My review on 2011, and what I'm looking forward to in 2012

Now that it's 2012, I feel like a review of 2011 is in order. Like every year preceding, I found movies I enjoyed and some I downright hated with a passion. The films I thoroughly enjoyed this year are as follows:

The Green Hornet (A skewed take on the superhero film. I enjoyed Super as well, but The Green Hornet was a better movie)
Rango (I loved this movie. I grew tired of Johnny Depp and Johnny Depp related stuff but this movie was awesome)
Source Code (I saw Moon, and I wasn't wowed by it but this was pretty good as a science fiction movie about alternate realities)
Thor (Despite being a superhero movie, it had a lot stuff going for it- Asgard was great to look at, the film had an epic Shakespearean tone, and it was very humorous at times)
X-Men: First Class (The best movie I saw during the summer movie season)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2 (An epic finale to the Harry Potter film franchise and the second best movie I saw last summer)
Captain America: The First Avenger (The character of Steve Rogers/Captain America had a great heart but it was a good, average superhero movie. On the flipside; like with Superman, I grow tired of characters who are invulnerable to everything)
Crazy, Stupid, Love (I don't like chick flicks, but this was pretty decent. Side note, Bridesmaids was pretty good, funny at times, but dragged on too long at certain parts
Fright Night (This movie brought humor and a bite [no pun intended] back to vampires. After Twilight, vampires became lame, creepy, and wussy. Fright Night brought balls back to the creature and mixed action, humor, and David Tennant was just a bonus)
Warrior (I love the Rocky movies; even Rocky V, but this movie is so heartbreaking and emotionally satisfying)
Drive (Ryan Gosling was so pimp in this movie. His character, simply Driver, reminded a lot of The Man With No Name in the Leone films. The movie it not an action film which it was marketed as, but a deep character study of morally ambiguous characters)
Real Steel (I originally thought this was going to be Rock' Em, Sock' Em Robots: The Movie, but it was a boxing movie featuring robots and a story of an estranged father and son)
The Muppets (I love the Muppets and when I found out there was going to be a new one, I completely lost my shit. This movie was so cute and very entertaining for any adult and child)
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (I've seen the Swedish version and enjoyed it alot. I thought the idea of a remake was unnecessary but I this film is another adaptation of the first book in the Stieg Larsson trilogy. I found this one a huge improvement to the Swedish version. This film is dark and graphic with the book's theme of rape and violence and harsh, cold, and enjoyable)
Warhorse (I recently saw this and found it moving. I ended up liking the horses more than the humans but it was pretty good)
The Adventures of Tintin (If you're a fan of Indiana Jones, I assume would like this movie. This movie is relentless with the action sequences but it's very enjoyable)

And Shame and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, to which I haven't yet seen.

And to the darkside of 2011. I admit, I saw these movies and was left questioning myself and my sanity (sometimes)

Season of the Witch (There was never a time where I admitted Nick Cage was a good actor, and I will continue to never admit that notion)
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (I wanted to kill myself)
I Am Number Four (see above comment)
Hall Pass (I never liked the Farrelly Brothers or found them funny, but they should just quit)
Beastly (Atrocious. Not even Neil Patrick Harris could save this garbage)
Mars Needs Moms (Dan Fogler is annoying, and so was this CGI cornea-rape-athon)
Sucker Punch (Zac Snyder's Inception. This movie was trying to be clever questioning dreams and reality but ended up being a tale of female empowerment as told by 13 year old boys)
Monte Carlo (Ugh)
The King's Speech (I like this movie, but after I thought about it, why did this movie win Best Picture? Because it featured prominent British actors and story of an underdog rising over oppression and triumphing in the end? Kind of a shitty reason to win an Academy Award)
Rio (I hate movies about talking animals [Rango was awesome])
Something Borrowed (Kate Hudson can never save a movie, or should be allowed to be in any movie)
Priest (I think Paul Bettany is a good actor, but he deserves better)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (I enjoyed the prior Pirates films, but this one was greatly unnecessary)
The Hangover II (I didn't think the first one was funny, this one was like a deja-vu shit sandwich)
Super 8 (A love letter to E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. If you were to make a Steven Speilberg-esque alien movie, let Speielberg make it)
Green Lantern (I hated this movie. A dickish "hero", horrible CGI, a monster that resembles floating diarrhea, and a dude with a giant head and shitty 3D, the makings of superhero greatness)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (I hate Michael Bay. I hate the Transformers movies. Why would I like this movie?)
Zookeeper (Again, talking animals suck and Kevin James is not funny)
Cowboys & Aliens (This movie had promise. It tried to be a serious Western with sci-fi themes, but I found this movie very boring and just an excuse to use explosions- like Transformers)
The Change-Up (Freaky-Friday with dudes, doesn't work)
Bad Teacher (Jason Siegel and Justin Timberlake was the only funny moments in the movie)
Straw Dogs (If it ain't broke, why fix it? The original is a classic and a favorite of mine but this movie was just an excuse for excess violence. )

I am happy to say I did not see The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn or New Year's Eve

And onto the future, I am highly anticipating 2012. Some of the films I've been dying to see are coming out this year and here they are in no particular order

The Grey (I love Liam Neeson and I will see anything with him in it)
The Woman in Black (The marketing looks promising but it could suck)
John Carter (Based on the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The trailers look great and it shows it might have great potential to be a great movie and hopefully a potential franchise)
Wrath of the Titans (I saw the first one only because I love the original, but I wasn't wowed by the remake. It wasn't bad, but not great. I'll see this only because the first one was decent)
American Reunion (I used to enjoy the American Pie movies so I'm curious to see how this one ranks with the others)
The Cabin in the Woods (Joss Whedon is a hit or miss with me, but I am curious about this movie)
The Avengers (Like I said, Joss Whedon is a hit or miss with me, but this has been one of the movies I've been awaiting for a long time. The idea of a movie featuring popular Marvel characters in a "supergroup" to save the world from enemies sounds very promising. Hopefully, this is a gateway to a future Justice League movie or Batman/Superman movie)
Dark Shadows (I've seen a few episodes of the old show. I thought it was campy but the overly gothic tone gave the show its charm. I think the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp combo is done to death but I do want to see this movie. )
Snow White & The Huntsman (Apparently Snow White is popular. Another movie featuring the character is Mirror, Mirror which looks so stupid. Snow White & The Huntsman reminds me a lot of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland but mixed with Lord of the Rings)
Prometheus (Ridley Scott returns to a genre where he reigned supreme. Being a fan of the Alien films, this movie screams supposed prequel to the 1979 Alien)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good mash-up of horror and history. I haven't seen a trailer from the movie yet but I am looking forward this adaptation)
The Amazing Spiderman (I enjoyed the first and second Spiderman films by Sam Raimi but I feel like I am going to enjoy this movie given the trailer's dark tone and being based on the Ultimate Spiderman series)
The Dark Knight Rises (The end of a legend, the end of a trilogy, the end to the best Batman movies to come out in years. To see my views about the recent trailers and prologue, see my previous article "The Superhero Hype Machine")
The Expendables 2 (I loved the first movie. A throwback to the action movies of the 80's starring Rambo/Rocky, John McClane, The Terminator, Walker Texas Ranger for a second go-around)
Skyfall (I love the 007 franchise. In my opinion, the best film franchise)
The Hobbit (The Lord of the Rings films were an accomplishment in film. As much as I love the original Star Wars trilogy, the Lord of the Rings gives Star Wars a run for its money. The Hobbit, based on the book is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings series, a two-part film chronicling Bilbo Baggins and a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom from the fearsome dragon Smaug)
World War Z (based on novel by Max Brooks. I am somewhat cautious about this movie because I've read that the source material has been changed immensely for film)
The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann has style. The man has appreciation of production design and art design. I liked Romeo + Juliet, Australia, and Moulin Rouge! So I'm curious about this adaptation of the 1925 novel)