Top Ten 2011 Data

Ah... 2011. To bid adieu to the year which included the cosmic awesomeness of November 11 (11-11-11), forthwith is a list that serves two purposes. First, it’s a rundown of my favorite movies of the year. Second, it’s a tribute to the unassailable genius of Nigel Tufnel; it’s my Top 10 Favorites... with 11 titles.

Any year in which Tintin, Capt. Jack Sparrow, and Sherlock Holmes all vie for my heart’s hunger for adventure can be deemed a very good year at the movies. After throwing in a documentary about my favorite rock band, a couple film festival surprises, and a wide range of subject matter, the end result is a hot list to heat up some of the cold winter nights that lie ahead.

With a selection this personal (and I do qualify this as a list of favorites, not a Top 10... or 11... in the classic “Best of the Year” sense), it’s hard to split hairs, so my list, a fairly populist lot peppered with a couple obscure picks, is presented in alphabetical order.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn — around the world, Tintin fans kept their hopes in check and, happily, Spielberg delivered a loving, faithful big screen adaptation.

The Artist — black-and-white, 1.33:1, silent. Whoa. It’s also funny and full of heart, a modern-day revisiting of old-school film and the art of storytelling (ironically released in the same year in which digital projectors and digital media officially supplanted traditional film as the dominant format at the cinema).

A Dangerous Method — Keira Knightley can’t seem to escape period-piece costumes, but she serves up perhaps her best performance yet in David Cronenberg’s fact-based story of the early days of psychoanalysis. Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen supply riveting portrayals of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

From the Sky Down — in this documentary, U2 tell the tale of how they dismantled their atomic band and came back bigger and better than ever after chopping down the Joshua Tree and launching a TV station.

Midnight in Paris — Woody Allen’s time abroad has paid off handsomely with this charming movie about a writer who finds some terrific sources of inspiration, circa the 1920s, while visiting Paris.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia — a Turkish delight, this is a slow simmer drama with characters that keep the ride interesting.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides — underappreciated — at least in the U.S. — for what it is: a fourth Jack Sparrow adventure that fits in nicely with the preceding Elizabeth Swann trilogy. Mermaids and a quest for the Fountain of Youth? Count me in.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows —this sequel offered such rarified satisfaction, I, a non-smoker, was craving a cigarette after all was said and done.

Twixt — Francis Ford Coppola plays with horror movie conventions and throws in a couple 3D scenes for kicks and giggles.

Violet & Daisy — only a lucky few have seen this movie. It’s a quirky, funny, touching movie and... ummm... it’s about two teenage assassins. Saoirse Ronan, who played another teenage assassin in Hanna earlier in the year, is terrific and Alexis Bledel steals the show.

War Horse — based on a children’s book — told from the first-person view of a horse — transformed on the stage in London and New York, Spielberg’s movie version effectively becomes Saving Private Ryan set in World War I.

1. The Tree of Life - A spiritual movie that connects with people who aren’t necessarily spiritual
2. The Artist - A silent movie about the end of silent movies
3. Hugo - A reminder that silent movies can be magical
4. The Trip - Improvisation isn’t for wimps
5. Cave of Forgotten Dreams - You will never get to see these ancient cave paintings in person, so appreciate them here
6. Certified Copy - It makes you pay attention
7. 13 Assassins - A good old-fashioned samurai movie
8. Margin Call - Topical and with insights into human nature
9. Melancholia - It’s the end of the world, and I feel okay about it
10. Source Code - A good old-fashioned science fiction movie

Time for the year-end wrap up, which — for most critics — means a list of the top 10 movies of the year. If 2011 wasn’t a banner year for movies, it wasn’t bad either. I always figure that if I have a difficult time narrowing my list to 10, it must have been a better-than-average year.

In 2011, even some of the more hyped movies (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II were good. A word about the series, which concluded this year, probably is in order: Aside from keeping a ton of British actors off the unemployment line, the Harry Potter movies turned out to be more consistently involving than anyone initially might have expected.

But among the special pleasures of the year, I rank a few more highly than others, even though I don’t necessarily want to burden them with 10-best stature.

— Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh turned director for Kill the Irishman, the story of the rise and fall of Cleveland hoodlum Danny Greene. Ray Stevenson gave a fine performance as Greene, and the always enjoyable Christopher Walken had an equally nice turn as Jewish racketeer Shondor Birns. At the time of the movie’s release, I wrote that it broke no new ground, but did a hell of a job turning over old soil. If you’re partial to gangster movies, you should make it your business to find this one on DVD.

— Sometimes, a movie arrives with buzz acquired at the Sundance Film Festival. That was the case with Another Earth, a movie in which director Mike Cahill used a sci-fi backdrop (a second Earth hovered mysteriously over this one) to explore the grief-stricken life of a young woman (Brit Marling) whose careless driving resulted in the death of a mother and child. The sci-fi element may sound a bit far-fetched, but the movie’s emotions felt absolutely real.

— I approached Rise of the Planet of the Apes expecting nothing, but found something I’d been missing, a genuine helping of pulp excitement. Who’d have believed anyone could breathe new life into the Planet of the Apes series? Director Rupert Wyatt did.

— Great performances abounded in 2011. Brendan Gleeson was glorious, profane, rude and strangely endearing as an unorthodox Irish cop in The Guard.

And then there’s John C. Reilly. What a year for an actor who usually flies under the radar. Reilly played the raucous Dean Ziegler, an insurance agent who insisted on upholding the cause of ribald fun at a gathering of Christian-oriented insurance agents in Cedar Rapids. In Terri, a movie about an overweight teen-ager, Reilly was wonderfully inappropriate Mr. Fitzgerald, an assistant principal unlike any other we’ve seen, not that assistant principals are much of a movie staple. Of course, Reilly also appears in We Need to Talk About Kevin and Carnage, both of which have yet to open nationally.

And the year shouldn’t pass without mention of Kevin Spacey’s work in Margin Call. We’re not talking about the flippant Spacey of movies such as Horrible Bosses or Casino Jack, but an actor who carried the full weight of a collapsing financial institution on his shoulders.

And while we’re on the subject of Margin Call: I didn’t put it on my top-10 list, but it should be acknowledged as one of the best acted movies of the year — not only by Spacey, but by Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Simon Baker and Paul Bettany.

Throughout this topical drama about a Wall Street firm on the verge of collapse, the actors keep their performances under tight control as they keep an eye on one another during a long night of meetings, personal jockeying, financial analysis and ethical indifference.

When Alfred Nobbs starts playing around the country, watch for the robust performance of Janet McTeer in a role that’s best discovered in a theater.

I would, of course, be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple of special foreign-language films: Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki’s Le Havre takes an encouraging look at people behaving decently toward an “illegal” immigrant, and Korean director Chang-dong Lee’s Poetry manages, rather miraculously, to make a successful mix out of a horrific event and the search for self-expression by an aging, Alzheimer’s-stricken grandmother.

Whether any of these movies becomes an important part of movie history remains to be seen, but each boasted elements that either moved me or which I enjoyed immensely, and I didn’t want to push on without at least giving them a tip of the hat.

So now, for my top 10:

1. THE TREE OF LIFE

I put this as the top of my list because Brad Pitt, as a stern father, never has been better and because director Terrence Malick took a highly personal look at growing up in Texas during the 1950s. I’m not sure that Tree of Life was totally successful in mixing the intimate and cosmic or that every part of the movie worked equally well, but making a personal movie on this scale requires daring, skill and an artist’s view of the world. Malik has plenty of all three.

2. HUGO

It’s difficult to imagine anyone loving movies as much or as intelligently as Martin Scorsese. And in Hugo, an adaptation of a story by Brian Selznick, Scorsese puts every ounce of that love on screen. Hugo is both a boy’s adventure and an unashamed ode to the delight movies provided in their infancy. And, yes, it also boasts the best 3-D ever.

3. The ARTIST

Director Michel Hazanavicius has made a silent movie that’s clever, involving and entertaining. He tells the story of a silent movie star (Jean Dujardin) whose career hits the skids when sound arrives. Sounds familiar, but Hazanavicius’ movie — shot in sumptuous black-and-white — feels as fresh as anything I’ve seen this year because Hazanavicius seems to believe in the power of cinema to speak directly to the heart.

4. A SEPARATION

If you don’t think Iranian movies have matured beyond the days of beautiful images and simple stories about kids, you haven’t seen A Separation, one of the most emotionally complex movies of the year. Director Asghar Farhadi tells the story of a husband and wife who separate and are then caught up in a legal battle involving the woman who takes care of the husband’s aging father. A Separation is one of those rare movies that respects everyone’s point of view.

5. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

I debated whether to put this one on my list at all, but finally decided that it belonged there because of Elizabeth Olsen’s terrific performance as a young woman who escapes from a cult. Martha Marcy also builds more tension than most of the big-budget movies that try for similar effects. Credit director Sean Durkin with an amazing debut that keeps us involved by never quite allowing us to find our balance.

6. RANGO

I’ve long contended that director Gore Verbinski (of Pirates of the Caribbean fame) is one of the few directors working today who really understands how to use images to comic effect. For all of his work on Pirates (and, no, I’m not saying those movies were great), Verbinski’s most creative effort didn’t sail on the high seas. It takes place in the desert, where Verbinski stages a clever animated western that stands as this year’s best and most imaginative piece of animation.

7. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Director Lynne Ramsey’s spare and horrifying adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s 2003 novel - ostensibly about a killing rampage at a high school — is really a stark and often horrifying exploration of the dark side of motherhood. Kevin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, nor should it be. But for those who like filmmakers who push things to disturbing extremes, Ramsey’s movie is a keeper. It’s also one of the most visually arresting movies of the year, and features outstanding work by Tilda Swinton.

8. INTO THE ABYSS

Werner Herzog’s The Cave of Forgotten Dreams has found its way onto a variety of 10-best lists. But I was more affected by Herzog’s Into the Abyss, a documentary about far more than senseless murder — although it’s about that, too. Into the Abyss looks at shattered Texas lives, and stands as a clear-eyed examination of capital punishment, particularly what it does to those charged with carrying out death sentences.

9. THE DESCENDANTS

Director Alexander Payne’s look at a Hawaiian lawyer (George Clooney) trying to cope with terrible loss is both touching and funny. Although it’s a few clicks short of a knockout, Payne’s movie stands as one of the best and most meaningful mainstream entertainments of the year.

10. MONEYBALL

Director Bennett Miller (Capote) brings engaging authenticity to the story of Billy Bean (Brad Pitt), the Oakland Athletics’ general manager who tried to build a winner by employing a system created by a nerdy statistician (Jonah Hill). Moneyball is smartly written and fun, a baseball movie that dares to wonder whether it’s right to romanticize the sport.

On the whole, 2011 wasn’t a bad year at the movies, (so long as you overlook the death of film). As usual, some of my favorites will be hard to find until they make their way to home video. But some of them were readily available at the multiplex.

I don’t feel like my list is a collection of timeless classics. I would have to concede a flaw or two on just about every movie on my list. At the same time, I don’t think I’m digging down to the dregs to fill out my top ten. I could probably list 15 if I had to.

But let’s stick with tradition and reveal...

The Top Ten

1. The Skin I Live In
2. The Tree of Life
3. Samsara
4. Play
5. Certified Copy
6. The Descendants
7. The Artist
8. Attack the Block
9. The Trip
10. 13 Assassins

Honorable Mention

The first honorable mention has to be the uncanny duo, separated at birth, of Project Nim and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Both deal with the life cycle of chimpanzees, and of human scientists’ failure to understand or respect their nature. In both the documentary and the fantasy, a chimp is raised as a spoiled, privileged human until about puberty, then suddenly dumped in a cage at a depressing sanctuary. In the documentary, the spurned chimp makes a few adult friends but generally lives an unpleasant life. In the fantasy, the spurned chimp gets his revenge. Individually, the films are gripping, and together they’ll make you lose sleep.

For sheer breathless action, you can’t beat the French thriller Point Blank.

The best animated film is hard to appreciate. Cartoons have become so formulaic and kid-friendly that the subversive Rango probably left most kids (and their parents) scratching their heads. Gore Verbinski takes all the ugliness of Westerns and the desert and guilelessly drops them into a commercial formula that expects cuteness and light. It’s the sort of art project I’d expect from an avant-garde filmmaker or a punk/conceptual artist, yet it commanded a big budget and played at mainstream theaters.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is on some people’s top ten lists. I had trouble following it the first time I watched it but was lucky enough to be able to watch it a second time. On second viewing, it becomes apparent just how tightly Tomas Alfredson cut the film. There isn’t an inch or an ounce to spare, yet it all coheres beautifully. The fact that it took more than one viewing makes it hard to include in the top ten, but speaks well for its long-term outlook.

Festival Gems

I saw some gems at film festivals — unassuming movies that stood out from the crowd. When you see four or five films a day, most of them fade away pretty quickly.

Angéle et Tony stood out in Denver because of the characters and generous spirit of the filmmaker. Neither of the two title characters is much of a romantic catch, yet the film quietly follows them for as long as it takes. The blue-collar French fishing village provides a scenic, but not precious, setting.

The Fairy is the second time I’ve encountered the dry physical comedy of Dom and Fiona. Their dancers’ style may not appeal to all but I can’t get enough.

Last but not least is Into Eternity, a documentary that Boulder’s festival showed. It’s about the baffling problem of how to store nuclear waste for 10,000 years. The filmmaker’s talking head inside the storage cavern works fairly well, but I have to admit that it’s the subject matter more than the filmmaking that stuck in my head.

Welcome, 2012! Looking forward to what you have to offer.