Best of 2011
In no particular order. These are what I consider to be the best films of 2011. Don't like these movies? Make your own list...
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24 titles
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.A strange tale of sex, revenge and body horror without the gore you'd typically find in films covering the same topics.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAsa ButterfieldChloë Grace MoretzChristopher LeeIn 1931 Paris, an orphan living in the walls of a train station gets wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.Beautiful tribute to filmmaker Georges Melies. I'm a big fan of films about films and this is one of the best. Had no idea what it was about going in.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGina CaranoEwan McGregorMichael FassbenderA black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.Great action and probably the best use of an MMA fighter in film to date. Highly entertaining.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsHenry CavillMickey RourkeJohn HurtTheseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJodie FosterKate WinsletChristoph WaltzTwo pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.I hate baseball but this was an all around solid film from the director of Capote. It even has Jonah Hill (who should be shot) in it but a ruining he does not do.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsMichael FassbenderKeira KnightleyViggo MortensenA look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsRyan GoslingCarey MulliganBryan CranstonA mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.The second part in Refn's 'Hero Trilogy'. Smooth, stylish and brutal work. I'm sure Cronenberg is proud.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsElle FanningAJ MichalkaKyle ChandlerDuring the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.Will one day be considered a classic like The Goonies and Stand By Me. There are some flaws but overall it's just a great sci-fi flick and tribute to the films involving adventurous young kids us children of the 80s grew up on.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsBrad PittSean PennJessica ChastainThe story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
- DirectorXavier GensStarsLauren GermanMichael BiehnMilo VentimigliaSurvivors of a nuclear attack are grouped together for days in the basement of their apartment building, where fear and dwindling supplies wear away at their dynamic.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
- DirectorTommy Lee JonesStarsSamuel L. JacksonTommy Lee JonesThrough a chance encounter, two men of opposing ideologies deliberate spiritual, philosophical, and profound matters in a New York City apartment.Very solid adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy play directed by Tommy Lee Jones. TLJ is one of the best directors working today.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMichael ShannonJessica ChastainShea WhighamPlagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
- DirectorFranklin LópezStarsSteven BestZoe BluntRod CoronadoIf your homeland was invaded by aliens who cut down the forests, poisoned the water and air, and contaminated the food supply, would you resist?Interesting documentary proposing that we end civilization itself and return to basic tribal communities. Why not.
- DirectorJustin KurzelStarsLucas PittawayDaniel HenshallLouise HarrisBased on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.This is probably the most dark and suffocating film I've ever seen. It's not quite horror but should be extremely disturbing to most people. Filth.
- DirectorDaniel NettheimStarsWillem DafoeSam NeillMorgan DaviesMartin, a mercenary, is sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger.
- DirectorTe-Sheng WeiStarsMasanobu AndôJun'ichi HarutaSabu KawaharaAn indigenous clan-based people living in harmony with nature find their way of life threatened when violent interlopers from another culture arrive, intent on seizing their natural resources and enslaving them.Very brutal film looking in the history of the Seediq Bale people and their fight against the Japanese. Many narratives going on here covering things like the hero archetype, the way of the warrior [Bushido], tribal nationalism, asymmetrical warfare, masculinity, traditionalism, honor, morality, spirituality, vengeance, colonialism etc.
- DirectorPaul ChinaStarsGeorge ShevtsovBob NewmanGeorgina HaigA seedy bar owner hires a mysterious Croatian to commit murder, but a planned double-crossing backfires when a young waitress is taken hostage. A suspenseful, yet darkly humorous chain of events builds to a bloodcurdling climax.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsSharni VinsonJoe SwanbergAJ BowenWhen the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of the victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.
- DirectorJoe CarnahanStarsLiam NeesonDermot MulroneyFrank GrilloAfter their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
- DirectorCatherine TatgeStarsJane AlexanderGraeme MalcolmMary Beth PeilDocumentary of naturalist and author, John Muir 1838-1914.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJeremy IrvineEmily WatsonDavid ThewlisA young farm boy enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. His hopeful journey takes him out of England and onto the front lines as the war rages on.