Best Movies of 2011

[Emperor]

So I am going to post some top 10 lists of reviewers I read.

 

10. (tie) PROJECT NIM/RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

 

I just saw PROJECT NIM a month or so ago, and I was stunned by the power in this documentary, which tells the story of Nim, the chimpanzee raised from birth like a human baby, as an experiment in societal behavior. When the experiment doesn't go as planned, Nim is tossed aside by the ones who started the experiment, and what happes next with Nim's story is powerful, heartbreaking, and poignant. We tend to anthropomorphize animals like Nim, but this film never lets us forget that just because Nim isn't human that he doesn't have any less value, and that we may well be judged by how we treat these "lesser" creatures. You can't help but see thematic parallels in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, but while PROJECT NIM tells its story in a factual manner, RISE is all about setting up a longstanding movie series. But you don't have to see the other PLANET OF THE APES movies to enjoy RISE (although it certainly adds to the flavor) and we're also treated to the Lon Chaney of the digital age, Andy Serkis, who is amazing as Caesar, the leader of a new revolution. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES was unexpected - a genuinely great movie that could have been another cash grab. It rises (pun intended) above that and becomes something of real worth and value.

 

9. HUGO

 

Lots of firsts for Martin Scorsese with HUGO - his first foray into 3D, his first family film - but what we get at the end is pure cinema that only a master like Scorsese can make. It's the first 3D film that I can think of that truly explores the spiritual and thematic potential of the medium, and more than any other 3D film thus far, it's probably a requirement to see in 3D. Ben Kingsley turns in a terrific performance, but it's Scorsese that truly shines with HUGO, playing with a new set of toy trains and making something marvelous out of them. Seeing Georges Méliès' A TRIP TO THE MOON in 3D is a real treat, and HUGO isn't just about preserving our film history, but ensuring our film future. Movies are art, even if the weight of commerce seems to cloud that at times, and it's films like HUGO that remind us all of the transformative power of what great cinema can do.

 

8. THE MUPPETS

 

Few films brought me as much genuine pleasure as the return of THE MUPPETS did this year. Is it riding a wave of nostalgia? Sure it is. But THE MUPPETS is nostalgia done right - while it evokes those emotions of yesteryear, it isn't content simply to stay on those laurels but brings something new and wonderful to the mix. THE MUPPETS is a movie about the power of joy over cynicism, and it’s just one of the happiest times I had at the movies this year. I feel a lot like Walter these days, writing for AICN, and this movie maybe hit me in a more personal way than it did other critics. I’ve had an amazing year writing for Harry this year, and if there’s one movie that captures the kind of joy that I’ve experienced working at AICN, THE MUPPETS is it.

 

7. JUAN OF THE DEAD

 

It would be a crime if this didn’t see some kind of theatrical release outside of the festival circuit. It’s fun, smart, uproariously funny, moving, and it’s one of the best films to describe the true life of Cuba since… well, since I can’t think of when. Plus, it’s a great zombie movie. It’s got everything. Pound for pound it’s one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen this year, and Alejandro Brugues wasn’t just making homage to the great films of George Romero, or even Edgar Wright’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Title notwithstanding, JUAN OF THE DEAD is strikingly original (besides the zombie premise) and has quite a bit to say about the political and social situation in Cuba. The final shot, of Juan facing the zombie horde with only his heart, and a really badass oar, as his weapons, made me stand up and cheer the first time I saw it, and I had to see it again at Fantastic Fest to make sure I wasn’t wrong in my reaction. I wasn’t. This movie deserves to be seen by horror fans the world over. With any luck, they will, and I’d bet that they’ll love this movie like I do.

 

6. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

 

Lynne Ramsay’s parental horror film is a scarring portrait of a child that is simply, intrinsically, wrong. Can we blame Tilda Swinton’s character for being a lousy parent, for making the mistakes that she made? Or is it simply fate that Kevin (Ezra Miller) turns out so genuinely… bad? The movie doesn’t have answers, and for a parent like myself, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is a nightmarish journey into one parent’s personal hell. Tilda Swinton is tremendous in this film. She gives the best performance of the year, man or woman, and as she goes through the motions of life after Kevin does… something and destroys everything she’s built, you cannot judge her harshly, but you can look at the road that led up to the one moment that destroyed her forever and know that she can’t say she didn’t see it coming. Lynne Ramsay’s film is devastating, frightening, disturbing, and utterly brilliant.

 

5. I SAW THE DEVIL

 

Kim Jee-woon’s awesome serial killer film would have been amazing with Choi Min-sik’s performance alone, but the nasty twists this film takes, and with the journey into darkness that Lee Byung-hun’s character goes on, the movie becomes something like SILENCE OF THE LAMBS meets a Warner Brothers Roadrunner cartoon. Its humor is jet black, its gore is ample (there’s an Achilles’ tendon cut that still has me wincing thinking about it), and it’s smart filmmaking that doesn’t pull any punches. I’ll admit that it goes off the charts when it comes to any kind of realism, but that’s the point – I SAW THE DEVIL walks that fine line between black comedy and Fincheresque despair. I watched I SAW THE DEVIL 3 times in a row this year - first by myself, and the second two times with friends because I just had to share this inspired, lunatic movie with people. If this movie were ever remade in America, it wouldn’t have nearly the impact. Punches would most definitely be pulled. So if you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you see it before that happens.

 

4. ATTACK THE BLOCK

 

I’ll pimp out Joe Cornish’s directorial debut as long as there are people to hear me who haven’t seen it. It’s a fantastic genre film that has real meat behind it, with a terrific performance by John Boyega as a boy growing into manhood and taking responsibility for his life. And it’s thrilling, with unique alien monsters that are scary and formidable. I’ve seen it several times now and there’s no fat on the movie at all. It has great characters, an enjoyable story, and it calls back those great films from the 1980s from guys like John Carpenter or Joe Dante. I honestly don’t understand people who didn’t enjoy this film – for many it’s certainly not best-of-the-year material but the movie just works on every level that I suspect they’re being contrary just for the sake of it. There are directors who work their entire careers to make a movie that works as well as ATTACK THE BLOCK does, and the fact that Joe Cornish nailed it right out the gate means that he’s definitely a director to watch in the coming years. I love that Spike Lee saw this film, loved it, and cast John Boyega in his HBO series practically the next day. ATTACK THE BLOCK is an awesome film, and in my opinion absolutely deserves to be on this list. You'll notice that from my earlier review my mind has changed about ATTACK THE BLOCK being the best of the year, especially considering the next film on my list, but that's how it goes. Thought is fluid, and opinions change. But there is no doubt in my mind that ATTACK THE BLOCK will be discovered by audiences for many years to come.

 

3. THE TREE OF LIFE

 

A transcendent prayer of a movie. I’ve only seen it once. I’m actually nervous to see it again, because I honestly don’t know what effect that film will have on me the next time. I’ve got the Blu-Ray on my shelf right now, unopened, and yet I know for a fact that I will see this film again, if for nothing else, so that I can share it with my wife. On the surface, this story of a young man growing up in rural Texas seems deceptively simple, but THE TREE OF LIFE takes flights that are not only necessary for the themes of the film, but are beautiful and inspired in their own right. Emmanuel Lubezki’s camerawork is the best cinematography of the year, bar none. Brad Pitt’s performance as the distant, but strict father is probably the best acting work he’s ever done. And then there is Terrence Malick’s singular vision, of a world where grace is more powerful than nature, and although I’m not a religious person, THE TREE OF LIFE made me very aware of that empty space in my life. It’s a religious film in all the best ways – never preachy, never judgmental, but it opens up the universe to the potential of something greater than ourselves. It’s not a film that is easy to watch – there’s work involved to engage with it. But once you do, I think you’ll find it so rewarding that it just make force you to reassess your own place in the world. It’s that powerful.

 

2. A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI

 

I love a great family film. For me, family films are the entry points for young children into the great joys of cinema. Much like HUGO this year, it’s an invitation to a wondrous world. It’s a serious shame that a film like A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI won’t be seen stateside because of language issues. It’s a shame because it’s one of the best family films I’ve ever seen, and it’s one of the most genuinely happy movies I’ve ever seen. A young samurai, transplanted through time, winds up becoming a dessert chef and helps a single mother take care of her little boy. It’s so well told, and so charming, and I love how the film goes off on tangents that are completely unexpected. Great family films are rare – most of the time it’s simply a two hour long commercial for something – and I’d absolutely put this with films like E.T. or IRON GIANT. It’s emotionally moving and the little boy is completely adorable. Plus, it’s got more sweets than a diabetic going on a week-long sugar bender. Just mouthwatering good stuff. I love foodie movies, and this one’s one of the best. I realize that Yoshihiro Nakamura’s film opened in 2010, but it first played here at Fantastic Fest this year, so I’m counting it. My list, my rules.

 

1. DRIVE

 

I was definitely hesitant on Nicolas Winding Refn. Although BRONSON is a great film, there’s something about it that keeps me at a distance. Perhaps it’s Tom Hardy’s performance as Bronson – while it is genius, it’s also absolutely terrifying, and part of me backs away from the movie just because of his work alone. VALHALLA RISING, for me, was a mood piece that, again, features a great character played by Mads Mikkelsen, but for some reason I felt on the outside looking in when it came to that movie. Well, from the first few minutes of DRIVE, I was fully engaged and a part of that movie. Ryan Gosling does more with the quiet spaces than most actors can do with reams of dialogue. Albert Brooks is truly terrifying, not because he will quickly mess you up at a moment’s notice, but because how impersonal he makes it. It’s all business. Carey Mulligan is lit like an angel in DRIVE and there’s no doubt that anyone in the Driver’s shoes would instantly fall in love with her. DRIVE is sheer joy, and what on paper reads like a simple crime movie is elevated to something far more by Refn’s work here. The scene in the elevator, as the lights brighten, and the music swells, just before the Driver commits his horrible act of violence, is one of the most cathartic, purely cinematic moments in film all year. The soundtrack is perfect, not only with the score of Cliff Martinez, but the cool 1980s Michael Mannesque songs. DRIVE is, for film fans like me, movie heroin. I want more from Nicolas Winding Refn, because with DRIVE, he has become a formidable director. And he’s made the best film of 2011.

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS – Steven Spielberg’s one-two punches with THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN and WAR HORSE were great cinematic moments for me, and WAR HORSE only missed this list by a very small margin. Filip Tegstedt's MARIANNE was an amazing ghost story - think if Ingmar Bergman had made POLTERGEIST - and I hope more people get to see it. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS were terrific superhero films, and I want to see more like them, willing to explore the past and make interesting observations about our present. 13 ASSASSINS is another film that almost made the list, and it’s Takeshi Miike going full-out Kurosawa, and it’s a samurai movie for the ages. Steve McQueen's SHAME is amazing, and Michael Fassbender is amazing in it. A real adult film that has much to say and doesn't hold back saying it. TAKE SHELTER features an amazing performance by Michael Shannon, and the film is almost an anti-CLOSE ENCOUNTERS as a man is nearly driven mad by visions of apocalypse. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS has Woody Allen exploring the power of nostalgia, and it's yet another grand film from him that you can add to the long list of grand films. I loved SLEEPLESS NIGHT when I saw it at Fantastic Fest, more than simply the French DIE HARD; it’s a film that has riveting action and a compelling story. I’m very curious to see how the American remake works. While THE DESCENDANTS isn't Alexander Payne's best work it does have a great George Clooney performance and Shailene Woodley is a revelation. Pedro Almodovar’s THE SKIN I LIVE IN is a revenge story done colder than the Klingon proverb, and Antonio Banderas is wickedly good. Unlike HUGO, THE ARTIST doesn’t have much to comment on when it comes to silent cinema, but simply uses the medium, but it does so in such a winning way that it’s hard not to fall a little bit in love with it. Elizabeth Olsen is haunting in MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE and the movie is a dark exploration into the mind of a young woman who is spiritually trapped by a cult led by the terrific John Hawkes. I loved Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin’s script for MONEYBALL, and if the movie doesn’t quite reach the upper decks it’s through no fault of Brad Pitt or Jonah Hill, who do very good work. KUNG FU PANDA 2 and RANGO were far more charming and inventive than Pixar’s CARS 2 this year, and RANGO, in particular, features a really wonderful performance from Johnny Depp, a performance of a quality that I’ve missed these past few years. I loved the South Korean film HAUNTERS, and while the title doesn’t make much sense in the context of the film, it’s still a terrific Shyamalanesque (did I just use that word?) superhero movie. 50/50 was funny and heartfelt, featuring a great script and a winning performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt. BRIDESMAIDS is one of the best comedies of the year and Kristen Wiig gives a performance that would make Lucille Ball proud. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 is a fitting end to the film series and Alan Rickman does great work as the conflicted Professor Snape. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is a dense spy film that rewards those who pay attention, and Gary Oldman gives one of the finest performances of his illustrious career. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL is Brad Bird’s first live-action film and right out the gate he becomes one of the best action directors around. Finally, Steven Soderbergh’s CONTAGION is a movie about finding common bonds with humanity, even as a disease threatens to unravel everything.

 

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR

 

I hate this category. I’m not afraid to say what movie is my personal worst film of the year but I think most people use this category to simply become vindictive or catty when it could be used to make a constructive statement for what constitutes bad cinema. It's easy to rag on films like JACK AND JILL or even HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2, but for me, "Worst Film Of The Year" has always meant a film that disappoints, that doesn't meet with the expectations that it sets, and worse, that might have had the potential to be far better than what it wound up being. This year came close to being a tie, but the other film, which I’ll be reviewing in the coming days, just didn’t reach the level of irritation that PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES achieved. It’s a pointless sequel, and worse, it’s turned a great actor like Johnny Depp into a corporate stooge. Because the film made a googlebillion dollars there’s no doubt that we’ll be seeing another one of these, but really, the only film in the franchise that was any good was the first one, and that one was still too long by 20 or so minutes. It’s time to sink this boat, and I miss the Johnny Depp that made movies like FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, or ED WOOD, or DEAD MAN, or even EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. This franchise has seriously damaged his credibility as an actor, in my opinion, and I sincerely hope that he walks away from these big movies for a while and gets back to the work that we love him best in. Depp is great in RANGO, so I know he still has the skills and capability. I can’t say what kind of movie DARK SHADOWS will wind up being, or THE LONE RANGER, but I’m already filled with dread.

 

I’ve seen three films for 2012, and of those the best is THE GREY. I hope that 2012 kicks all our collective asses before it all comes crashing to an end next December at the end of the world, and I hope you all had as great a moviegoing year as I did. I’d like to thank Harry Knowles for everything that’s happened this year. It truly has been an amazing journey for me writing for AICN and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings. Thanks for reading.

[Emperor]

With 2011 winding down to its conclusion and the Weekend Warrior having seen his last movie just days ago--frankly, I lost count around 300 movies this year--I finally have come up with a pretty clear picture of what I consider, if not the best, then at least my favorites of the year. Honestly, I look at the list myself and think, "Is there going to be a stranger top movie list out there this year?" and I'll actually be shocked if anyone can answer "yes" to that question.

 

Many people have said this wasn't a very good year for movies, but maybe they just weren't looking hard enough as I didn't have any problem finding 25 movies I loved. To some, it's going to be a very strange list indeed, because my favorite movies aren't necessarily the ones that my fellow film critics have honored. In fact, few of my colleagues (and presumably our readers) have seen a couple of my favorite movies of the year, which is disappointing, but at least I have a couple of big tentpole franchise movies in there, too, so it's not like I'm deliberately going for the vaguest or most esoteric picks.

 

The way this works is that all-year round, I keep a running list of what I consider the best movies using a fairly straight-forward 12-point rating system, and though I'm never doing direct comparisons between one movie and another when rating them, using this system means that none of the movies you're going to read about below got onto the list without at least receiving an 8.5 out of 10.

 

(In many of the cases below, you can click on the movie title and read my review of each film.)

 

25. Point Blank (Magnolia) - This little-seen French action thriller from the filmmaker whose earlier film was remade by Paul Haggis as The Next Three Days and is a fairly simple premise of a male nurse (Gilles Lelouche) whose pregnant wife is kidnapped by gangsters trying to get their hands on a colleague (Roschdy Zem) who the police have been holding at his hospital. Anyone seeing the movie may be surprised that Luc Besson wasn't involved in what ended up being an action flick just as exciting as "Taken" or other Hollywood action films, but with some of the most unexpected twists and turns every step of the way.

 

 

24. Contagion (Warner Bros.) - My favorite film by Steven Soderbergh in quite some time, probably going back to The Girlfriend Experience, returned him to his large-scale multi-storyline epics for which he won an Oscar with Traffic, only this time it wasn't drugs that tied people together as much as it was a killer virus that proceeded to wipe out humanity while a couple individuals desperately sought out a cure. With a terrific cast including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne, this is the movie that made it abundantly clear you should be very careful whatever you touch while in public, confirming years of germaphobe paranoia.

 

 

23. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox) – One of the nicer surprises of the year was Fox's decision to relaunch two popular franchises with prequels that actually ended up not sucking. Of course, we were already on board with director Rupert Wyatt, having been fans of his earlier film The Escapist, but getting Andy Serkis to play the ape leader Caesar using performance capture technology ended up being a genius move that made the film a lot more believable than the original "men in monkey suits" of the '70s franchise. Add to that an intelligent story, terrific action scenes and unbelievable visual FX and you ended up with a filmmaking coup that was well worth the cost of a movie ticket. (We also liked Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, but we had more problems with it due to the way it diverged from the comics.)

 

22. Anonymous (Sony) - Another surprise was Roland Emmerich's attempt at a period piece, a little closer to our own times than 10,000 BC, as he explored the myths behind the idea that William Shakespeare may not have written the plays for which he's credited but rather may have been a front for someone in great power. Rhys Ifans played Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, whose writings about the court are frowned upon by the advisors of Queen Elizabeth (played by Vanessa Redgrave), but the results are a complex tale that takes place both in the royal courts and on the stage with Emmerich having the benefit of such a good cast including David Thewlis and Rafe Spall, who was entertaining as the drunken Shakespeare, who gladly accepts fame and credit.

 

 

21. Higher Ground (Sony Pictures Classics) - The first on my list of movies from Sundance is also the first of two directorial debuts by award-winning actresses who decided to go behind the camera. In this case, it's Vera Farmiga's adaptation of Carolyn Briggs' memoir about a girl named Corinne growing up in the South and accepting a life of faith when she joins a Christian commune. Farmiga is as fantastic as always in the main role, as is her cousin Taissa (from "American Horror Story") as the younger Corinne and Joshua Leonard as her husband, who doesn't understand why his wife may need something more than her religion. It's a fantastic character-driven debut by Farmiga that covers a lot of ground and time, which is quite impressive in itself. Sadly and rather ironically, it opened the same weekend Hurricane Irene hit New York, so God clearly doesn't like being questioned.

 

20. Insidious (FilmDistrict) - Possibly the only horror movie on the list (other than Contagion) is this twist on the haunted house movie from Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell, which I first saw at the Toronto Film Festival in 2010. Starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, I absolutely loved how they combined the "Paranormal Activity" style of fly-on-the-wall horror, which keeps viewers on the edge, then explodes with an ending that's absolutely bananas. If there's ever going to be a modern-day equivalent to Poltergeist, this is most certainly it.

 

 

19. The Artist (The Weinstein Co.) - You may have heard of this movie. You probably already know it's a black and white silent movie starring a couple of foreign actors you've never heard of by a director with a long, hard-to-pronounce name (Hazanavicius), but that's all you're likely to have heard since it is a silent movie. (ha ha) This is a very special film about Hollywood during the silent film era with fantastic performances by Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, and if it does win Best Picture at the Oscars, as many people are predicting, we wouldn't be even remotely surprised or disappointed, because Hazanavicius' brilliant job bringing the silent movie back to audiences is well deserved of all the accolades it gets.

 

 

18. Another Happy Day (Phase 4) - One of the last movies I saw at this year's Sundance Film Festival was the debut by filmmaking progeny Sam Levinson, which opens with Ellen Barkin's Lynn driving her two kids, one of them played by the always great Ezra Miller, to the wedding of her estranged son. As we spend more time with their extended family, all the dark secrets from their past start coming out. Still in his mid-20s, Levinson wrote a terrific script and pulled together an astounding cast that includes Ellen Burstyn and George Kennedy, but also included head-turning performances by Barkin, Miller (a dark precursor to his role in We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Kate Bosworth as Lynn's damaged daughter. Despite all the dark moments, the movie is as funny as it is dramatic, thanks to the likes of Thomas Haden Church and Demi Moore as Lynn's ex-husband and his new wife.

 

 

17. Like Crazy (Paramount Vantage) - Another terrific film from Sundance, this one exploring a long-distance romance over the course of four or five years with terrific, naturalistic performances by Anton Yelchin (the best thing he's done in my opinion) and Felicity Jones, using an intriguing mostly-improvised style of filmmaking that really makes you feel as if you're watching real lives unfold. Whether intentional or not, Drake Doremus' second film acts almost as an indictment of the immigration system and what it does to this relationship. (The film even includes a small role for Jennifer Lawrence!)

 

 

16. Drive (FilmDistrict) - We've already said a lot about Nicolas Winding Refn's Hollywood breakthrough, starring Ryan Gosling as a nameless (and mostly quiet) stunt and getaway driver and how he falls foul of a mob boss, played by Albert Brooks, but it's really a fascinating film that plays even better a second or third time, because it takes a second viewing to recognize that there's a lot more subtlety to the way Refn explored his first American genre film than may be obvious from the ultra-violent action sequences.

 

 

15. A Separation (Sony Pictures Classics) - It's not uncommon for foreign films to make their way onto this list, but in the case of Asghar Farhadi's drama-slash-mystery set in present day Iran, I agree with all the raves the film had been getting on the film festival circuit. What starts as a film about a simple divorce turns into something more dramatic as we see how the law in Iran turns a simple argument into something with far more tragic results. (Look for our interview with Farhadi later this week.)

 

14. Attack the Block (Screen Gems) - The directorial debut by Joe Cornish, pal to Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright, who produced the movie, and Nick Frost, who co-starred in it, showed the type of burgeoning talent that leads to a long and illustrious career making movies. This one was a clever premise showing what might happen if aliens invaded a tough council estate in London, and it offered scares and gore and action and laughs, making it as close to a "Goonies" for the current age as we're going to get. Cornish put together a terrific young cast and got Basement Jaxx to provide the score, and boy, did I have fun watching this movie all three times!

 

 

13. Brotherhood - Possibly the least known film in this year's list is this indie thriller from Will Canon that I first saw at last year's South by Southwest Film Festival, which involved a fraternity initiation gone horribly wrong and what the young men do in order to try to get themselves out of trouble. This is a terrific film, well worth seeking out, featuring a terrific script and performances centered around a surprisingly simple premise. Canon is clearly a talent who will continue to deliver challenging films, and hopefully, this one will one day be discovered by a larger audience.

 

 

12. Bridesmaids (Universal) - The comedy that's likely to show up on many Top 10 lists features the triumphant breakout of Kristin Wiig as a bonafide film star. Co-writing the screenplay with her friend Annie Mumolo, Wiig proved that women can have just as much fun as men while showing the evolution of a friendship and how it's affected by the pressures of preparing for a wedding. The comedy is another coup by producer Judd Apatow, who has already done similar things for making the likes of Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, and the movie was just so hilarious and touching that it showed Apatow's "Freaks and Geeks" collaborator Paul Feig to be just as strong a film director.

 

11. Thor (Marvel /Paramount) - Most people who know me already know my love of comic books and the fact that I'm very picky about my comic book movies, and they'll probably be surprised to see this one so high up in my list vs. Captain America: the First Avenger or X-Men: First Class. You see, the thing is that both those movies were good, but they diverted away from what I liked about the comics. Some could say the same about Kenneth Branagh's take on Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Norse God turned superhero, but everything from the design of Asgard to the way they used the fish-out-of-water aspect of a God on earth as he hung out with the likes of Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings made me love the character of Thor more than I have since Walt Simonson was writing and drawing the comics. Tom Hiddleston was perfect as Loki as was Anthony Hopkins as Odin and the Warriors Three and Sif were great, too! I'm dubious anyone can make a sequel as good as this introduction but I'll hold out hope.

 

 

10. Warrior (Lionsgate) - While I'm not a person who normally digs sports movies and I have about as much interest in Mixed Martial Arts as I do in paying my taxes (i.e. not much), Miracle director Gavin O'Connor managed to use the sport as a background to tell a really touching family story of two brothers (Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton) torn apart by their parents' squabbles and trying to connect with their estranged father, played by Nick Nolte. The performances by all three actors were fantastic as was O'Connor's direction that made even the outcome of even the most predictable matches something that made you stand up and cheer. It was highly disappointing to see the movie tank at the box office, because it was a movie i absolutely loved from the very first time i saw it at CinemaCon in Vegas.

 

 

9. Source Code (Summit Entertainment) - It's a little harder to explain my love for this movie, but it mostly comes out of the premise, the idea of being able to have 8 more minutes after your death that can be tapped into so that changes can be made in the timestream. Ben Ripley's complex screenplay had a few noticeable conflicts that a stickler could take apart, but Moon director Duncan Jones really knocked one out of the park with this one, first with the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan as the leads, then with the innovative way of exploring this territory and making a solid film that can be watched over and over... and over. And it got better every time I went back to watch it, too.

 

8. 50/50 (Summit Entertainment) - Years after his terrific and personal The Wackness, a Sundance favorite, director Jonathan Levine returned with a dark comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam, a 20-something guy facing cancer, based on the terrific and personal script by Will Reiser. Seth Rogen produced the movie and stars as Gordon-Levitt's best friend, who tries to keep him in good spirits while he goes through the painful treatment. With a terrific supporting cast including Anna Kendrick as Adam's therapist, Anjelica Huston as his mother, Bryce Dallas Howard and Phillip Baker Hall, the movie was so warm and funny and perfect, it made me realize Levine's brilliance was no fluke.

 

 

7. Rango (Paramount) - Every year, at least one animated movie is able to sneak onto this list, but other than George Miller's Happy Feet, this is the first time a movie not from Pixar or DreamWorks Animation made my Top 10 and in my opinion, "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer Gore Verbinski's first foray into animated films is one of the most entertaining films I've seen all year. With a great script by John Logan and a hilarious performance by Johnny Depp and the rest of the voice cast, this was the type of Western I was hoping to get from the Coen Brothers with last year's True Grit, and the guys at Industrial Light & Magic really stepped up their game for their first full-animated film.

 

 

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sony) - As much as I enjoyed the Swedish movie based on Stieg Larsson's novel that came out last year, the first movie seemed very much like a film influenced by David Fincher's Se7en that only got good about an hour into it when the two main characters were finally brought together. For his take on the material, Fincher has a far better cast (beyond the two leads) and a far better first act set-up so that it makes the whole thing that much more enjoyable. While this isn't quite up there with the #1 placement for The Social Network last year or #2 placement of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008, it's still not bad for Fincher's fourth appearance in the Top 25 with his last four films.

 

 

5. In the Land of Blood and Honey (FilmDistrict) - Angelina's non-doc directorial debut takes a look at the Bosnian War through the eyes of a Serb soldier and the Muslim woman he loves and saves from a horrible fate as the war around them tears apart families. At its core, it's a fairly simple "Romeo and Juliet" story but the way the horrors of this war are depicted, from the rape and degradation of women, to the wanton murder of Muslims by the military, makes it a shocking film. This would have been one of the best movies of the year if it was made by a director with 20 previous movies under their belt, and it's more impressive to think that someone best known for their acting like Jolie could write and direct something so powerful, mostly with unknown Bosnian actors speaking in their native language.

 

4. Martha Marcy May Marlene (Fox Searchlight) - One of the nicest surprises out of Sundance was this subdued thriller from first-time director Sean Durkin starring a brand-new face on the scene, Elizabeth Olsen, who is indeed the sister of the famous twins, but apparently, the one who got all the acting talent. She plays the title(s) character, a young woman who has escaped from a cult-like community led by John Hawke's Patrick who seems to have control over everyone there. As she hides out with her sister and her husband, memories come back from her time in Patrick's community who she fears may try to find her. The film has such a different tone and look from anything out there, punctuated by a fantastic ambient score that keeps you on edge. Durkin has quickly established himself as a filmmaker on par with some of the greats and we can't see what he does next!

 

 

 

And here's where it gets fun... our Top 3 movies of the year!

 

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (Warner Bros.) - That's right! After ten years of "Harry Potter" movies, many of them being quite good, director David Yates and the entire cast and creative team created what I thought was about as perfect a finale as you can ever hope for. More than that, it was just a very well-executed film which had everything I came to expect from great filmmaking, and considering how disappointed I was with Part 1, this finale just made me absolutely ecstatic. In a perfect world, there wouldn't even be a question that this is worthy of a Best Picture nomination, because everyone involved did some of their best work and to keep a franchise like this going for so long is quite an achievement by producer David Heyman, who probably can retire on the money made from these movies. But we hope he doesn't.

 

 

2. Blackthorn (Magnolia) - To think that I almost missed this film at the Tribeca Film Festival and only ended up catching it due to having a couple of hours of time to kill. Directed by Mateo Gil, writer of such Spanish classics as Open Your Eyes and The Sea Inside, it stars Sam Shepard as James Blackthorn, the bandit formerly known as Butch Cassidy, now living in Bolivia and about to return home to the United States before getting involved in a huckster, played by Eduardo Noriega, who gets him chased by a group of miners whom he stole money from. In an unprecedented spin-off from the classic Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Gil's film filled in a lot of the blanks with flashbacks to the younger Butch and Sundance, making for one of the best Westerns I've seen in some time which sadly never got the type of high-profile release I felt it deserved.

 

 

1a. Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey - While normally I give docs their own list (which you can read below), I had to call special attention to this movie from Constance Marks that tells the heartwarming story of Kevin Clash, a young man from the inner city of Baltimore who escapes from his tough reality by getting into puppetry, ends up joining Jim Henson's crew and creates one of the most beloved puppet characters of the last couple of decades with the lovable kid monster, Elmo. Clash's story is joyously entertaining and incredibly moving, and being the only doc of the year that warranted a 10/10 rating--possibly the first since Man on Wire?--it seemed deserving of a mention on our Top 25 as well.

 

 

1. Incendies (Sony Pictures Classics) - Oddly, the very first movie I saw this year was also the very best as Denis Villeneuve's drama really blew me away, becoming the only other movie besides "Elmo" to get a perfect score of 10 out of 10. Canadians reading this will probably say "This movie came out last year!" (and yes, it was nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Language category) but like Zhang Yimou's Hero, which was my #1 movie a couple of years back, as well as The Twilight Samurai, Villeneuve's film wasn't screened for American critics until the beginning of the year before it premiered at Sundance, and being the only non-doc with a perfect score, there's no way I could possibly ignore it.

 

Based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, the film starts as a simple drama about a twin brother and sister whose mother has died, but to get their inheritance, they're each sent on a mission, one to find their long-lost brother, the other to find the father they never knew. This sends them off to their mother's Middle Eastern home, and as we follow them trying to find clues to the whereabouts of the missing men, we flashback to their mother's journey as her country is rocked by Civil War. It's a beautifully filmed and told story that will leave you shaken to your core even if you think you've figured things out. Although there have been many movies based on plays this year--Clooney's The Ides of March, Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method--you could never tell by watching this one, since Villeneuve broke out of the theatricality of the play by capturing the beauty and the horrors of war in the Middle East.

[Nolder]

I thought Moneyball was a pretty good movie

I'd put it in the top 20 myself

[Emperor]

Bolded is new*

 

 

1. Drive

2. Moneyball

3. Crazy Stupid Love

4. Attack the Block

5. Battle: Los Angeles

6. The Ides of March

7. Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows: Part II

8. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

9. Source Code

10. The Eagle

 

 

Out of top 10: The Adjustment Bureau, The Rite, X-Men: First Class, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Mechanic, Hanna, Thor, Limitless, Unknown, No Strings Attached

 

 

Others seen and not ranked: Bad Teacher, Tree of Life, Super 8, Horrible Bosses, Bridesmaids, Captain America: The First Avenger

 

Bottom of 2011:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides

Conan the Barbarian

Sucker Punch

Hall Pass

I Am Number Four

Green Hornet

Paul

 

 

Movies that could make my top 10:

Midnight in Paris - At home now

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Artist

The Descendants

War Horse

The Help

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Contagen

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

We Need to Talk about Kevin

A Seperation

[Emperor]

Bolded is new*

 

 

1. Drive

2. Moneyball

3. Crazy Stupid Love

4. Attack the Block

5. Battle: Los Angeles

6. The Ides of March

7. Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows: Part II

8. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

9. Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy

10. Midnight in Paris

 

 

 

Out of top 10: Source Code, The Eagle, The Rite, The Lincoln Lawyer, Hanna, Limitless, Unknown

 

Others seen and not ranked: Bad Teacher, Tree of Life, Super 8, Horrible Bosses, Bridesmaids, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Adjustment Bureau, X-Men: First Class, The Mechanic, Thor, No Strings Attached

 

Bottom of 2011:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides

Conan the Barbarian

Sucker Punch

Hall Pass

I Am Number Four

Green Hornet

Paul

 

 

Movies that could make my top 10:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Artist

The Descendants

War Horse

The Help

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Contagen

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

We Need to Talk about Kevin

A Seperation

[Emperor]

Bolded is new*

 

 

1. The Artist

2. Drive

3. Moneyball

4. Crazy Stupid Love

5. Attack the Block

6. Battle: Los Angeles

7. The Ides of March

8. Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows: Part II

9. Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy

10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

 

 

Out of top 10: Midnight in Paris, Source Code, The Eagle, The Rite, The Lincoln Lawyer, Hanna, Limitless, Unknown, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

 

 

Others seen and not ranked: Bad Teacher, Tree of Life, Super 8, Horrible Bosses, Bridesmaids, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Adjustment Bureau, X-Men: First Class, The Mechanic, Thor, No Strings Attached

 

Bottom of 2011:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides

Conan the Barbarian

Sucker Punch

Hall Pass

I Am Number Four

Green Hornet

Paul

 

 

Movies that could make my top 10:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

The Descendants

War Horse

The Help

Contagen

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

We Need to Talk about Kevin

A Seperation

[Krakalakachkn]

1. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

2. Bridesmaids

3. Thor

4. Midnight in Paris

5. Horrible Bosses

6. Captain America

7. 13 Assassins

8. Unknown

9. Hobo with a Shotgun

[Emperor]

Bolded is new*

 

 

1. The Artist

2. Drive

3. Moneyball

4. Crazy Stupid Love

5. Attack the Block

6. Battle: Los Angeles

7. The Descendants

8. The Ides of March

9. Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows: Part II

10. Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy

 

 

Out of top 10: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Midnight in Paris, Source Code, The Eagle, The Rite, The Lincoln Lawyer, Hanna, Limitless

 

Others seen and not ranked: Bad Teacher, Tree of Life, Super 8, Horrible Bosses, Bridesmaids, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Adjustment Bureau, X-Men: First Class, The Mechanic, Thor, No Strings Attached, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Unknown, Cowboys and Aliens

 

Bottom of 2011:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides

Conan the Barbarian

Sucker Punch

Hall Pass

I Am Number Four

Green Hornet

Paul

 

Movies that could make my top 10:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

War Horse

The Help

Contagen

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

We Need to Talk about Kevin

A Seperation