Top 10 Movies 2011
The Top 10 Movies for 2011
2011 was a good year for action flicks. There are some enormous titles coming in 2012, but we really enjoyed these. This is our list of Top 10 Movies for 2011.
10. Bridesmaids
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Jon Hamm, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper
Director: Paul Feig
Release Date: 13th May 2011
Two feuding bridesmaids (Wiig & Byrne) battle over how to plan their friend’s wedding. Unlike Bride Wars, this isn’t sappy or girly girly. It’s more like a female version of The Hangover, even though it turns more serious in the second half. Ultimately this is Wiig’s tour de force, as she pairs being one of the best comedy actresses around with suprising dramatic skills. The movie was produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Paul Feig, who last worked together on Freaks And Geeks. Bridesmaids has great characters, performances, laughs and replay value.
9. X-Men: First Class
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Release Date: 3rd June 2011
60s-set prequel to the X-Men trilogy which focuses on the relationship between Charles (aka Professor X) and Erik (aka Magneto) as young men and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. As Charles establises his school and Erik seeks revenge against his tormentors in the concentration camp, a new mutant threat, Sabastian Shaw, emerges seeking to provoke nuclear war between the superpowers. This is a throughly entertaining movie that plays like a smarter, freakier version of a Bond flick. Fassbender is excellent as Magneto, and Bacon is compelling as Shaw.
8. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (U.S. Remake)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer
Director: David Fincher
Release Date: 20th December 2011
A disgraced journalist (Craig) investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch’s niece 40 years earlier, with the help of a punky computer hacker carrying serious man issues (Mara). Sticking closer to the book and with an on-fire David Fincher at the helm, this is an improvement on the Swedish movie, which was pretty good to begin with. Rooney Mara fully commits to the now iconic role, finding the right balance of agressive edge and vulnerability.
7. The Artist
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Release Date: 23rd November 2011
It’s 1927 in Hollywood and while a silent movie star wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with a young dancer set for her own big break. The movie is shot as if it’s a silent black and white from the ’20s, and while no dialogue might sound daunting, it reminds us that as much, if not more, can be communicated by the face. The leading man won best actor at Cannes this year. The Artist is just a fantastic idea, brilliantly executed.
6. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Josh Holloway
Director: Brad Bird
Release Date: 16th December 2011
The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his new team (Renner, Patton, Pegg) to go rogue to clear their organisation’s name. The villains are played by Michael Nyqvist (09′s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) Léa Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) and Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire). Directing duties were given to Pixar animation maestro Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille), whose experience of live action was minimal. But it paid off. Critics agree this is the best high-adrenaline action flick of the year, by some way. The edge of your seat tension is capped by the skyscraper sequence, which in Imax is one of the most heart-in-mouth sequences in cinematic history. It’s also the best Mission Impossible movie – not as convolted as the first, bigger in every way than the third.
5. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, Tom Felton
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Release Date: 24th June 2011
In present day San Francisco experiments with genetic engineering create intelligent apes and trigger a war for supremacy. The focus is on the relationship between Dr. Rodman (Franco), who’s trying to find the cure for his father’s Alzheimer, and the most developed ape, Caesar. Andy Serkis motion-captured that role and gives the best performance of the year. The excellent monkey fx are matched with top notch character work (each has a distinct personality and arc despite being mute). The direction is smart and often thrillingly kinect when a monkey is on the move. And it’s a well plotted script that triumphs despite having some very tricky aspects to cover.
4. Hugo
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley
Director: Martin Scorsese
Release Date: 9th December 2011
Fantasy-adventure based on Brian Selznick’s part-novel part-comic about an orphan boy in the 1930′s living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station where he maintains the clocks, and thieves to survive. When Hugo encounters a broken automaton, an eccentric girl (Kick-Ass’s Chloë Moretz), and the reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical
adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy. This is director Martin Scorsese’s first 3D film, and he, predictable enough, brings art to the form. It’s also his first kids movie, but really it’s a love letter to cinema itself (film pioneer Georges Méliès is a major character). The magic of childhood innocence meets the magic of cinema in a dazzling presentation.
3. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Starring: Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Release Date: 9th December 2011
It’s London in the early 70s and a recently retired spy (Oldman) is tasked with finding which of
his former colleagues still in British intelligence is a Soviet spy. Based on the 1974 novel by John le Carré, this has about the best cast you can imagine and a unique style that slow and beautiful to behold – but not for young people seeking thrills. This is a very tense drama aimed at older audiences, or those who looking for something different in the thriller category. Excellent all round, this should have a presence at the Oscars.
2. Drive
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Albert Brooks
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Release Date: 16th September 2011
Action-drama about a Hollywood stunt driver (Gosling) who moonlights as a getaway driver. When a criminal job goes horribly wrong, his world begins to unravel. It’s the most visually stylish up and coming director working with one of Hollywood’s most interesting stars. This is a product that harks back to the best movies of old, drawing obvious comparisons to the likes of Bullitt and Day Of The Locust. Drive won the Best Director Award at this year’s Cannes but it’s a movie that pleases the awards crowd, the arthouse crowd and the mainstream crowd.
1. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, John Hurt
Director: David Yates
Release Date: 15th July 2011
Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their hunt for Horcuxes at Bellatrix’s vault at Gringotts before heading back to Hogwarts, where Snape is now the Headmaster. When Voldemort realises their plan, he too shows up and the stage is set for an epic battle that will leave the school in ruins. In fact their fight sequence expands on what’s witnessed in the book, as some considered that to be a bit too brief. Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a thrilling and genuinely emotional finish to one of the best film series of all time. It deserves its recognition.