Ed Rampell’s Top 10 Films of 2011

The criteria for my favorite films are progressive political and cultural content plus artistic excellence in terms of using the uniquely cinematic attributes of the movie medium. Astute readers may observe that half of the motion pictures on my Top 10 list for 2011 were shot and/or set inFrance. And while it’s true that your erstwhile cinephile actually did return toFrancelast August, and that I do indeed speak French, it would be a mistake to assume that I am a Francophile. In fact, I did lots of reporting on the nuclear free and independent Pacific movement that was highly critical of French colonialism inNew Caledoniaand French-occupiedPolynesia. But that is a flashback to another life, so suffice it to say that the land of the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Melies and the New Wave remains a vital cinematic force and center, so — in no particular order –my Top 10 films of 2011 are:

Hugo – And speaking of Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley), Martin Scorsese’s optically opulent, loving tribute (with an antiwar subtext) to that movie master of illusion in sumptuous 3D is a delightful tribute to a motion picture pioneer and the art form we are so besotted with: Cinema.

The Artist – French auteur Michel Hazanavicius’ film, set inHollywood in the 1920s as the talkie emerged, is likewise an adoring ode to the silent screen that reminds us silence truly is golden.

The Iron Lady – Meryl Streep uncannily depictsBritain’s vicious originator of mad cow disease in this biopic about dictatorial Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom husband Denis (Jim Broadbent) nicknames “M.T.” (Get it? As in “empty.”)

The Conquest – Xavier Durringer’s biopic about reactionary pig Nicholas Sarkozy’s (Denis Podalydes) rise to the presidency of France, and his miserable relationship with wife Cecilia (and with just about everybody else), is a rightwing bookend to The Iron Lady about another conservative tyrant.

Coriolanus & The Flowers of War – Both Ralph Fiennes’ modern dress version of Shakespeare’s drama about a Roman general co-starring Vanessa Redgrave and Zhang Yimou’s epic about the rape of Nanking co-starring Christian Bale are both historically set antiwar films that tied for a space on my Top 10 list.

Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 – This documentary about Civil Rights activists, nationalists and revolutionaries perfectly captures what one of its interview subjects, Stokely Carmichael, once said (and I paraphrase): “Molotov cocktails and ghetto riots – ahhh, that’s the stuff dreams are made of.” With Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Louis Farrakhan, and other luminaries of the Black liberation struggle during the sizzling sixties and seventies.

Potiche – This 1970s-set French feminist farce and musical comedy stars the ever radiant Catherine Deneuve, whose factory owner husband (Fabrice Luchini) vies with the town’s Communist mayor (Gerard Depardieu) in the class struggle and for his wife’s affections. Deneuve delightfully turns the tables on these Frenchmen when she enters politics as a matriarchal candidate.

A Dangerous Method – The psychological ménage a trois of patient-turned-shrink Sabina Spielrein (poetically portrayed by Keira Kinightley), Carl Jung (Michael Fassbinder) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortenson) is anything but comic as the founders of psychoanalysis clash. This historical drama is spellbinding, and poor Spielrein’s offscreen fate is absolutely heart rending.

Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen’s wonderfully witty time traveling comedy is a laugh a minute romp that takes a contemporary emotionally lost scriptwriter (a droll Owen Wilson) back to the Lost Generation of American and other expatriates who inhabited the City ofLight in the 1920s. Full of insights about the creative process (not to mention human longings, in and out of bed), this is the Woodman’s funniest comedy in years, as well as reportedly Allen’s highest grossing film ever. And you haven’t lived until you see Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, the role she was born to play!

The Names of Love – I’ve saved the best for last, as this very sexy, very funny French farce is my favorite film of 2011, one of those movies that makes you feel glad to be alive. What can I say? – I’m in love. Sensuous Sara Forestier deservedly won the Best Actress César (the French counterpart to the Oscar) for her role as the Reichian dream girl incarnate, a lefty woman who (pardon my French) fucks for freedom. Viva la revolucion!

THE LIST I CAN DO

For the multitudes trembling in anticipation, here are my Top Ten movies for 2011:

1. The Tree of Life

Terence Malick’s film isn’t ambitious or anything; it just takes on the Creation of the Universe and the Meaning of Existence. Also, it contains Brad Pitt’s best performance, beautiful music by Alexander Desplat, and a plesiosaurus.

Read MV’s review of The Tree of Life

2. The Skin I Live In

Pedro Almodovar’s entry in the venerable European “mad skin doctor” genre is convincing, ingeniously-structured and potent. Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya are superb as the Doctor and his patient/victim, respectively.

Read MV’s review of The Skin I Live In

3. Moneyball

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill play statistical weird science on the Oakland A’s to make them win without marquee players. Sly, restrained direction by Bennett Miller and another gem of a performance by Pitt combine to make this inside-baseball tale fascinating and improbably touching.

Read MV’s review of Moneyball

4. The Artist

This black-and-white, mostly silent romantic comedy somehow manages to be a movie of substance rather than a stunt. Jean Dujardin is sensational as the title character, an ultra-debonair Hollywood leading man whose career hits the wall when the talkies arrive; the beguiling Berenice Bejo is the spirited up-and-coming star who adores him from afar and would salvage his career if only he wasn’t so proud. The film is studded with charming supporting performances, but the hero’s little dog steals scenes like they were Snausages.

5. Meek’s Cutoff

Kelly Reichardt’s subtextually political Western, loosely based on historical events, is about a bunch of lost covered-wagon settlers looking for a drink of water in the eastern-Oregon desert. It’s an ordeal, but a dramatically valid one, and it maddeningly offers no answers. Michelle Williams is quietly excellent as a clear-headed frontier wife, and Bruce Greenwood gives the performance of his career as the reactionary guide Meek.

Read MV’s review of Meek’s Cutoff

6. Martha Marcy May Marlene

Elizabeth Olsen is spectacular in the title role, a young woman who flees a rural New York cult, and John Hawkes is chilling as the cult leader. Sean Durkin’s simple, low-key direction generates moody atmosphere and a subtle, fretful suspense.

Read MV’s review of Martha Marcy May Marlene

7. Attack the Block

Teenage South London street punks jump on their bikes and save the world from aliens on Bonfire Night. Joe Cornish wrote and directed this funny, tense sci-fi tale, with a fine ensemble cast and spooky, amusingly simple invaders.

Read MV’s review of Attack The Block

8. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

More top-notch sci-fi, this is the best iteration of the Apes franchise since the 1968 original, cleverly dramatizing how the Ape-pocalypse begins. Behind the CGI, Andy Serkis provides the superb facial expressions of the chimpanzee revolutionary Caesar.

Read MV’s review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes

9. Texas Killing Fields

This police procedural from director Ami Canaan Mann , about the murder of young women in a small, grungy Texas town, is a grim and difficult work, but it has an intense, enveloping atmosphere of tragedy.

Read MV’s review of Texas Killing Fields

10. The Adventures of Tintin

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Belgian comic books is pure fun, and dazzlingly skillful cinema. As with The Artist, however, Spielberg lets the dog steal the show.

Also worth checking out:

Contagion
Women on the 6th Floor
My Week With Marilyn
Hop
We Bought a Zoo
Footprints
Rio
The Smurfs
J. Edgar
Arthur Christmas
Happy Feet Two
Thor
Rubber
Super8
Trollhunter
Margin Call
Winnie the Pooh
Rango
Henry’s Crime
The Muppets (and the excellent Toy Story short before The Muppets)

A couple of major stinkeroos:

Zookeeper
The Green Hornet
Creature
Atlas Shrugged: Part One.

Top 10 Docummentary/Theatrically Released Non-Fiction Films 2011
By Don Simpson

1 The Arbor
2 Better This World
3 Where Soldiers Come From
4 We Were Here
5 Dragonslayer
6 How To Die in Oregon
7 Project Nim
8 Donor Unknown
9 Incendiary: The Willingham Case
10 Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?

Top 10 Theatrically Released Narrative Films 2011
By Don Simpson

1 Meek’s Cutoff
2 Tomboy
3 When We Leave
4 Beginners
5 Martha Marcy May Marlene
6 (tie) Weekend & Shame
7 The Future
8 Film Socialisme
9 (tie) Bellflower & Drive
10 Take Shelter

Top 10 Movies of 2011 by By Perri Nemiroff (aka Little Miss Critical)

1. War Horse
2. Young Adult
3. Attack the Block
4. Insidious
5. Bridesmaids
6. The Help
7. Hugo
8. Warrior
9. Win Win
10. Paranormal Activity 3

Read more from Perri on her Top 10 Films 2011 here.

Read Perri’s Random Thoughts On Movies here.

Perri Nemiroff is a film critic and movie addict. When she’s not writing about movies, she’s making some of her own while pursuing an MFA in film at Columbia University.

Top 10 Movies of 2011 by Jessica Delfanti

1. Drive (Nicholas Winding Refn)

With graceful action, powerhouse actors and one of the best soundtracks ever, Drive leaves your spine tingling and your blood pumping. It’s the prettiest adrenaline rush you’ll ever experience.
Read Jessica’s Review of Drive

2. Beginners (Mike Mills)

Ewan McGregor makes another fantastic career choice with this indie gem, a story about love in all its forms. Christopher Plummer delights as McGregor’s father who comes out of the closet at 75 and dives into gay culture with wide eyes and an open mind. Writer/Director Mike Mills, telling a story close to his heart, frames the film with creative, nonlinear and sometimes irrelevant asides that form a package both heartwarming and mournful, but most of all, beautiful.

3. Bridesmaids (Paul Feig)

I don’t know where the concept that women aren’t funny began, but this film disproves it. Thanks to this, the rest of the world is now as addicted to Kristen Wiig as I am.

4. Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)

Woody Allen’s fiercely witty film, which takes a tour through the history of expats and artists of Paris, is a fantasy in two parts: first, that it bends the rules of reality; second, what creative-minded person doesn’t fantasize about getting to meet greats like Hemingway and Picasso? The real trick of the film, though, is Owen Wilson’s quick charm and the subtle class of its portrayals. What a surprise, Woody Allen’s done it again.

5. Melancholia (Lars Von Trier)

One of the year’s most interesting films, Lars Von Trier brings us depression in the beautiful body of Kirsten Dunst. Thoughtful, subtle and dramatic, and containing some of the best pathetic fallacies I’ve seen on screen, Melancholia is a rich experience from beginning to end. But let’s not skip talking about the beginning, because it’s definitely the best film opening this year, maybe ever. Watch it here.

6. A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg)

A film so smart it deserves several rewatches, A Dangerous Method is carefully intellectual and full of natural drama. Combine this with two of the best actors out there (Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender) and you’ve got a dream film package. It’s refreshing to watch something that doesn’t treat you like a child, and dares you to join the characters in intellectual treatise, rather than simply observe.
Read Jessica’s Review of A Dangerous Method

7. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)

Perfectly paced through its lengthy runtime, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is everything it should be: exciting, dark, explicit, intriguing, satisfying. Rooney Mara establishes herself as the number one actress to watch with an incredible performance.

8. X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn)

Welcome to the film that saved superhero movies. Emerging from a slew of tired or simply badly made superhero films (cough, Green Lantern), X-Men is stylish, smart, and quick. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have serious chemistry as the young Professor and Magneto. The only problem now is waiting impatiently for them to make another one.

9. Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (Rodman Flender)

Chronicling Conan’s Legally Prohibited to Appear on Television comedy tour, this documentary isn’t just a catalogue of his funny moments, but also a touching insight into the man behind the hair. As it turns out, he’s as hilarious as we all thought; he’s also a human being.

10. Insidious (James Wan)

A bit of a wild card in the horror genre, Insidious plays with horror cliches to make a bizarre package. Stemming from a simple haunted house formula, the movie gets wacky fast, in the good way.

Top 10 Films 2011
Two Jews On Film
“Tearing Apart Their Marriage One Film At A Time”

SPOILERS BELOW!

Joan and John’s Top 10 Films 2011 (Watch the video for more!)

John

1 – Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2 – Bridesmaids
3 – Hesher
4 – The Artist
5 – 50/50
Two Jews On Film review 50/50
6 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
7 – Win Win
8 – We Bought A Zoo
Two Jews On Film review We Bought A Zoo
9 – Take Shelter
Two Jews On Film review Take Shelter
10 – Shame
Watch Two Jews On Film review of Shame

Joan

1 – The Tree of Life
2 – Midnight In Paris
3 – The Artist
4 – Melancholia
5 – Rise of the Planet of the Apes
6 – Moneyball
Two Jews On Film review Moneyball
7 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
8 – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Two Jews On Film review Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
9 – Hesher
10 (tie) – We Need To Talk About Kevin
10 (tie) – Hugo

Watch all Two Jews On Film reviews on Jabcat.

Jabcat’s 10 Worst Movies of 2010 may be old news, but SaneN85 recently took us to task stating that she could think of “at least 2 dozen movies that are more deserving of that title.” We challenged her to do just that, suggesting she dial it down and give us her bottom 10. She replied (managing to sneak 13 films into her list) and here it is:

10 WORST MOVIES OF 2010
By SaneN85

10. Saw 3D & StepUp 3D – A tie!

Some people find entertainment in ridiculous sequels with no real purpose (see American Pie and National Lampoon sequels). Luckily, this isn’t their list.

9. Frozen

The obnoxious characters made sure I wasn’t the least bit interested in their survival. This movie should have taken notes from Buried on how to keep the tension going while leaving a character in one location the whole movie.

8. A Nightmare On Elm Street

Even Jackie Earle Haley couldn’t save this one.

7. Furry Vengeance & The Spy Next Door & Marmaduke

Kids movies that didn’t deliver. As for Marmaduke, the words of a 6 year old boy who is a regular at Blockbuster say it all: “this dog was stupid”.

6. Chloe

With a cast that included Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried, I expected something captivating. Instead this movie seemed like it was attempting to be art, but written by someone who read Artistic Choices for Dummies.

5. Stone

Edward Norton should automatically save almost any movie, but not even he and his cornrows could save this stinker.

4. Why Did I Get Married Two

I was torn between this one and For Colored Girls, but at least that movie had a jaw-dropping moment that I still can’t get out of my head. This movie was mostly forgettable.

3. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Not exactly a fan of the book, but read it and didn’t want to chug a bottle of rum to finish it. The same cannot be said for the movie.

2. Jonah Hex

The worst comic book movie of the last decade. May even be worse than the two  Schumacher Batman films. The only movie listed by Jabcat that I agree with.

And the Worst Movie I Saw In 2010 Was:

1. After.Life

It pains me to put a Liam Neeson film on this list a second time, but 2010 just wasn’t his year. Neeson (my over 50 crush based entirely on his unique voice) plays a funeral director who is making people believe they are dead when they aren’t for the sole purpose of . . . killing them? How do bodies even come into his possession if they aren’t dead first? Did I mention that he convinces people he can talk to the dead? I just can’t deal with this movie.

Twitter: @sanen85

Read Jabcat’s 10 Worst Movies of 2010 and see who you think got it right.

A great movie can warm the heart and delight the soul. This year is no exception. Dominated by drama, action and suspense, with a documentary thrown into the mix, here are the 10 Best Movies Of 2010.

The 10 Best Movies Of 2010 are:

10. Rabbit Hole and The King’s Speech – A Tie!

Rabbit Hole was drama at its best as a struggling couple (Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman) deal with the aftermath of their son’s death. The twist is when Kidman bonds with the teenager who drove the car that killed her son. The relationship is believable, emotional and restrained. The film is riveting.

Colin Firth may win an Oscar but Helena Bonham Carter stands out among several fine performances in The King’s Speech. It’s no surprise she won the Jabby™ as Best Supporting Actress In A Movie 2010 in this tale about the stuttering King Of England, his loyal wife and the unorthodox speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who helps him overcome the problem and inspire a nation during World War II.

9. Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky deserves the Best Director Oscar for this psycho-drama in the world of ballet. When a film makes you feel uncomfortable, it can be a sign of a poor script, bad direction or cheesy performances. Then there’s Black Swan which makes you feel uncomfortable for all the right reasons – tension, drama and the psychotic tendencies of its leading lady (Natalie Portman). That, my friends, is filmmaking!

8. Predators

New life breathed into an old franchise. Adrien Brody and Alice Braga star in this tightly wound & well-constructed action picture featuring those bad-boy alien hunters with dreadlocks and cloaking devices. A thrill ride in a small self-contained setting with something you don’t often see in an action flick – outstanding performances.

7. Never Let Me Go

A heartbreaking tale of children raised to be organ donors. As they mature into young adults their sense of duty is mixed with deep sadness as they yearn to live for themselves and those they love. It’s a conflict borne with great honor, occasional rage and eventual resignation by Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield in a trio of beautiful performances.

6. Welcome To The Rileys

Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini leave Twilight and The Sopranos behind and show us their range, playing a teenage runaway whose working as a stripper, and a man who lost his own daughter and tries to help her. This hopeful drama about loss, connection and caring also features Melissa Leo as Gandolfini’s wife in a performance even better than her celebrated turn in The Fighter.

5. The A-Team

Ridiculously entertaining with crazy non-stop action, The A-Team is everything a comedic action pic should be – hilarious, over-the-top and gobs of fun!

4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Released US 2010, this Scandinavian crime-drama and mystery, based on the best selling book, kept us on the edge of our seats with journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) working to unravel the mystery of a woman missing for forty years. It was mesmerizing to watch, even when the story unfolded slowly in a small Danish town. David Fincher is remaking the film. For more, see Rooney Mara’s Screen Test As Lisbeth Salander Is The Hottest Piece Of Film In Hollywood.

3. Tangled

A throwback to the great Disney films of the past, Tangled was magical, thrilling, funny, charming and a great love story to boot. Featuring the best performance by an animal (Maximus the horse) in any film (real or animated) this year, it’s the tale of a kidnapped princess, raised by a witch, who escapes with the aid of a handsome rogue. Ah, fairy tales!

2. Catfish

Controversy surrounded Catfish. Was it really a documentary or a staged production? The questions heightened when I’m Still Here, the Joaquin Phoenix fiasco, attracted the same scrutiny. See Are Fake Documentaries The New Reality TV? for more. Joaquin Phoenix may have been faking it, but Catfish was on the up-and-up, which makes this tale of flirting in cyberspace even more chilling as a twenty-something photographer sets off on a road trip to find the woman he’s become enamored with online.

And the Best Movie of 2010 is:

1. Let Me In

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz dazzle as two quiet but determined young outcasts in New Mexico, one a bullied boy, the other a female vampire. Directed by Matt Reeves (who also made Cloverfield one of Jabcat’s Top 10 Movies 2008) the film is tender but violent, filled with friendship and unexpected moments. Visually cold and dark, the beautifully restrained performances by its two young leads light up the screen. Based on the 2008 Swedish Film Let The Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in), Let Me In is the Best Movie of 2010!

Reviewing the worst films of the year may be painful, but not as painful as sitting through them. Collectively these films robbed me of approximately 20 hours. That’s almost an entire day! I can’t get that time back but I can warn you if you haven’t seen them, or ease the pain if you have, letting you know you’re not alone, others have suffered the same and lived to tell about it! Here are the 10 Worst Movies Of 2010.

The 10 Worst Movies of 2010:

10. You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger

Woody Allen has been up and down in recent years. This time way down, with one of his weakest efforts in memory, putting poor Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts through a tedious script, eliciting unconvincing performances from both. Only Freida Pinto shined in this domestic stinker about, what else, people struggling with relationships and marriage. We only hope Woody redeems himself with a stellar cast that includes Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard and other notables in the forthcoming Midnight In Paris (among our must-see films for the coming year).

9. Alice In Wonderland

Everything you need to know about this joyless journey through the looking glass can be found in Jabcat’s review of the film. It’s a testament to the acting skill of Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter that both were recognized in the category Best Performance In A Lousy Movie 2010. Still, their Herculean efforts couldn’t lift this emotionally detached and visually off-putting film off the floor.

8. Killers

Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl are attractive stars and sooo cute together but this ‘hitman falls in love with a regular gal and tries to go straight’ romantic-comedy-action flick was a complete mess with poor character motivation and an endless parade of deep cover spies trying to kill Kutcher. Worst of all, it wasn’t funny.

7. Due Date

A dark unfriendly tone invades this buddy comedy road movie with Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Two inventive and relaible actors and yet the end result of their collaboration is an uncomfortable ride that makes you squirm more than laugh.

6. Jonah Hex

Must they turn every comic book into a movie? This mess of a film had good pace and some interesting visuals but lacked inspiration and was handicapped by a story and characters that were poorly developed.

5. Gulliver’s Travels

Let’s hope this is Jack Black’s career low point and he can rebound to greatness. Gulliver was a rehash of the character Black seems to play in every film and it didn’t work this time. That’s why he was nominated for Worst Performance By An Actor In A Major Role 2010.

4. Skyline

How can you make an aliens invading Earth movie that sucks? Ask the makers of Skyline, a horrid effort that was roundly criticized for having a weak script. The visuals were solid but there was virtually no story and the characters never became more than bit players in the larger drama in which they found themselves. Independence Day (1996) spoiled us. My anticipation now rests squarely on the shoulders of Battle: Los Angeles arriving in US theaters March 11, 2011.

3. The Wolfman

This schlocky horror pic was already nominated as one of the Most Disappointing Movies of 2010 so it’s no surprise that it ends up here as well.

2. The Last Airbender

It’s frightening that the writer-director of The Sixth Sense (1999), Signs (2002), The Village (2004) and other intriguing pictures made a film so horrendously bad in almost every respect as The Last Airbender. This one played like an amateurish exercise by a student filmmaker given a huge budget and lots of visual effects support. The acting was atrocious, the dialogue weak and the entire affair punctuated by a juvenile tone that made me wonder if this was supposed to be a movie for children. If not for #1 (below) The Last Airbender would be well-suited to hold this year’s title.

And the Worst Movie of 2010 is:

1. MacGruber

Some SNL characters deserve to remain on the small screen. This one was painful to watch. A comedy of horrors, rude and crude, not funny. Read Jabcat’s Twitter review here. The entire movie-going experience was so disfiguring I’ve blocked most of it from my mind. I only hope it remains buried, never to resurface.

Want another opinion?
Read SaneN85′s 10 Worst Movies of 2010