Stanko's Stance

Here we revisit the 2011 movie draft, the second draft that Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins and Chris Ryan did on The Big Picture. With this being the second go around, they improved the run of the draft a bit. Most notably, now you can draft for any category at any pick. More strategy now, which means more chaos.

Let’s delve deep into the The Big Picture’‘s 2011 movie draft. Should note heading into this reflection…Sean Fennessey has two wins and Joanna Robinson has one. There are no guests here, so one of the original trio will get the win.

• In the drama category, it is a right race between The Raid (2011) and Contagion (2011). The question is if The Raid is a drama. Is it? It is a bonkers action movie that kicks ass, and sure there is a plot…but does anyone really care about it? While it is a drama maybe in the most literal sense, I am going to go with Contagion. Amanda Dobbins gets the first point.
• Mr. Fenneseey gets a point right away in the comedy/horror category because he chose The Cabin In The Woods (2011) which is one of my favorite comedies of all-time. An ultimate twist on the horror genre, I consider The Cabin In The Woods a successor to Scream (1996).
• In the blockbuster category, Sean immediately loses out on winning with his selection of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). I remember not loving the movie at the time, and when you compare it to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), it is not even close. This is one of Fincher’s most underrated work. It is awesome. Also still one of the best movie trailers out there.
• Category four is animated/foreign language movie. Of the three movies chose by the trio, I have only seen Rango (2011), so Sean gets my vote. Sean and Amanda Dobbins are tied, 2-2.
• The wild card category has Sean back in the drivers seat. GET IT?? Drive (2011) is the best movie of the three, but Haywire (2011), is underrated.
• We now enter the sequel category and that means we have some high-octane action movies. Starting off with the one that doesn’t win, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) was a return for Ethan Hunt, but things would improve from there. Fast Five (2011) is the highlight of the Fast & The Furious franchise and is a pretty darn good action movie. The winner here is X-Men: First Class (2011) and while Sean drafted it, the real credit goes to Michael Fassbender as Magneto. I still remember him pushing that coin through Kevin Bacon’s head…and it is glorious.

So now Mr. Sean Fennessey has three wins under his belt in my books. Amanda Dobbins’ list is strong and I can understand why she won the poll on twitter, but in my own mind, Sean’s is just more up my alley. Sean takes the 2011 draft 4-2-0, and he has three wins. I swear I am not being a homer. I swear.

My Draft

Drama

• Drive – This movie is just…cool. Ryan Gosling is the guy, and everyone who say this movie had a elevated sense of self by the end. It is a vibe, a vibe that can only be illustrated by the jacket. I remember watching this movie in theaters alone and being enthralled.
• Your Sister’s Sister – This is going to be a niche movie, but I really love Your Sister’s Sister. It is a comedy drama about a guy stuck between two women alone in a cabin. It was one of the first independent movies I saw on Netflix and I really loved it.

Comedy/Horror

• The Cabin In The Woods – You give me a horror comedy that pokes fun at the genre itself, has a fun premise on its own, with two great bit characters and an ending that nobody could have guessed? Yea, I am 100% all the way in,.
• Attack On The Block – This is an action, science fiction, comedy pick. I still remember the way these aliens looked, and it introduced me to John Boyega.

Blockbuster

• The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – This movie is in my top five for movies that deserve more respect. Even though it is respected…it needs more respect.
• Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Listen here. I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan out there. WIth that being said, I did really enjoy Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. It had the most action in a movie since The Order Of The Phoenix (2007), which ranks as my personal favorite. The payoff was pretty solid and most of all…it was short. I remember this movie feeling like a sprint, in the best way possible.

Animated/Foreign Language

• The Raid – Watch the hallway fight scene from the The Raid and you will both be squeamish and wanting to fight an entire nation. The choreography is amazing throughout the movie, but that last fight…just chefs kiss.
• 13 Assassins – I am allowed to pick this because it was released in America on April 29, 2011. It counts people! I admittedly had to rewatch the trailer to refresh myself on this movie, but I did have it rated very highly on my list and I recall the action being fantastic. This is a case where a remake of the original didn’t completely take down what it was based off of.

Wild Card

• Your Sister’s Sister – Wrote about this a little above. It is a true wild card because I bet not a lot of people have seen this movie. Mark Duplass showing a dramatic side and Emily Blunt being her amazing self. Through in a brief appearance from comedian Mike Birbiglia and this movie has a little bit of everything.
• 50/50 – One of the first times where I was asking, “Why isn’t everyone mentioning this movie?” 50/50 has great blend of comedy and heart. It really introduced my to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And you look at this cast now, it is fairly stacked.

Sequel

• Paranormal Activity 3 – In my opinion, this is the best of the Paranormal Activity movies. It scared me the most when I saw it in theaters. I remember seeing this movie with theaters when I was in college and it was a midnight premiere and the place was wild. One of the few great movie theater opening night experiences I had.

Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2003 Movie Draft – Joanna Robinson Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2010 Movie Draft – Sean Fennessey Victory
Reflection On “The Big Picture” 2018 Movie Draft – Sean Fennessey Victory

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