Favorite films of 2011… another damn list.
The Debt : It would be a top five film on my list if not for a ludicrous final act, but the performances in this one are top notch, the stakes interesting, and the flashback scenes are kinetic.
Contagion : It’s cold and calculating, but is so briskly paced and stylistic that I found it riveting. Yeah, it doesn’t really delve into the issues it brings up, but at least it wasn’t boring.
#10 – The Muppets
It’s cute, fun, and totally revitalizing to a franchise that has been dead now for years. They do a great job of being faithful to the tone of the Muppets.
#9 – Beginners
Mike Mills hasn’t done a lot in film, but I do love everything he’s done to this point. While I wasn’t originally interested in this one, I was impressed by the presentation, the writing, and by both McGregor’s melancholy performance and Plummer’s balls to take this role.
#8 – Fright Night
I’ve had quite a few conversations with people on the boards about this one, because I’m not as big of a fan of the original as I was when I was eleven years old. So I really wasn’t disinterested in a remake at all, and it’s probably the most “fun” I had at the theater all year. Yes, Tennant is wasted, but overall the film provides lots of thrills and chills without sacrificing a great deal of character from the leads.
#7 – Tintin
A lot of people seem to be split on this one, but hell, I’d give it a top ten place for the chase sequence alone. Yes, it’s serialized and a little TOO briskly paced, but it’s the first time I can honestly say I admired the use of mocap technology and I thought the script was witty and fun.
#6 – Win Win
A film that will largely be forgotten, I really liked this little indie about a high school wrestling coach/lawyer who has a bit of a financial and personal crisis that leads to a young wrestling star being put under his tutelage. It doesn’t go for the easy laughs or easy tears, and handles the tonal shifts in the film remarkably well.
#5 – Jane Eyre
Marvelously acted and directed, and featuring some pretty beautiful photography throughout, there was nothing I didn’t like about this most recent adaptation of the classic novel. Take that, Lillyvon.
#4 – Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen is my favorite working director, so this is pretty automatic. It captures the humor and whimsy of a lot of his earliest films, but is grounded by such strong and relatable performances that it manages to find some middle ground between something like “Sleeper” and “Vicki Christina Barcelona”.
#3 – Young Adult
It’s the best thing Diablo Cody has written, and it’s the best thing Theron has done in her career, and yes, that includes her Academy Award darlings. The most remarkable part was how much I felt like I already knew this character and felt almost slightly sympathetic towards her, even though she’s utterly despicable. Reitman also did a great job of reigning in his stylistic impulses.
#2 – The Descendants
It’s brilliantly acted, directed, and structured. It manages to be touching without overstaying it’s welcome, and poignant without sliding into the realm of melodrama, which is something this story could easily have done. Great picture and I’ll be rooting for an Oscar win there.
#1 – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
I found this cold-war era spy thriller so captivating and so brilliant, I’m not sure I want to watch many other spy movies in the near future for fear of holding them against this one. I think it’s a masterpiece of filmmaking; a deliberate and icy look into the lives of the people who are trained not to show their hands in a game where the stakes are at their highest. The performances are pitch perfect. And this all coming from someone who did not particularly care for “Let The Right One In.” I can’t wait to watch it again.
