My Top 10 Films of 2011

The 84th Academy Awards are just around the corner, so I’ve done some serious reflecting on what I would consider to be some of the best films of the past year. All of the following 10 films were released in the U.S. in 2011. I still have not seen a few which I would like to consider, including “Hugo” and “The Tree of Life,” so I may need to update my list in the next few weeks. This is a tentative list.

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 films of 2011 (in approximate order of preference):

1.

“Take Shelter”

Directed by Jeff Nichols

The best film of 2011. A tour de force from director Jeff Nichols revealing the young filmmaker’s masterful ability to fill the screen with such tense, powerful images, while keeping the special effects subtle and to a bare minimum. Such restraint is tremendous in today’s filmmaking world, and it proves that Nichols is the real deal. The film also features tremendous, award-worthy performances from Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

2.

“Midnight in Paris”

Directed by Woody Allen

Woody Allen’s 41^st film proves after all these years, he is still capable of creating magic on screen, and of bedazzling us with his poignant writing and direction. I found this film to be like a cool breeze in the middle of a hot summer day. Owen Wilson charms as Allen shows us through the city of love, ending on a pitch perfect note.

3.

“A Separation”

Directed by Asghar Farhadi

An important film everyone should try to see, “A Separation” juggles multiple threads of thought, and choices that may or may not be morally sound. Director Asghar Farhadi wisely leaves audiences to sift through the moral ambiguity. Moadi and Hatami are riveting as a couple in a broken marriage.  At every turn, they make decisions, trying to do the right thing, or at least what seems like the right thing at the time. We don’t always see eye to eye with them, but that makes “A Separation” all the more thrilling and sincere. In an age when xenophobia still lurks around many corners, this film strips down these crass fears and reveals the humanity that remains. Farhadi’s script is a blessing, and he directs with perfect urgency and subtle grace.

 

4.

“Super 8”

Directed by J.J. Abrams

“Super 8” feels like the movie that writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams has been working toward throughout his career, a beautiful homage to 1950’s science fiction movies, to moviemaking, and to the tenderness and wonder of early Stephen Spielberg productions like “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Abrams’ “Spielbergian” ambitions are great ones, and though at times his reach does exceed his grasp, he is able to successfully, more or less, blend touches of Spielberg’s style with his own to bring us the Abrams-Spielberg hybrid that we have been waiting for. Abrams restores imagination and spirit to the summer movie.

5.

“Bridesmaids”

Directed by Paul Feig

Paul Feig’s “Bridesmaids” is the funniest movie of 2011. Kristin Wigg, whose top-notch script (co-written by Annie Mumolo) showcases her terrific comedic presence on screen. Her work on “Saturday Night Live” tends to be hit-miss, much like the show itself these days, so it is great to see her spread her wings as a sincerely frustrated, tormented maid of honor who is pushed to the brink of madness by the whole ordeal of trying to one-up her best-friend’s snooty other friend. And when she finally gets to release the fury, hell hath none like a maid of honor scorned. Melissa McCarthy is a revelation.

6.

“Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol”

Directed by Brad Bird

The most spectacular, exciting action movie of the year, Brad Bird’s contribution to the “Mission:Impossible” series is his completely unencumbered sense of imagination and vision. Bird comes from animation, and has made some visually masterful films for Pixar, including “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.” His first leap into live action is a spirited success, as he pumps the fun back into the series, and one kick-ass, nail-biting action sequence after another, one on a very tall building–Tom Cruise is even more insane in IMAX.

7.

“The Descendants”

Directed by Alexander Payne

The fourth major film by Alexander Payne makes the director four for four. A superbly written, acted and directed comedy-drama about a conflicted husband and father who is the sole trustee of a stretch of land in Hawaii that has to be sold off soon before the trust expires. He also finds out his about his wife’s affair, prior to going into a coma, from his estranged daughter. This is one of George Clooney’s best performances as he juggles several emotionally complex scenes. Like Payne’s previous work, it tackles several moral questions, and leaves us thinking and thinking, somewhat satisfied but still thinking.

8.

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Directed by Tomas Alfredson

The second film I have seen by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson. Like his previous film, “Let The Right One In,”  “Tinker Tailor” reveals the mark of a sincere, talented filmmaker and storyteller. The former was dark coming-of-age tale about two children who are lost souls floating around in a world that doesn’t understand them. One of them happened to be a vampire, but that was almost secondary. This film, too, is about lost souls, meandering around in a secretive world where speaking your true feelings could get you killed. Oldman fearlessly takes on the role of Smiley, a tired, world-weary veteran who has seen it all, and electrifies the screen. There is so much depth to these characters, and only when the screen fades to black do we realize just how much of an emotional ride this film is.

9.

“Moneyball”

Directed by Bennett Miller

A baseball movie like “The Social Network” is a Facebook movie. As a film about the costs of winning and losing, both in baseball and in life, “Moneyball” is exhilarating. Pitt and Hill play so well against each other, and Hoffman, always supremely talented on screen, is appropriately hardheaded as their main opponent, Art Howe., who refuses to adhere to Beane’s new statistical strategy of picking players for a team. Much credit also goes to screenwriting virtuosos and Oscar winners Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”) and Steven Zaillian (“Schindler’s List”), whose styles differ but whose talents are equally remarkable. Sorkin’s sharp, breakneck dialogue matches surprisingly well with Zaillian’s writing style.

10.

“Drive”

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

What at first seems like a throwaway story may very well be exactly that, but with “Drive,” Refn has taken an oh-so-familiar tale, stripped it down, bleached it in existentialism and tattooed his personal stamp on it. There is nothing typical or throwaway about “Drive.” As it simultaneously manages to embrace and scorn the movies it resembles, the film reveals itself to be something of a rarity. While it contains many of the elements of more familiar crime movies, it is not so interested in exploring the same ideas. Refn is in love with Gosling’s long, intense stares, which arrive frequently throughout “Drive.” Either that, or Gosling loves his own stares a bit too much. Whatever the case, it is an interesting and compelling performance in an equally interesting film.