Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2011

Well whatever's left of the year anyway. Like every year, Toronto film festival has kickstarted the Oscar season. Most films have been seen and the buzz is under gestation. I will have to wait till the nominations are announced to get to see some of the films (that's when they get released in India, with the number of Oscar nominations slapped on every advert) or travel halfway around the world. Till then, I can only anticipate these films, try not to read reviews to spoil anything more than the trailers already have. It is going to be a long wait. More so, because of the studio-multiplex stand-off that has been going on forever. As if it couldn't get any worse.

I don't know if most of these films will be released in India or be big draw at the box office in the West or win the Best Picture Oscar. I'm just naming the movies I'm tremendously excited about. Let me tell you beforehand that I am excited about a lot of movies. No seriously, A LOT. But before I get into that, there are 5 films that I am NOT excited about. Despite everything pointing towards the opposite:

Moneyball - Not a Brad Pitt in leading roles fan (Give me Burn After Reading). Didn't like Capote (2005). But Aaron Sorkin is writing this one!!

The Ides of March - Not a big fan of Clooney as a director. But then there's Ryan Gosling.

My Week With Marilyn - Two words: Michelle Williams. Is it only me who can't stand her?

Martha Marcy May Marlene - The title alone annoys me. (I can be incredibly profound sometimes)

W.E. - The Weinstein Company backing this one had everyone considering this as an Oscar contender. I'm glad it got bad reviews. I just didn't want this to be a reality: Madonna - 1, David Croneneberg - 0. (I'm talking about Best Director Oscar nominations, in case you were wondering)

The Rum Diary - I love Johnny Depp (who doesn't?). But the trailer was a bit too excited, didn't leave any room for me.

Touch Me, Take Me To That Other Place

CONTAGION (2011)

There have been many films about epidemics in the past decade. More so, because of the SARS and H1N1 viruses that created widespread panic and hysteria, not to mention the amount of lives it claimed. In the 21st century, the pandemic truly takes shape; these epidemics don't attack one region now but the world, and spread swifter than ever, definitely faster than the Spanish flu did in 1918. Two remarkable films, REC (2007) and 28 Days Later (2002), both zombie/ creature movies have managed to remind us of the horrors of these cataclysmic events. The Host (2006) is probably the best one, this monster film satirizes the SARS epidemic in relation with the west and shows the true horrific nature of panic and loss. All of these films are allegorical. Blindness (2008) is a bit more direct in its commentary, critically panned, but in my humble opinion, uniquely effective. Now comes Contagion, with the MEV-1 virus, probably the most stark depiction of an outbreak of a deadly virus. This is surely an American film, but it isn't a Hollywood product, like Outbreak (1995). Steven Soderbergh recruits some of the best actors (stars?) not just from Hollywood but from Britain and France and even kills some of them off (I will stay away from more spoilers). If these "big stars" can die, so can you. This subconscious attack on the audience is vicious. Something like what Hitchcock did with Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960). No wonder people walked out of the movie, or came out of the film terrified, trying to touch their faces lesser than usual.

Just Like The Movies

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (2011)

No Strings Attached. There, I said it. That’s the movie that must be spoken about before you have any sort of conversation about Friends with Benefits. No Strings Attached came out earlier this year and the plot is almost exactly similar to Friends with Benefits. Young people, casual sex, sex leads to love - You know the drill. While I didn’t hate No Strings Attached, I would like to believe that that Friends with Benefits is a better movie. I give credit to writer/ director Will Gluck who gave us two (really) funny movies in Easy A (2010) and Fired Up (2009). Friends with Benefits is a film that knows its clichés, it is aware of its boundaries (shortcomings maybe?) and yet it finds characters that can be refreshing and funny.  I hope this movie had come out before No Strings Attached. It would have easily got a better run at the box office and a wider audience. Pity that Kunis and Timberlake aren’t bigger stars than Kutcher and Portman. It isn’t the most original romantic comedy but it certainly is very enjoyable and has more repeat value than No Strings Attached.

Gonna Walk All Over You

THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS (2011)

I have a lot of expectations with Anurag Kashyap. After consistent impressive efforts and not a single bad movie to his credit (at least as a director), I was excited to say the least. Nobody can deny that as a filmmaker he is fearless and never settles for the mediocre. No Smoking (2007) and Black Friday (2004) are some of the best films of the past decade. Till now, Mr. Kashyap made two kinds of movies. One - the anti-commercial, No Smoking and Dev D kind of films wherein it has the superficial ingredients of a commercial film but turn out to be the polar opposite and enormously rewarding. Second - the equally rewarding, politically charged, Black Friday and Gulaal kind of films. Here comes a third kind - No cool shot-taking, no political statements, Kashyap totally strips himself of all style and all the identities as a filmmaker he has acquired all along. Naturally I expected a great film experience. Why would I not want a third brand of Anurag Kashyap films? Sadly, this one disappoints. In the same week we see Bodyguard exhibiting the downside of commercial cinema, we also see That Girl In Yellow Boots exhibiting the downside of art-house cinema (You may stop reading if you don't like categorizing films like this, I don't like to either but it makes things easier, no?).

Hate is A Strong Word

BODYGUARD (2011)

This film is one of a kind. I have never ever seen anything like this. If you have been watching Bollywood movies since a long time (like me) you must be well aware of a term called 'suspension of disbelief'. Bollywood movies, commercial ones, ask you to suspend every form of disbelief. You need no logic when you watch a product of the glorious industry of Bombay. But Bodyguard is unique. It takes it one step further, it defies everything. Logic, story, characters, visual effects, caricatures, heroes, lovers, villains, dialogues, jokes and action. It even defies suspension of disbelief. No I didn't mean it lacks all these elements. This film tries to single-handedly take up the mammoth task of defying the existence of these elements. Who needs all these things? Audience is a bunch of fools! Why do you need to spend time on these mundane things when you can take two stars and just make a movie and release it on a holiday which will ensure a big opening box office, you will get your money back. Who cares about anything else?