Flickchart Looks Back at the Best Ranked Summer Movies of 2011
Flickcharters have been busily ranking over the past months – both the old and the new – and we have up-to-the-minute results on which movies in 2011 have climbed the charts to sit atop the list as the best of the summer. Read below for statistics of some of the summer’s best ranked films, along with some thoughts on each of them from several of our regular contributors here at the blog.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
“The third Pirates sequel, helmed by Rob Marshall, jettisoned the baggage of its predecessors and returned to the treasure-seeking adventurism of the original film. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is reunited with his foil, Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and both are ensnared by Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his daughter Angelica (Penelope Cruz) in a search for the Fountain of Youth.” – Travis McClain
Flickchart Ranking: #1692Times Ranked: 6675Win Percentage: 47%How Many Top-20’s: 43 UsersBox Office Gross: $240m |
The Hangover Part II
“The crew (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) returns for another adventure of trying to remember what they did the night before so they can find their lost friend, only now they are in Bangkok. It hits all the same beats from the first film, including the reappearance of Ken Jeong, and tries to one up the raunchiness and stakes without any real subtlety. Despite lukewarm reviews, the movie broke box office records – including the biggest three-day weekend for a live-action comedy.” – Ryan Stuckey
Flickchart Ranking: #1470Times Ranked: 7073Win Percentage: 47%How Many Top-20’s: 34 UsersBox Office Gross: $254m |
Crazy, Stupid, Love
“Glenn Ficarra and John Requa‘s sophomore outing as co-directors was an unlikely release in a summer filled with superheroes and raunchy comedies but Dan Fogelman’s smart screenplay gave its solid cast (led by Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone) more than enough to create three-dimensional characters with distinctive voices and recognizable motivations and needs. Despite being marketed as a Romantic Comedy, crazy, stupid, love. is as much a Drama, deftly balancing the anguish and absurdity of love.” – Travis McClain
Flickchart Ranking: #1466Times Ranked: 1990Win Percentage: 59%How Many Top-20’s: 11 UsersBox Office Gross: $78m |
Attack the Block
“Director Joe Cornish came from the world of Edgar Wright and it shows at length in his directorial debut Attack the Block. The story of a young gang that protects their apartment complex after an alien invasion is like the anti-Super 8, the kids are ready to battle whatever comes their way, while they are still constantly in danger. Cornish does incredible things with his low-budget action film that is as funny as it is exciting.” – Ross Bonaime
“In a summer of costumed superheroes and giant robots, Attack the Block found its unlikely heroes among a group of hoodie thugs in the council flats of London. Attacking aliens don’t know what they’re getting into, and audiences were treated to a film with plenty of action and scares as well as a wonderful set of character arcs.” – Jandy Stone
Flickchart Ranking: #1406Times Ranked: 1984Win Percentage: 60%How Many Top-20’s: 10 UsersBox Office Gross: $960k |
Kung Fu Panda 2
“A capable sequel that brings much of the same joy as the first. The animation beautifully depicts Po the Panda and the Furious Five fight a Peacock (voiced by Gary Oldman) who wields an incredibly powerful weapon. It’s an enjoyable 90 minutes for both children and adults.” – Ryan Stuckey
Flickchart Ranking: #1256Times Ranked: 3463Win Percentage: 57%How Many Top-20’s: 30 UsersBox Office Gross: $165m |
Fast Five
“A movie no one expected to do as well as it did, or be as good as it ended up being. It goes to show that you can’t underestimate fast cars, high action, and pairing up The Rock against Vin Diesel – the audience is there and they ate up ever minute of it.” – Nathan Chase
Flickchart Ranking: #960Times Ranked: 5070Win Percentage: 56%How Many Top-20’s: 33 UsersBox Office Gross: $210m |
Horrible Bosses
“Horrible Bosses was essentially what The Hangover could be like if they quit going on vacations all the time. The combination of friends, played by Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis, trying to kill their bosses, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell, makes an incredible ensemble that makes for one of the great R-rated comedies of the summer.” – Ross Bonaime
“A comedy where three men (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day) plan to kill each others bosses (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Aniston) with the help of their “murder consultant” (Jamie Foxx). It’s not the most original idea but they take it in enough new places and bring enough humor to the movie that it is quite entertaining.” – Ryan Stuckey
Flickchart Ranking: #929Times Ranked: 4509Win Percentage: 56%How Many Top-20’s: 17 UsersBox Office Gross: $116m |
Midnight in Paris
“Woody Allen made his most successful film ever while also making one of his finest works with Midnight in Paris. Owen Wilson is delightful as the Allen cypher who is transported to 1920s Paris every time the clock strikes midnight. The appearances of classic artistic greats and Allen’s smart, witty script combine for one of the best independent films this year.” – Ross Bonaime
“Woody Allen’s forays into European cities over the past decade have proven fruitful, none more so than this love letter to Paris and the Lost Generation. Its blend of nostalgia, fantasy, and period detail resonated with critics and viewers alike, making the film one of Allen’s most successful ever.” – Jandy Stone
“With Woody Allen’s annual foray into a limited number of movie theaters across the U.S. audiences were treated to some of his best work in the past few years, if not of his career. It’s a witty romantic comedy that’s about idealization of nostalgia. Owen Wilson plays the Woody Allen surrogate, but still manages to put his own touches on the character. The city of Paris itself feels like a character as Allen uses no subtlety in showing how much he loves it with beautiful shots of both architecture and landscapes.” – Ryan Stuckey
Flickchart Ranking: #501Times Ranked: 4179Win Percentage: 63%How Many Top-20’s: 17 UsersBox Office Gross: $53m |
Bridesmaids
“Co-written by star Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids set out to accomplish one task: Prove that women could be every bit as raunchy–and hilarious–as men. When Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces her engagement, it sets off a feud between her BFF Annie (Wiig) and well-to-do Helen (Rose Byrne). As their rivalry escalates, so too do the antics. Melissa McCarthy stole not just this film, but perhaps the entire summer.” – Travis McClain
“Everyone knew that Kristin Wiig was an incredible comedic talent on “Saturday Night Live”, but her first starring role Bridesmaids shows a comedic genius at work. As co-writer, Wiig writes a great lineup of women that are some of the best written women characters in years, while also keeping the humor reality-based and the plot driven comedy is well handled in this surprisingly smart comedy.” – Ross Bonaime
Flickchart Ranking: #358Times Ranked: 8107Win Percentage: 61%How Many Top-20’s: 23 UsersBox Office Gross: $168m |
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
“A prequel that shows just how the apes began the cognitive ascension that led to Planet of the Apes. Andy Serkis plays Caesar, by motion capture, who is the first ape to get exposed to the elevated brain functions and James Franco plays the doctor who unintentionally made him that way. It’s one of the rare summer popcorn flicks that takes the viewer on an emotional journey to go along with the action scenes and cool effects.” – Ryan Stuckey
Flickchart Ranking: #234Times Ranked: 5550Win Percentage: 60%How Many Top-20’s: 31 UsersBox Office Gross: $168m |
Tree of Life
“Director Terrence Malick’s long in gestation film about, well, everything even confused co-star Sean Penn, but no one can deny Tree of Life majestic in its breadth and vision. Telling the story of life, in all its forms, Malick creates a film that can only be compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey in terms of time span and ambition.” – Ross Bonaime
“Some found Terrence Malick’s latest opus pretentious and unfocused, but many others were entranced by its incredible visuals and evocation of a specific yet universal 1950s American family. Love it or hate it, it’s certainly an unusual film to find in summer multiplexes, and at least a solid portion of moviegoers have embraced it.” – Jandy Stone
Flickchart Ranking: #232Times Ranked: 5169Win Percentage: 64%How Many Top-20’s: 55 UsersBox Office Gross: $13m |
Thor
“Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a brash and arrogant young man. During the course of a information expedition he re-ignites a war that has been stalled for the ages after his father, Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) triumph. Odin fed up with such childish antics does not approve and casts Thor from Asgard. It is here on Earth that the humor of Thor shines through. The value of Chris Hemsworth’s charm is truly on display when he is interacting with his human counterparts. On Earth mere velcro can contain the mighty Thor – much to his surprise – but the scenes in New Mexico become a little dull as the more lively action takes place in the stellar Asgard.” – Colin Biggs
“With the release date of next summer’s The Avengers quickly approaching, Marvel Studios launched its remaining two origin stories this summer which included the all mighty Thor. Kenneth Branagh directs Thor as a cheese filled Shakespearean comedy about two brothers fighting over the throne of Asgard. Chris Hemsworth wields the hammer of the overzealous God of Thunder, and gives a good campy performance. Thor is not one of the great superhero movies, but it is thoroughly entertaining with a supporting cast that includes Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins.” – Al Topich
“Despite initial scepticism, Marvel Studios’ Thor proved a success with audiences and critics alike Director Kenneth Branagh, with the help of an accomplished cast, brings the same gravitas to the story we previously seen in his adaptations of Shakespeare, while also injecting the film with a surprising amount of humour and plenty of hammer-swinging action. One of the most pleasant surprises of this superhero saturated summer.” – Tom Clift
Flickchart Ranking: #227Times Ranked: 18033Win Percentage: 58%How Many Top-20’s: 96 UsersBox Office Gross: $181m |
Captain America: The First Avenger
“Captain America is a rarity of sorts in the modern blockbuster. There is no modern reflection for frail Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) only a sense of duty that shines brighter than his translucently pale chest. Fortunately, a scientist takes pity on the remarkably resilient Rogers and offers him a trial experiment for the Super Soldier serum. The serum thought to be the over-the-top measure to beat the Nazis and Red Skull’s Hydra works and Captain America is born. The film is filled with the sort of old school World War II action that is missing from the cinema anymore. Chris Evans is the penultimate boy scout, a man from a time where duty was king, and the film relies upon its ability to wax nostalgic about the yesteryear of its greatest heroes. And Captain America does not disappoint.” – Colin Biggs
“The second of Marvel’s tent pole releases in 2011, Joe Johnston aims to capture the adventurous spirit of the Indiana Jones franchise with Captain America, a superhero film set during the Second World War. Very silly, but enjoyably so, and similarly to Thor the cast performs admirably. More importantly, Captain America whets geek appetites until The Avengers drops in the summer of 2012.” – Tom Clift
Flickchart Ranking: #222Times Ranked: 9470Win Percentage: 61%How Many Top-20’s: 65 UsersBox Office Gross: $173m |
X-Men: First Class
“The finest science fiction storytelling has aspired to engage our imaginations as well as to comment on social issues. This prequel to the X-Men series, smartly set in the Sixties, presents the marginalized mutants as a civil rights allegory: Hank McCoy (better known as “Beast,” played by Nicholas Hoult) explains that he had so far obscured being a mutant by noting, “They didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell.” In a summer in which New York legalized same-sex marriage, the movie set during the height of the Cold War could not have been more timely.” – Travis McClain
Flickchart Ranking: #91Times Ranked: 16606Win Percentage: 64%How Many Top-20’s: 126 UsersBox Office Gross: $146m |
Super 8
“J.J. Abrams’s homage to the early Science Fiction films of Steven Spielberg is certainly engaging as a small town in the late 1970s is terrorized by an unseen creature. The most appealing plot of the film, though, is the Coming of Age story of motherless adolescents Joe (Joel Courtney) and Alice (Elle Fanning).” – Travis McClain
“J.J. Abrams’ love letter to the films of Steven Spielberg felt like E.T. for the next generation. The young cast was believable and just as fun as the story of an alien being let loose on a small town. Abrams showed that he is on his way to becoming the next Spielberg and Super 8 captures the feeling of growing up and the loss of innocence in a beautiful way that made Spielberg himself proud.” – Ross Bonaime
Flickchart Ranking: #77Times Ranked: 13352Win Percentage: 64%How Many Top-20’s: 87 UsersBox Office Gross: $126m |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
“It all ends,” declared the advertising campaign and for an entire generation of Potterheads, Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was more than the conclusion to the Harry Potter series. It was the end of decade-long chapter of their lives.” – Travis McClain
I’m honestly kind of disgusted how well Fast Five is doing among all the other good summer films.