Top Ten Films of 2011

It’s that time of year again. Tonight are the Oscars. While most of you will be preparing TV dinners and setting the Oscars as the background noise to your homework or office work, I will be herded into a large dining room with hundreds of aspiring actors and starving artists to rehearse an excessively fancy dinner for the Oscar attendees.

The biggest downside to working the Oscars is that I won’t see any of the actual ceremony, but maybe I won’t be missing much since all signs point to an anticlimactic landslide victory for The Artist as Best Picture.

In the meantime I think this is a good time to reflect on last year’s movies, so I put together a list of my ten favorite movies from last year. You can think of these as my fantasy ‘Best Picture’ nominees.

Before I start, I should mention that there are still a few movies I want to see. The most notable ones being The Interrupters, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Melancholia, A Separation, Shame, Take Shelter, and Young Adult.

Now here are my ten favorite movies in alphabetical order. Yeah, I’m too indecisive to rank them. Get over it.

50/50

A cancer comedy starring Seth Rogen may sound like a bad joke, and that’s exactly what it was before television writer and cancer survivor Will Reiser decided to turn that joke into a fantastic screenplay. Director Jonathan Levine takes a huge step forward from his last film, The Wackness, with a tone-perfect reflection on the difficulties of coping with a cancer diagnosis. Movies about cancer are risky territory for any director because it’s easy to leave the audience feeling manipulated, but 50/50 avoids this problem by focusing on the central character’s shifting relationships with his friends, family, and lovers.

THE ARTIST

Please ignore the Oscar hype before watching The Artist, because part of what makes this film feel special is that it feels like a unique vision rather than manufactured award bait. Just like in the OSS 117 films, director Michel Hazanavicius manages to craft a spoof that doesn’t trade in production value for cheap jokes. ‘Best Picture’ or not, saying you hate The Artist is like saying you hate puppies.

ATTACK THE BLOCK

You can tell its been a good year for movies when there are two critically respected films about aliens attacking earth. I was fully in love with Super 8 until the underwhelming third act, so I decided to include the more consistent alien movie Attack the Block on my list instead. Attack the Block scores extra points for crafting characters that feel authentic. You may not like the protagonists of this film, but you sure as hell want them on your side in the event of an alien attack.

DRIVE

This film had me sold before the opening title was displayed. Every shot in this film is designed to serve its focused and consistent tone. The modern soundtrack and sleek visuals disguise a rather traditional story arc. Ryan Gosling’s character essentially reenacts the story of Shane (1953) for 21st century audiences, and Nicolas Winding Refn’s interesting directorial choices help the story feel fresh.

HUGO

Hugo feels nothing like a typical Scorsese film with the exception of its competency. When asked to describe the film, I usually say it’s a cross between Oliver Twist and Cinema Paradiso. Fans of both of those stories should find something to love in Hugo. Both Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen contribute impressive performances to an engaging story. This movie may be marketed to children, but there’s a lot of content in this movie that will only be relatable to the older members of the audience.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

Most people sigh when I tell them that Ratatouille is one of my favorite movies, but no movie buff alive can deny that director Brad Bird has an impressive track record. Brad Bird made his live-action directing debut with the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise. I approached the movie with high expectations, and somehow the movie exceeded my expectations. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is one of the most enjoyable action films I’ve seen in several years. The film upholds a sense of humor that doesn’t undermine, but rather enhances the intensity of the action set pieces.

MONEYBALL

This film should not be on this list. While it might make an interesting book, I can’t think of a more boring subject matter for a movie than sabermetrics. Just like in last year’s The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin, along with several other writers, proves the adage that there are no boring subjects, only boring writers. The casting for this film is also brilliant. It’s refreshing to see comedic actors like Jonah Hill and Chris Pratt playing straight characters in opposition to some of the larger than life characters that surround them.

TABLOID

Errol Morris dealt with higher stakes in films like The Fog of War and The Thin Blue Line, but that doesn’t make Tabloid a less significant entry in his filmography. I might even argue that Tabloid is the most entertaining film Morris has ever made. This is a film that deals with obsession, sexuality, intimacy, possessiveness, narcissism, and mental illness. All of these subjects would be difficult to cram into any film, but Morris successfully touches upon all of them in an 87 minute portrait of one woman.

THE TREE OF LIFE

Critics are quick to point out that The Tree of Life is a divisive film. You’ll walk out of the theater (yes, you should see it in a theater) either loving or hating this film. However, Malick’s films have never been easy to digest. Even Badlands, which is easily his most accessible film, is loosely structured and slowly paced. I think the trick to enjoying a Malick film is to go into the film with no expectations. If you’re expecting a satisfying narrative arc, then of course you’ll be disappointed. If you’re open to a visually rich cinematic experience, then you’ll likely fall in love with The Tree of Life.

SUBMARINE

It’s impossible to discuss the brilliant film Submarine without the inevitable comparisons to Rushmore, but calling it a derivative work would be a crime. Submarine has a unique voice of its own. Where Rushmore maintains a distance from its characters through the use of calculated wide angle photography, Submarine indulges the teenage whims of its characters with subjective camera angles and the use of an ‘old family film’ aesthetic. Director Richard Ayoade manages to penetrate the inner psyche of the protagonist, which is a place where childhood ideals begin to clash with the imperfections of adult daily life.

Honorable Mentions: Another Earth, Beginners, Bill Cunningham New York, The Descendants, Meek's Cutoff (a.k.a. Oregon Trail: The Movie), Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Super 8