The 10 Best Films of 2011

2011 was a very good year for movies in my opinion. I saw nearly 50 movies during the year that I would rate above average or better. That is an incredibly high, and highly unusual ratio.

Despite another summer filled with explosions and car chases and superheroes, some of these films were surprisingly enjoyable. Many of these films actually showed where their incredibly high budgets went. But once the fall season hit it seemed that one terrific movie followed another. As a movie buff I can proudly admit I was in geek Heaven.

I found the funniest film of the year to be Horrible Bosses. I realize this will upset the legions of fans of Bridesmaids but dark comedies are my favorite genre and the filmmakers got this one right. Colin Farrell and Kevin Spacey were at their creepiest while being funny while Jennifer Aniston raised more than a few eyebrows for being sexy while still being crazy. For me Bridesmaids was a fun, perfectly entertaining comedy but somewhat overrated.

Insidious was the year's scariest movie. Despite a weak final 15 minutes I was on the edge of my seat for much of the movie and the filmmakers provided more than a few scares that weren't cheaply achieved. But the absolute scariest moment in any movie this year was the appearance of the "sheet ghost" in Paranormal Activity 3. I am not one that scares easily but both of these films truly had me on edge.

Not all was rosy in 2011. Sequels and 3D movies seemed to pop up in theaters at a clip of once a week. Rarely did I see a movie in 3D when I had the 2D option. For me only Martin Scorsese's Hugo utilized the 3D process the way it should be utilized. Leave it to one of our great directors to get it right.

Before I list my top ten films for 2011 there are a few other lists I want to share with you (The Worst List will follow in another article).

The Best Films That Didn't Quite Make My Top Ten:

The Descendants; The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2; Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol; Moneyball; Warrior

Movies That Deserve a Tip of the Cap:

50/50; The Adjustment Bureau; The Adventures of Tin Tin; Captain America; The Conspirator; Contagion; The Debt; The Devil's Double; Everything Must Go; Fast Five; The Guard; Hanna; Higher Ground; Horrible Bosses; In Time; Into The Abyss; J. Edgar; Midnight In Paris; The Muppets; My Week With Marilyn; Rise of the Planet of the Apes; The Skin I Live In; Source Code; Super 8; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; War Horse; Water for Elephants; The Way; Win/Win; X Men: First Class.

10 Movies I Liked That You Likely Didn't:

30 Minutes Or Less; Apollo 18; The Beaver; The Big Year; Don't Be Afraid of the Dark; Fright Night 3-D; Hall Pass; Paranormal Activity 3; Paul, Scream 4.

5 Movies You Liked That I Didn't:

Cowboys and Aliens; Melancholia; Real Steel; Tower Heist; Transformers 3.

And now I am pleased to present to you all my picks for the 10 best films of 2011. I hope you saw them all and enjoyed them and, if not, please seek them out.

10) THE WHISTLEBLOWER (Director - Larysa Kondracki) Based on a true story, Rachel Weisz plays Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who went to post-war Bosnia to serve as a peacekeeper and soon began investigating a possible sex ring where young women are kidnapped and sold as sex slaves. Her investigation is marred by the fact that she is looked down upon because she is female, but as she continues she uncovers a long line of political wrongdoing and corruption to a point that she may not even be able to trust her own superiors. Weisz gives an exceptionally strong performance and is ably supported by Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn and Monica Bellucci. This was one of the most disturbing films I have seen in a long time.

9) DRIVE (Director - Nicolas Winding Refn) Perhaps the most overlooked film of the year is this character study of a part time Hollywood stunt man (Ryan Gostling) who sometimes serves as a getaway driver in robberies. He has a strong set of rules and refuses to budge from them. He is a strong character. One day he meets a neighbor (Carey Mulligan) with a son and becomes attracted to her. When her husband re-appears after being in prison, the driver mistakenly helps him to get out of a jam with mobsters and gets caught up in revenge and violence. Albert Brooks, shockingly overlooked for an Oscar nomination, plays one of the creepiest villains I have ever seen on screen. The scene where he cuts a man and then calms him by telling him that it's all over, that death is imminent, is unforgettable.

8) TAKE SHELTER (Director - Jeff Nichols) This film was the one that grew on me the most after seeing it. I couldn't get it out of my mind - always a great sign. Michael Shannon stars as a man who begins having apocalyptic visions of terrible storms and decides to build a shelter to save his family. But soon he begins to wonder if it is real or if it is all in his mind thanks to a mother, now institutionalized, who began having odd visions at about the same age. Jessica Chastain gave another in a string of strong performances in 2011 as Shannon's faithful wife.

7) THE IDES OF MARCH (Director - George Clooney) I have discovered through the years that the films that seem to interest me the most are ones set in the world of politics. I know little about politics and always find myself sucked into the story and learning things I never knew about. Ryan Gosling, in another strong performance, plays a staffer on a campaign trail for a possible Presidential nominee. He is hard working and idealistic and soon finds that the trial leads to corruption, dirty tricks and even death. The strong supporting cast includes Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei and Jeffrey Wright.

6) THE HELP (Director - Tate Taylor) The audience pleaser of 2011 is this story set in the South in the 1960's and stars Emma Stone as a young woman who dreams of being a writer and soon begins to write about the "help," the African Americans who worked for Caucasian families and often took better care of the family children then their own parents did. Despite their hard work and dedication they still had to deal with racism in its worst voice. While the film softens that tone just slightly, the point is made. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are likely to win the female Oscar awards this year for their stellar portrayals. This is a lovely, heart warming film.

5) THE ARTIST (Director - Michel Hazanavicius) The front runner to win this year's Best Picture is a glorious throwback to the grand old age of silent movies. Not only is this movie silent but it is shot in beautiful black and white. It also happens to be a terrific film about a film star whose star light begins to fade with the advent of talking motion pictures while a female protégé's star begins rising at the same time. This is a delightful film that, in the classic tradition of masters like Chaplin, makes you laugh and cry. This is a film the whole family should see.

4) A DANGEROUS METHOD (Director - David Cronenberg) After a career in the 70's and 80's as one of our top horror film directors (The Fly, Scanners, The Dead Zone), Cronenberg has become a top director in the last several years with such terrific movies as A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and now this drama about the relationship between Carl Jung (well played by Michael Fassbender, who was also terrific in this year's Shame) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and how psychoanalysis was born. Their friendship is tested when Jung takes on the case of a woman (Keira Knightley, in a brave performance) and begins an affair with her. Deemed too talky by some viewers, I was enthralled with all three characters and their developments that lead to an inevitable, though unpredictable) conclusion.

3) MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (Director - Sean Durkin) This was a strong year for female performances. While Keira Knightley, Tilda Swinton, Kirsten Dunst and Rachel Weisz were overlooked for nominations, the most glaring omission for me was Elizabeth Olsen in the title role(s) as a woman trying to re-assimilate herself into normal society when she calls her sister out of the blue. This proves to be difficult as she is haunted by the memories of her days in a cult where she was cautiously and discreetly brainwashed. John Hawes, so memorable in his Oscar nominated role in last year's Winter's Bone, is equally memorable here as the leader of the cult. He is a quiet, gentle man who slowly but powerfully assimilates himself in the minds of the women of the cult. A scene where he sings a song to Marcy May (the name given to her in the cult) is equally beautiful and horrifying as we slowly realize that he is seducing her and she has no idea. This is another film that stayed with me long after I had seen it.

2) HUGO (Director - Martin Scorsese) This is a beautiful movie that owes a lot to the great director's love for cinema. Set in Paris in the 1930's, the film tells the story of a young boy who lives within the walls of a train station and becomes friends with a young girl whose father (Ben Kingsley) is one of the founders of movies as we know them. To say more would be a dis-credit to those who haven't seen the film. Another example, in a terrific year, where the whole family can enjoy this movie.

1) TREE OF LIFE (Director - Terrence Malick) I realize this is a controversial choice as the best film of the year. Everyone I have recommended it too has either hated it or simply didn't enjoy it. For me, this is the reason I love movies. The reason I spend so many hours in uncomfortable seats in the dark. As soon as the movie was over I knew I would not see one better this year. This is not a film for everyone. It doesn't have a straightforward narrative that most moviegoers are used to. Terrence Malick's elegant mosaic is about creation. The creation of a family. The creation of life. The creation of the world. The main plot (if you can call it that) is about a family in 1950's Texas and the loss of innocence of the eldest son of two thanks to a strict upbringing by his father (superbly played by Brad Pitt) and a group of friends he shouldn't be hanging around. Jessica Chastain, in another great performance, plays the wife of the family, a more understanding and protective parent then her counterpart. Sean Penn has a small role in present day as the eldest son and most of the film is told through his memories. I can't say enough about this film. The long sequence showing the creation of the universe is breathtaking. It made me cry. Malick doesn't waste a single frame of film. Every shot is beautiful. The close-up of a baby's foot. A butterfly landing on the mother's hand. I could go on talking about this film for hours. I can only compare this experience to that of the lucky patrons who got to see 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time in theaters upon its release. I believe this film will be remembered fondly in years to come. It will be studied and critiqued to death. The ending is difficult to understand. Like Kubrick, Malick leaves it to the viewer to decide what it all means. For anyone who sees it for the first time, I envy them that opportunity