My Top 10 Films of 2011

Pretty self-explanatory title but a couple of notes before I start. Due to time constraints I passed on most of the year's critically panned films. It's possible that I could have loved Taylor Lautner's Abduction or Mars Needs Moms but I highly doubt either would crack my top-10.  I also didn't have a chance to see a few well-received movies, the most notable of which are Drive, Sherlock Holmes, and The Tree of Life.



Honorable Mention:

Thor- I had very low expectations for a film about a so-so Marvel hero riding around on a rainbow road with friends that look like Norse Power Rangers. But this ended up being an extremely enjoyable fish-out-of-water superhero flick and one of the biggest surprises of 2011. The relatively weak last-third kept it out of the top 10.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy- Boasting high-quality source material and a stellar cast, Tinker Tailor is a well-crafted, well-acted espionage flick that constantly kept me guessing. A likely candidate for Oscar nominations, the rushed, condensed feel, kept it out of my top 10.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil-  Starring Firefly fan-favorite Alan Tudyk and Taylor Labine, this film only grossed $4 million but is a hilarious twist on the teen-horror genre. Just because two guys live in a creepy, dilapidated cabin in the woods doesn't mean they're psychotic murderers.

The Muppets- There aren't many things in this world more timeless than The Muppets and their return to the big-screen confirmed that. Kermit, Ms. Piggy, Fozzy, Animal, and the rest of the crew are as endearing and hilarious as ever. You can consider this number eleven on the countdown. 

#10: Contagion

"Someone doesn't have to weaponize the bird flu. The birds are doing that."

Over the last decade there have been several pandemics including H1N1 and SARS. Contagion explores a worst-case-scenario where a disease is deadly and too fast-moving to be contained. As a result, tens of millions die and not even Oscar winners are immune. The film focuses not only on the race to find a cure but also on the social ramifications, suggesting that perhaps fear is even more contagious than the virus.

Boasting an ensemble cast that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwynenth Paltrow, and Laurence Fishburne, Contagion makes the tired disaster-movie genre cool again. 

#9: The Descendants

"Paradise? Paradise can go fuck itself."

 I'm usually a fan of big stories and larger-than-life individuals, so I didn't expect to enjoy The Descendants, a film about a normal family dealing with some unusual but not unheard-of crises. But somehow Director Alexander Payne manages to create something so heartfelt and honest that it's impossible to dislike. With no superfluous parts and nothing missing, The Descendants ranks with Thor as one of the most surprising films of the year.

#8: Attack the Block

"This is too much madness to explain in one text!"

I hate to be repetitive but I'm about to describe a third film as "surprising" because there's no other way to describe Attack the Block. Prior to seeing a Facebook status about the British sci-fi flick, I had never heard of it. In fact, I needed to Google the title to confirm that it's a movie and not a video game or book. Attack the Block focuses on a small-time street gang in London forced to defend themselves and their neighborhood against ferocious aliens. Block is witty, funny, fast-paced, and manages to put a its own spin on the alien-invasion genre.

#7: Warrior

"You talking about Sparta? Brendan, please. You got a better chance of starting a boy band."

Warrior is a film that easily could have become a mess of tired sports movie cliches but it never falls into that trap. Riding on the strength of three great performances by Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, and Nick Nolte, it has enough heart to rival great sports film such as Remember the Titans and Rocky. Nolte in particular deserves some Oscar credit, although I highly doubt he will get it.

#6: Rango

"The name's Rango."

My theory that Pixar is run by a group of hyper-intelligent humans sent from the future to prevent nuclear war by creating animated films everyone can enjoy took a serious hit this year when Cars 2 sucked. Thankfully, Rango managed to fill the void left by Pixar's first flop. The film is set in the desert where the eponymous chameleon has been marooned in a depressing, water-starved town named Dirt. The denizens of Dirt are a colorful, superstitious group that begin to hold the fast-talking Rango (voiced wonderfully by Johnny Depp) in high-regard. What ensues is one of the most unique animated films I've ever seen. If you've also descended into Pixar withdrawal, check out Rango.


#5: X-Men: First Class

"Listen to me very carefully, my friend; killing will not bring you peace."

Creating a loyal prequel to an X-Men trilogy that used every remotely popular mutant from Wolverine to Multiple Man, couldn't have been easy but director Matthew Vaughan pulled it off. The group of young mutants is great but Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr steal the show as powerful men with opposing ideologies. Did I mention Magneto lifts a submarine out of the ocean?

#4: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

"I want you to help me catch a killer of women."

This movie is not for the faint of heart. Dragon Tattoo is intense, dark, and occasionally off-putting but it's impossible to deny Rooney Mara's amazing transformation into the most memorable movie character of 2011. I expected Rooney Mara to be memorable but I didn't expect the film to have such a well-crafted murder mystery. Mikael and LIsbeth's search for the identity of a prolific serial killer had me on the edge of my seat. 

#3: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

"Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries. Protect us!"

I've spent over a decade excitedly waiting for the next Harry Potter book or film but now there's nothing left to wait for. It's bittersweet but thankfully Rowling's series got the send-off it deserves with the best film in the series. Watching the statues, paintings, and professors of Hogwarts prepare the iconic castle for battle nearly brought tears to my eyes. 

#2: Margin Call

 "You're selling something that you know has no value!"

You could make dozens of movies about the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 but first time writer/director J.C. Chandor decided to focus on a 36-hour period at one fictional Wall Street firm. The result is a tightly written film that strikes the perfect balance between human emotion, financial jargon, and social commentary. The great cast is highlighted by Kevin Spacey as the jaded veteran, Zachary Quinto as the young rocket scientist turned financial risk analyst, and Jeremy Irons as the pragmatic but amoral billionaire CEO.

#1: Moneyball

"There are rich teams and there are poor teams, then there's fifty-feet of crap, and then there's us."

Moneyball tells the story of a group of underdogs who win not because they are inspired by a coach's speech or because they have angels helping out. The team succeeds because everyone else undervalues its players that are either old, throw funny, or have ugly girlfriends. Bolstered by Brad Pitt's charm and Jonah Hill's humor, Moneyball may not be the greatest sports movie of all time but it's the greatest sports movie I've ever seen.