Top 30 Films of 2011

You may ask, "why the best films of 2011, it's April". 2011 had so many films that I wanted to see that not only was I not able to see several of them in 2011, since they weren't available, but also I wanted to experience some of these films a second time. Letting some of these films sit is better than making a quick rushed list just to have it ready by December 31st. 

So now that I've clarified, here are my top 30 films of 2011....

30. Attack the Block

It takes a great filmmaker to combine comedy and action in a way that doesn't lean too much either way. It is no surprise that Attack the Block director-writer Joe Cornish has worked with Edgar Wright on many occasions, especially on his films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and co-wrote the script for 2011's The Adventures of Tintin. Attack the Block focuses on a teen gang in London that defend their apartment from aliens. Yet this low-budget film starring a talented cast of younger actors works against it's restraints, making the aliens more terrifying that one probably could with a larger budget and makes the characters deeper than expected, allowing actual stakes when they go missing or worse. Attack the Block is a fantastic debut from Cornish, who is already showing that he may be the next Wright.

29. Horrible Bosses

2011 was a significantly strong year for comedies and even more so, comedy ensembles. While The Hangover showed that it was a one-trick-pony, Horrible Bosses introduced the world to a trio of guys that are just as great: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, not to mention their hilarious bosses, played by Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell. Horrible Bosses is a well-written film (co-written by Freaks and Geeks star John Francis Daley) that has great character based humor and never creates situations solely for laughs, but rather has the characters finding great comedy in the situations they are placed. Horrible Bosses was a welcome comedic surprise right in the middle of summer blockbusters last year.

28. Win Win

Writer-director-actor Thomas McCarthy has always been brilliant with creating character that are real and presenting them in believable situations. His characters in The Station Agent and The Visitor were beautifully created visions that never seemed too large or outrageous. With Win Win, McCarthy creates his first overly comedic film and truly succeeds. Paul Giamatti is great as usual as a wrestling coach who just wants to keep his family afloat and makes decisions that seem right in the present but have larger consequences in the end. Win Win has good characters making decisions with their heart, not with their brain, a flaw we have all made and McCarthy presents that with great truth and humor.

27. The Descendants

When I left the theatre after watching The Descendants, I left thinking "that was it? That was the film leaving everyone even more in love with Clooney and made Payne once again considered a great filmmaker?" I didn't dislike the film, but I left feeling like it was my least favorite Payne film (which I still feel). In the past, Payne's films have had normal people making big jumps in their lives, and The Descendants also did this, but in what I felt was a smaller jump. But as I think about the film more, I believe that is the point. There isn't one moment where Clooney's character noticeably has a change of heart, or where he makes a large shift in his life. In fact, it is the gradual change of the character that makes it a welcome change for Payne. The final scene may seem anticlimactic, but it is the perfect conclusion for a film about a man deciding what is truly important in his life.

26. Weekend

I'm a complete sucker for films that have two people meeting, sharing some time together and are forever changed, partially because of the love they felt for that amount of time, but also because of how this person has changed their life in such a brief period. Films like Before Sunset and Before Sunrise and 2011's Certified Copy have all worked their magic on me. Weekend does this as well, but with a major difference: the two people in question are both men. Weekend is a beautiful love story in a way that we rarely see in cinema and it is a welcome change. Tom Cullen and Chris New are wonderful as the two lovers who spend a weekend together, hanging out, joking around, having sex, and just getting to know each other. Andrew Haigh's directing is gorgeous, yet never seems too voyeuristic in its viewing of these two. It would be nice for more films to take a more modern view at relationships like Weekend does, a film that is so familiar yet so different that it is completely captivating.

25. A Separation

One of the great things about foreign language films is that they give us a look into a culture or idea that we may well have never known anything about. That is just one of the many ways why A Separation is an incredible film. A Separation focuses on a man and wife in Iran who are in the process of getting a divorce. The woman, Simin, wants to take her daughter to America to give her a better life, while the husband Nader doesn't want to leave his elderly father alone in Iran. A Separation focuses on the decisions made due to the divorce, mostly involving a woman who comes to watch Nader's elderly father. Every person in A Separation makes questionable choices, but the viewer knows that each side in every argument or decision is doing what they truly do best. A Separation questions right and wrong, lies and truth, and what is best to keep our families intact.

24. Warrior

Unlike most male Americans, I couldn't care less about MMA fighting, so the idea of Warrior wasn't interesting to me in the slightest. However when I realized that two of my current favorite actors, Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton were in Warrior, my view made a 180. Thankfully Warrior focuses more on the familial relationships, between brothers and between the brothers and their father. Warrior is also just a great sports movie. Even though the audience knows exactly who will be fighting each other in the final round of a massive worldwide MMA tournament, it still has edge-of-your-seat excitement. While it does have many of the same elements that made 2010's The Fighter so great, it does enough original relationship ideas that makes Warrior more than just a MMA fighting film.

23. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I've never been a huge fan of the Planet of the Apes films. I don't dislike sci-fi films, but I do like for them to have some emotional stakes in them. I enjoyed the original Charlton Heston film, but like mostly everyone, I despised the Tim Burton-attempted reboot. I was quite wary about this prequel to the films, even after seeing the pretty great and the incredible mo-cap work by the always great Andy Serkis. But Rise of the Planet of the Apes was above and beyond what I was expecting. Serkis is always a wonder, making the character of Caesar into such a sympathetic character, by the end, you're cheering for the apes instead of the humans. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is how a great reboot or prequel should be done.

22. Crazy, Stupid, Love.

I'm a sucker for very good romantic comedies. While I'm also a sucker for literally anything Emma Stone does, that didn't effect how much I enjoyed Crazy, Stupid, Love. The film is an intricately handled rom-com that combines three different love stories effortlessly and weaves them together in a way that is both fun and touching. Almost the entire ensemble cast handles their roles beautifully (sorry Marisa Tomei) and makes a quite enjoyable film that shows love from many different angles in a pure and sweet way.

21. Hesher

Hesher is almost as unusual as the main character the film is named after. The entire cast, led by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson and Natalie Portman, are playing against type, but none more than Levitt, who makes such a surprising transformation into Hesher. The best way to describe Hesher is as a metal-loving guardian angel. His methods may be unorthodox, but his heart is (usually) in the right place. Hesher is a film that never goes easy on its' character, even after deaths in the families and heartbreak. Director Spencer Susser's film is a refreshingly different film, with typical issues but handled in a complete unique way. 

20. Jane Eyre

It is kind of embarrassing, but I knew nothing about the story of Jane Eyre before seeing the 2011 film. But what I came away with was a dark, brooding tale as creepy as it is romantic. Director Cary Fukunaga, who did the surprising Sin Nombre, directs Jane Eyre like a horror story, filled with bleak moments and cold characters. The cast in excellent, with Mia Wasikowska as Eyre and Mr. 2011 himself Michael Fassbender as Rochester, one of his best roles in a year filled with great roles. While Jane Eyre is a costume drama, it's also a shockingly twisted tale that is compelling and brilliant.

19. Cedar Rapids

Over the last few years, it has become abundantly clear that Ed Helms is trying his best to follow in the footsteps of Steve Carell. Both came from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and also became household names with huge comedies, Carell with The 40 Year Old Virgin, Helms with The Hangover. When Carell stepped down as boss of The Office, who was there to take his place? Ed Helms. While Carell has also done well transitioning to comedic dramas, like Little Miss Sunshine, Helms however made that leap in 2011 with Cedar Rapids, a well developed comedy with some hilarious and interesting characters. Helms leads a cast co-starring Isiah Whitlock Jr., Anne Heche and John C. Reilly, who gives one of the greatest comedic performances of the year. What makes Cedar Rapids work is the ability to create realistic yet crazy characters, make you care for them and take them on a journey of self-discovery not too off the path of reality.

18. The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau is a film that really shouldn't work. It's a romance that quickly turns into a conspiracy film that then shifts into a thriller. But The Adjustment Bureau balances all these elements into a mixture that works. The film starts off as boy-meets-girl romance, but when a secret agency comes and tells Matt Damon's David Norris that he should have never met Emily Blunt's Elise Sellas, he becomes determined to change his fate and create his own future. The Adjustment Bureau gets into some heady ideas of whether or not we decide our own path or not, but also tries so many other things, that it's a minor miracle that it all pulls together in one of the best films of the year.

17. Melancholia

Lars Von Trier has never been shy about being incredibly bleak. From Dogville to Dancer in the Dark and Antichrist, no one ever ends up happy at the end of a Von Trier film. Melancholia starts off about as bleak as possible, with the end of the world. The film takes place in two parts: the first looking at Justine's wedding, played by Kirsten Dunst, and the second shows Claire, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, dealing with her newly depressed sister and the coming end of the world. Melancholia is dark and chilling, and is as much about the end of the world as it is about dealing with depression and different outlooks on the world, in impressive ways.

16. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher follows up my favorite film of 2010, The Social Network, with the American adaptation of the Stieg Larsson smash hit book. Is it as good as the Swedish original or the novel? It's not better, it is just different. Fincher makes appropriate changes to the previous works while adding the Fincher aesthetic to a story that works perfectly with his style. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are well cast here and the two and a half hour film flies by with twists and intrigue that show why this story has risen in popularity in the last few years. Fincher's take on the story is a exciting interpretation that adds layers to the stories we've already heard several times before.

15. 50/50

Out of all the films from last year that balance comedy and drama, Will Reiser's semi-autobiography of his tale of getting cancer might very well be the best. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, a young man who is diagnosed cancer and 50/50 shows how not only Adam deals with this news, but also how the friends and loved ones around him react to this change. The cast which includes Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anna Kendrick and Anjelica Huston all do a phenomenal job of dealing with Adam's cancer in different ways and Levitt gives another great performance after his turn as Hesher. 50/50 is funny, but it doesn't skimp on sweet moments between friends and family, combining the two in a beautiful way that few films can pull off.

14. Beginners

I was a huge fan of Mike Mills' first film Thumbsucker, and while at the time I found myself drawn to the character because of the point I was in my life, I was likewise drawn to the character that Ewan McGregor plays in Beginners. No, my mother hasn't died and my dad hasn't proclaimed to be gay. No, I didn't meet a beautiful French actress who I spend time with in hotel rooms and no, my dog doesn't comment in narration. But I found Mills' story as personal as it is universal. It's about a character stuck in a rut, watching as his world his flipped upside down and as he watches how his father in his older age can still be redefining and figuring out who he is. Even that far in his life, his father can be discovering new things about himself, while McGregor's character is stuck trying to figure out himself at all. Mills has created a distinct directorial and writing voice for himself and Plummer gives one of the year's best performances, as does McGregor in a very understated role. Beginners shows that in life and love, regardless of age, we are still only beginning to figure out everything.

13. Hanna

In recent years, we've received quite a few child assassins in entertainment. Form Hit Girl to Katniss Everdeen, teenage female murderers seem to be the next cool thing. But none of these characters is as fleshed out as that of Saoirse Ronan's Hanna. I'm always back and forth on Ronan. I first became aware of her with her breakthrough performance in Atonement, but then starred in the horrendous The Lovely Bones, which I shouldn't blame on her, but rather a terrible script and story. But Ronan brings everything she has in Hanna, about a girl blocked from the world as her father trains her in vicious combat and skills that only a highly trained CIA agent should know. The film struck me in a way that one of my favorite films of last year, Dogtooth, did, in that we are watching characters react to things that most people would be aware of, but are only now privy to experience these things. For example, we watch as Hanna hears music for the first time, or experiences watching television for the first time. It's a intriguing character story. Hanna is also about the influence of the outside world, the basic father-mother dynamic and education. But also it really kicks ass. Joe Wright directs the action here unlike almost any other action film I can think of. And let's not forget the consistently exciting Chemical Brothers score that fills the world of Hanna. Hanna looks like a typical action film from the outside, but on the inside it is anything but.

12. We Need to Talk About Kevin

It is weird to me that post-9/11, two films about the topic came out quite soon after the event, United 93 and World Trade Center, yet after Columbine, hardly any mention of this was in films. In fact, films seemed to be more careful about getting any questionable material taken out of their film. With the exception of Elephant, Gus Van Sant's dark and brooding masterpiece, the topic of school violence is rarely discussed. We Need To Talk About Kevin does, but in a much different approach, by focusing on the mother of a boy who commits a heinous act of violence at his high school. Tilda Swinton gives the best female performance of the year as the mother, as we watch her deal from birth with a son that is inexplicably pissed at her. We Need To Talk About Kevin does have some flaws, such as some heavy handed imagery, such as Swinton constantly having to clean red paint off her house as red paint drive-bys are a constant nuisance. Also, we are never given any real reason why Kevin should hate his mother. But besides this, we see a mother who does everything she can to love, but is pushed to her limits. The film is more about parenting than it is about school violence, but the film is centered around great performances that includes one of Swinton's best in a long line of great choices.

11. Moneyball

When it comes to sports, I am almost always bored to death while watching them. Yet when it comes to sports movies, I almost always love them. For almost every reason, I shouldn't like Moneyball, a film that seems on the surface all about stats in the national past time. But being this is a script from Aaron Sorkin, the man who turned Facebook into my favorite film of last year, I knew there was going to be much more to this film, and I was right. Moneyball is really about people receiving second chances and proving what they are worth. Brad Pitt gave dual performances this year that were incredible and Pitt is wonderful here in a very quiet, yet powerful role. He shows strength when he needs to, but fears for the failures of his past. We also see Jonah Hill in his first non-comedic role, where we see that he can be more than just the guy who draws dicks in a notebook. Sorkin, Pitt and Hill made me actually care about baseball stats and the men behind them, something I thought that couldn't be done.

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Considering all the things that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 had to be, it's incredible this eighth film in the franchise did as well a job as it did. The film is as epic as you'd want it to be and does fan service by giving favorites great moments, such as Neville and Mrs. Weasley. HPatDHP2 (jeez) isn't the best of the Harry Potter films (Prisoner of Azkaban won that title), but it is a suitable conclusion to one of the biggest franchises of all time. 

9. Bridesmaids

When Bridesmaids came out, many were quick to call in "The Hangover for women", yet I don't think anything could be farther from the truth. The humor of Todd Phillips and Judd Apatow couldn't be more different. While Phillips mostly just goes for laughs, Apatow wants characters to have human elements. When award nominations were given to Bridesmaids during award seasons, I heard many people ask why or how it deserved these. Upon several viewings, what makes Bridesmaids stand out isn't its phenomenal ensemble cast, but Kristen Wiig. She propels the film into something that is sympathetic to many people's feelings of being lost, hitting bottom and trying so hard and still failing. There are many great, humorous scenes in Bridesmaids that involve characters getting drunk, throwing up and even shitting in the street, but the finest moment in Bridesmaids is a quieter one that explains so much abut Wiig's Annie character without saying a word. Annie is a baker, so one bad day, she takes to the kitchen to bake a single cupcake. The process takes her quite a while, as it is as elaborate as it is beautiful. Once she has made the perfect cupcake, she looks at it and takes a bite. All of that effort for something that is gone so fast. That is the heart of Bridesmaids: a woman who has given her all too often, yet realizes that she tries so hard but constantly loses what she goes for. With that in mind, Bridesmaids is much more than just a gross-out comedy, but a fascinating look at people in the post-economic collapse and their attempt to find the good in their lives and hold onto it.

8. Like Crazy

Like Crazy is a film I can completely understand people not embracing. The film is solely based around one relationship and how it effects both people, Jacob and Anna, in it. Nothing in the film doesn't immediately correlate with these two. Yet there are some films that a person will have such a personal reaction to that it immediately allows you to overlook it's flaws. For me, that film is Like Crazy. Just watching the trailer, I knew it would remind me of aspects of a past relationship, yet I went to see it, knowing that tears were soon to come. I didn't cry during Like Crazy, I bawled. The whole film has this sense of looming disaster that is sad but one simple moment broke me and became one of the most honest moments I've ever seen in a film. After a break-up, Anna creates a book of memories and thoughts for Jacob, explaining why she loves him. This exact thing had happened to me, and just by seeing the book, I knew exactly what is was, immediately making me break down. Like Crazy may not be a perfect film, far from it, but no other film in 2011 made me have such an immediate connection and emotional experience as this one did.

7. The Artist

I am such a huge fan of silent and black-and-white films, when I heard about The Artist, I was immediately excited. I always hoped someone would go back to this type of filmmaking, yet I wasn't sure if it could be pulled off, but The Artist certainly does a damn good job of it. I do have some small gripes with the film, such as language and gestures that wouldn't be allowed in a film of that time. Also, moments where sound are used are some of the most effective scenes, yet I did have a slight problem with them utilizing sound in what is supposed to be a silent film. That being said, the combination of Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and Michel Hazanavicius truly make a film that feels like it could have been made decades ago. Yes, the film takes aspects from Vertigo and Singin' in the Rain, but how could a film about the past not rely on films of the past to tell its story? While not my pick for Best Picture at the Oscars, definitely a great choice.

6. Drive

Every year, there's one film that gets a ridiculous following that instantly makes it a classic, regardless of critical or commercial success, even if they are given one or both. Films like The Matrix, Donnie Darko, The Dark Knight and The Social Network are all examples of that and in 2012, might possibly be The Cabin in the Woods. But for 2011, that film was Drive. With all the fan love for the film, you'd think it was the next Citizen Kane. While Drive isn't that good, it is one of the most gorgeously shot, gory and intriguing stories not directed by Tarantino in years. Everything about this film just screams cool, from it's great cast, 80's inspired score and breathtaking cinematography. Drive is a pulp wet dream that excels in pretty much every aspect in tries in.

5. Midnight in Paris

Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, I was privy to the worst of Woody Allen. I saw Small Time Crooks and Anything Else, wondering what the hell was the big deal with Allen. Throughout the 2000s Allen got better. I enjoyed films like Cassandra's Dream and Vicky Christina Barcelona, but was still not too impressed. Then at the beginning of 2011, I finally checked out Annie Hall and completely fell in love. With this newfound appreciation for Allen, I went to see Midnight in Paris and my appreciation for Allen grew even more. Midnight in Paris is beautiful in every way, from the way that Allen shoots France to the dialogue that flows so naturally from Owen Wilson. I doubt that Allen will be able to keep up the beauty of Midnight in Paris, but at the very least, we still know that the younger Allen is still able to poke his head out every once in a while.

4. Super 8

It is impossible to watch Super 8 without seeing J.J. Abrams' love for the films of Spielberg, and as a person who grew up watching Spielberg films, it's a welcome film that highlights what I loved most about those films. Granted, I never watched any of the Indiana Jones films or Close Encounters of the Third Kind (still haven't) when I was a kid, but the warmth that a Spielberg films gives off is immediately evident in Super 8.  The young cast in Super 8 is incredible, especially Elle Fanning, who gives one of the best performances of the year. There's something to be said about nostalgia, and Abrams gives us tons of it to creates one of the best films of the summer.

3. The Tree of Life

I must admit, I was somewhat relieved that after leaving The Tree of Life the first time, I wasn't the only one who didn't "get it". To me, it was a gorgeous film from Terrence Malick that attempted to do so much that it failed to have much of an effect on me. Then, in preparation for the Oscars, I watched the film a second time, and everything came into place. Going in blind, I was confused and unsure what was going on. Seeing it a second time, I saw where the movie was taking me and was able to enjoy the nuances and beauty of what Malick was trying to give me. The Tree of Life has been compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey many times and rightfully so. Both films are vague, shocking interpretations of the past, the present and the future and both are open to several interpretations. I can't remember the last time a film changed so drastically for me on a second viewing. Even before getting a great emotional experience out of the film a second time, I still thought it was one of the best examples of directing and cinematography as pure art. Not to mention that Brad Pitt gives a underrated performance that I believe was 2011's best performances and easily Pitt's finest performance ever. The Tree of Life may be overwhelming at first, but give it a second go, and it just may surprise you as much as it did for me.

2. Take Shelter

After seeing director Jeff Nichols' first film Shotgun Stories, I knew this was a director I would completely fall in love with. When I heard about Take Shelter, I was immediately excited by Nichols' involvement. Once I saw Take Shelter, I needed a minute. Some films just take the breath out of you, taking you back and making you want to immediately watch it again. Take Shelter was that film for me.  Nichols makes a film that feels like M. Night Shyamalan pre-The Happening, but possibly even better. Michael Shannon may be tied with Pitt for best performance of 2011 and Jessica Chastain gives a best performance in a year full of Chastain. To say too much about Take Shelter would steal from the excitement watching this film, but I'll just say, Take Shelter is the best unseen film of 2011, by far.

1. Hugo

When it came to 2011, no other film stood a chance for me against Hugo. The film is a perfect storm for me. Martin Scorsese is one of my favorite directors. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", which Hugo is based on, is one of my favorite books and the film's subject, director George Melies, is arguably my favorite director of all time. The film deals with old films, from the first ever film of a train heading straight towards a camera, the films of Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and many other legends, and has some of my favorite actors, from Chloe Moretz, Michael Stuhlbarg and Sacha Baron Cohen. Not to mention that the film is near perfect. In my opinion, Hugo is the best thing Scorsese has even done. However, I might be biased.

2011 was a year all about nostalgia. From silent films with The Artist, 80s genre in Drive, loving the 1920s in Midnight in Paris, 70s sci-fi with Super 8, and Hugo with its love for the beginning of film. I connected most with Hugo this year, a film about loving film. Hugo is brilliant in every way and I loved that a film is teaching kids about the early days of films, before the advancements we see today.