10 BEST FILMS OF 2011

5 Honorable Mentions:

RED STATE
THE SKIN I LIVE IN
50/50
SOURCE CODE
DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME

There can only be 10 so here we go:

10. WAR HORSE - I know what you're thinking. Movies about dogs and horses are lame and stupid, rooted in more cheese than the entire state of Wisconsin. But it's not so much about the horse at all as it about the people that he encounters. This is really a series of vignettes through the harsh landscapes of WWI. No one seems to capture the quiet intimacies of war the way Spielberg does with his vision. It's the same vision that hears you say "A movie about a horse? That's fucking lame" then bitchslaps you back into reality by saying "I'm Steven Spielberg! How dare you doubt me!" This had some of the single most stunning shots of the year and some of the best battle sequences as well. So if you're into war movies, it's really tragic if you miss this on the big screen. Give this film a chance because I promise it's better than what you're probably thinking it is.

9. THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU - To me the mark of a great film is its ability to transcend the cinemas and multiplexes and infuse itself into our culture. How often do you hear something not work out for someone and they blame "the adjustment bureau"? I'll bet many of these people have never even actually seen the film, but still understand its brilliant and unique (for a film) concept. Personally, I'm a huge fan of genre blending and love anything that takes a good romance and mashes it up with sci-fi (or fantasy, I suppose, depending on how you view The Agents of Fate). But what really sells this for me is the searing chemistry between Emily Blunt and Matt Damon that really seems to burn through the celluloid with extreme intensity. The best onscreen romances are authentic and you really feel like they are fighting for what they want, especially in the thrilling climax.

8. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL - While not the most interesting spy movie of the year (I think TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY gets that nod), this was one of the most entertaining movies on this entire list! I knew this was going to be something special when I found out Brad Bird was behind the lens. Bird did such a spectacular job with two of my favorite animated movies of all time in THE IRON GIANT and THE INCREDIBLES. But much of the credit also goes to Tom Cruise. When an actor/producer has over 30 years of experience, no matter how many hits his personal life takes, you can never rule him out. Cruise proves he is a superstar of an exceptional caliber and willing to push the limits of the production and himself to deliver an exhilarating moviegoing experience and the best film of this franchise.

7. MONEYBALL - If I told you a movie about baseball statistics and salary management is one of the most entertaining of the year, you'd probably think I was batshit crazy or a monumentally boring lay if nothing else. But trust me--this movie is excellent. If I had an Academy vote for best actor, Pitt gets it over Clooney (for THE DESCENDANTS) from me because you really believe him as the defeated Billy Beane, a man who had so much promise and hope inside his soul at one point that has as much vigor as a deflated balloon when we first meet him in the film. Through his tired eyes and pensive scowl, I completely buy Pitt as this character. Jonah Hill also puts in a tremendous supporting role as number whiz Peter Brand, who not only helps facilitate the salvation for Billy Beane's season, but his faith in the game he once loved. Watch this!

6. HESHER - If you take MARY POPPINS and mix it with THIS IS SPINAL TAP, you get HESHER, a well-acted film that I find not too many people have heard of, but if you love Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this was his other great performance of 2011 (50/50, of course, can't be missed). Rainn Wilson and a nearly unrecognizable Natalie Portman also shined in this, but the young upstart, Devin Brochu really did a commendable job in the starring role. This is an odd film and an interesting take on the whole stranger-comes-into-a-family's-shitty-life-and-makes-things-better genre, but this is also a film with great characters that we wonder about long after the end credits have rolled. Just when it's about to become too sugar-coated, some vinegar gets poured in to win back its audience, a plaudit to great direction by Spencer Susser.

5. ATTACK THE BLOCK - Going into this year, I thought the movie about kids and aliens that would be here would be SUPER 8. But for me, this was the kind of fun, witty, and exciting movie SUPER 8 didn't even come close to. This was the kind of fantastic film that did everything right. With a hilarious script, hyperkinetic editing pace, thrilling action scenes and awesome finish, this is the kind of movie you leave feeling 100% satisfied with. And that rarely happens. Americans are bad about letting heavy English accents turn them off, but I promise this is one that you have to check out and won't regret!

4. 13 ASSASSINS - This movie had balls. Big balls. And it's done by the kind of director who never flinches about what to show audiences so it's no surprise that this film is so masterfully crafted despite the gallons of blood and ubiquitous gore. Takashi Miike has no reservations about showing Lord Naritsugu's wrath in the form of a carved, limbless woman. He isn't afraid to realistically show the kind of wounds 13 Samurai would really suffer if fighting an army of 200. Deaths are slow and painful to watch, but the fight choreography is also beautifully orchestrated like a ballet or symphony. And that's important because the last, lengthy battle is actually over 50% of the film. While not as understated as Kurosawa, I can't help but think he'd be proud of this film and the filmmaking finesse of his fellow countryman, Miike.

3. THE ARTIST - It sounded gimmicky to the point of being annoying. A black-and-white silent film about the black-and-white silent era of filmmaking? But it's not gimmicky at all. It's a rather compelling portrait about a man who has everything and never considers the cold realities of a harsh future that could take everything away. Throughout his plight is the young woman who was once so inspired by him. The top notch direction by Michael Hazanavicius teleports the viewer through time directly into a mid 1920's nickelodeon and does a masterful job of keeping the audience firmly planted in the film's enveloping diegesis. The protagonist has one of the best, most inventive dream sequences I've seen in a long time that plays with this world. What really sells this are the tremendous performances by the two leads, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, who both had the daunting task of creating and developing characters without speaking. And they nailed it!

2. SUPER - I love this movie. If this movie was a girl, she would be that nerdy neighbor with the glasses who will never be glamourous or gorgeous, but you know that she could love you more than anyone on the planet. Why? Because she has heart. This movie had so much heart. You can tell in every frame, in every second, the people working on this film believed in it. They trusted it. And it's so rare to find that in any film these days. Rainn Wilson proves he has the acting chops to carry a film (not that he needed to prove it) and Ellen Page is a comic book fanboy wet dream. Kevin Bacon also was great in a villainous turn (to pair with his other awesome baddie role in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS). James Gunn directed this masterpiece, the second finest of the year.

And the best film of 2011:

1. DRIVE - If only all movies were as cool, sexy, violent and brilliant as DRIVE. There probably wouldn't be too much I would want to do in life other than go to the movies. It's a modern day Samurai film. Driver does what he does, not for money, but for honor. Ryan Gosling does such a wonderful job of channeling Steve McQueen uber-cool and a quiet intensity once mastered by a young Sean Penn. I think lots of filmmakers want to make films that pay homage to a certain movie era, but rarely are able to actually make it work in the execution. From the opening credits and montage, however, Nicolas Winding Refn evoked thoughts of BREATHLESS, NIGHT SHIFT, and INTO THE NIGHT. The viewer is instantly grafted into early 1980s nostalgia and although the period setting for DRIVE is ambiguous, it breathes with a 80s vibe that only enhances its overall appeal and affirms the primal nature of its characters. The film's soundtrack is actually its unseen star (much like the soundtrack for THE SOCIAL NETWORK was last year). Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan have yet another spectacular example of chemistry that seems to drift off the screen. Gosling did some great work this past year (IDES OF MARCH and CRAZY STUPID LOVE were also great films) and even though I hated SHAME, Mulligan was fantastic in it. I can't wait to see what Winding Refn does next. Maybe a sequel to DRIVE...?

I hope you enjoy these films as much as I did and if you'd like to discuss further, please feel free. Thanks! Happy New Year!

-M.