This was a strange year for films. After a rather weak summer, which saw many good films but didn't have much that I considered to be truly great, fall more than made up for it. I already posted my Spearie awards, so those of you who looked at them already know what my number one pick is, but here I will not just be listing the films in order, I will be talking about just what it is I like so much about them. The ranking is purely for entertainment purposes, I don't expect everyone/anyone to completely agree with me, but I thought I'd take a moment to share my opinions.
Top 10 Movies of 2011
1. Drive
This was a very close year. There were several films that I considered to be my favorite at some point in time. However, looking back, Drive was very definitely my favorite. It has everything I'm looking for in a film. It is expertly crafted, very unique, and very entertaining. It is a film that I recommend one goes into without knowing too much about it. It is a unique film, the likes of which I have never seen before, nor do I expect to see again.
2. Hugo
This is a film that I felt very good coming out of. It is a brilliant experience for anyone who loves film. It has great performances and visuals throughout, and it is the film that truly made me realize the potential of 3D in film, a technique that I once thought to be an unnecessary fad, but now see can truly add to a film, if used correctly.
3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I enjoyed this film way more than I expected to. It's a very complicated film, which not everyone will be able to follow on their first viewing, but for those who can, it is a very worthwhile experience. The entire cast is at the top of their game, especially the underrated Gary Oldman as George Smiley, who, as always, sheds all of the other roles he's played and makes you believe that he IS George Smiley. Also a standout is Benedict Cumberbatch, who is quickly, and deservedly, coming up more into the mainstream thanks to his constantly great performances in BBC's "Sherlock" and films like this. This film may have the greatest cast of the year, as well as the most brilliantly written screenplay.
4. The Descendants
I have yet to see a film more perfectly balance drama and comedy than this film. It uses this balance to great effect, taking a very dramatic storyline; the death of a parent; and uses the comedy at exactly the right moments to keep the audience from getting too bogged down in grief. I recently dealt with a death in the family myself, and I kept flashing back to this film, and I realized how brilliantly the writers handled this kind of experience.
5. War Horse
This may be the most flawed film on this list. War Horse is by no means perfect, it is often old-fashioned to a fault. However, it is one of the most emotionally resonant films of the year. I was so involved with the characters and the story that I was very easily able to forgive the film its flaws. I understand why one may not enjoy this film, as it does not really belong in this day and age, but it shows that Spielberg still has talent left in him.
6. Hanna
This film is light on story and heavy on action. And that is fine by me. Hanna realizes that the audiences are interested in seeing action, so that is what it delivers. The story sets up the action, but otherwise lets it speak for itself. Mix the entertaining action sequences with the great performances, set to one of the greatest soundtracks in recent years and Hanna is a film that is much better than it truly should be.
7. Horrible Bosses
This, like Hanna, is a film that is great because it does exactly what it wants to do. Horrible Bosses intends to make its audience laugh, and it does a great job of that. What more is there to say?
8. The Tree of Life
This film truly is very difficult to place in this list. It defies rank and comparison to other films. It is just such a unique and intriguing experience. It is a flawed masterpiece. It is probably longer than it has to be, and certain moments don't seem to serve too much of a function, but the great moments of the film pack a truly powerful visual and emotional punch. It something that one has to be prepared for when going into it, because it truly such a different kind of experience.
9. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
It truly shows how great this year was for film that all of my top 9 films this year would be in the top 5 any other year. This film is perfectly crafted, and very entertaining. It's brutality is extreme, but I knew about that going in. This is a great mystery film for anyone who is able to stomach it, though I do not plan on watching it again anytime soon.
10. The Adventures of Tintin
This is one of the more entertaining films of the year. One might question the necessity of making the film completely animated, and I am not sure I can say that it was definitely better this way. However, it is a film that never stops moving, not allowing itself to become boring even for a second. It's a real throwback to a different era, and one that I couldn't welcome more.
TheWorst films of 2011
The Hangover Part II/Transformers: Dark of the Moon
These are not the films that I least enjoyed of the year, in fact, they each had moments that I did enjoy. I am calling these the worst films of the year because of what they mean for the film industry in general. These films were entirely unnecessary. They did not do anything new that their predecessors have not done before and they are entirely lazy. It makes me truly sad to see how frequently this is occurring, and that these films are making multiple times as much money as some of the truly great films that have been released. While I would probably say that Sucker Punch was worse than either of these films, I at least respect that it was trying to do something different, which, even though it pretty totally failed at that, is much more than the other two films can claim. I can only hope that people start to realize how lazy these films are and start to see films that actually have some effort put into them.
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