Mike Scott of NOLA.com has released his Top 10 Films made in Louisiana list last Monday. Now these are films that were shot, or had a company that had significant screen cred in the film. Oh and have already been released. So, here we go:
Yesterday, I started my annual rundown of year-end lists with the top 10 documentaries of 2011. For the next week — leading up to the release of my list of the top 10 films of the year on Friday (Jan. 30) — I’ll post a different list each day.
In order for a movie to be considered, it must have played at least once in a local theater during 2011. In addition, for this category — as the title suggests — it must boast significant local connections.
To be honest, there were a lot to choose from, as 2011 was a productive year for locally linked movies.
My list is below, as are links of reviews to those films that made the cut. Is your favorite on the list? Sound off in the comments section below, and be sure to check back for the rest of my 2011 list of lists:
The Top 10 Hollywood South Movies of 2011
10. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” — The latest, Baton Rouge-shot chapter in the vampire-romance series was exactly the movie we thought it would be. You decide what that means.
9. “Battle: Los Angeles” — Shot in Shreveport and Baton Rouge, it was one of the biggest, loudest Louisiana-shot movies of 2011. Beyond big and loud, though …
8. “Super” — Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page star in this darkly comic superhero story, shot in Shreveport. It’s flawed, but it also is oddly compelling.
7. “Flypaper” — This surprisingly fun Baton Rouge-shot comic caper — released last month on DVD — saw only a very limited release after struggling to land a distributor. It deserved better.
5. “Straw Dogs” and “The Mechanic” (tie) — Both are dark, brooding remakes — the first shot in Shreveport, the second in New Orleans — and both are reasonably well-made films.
4. “The Big Fix” — This documentary, co-directed by Mandeville High School graduate Josh Tickell, does a nice job of explaining why the BP oil spill is anything but over.
3. “Green Lantern” — Perhaps the most maligned big-studio film of 2011, this New Orleans-shot superhero adventure is more fun than people give it credit for.
2. “Bury the Hatchet” — Aaron Walker’s film on the Mardi Gras Indian culture does what all great documentaries do: It shows us a side of something we wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise.
1. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” — It wasn’t shot here, but a visual effects firm in Lafayette earned a spot in the credits. Good enough for me.
To bad Texas hasn’t got a top 10 list this great for 2011…