Top 10 movies of 2011
BY BRUCE INGRAM Film Critic December 24, 2011 10:10AM
Brad Pitt and Hunter McCracken in Terrence Malick's Palm d'Or-winning "The Tree of Life."
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Updated: December 24, 2011 10:10AM
2011 started out slow and sparse and it more or less ended up that way, too, in terms of truly noteworthy films working their way into mainstream release. That’s not to say, though, that out of the 400-plus movies that did their best to separate us from $10 at the ticket window, there weren’t a handful far better than a 3D poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
None of this year’s Top 10 films (listed alphabetically to avoid hair-splitting and nervous collapse) are praiseworthy without reservation — though my personal fave “13 Assassins” comes close—but all have outstanding features that made them well worth seeing. And might even merit repeat viewings.
“13 Assassins” — Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike, best known here for twisted, over-the-top, ultra-violent gangster and horror movies amazed fans and critics with this beautifully made, old-fashioned, noble-spirited samurai adventure. In some respects, “13 Assassins” even challenges the genre’s great masterpiece, Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” with its tale of warriors on a suicide mission to eliminate a sadistic and truly despicable feudal lord. The climactic 45-minute battle, with the good guys outnumbered 10 to 1, is a jaw-dropping stunner.
“Anonymous” — Director Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day,” “Godzilla”) also pulled off a surprising mid-career switch with this sumptuous costume-drama proposing that the 17th Earl of Oxford wrote the works attributed to William Shakespeare — and that Shakespeare was an illiterate, boozing, womanizing , treacherous actor. “Anonymous” plays fast and loose with history, but in an enormously entertaining way.
“Beautiful Boy” — This hard-hitting drama about the torment suffered by the parents (Michael Sheen and Maria Bello) of a college freshman who massacres 21 of his fellow students does such a fine job exploring every emotional nook and cranny of the tragic aftermath that it’s sometimes punishing to watch. In other words, “Beautiful Boy” is so good it hurts.
“The Cave of Forgotten — Dreams” Even if you’re not thrilled with the eccentricities of director Werner Herzog (“Fitzcarraldo,” “Grizzly Man”), you’re likely to find this documentary about the perfectly preserved, 32,000-year-old cave paintings in France’s Ice Age-era Chauvet Cave fascinating — especially since the cave will never be open to the public. It helps that Herzog’s awestruck reaction to them is infectious.
“Drive” — This ultra-stylish, ultra-tough, yet almost sociopathically understated modern film noir from Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn (“Bronson”) was nominated for the top prize at this year’s Cannes fest. And it’s almost as much of a cinematic show pony as the winner, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.” Ryan Gosling gives an intense, tightly controlled performance as a Hollywood stunt driver/getaway-car wheelman, and comedian Albert Brooks is exceedingly creepy as a murderous gangster.
“Hugo” — This surprisingly fantastical flight of fancy from the street-wise director of “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas” involving the efforts of a young orphaned boy (Asa Butterfield) to repair the spirit of an embittered old man (Ben Kingsley) is most noteworthy for Scorsese’s re-creations of the films of cinema pioneer Georges Melies. And for its use of 3D technology to rich and elegant effect.
“The Ides of March” — Director-co-writer-co-star George Clooney makes up nicely for “Leatherheads” here, turning in a smart, finely crafted and utterly ruthless political drama in which ideals die hard. Ryan Gosling leaves a searing impression as a brilliant campaign strategist who will pull any dirty trick for a cause he believes in.
“Source Code” — Director Duncan Jones’ followup to his similarly idea-driven sci-fi drama “Moon” is a brilliant conceptual thriller about a soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal) projected for eight minutes at a time into the body of a man on a train previously destroyed by a terrorist — to prevent him from striking again. And it’s an old-fashioned nail-biter as well.
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” — This chilly, brooding, beautifully crafted adaptation of John le Carre’s classic spy novel by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson (“Let the Right One in”) features cinematic texture of the sort that’s almost entirely missing from the 1979 miniseries starring Alec Guiness — as well as a quietly compelling performance by Gary Oldman as the ironically named master spy George Smiley that gives Guiness serious competition.
“The Tree of Life” — Writer-director Terrence Malick’s (“Days of Heaven”) Palm d’Or-winning impressionistic drama is enormously ambitious, sumptuous to behold and dead serious about the Meaning of it All. But it’s almost guaranteed to baffle and frustrate all but the most dedicated cinephiles. The partially autobiographical story drifts in and out of the lifelong travails of a 1950s family in Waco, Texas (featuring fine performances by Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain), while pondering (ponderously) the creation of the universe, the evolution of life on Earth and the existence of God.
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