Best Films of 2011
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- DirectorDavid FincherStarsDaniel CraigRooney MaraChristopher PlummerJournalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for 40 years by young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.This is a brilliant film directed by the master of mood, tone and perfection, David Fincher. Some call it a typical hollywood remake but there is more than meets the eye. The incredible performances by both Mara and Craig make this semi-typical who done it better than expected. Fincher crafts every aspect of this film with maticulouse detail and controle, employing the finest people for the jobs. This Film winning best editing marks the second oscar win for edit
- 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.Drive offers a number of remarkable performances. Despite minimal dialogue and a scene count you can tally on one hand, Christina Hendricks is engaging, justly earning her own movie poster. Bryan Cranston (Shannon), who never ceases to impress, took his less than supporting role and molded it into something notable. Drive stands out as one of the best films to have been released thus far this year. Will you leave the theater happy? Sad? Appalled? Inspired? Yes. All of the above.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsTom HardyNick NolteJoel EdgertonThe youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.Rise of the Planet of the Apes intelligently tells us how the seemingly upside-down world led by apes could have come about. Winking at the 1968 original, we get touches here and there that pay homage to the Charlton Heston film. And somehow, by playing everything straight and somber, these references don’t seem forced or too cute. Rise is a true prequel that understands the best science-fiction cinema doesn’t rest on the effects but on the ideas and characters.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMatt DamonKate WinsletJude LawHealthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.
- 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.Terrence Malick’s fifth film in 42 years is, without a doubt, the most ambitious film of the year. In two-and-a-half hours, the writer/director tackles every big question about God through a mid-20th-century coming-of-age story, long shots of the natural world, heavenly voiceovers and yes, dinosaurs. It’s a beautiful, thoughtful, emotional, disorienting and sometimes frustrating film, and your enjoyment will depend on how much you buy into Malick’s very personal and very singular vision. At the film’s core is the story of the O’Briens, a 1950s suburban family with three boys and a tragedy in its future. Rather than staying with any one scene for any length of time, Malick gives us snatches of life with the O’Briens, cutting away periodically and at length to show stunning footage of creation, from the interstellar to the cellular. He stops briefly during the age of dinosaurs, following a single creature on a bad day. We also see one of the boys all grown up (Sean Penn), reflecting on the death of a brother, wandering from the world of corporate success to a walking dream state with figures from his past. It’s these elements—many of which are difficult to decipher or unpack—that had some audience members at Cannes booing, even while the festival was preparing to crown it with the Palme d’Or. But between shots of bubbling lava, there’s a family that you come to care deeply about, including the very flawed patriarch. The themes are grand and punctuated by a sermon on Job in the middle: Why do bad things happen to good people? What’s the value of selflessness? Do the sins of the father need to be revisited by the son? Malick touches on creation and evolution, the existence of heaven and the purpose of life, but does so as much through the humble world of Waco, Texas, in summertime, as through the direct questions from a boy to his Creator that transition between epochs. It’s as much a meditation as a narrative, asking a tremendous amount of patience from viewers and rewarding that patience with something entirely new.
- 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.With Hugo, director Martin Scorsese has created a dazzling, wondrous experience, an undeniable visual masterpiece. In his adaptation of Brian Selznick’s novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Scorsese weaves together his many passions and concerns: for art, for film, and for fathers and father-figures. He retells the story of a boy (Hugo Cabret, played by Asa Butterfield) in search of a way to complete his father’s work. Alongside Hugo’s tale is the true story of Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley), one of the world’s first filmmakers.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsOwen WilsonRachel McAdamsKathy BatesWhile on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.Late-era Woody has been an interesting phenomenon to watch, as his occasional hits (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and stupefying misses (Scoop) come hard on each other’s heels. This year’s offering in his recent “Cities I Have Loved” series is set in Paris, and of course, given the setting and the auteur, is a heady love story. But more importantly, Midnight in Paris is also an exploration of nostalgia, the artistic impulse, and even happiness itself. It’s an entertaining and sometimes hilarious film that belongs squarely in Allen’s “hit” column.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsGeorge ClooneyShailene WoodleyAmara MillerA land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.I found this film a compelling, compassionate and strong. George Clooney has seldom been better in this once in a life time performance, and Shailene Woodley will absolutely deserve the Best Supporting Actress nomination that’s likely headed her way.
- 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.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsLeonardo DiCaprioArmie HammerNaomi WattsJ. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsPaul GiamattiGeorge ClooneyPhilip Seymour HoffmanAn idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsGary OldmanColin FirthTom HardyIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.Steeped in the monochrome color palette and noir soundtrack of 1970s espionage cinema, Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John le Carré’s classic bestselling spy novel offers smart, nostalgic entertainment for a discerning adult audience. Alfredson previously directed Let the Right One In, and in some ways his follow-up is as chilly as that Swedish vampire flick. Like his adolescent bloodsucker, these career spies are always on guard, even among those they consider their closest friends. In a profession founded on loyalty and ideals, what they fear most is deceit and betrayal—of each other and of themselves.
- DirectorMike CahillStarsBrit MarlingWilliam MapotherMatthew-Lee ErlbachOn the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.The synopsis of Another Earth sounds misleadingly sci-fi heavy: Scientists suddenly discover a second Earth whose unusual orbit has hidden it from view behind the sun all this time, and soon learn that there are strange parallels between that Earth and our own, including the possibility of alternate selves for each one of us. Sounds like an episode of The Twilight Zone, right? In fact, all that is just a setup for a deeply personal and philosophical exploration of identity, remorse, loss and reconciliation.