) films of all time.   Actually, I take that back.  I’m sure it won’t be good.  No need to go opening day.  I for one, won’t be in line.  Seriously.  Stay home. 

2. The Hunger Games – The second trailer got me.  I’m rooting for you, Katniss.

3. The Avengers - Hope it lives up to the hype.

4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – The subtitle should be “So Much Expected” seeing how we’ve read the books and own the LOTR films.***

5. Prometheus – A prequel to Alien?  Let’s do this.

6. The Amazing Spider-Man – A prequel to Spider…wait a second.  What the hell is this?  I’m a sucker for Spidey, so I’ll see it, but if there’s another reinvention of Spider-Man in five years…well, I’ll probably see that too.

7. Jack the Giant Killer – Bryan Singer re-teams with screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie to kick some giant ass.  No, really.

8. The Five-Year Engagement - Loved Get Him to the Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so how can I not be excited about this?  Also, it may be friend-of-the-podcast Randall Park‘s breakout movie.  Go Randy!

9. Django Unchained – Make us proud, Quentin.

10. The Great Gatsby – A great book.  What could go wrong? 

I know what you’re thinking: What about Snow White and the Huntsman?  Those Abe Lincoln films?  Battleship?

Battleship?  Really?

At this point, you never know.  Some of the most anticipated movies may be huge disappointments; other films might turn out to be great surprises.  As they say, the only thing we can expect is the unexpected.

And a good Batman movie.

See you at the theater!

-Eric

—

* The century technically starts Jan. 1st, 2001.  Which works out well, since the year 2000 had some amazing movies.

** A Best Movies of 2011 list is forthcoming.  Will it have better films than those on the Best Movies of 2010 list?  Wait and see. (Hint: No it won’t.  2010 was a very strong year.)

*** In multiple versions.  Damn you, Peter Jackson!

1. A reminder that the deadline for my Mini-Screenwriting Contest is quickly approaching.  (It’s December 31st at midnight.)  Don’t miss it!

2. A couple of folks have asked about the safety of their ideas they submit for the contest.  Will I post about their logline and pages?  Will I discuss them on our screenwriting podcast – or anywhere else, for that matter?

No.  I will not communicate your ideas with anyone else.

I plan on publishing the winning loglines on this site.  Of course, that is with the permission of the writers.

In general, if you are worried about someone stealing your movie idea, please see my post: Will Someone Steal My Movie Idea?

Basically, most ideas don’t get stolen.  But if you’re worried just register it with the WGA.

Hope that helps, good luck in the contest, and…

Onward!

-Eric

[Insert DRUM ROLL...then CYMBAL CRASH!]

We have a new grand prize!  Ashley Meyers of SellingYourScreenplay.com has generously donated a year membership to his suite of screenwriting tools.  Check them out at Ashley’s Professional Screenwriting Tools

The screenwriting tools include your own website, access to his screenwriting forum and a bunch of other screenwriting treats. A year membership is a $49.99 value!  

If you want access to those tools NOW, don’t want to wait and see if you’ve won the contest – just go purchase a one-month membership for $4.99.  The link again (hey, he’s giving the prize for free, the least I can do is throw him a few links) in case you missed it: Ashley’s Professional Screenwriting Tools

So, enter The $3 Screenwriting Contest already so you can win this great prize.

The contest deadline is December 31st, 2011 at 11:59pm – the exact time you’re supposed to be kissing someone.  So if you haven’t entered yet, please keep that deadline in mind while ingesting turkey, ham, candy canes, or whatever you eat over the holidays.

And even if you don’t enter, get writing on that screenplay.  The new year is close at hand.

Seriously.

And…

Onward!

-Eric