The 10 Best Films Of 2011 (...that i've seen)

At first, I think to myself that, in comparison with 2010, 2011 has not been a great year for films...

And then I think about the films I have yet to see, and the films that I have struggled to put into my top 10 and I realise that perhaps there is something there. Perhaps 2010 had 10 absolutely brilliant movies that 2011 has not matched, but maybe 2011 has 20 or so absolutely great movies. It's subjective for sure, but looking back on the year, the majority of decent movies seemed to have come out in the latter half (as always, with Award's season now in full swing).

I have not seen 'The Artist' (a French, silent, black and white film starring John Goodman...), I haven't seen 'Take Shelter' (I'm sure it will...blow me away :|), I haven't seen 'Melancholia' (I don't get Lars Von Trier, and never will), I've seen no freshly painted dragon tattoo, nor have I witnessed any wars ft. horses and I haven't seen any Iranian films this year. I have, however, seen over 150 new films this year (new to me, not necessarily new this year), so I reckon I could compile a satisfactory list.

But first, let us get some Honorable and Dishonorable Mentions out the way -- 'cause everyone loves to know who could have made the cut, but sadly, fell at the last hurdle.


Dishonorable Mentions

1. Battle: Los Angeles
Promised so much. Gave so little. Aliens attacking are cool, we've established this -- but we actually have to relate to the characters in this situation otherwise why the hell should we care about the Earth being destroyed?

2. Anything Green
'Green Hornet' -- 'Green Lantern' -- in serious competition to find out which one was the most boring.

3. Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
As far as 'storytelling' goes, Michael Bay is quite hopeless. I admire the way he takes on such ambitious visuals though, even if occasionally, no one has any idea what's going on as the robots look just like the buildings they incessantly smash in and out of.

4. The Hangover, Part 2
Might as well just have watched the first again on mute. No laughter. No difference. Yawn.




Honorable Mentions

1. Warrior
You can draw all the comparisons you want to -- 'Rocky' 'The Fighter' 'The Wrestler' -- it's predictable. You can guess what's going to happen a long time before it does, but I'll be damned if it wasn't the most riveting film I saw all year. Gripping, powerful, violent -- a stunning film full of stunning performances and well worth a watch.

2. Source Code
For a while, this was my highest rated film of the year -- I couldn't find much wrong with it. Sure, you can ask questions about the dead body/brain device, but it's such a touching movie that it's almost rendered as a superfluous sidenote. Once again, just like 'Moon', Duncan Jones manages to find the human drama within his ambitious concept and brings it to the forefront through great turns by stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga.

3. Super 8
There's a scene in this movie (if you've seen it, you'll know which one it is) where I got chills. As wonderful as it was, it didn't balance the two elements of 'coming of age' and 'sci-fi' as successfully as I'd hoped. JJ is a great director, but perhaps he needs one or two more viewings of E.T. Either way, it's dazzling, ambitious and fun.

4. Hanna
I don't know what it's like to be a child actor, but Saoirse Ronan seems to have got the hang of it -- she's pretty damn good as a child assassin and though this movie can reach high levels of violence, there's a good hearty story at the core, and is constructed with deft hands by director, Joe Wright.

5. The Tree Of Life
This is a film that will probably be included on those '100 Movies To Watch Before You Die' lists -- it's unbelievably beautiful, as well as unbelievably pretentious. There was so much depth and meaning to it, not that I had the foggiest what that meaning was, but I knew it was there. A lot of it was unneeded, Sean Penn in particular, but the 'creation' scenes are so well done, and so alluring, that they really must be seen. A contemporary equivalent to '2001: ASO'.



TOP 10

10. Rango
"Now, we ride."

Rango was the movie I wasn't expecting. I'm not a huge Gore Verbinksi fan, and though my oddly inappropriate man-crush on Johnny Depp is still ever-present, I didn't have high hopes. What I discovered, was that this movie is one of those unappreciated gems which has humour and heart throughout. Not once did it fail to make me laugh, and not only are the visuals superb to look at it, but there's a real sense of hard work in trying to distinguish itself as a type of animation you haven't seen a lot of before. The vocals are lively, creative and all types of fun -- the story is strangely political, yet if you can overcome the first 10 minutes (which introduces Rango as a lizard in existential crisis), it pays off big time.



9. Beginners
"I don't want to just be theoretically gay. I want to do something about it."

Beginners is about a dying gay man. It's about the gay man's son dealing with his father's death. It's about the dying gay man's son's new girlfriend adapting to her new relationship. All at the same time. It takes advantage of the seemingly trendy 'non-linear' narrative and tells all the stories at once. It does it effectively, not once getting confused as to where it is. It's a real story, it's poignant, it's lovely, it's sad, it's funny. It features three performances from Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent which propel it forward and it never once crosses the line with its sentimental wanderings. It's about love and loss, but it's never as simple as that. Thinking back over it, it never ceases to tell the story, never feels burdened by its subject, and comes out shining. A beautiful film that everyone should watch.



8. Submarine
"My mother is worried I have mental problems. I found a book about teenage paranoid delusions during a routine search of my parents' bedroom."

This film is directed by Richard Ayoade -- most will know of him from 'The IT Crowd'. He's making waves, that's for sure. Last year, he also directed an episode of the US sitcom 'Community' (this has no relevance to the film, but I just found out and thought it was interesting) -- this is one of those films that someone like me would love to have written. It's positively brimming with creativity and tells the story in an incredibly truthful manner which is hard to watch at times. There is no outside world nor is there going to be a brighter tomorrow. The hero won't ride off into the sunset with the girl nestled comfortably in his arms, because the real world isn't like that. This movie portrays that depressing truth, but it's so uplifting, that it hits home that much harder.



7. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
"All I want from you is one codename: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier..."

A movie that won't be for everyone. It's bloody difficult to follow. It's a spy movie without any large explosions, gadgets or jaw-dropping locations. It's made up of old men, chomping on cigars and pipes, covered in heavy drench coats, slinking through shadows in a very mundane, wet, and smokey London. It's all about the look and feel -- paranoia is at an all time high and like the movie characters, the audience is never quite sure who to trust. Everyone has a past, everyone has a secret. Little by little, more is peeled away until everything is revealed, not with a bang, but with a whimper. And that's how it fully intends it to be. This is a movie that is a true movie. It's created by a master of the art, and each member of the cast supplies their roles with a subtle, melancholic twist. There is a corruption within all of them, a darkness that manifests itself on the very streets they walk. Many of its audience won't appreciate it, but I put it on my list, and I'm sure the cast and crew are very happy to hear that...



6. 50/50
"No one wants to fuck me. I look like Voldemort."

A movie that could have gone so wrong. A comedy about cancer. Luckily, it gets it spot on, focusing the comedy on the situation in a way that never seems like its mocking the illness, but more about trying to improve the situation. An 'Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining' deal -- sure, the protagonist, Adam, is going to question everyone around him, there are going to be times where he is going to be at rock bottom -- he still has cancer -- but there's always hope, dished out by his supporting cast, consisting of his best friend, therapist, and mother. It navigates through the tricky pitfalls of the topic with careful hands, holds a lot of depth, and gives out enough to reassure even the most pessimistic of us out there.



5. Midnight In Paris
"That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me."

I don't like Paris. I'm not a fan of the culture. Owen Wilson, in this film, certainly is. By the end, I am too. Life isn't a movie though, but its ability to take you somewhere else, to influence you in various ways is quite special. This is a beautiful movie, with a magical element that has graced some of Allen's films in the past, but feels refreshingly new here. It's got his usual knack for linking different characters through different means, and exploring relationships, but his journey into a different period of time opens up a whole new door of adventures and possibilities. It's good to follow a character like Gil (Wilson) who doesn't question his surroundings or how he came to be there, but accepts it. It makes it that much easier for us to do the same thing.



4. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2.
"Come on, Tom...let's finish this the way we started it. Together!"

The adventure ends. Though the ending was rather abrupt (no one asked about Voldemort...), I sort of appreciate the way they chose not to sugar the moment in sickly sentimentality -- however, they've not wasted a moment in previous films, so why feel the need now. Either way, the ending was a success. The actors have all come so far, learnt so much, and it all came together one last time. Visually, it was stunning. Absolutely stunning. I saw it at the BFI IMAX, and impressed is an understatement. The world of Harry Potter was brought to life in so many different ways over the last few years, and this one last effort brought it all together with a pretty pink bow -- magical. PUN INTENDED.



3. Hugo
"If you ever wonder where your dreams come from, look around: this is where they're made."

If you ever wanted to know anything about Martin Scorsese, know this. The dude loves movies. Adores them. Naturally, you'd think most film-makers have an affinity for the cinema, but with Scorsese, it's a way of life. He's one of the greatest directors in film history and this film is his love letter to the art he admires so much. I very much imagine that Hugo's relationship with movies mirrors his own. The scenes where the children watch movies such as Harold Lloyd's 'Safety Last!' and Melies' 'A Journey To The Moon' hold a lot of meaning. This is classical cinema at its very best -- jam packed with references that will mean something to more than just film-buffs, it's a way of promoting cinema. How many people dismiss film as pointless, something that doesn't matter when it comes to the sciences, and maths and y'know...other boring things (boring, but important -- don't argue). There are infinite reasons why people flock to the cinema -- your dreams can literally come alive, and you can join a world like Hugo. Visually, it's just as magical as the world of Harry Potter, if not more so. I didn't see it in 3D because I don't think I need to, but it's one of the few that I would suggest you see in 3D as if anyone can get it right, it's Scorsese.



2. Moneyball
"How can you not get romantic about baseball?"

I don't know a lot about baseball. I know less about maths. Yet this movie, which features both prominently, is 2nd on my list. That says everything. I don't like baseball. I like maths even less. What I do like, and admire, is persistence. I like the underdog story. It's a common theme in sports films, but when it's based on a true story, that aspect of authenticity really elevates the movie in my eyes. Take a character like the protagonist, Billy Beane, general manager of Oakland A's, a small baseball team in a larger pond, and his insistence on using a stats based method of assembling a wining team, and it works. Why? Because Brad Pitt is an incredibly gifted actor (you may not like him, but it's true) and his emotional need, his endeavor makes the film for me. You want to believe in someone, you want to believe that this man knows what he's doing -- that this team WILL win the World Series, and he exerts that confidence. Not once do you doubt the man. There is no time for sentiment, it's quick, sharp and Aaron Sorkin's script is as good as his recent Oscar winning effort with 'The Social Network' -- fantastic film.



1. Drive
"If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window, anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down; I don't carry a gun... I drive."

What a great year for Ryan Gosling. I've never seen 'The Notebook', but I imagine he'd rather be known for his role in Refn's stunningly disturbing tale of a stunt driver, who moonlights as a getaway driver under cover of darkness, and gets caught up in some rather nasty business. It's the most powerful movie I've seen this year, and it features a protagonist who utters about 20 lines throughout the entire movie. It's power isn't in the dialogue (there isn't a lot), it's in the actions, the music, the slow build of tension, the release, the trigger, the violence -- everything about it multiplies in unison, contributing to something larger and effective. None of the scenes are simply shot, yet that's exactly what they are. What I mean by this is that every scene is effortless. It's so easy to watch, it runs as serenely as the protagonist does in his own vehicle, yet each scene holds so much -- a 'blink and you miss it' deal. It is filmed in a style reminiscent of an earlier noir period, yet it's blend of violence and striking imagery correlates with a modern world awareness and desensitization of cinema violence. I consider it a masterpiece, and the best movie I've seen this year.